California couple moves to Thailand to avoid the financial stress of living In the US

[55Jay]

They could have moved to any other state and lived cheaper then California. To say they moved to Thailand because it is cheaper to live in Thailand is asinine. I lived in Michigan and it cost me the same to live here as it did in Michigan. The only thing cheaper in Thailand is labor and medical.

Have you tried buying a car lately or a computer or go buy some petrol for your car. The big difference in cost is you can buy

cheap china products that USA does not allow in country.

Yes I have. I don't need a car to live here because the public transportation is so good and available, saving me quite a bit of cash. Yes I bought a computer here quite a bit cheaper because of the software included. All in all I spend 500% less for the same lifestyle as the States.

You must have left USA in 1974 because i just bought a laptop and had it mailed to me cheaper then i could buy it here.

I can buy 5 acres of land in Michigan for 450,000 bt. Try buying that in Thailand. I paid $ 18,000.00 for a mazda that would cost $12,000 in USA

If you think 29,000 deaths a year on thailands highways is safe and reliable transportation you must be smoking something good

Why did you move to LOS then?

[edwinchester]

 

So this is about a couple of graduates who ripped off their banks by doing a runner to Thailand and not paying back their student loans.

 

Life is hard isn't it.

 

They have run away from what they call a struggle? This is no different a situation than most young people breaking out into the real world from mummy and daddy's financial apron strings have to endure.

 

It's called building a life from the bottom up and we all had to do it. They are not running from the stress of living in California and their student loans, they are running away from life itself.

 

They won't last a year here with that attitude.

 

This story does not belong here. It is not news to anyone.

 

 

Did you bothet to read the article because it says they are paying off the student loans.

 

Yes I read it and it said they had no means to pay back the student loans . Sounds like runners to me .... If they cant make it in the US now they will find it tens harder here . I would not recomend to anyone jump and pull stakes move to Thailand for a better job and life . Just plain crazy .........

Calm down, click on the link, scroll down to the fifth paragraph and read how they are paying back their student loan.

[seancbk]

Quoted from the actual article

"Since moving to Phuket, Jeff, 29 and Marina, 25, have cut their living expenses by 65%. They live in a fully furnished condo ten minutes from the beach and drive a motorbike that only uses $3 worth of gas each week. They've been able to pay off thousands of dollars on their student loans"

The article also mentions their Travel Blog (which it says is starting to make money) and that they plan to move from country to country around Asia, spending 6 months to a year in each.

There are a lot of people now making good money as Travel Bloggers, doing more or less the same thing as this couple. Travelling around taking photos and video and writing about their experiences.

There is good money in it if you put in the effort.

They haven't really moved to Thailand, they are merely on an extended vacation and will be going somewhere else for another extended vacation after Phuket.

To be honest the whole article in Business Insider reads a bit like an advert for their travel blog (and it mentions their Facebook Page, Twitter Feed and Instagram account for even more promotion).

I wouldn't be surprised if they paid for the article or somehow got the 'story' onto the newswires where it was picked up as content by Business Insider as an interesting people piece.

I think they are quite smart to be doing what they are doing!

Edited : Just noticed the footer text on the article - Have an amazing travel story and photos to share? Send an email to [email protected] and we could feature your adventure next.

So yes, it is nothing more than a promo article to get hits to their blog etc.

Edited November 13, 2013 by seancbk

[noitom]

They could have moved to any other state and lived cheaper then California. To say they moved to Thailand because it is cheaper to live in Thailand is asinine. I lived in Michigan and it cost me the same to live here as it did in Michigan. The only thing cheaper in Thailand is labor and medical.

Have you tried buying a car lately or a computer or go buy some petrol for your car. The big difference in cost is you can buy

cheap china products that USA does not allow in country.

Wait til you reach retirement age and compare BUPA cost to Medicare.

[noitom]

This story does not belong in the Thai newspaper. First, they only mentioned that they "plan" to live in Thailand. Second, it has no newsworthy information or facts at all. Lastly, it is shameful to publish such tripe when there is no news regarding all the help that Thailand is offering to the beleaguered people of the Philippines, Thailand's cousins in the ASEAN region. News readers in Thailand would be eager to learn of Thailand's goodwill in joining other countries in the world to support Filipinos with rice, food, and military support.

[siamjimi]

I am confused why this post is on TV forum as well.

My main observation this topic presented to everyone lacks so much content for why it’s been posted (?) – Possibly we all should put a topical meaningless rendition of our own reasons for moving to Thailand and bring them all individually to the forefront of the forum 1 by 1 (?) - Possibly the moderators might ponder that a wee bit and explain how the slightest err in mentioning a advertisement promoter gets scrutinized but this sort of meaningless garble is passed right through.

Now that it “is” on TV forum and presented for comment - my question is how does this couple sustain their visas based upon the reality they do not have jobs here and as such brings many more questions to mind – Hmmmmm – purportedly a well-planned move ? – obviously suggestive that established methods of obtaining long term visas ["they sold EVERYTHING and moved to Thailand"] for 2 obviously non-married individuals before making the commitment to move whilst many others that have lived here for years struggle with the visa system (?) - All this discombobulates the mind.

[prvtdetdave]

Business Insider??

A story about a couple not able to face up realities, fleeing their responsibities!!

Good Us taxpayer money wasted on their "educations".

Bullocks!

[The Usual Suspect]

Quoted from the actual article

"Since moving to Phuket, Jeff, 29 and Marina, 25, have cut their living expenses by 65%. They live in a fully furnished condo ten minutes from the beach and drive a motorbike that only uses $3 worth of gas each week. They've been able to pay off thousands of dollars on their student loans"

The article also mentions their Travel Blog (which it says is starting to make money) and that they plan to move from country to country around Asia, spending 6 months to a year in each.

There are a lot of people now making good money as Travel Bloggers, doing more or less the same thing as this couple. Travelling around taking photos and video and writing about their experiences.

There is good money in it if you put in the effort.

They haven't really moved to Thailand, they are merely on an extended vacation and will be going somewhere else for another extended vacation after Phuket.

To be honest the whole article in Business Insider reads a bit like an advert for their travel blog (and it mentions their Facebook Page, Twitter Feed and Instagram account for even more promotion).

I wouldn't be surprised if they paid for the article or somehow got the 'story' onto the newswires where it was picked up as content by Business Insider as an interesting people piece.

I think they are quite smart to be doing what they are doing!

Edited : Just noticed the footer text on the article - Have an amazing travel story and photos to share? Send an email to [email protected] and we could feature your adventure next.

So yes, it is nothing more than a promo article to get hits to their blog etc.

I think you hit the nail right on the head. Excellent observation.

[thailiketoo]

Yes I have. I don't need a car to live here because the public transportation is so good and available, saving me quite a bit of cash. Yes I bought a computer here quite a bit cheaper because of the software included. All in all I spend 500% less for the same lifestyle as the States.

You must have left USA in 1974 because i just bought a laptop and had it mailed to me cheaper then i could buy it here.

I can buy 5 acres of land in Michigan for 450,000 bt. Try buying that in Thailand. I paid $ 18,000.00 for a mazda that would cost $12,000 in USA

If you think 29,000 deaths a year on thailands highways is safe and reliable transportation you must be smoking something good

1. You did not read my post. I said computer and software not laptop.

2. Michigan has some slums with less going for them than the ones in Calcutta sure you can buy cheap land. Google Rust belt slums Michigan.

3. 2.3 million adult drivers and passengers were treated in emergency departments as the result of being injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2009 in the USA.

[pomchop]

Not sure this is the most brilliant move to have an article that gets posted on TV that would seem to show that the couple is clearly working in Thailand with no work permit and supposedly making enough money to pay off student loans as well as save enough for a trip to Europe? Wow they must not have much of a loan to pay off or they are making a lot more money than I would think.....all it takes is one jealous person to blow the whistle on them and I suspect they would get a visit from the work permit police either wanting a cut or wanting to prosecute them.

[siamjimi]

[ Have an amazing travel story and photos to share? Send an email to [email protected] and we could feature your adventure next. ]

There it is - this forum topic is a promotional way of acquiring more reading to send their stories in. I thought he moderators were on top of this sort of thing.

I will reiterate that special interests must be the motivators guiding the moderators. When mentioning the slightest context of "certain" promoters of TV even if the statements are truthful gets hit within seconds of the posting - but trash such as this is allowed access although against TV rules.

I am thinking I should post a few of these with my own company interest as well. Quite cunning to say the least.

[sunshine51]

I'll give them a year... any takers?

The Business Insider article about them said they'll only be in LOS

for 6 months...so they can decide where to live next.

[salapau]

So this is about a couple of graduates who ripped off their banks by doing a runner to Thailand and not paying back their student loans.

Life is hard isn't it.

They have run away from what they call a struggle? This is no different a situation than most young people breaking out into the real world from mummy and daddy's financial apron strings have to endure.

It's called building a life from the bottom up and we all had to do it. They are not running from the stress of living in California and their student loans, they are running away from life itself.

They won't last a year here with that attitude.

This story does not belong here. It is not news to anyone.

I do like this reply. They've got their education and to avoid paying for it and other debts they may have occurred, leave and come to Thailand. They don't deserve a life free of financial restraints. Shop them someone so that they can return and pay their debts.

[sunshine51]

Quoted from the actual article

"Since moving to Phuket, Jeff, 29 and Marina, 25, have cut their living expenses by 65%. They live in a fully furnished condo ten minutes from the beach and drive a motorbike that only uses $3 worth of gas each week. They've been able to pay off thousands of dollars on their student loans"

The article also mentions their Travel Blog (which it says is starting to make money) and that they plan to move from country to country around Asia, spending 6 months to a year in each.

There are a lot of people now making good money as Travel Bloggers, doing more or less the same thing as this couple. Travelling around taking photos and video and writing about their experiences.

There is good money in it if you put in the effort.

They haven't really moved to Thailand, they are merely on an extended vacation and will be going somewhere else for another extended vacation after Phuket.

To be honest the whole article in Business Insider reads a bit like an advert for their travel blog (and it mentions their Facebook Page, Twitter Feed and Instagram account for even more promotion).

I wouldn't be surprised if they paid for the article or somehow got the 'story' onto the newswires where it was picked up as content by Business Insider as an interesting people piece.

I think they are quite smart to be doing what they are doing!

Edited : Just noticed the footer text on the article - Have an amazing travel story and photos to share? Send an email to [email protected] and we could feature your adventure next.

So yes, it is nothing more than a promo article to get hits to their blog etc.

Great observation seancbk...my original comment was gonna read something akin

to "Why didn't they just move to Florida?"...after all Fla. is a lot cheaper than Calif.

However Florida just doesn't conjur up the notion of "paradise" as the BI writer

labelled Phuket...which obviously the writer has no clue about Phuket in its present

state of being a proverbial shithole.

[sonar6ca]

What's your point with this "happy ending story?" Farng move here because its cheep to live or the author thinks its because of the smiling Thai?

[KCM]

So this is about a couple of graduates who ripped off their banks by doing a runner to Thailand and not paying back their student loans.

Life is hard isn't it.

They have run away from what they call a struggle? This is no different a situation than most young people breaking out into the real world from mummy and daddy's financial apron strings have to endure.

It's called building a life from the bottom up and we all had to do it. They are not running from the stress of living in California and their student loans, they are running away from life itself.

They won't last a year here with that attitude.

This story does not belong here. It is not news to anyone.

I do like this reply. They've got their education and to avoid paying for it and other debts they may have occurred, leave and come to Thailand. They don't deserve a life free of financial restraints. Shop them someone so that they can return and pay their debts.

Since moving to Phuket, Jeff, 29 and Marina, 25, have cut their living expenses by 65%. They live in a fully furnished condo ten minutes from the beach and drive a motorbike that only uses $3 worth of gas each week. They've been able to pay off thousands of dollars on their student loans and are even saving up for a three-month trip through Europe at the beginning of next year.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/couple-moved-to-thailand-to-avoid-us-financial-struggles-2013-10?op=1#ixzz2kVvKgMdJ

[jpduggan]

I thought that's what we were all doing here?

[zydeco]

California, huh. Well, maybe they wanted to come to a place where they were more likely to find people who speak English.

[sunshine51]

If one follows the link in the above post one will see

a subtitle named Insider Stories. I kinda like what's

needed to work at the place listed first

And FWIW...I wish the kids all the best in their

travels, "work" and with their blog.

nb...edit to add a few words.

Edited November 13, 2013 by sunshine51

[TinoThailand]

USA Today:

Nearly 50 million people in poverty

Around 80% is on the edge of the population

[little mary sunshine]

Good Luck....You can live cheap here, guess you ran out on the student loans

and other debts too, being you weren't willing to bust you butt working 50 weeks

a year like the rest of the Americans. Living and working in Thailand, no where

close to the American Dream....Enjoy working for $300 a month, and little or no

chance to make more than $1000 per month for the rest of your working career

....seems like a night mare to me.

I am living the American Dream here in Thailand, Worked 35 years in the US,

have a great income and not a worry except how many times I can play golf

next week. I vacation back home Hawaii, twice a year, and worked my way up

60 hours a week to get where I am today. You'll be back in the USA in a few

years............When you get tired of being poor in Thailand...............

[mca]

Avoid the financial stress of living in the U.S? Have they see the price of cheese at Central Childlom food hall?

[NotAnOldGrumpyMan]

Let's raise our hands to see who actually read the paragraph where they said they were paying off their student loans and actually living here for less than they would in the United States.

*Raises hand*

[HAL9000]

As deficit spending, money printing, and Obamacare take their toll, these kinds of stories will become more and more common.

[Bender]

...and i guess it was Jeff Johns and Marina who wrote this silly article?

[kkup]

I have been here 2 months (on my own) and have just calculate i have spent $7000 US just in running around visas transport food, bed, wardrobe, i live in a friends home and they let me have a room for free but he money goes, no car or motorcycle just everyday spending to set up, no TV or party (non smoker / drinker) it's expensive no mater where you are,, i hope the money river dries up soon or i will be broke,, it can get out of hand if the brkes are not applied. Good luck in your stay here, i am here for the same reason many others are here, for me to avoid the worries of my home country, the politics especially.

$875 a week with no party, no drinking, no rent - The only way that is possible is your either playing allot of golf at great courses, getting allot of happy endings or you've hooked up with some young sweet talker who has a very sick family back home in Issan.

[seancbk]

Let's raise our hands to see who actually read the paragraph where they said they were paying off their student loans and actually living here for less than they would in the United States.

*Raises hand*

I doubt many of the posters bothered to click the link and read it properly. They instead saw something that they didn't agree with and had a knee jerk reaction which they posted without reading the rest of the thread.

This couple are quite smart. Not only are they travelling through Asia whilst taking photos and video (which I would guess they are selling to various travel sites and magazines), but they are also working on their own travel blog.

The title of the OP and the business insider article is a bit misleading, but once someone reads it and takes into account that it is just a thinly veiled promo piece, where is the issue.

If they keep writing good content then in a couple of years they'll most likely be making enough passive income from their site to retire properly (and still be under 40 most likely)

My original post on the subject - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/681226-california-couple-moves-to-thailand-to-avoid-the-financial-stress-of-living-in-the-us/?p=7033493

Some of the members of TV should probably read this and educate themselves about making money from content writing - http://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-reality-of-earning-money-online/

[kkup]

Money cannot buy eternal bliss. They are foolish in basing their decision on such intangible values. Freedom isn't free. There is always a sacrifice for freedom; it is a give and taking lifestyle. Moving to Thailand with a selfish taker mentality usually results in the taker get took.

I agree; I'll give them two years at the most before they stumble into a trap with that mindset. They're running away from financial struggles only to discover that their real struggle is with the reality of their foolish ego.

Braveheart

[vincent13]

This is the most hilarious thread I have read on TV, can't stop laughing! Someone obviously let the lunatics out of the asylum.....

[Jim walker]

Seems an odd choice of all the places in the world to come to with all the visa runs work permits and crap every 90 days to stressful to live / work here full time.