To the guys who left it all behind and started over. How did it go?

10 comments

1. Back in June, I left home on a bike with three changes of clothes and half a bag of protein powder.

   Now, I have my own apartment, my own car, I taught myself how to drive, I have a meaningful job, and three employees.

   So, I think it went pretty well.

2. When Moses and the isrealites escaped the tyranny of Egypt… they wound up wandering the desert for 40 years.

   Wandering the desert, starving for 40 years is bad, but it’s not slavery bad.

   The point is, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. The question is which side is worth living on.

3. Done it several times and the problem is that you can’t run away from yourself. All the real issues that have plauged me my whole life have, by and large been because of me and the choices I’ve made in life. There’s definitely been issues created by others but nobody affects your life as much as you.

4. Great.

5. I start over at late 20s to early 30s. Not gonna lie, it is pretty rough but I got no choice at that time. Now I am quite comfortable with my life, not nearly as fulfilled as I wanted to but much better that I have imagined.

6. Turning 30 and I’m just leaving my partner of nine years, selling the house and moving back in with my parents. Keen to see some of the replies.

7. I left the province in Canada I lived in for most of my life to start new across the country.

   I did it for a variety of reasons, most notably that my old familiar environment had become emotionally radioactive to me.

   It was really hard. The first two years were basically lockdown, so I was isolated, and then I was **isolated**.

   I probably had a drinking problem for those two years, objectively speaking. But most of the world did during that time.

   It’s been a slow process of forcing myself to go out and date and wander the city I’m in now. That being said it’s been immensely positive as far as comparing how I felt before leaving to now.

   But it was by no means a comfortable process. It was actually the closest I had been to the abyss in a long time.

   However, in stepping away from that abyss one stride at a time, there is now a noticeable and prevalent relief and satisfaction I feel whenever I have a great time with my friends or a good date, or a good local meal, and realize that that experience would have been forever locked to me where I was before.

   I would have never met the people I have or formed the bonds I’ve cultivated.

   Building new roots in new soil takes time and patience and respect for the process. In gardening and life.

   There will always be a part of me that wonders on the continuation of the life I left behind, and then I realize that the only thing to extrapolate on was pain, in which case the only thing I’ve missed for certain is more pain.

   It was a great, liberating choice to make. And it very nearly killed me. But it was perhaps the formative decision of my entire life so far.

8. I recently begun so I don’t know, we will see

9. Did it 20 years ago, failed. And right now I’m continuing to fail. I wish I could say that the whole experience has helped me grow in some respect but I can honestly say it hasn’t improved me in some way. There has been no point to the amount of suffering I’ve had. I hate this life. Sorry, but no sunshine and roses here.

10. Still trying to figure out how to start all over again