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Giving up Good for Better

Thinking about Life

If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m leaving South Korea after 10 years to move to Canada which is certainly a big move. And as I ride my bike through the beautiful Korean countryside, or paddle my board in the ocean surrounding my city, I think a lot about how life here is good. Like really good. But, then I also think about how it is possible for it to be better.

Big Decisions I’ve Made

I think back to the big decisions I’ve made in my life which involved giving up something good in order to try to get something better and I can honestly say that I’ve never regretted any of them, except in very brief fleeting moments.

After University

For example, after university I decided to come to Korea. I gave up the good, stable and boring kind of life in Canada for some adventure. While I don’t have a lot of things that my old uni friends have in terms of material things, I do have 10 years of crazy adventures and a totally different outlook on life. Plus, I think living here has given me a strength, the on the inside kind of one that will help me for the rest of my life.

Leaving a Sweet Job

After 5 years of working at a sweet job with amazing coworkers, I gave it up and made a move to a new city where I didn’t know a single person and for a job that was kind of uncertain. I miss some of my old friends but I haven’t regretted that move for a second and am far happier here than I ever was there.

Ending a Relationship

I ended a 4 year relationship which was good because I wanted better. And even though I’m single now, I can say with certainty that it is better to be alone than it is to be in a relationship that is only good and not amazing.

Life Here is Good-But I Want Better

I really have no complaints about my life here in Busan. Like my job is part-time with full-time pay. There’s no stress at work whatsoever and I teach some of the best students I’ve ever had in my 10 years teaching.

I have a sweet 3-bedroom house with amazing sunsets for only $500/month.

I have a car which means I have the freedom to cruise around Korea whenever I want.

I have so much free time that 6 days a week, I hike, bike, run, or paddleboard up rivers, over mountains, and along beaches.

I have lots of good friends and never really feel lonely or like people don’t care about me, plus I have my 2 sweet cats who seem to love me, or at least they don’t ignore me all the time.

Is it Crazy to Give it Up?

Is this crazy to give it up? Maybe, but I want better. I want to live in a place where I can put down more permanent roots. I want to live somewhere where I can be actively involved in the myriad of clubs and groups and organizations around me and not be limited to hanging around all the other expats. I want to be active in politics and activism and not worry about my job. I want to have a much larger dating pool of people who are not all transient. I want to deal with situations, myself, in English instead of having to rely on others. I want to not teach because it’s not what I love, although I do like it. I want to be able to see my family more than once every couple of years. I want to live in a place without chaotic traffic, ridiculous pollution and lack of safety standards for just about everything.

Better things ahead. But, also hard times because giving up good for better is never easy. The key will be persevering until the better becomes a reality and to keep reminding myself that out of every big decision I’ve made, I haven’t regretted a single one of them.

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