Over the past few months many of my friends have been asking me, "Avo, hows Mongolia?" I often reply,
"hold up, let me check my iPhone.. Yup, -30F, which means the expats are still wearing their gas masks!
Despite the pollution and the vodka cajoling winters, I was totally struck by the country and began seeing myself living there. This vision became reality when I received a job offer and had accepted it. It was not until the Mongolian Immigration Office delayed my work visa for three months (whereafter I had gone to visit family in Europe) that I began to see things differently and came to new conclusions: Living the exotic life of an expat in such a wild and rustic country as Mongolia, developing investment proposals for your family office and traveling around the greater Asian region on weekends does sound great, but is it worth seriously risking your health and mental sanity during the darker months of the year?
From time to time I kick myself for not sacking up and staying there. Regardless, I'm satisfied with my decision. There are many opportunities in Mongolia, but lets not discount those in the United States, especially now that key asset prices are falling. Everything is measured in cycles.
