Admittedly that title was a bit of an exaggeration. But allow me to elaborate.
It’s not so often that I run into the predicament that is the American Dream. The one that drives people to work hard, so they can get a promotion and work even harder. It never seemed like a particularly satisfying hamster wheel to me, particularly when the individual’s interests aren’t even part of the equation.
So it’s more often that I encounter the other side of the glass, where the expats from all walks of life have cast off the reins of the so-called dream and embraced a different sort of living, one in which their passions have been reignited, and their appreciation for experiences has long since overtaken any desire they may have had for toys.
It’s their stories that, through contrast, remind me of the American Dream I’m supposed to be living — the one in which consumerism drives an entire nation toward acquisition of material possessions and prestige.