In the first days of winter, mass moods are divided into three waves: the first part of humanity grumbles about the weather and sings hymns to coffee, the second shares delight of Christmas and just a pleasant winter hustle and bustle, and the third, which every year becomes more and more numerous, annoys both of them with photos from warm, mostly Asian countries. It became interesting for us to reflect on this phenomenon, which is customary for everyday life, but significant for history.

While Instagram sings the hymns to coffee and cats, we surprisingly for ourselves sing the hymns to the digital era. Not only watching the trend of winter relocation in warm regions, but its existence itself would not be possible without the ability to earn remotely, which gives the Internet. In addition to earning, there are many other aspects: from the availability of independent tourism to mass popularization of life in a style of bounty, which marketing of the last century has cultivated. From causes to consequences: the purpose of today’s material is to create a clearer picture of what is happening: why and where go those who do not see reasons for putting up with the climatic and socio-political reality of Western countries anymore.

Considering the wintering in Asian countries as a trend, we are talking only about young people from the northwestern countries, excluding the more adult generation, families, companies, and residents of southern states, for whom living in Asia is also relevant, but for other reasons.

So, the trend of winter migration to Asian countries according to Popsop research is typical for 5 categories of young people:

1. Freelancers/young entrepreneurs.

To this category, we refer all those for whom income is not a geographically dependent concept: from fitness trainers to programmers.

2. Travel bloggers/photographers.

A special category of young people, striving for knowledge of the world and the opportunity to share discoveries, more about the goals and values of which we spoke here. Brooke supplements the picture with a worthy and exemplary female example.

3. Search for mental and physical harmony

To this category, we refer the followers of the spiritual culture of Asian countries, primarily India. It is worth to note that those who go to Asia for the purpose of spiritual practice (including yoga) can be considered the founders of all that is happening. We cite the example of a young man from America and his view of Armenia on the way to Nepal — forget about the consciousness limits.

4. Search for physical harmony

«My body simply does not physically accept this cold, I can not go out into the street, where to find normal fruits, I’d rather go to Tai!» — from the middle of an autumn, Instagram floods the protest of vegans and especially raw food against the northwestern reality. They are increasingly active in terms of the Asian wintering and present this category the first. The second — fitness trainers, coaches of a healthy lifestyle, instructors to improve the physical shape, etc.

4. Search for vivid sensations

Asian countries provide an opportunity to rest not only on a rare scenic in terms of nature and culture but also very budget. Therefore, a considerable category is young people, for whom bright sensations are the main vector of existence — backpackers.

In order to track the direction of winter migrations we selected three main destinations — Indonesia (Bali), Thailand (Phuket, Samui) and India (Goa), and then in each category identified 100 native Instagram users who are in each of these states at this moment. The data is reflected on the map.

Example: among those who spend the winter in Thailand, 56% of the inhabitants of Russia. Among those who are in India, 6% are citizens of Belarus.

The planet is changing at a tremendous speed, and above all at the level of people’s consciousness. The trend of winter migration in Asia is a freedom of choice and interaction, a self-realization, and a creation of a separate world in which common values, not social conventions, come to the fore. When you observe what is happening, especially so concentrated and intense, there is a feeling of parallel reality in which every second instead of standard words about the profession and age in a profile info prefers to talk about God, love, dreams and the desire to make the world a better place. And who knows, maybe it is time for us to stop considering this as artificial.