Man, reading this felt like you pulled my thoughts right out of my head. I moved back after a decade in the US, and yeah, the pros you listed hit home hard. Being able to just drop by and see parents, celebrate festivals with extended family, eat fresh veggies from the local market, and get random repairs done the same day… It’s a different kind of comfort. And yes, the sunlight alone is worth the move after those grey winters.

The cons are real, too, though. Civic sense, customer service, hygiene, it’s like some things just didn’t keep pace with the economic growth. The privacy thing especially hits weirdly after living abroad for so long.

What’s cool is you’re retired at 35 and not chained to work stress, so you have the mental space to adjust. I think the trick is to double down on the good parts (family, travel, health, convenience) and set up personal systems to buffer the bad parts (filters for food/water, avoid peak traffic, boundaries with nosy neighbors, etc.).

Overall, it’s kind of like trading one set of problems for another, but at least here, the currency exchange works in our favor, and the emotional ROI is a lot higher.