From Canada to Japan | How Quitting my Job Changed My Life

SUMMARY

Brendan, a Canadian expat in Japan, recounts quitting his job twice—first for New Zealand, then with family to Thailand and Japan—sharing lessons on personal growth, curiosity, and starting abroad via working holiday visas.

STATEMENTS

In his early 20s, Brendan followed the conventional path of completing undergrad, entering the workforce, and earning a professional designation, yet felt it was narrow despite his success.
At mid-20s, after a promotion, he quit his job and moved to New Zealand on a one-year working holiday visa, driven by curiosity about life beyond his routine.
The New Zealand experience transformed him, providing perspective on his capabilities and inspiring a career pivot into a new field upon returning to Canada.
Over the next decade, he built a successful career and family, but quiet questions resurfaced about whether that was all life offered.
In his mid-30s, he quit again, sold his house with his wife, and moved to Thailand for its relaxed pace, then to Japan for its stimulating challenges.
Both moves stemmed from a desire for self-understanding rather than escape, revealing that growth occurs in discomfort paired with curiosity.
Quitting twice clarified his life, showing careers and identities are not linear or fixed, and true security comes from adaptability.
Stability and exploration are both valid; the issue is not choosing one, but failing to choose intentionally.
A consistent thread in his life is curiosity, embracing discomfort, and actively participating in life rather than just managing it.
He promotes working holiday visas for Canadians aged 18-35, offering free access to work and live in over 35 countries, with support from Languages Canada.

IDEAS

Society's "default path" of education and stable career can feel confining even when successful, prompting a deeper search for life's broader possibilities.
Quitting a thriving job for an uncertain abroad adventure can reveal untapped personal capabilities and foster profound perspective shifts.
A single year abroad isn't a mere detour but a seed that reshapes career choices and builds lasting confidence.
Comfortable environments like Thailand may provide ease but fail to sustain fulfillment without added challenge.
Japan's structured yet inflexible society highlights how growth thrives in moderate discomfort that sparks curiosity.
Major life decisions driven by self-exploration, not dissatisfaction, lead to clearer identity and non-linear career paths.
Rebuilding life multiple times proves that security often lies in adaptability rather than permanence.
Intentional choice between stability and exploration is key; autopilot living diminishes personal agency.
Family dynamics change the stakes of abroad moves, yet the core motivation for growth remains universal across life stages.
Organizations like Languages Canada simplify international leaps by handling visas, travel, and job placements, blending adventure with security.

INSIGHTS

Embracing calculated risks outside comfort zones expands life's horizons, turning potential detours into foundational growth experiences.
True fulfillment arises not from ease or stability alone, but from balancing curiosity-driven challenges with intentional choices.
Careers and identities evolve fluidly; rigid paths limit potential, while adaptive pivots unlock deeper self-understanding.
Discomfort paired with curiosity catalyzes personal evolution, proving growth requires active participation over passive management.
Security is rebuilt through proven resilience, making repeated leaps more empowering than fear of the unknown.
Supporting structures like guided visa programs democratize global exploration, making bold steps accessible without overwhelming uncertainty.

QUOTES

"It just felt narrow, like the world was bigger than the path that I was on."
"Growth doesn't happen when everything is easy. It happens when you're slightly uncomfortable, but still curious."
"Both times I wasn't running away from something. I was running towards understanding myself better."
"Quitting my job twice didn't derail my life. It clarified it."
"Every time I've stepped outside of my comfort zone, my life has expanded."

HABITS

Regularly reflecting on inner questions like "Is this it?" to assess if current paths align with deeper curiosities.
Embracing discomfort through international moves to foster personal growth and adaptability.
Pivoting careers intentionally into unfamiliar fields based on gained perspectives from experiences.
Prioritizing curiosity over long-term planning when making life-changing decisions.
Seeking support from organizations for practical steps like visas and job alignments to ease transitions.

FACTS

Working holiday visas are free for Canadians aged 18 to 35, allowing work and living in over 35 countries.
Languages Canada, a government-recognized organization, assists with visa applications, travel arrangements, and pre-arrival job placements.
Job opportunities through such programs include English teaching in South Korea and Taiwan, and hospitality roles in Europe, Japan, and Australia.
Brendan's first move to New Zealand involved self-arranging everything, from flights to handing out CVs locally for work.
Thailand offers a warm, affordable, slower-paced life, while Japan provides stimulating, complex cultural immersion with less flexibility.

REFERENCES

Working Holiday Visa registration: https://shorturl.at/n3Sot
List of 35+ countries for work: https://shorturl.at/0Rmfz
Languages Canada organization for visa and job support
New Zealand as first abroad destination on working holiday
Thailand and Japan as subsequent family relocation spots
Brendan's YouTube channel playlist: Life in Japan

HOW TO APPLY

Assess your current life path by reflecting on feelings of confinement or curiosity about broader possibilities, even if externally successful.
Research working holiday visa options if aged 18-35, noting it's free and covers over 35 countries for Canadians.
Contact Languages Canada for assistance with visa applications, travel bookings, and securing jobs in teaching or hospitality before departure.
Prepare practically by updating your CV and considering roles like English teaching in Asia or hospitality in Europe and Australia.
Upon arrival, immerse in the culture while working, using the experience to gain perspective and plan future career pivots or returns.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Quitting stable paths for curious abroad adventures clarifies identity and expands life through intentional, discomfort-embracing choices.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Consider a working holiday visa as a low-risk entry to international living, especially with organizational support for jobs and logistics.
Intentionally evaluate your "default path" periodically to ensure it aligns with personal growth rather than societal expectations.
Balance comfort-seeking destinations like Thailand with challenging ones like Japan to sustain long-term fulfillment.
Involve family in major moves by focusing on shared self-discovery, adapting plans to life stages like marriage and kids.
Pass on opportunities like working holiday visas to younger networks if you're over 35, fostering generational exploration.

MEMO

In the crisp autumn light of Vancouver, Brendan traced the contours of a life that defied the neat lines of convention. A decade ago, fresh from university and a professional certification, he had checked all the boxes: steady job, rising trajectory. Yet, as he climbed the corporate ladder, a quiet unease gnawed at him—not resentment toward the work, but a sense that the world stretched far beyond its rungs. "It just felt narrow," he later reflected, capturing the subtle rebellion that propelled him to quit after his first promotion and board a flight to New Zealand. There, on a one-year working holiday visa, he traded boardrooms for unfamiliar horizons, handing out resumes in small towns and discovering a resilience he never knew he possessed.

Returning to Canada, Brendan didn't revert to his old script. The seed planted abroad bloomed into a bold career shift, one that spanned a successful decade marked by promotions, a growing family, and the facade of stability. But those familiar whispers returned in his mid-30s: Is this it? With his wife and children in tow, they sold their home and ventured forth again—this time to Thailand's balmy embrace, where affordable living and a languid rhythm offered respite. It was idyllic, yet Brendan soon realized comfort alone couldn't quench his thirst for more. Seeking stimulation, they pressed on to Japan, a land of meticulous order and cultural depth that tested their adaptability amid language barriers and rigid routines.

What unites these leaps, Brendan explains, isn't circumstance—single and carefree at 25, encumbered by family at 35—but a singular drive: toward self-understanding, not away from discontent. Growth, he insists, flourishes not in ease but in that sweet spot of discomfort laced with curiosity. Japan's complexities, from its efficient trains to its unspoken social codes, mirrored the internal challenges he faced years earlier in New Zealand's wilds. Quitting twice didn't shatter his life; it sharpened it, proving careers needn't be linear and security often resides in the knowledge that one can rebuild from scratch.

For those itching to chart their own course, Brendan points to practical gateways like the working holiday visa, a free portal for young Canadians to 35 nations. Through Languages Canada, the leap becomes less daunting: visas secured, flights booked, jobs in teaching or hospitality lined up before touchdown. He regrets not knowing such aids a decade ago, when he arrived in New Zealand with little more than grit. Now, from his home in Japan, he urges intentionality—choose exploration or stability, but choose deliberately, lest life slips into unmanaged autopilot.

Brendan's story isn't a blueprint for all; stability holds its own virtues. Yet in an era of scripted ambitions, his path reminds us that true expansion comes from stepping off the trail. As he camps through Japan's serene landscapes, pondering the next chapter, one truth endures: every venture beyond the familiar has widened his world, inviting others to do the same.