I've had 3 different careers in 3 countries. I'm finally learning how to slow down on an island in Southeast Asia.

• Clara Davis, now 38, left her job as a paralegal in Washington, DC, to teach English in China. • She co-founded a creative agency in Shanghai, but the pandemic made her rethink work and life. • Four years ago, she relocated to Bali, where she and her husband have opened a restaurant and coworking space.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Clara Davis, 38, the founder of Unravel, cofounder of Taste Collective in Shanghai, and Roots in Bali. Her words have been edited for length and clarity.

My parents, both lawyers, laid a path that seemed predetermined: law school followed by a stable corporate career.

After graduating from George Washington University with a bachelor's degree in international relations, I became a paralegal at a law firm in DC. I thrived on the