how did link's lifestyle changed post-game?
Character building time. Fill my inbox with questions about my muse!
It changed completely. Nothing was the same. But that’s to be expected, right? Link had changed, Hyrule had changed, Ordon and its villagers had changed. Life in the Blessed Kingdom ( and in its outer territories ) fundamentally changed for all its denizens after the Twilight Crisis, and everyone moved on and adapted. For some people, things were mostly the same, just with perhaps a more profound respect for life or religion or what have you. For Link, though, everything was different.
During the first several months after the final battle with Ganondorf, Link remained very focused and busy by helping both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm rebuild. No one in Hyrule knew who he really was; no one thought he was the reincarnation of the Hero. Then again, no one in Hyrule really knew what actually happened, just that something terrible had gone down, but now it seemed to be okay, and this guy in the funny green outfit was super helpful and kind. Link didn’t have time to process everything that had happened to him, which was good because he just wanted to ignore it – he ran messages between Zelda and Midna, carried materials for relief and aid across both realms, and generally just filled his time with doing things. During this time, he stayed in Ordon, in his old home, when he needed to rest.
After Midna broke the Mirror, Link was forced, finally, to deal with what happened, to deal with his grief, to accept that his life was fundamentally changed. Not only that, but he had to accept that his divine purpose was over; he had fulfilled it, and he was free to do with the remnants of his life what he would. The deep introspection took a great deal of time for him to go through in its entirety, but even when he was just starting to work through everything, he knew already that he had changed too much to return to the life he had once known. As shown in the very end of the epilogue sequence of Twilight Princess, Link returned the Master Sword to its place of slumber to await its next wielder, and then he took Epona and left Ordon, never to return.
He becomes a wanderer after that, following the wanderlust in his heart to travel not only across Hyrule, but to lands beyond. Link continues to help those who need his aid, and he kills whatever roaming groups of monsters he comes across if they’re too close to settled areas. His days are spent crossing fields and hunting for food, napping in the sun, and generally enjoying a solitary existence. After all, he’s a bit of a lone wolf. However, he doesn’t necessarily avoid settlements – he still goes to them for supplies that he can’t get in the wild, and to see his friends and generally socialize. Most of the time, though, he’s happy enough on his own.