My Story - Why I left the USA

12 years ago, I told my boss in Miami Beach that I was going to take 3 weeks off for a vacation.

There I was, making a six figure salary. Prestigious tech job. Cars. Nice home. Living in one of the best beach cities in the United States. 

Yet I was totally burned out.

I had everything. But it felt like nothing. Every day was just dragging. Normally I love computer programming. But it was becoming one of the most hated things I had to do.

Like many of you, I had dedicated my life to my job and maintaining that lifestyle in the USA.

When the decision came to where I could go to, I had no idea. I could go almost wherever I wanted around the world. At first I thought... what about South America? Then Europe (but that would be too much like the same lifestyle in the USA). Then a co-worker told me she spend a few weeks in Thailand.

Thailand was not even on my radar at all. Nor Asia. But I did my research and booked a flight and resort for Koh Samui.

The difference between Thailand and the USA is "respect".

It started on the flight from Italy to Bangkok. Initially I flew on Miami to Rome on Alitalia. And I saw that the service on Alitialia was so much better than USA domestic airlines. But I was absolutely blown away by Thai Airways service. And it kept getting better as I landed in Koh Samui. I realized that people actually could be respectful and really care about your well being.

The detox resort I stayed at was spartan, but had amazing service.

Guys, after 2 weeks, I emailed in my resignation letter while sitting on the porch of my poolside bungalow.

I could not see myself going back to that life of stress anymore. Don't get me wrong. It was the best job I ever had and the people in it were absolutely amazing. I'm still friends with many of them today.

But I wanted a change.

After just those 3 weeks I was mentally a new person.

Everything looked strange when I came back home to Miami. Reverse culture shock. And I immediately started planning my next trip back to Thailand which happened a year later.

Eventually I left the USA, lived in another country and then moved to Thailand at the end of 2018.

It took a few years of careful planning so I could operate my business from anywhere. But years of doing that paid off. Now I only visit the USA for friends, family and transit.

Could you do something like this?

The environment in the CUUNA countries (Canada, USA, the UK, New Zealand and Australia) is dramatically different now. Freedoms are becoming less and less. Governments, no matter which side you are on, are no longer serving the people.

And "woke/cancel" culture is absolutely poisoning those countries.

Even if you don't want to leave your country permanently, it makes sense to "refresh" and reload your mental state for a while. If you're lucky enough to be able to work from somehere else for up to 3 months, I would certainly consider doing it in Thailand.

Sure, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines and other south-east asian countries are great too. I've visited all of them and they're lovely.

But for someone who needs to work online and deal with the outside world, Thailand has the best infrastructure, best food, fastest internet, liveliest culture, great natural attractions and some of the strongest (and cheapest) transportation links internally and externally to almost anywhere in the world.

I don't know what your plan will be in the next 5-10 years.

But if you can swing it, the best thing to do is start with a tourist visa to Thailand and commit yourself to investigating living outside of your CUUNA country for a while.

With a tourist visa, you can spend 3 months in Thailand. (60 days on the visa and a 30 day extension). Spend some time in Bangkok, Chaing Mai, Pattaya (if that's your thing), Phuket, Hua Hin, Koh Samui and the farmlands in the north.

Internet is great, cheap and ultra-fast so you can actually work if you need to do that anywhere in the country.

You can rent a great place to live in almost all those locations for about $600 USD per month. So the cost of living here will definitely not take a bite out of your normal expenses back home.

Start With a Tourist Visa

Our company we started here, Baan Smile will help you get started and prepare your visa for you.

If you want to spend 30-60 days here, you don't need us and you can just come from any CUUNA country with just your passport.

Our team has deep, deep knowledge of Thailand and we can get almost anything done that you want. And so if you have longer range plans, it may make sense to sit with me and Miss P on the phone for a reasonably priced consultation so you can get all the options for medium range to longer stays.

I will be happy to assist you with our deep connections in Thailand and look forward to hearing from you.

- Eric