I left a corporate job in Canada to spend more time with my family. It took moving to 2 countries to get it right.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brendan Pon, 36, an entrepreneur and part-time content creator in Osaka, Japan. It has been edited for length and clarity. I was born and raised in Toronto. I spent 10 years as a recruiter specializing in senior-level accounting roles. Before that, …