Dreams can come true, it could happen to you

It takes guts and determination to give up the rat race and follow your dream lifestyle.

Illustration by Gary Clement for The National

This week I'm sharing the stories of a few people who took a giant leap into the unknown - to live their best life now. None of them had a specific plan, but they all had guts and determination.
They appear to fall into three categories. The first are the likes of Chad, Josh and Neri, who know what they want from life, and decided to make it happen today, not after 30 years of the rat race, stress and unhappiness.
And then there are likes of David: business people who realised they risked losing a lot more than their homes when the credit crunch brought down people around them. They liquidated what they could and started all over again - with a focus on quality of life - not just how to earn money.
Then there are the Rons of the world, who, having retired, went in search of an affordable chilled life, and ended up making a bit of money while creating a social outlet for themselves.
Since the majority of us living in the UAE fall into the first category: people with full-time run-of-the- mill jobs and no experience creating businesses or being entrepreneurs, I am sharing a couple of stories in this section and only one in the other two. I'll be expanding on retirement thoughts in another article soon.
30 years - starting today
Chad and Josh are from the US. They decided that theirs would be a life on the surf. They had fallen in love with an island in South America, so it was either live the next 30 years as unhappy paramedics and then retire to the island, or live the next 30 years, starting now, the way they want, every day. The key was being able to afford it. They settled on buying and running an existing B&B on their piece of paradise. It could have been a shop that sells flip-flops for all they cared, it was a means to fund their best life. So they sold all their worldly possessions and discovered that they were quite good at running a B&B.
Yes, they could be earning more money back home, but the takeaway these days is not only that less gets them more, but that every single day is their dream life. And they are very very happy.
Neri has a similar mindset. A 35- year-old pilot from Panama, she used to sell property in the capital - a job she took up to pay off her student debt. The weekend was her big escape - traveling to less developed areas beyond the city where she was happiest.
Neri saw her friends stressed to the hilt, getting stuck in traffic, bogged down by payments to the bank because of all the "stuff" they were buying.
She knew this was not the life for her. So after a conversation with her father, who was so very proud that she was a pilot, where she explained that she could either give into social pressure and live a "successful" life through her pilot career, be, by her account, miserable, then retire to the place she craved. Or she could start living her best life now, but it would mean walking away from the city, her potential pilot career and "opportunities". She got his blessings to do as she saw fit. There is little infrastructure where Neri lives now and she still hasn't figured out how she's going to earn - perhaps from starting a coffee shop. She is very happy and some of her friends are now asking her to support them through similar transitions.
Your business or your life
David is an American businessman who sold up and left his country about six years ago. He folded his business in California, liquidated assets and set out for new shores to start all over again. His reasoning is that he'd prefer to live in a place that offers him opportunity as well as a good life.
He looked at his skills and what he could do, and is now the owner of a thriving adventure business that keeps growing. He has a young infant and is very happy to be out of the rat race that was his previous life. He still works hard and is constantly on the phone with clients, but he does it from a boat or a horse. He knows that every day is special, and is very involved in his family life.
Retire and thrive
Ron is from Florida. He retired years ago. Realising his money would go further elsewhere, he moved to Costa Rica. But its level of crime and increasing cost of living resulted in him upping sticks again for Panama. Ever the busybody and with a lot more living to do, he strategically positioned himself opposite a Spanish language school and provides the students - people from all over the world - with snacks, tea and coffee. This way he gets to mix and mingle with people as well as make extra money on the side.
For everyone mentioned here, their money goes further where they are now, and their quality of life is so much better. Their starting points and what they could bring to their next life differ, but they are the same in that they did it: They took a giant leap into the unknown - forsaking familiarity for freedom. How do you want to live? What are you doing to make it happen?
Nima Abu Wardeh is the founder of the personal finance website cashy.me. You can reach her at [e-mail].
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