Everybody likes to ask: "Where are you from?"
This question is hard for me to answer.
1984 — I was born in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania, Romania.
2007 — I moved to China when I was 22. Mostly out of curiosity. I did not know anything about China, except warnings from friends that people over there "eat dogs".
2011 — After more than 4 years in Beijing I left the city of smog on my bicycle to travel Asia.
2012 — One year later I decided to settle in Yogyakarta, Indonesia while working remotely in Berlin.
2013 — After one year in Java, I bought an old farm house back in Romania, in the beautiful Banat Highlands. Lived there for 6 years, cutting wood from my own forest to heat myself in the winter and getting online with a satellite connection, working remotely and traveling frequently in Europe and Asia. While this lifestyle was amazing, I decided life is too short to waste it burning wood 5-6 months every year, so I decided to set up a secondary base in a warm place for spending the winters.
2020 — I went to Bali in early 2020 planning to spend 2 months to get to know the place and decide whether it would be suitable for my winter base. But then 2020 happened and I ended up staying 15 months in Bali instead.
2021 — I returned to my farm house in Romania where I started CASA art retreat.
I am mostly location-independent, but I like to stay in one place for a long time. I don't like the concept of "digital nomad".
So, where I am from? Romania, China, Java, Bali, and countless other places that influenced me over time.