JohnBardos.net

My Story

In university, I realized I never wanted to work in a cubicle for a big company. One day, I’d had enough. On impulse, I bought a ticket to Japan, set to leave just a week later.

I arrived with no job, no work visa, and only about $1,000 to my name.

Two years later, I was married and running a small English school in Nara, Japan. My wife and I built that business together over the next 10 years. I created my own teaching materials and even developed an online learning platform where kids could practice English through fun games.

Starting and growing that business was one of the best experiences of our lives. We worked long hours, but we loved every minute of it. Looking back, I can see that the most rewarding times weren’t when we had the most—but when we had the least and worked the hardest. The struggle, not the achievements, made life meaningful.

The English school gave us time, money, and the ability to travel. We bought a house, a new car, and everything we thought we wanted. Life was objectively good—but something still felt missing.

For the first time, I began questioning everything I thought I knew about success. We had reached our goals, yet they didn’t bring the fulfillment we expected.

We realized that while a house, a car, and nice things could bring some enjoyment, they also came with added responsibilities. It felt like we were always cleaning, organizing, repairing, renovating, or shopping for something new. That’s when I truly understood the saying: “The things you own end up owning you.”

After years of dreaming about a different life, my wife and I made a one-year plan to change both our country and our careers. I publicly announced it on my old blog, JetSetCitizen, which gave us the accountability we needed to follow through. In early 2010, we left Japan. If you’re curious, you can still find my old posts reflecting on the fears and excitement of that transition.

From there, we embraced a travel-focused lifestyle, rotating between our favorite cities: Montreal, Chiang Mai, Osaka, and Budapest.

Then, in 2014, our son was born—and our priorities became even clearer.

We realized that our most precious resource was time spent with family and friends. So, we made a deliberate decision to maximize our time with our son. We homeschooled him for years and still “world-school” when we travel.

One of the things I’m most proud of is that I spent as much time as possible with my son during his childhood. I can confidently say that very few fathers have had the privilege of being as present as I have.

As a family, we’ve made intentional choices to live what I call a low-friction lifestyle—minimizing obligations to free up time, money, and mental energy for what truly matters.

That’s why we no longer own a home, a car, or many possessions. That freedom allows us to live where we want and work on projects that excite us.

We also seek out 5-minute neighborhoods—places where everything we need is just a short walk away. There’s something deeply liberating about not having to live a car focused lifestyle. We can walk to our local bakery, fruit stand, super market, gym, and cafés within minutes.

By keeping our living costs low, we have the flexibility to focus on meaningful work. Today, I’m fortunate enough to donate 25% of my profits to charity. So far, my projects have raised $167,474—and counting.

The ability to work on my own projects, while making a positive impact, is what truly energizes me.

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