Beyond the Comfort Zone

I’m writing this blog post from Thailand from my little Condo in Hua Hin, with more time on my hands than ever before.  The decision to move to Asia was a spontaneous one. Mick my boyfriend of three years and I were sitting on the couch at his family home one rainy evening in November after work, scrolling through Skyscanner for the best deals to Thailand. To our surprise, we found tickets for just €300. I couldn’t believe it! Without thinking too much, I blurted out, “If you don’t book it now, we’ll never go.” And just like that, we did. No discussions with family or friends—just a one-way ticket to Asia.

At the time, I had been working for four years in Mick’s family business, where I truly discovered my love for fashion. That made telling his family about our plans a little trickier. Finding the perfect moment proved more difficult than we had anticipated. It was a whirlwind of emotions—the excitement of change and the unknown mixed with the guilt of leaving everything behind.

Months passed, and our departure date crept closer. We knew we had to tell people eventually. It’s funny how life keeps you attached with so many invisible strings, making you feel like you can’t break free. Or maybe that was just in my head—me overthinking, as I tend to do. Because when we finally told our loved ones, they were incredibly happy for us and supportive of our decision. It left me wondering, “Why did we wait so long to tell them?”

Time moved faster than we expected, and I tried to save as much money as possible before leaving Ireland. This would be the first time in nearly ten years that I’d be living off my savings without any income coming in—terrifying. And I wouldn't call myself the best at saving. I have always enjoyed traveling, and it was hard to say no to it for the five months we had from the time we bought our tickets. I couldn’t continue my job in the family business since my role wasn’t remote. Mick, on the other hand, was lucky enough to continue working remotely. But beyond the financial worries, what stressed me out the most was leaving behind the life I had built in Ireland.

After 15 years of living there, only the last five truly felt like home. I was happy in my job, I had amazing friends, and nearly my entire family was in Ireland. I started thinking about what it would be like coming back in a year or two, only to find that everything had changed—people moving on, getting used to me not being around. I was also worried that at 27 years old, I should probably start thinking about my career. My friends were all getting promotions, starting their own businesses—while I was busy deciding what to pack in my suitcase.

Mick had done this many times before. He had lived in Vietnam and China and traveled extensively. He couldn’t quite grasp my emotions about leaving or my fears of friends moving on without me.

As much as moving to Asia excited me, I was scared of change. But looking back now, I’m so glad I pushed past that fear, packed my bags, and left. Every day here is a new experience, full of fresh emotions and perspectives. It feels like a new breath of life—like I can create my world from scratch, undefined by anything, with no strings attached. And that feeling? It’s absolutely priceless.

And as for my friends and family, we actually talk more now than we used to. And it's a really engaged conversation, where they want to hear all about my travels, and I want to hear all about their adventures back home. It's only been a month today since we moved, but I am so happy, and I am looking forward to seeing what I will learn along the way.

I guess we all have our own paths to walk and this is just a little reminder to embrace the things that scare us. Often, the fear comes from stepping outside our comfort zones, but that's what makes these experiences truly special.