TE24 Life Style Desk:
When Jean Voronkova decided to quit her $120,000-a-year job as a mid-level attorney at a Big Four law firm nearly a decade ago her father hadn’t spoken to her for two years.
He was 29 at the time and it’s no wonder that many people at the time had no idea why he left his lucrative law job. It brought a lot of comfort in his life. Among them was a Dior bag. There is a place. It took Jean’s parents longer to accept that their daughter would never become the lawyer she wanted to be.
My dad thought I was on vacation for a few months because I was burned out. When they found out he didn’t talk to me for almost two years, Jean said. Her father’s reaction was the most emotional she added. The rest was all I could bear and deal with says Jean, now 39.
Gene says fame and status, the shiny things that accompany his good job, have never been on his agenda. Jean says her main reason for becoming a lawyer was to please her parents.
Raffles Her Girls She describes the life choices presented to us in Singapore after she attended her junior college and graduated from the National University’s Law School, from her Gifted School Victoria program. I was always unhappy about it he said. University of Singapore. About his expectations at the time, he said: It is not enough to be an accountant or an engineer.
A total of four choices in life? And they all look the same and horrible, she shared, adding that she knew from a young age that this was not the path for her. Didn’t like it at all. I didn’t know what I wanted, but I wanted something different.
However that became clear once he actually became a lawyer. Despite the large salary that comes with his job he is comforted by the idea that he will eventually be promoted to senior attorney.
I wasn’t motivated by the idea that if I kept working hard I would be able to get to where my boss was. understood
His age also influenced his decision. I felt that even when I passed my thirties I would not have the courage to leave my life with gold handcuffs etc.
After a career of more than six years, Jean Dove first embarked on a new life, flying from country to country to experience various jobs.
From teaching surfing in Vietnam and Sri Lanka to working as a freelance lawyer working with guests at his five-star resorts his relationship with his officials language teacher personal trainer Zumba teacher and more. I also served.
Jean also started four different businesses in the process. Beanbag selling gorgeous Brazilian swimwear then running my own yoga business and surfing school with her husband. The couple met while teaching surfing in Vietnam, married and started a business.
Most recently in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Jin returned to Singapore from Vietnam for several months where he worked as a FairPrice employee for three weeks but it was a Covid job he was one. Her husband Vitaly is Russian and lives in Moscow.
Plus she needs a change.
When Jean turned 38 last year, the couple packed up and moved to Bali. This is what they have been dreaming about and actively planning for years. The turning point came when the surf school they started in Vietnam went out of business and nothing held us back.
If our remaining monthly income is enough to cover our monthly living expenses in Bali, our target retirement destination it will be about US$1,500 (S$2,098) a month for both of us.
So how do we do that? Jean attributes this to four main factors. Planning fortunes, what he calls geoarbitrage and sacrifice.
In fact he shared these tips on how to reach his goals in his YouTube video released this June.
It only took us four years to reach our target volume with intensive investment and financial planning, Jin told AsiaOne. Rents from overseas real estate purchased by the couple make up the bulk of their $1,500 to $2,000 monthly passive income.
Jin is lucky that his couple’s surf school business and investment in Vietnam are profitable. The concept of geo-arbitrage or geographic arbitrage is another factor that has allowed them to save money more easily.
“Living in Vietnam accelerates our savings rate and allows us to earn money from our business in US dollars while enjoying the benefits of a moderate cost of living,” said Jin. Dream of doing it is actually very affordable in terms of cost of living said Jean. If they want to settle in Singapore, they will not.
Another important thing to mention is that the couple does not live a luxurious life and struggles with a simple yet comfortable lifestyle. Their house in Bali is a modest property with a garden. Rents less than $500 a month and drives a scooter for transportation.
Of course such a life comes with sacrifice. It was easiest to give up luxuries like shopping and designer handbags. The hardest part of my life choices is how they stifle my ability to be generous with my family, like taking them out to expensive meals or giving them extravagant gifts. i think
For example, when he returns to Singapore, his gatherings with friends will be at places like Yashe No Kung instead of Raffles Courtyard.
He’d rather make friends with people he wouldn’t mind meeting in a more casual setting than getting treats from friends in a more pleasant setting, he says. On the one hand what makes him worth the sacrifice is the absolute freedom he enjoys.
Life is your decision. You decide when what why and how you do most of the work. I enjoy this sense of self control the most.
For Jan, her story is about not conforming to typical Singaporean norms. Many people who make less money than me as lawyers have actually taken a similar alternative path, he shared. And they found different ways to make it work for themselves.
I know former professionals who have become Pilates teachers pottery teachers chiropractors bakers and restaurateurs. I don’t think many have left this path. Actually I can’t name them.
Jean’s parents also turned around and accepted her lifestyle. “The big turning point” came when his parents visited Vietnam.
They saw my life in the village, and they saw me teaching kitesurfing on the beach. They basically see how happy contented and peaceful I am and it’s a big change from when I was in the corporate world.
People like Jean who want to take a “different path” in life or perhaps aspire to the movement known as Financial Freedom Early Retirement (FIRE) are planning her next journey. Here are some easy tips on how to prepare for it
