- Sonya Moore decided that if Trump won in 2016, she would leave the US.
- She followed him and has been living abroad for seven years.
- Moore is a yoga teacher, writer and photographer.
“If Trump wins this election, I will leave the country.”
I said those words in November 2016. So did many other Americans: so much so, in fact, that Canada’s immigration website crashed while the votes were being counted because of the surge in traffic. No joke.
I don’t know how many others followed that statement, but I did. Trump won the election and 9 months later, I left the US.
Full disclosure: Trump becoming president wasn’t the only reason I left — it was also to get fed up with my corporate job, along with a strong desire to explore the world.
I was 37, single, no kids or pets, so I was free to quit my job, uproot myself, and move away. I had a house at the time, which I sold a few months after I left.
After my departure, I had no plan other than to spend some time slowly exploring Asia and learn English when I needed to earn money. This no-plan thing was out of character for me, but I was very comfortable with solo international travel, thanks to previous study abroad experiences and 14 years of intensive overseas work-related travel.
Moore fell in love with the quality of life in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Sonya Moore
The move opened a new chapter in my life
Over the months, I discovered that when you give it space, life guides you to the places, people, and opportunities that are meant for you.
Seven years later, I’m still happily living outside the US. While my decision to leave opened up a horizon of experiences beyond my wildest dreams and led me to the man of my dreams, it hasn’t all been a bed of roses.
The first year, I lived on savings while slowly traveling around Asia. I began my travels in India, where I spent 10 days on a silent meditation retreat, attended teachings by the Dalai Lama, and received yoga teacher training. I was immediately hooked on teaching yoga.
After four months in India, I continued walking around Asia for another eight months. I swam in the crystal clear waters of the Maldives, visited healers in Bali, witnessed breathtaking mountaintop sunrises in Laos, went island hopping across the Philippines, rode motorbikes across the islands of Thailand and discovered ancient temples in Myanmar
The cost of living in most of Asia is so low that savings can go a long way. I have high standards for my accommodations and while traveling, I usually spent about $20 to $25 per night in hotels. My lower maintenance friends found simpler places for $6 a night in India. Food usually costs around $3. After six weeks in India, I considered a $5 lunch bill expensive.
There have been times along the way when I have felt lost
From time to time, I experienced periods of feeling unstable and lacking a sense of purpose.
Over the years, I’ve learned that those periods of doubt and uncertainty will continue to surface. But I also learned to keep believing, and the way forward would eventually reveal itself.
People often ask me if I’ve ever been scared while traveling alone in Asia. I never have been – except a few times in India, when I rode some unsafe high Himalayan roads without handrails. But the people? I never had a reason to be.
After a year away, I found an opportunity to teach yoga in a small mountain town in Myanmar. Life there was quiet, simple and beautiful. I lived there for 9 months and was deeply happy most of the time. But there were times when I felt lonely.
The locals were sweet and kind, with love in their eyes and actions, but I missed having friends who spoke my language fluently, with whom I could have deep conversations over a glass of wine. And the meeting scene? Non-existent.
Moore found a partner who loves global travel as much as she does. Sonya Moore
I found love during my travels
Another yoga teaching opportunity took me to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Siem Reap is not a big city, but after my life in my small town in Myanmar, it felt like Manhattan. There were so many restaurants, bars, social events, friends, and even some attractive singles.
I fell in love with the city, the quality of life and the locals. It was easy to get a tourist or work visa to live here for a long time, and it was almost as cheap as India and Myanmar.
I was living in Siem Reap when COVID-19 hit. At the time, I was in a long-distance relationship with a Frenchman I met during my travels. After the closed borders of the pandemic kept us apart for 7 months, I moved to France to be with him.
Our story was long and winding, but it felt like fate. He loves global travel like me. We have been together for four years and live together in Papua New Guinea. Our plan is to return to a nomadic lifestyle with slow travel. My career has gradually evolved to include the creative pursuits that light me up inside: retreats, writing, photography, and yoga.
I am deeply grateful to my former self for choosing to leave the US. Sometimes I miss my family and friends, but thanks to technology, our connection remains alive across the distance and I come back to visit once a year.
I still love America and feel lucky to have been born and raised there. But there’s a big world out there waiting to be discovered.
Do you have a personal essay about moving to Asia that you’d like to share? Contact the editor at akarplus@businessinsider.com.