After nearly two and a half years of travel in Southeast Asia, seduced by my YouTube algorithm promising a perfect escape from America, I’ve come to realize that moving to Bali wasn’t the fix I thought it would be. Sure, I saw the dream sold online—a foreign paradise where you could reinvent yourself, live a more budget friendly life, and escape the grind. It worked for some, but not for me.
While I infiltrated the “influencer” circle, both intentionally and by accident, I met people on all sides of the spectrum—some making real, sustainable moves and others surviving on likes and the illusion of success. The truth? Many Americans brought the same fundamental financial struggles overseas. Wherever you go, there you are.
In 2024, we see countless vlogs of Americans bragging about "cheap" luxury apartments in foreign lands, but behind the scenes, some are still battling the same paycheck-to-paycheck existence. Sure, the cost of living is lower for the "Average Joe", but some influencers I met in Thailand were scraping by on $300 a month. Yes, major influencers with tens of thousands of followers. That financial struggle doesn’t vanish because you’ve changed your geography.
I left America with my partner, and we had over $60K saved up—real money, real accomplishments. But even then, the "fantasy" didn’t hold. Visa runs, temporary escapes, and digital nomad life? It’s not sustainable, not for building a life and family or a community. After all, what about the life and family I left behind in America? The deeper issue is that many of us didn’t have our financial foundations in place before we left. Myself included, as a result of the pandemic, I was in $80K business debt but still earning six figures, so why did I think running away was the answer?
Trading was my primary focus. I was up all night in Southeast Asia, catching the U.S. market hours, immersed in charts, and making trades. That was my real income. The consulting gig in sales was just an extra stream during the American day, and I also juggled some internet marketing businesses on the side. Trading was what kept everything afloat, while the rest was just added hustle. It was the markets that kept me going, even when the other ventures were inconsistent.
Yes, I have the moments of surfing exotic beaches and swimming in a rooftop pool at the most prestigious luxury condominium but instead of fully living the journey, I felt like I was documenting it because the "algorithm" convinced me that my purpose was to share the experience rather than truly immerse myself in it. And naively, I took the bait.
I was caught in the same cycle of chasing validation—through likes, views, and content creation—until my social media accounts got banned for being accessed from another country.
However, the real journey was the internal work that I was doing which meant ignoring external things I felt were beyond my control. Bali didn’t fix my problems; it magnified them. After a few quick therapy sessions-I became relaxed, complacent, and before I knew it, life hit again. The company I was with furloughed employees, and I was back at square one—figuring it out on half of my 6 fig salary, but in a foreign land.
The influencer hustle paints a dream, but not the reality of over-leveraged businesses, isolation, and endless Visa runs. In the next few years, my prediction is that many Americans will be forced to leave these “paradises” as countries suffer a blow from a failing US economy and a "meaningless" US dollar. The truth is, moving abroad can be a temporary fix, but it won’t cure your financial habits or the deeper work you need to do.
Bali won’t fix your broke-ness. Only you can do that.
T.L. Turner
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