My Migration Record: I Never Thought I'd Move to an Island in My 40s

I never imagined I would move

I've seen documentaries in magazines and other media about
people of a certain age moving domestically or abroad to "start a new life."
Even though I occasionally saw stories of island life on TV or social media,
it always felt like a story from another world.
At the time, I was working on the main island, wandering around town on my days off,
and if I was dissatisfied with my job,
I would change jobs while based in my then-current residence,
thinking I would just continue to spend my days
based in my home region of Kansai.
That was a little over two years ago,
when a chance encounter led me to visit Ishigaki Island,
and the flow of my life changed.
I quit the job I had been holding down until then,
and after thinking long and hard about,
"Is it okay to keep going like this?" I decided, "I'll work on Ishigaki Island."
──It was a conclusion reached after much thought, but
"If I'm going, I want to go soon."
Before I knew it, that led to the decision to change jobs and move.
My various conflicts are here ↓

After deciding on a job during a month and a half of job hunting,
I only had one month of preparation time before starting work.
Cleaning up the house, handing over work duties, and looking for a place to live.
The tasks were piling up,
and for the last few days, my mind and body were completely overheated.
I ended up with a fever and was bedridden, which was quite a dramatic finale.
But strangely, I didn't have a single feeling of "I shouldn't have done this."
I think if I hadn't had that momentum, I would never have been able to move in my life.

I never thought I would become "the kind of person who migrates."

Moving in my 40s was pushed forward
by a little bit of recklessness rather than caution.

Once I lived there, every day was an experiment

The first thing I felt when I started living on the island was
the sense that "my life isn't customized for me yet."
The work was new, and I had to learn the workplace flow and relationships from scratch.
Until I got used to it, every day was a scramble,
and I would fall asleep the moment I got home.
Even so, strangely, I didn't dislike it.
I think it was because I had the realization that
"I am now living in a new land."

My days off started with touring supermarkets.
I couldn't find ingredients that were common on the main island.
Conversely, there were unfamiliar island ingredients lined up,
and it was fresh to go through trial and error
to figure out what to buy and how to eat it.
Since there was no bakery nearby,
I started baking my own bread, which was a byproduct of that time.

When I was on the main island, my days off
usually consisted of shopping, movies, and walking around town.
But on the island, even if I thought about wandering around town,
once you go around Euglena Mall, that's it...
Instead, I go to cafes, look at the sea, or read books at the library.
The way I spend my time changed from "consumption" to "staying."
I think island life was a small life experiment every day.

Human relationships and the "reason not to return"

One of the pleasures on the island was exploring bars.
Many of the people I met there
were people who had migrated just like me.
Naturally, connections between migrants increased,
and it feels like I've made "friends to live here with."
(This is my personal impression!)
Since I have time, I end up going out for drinks,
and it's charming that my Engel coefficient has exploded...

On the other hand, the so-called "Shimanchu" (island people)
aren't necessarily overly friendly,
but the sense of distance where they don't intrude excessively
was very comfortable for me.
There is a sense of security in not being treated with strange caution.
Thankfully, I have almost no trouble with interpersonal relationships in my private life.

However, there were difficult moments in work relationships.
But rather than trying to "change people,"
I think it became much easier by "changing how I interact."

Don't intrude more than necessary.Just that makes the world peaceful.

And before I knew it, it had been a little over two years since I came to the island.
I've returned home a few times for visits,
but I've never once thought about quitting my migration and "going back" to my hometown.
I think that is my own answer to whether this migration is going well.