I live in Mongolia. I never thought that it would be possible to miss one of the worst cities in Asia, but I have come to realize that travel is a privilege that I may never experience again.

I live in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and have for the last decade. About half of that time I've been with a partner from Mongolia, so one way or the other I've been here for over a decade now. I've seen the country change a lot, and I've come to realize that it's fairly unlikely that I'll ever be able to travel ever again.<br><br>I'm European, and was in Mongolia on a work contract when the pandemic hit. At the time, I had been living here for 3 years. I had plans, as I always have, but the pandemic changed all that.<br><br>I have a good job here, but it is with a national company that is extremely important to the economy of the country, so I've had to deal with strict lockdowns for the past 9 months or so. There's a bit of a stigma associated with being a foreigner here as it is, but with everyone being locked down and you being one of the few that's out and about, you really feel like you're being watched, and you have to always be careful not to do anything that could be seen as "dangerous" because you know that you'll be held to a higher standard. I've seen many of my fellow foreigners here get in a lot of trouble, first just socially, but now legally as well, for going outside without a good reason.<br><br>That part's not so bad. I'm a fairly introverted guy and I don't need to go out very much. I know some people really struggle with it, and I do miss going out to bars and clubs, but I was never a big partier. So being unable to go out for anything but essentials isn't the worst thing.<br><br>I miss traveling though. I miss it more than I ever thought that I would.<br><br>My partner is Mongolian. They have no desire to ever leave the country, and in fact will not even go to other parts of the country if they don't have to. I knew this when we started dating, so I've always gone on my vacations on my own. We have a good arrangement.<br><br>So before the pandemic, I would travel to other countries in Asia every chance that I got. Korea and Japan are quite expensive, but China is cheap if you know what you're doing, and central Asia is easily accessible from Ulaanbaatar, so those were my usual options. I tended to avoid SE Asia because it's so touristy, but if I had more money I would probably have gone there more often. <br><br>I met a lot of interesting people, and learned a lot about different cultures. I always thought that it was one of the best luxuries of living here, that I could see so many different places so easily. <br><br>But now I can't travel anymore, and I realize that I've probably never taken a trip that I truly appreciated. I always took it for granted, and now that it's gone I miss it more than I ever thought possible. I miss being able to walk around a new city, to explore new places, to meet new people. I miss seeing the differences in how people do things in different places, and learning what you can apply back in your own life, and what you can't.<br><br>I always knew that I was an incredibly lucky person, but I never really thought about the travel aspect of it all. And now it's gone. I don't think that Mongolia will ever open its borders again, or at least not for a very long time, and I think that I will probably never be able to travel because of my job. <br><br>Ulaanbaatar is one of the worst cities in Asia, but it's my home and it's where I've chosen to build my life, and for the first time in my life on this planet I feel like I'm truly staying in one place for the rest of my life.<br><br>So if you're someone who has the ability to travel, please go out there and travel if you can. Don't take it for granted, go see the world if you have the opportunity. I'm not the type of person to give people advice, but if I could go back I would take more advantage of all the luxuries available to me, and not complain about them. Because someday you will lose them, and you will miss them, and you'll realize for the first time that you truly loved having them all along.<br><br>Edit: First, I want to say thank you to everyone. I wasn't expecting this many responses, and it's been really great to hear from so many of you, even the ones who aren't so sympathetic.<br><br>To answer some questions that I keep seeing, I am in Ulaanbaatar, which is the capital city, where about half the country's population lives. The rest live in countryside, which is considered good in the context of the pandemic.<br><br>I have a residence permit but not citizenship. I have no plans of ever becoming a citizen, and was planning to leave the country after a few more years.<br><br>I can't change jobs, because I'm in a fairly critical position and my company specialized in something that is critical to the functioning of the country. I would not be allowed to quit even if I wanted to, and if I did I would lose my visa.<br><br>And to clarify, I'm not saying that all Mongolians don't want to travel. I'm saying that my partner doesn't. I know many Mongolians who would love to travel, just as I know many Mongolians who have no desire to. As with any other country, there are all kinds of people.