• I moved my family to Thailand for a better quality of life.
• I want to retire by 50, and Thailand offers a cheaper cost of living to make that happen.
• Here's a tour of our beautiful apartment in the heart of Bangkok that I could only dream of having in the U.S.

It took me too many years of my life to realize I don't want to work until a typical retirement age. My ex-father-in-law was a catalyst for this realization.

I met Steve when I was 17 (I'm now 44), and he was one of the hardest-working men I knew. There were times when he held two or even three jobs to support his family, and he worked hard at everything he did.

What's sad is that he worked until the day he found out he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer; he died three weeks later at 61.

His death was part of the reason I decided I didn't want to work into my 60s, and conversations with my children helped me see that my identity is more than my work.

Although I own a business, I'm working toward the goal of retiring by the age of 50, and moving to Thailand is the only way I could make that dream a reality.

We moved to Thailand for a better quality of life.

Retiring early in the US would be difficult due to the high cost of living and healthcare, even with insurance. My wife and I decided that moving out of the US permanently would be our best option to achieve our financial independence goals.

After researching, we decided to move to Thailand, a country with a relatively easy visa process, affordable healthcare, cheaper everyday living expenses, and a thriving economy.

My wife, our daughter, our niece, and I secured five-year Destination Thailand Visas (DTV) within a few weeks after deciding to move.

I found a beautiful apartment in the best location for a reasonable price.

It was easy to set up our life in Thailand, and I didn't have to go through the bureaucracy I've experienced my entire life in the US.

I landed in Bangkok and toured the apartments the next day. By the end of day two, we had signed a two-year lease for our dream apartment.

The rent is $1,200 a month, but our monthly living expenses for everything are less than $3,000 a month, which is about one-tenth of what we paid in the US.

Our apartment is close to Bangkok's public transportation.

The apartment is within walking distance to Terminal 21, a large mall, numerous coffee shops, restaurants, grocery stores, and healthcare facilities.

Bangkok is quite the city that never sleeps, and you can find many places that are open 24/7.

The apartment is just under 3,000 square feet with a comfortable living room and a balcony overlooking the pool.

The building and apartment are pet-friendly, so we brought our two cats with us. The building installed netting on the balconies so that the cats can spend time outside.

The apartment was furnished, but we also bought some of our things to make it more comfortable.

For example, I bought an 86-inch TV for the living room.

There is a nice-sized kitchen with a balcony — which houses our washer and dryer.

The kitchen is fully equipped with an oven, a gas stove, and plenty of counter space. Conveniently, a washer and dryer are on a small, netted balcony right outside the kitchen.

There is a formal dining room area, where we keep our filtered water.

We have a large dining room table, built-ins with storage space, and another balcony offers a dining area that's also netted.

Since the weather is good all year round, we're storing our larger suitcase on the balcony.

I turned the fourth bedroom and bathroom into my office.

I own a business and wanted a space to work outside our bedroom. The fourth room would typically be a maid's quarters or a small bedroom, but I converted it to my office.

I installed a mobile AC unit, bought a desk, and purchased a comfortable reading chair for breaks. The office is located on the same floor but is detached from the apartment, making it a quiet space.

Our primary bedroom is large with an ensuite and a balcony.

When we moved to Thailand, we thought we'd be moving to a smaller space than what we're used to in the US. But the apartment we got exceeded our expectations in terms of size.

The master bedroom came with a king-size bed, a large TV on top of built-ins, lots of closet space, a large bathroom, and an area for my wife to have a mini office.

We are quite comfortable.

Our daughter and niece have more space than they had in the US.

Our daughter and niece live with us, and occupy the second and third bedrooms, which are also spacious. Each room has a bathroom, a queen-size bed, and a good-sized TV.

Our daughter's room also features a separate vanity area.

We're very happy with our new family home, especially since it's saving us money.

I'm not sure if we'll stay in this apartment for all five years of our visa, but we're very happy with it right now.

The apartment has more space than anticipated, it's close to everything we need, and the building staff has been incredible.

We made the right move for our family, and we've accelerated our journey toward financial independence by increasing the amount we're saving.

• When she was laid off from a community college, Halona Black pivoted to a kitchen job at Whole Foods.
• Her passion for food and health led her to move on to teach cooking and start a health blog.
• She built a freelance writing business and now travels globally to explore health and culture.

Being let go from a job is not always a surprise. Sometimes, there are whispers before the door slams shut, small signs that your time is winding down. That's how it was for me.

In 2010, I was an academic counselor at a community college in Washington, DC. I had also volunteered to develop the tutoring center, believing I was stepping into a dream role. For over a decade, I'd worked in community education as a GED writing teacher, a tech training program manager, and an ESL teacher.

I didn't just help students pick a major — I asked them to connect their education to who they wanted to become in the world. I took my job personally, and I found myself drowning in responsibilities.

The tutoring center had no budget or staff. I was expected to build something from scratch, relying on volunteers on top of my full-time advising load. It wasn't sustainable.

Starting a new life in a new job

Eventually, complaints about the tutoring center's limitations reached leadership. When my one-year contract ended, it wasn't renewed, and I was laid off.

The long hours and low pay had worn me down. I was making $42,000 a year with a master's degree, and I woke up anxious and in tears, dreading Monday mornings. Getting let go gave me the breathing room I desperately needed.

With six months of unemployment benefits and temporary health insurance, I had just enough to survive. I decided to follow a long-held curiosity: food.

I'd always been drawn to Whole Foods

I loved the hot bar, soups, salads, and desserts, which actually looked homemade (because they were).

At this time of my life, the stress of my previous job, the death of my mother, and a failing marriage all contributed to significant weight gain. I decided to get divorced while simultaneously navigating my job situation.

I threw myself headfirst into learning how to heal my body with food. Though I once dreamed of culinary school, I couldn't justify taking out more debt on top of what I already owed for my master's degree. I sought out other ways to satisfy my culinary interests, like completing the ServSafe food handler certification.

I took a leap of faith and applied for a job in the Whole Foods kitchen

I had amassed a wealth of culinary knowledge after years of watching my favorite chefs on the Food Network, YouTube, and PBS. I read cookbooks like novels and took countless in-person cooking classes in raw food preparation, fruit pie baking, and making handmade pasta. Whole Foods took a chance on me, and I fell in love with being in a professional kitchen.

I was hired as a cook for $12 an hour. The drop in pay required me to make some adjustments in my lifestyle. I moved from a one-bedroom apartment into a single rented room in a house that was shared with five other adults. I sold my car, couch, and all my other worldly belongings. I had no real plan — I was just excited about the possibility of engaging an interest I had held for years.

I learned how to filet a 30-inch salmon, perfectly grill a steak with crosshatch marks, properly arrange the deli salad display for visual appeal, and properly scrub down every greasy kitchen surface each night. My muscles ached in ways my old desk job never asked of me, but this work was creative, and I felt alive.

Finding my creative rhythm

I stayed at Whole Foods for six months. Food service moves fast, and I learned I wasn't built for that pace.

But something had awakened in me. I started teaching healthy cooking classes in the Whole Foods community education program. I watched people recreate those recipes at home and come back surprised by their own success. That joy sparked my writing.

I began documenting recipes on my health blog and pitching food stories to small publications. I worked for a year in an after-school program teaching kids to cook healthy meals while learning STEM. I noticed how the kids were excited to talk about their country of origin and the foods they made with their mom at home that were similar to what we had prepared in class.

After being dismissed from my job at the community college, I felt like a failure. I discovered that talking about food, culture, and science fed my soul in ways that teaching did not.

Transitioning to a new life abroad

I knew that the after-school program would only last for one year, so I looked for an opportunity that would allow me to build a career in writing, food, and health.

In 2013, I took another leap of faith and moved to Orlando with my fledgling freelance writer business, starting with food and then branching into writing for wellness brands and the tech industry. Over the course of five years, I built a foundation for a freelance business I could take anywhere in the world.

I wrote blog posts, ebooks, white papers, customer case studies, and more. After watching hours of YouTube videos of other freelance writers who moved to Southeast Asia, I decided to do the same.

I booked a one-way ticket from Florida to Thailand. I was drawn to Thailand for its affordable living and access to traditional healers who could support my weight loss journey. While there, I lost 60 pounds.

Since 2018, I've lived in 10 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and now Mexico. I continue to explore what it means to sustain vibrant health while building a business that blends freelance writing with author coaching.

I now live in Playa del Carmen

I'm deepening my knowledge of healing herbs, local chile varieties, and the region's rich culinary traditions. In January 2025, I ran my first half-marathon, a milestone that reflects just how far I've come in my health journey.

Looking back, I realize I wasted too much time feeling like a failure after losing my job in higher education. I now see the experience very differently. It wasn't a failure so much as a freeing of my soul.

Most people never stop to ask if what they're doing still fits who they are and what they want to experience as they get older. I was given that opportunity, and it changed the trajectory of my life.

The sun was shining, the sea was glistening, and the woman in front of me looked every bit the boss of this little slice of paradise in Thailand.

Dressed in breezy beachwear — a matching set with bold prints in yellow, pink, and orange — she stepped out of the hotel's front office and greeted me with a bright smile.

"Sunglasses are a must," she told me with a laugh, as she led me down the long entryway lined with lush greenery, the tropical sun blazing overhead.

Pauline Cabessa runs Cielo Samui, a boutique hotel on Koh Samui's Bo Phut beach.

For more than a decade, Cabessa and her husband escaped their home base in Saint Tropez every winter to holiday in Samui.

They were frequent guests of the hotel — then named Eden Beach Bungalows — where they struck up a friendship with the French owner. One day, during a casual conversation, he let slip that he was looking to sell the property.

Almost immediately, Cabessa and her husband, Francois Vargas, found themselves imagining what it would be like to take over the place.

The idea stuck, even after their vacation ended. "As we were on the plane, going back to work, we kept thinking, 'Oh, we need to find a way to make it,'" she said.

In 2017, they packed up their lives in France, said goodbye to their loved ones, and moved across the world to run the hotel — never mind the fact that neither of them had ever managed one before.

"I felt like it was time in life for a challenge," Cabessa, now 43, said. "Being an employee, doing the same thing all your life — if you don't do things that are a little bit crazy, then afterward it might be a little bit too late."

Renovating the hotel

As much as she loved Asia, Cabessa never thought she'd put down roots in Samui.

But her job managing a restaurant in Saint Tropez had started to feel hollow. It was as if the essence of hospitality was being replaced by a culture of showing off, she said.

"I was really losing the authentic connection I shared with people, and time with my family as well, because I was working a lot," she said. "Well, it was thanks to that that I am here now. With the money I earned there, I was able to take on this project."

She preferred to keep financial details private but said she and her husband co-own the hotel with another couple — longtime friends who came onboard as business partners. While their business partners are primarily investors and live in the US, she and her husband run the day-to-day operations of the hotel in Samui.

The opportunity to take over the hotel came at the right time, since she and Vargas were also thinking about expanding their family. Saint Tropez no longer felt like a place where they wanted to raise their kids.

"I wanted my daughter to learn more English and be in contact with people from different places. I wanted a second child as well," she said, adding that her son was born on Samui.

Her husband needed little convincing — he had been vacationing in Samui since 1997, long before the couple had even gotten together.

Although the idea of leaving his previous life behind to start anew in a foreign country felt daunting, Vargas told me he wasn't too worried.

"Moving to Samui was an opportunity to create our own dream," Vargas, 48, said. "I love what we do, the island, the security we can offer our kids, and the people."

For the first two years, Cabessa ran the hotel as it was, while Vargas, a chef, oversaw the in-house restaurant.

But when business ground to a halt due to the pandemic, she decided it was time to renovate.

"That was not part of our original plan at all," she said.

Cabessa redesigned the hotel herself. Like many modern women, she drew inspiration from her Pinterest board.

With textured limewashed walls, stone floors, and an earthy-neutral palette, it's hard not to notice the strong Mediterranean design influences that Cabessa infused into the space.

She also added a yoga studio and a spa to the compound.

The renovation took nine months to complete and was "quite stressful," she said.

To stay afloat during the pandemic and retain their original staff, they opened a restaurant in the nearby tourist district of Fisherman's Village.

"Everybody moved back here when we reopened," she said.

These days, nightly rates for a regular suite begin at 8,500 Thai baht, or $260, with the largest option — a three-bedroom villa that accommodates up to eight guests — going for 26,000 baht.

Running the biz

Running a hotel is no walk in the park.

"People tell me, 'Your life is cool.' OK, there are coconut trees, there is the sun, I get it. But that doesn't mean that there are no challenges," Cabessa said.

With 45 staff members under her wing, she also finds herself smoothing things over with the occasional picky guest.

"I've got reviews from some people complaining about the noise of the waves when they live in the rooms near the beach," she said. "Sometimes people even tell me that the sand on the beach is too hard to walk on."

While Cabessa is always on-site and ready to fix any problems, some things are simply out of her hands. At the end of the day, Samui is an island. "I cannot control nature," she said.

Thankfully, her background working in Saint Tropez prepared her for high-pressure situations.

"We were doing around 600 people per lunch per day back then," she said. No matter how challenging things get in Samui, she says it's hard to find guests with higher expectations than those in France.

It's easy to see Cabessa's dedication in action: She pauses to greet each staff member by name — and in Thai — and never misses a chance to speak with passing guests, even as she's showing me around.

Most of her guests come from Europe, Australia, or around Asia, including Singapore and Hong Kong. In recent months, she's also seen more American tourists.

An Australian couple in their 40s told me it was their first time in Samui, and they chose to stay here because the place seemed tranquil and the beach was, in their words, "right there."

All room types at the hotel include breakfast. Guests can also enjoy complimentary activities daily, like Pilates, yoga, and Muay Thai classes. Padel and kayaking are also available.

The idea is to create a place where guests can happily spend their entire stay without needing to step outside, Cabessa said.

Adapting to life on Samui

Cabessa says adapting to life on the island was a breeze.

Her kids, now 11 and 5, go to an international school. Her mother, who is retired, even moved to Samui from Lyon three years ago. She now lives just down the street from Cabessa.

"This is a safe country. You can let your kids play in a mall or on the beach, and you are not worried about that," Cabessa said. "I also love the culture of showing respect for your elders."

Working in hospitality, she also appreciates the friendliness of the Thai people.

"People are always smiling, and this is such a relief. Because if you live in Paris and you take the subway, nobody's smiling," she said.

The island has changed significantly since the first time she visited.

It's much easier to find international products or fresh produce now. And if something isn't available locally, she can order it from Bangkok, and it'll arrive within 24 hours.

Cabessa says she'll "never, ever" move back to France. And even if she doesn't live in Samui, Thailand will always be home.

"I'll never quit this country," she said.

Do you have a story to share about moving to a new country to run a hotel or resort business? Contact this reporter at [email protected].