Looking for life advice from other designers

Hey all,

Little bit ago I posted here about an article I wrote about being lost in both life and design, and no surprise, I'm still lost. So I figured I would reach out to the community again for some more targeted advice.

A little background so you know where I'm coming from:

I'm a UI/UX designer and front-end developer from upstate,NY, I graduated in 2015. Moved out to LA to work as a designer for an agency, got let go 6 months later because they didn't have the resources to mentor me. Was unemployed for 3 months, and then I decided to go abroad because my girlfriend was studying abroad, I didn't want to go home, and I figured it would make me look like a more well rounded person to employers. Worked at a company in Ghana for 4 months doing web design & development as well as app design & development. Then stayed in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a month and here is where the problem started. Currently I'm in Bangkok for the rest of the week.

When I went abroad I left with the expectation that freelancing work wouldn't be hard to find because I had no problem finding work here and there when I wanted to. ( I use Upwork because it's simple ). My last gig was in Ghana then I took a break to focus on my work. When I got to Chiang Mai I started to look for work again and I got absolutely nothing. It's been a month and a half since then and I'm completely dry and unable to find work. I've tried to revamp and reorganize my portfolio and Upwork profile with the help of a veteran freelancer. I've looked at remote jobs and other platforms. My overall plan was to use my time abroad to launch my own product, re design my portfolio and move over to a UX role and apply to companies for when I get back to the US in June 2017. The problem is, is that I don't want to continue freelance after I get back, it was only meant to be short term. I know it's hard work to build a network to get clients. I'm not looking for an easy fix.

I'm not sure if that's the route for me, I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Maybe somewhere else I can go to earn money? I don't care if it's not glamorous. The only restrictions are being abroad and having someone else who relies on me. I can't just head back home.

If there is any advice you can offer I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Great design resource

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter) Submitted January 25, 2017 at 08:24AM by rikuto148 http://ift.tt/2jw1n8h