Local and global people

There are two types of people. (The type that believes that there are two types of people and the type that does not. Just kidding.)

There are “global” people and then “local” ones.

The global folk are the ones who don’t care about the boundaries, including geo-political, cultural, or language. I was born in Moscow, Russia. But I never felt at home there. Like people who rediscover their gender later in life, I always felt wrong being there. I could never connect with people who loved Russia because, truthfully, I didn’t. (I hated it.) For me, immigration was never something I considered. It was never a choice. It wasn’t even immigration per se — when I had the opportunity, I just left. And never looked back. I now work with startups all over the globe. I have friends in the U.S., Emirates, Ukraine, and Georgia. Sometimes, I would go and live somewhere for a few months, just because I feel like it. I am not a “digital nomad” — but I am a global person.

Then there are the locals. I have nothing against loving your home. In a way, I envy people who love their home country because that’s a feeling I yet need to discover in the depths of my soul.

The local people are the ones who don’t see themselves outside the environment that fostered them. Yes, they might immigrate — but not really: they’d find people who speak their language and might never assimilate in a new place. They’ll find shops and restaurants that sell food from their country and have communities as homesick as they are, listening to…