Agi and I are planning our next adventure. We are leaving Thailand and heading to Eastern Europe for a while. There are a few reasons for this but mainly we want to be a bit closer to our families. Not too close mind you, but closer! As a result, we are clearing out our apartment and that got me thinking about material possessions as a digital nomad.
In March 2014 Agi and I left the UK with nothing but our backpacks. This took a fair amount of effort: we had both been living in the UK for years and accumulated a hell of a lot of stuff. When we decided to leave there was a couple of months of selling things on eBay, giving things to charity, and storing things in parents' attics.
We discovered things in cupboards and drawers that we had no idea were there. We found things that we swore we had never seen before. We created theories to explain how cufflink sets could spontaneously form if a drawer full of stuff is left untouched in the correct conditions for just the right length of time. Long story short; we had a lot of stuff.
We arrived in Thailand with our laptops, a backpack full of clothes and a few mementos. Fast forward 2 years and we are having to sell things on Facebook groups, give things to charity and send packages bound for parents' attics. I cannot understand how we have accumulated so much stuff... again! I'm not saying we have as much stuff as we did when we left the UK but the amount we do have still shocks me. We purposefully avoided buying a lot of things because we knew Thailand was a temporary thing and yet, here we are.
Now, Agi and I have not been digital nomads in the true sense of the term... if there is one. We have been based in Bangkok full time for the last year and a half rather than constantly moving. We have taken opportunities to visit other places in the vicinity but we have had an apartment to come back to. I guess that if you are always on the move then you never have the chance to accumulate things.
However, I have to recommend moving country. It really forces you to recognise how many things you have allowed to accrete around you. I don't really like having a lot of possessions, it makes me feel heavy. Fight Club is one of my favourite movies of all time and I love its message of minimalism and self sufficiency.
The process we have been going through feels cathartic. Like a snake shedding its skin I feel refreshed and ready for our new adventure in Eastern Europe. I also wonder if I will look back on this post in another 2 years, look at the new pile of stuff I've gathered and die a little inside. Fingers crossed I've learned something.
If you would like to talk about the process of moving country and disposing of junk get in touch!