Well, I have and not only did I contemplate it, but I did it for FIVE years. Pretty wild, I know. I heard it all the time, especially from my friends still living in major cities like LA and NYC.
"What? Are you crazy? Your going to live there?'
"Your staying longer?'
"When are you planning to come back to the real world?"
I still remember them asking, while I chuckled to myself from the "non " real part of the world. What was so bad about leaving it all behind? What was I really leaving behind? Pollution? Stress? Unrealistic social ideals? Traffic? Small Talk? A concrete jungle? Instead, I feel I had gained things I would have never be able to find in a city. Like a piece of mind for example. You have any idea how hard those are to come across these days with all the distractions a city has to offer! I also gained some fresh clean tropical air! I bet you didn't see that coming. Yes, my fake part of the world had some really fresh air. And to top it all off I gained TIME! This I must say was one of my most prized possession. I'll get into the importance of time in a later post. But, to gain time in a literal sense is something priceless. I gained time to think, sit, breathe, cook my own meals, explore new hobbies, watch the sunset and rise. I gained time for times' own sake.
Moving to an Island and leaving it all behind was the biggest gain of my life. Now, I won't lie. It is not an easy thing to do and it does require some patience. You see, Island people, because they have so much time-- they tend to take their time-- with everything. From New York City to Dominican Republic the time it took to get a cup of coffee in a coffee shop could drive someone mad. But 'Hey' in exchange for some fresh air-- its okay. You learn to deal. It was hot living on an island so who needs hot coffee anyway...
Most importantly, I must say living on an island really allowed me to stop, think, reflect and figure out what I wanted most from life. Something that I had a very hard time doing in a city. I feel like I was never really doing what I wanted to do. Instead, I feel like I was always doing what I thought I was supposed to be doing (according to the media/masses). In a city your perception of reality is really distorted. Your start believing that the things portrayed on television are real. You convince yourself that success only means money and fame. That people are means to an end and that conversations should be a calculated exchange of boast and praise.
Done were the days where I identified with the social ideals of no one I really knew but myself. By moving to an island I decided to redefine the social constructs that had so indiscreetly hindered me and my true potential. I learned to believe in myself, value my own beliefs, appreciate time, nature and life. And, with that, I realized that I had my own definition of success and they had nothing to do with money or fame.