My Lifestyle Experiment - Every 6 Months in a New Place

How many habits do you live by? Most of us are inundated with things we do without really thinking. Chris Backe sees life very much as an experiment where you question every option you have – including where you want to live.

Since leaving Kentucky in 2008 Chris has lived in South Korea as an English teacher and over the last three years has taken to trialing life for 6 months at a time in a variety of places including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, and Krabi in Thailand. He is currently settled in Medellin, Colombia where he will spend a few months before trying another Colombian destination then heading for Ecuador – and who knows where else!

If you’d like to find out more about Chris and his social experiment plus check out his impressive range of books he has written on the countries he has visited check out his blog at www.oneweirdglobe.com

What I learned from Chris’s interview:

1. Life can be an experiment. 6 months in each place is ideal if you want to find out what a place has to offer but not find yourself in a rut. It depends on the size of the city/country that you choose however with some places (Seoul being a personal favorite of his) needing longer to see everything worth seeing.
2. Renting furnished in Medellin can be a lot dearer than unfurnished. If you plan on staying more than 12 months then buying your own furniture is a good idea
3. Facebook groups are one of the best sources of information before considering a move. Chris finds this to be far more reliable than any information he might pick up elsewhere (including the media). Old perceptions (like many people have of Colombia) seldom ring true.