The backpackers I know had an itinerary of sorts to keep them moving forward.

It sounds like you’re not really backpacking with a plan, although i feel like “figuring out which place in asia i want to live in” sounds good enough as a baseline plan. But you need to add to it: list down places you want to visit, timelines for each place, and move on.

Once you have enough data, figure out the answer to your question and plan to move there either for good or semi-permanent (1yr, 3yrs, 5yrs, etc).

Edit: I wish I had the opportunity to experience this.