In 2019, simply after her thirtieth birthday, Aleese Lightyear left a profession in actuality TV manufacturing behind to show English as a second language in China.
On the time, Lightyear was incomes round $100,000 a yr, working eight months out of the yr.
“I used to be residing test to test, which sucked. My previous couple of years residing and dealing in New York Metropolis have been a few of the most traumatic years of my life,” Lightyear tells CNBC Make It. “I used to be bored with working 70 hours every week for ten years. Being in my 20s, I felt like a 50-year-old lady.”
It was a fast Google search that helped Lightyear resolve to go away life as she knew it in New York Metropolis, for one thing very totally different.
She searched “How do I earn a living and journey the world?” and the outcome on the very high of the record was all about educating English overseas. She then spoke with a coworker who had taught in South Korea, and began studying as a lot as she might about what it could take to show abroad with no expertise.
For the remainder of that yr, she took on numerous odd jobs to complement her earnings. As a freelancer, Lightyear had no retirement financial savings, advantages, or medical health insurance.
“On paper [it] sounds nice, however New York Metropolis is without doubt one of the world’s costliest cities, in order that $100,000 went extraordinarily quick,” Lightyear says. “I ought to have been saving for these issues. I used to be residing test to test, which sucked. My previous couple of years residing and dealing in New York Metropolis have been a few of the most traumatic years of my life.”
Lightyear dietary supplements her instructor’s wage with content material creation.
Marc Aziz Ressang for CNBC Make It
After finishing a 13-week program to get a Educating English as a Overseas Language (TEFL) certification, Lightyear moved to Beijing.
She lived within the Chinese language capital for 4 years, working as a instructor, earlier than relocating to Chengdu in 2023, the place she presently teaches English essay writing at a college. Lightyear works 18 hours every week, 4 days every week and has a yearly wage of about $30,000 USD.
″$30,000 a yr is poverty in America however in China, I am residing massive,” she says.
A few of the advantages and perks of Lightyear’s job embody free medical health insurance, a journey stipend, a flight allowance, two months of paid summer season and winter trip, and a hire stipend.
Lightyear took a pay reduce when she left her educating job in Beijing, however does not remorse it as a result of life within the Chinese language capital began to really feel too just like her time in New York Metropolis.
“I did not transfer all the way in which internationally to work as a lot as I did in New York,” she says. “My present work-life steadiness is a dream. I can have time to take action many various hobbies, to take the time to truly study the language and to do no matter I would like once I need, and that feels wonderful. I simply really feel so fortunate and completely happy to have the ability to have a lot time to myself.”
Lightyear moved to Chengdu in 2023.
Marc Aziz Ressang for CNBC Make It
In Chengdu, Lightyear lives in a pre-furnished three-bedroom, one-bathroom condominium with a balcony and laundry room. Due to the hire stipend , Lightyear pays solely $278 for her lodging.
She additionally spends about $15 a month for her Web, cellular phone and Wi-Fi, $75 a month on groceries, $50 a month on electrical energy and $150 a month on consuming out — roughly $568 a month in bills. That does not embody her water and fuel invoice, which Lightyear says she nonetheless hasn’t needed to pay for as a result of her landlord pay as you go for these utilities earlier than she moved into the condominium.
Lightyear additionally works as a content material creator and has an lively YouTube channel. That supplemental earnings permits her to save lots of as much as $1,000 a month.
“I have never saved sufficient cash to purchase a home within the U.S. however I’ve saved sufficient cash to repay a whole lot of my scholar loans and I feel I’ve saved sufficient cash to purchase a bit of casita on the seashore in Mexico,” she says. “Fingers crossed that’s the plan.”
Lightyear says she spends about $75 USD on groceries every month.
Marc Aziz Ressang for CNBC Make It
Lightyear just lately renewed her lease and plans to remain in Chengdu for at the least one other yr or so. After that, the 35-year-old American plans to return residence to Michigan, the place she is going to resolve the place to settle subsequent.
Whereas Lightyear is aware of she’s prepared to go away China, she does not know if there’s one other nation she might transfer to that may give her the identical thrill.
“I simply suppose China is the toughest nation to reside and journey in as a non-Chinese language individual, so I do know that something aside from this will probably be a lot simpler, however I concern that I’d discover that boring,” she says. “In China, I can problem myself every single day and I do know that abroad, after some time, these challenges go away.”
Conversions from Chinese language Yuan to USD have been completed utilizing the OANDA conversion price of 1 Chinese language Yuan to 0.14 USD on July 3, 2025. All quantities are rounded to the closest greenback.
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