why I'm leaving new york city after 5 months

00:23:06
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9tMhpDKaeM

Summary

TLDRThe speaker recounts their decision to leave New York after five months to pursue a digital nomad lifestyle, influenced by numerous signs from the universe and their innate desire for freedom and new experiences. Despite initially planning to stay in New York longer due to a sense of belonging and quick personal growth, they encountered challenges such as noise, harassment, and materialism, which affected their life quality. Faced with work constraints and housing issues, they decided to make a change at a natural breaking point. Now, they plan to travel through South America, Europe, and Asia while capturing their adventures and curating body art from various locations. Ultimately, the speaker emphasizes the importance of inner intuition and being open to change, while acknowledging the whirlwind of emotions associated with leaving newfound connections and experiences behind.

Takeaways

  • 🌟 Trust your intuition and listen to signs from the universe.
  • 🏙️ New York offers both challenges and rapid personal growth.
  • 🌍 Embrace freedom and the digital nomad lifestyle.
  • 🗺️ Plan adventures with an open mind and readiness for change.
  • 💼 Work-life balance is crucial for personal happiness.
  • 👥 Building a community is essential but can be transient.
  • 💔 Challenges in relationships can lead to life-changing decisions.
  • 🚶‍♀️ Living in a vibrant city offers countless opportunities.
  • 🖋️ Documenting life changes helps in processing emotions.
  • 🚀 Bold decisions often lead to personal growth and adventure.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The speaker is leaving New York and has only two days left in the city. Initially planning to stay for up to two years, they fell in love with New York, considering it home. Despite feeling at home and making significant life changes like starting a side business and finding a community, external signs pushed them towards leaving.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The speaker faced several challenges in New York, including noise pollution impacting their hearing, harassment on the streets, and materialistic culture. Despite loving the fast pace and creative energy, factors like high cost and transient lifestyles made them reconsider their stay. They describe New York’s social dynamics and their initial adaptation, noting the city's unique ability to foster quick personal and professional growth.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Influenced by a relationship with a digital nomad and increasing satisfaction with their New York bucket list, the speaker began contemplating leaving the city. External prompts like job pressures to adhere to office work, contrasted with freedom aspirations, led them to reconsider the digital nomad life. Failed apartment hunts marked the third major sign, reinforcing their decision as practical despite emotional ties.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:23:06

    Deciding to embrace a digital nomad lifestyle, the speaker felt both pushed by job pressures and drawn by personal desires for freedom and experience. The decision marked a new, uncertain journey sparked by intuition and signs from the universe. They plan to travel internationally, documenting their experiences while preparing for personal growth and new adventures, indicating a blend of excitement and nostalgia as they leave New York.

Show more

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • Why is the speaker leaving New York?

    The speaker is leaving New York to pursue a digital nomad lifestyle, following signs from the universe and their desire for freedom and new experiences.

  • How long did the speaker live in New York?

    The speaker lived in New York for 5 months.

  • What were some challenges the speaker faced in New York?

    Challenges included noise, harassment, loss of hearing, secondhand smoke, and materialism.

  • What were the positive experiences in New York for the speaker?

    Positive experiences included meeting new friends, starting a side business, teaching yoga, and experiencing personal growth.

  • What does the speaker value most?

    The speaker values freedom and experiences.

  • What are the speaker's next plans?

    The speaker plans to travel as a digital nomad to South America, Europe, and Asia.

  • Why did the speaker feel New York was perfect initially?

    The speaker found a sense of belonging and achieved personal milestones like meeting friends and starting new ventures.

  • Did the speaker face any significant signs or events that influenced their decision to leave?

    Yes, signs included job constraints, housing issues, and personal interactions encouraging them to pursue a digital nomad lifestyle.

  • How did the speaker plan for their next adventures?

    The speaker plans to travel through different continents, focusing on getting tattoos from each place and documenting their journey.

  • What personal insight did the speaker gain from their experience?

    The speaker realized the importance of listening to their intuition and being ready for change.

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  • 00:00:08
    I have tried to film this video what feels like  a 100 times so I'm going to attempt to just sit
  • 00:00:12
    down and get it all out all at once and tell you  the story of why I'm leaving New York and no this
  • 00:00:19
    is not clickbait this is actually happening I  actually only have 2 days left I just said my
  • 00:00:24
    goodbyes to a lot of my friends I'm a little  bit in my feels right now it's about midnight
  • 00:00:28
    and I'm in Brooklyn Bridge Park which by the  way if you haven't been keeping up I moved
  • 00:00:31
    to New York I moved here about 5 months ago on  February 29th which I love because that's leap
  • 00:00:35
    day and that's the day I took the leap and moved  to New York which is so corny I'm so sorry oh my
  • 00:00:39
    God my room is so tiny but it's mine and I love  it I guess my hope of this video is not only to
  • 00:00:44
    document my time here and how I'm feeling and  where I'm at in this stage of life but also if
  • 00:00:48
    you out there watching this might also be  struggling with where you belong in life
  • 00:00:52
    figuring out your purpose and what you want to  do then maybe my story can help you achieve some
  • 00:00:57
    clarity of your own and not to say that I really  have all the answers and all the clarity cuz I'm
  • 00:01:01
    still figuring it out and I'm still as scared  and confused as ever but one thing I know for
  • 00:01:07
    sure I am leaving New York in 2 days and it came  a lot sooner than I had expected actually when I
  • 00:01:12
    first moved here I thought like originally maybe  I would live here for 1 to 2 years but I loved it
  • 00:01:17
    so much when I got here it felt so much like home  that I thought that I could see myself living here
  • 00:01:22
    for like 5+ years and actually I'm not even going  to lie I could actually see myself settling down
  • 00:01:25
    here long term so to be clear I'm not leaving New  York because I don't like it or I could hack it
  • 00:01:29
    quite the opposite actually I've never felt more  at home in my entire life as soon as I landed here
  • 00:01:34
    I instantly felt an ease like my entire body  just like breathed a sigh of relief it felt
  • 00:01:39
    like everything in my life was waiting to happen  until I was in the right location and I had spent
  • 00:01:43
    years wasting my time in a place that just wasn't  right for me and I'd finally found my spot I was
  • 00:01:48
    totally expecting a really difficult transition  moving to New York because I know it is not easy
  • 00:01:52
    to live here so I was very prepared for that but  I'm going to be so real I got really really lucky
  • 00:01:56
    moving here like the perfect apartment just fell  into my lap my first week here I started dating
  • 00:02:00
    someone fell in love and got my heart broken did  the whole thing I met some of my closest friends
  • 00:02:03
    on my third day or actually within my first two  weeks and these are friends that I am guaranteed
  • 00:02:08
    going to be in my life for the long run like  forever I found my people I found my community
  • 00:02:12
    honestly the amount of times I've serendipitously  met someone that I'm positive was meant to be in
  • 00:02:17
    my life has happened here so many times I didn't  even think it was possible I started a successful
  • 00:02:22
    side business and I got a job teaching yoga  I walked hundreds and hundreds of miles and
  • 00:02:26
    I curated my body art collection everything  happened so quickly and that's the thing about
  • 00:02:29
    New York everything moves so fast here like  I actually felt like I lived entire years's
  • 00:02:33
    worth of life within my first 3 months and  I love that I'm a very fast paced person and
  • 00:02:38
    I like to experience as many things as possible  so that's why I really really like the fast pace
  • 00:02:42
    here I know it's not for everybody there's just  something in the air here it's undeniable there's
  • 00:02:45
    just energy that just it makes you feel so alive  and quite honestly I actually couldn't imagine
  • 00:02:50
    living anywhere else in the country besides New  York and my astrocartography confirms this if
  • 00:02:54
    you look up your birth chart and see where your  lines fall I have a line going right by New York
  • 00:02:58
    and it says this I'll paste it in and I can say  that that is 100% true you guys should look into
  • 00:03:03
    it if you're interested when you first move here  a lot of people are going to ask you oh did you
  • 00:03:06
    move here for work and I always like to say like  no I moved here for the opposite I moved here for
  • 00:03:09
    life I wanted a new adventure I wanted a fresh  start I wanted to meet more like-minded people
  • 00:03:14
    more creative friends I wanted to be inspired  explore my personal style and just like grow as
  • 00:03:18
    a person and I will say New York did all of that  for me and more I just couldn't be more grateful
  • 00:03:23
    for my time here and I know that a lot of people  do not have as great of an experience in New York
  • 00:03:27
    especially when you first get here than I did so I  feel incredibly incredibly lucky so I know you're
  • 00:03:32
    probably wondering why I'm deciding to leave after  only 5 short months and I will say the decision
  • 00:03:37
    did not come easy um a lot of things went into it  and I felt super super conflicted about this and
  • 00:03:42
    lost for a really long time but it's happening I'm  currently in the midst of wrapping a lot of things
  • 00:03:47
    up saying all my goodbyes I cried a lot today I  cried a lot there's like a crazy amount of roly
  • 00:03:53
    polies around me by the way and I'm like sitting  on top of my backpack right now to protect my
  • 00:03:56
    ass but like they're everywhere oh it's on my  notebook okay sorry let's get into it so like
  • 00:04:02
    I said making this decision was absolutely not  easy but to put it simply I got a lot of signs
  • 00:04:07
    from the universe gosh where do I begin okay so  there were three main signs that I got from the
  • 00:04:12
    universe for why I should leave New York and the  first one is the people the second one is my job
  • 00:04:19
    and the third one was my apartment and at the end  of course I will share where I'm headed to next
  • 00:04:23
    but first real quick let's talk about some pros  and cons of living in New York after my 5 months
  • 00:04:27
    of experience here I know that's not the most and  I'm not not going to talk about the basic things
  • 00:04:31
    that everyone talks about I'm going to share some  things that I feel like most people don't mention
  • 00:04:35
    very often so just in case you're also thinking  about moving to New York so here are some of the
  • 00:04:38
    reasons why you should or shouldn't so here we go  I feel like if my parents watch this video they're
  • 00:04:43
    going to be like oh my God New York is not a good  place to live you need to leave but all right
  • 00:04:47
    trust me I'm a tough cookie these things you just  got to move on brush it off I will say I honestly
  • 00:04:52
    think that these things are worth the positive  things of living in New York so some of the cons
  • 00:04:56
    number one I have noticeably been starting to lose  some of my hearing like I know I've only been here
  • 00:05:01
    for 5 months but constantly being all around  so much noise and sirens it's just very very
  • 00:05:05
    loud here like the max volume on my headphones  don't be sounding the same anymore there's also
  • 00:05:09
    a ton of secondhand smoke like it's just there's  always like gross fumes in the air lots of bad
  • 00:05:13
    smells and I just feel like that has definitely  taken a little bit of a toll in my health there's
  • 00:05:17
    a ton of harassment in the streets actually an  appalling amount the catcalling is so bad I have
  • 00:05:21
    been harassed in the streets like multiple times  like sexually harassed racially harassed or just
  • 00:05:26
    straight up like a man just ran at me and grabbed  me it does piss me off it does ruin my day for a
  • 00:05:30
    little bit but like unfortunately I guess that's  part of the cost of living in New York and also
  • 00:05:34
    because it's a walkable city you just spend more  time on the streets I mean in another city I would
  • 00:05:37
    just be like in my car you do got to watch your  back here you got to be a little careful also
  • 00:05:40
    depending on the circles that you've run in I did  have a fear before moving here that moving to New
  • 00:05:44
    York would make me become more materialistic and  more fake not more fake but more shallow New York
  • 00:05:49
    is definitely a very very materialistic city it's  easy to get caught up in the rat race especially
  • 00:05:52
    if you're in corporate America and as you rise up  the ranks you notice that people love to just talk
  • 00:05:57
    about like their airline status and like the fancy  hotels and their bracelet stacks and like the nice
  • 00:06:02
    clothes that they wear I don't know I've never  been interested in that world depending on the
  • 00:06:06
    people that you end up surrounding yourself with  that could be a concern if that's something that
  • 00:06:10
    matters to you then there's the burnout everyone  works here super super hard everyone is so so busy
  • 00:06:14
    when I burnt out it was mostly socially and I also  burnt out physically I was literally in physical
  • 00:06:17
    therapy because I sprained my foot from walking  too much of course there's obvious ones like it's
  • 00:06:20
    really dirty it's really crowded very chaotic  lots of rats and trash it's overstimulating and
  • 00:06:25
    also it's really really expensive everyone knows  all about that stuff but I guess the last thing
  • 00:06:28
    is that the city is very transient so people are  always coming and going I guess that includes me
  • 00:06:32
    now and obviously since I've only been here for  5 months I can't say that I've experienced this
  • 00:06:36
    but it is something that I foresee that it could  be harder to build a community here because this
  • 00:06:40
    is not the type of city that a lot of people  like to settle down in mostly because it's so
  • 00:06:43
    expensive it's already know for a fact that most  of my friends plan on living New York eventually
  • 00:06:46
    some within the next 2 years and that's just scary  to think about plus if you're dating someone and
  • 00:06:51
    you want to stay but they want to go or you met  here but then you both see yourselves settling
  • 00:06:56
    down in different cities then that's also going  to be a problem too the city is what you make
  • 00:06:59
    of it and I will say you definitely will have  a honeymoon phase here I think mine is starting
  • 00:07:03
    to come to an end I definitely recommend taking  advantage of that like while you're being super
  • 00:07:07
    outgoing and saying yes to everything just very  excited take advantage of that because all the
  • 00:07:12
    effort that you put in during those months will  come back in returns but also try and take care
  • 00:07:16
    of yourself take care of your body get some rest  the first is that the snowball effect here is so
  • 00:07:22
    much stronger than other cities so what I mean by  snowball effect is how one decision can lead to
  • 00:07:26
    one door opening can lead to another opportunity  to another opportunity etc etc I think it moves so
  • 00:07:30
    much more intensely and so much more fast here it  is super easy to meet people and I also say that
  • 00:07:34
    people here are a lot more open-minded and willing  to meet new people so this could advance you in
  • 00:07:39
    your business in your side hustle or just your  social life or dating life I would also say my
  • 00:07:43
    favorite part about New York is the quality of the  people here I feel like I met a cool interesting
  • 00:07:47
    person on average once a day like someone that I  genuinely want to be friends with want to learn
  • 00:07:52
    more about want to connect with this is just  a city where all the cool inspiring creative
  • 00:07:56
    adventurous people who are doing cool [ __ ]  gather plus being in a walkable city I think
  • 00:08:00
    that really helps with just the interactions of  like you just happen to meet a lot more strangers
  • 00:08:04
    here it's also so nice to be right in the middle  of the action like if there is something cool
  • 00:08:08
    going on in our country it is probably happening  in New York it's also a really really great city
  • 00:08:12
    to get over your fear of being perceived because  trust me everyone is too busy to be judging you
  • 00:08:16
    and no one gives a crap what you're wearing or  if you're filming a video in public or whatever
  • 00:08:20
    you're doing guaranteed there's way more weirder  crazier people on the street doing whatever and
  • 00:08:24
    like nobody even bats an eye so you can be whoever  you want here it's the best place to have a fresh
  • 00:08:28
    start to reinvent yourself to experiment with  your style it's also the best idea to be in
  • 00:08:32
    if you have a lot of iche hobbies if you have a  really niche hobby guaranteed there are at least
  • 00:08:36
    a thousand people in the city who do the same  thing and there's probably a weekly meetup for it
  • 00:08:39
    too all right let's get into the signs there's  this quote that I really love I think it was Oprah
  • 00:08:48
    who said it life whispers to you at first but  the longer you ignore it it will soon turn into
  • 00:08:53
    a scream I think the universe was trying to tell  me to leave New York for a while but it took a
  • 00:09:00
    lot of signs because I'm pretty stubborn I didn't  want to go but the first sign that I got was from
  • 00:09:05
    the people that I met and the first person was  actually the person that I dated when I first
  • 00:09:09
    moved here I had mentioned that my first week here  I went on my first date and I ended up basically
  • 00:09:13
    entering into a relationship with this guy not  official because he knew that he was leaving
  • 00:09:17
    within a few months because he's doing a digital  nomad thing so he's only spending a few months
  • 00:09:21
    in each major city and he's traveling here and  there because his job is remote and okay I need
  • 00:09:25
    to backtrack because that is actually what I have  been wanting to do this entire time like that I
  • 00:09:29
    was never planning on moving to New York actually  a few years ago I hated New York I actually like
  • 00:09:33
    made it almost a personality trait like how much  I didn't like New York and like I could never see
  • 00:09:37
    myself living here what I actually wanted to do  was to be a digital nomad I talked about this
  • 00:09:40
    constantly because my job has been remote I've  had it for 3 years and I feel like you should
  • 00:09:44
    just take advantage of this perk so that's what  I really really wanted to do but actually last
  • 00:09:48
    minute before I was about to go off something in  my gut just told me that maybe I should try moving
  • 00:09:52
    to New York first and just see what happens then I  met this guy we clicked right away it moved super
  • 00:09:56
    super fast and as our relationship was getting  serious I almost said seriouser and seriouser
  • 00:10:01
    as our relationship got more and more serious  it became apparent that there were only three
  • 00:10:04
    outcomes for us he stops being a digital nomad and  stays in New York with me I leave New York and go
  • 00:10:09
    travel with him or we break up which is actually  the most likely and probable and smart decision
  • 00:10:15
    the anxiety of like this impending decision coming  up was just it was just a very very confusing time
  • 00:10:20
    but like honestly if you think about it isn't  it almost kind of perfect like he was actually
  • 00:10:24
    the first person that ever met who was doing the  digital nomad thing I have talked about it for
  • 00:10:28
    years but I've never actually met met anyone in  real life who's also doing it probably because
  • 00:10:32
    they don't stop by Chicago very often but I'm a  very flexible person kind of go with the flow like
  • 00:10:36
    I'm open to any opportunities that come along  so I was like actually down to go with him but
  • 00:10:41
    I know that's crazy okay like I'm a hopeless  romantic but even I know that that would be
  • 00:10:45
    crazy for both of us either of us to change our  entire life trajectories for each other when we
  • 00:10:50
    just met like 3 weeks ago that was the first time  that I had seriously seriously considered leaving
  • 00:10:55
    New York even though it was like very clear that  the city is perfect for me and because of that
  • 00:11:00
    I ended up getting serious about making the most  of my time here in New York so I made a New York
  • 00:11:04
    bucket list and by today I have completed almost  every single item on the list like there's not a
  • 00:11:09
    single thing left in New York that I think that I  need to do and I feel very satisfied my time here
  • 00:11:14
    so that is a really good thing that came out of  that relationship but after we broke up the next
  • 00:11:18
    person that I met after him was doing that like  she was being a digital nomad with her partner
  • 00:11:24
    traveling around the states New York was her first  destination I just met her at yoga class and we
  • 00:11:27
    got lunch and we talked all about it and she said  something that really stuck with me who knows how
  • 00:11:30
    much longer our companies are going to let us be  remote so we have to take advantage of it now my
  • 00:11:34
    entire industry has actually gone back to hybrid  so it's very lucky that my specific role at my
  • 00:11:38
    specific company is still remote and who knows  if they're going to keep letting me be remote
  • 00:11:43
    and then from there on then I caught up with  Joanna and Amber my two friends from college
  • 00:11:46
    who are doing something similar or planning to  very soon then I met Annie and also her previous
  • 00:11:51
    roommate is doing something similar and then  Amnah and it just felt like the universe kept
  • 00:11:55
    putting people in my path who were doing the  thing like some version of quitting their job
  • 00:11:59
    traveling the world being a digital Nomad and  before this I had literally never met a single
  • 00:12:03
    person doing this and suddenly left and right it  was popping up everywhere the second sign I got
  • 00:12:11
    was dun dun dun my job remember how I just said  that my industry has gone back to the hybrid mode
  • 00:12:15
    but my specific role is still remote well one day  maybe like a month after I moved in my boss just
  • 00:12:21
    randomly stopped me in the hallway and it was like  have you been coming into the office and I was
  • 00:12:24
    like um no I'm still remote status I think and he  basically told me that I need to start adhering to
  • 00:12:29
    the hybrid schedule because that's just the rule  that they have for people who live in New York
  • 00:12:33
    even though my entire team is remote by the way I  don't even know who I'm coming to the office for
  • 00:12:37
    and I actually had decided that there's literally  no amount of money that you could pay me to get me
  • 00:12:41
    to start coming into the office remote work is  so imperative to my quality of life that it is
  • 00:12:46
    actually that big of a deal to me I value freedom  over anything and at this point like I'm already
  • 00:12:49
    not feeling that hot about my corporate job and  if I were to start coming to the office I would
  • 00:12:53
    100,000% start hating it so this is actually a  lose-lose for everybody so there's like a lot of
  • 00:12:58
    reasons why it doesn't make sense and I can feel  some of your judgment through the screen right now
  • 00:13:01
    okay but this is like this is just honestly how  I feel and absolutely no hate to my job I have a
  • 00:13:04
    really really great job and I'm so grateful for it  but frankly it has absolutely nothing to do with
  • 00:13:08
    me like the Venn diagram of Kelly's interests and  things that I'm good at has absolutely no overlap
  • 00:13:14
    with the things that I do in my job and if I were  to live in literally anywhere else in the world
  • 00:13:18
    besides New York I could stay remote it's just a  stupid rule that they have for New York employees
  • 00:13:23
    so I was like oh should I leave New York and  keep the quality of life that I want or should
  • 00:13:27
    I just tough it out and stay in New York where I  clearly meant to be within like 20 minutes of the
  • 00:13:31
    conversation with my boss I decided to go I mean  I'd already been sort of thinking about it and
  • 00:13:36
    it just kind of felt right like actually didn't  feel sad or dramatic I didn't feel anything about
  • 00:13:40
    it it just felt natural so I literally started  looking at sublets I started planning my digital
  • 00:13:45
    nomad route but then I was like okay maybe I'm  be a little too rash right now let me give it
  • 00:13:48
    some more time to think about it let me maybe  try and negotiate with work and then we'll just
  • 00:13:51
    see what happens but that was the second little  nudge that I got [Music] the final sign was my
  • 00:13:59
    apartment I had signed a 3-month sublet when I  first moved here and it was coming to an end I
  • 00:14:03
    tried to resign but that didn't work out I tried  apartment hunting with one of my roommates and
  • 00:14:06
    that also didn't work out I probably sent out like  100 messages and only two people even responded to
  • 00:14:11
    me and I became this close to signing a lease and  then it just fell through the cracks the days kept
  • 00:14:15
    passing and more and more stuff was not working  out the rental market in the summer is super
  • 00:14:18
    super competitive it just seemed like nothing  was working out in my favor so with less than 2
  • 00:14:21
    weeks left on my lease and I know that it's enough  time to find an apartment in New York like things
  • 00:14:25
    move really really fast here but then that little  voice in my head came back and was like actually
  • 00:14:29
    maybe this could be a good opportunity to do the  digital nomad thing I mean doing the digital nomad
  • 00:14:34
    thing didn't sound bad but was I about to start  doing it when my lease ended in 10 days like that
  • 00:14:40
    would be kind of crazy it just feels a little too  soon so I went to the park I ate some chocolates
  • 00:14:44
    to dig down deep and figure out what I wanted like  it was that serious and spoiler alert I decided
  • 00:14:50
    to go I think deep down I knew what I wanted I was  just really scared because it is a huge transition
  • 00:14:55
    but I decided that I'm going to leave New York  I don't know exactly where I'm going to go yet
  • 00:14:59
    but it's what I need to do first of all it's  just a really natural breaking point with my
  • 00:15:02
    lease ending plus I'm at a point in my life  when I have very few responsibilities my job is
  • 00:15:06
    remote I have no partner no pets no kids plus I'm  starting to near the end of my 20s I mean I still
  • 00:15:11
    have four years left but still and not saying  that I couldn't travel after my 20s but it just
  • 00:15:15
    felt like now or never and now couldn't be a more  perfect time and oh my gosh I almost forgot to add
  • 00:15:21
    guess what happened right after this that day in  Central Park when I decided to leave I decided to
  • 00:15:25
    give myself one more month in New York to just tie  up any loose ends logistics moving say goodbye to
  • 00:15:30
    my friends and as I was leaving the park 1 hour  later I got a text and the perfect sublet just
  • 00:15:36
    fell into my lap so I just took that as one more  added confirmation from the forces that be that I
  • 00:15:41
    was making the right decision so at this point I  already started to have a lot of external forces
  • 00:15:45
    starting to push me but none of them were really  dealbreakers they were just hints but while this
  • 00:15:49
    was all happening I had just as many signs to  stay in New York too things were really picking
  • 00:15:53
    up for me here I had so many opportunities flying  at me more than ever before I had met some of my
  • 00:15:57
    closest friends I booked my first performance gig  I met my flow community I met these two guys in
  • 00:16:01
    a bar and we started a podcast my sound healing  side business was taking off every single event
  • 00:16:05
    was selling out it was doing really really well I  got offered a job teaching yoga so I finally got
  • 00:16:09
    my foot in the door with teaching which actually  was a reason why I almost didn't move to New York
  • 00:16:14
    I was about to pivot into the fitness industry  back in Chicago but I ended up giving that up in
  • 00:16:17
    order to move to New York but I can get into that  story for another time the point is I finally got
  • 00:16:21
    an opportunity to start teaching and life was just  starting to get good but it was the whisper that
  • 00:16:25
    damn whisper that whisper that grows into a scream  and you know how I know I made the right decision
  • 00:16:31
    it's because the scream finally stopped sometimes  I like to think about listening to your intuition
  • 00:16:35
    almost like a compass like you're playing hot and  cold you go into one direction and if it feels
  • 00:16:39
    right then you keep going if suddenly everything  in your body feels wrong that scream in your head
  • 00:16:43
    starts then maybe you turn this way and it gets a  little quieter you turn a little more this way and
  • 00:16:47
    it gets a little quieter over the past few years  I have made an intentional decision to listen to
  • 00:16:50
    my gut more and make more decisions just based on  my intuition and has been a world of a difference
  • 00:16:55
    not only is making decisions much easier and  faster it does help me eliminate some of the
  • 00:16:59
    overthinking but don't get me wrong I overthink  this decision a lot and I also do want to make a
  • 00:17:03
    point here how I came to this decision was from  me listening to my gut but also listening to
  • 00:17:08
    signs from the universe which might seem like  that's two completely different things like
  • 00:17:12
    external things and then internal feelings but  I actually see them as the same thing like the
  • 00:17:17
    signs from the universe I think it depends on how  you interpret them a different me may have taken
  • 00:17:21
    those things as a sign that I need to get a new  roommate or live in a different neighborhood or
  • 00:17:25
    switch jobs or just take my career more seriously  and be more of an office worker I don't know but
  • 00:17:29
    I took those signs as a sign to leave because I  had already had this yearning deep down of the
  • 00:17:34
    digital nomad thing which I've always wanted to do  I like to think of it as similar to tarot cards if
  • 00:17:38
    you're familiar tarot cards are not necessarily  supposed to just tell you your future it unlocks
  • 00:17:43
    your intuition so seeing these cards and getting a  message can help you see a problem in a different
  • 00:17:46
    way and then maybe spark something in you that  allows you to make a better decision and realize
  • 00:17:51
    what you actually want deep down so I actually see  the signs from the universe and listening to your
  • 00:17:54
    gut as all the same thing it's all in the same  realm and don't get me wrong up until this very
  • 00:17:59
    day I have still felt confusion of should I  really go am I making the right decision I
  • 00:18:03
    have edited my plan a million times and eventually  I did come to a plan that felt right and I just
  • 00:18:08
    locked everything in I booked like 10 flights all  at once and we're going to go I actually agonized
  • 00:18:14
    this much about my decision to move to New York in  the first place as I did the decision to leave New
  • 00:18:18
    York and the truth is there is no such thing as a  right decision I'm certain that I would still be
  • 00:18:23
    really happy right now if I was living in Chicago  and I'm sure I would still be really happy if I
  • 00:18:27
    stayed in New York but what it comes down to is  getting really clear on your values and I know as
  • 00:18:31
    I've gotten older that the two main things that I  value are freedom and experience so it makes sense
  • 00:18:37
    why I'd want to be a free bird and just explore  the world at least for a little bit and the thing
  • 00:18:41
    about decisions is it's not that if you make the  right one then suddenly life will be easy it's the
  • 00:18:46
    act of choosing one path and then committing to  it and then just figuring it out from there you
  • 00:18:51
    make the best of what you choose and it's not  going to be easy either way and also I've just
  • 00:18:55
    kind of accepted that I think being in your 20s  is just being a constant state of confusion I know
  • 00:19:00
    that one day when I'm older I'm going to look  back and think back to the time when I was so
  • 00:19:04
    free and had so many options I could do literally  anything that I wanted that it was so hard for me
  • 00:19:08
    to decide and I'm going to look back at my younger  self and thank her for doing the brave thing and
  • 00:19:13
    seeking adventure and making the most of it  I do believe in general that if you are ever
  • 00:19:16
    stuck between staying and going you should go New  York is always going to be here but my youth isn't
  • 00:19:22
    I'm still so sad to be leaving New York honestly  it feels so soon and I I'm just not ready I was
  • 00:19:26
    sobbing in therapy earlier today because I'm just  going to miss my friends so much I have been in
  • 00:19:30
    New York for 152 days I'm coming out of this thing  a completely new person and I hope I come out of
  • 00:19:36
    this next adventure even more transformed I will  be documenting my entire process and the journeys
  • 00:19:41
    that I go on in this nomad era of my life I'm so  so excited I'm also so sad to be leaving I have a
  • 00:19:49
    lot of emotions today and this week and this whole  month actually it's so funny because I spent years
  • 00:19:55
    agonizing if I should move out of Chicago and then  when I finally did I was like yes I could finally
  • 00:19:59
    settle down and start my life here and now here  I am 5 months later picking it up all over again
  • 00:20:04
    I clearly don't know what's going on and I've  always struggled with where I belong in life I
  • 00:20:08
    feel like I've always kind of flit from place to  place I jump from hobby to hobby I want to try
  • 00:20:13
    out a million different careers I just want to do  everything and I'm even kind of a social butterfly
  • 00:20:17
    I don't know I guess maybe that's why I have this  underlying belief that nothing good in life is
  • 00:20:22
    permanent and you have to be ready for change  sounds kind of sad but I mean I guess it's true
  • 00:20:27
    and I guess it's helped me to not get too attached  to the good things of my life so I guess
  • 00:20:34
    that's it so here's to the new journey here's  to adventure here's to listening to your inner
  • 00:20:40
    guide and the signs of the universe and here's to  leaving when things were just about to get good
  • 00:21:59
    so now I'm sure you're wondering where I'm  actually going so if it wasn't clear by now
  • 00:22:03
    I'm going to give the digital nomad thing a shot  in 2 days I'm driving back home to the suburbs
  • 00:22:08
    of Chicago to just drop off all my stuff see my  family over the course of the next 6 months I will
  • 00:22:12
    be hitting South America Europe and Asia so if you  have any recs for any of these countries I will
  • 00:22:17
    put them all here please let me know I actually  haven't planned that many of the activities I'm
  • 00:22:21
    going to be doing yet so all those things are  still up in the air I have planned exactly all
  • 00:22:25
    the tattoos I'm going to get though I I have a  whole tattoo artist tour plan I'm going to get
  • 00:22:29
    a tattoo in every country and I'm so freaking  excited for it so yes I will be vlogging the
  • 00:22:34
    entire thing I'm going to be documenting all my  adventures I'm going to be traveling solo for
  • 00:22:37
    the majority of it but yeah this is happening  I'm so excited I hope you subscribe and follow
  • 00:22:43
    along and if you enjoyed this video give it a  like like for Kelly's return to YouTube this is
  • 00:22:47
    by far the biggest journey I've ever embarked  on the biggest risk I've ever taken in my life
  • 00:22:53
    I'm just really proud of myself honestly so I  hope it goes well and I'll see you out there
Tags
  • New York
  • digital nomad
  • freedom
  • intuition
  • adventure
  • life change
  • personal growth
  • travel
  • experience
  • New Beginnings