Tag Archives: Taiwan

The Freedom to Change Your Mind

11 Replies

About 3 months ago, Hsinya and I left Irvine, hopped on a plane, and flew to Taiwan. We expected to return early March—then we changed our minds and decided to stay for an entire year.

By becoming a Greenimalist, I had opened up a whole new world of possibilities. With no baggage or burdens tying me down, I had no obligation to return to California. If I didn’t want to return in 3 months, I didn’t have to—I was free to go wherever I chose.

There’s something amazing about being able to change your mind. I’m not talking about being indecisive, but rather the ability to pursue new opportunities as they come. Too often, we turn down new opportunities—not because we choose to, but because our obligations force us to.

Your ability to change depends on how many burdens you carry. The more weight, the harder it is to pack your bags and leave. Possessions increase your weight, and so do long-term contracts and financial debt. Each one is a type of shackle on your freedom.

A house can be a great investment, except it weighs you down. A car could get you to work faster, except it weighs you down. A dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, and refrigerator are all great, useful stuff, but each one slowly takes away your mobility. You lose the freedom of being able to spend time with your family, move to a better job elsewhere, or volunteer on worthwhile work. Once you start making irreversible commitments, it’s hard to turn back.

Some obligations are totally worth taking on. It’s worth losing some mobility to have a family or to work on a meaningful job. But I refuse to surrender my mobility in exchange for more stuff.

Life is full of unexpected surprises. It’s impossible to predict what opportunities will present themselves 10 years from now. 10 years ago, I was still in middle school; cell phones were a novelty; and Google was a small company. I have no idea what the next 10 years will bring. All I know for sure is that the more mass I take on, the fewer opportunities I’ll be able to pursue.

Last year, I could never have predicted that I’d have such a great time staying in Taiwan, that my Grandpa would be happy to have visitors, and that I’d be able to find a solid church here. If I had kept all that extra baggage back in Irvine, I would have to return—like it or not—because the high price of storage was driving me back home.

But because I didn’t carry so much dead weight, it was easy for me to change my mind. And so I did.

This post was inspired by Less Mass from software company 37Signals. I took their unconventional guide for creating lean, mean web apps and adapted it for everyday life.

Greenimalist in Taichung

10 Replies

As I mentioned earlier, Hsinya and I are traveling overseas to Taiwan by bringing only carry-on luggage. It’s an experiment in minimalist travel to help us save money, time, and the environment. Hsinya and I landed at Taoyuan airport around midnight on Sunday. It was a cramped, 14-hour international flight, but Hsinya’s family was overjoyed to see us when we arrived. Thanks to our minimalist luggage, we didn’t waste any time claiming baggage, so we checked out an hour earlier than other passengers. Her parents were confused about our minimalist luggage (That’s all you brought?), but they were definitely glad to leave the terminal so quickly.

A total of 4 bags will last us for 3 months.

My wife’s hometown, Taichung, is in the center of the country. Like other cities in Taiwan, Taichung has an aura different from any city I’ve seen in the United States. Taiwan is an industrialized nation, and Taichung is a vibrant commercial center. Of course, the locals import foreign brands like Pizza Hut or 7-Eleven, but even more impressive is their ability to adapt and create their own local versions of stores. Last night I visited Save & Safe (literally “Big Buyer” in Chinese), a multi-story shopping center triple the size of my local Walmart. At night, Taichung becomes a city of lights, since many stores–and their shoppers–never seem to sleep.

Trains run through the city.

Being a Greenimalist in Taichung will be a challenge, but I think the challenge is what makes living here exciting. In Irvine, it was easy for me to buy organic food or to ride a bicycle. In Southern California, sustainable living has entered into mainstream consciousness. Sustainable living, however, lags behind in poorer parts of the world, since the priority of rapid economic growth trumps everything else. But Greenimalist living should be universal; it should be just as practical for someone who lives in downtown Mexico City as it is for someone who lives in Irvine, California. Now that I’m in Taichung, I get a chance to experiment.

Like other international cities, most of Taichung is accessible only by roads, which are often dominated by fast cars and motorcycles. Trees are scarce, and fresh air is scarcer. Smog in Taichung is a serious health issue, and based on my experience, it’s much worse here than in downtown Los Angeles. I definitely won’t go cycling without a gas mask, but I probably won’t go biking at all because I’m afraid of getting flattened by a reckless driver.

At the same time, there are new opportunities here in Taichung. The farmers markets are more lively here because Taiwan has preserved part of its traditional food culture. It’s also very easy to live without a car, since the public transit system is excellent. There are trains, buses, and high speed railways that can take us practically anywhere in the country. Lastly, since Taiwan is a tiny island with scarce resources and space, water and energy conservation is stressed here far more than in America. Failure to recycle is punishable by fines.

So while green living hasn’t become popular just yet, I’m encouraged to discover it’s at least possible here in Taichung. If Greenimalist living is possible on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, it may be possible wherever you live, too.

Is it hard to be a Greenimalist in your city?

Carry-on Travel

Leave a reply

We're staying overseas for three months with only carry-on bags.

Traveling is most relaxing when you bring less.

Bringing too many possessions leads to stressful travel. In a way, excess baggage is symptomatic of our consumer culture: we stress ourselves by purchasing too much instead of making do with what we have.

Purchase less, reduce clutter, and simplify your travel plans. If you bring only carry-on luggage, you can avoid waiting for hours for your baggage at the airport. When you travel aboard a train or bus, you can easily carry all your possessions with you. Packing light makes for more flexible, more enjoyable travel.

Hsinya and I are going to fly to Taiwan this December bringing only carry-on luggage (1). We will be staying for three months, but we will only bring three backpacks worth of possessions to last us for the entire trip.

Here’s what I’m going to pack (including what I’ll be wearing):

  • 1 pair of pants
  • 1 pair of shorts
  • 2 shirts
  • 3 underwear
  • 3 hand towels
  • 2 pairs of socks
  • 1 pair of pajama pants
  • 1 swimsuit
  • 1 beanie
  • 1 sweater
  • Sunscreen
  • Pen
  • Wallet, Passport, Documents
  • Earplugs
  • Gas mask
  • Sunglasses
  • Laptop
  • Headset
  • Digital Camera

This gear will last me for three months. I will try to avoid making purchases while in Taiwan, aside from basic food and drink. My strategy for light travel: be resourceful with what you have.

  • We hand-wash our clothes every day under the sink or in the bathtub. We sun-dry or air-dry with a fan. It only takes a few minutes.
  • We layer our clothes so we don’t need to bring too many sweaters. Taiwan has moderate winters, so summer clothing worn in layers is probably enough to keep warm.
  • All our cooking and eating can be done out of a single pot. We may purchase or borrow a used cast-iron pot to stir-fry, stew, bake, and eat out of. It’s the only dish we’ll need. The same idea applies to utensils: I’m going to stick with a single fork and a single spoon.
  • Instead of bringing a bulky bath towel, I’m going to bring several hand-towels. They pack much smaller and I can use them to wipe my hands or dry off after a shower. Simply wring after use and let it air-dry.
  • I’m going to rely on my laptop for reading e-books, working online, making phone calls, looking up map directions, sending faxes, and possibly checking snail mail (2).

When you are resourceful with what you have, you won’t need so much.


If you could only pack a single backpack worth of equipment to live with for 3 months, what would you bring?

  1. Flying is bad for the environment. I regret having bought the plane tickets. I’m considering traveling by cargo freighter next year.
  2. Earth Class Mail is one of many solutions for checking snail mail online. I haven’t ever used it personally, though.