Taxes come up often when people talk about relocating. That seems to be the first selling feature when you hear about Dubai, Portugal or Florida, Texas with lower rates, better structures. I’d like to think most moves that actually stick are driven by something else first like pace of life, time, energy, weather, community or space to think. I agree that taxes may support the decision, but does it tip the scale? Strip the numbers away for a moment. If distance was not the constraint, what SINGLE factor would matter most in choosing where to live next? EVEN if just a city or state.

Sometimes it shows up early. You want something that does not match the script, and you can feel it in your body even when you cannot explain it. From the outside, it can look like confidence. From the inside, it can feel like standing alone with a belief that no one around you shares. Family and friends often respond in their own love language. They warn, question, joke, or get quiet, and the message underneath is the same: stay close, stay safe, stay familiar. That pressure does not just create doubt. It can create guilt, because choosing a harder path can feel like rejecting the people who chose the safer one. And there is another layer most people do not say out loud. When someone around them changes the rules, it forces a mirror, and that mirror is uncomfortable. What did the people closest to you say the first time you hinted you wanted a life that looks different?

Imagine the friction is gone. Money works. Work is stable. Location is flexible. No permission needed. All these hurdles you came up with - GONE! What would life look like for you? - What YOU want to do (Work) - Where YOU want to live (Physical Location) - Who YOU want to be/become (Self) - Who YOU want to hang with. (Others) ________________________________________________________________________________ To make it easy to answer, pick one lens and respond from experience or instinct: - Place: Would there be one home base, two, or none at all? - Work: What would stop being necessary? What would stay non-negotiable? - People: Who would be closer? Who would matter less? - Time: What would a typical week finally include or exclude? - Identity: What label or role would quietly fall away?

Most people around you grew up with one script. Grow up. Work. Buy a place. Stay close. When you talk about living between places, it can sound like a phase or a crisis. You might be talking about stability on your own terms. Less tied to one address. More choice in where you spend your days. When you first shared this with parents, siblings, or close friends, how did they react?

Let's say you had no time or money constraints and no responsibilities/commitments. What is the first thing you would do?