“How can you wonder your travels do you no good, when you carry yourself around with you? You are saddled with the very thing that drove you away. A change of character, not a change of air, is what you need”. — Seneca

I have long been an advocate of the ancient Roman philosopher, Seneca, and the Stoic perspective on mindset.

And I still am.

I do believe that we are ultimately in control of how we choose to respond to what happens to us, and how we feel.

There’s a lot you can do to change your mindset.

Hit the gym.

Surround yourself with cool people.

Do interesting work.

Meditate.

Pursue creative projects.

Learn something new.

Journal.

Read philosophy.

Do yoga.

Go for a walk.

Get some sun.

Go to therapy.

And so on, and so forth.

But… such activities can deliver what amount to temporary boosts to our mood, or they can take a long time to deliver results — as with therapy.

So while I agree with the Stoic idea that the fundamental thing we can do to change how we feel is cultivate character, and improve how we engage with the world, I don’t agree that we always feel the same when we travel because we take ourselves with us.

If the reason you feel down is because the place you live lacks access to quality people and experiences, then it stands to reason that changing where you live can have a powerful impact on how you feel.

I recently found myself in a bit of a daze.

I was living in the picturesque coastal town of Torquay, an hour’s drive from Melbourne, Australia.

The town is best known for its surfing — home to global brands such as Rip Curl and Quiksilver, the Bells Beach Classic surf contest — a beach that was incidentally immortalized in the cult film Point Break, featuring a young Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze (even though the actual footage in the film came from a beach in Portland, Oregon).

In Torquay, I could fill my days with meaningful work, yoga, coastal hikes, and surfing, and yet…something was missing.

At the risk of sounding dramatic, I felt like I was dying a slow death.

So at the behest of many an entrepreneurial friend who had visited Bali in recent years, I was motivated to visit.

It was not my first visit to the island — I had been twice previously, for short holidays to party towns like Seminyak — but it was my first visit as a digital nomad, and one where I would be doing more working, cultivating new relationships, and adventuring, than partying.

In fact, I barely even got tipsy in my six weeks in Bali.

And within a week of touching down, I found my mood and lust for life heightened significantly.

Why? What was different?

Weather

According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, the probability of having a bad mood for the entire day decreased by 7% for each 5 °C increase in maximum temperature.

Going from Torquay, where the weather can hover around 15–20°C for much of the year, except the summer months, to Bali, where 30°C is par for the course, had an immediate impact on my mood, energy levels, and desire to get outside and active, and also the joy derived from those activities.

Surfing in Torquay in the winter, in a 4 millimetre thick wetsuit, with an overcast sky above is one thing. Surfing off the coast of Uluwatu, below blue skies and sun, is another.

People

I’ve been fortunate enough to do a lot of travel in my life, having visited well over 40 countries across four continents.

Balinese people are without doubt the friendliest I’ve encountered. They are a living embodiment of the idea that happiness stems from being happy with what you have, and exude contentment and joy — perhaps owing to the island lifestyle.

Not only that, but towns like Canggu and Uluwatu are full of digital nomads and expats, typically interesting people doing interesting things, who are always open to meeting new people and ultimately, enjoying what little time they have on this Earth.

This was in stark contrast to the people I found myself surrounded by in Torquay — young families, retirees, and the occasional surfer who works in hospitality.

Expenses

Running an online content agency in Bali means I could play the location arbitrage game. Making money in the west and spending it in a developing economy like Bali makes each dollar go a lot further.

One can set themselves up in a private beachside 2-bedroom villa with a pool and ocean views for the equivalent on a studio apartment in a crappy inner city suburb back home with a view of a brick wall.

This is to say nothing of food, coworking, travel and so on.

Essentially you can live a better lifestyle for less, and also save and invest a lot more if you choose to do so. One might also choose not to work as hard, and spend more time enjoying life.

Vibe Check

The final factor that had a huge impact on my subjective wellbeing was simply….the vibe. It’s hard not to let the energy of a place like Canggu sweep you up.

Compared to Torquay, where you can hear a pin drop most evenings, Canggu was alive with the sound of scooters, local vendors, expats, music, and tourists, seven days a week.

Final Thoughts

I’d like to caveat all of this by stressing that:

• this was a six-week long stay, and my experience of living here longer might be different
• a change of scenery, vibe, and so forth, can also amount to a mere distraction, coming at the expense of addressing underlying issues in one’s life such as a lack of job satisfaction, a healthy group of friends or community, or an intimate relationship
• individuals with chemical predispositions to feeling low, suffering from certain psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia should seek professional help

Steve Glaveski is the founder of innovation accelerator Collective Campus, content agency Sonic Boom, and author of Time Rich , host of the Future Squared podcast, and frequently contributes to Harvard Business Review. Find him on Twitter at @steveglaveski.

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