In April 2021, Paul Lee took a vacation in Thailand. Five months later, he decided to leave the United States and move permanently to the Asian country.
Lee, who hails from Georgia, used to live in New York City and make about $1 million a year from his e-commerce business. Despite successfully paying his parents’ pension, the 28-year-old told CNBC Make It he found himself aimless, depressed and in need of a change.
“When I first arrived in Thailand, I felt renewed. Everything was completely new to me, and it felt like a new beginning,” he tells me. “The more and more I lived here, the more and more I fell in love with the city.”
I moved to Bangkok, Thailand in 2021.
Mark Aziz Resanj for CNBC Make It
Since moving to Bangkok, Lee has been earning about $150,000 a year as a content creator and real estate agent, according to documents reviewed.
His real estate career has helped him find several places to live in Bangkok, including luxury apartments. The one-bedroom apartment he lives in now is in Thonglor, which Lee calls “Bangkok’s SoHo.”
The 650-square-foot unit costs 20,000 baht — about $544 — in monthly rent. Lee also pays $20 for Wi-Fi, $80 for electricity and $3 for water each month. The apartment is furnished, and Lee has access to amenities including a swimming pool and gym.
He pays me about $544 a month for his one-bedroom apartment in Bangkok.
Mark Aziz Resanj for CNBC Make It
To move into this new house, Lee had to pay a security deposit equivalent to two months’ rent, which is roughly $1,088.
Despite the low cost of groceries in Bangkok, Lee eats out every meal and spends $500 a month on food. “I won’t lie, the food in New York City was good too, but I think the food in Thailand is warmer, more special and spicier,” Lee says.
His other expenses include a $93 monthly gym membership, which is a bit steep considering Lee has free access to the gym in his building. But the cost is worth it to Lee, because He can take advantage of the co-working space, coffee and many networking opportunities in the space.
And the price of his current gym is nothing compared to luxury gyms in New York, like Equinox, where memberships can start at $240 a month.
He tells CNBC Make It that he chose to leave America because he found himself financially strapped and living in a “very individualistic, very dogmatic, very aggressive environment.”
Mark Aziz Resanj for CNBC Make It
Lee has only been back to the U.S. once since his big move to Thailand — for his sister’s wedding. He tells CNBC Make It that he chose to leave New York City because he found himself too materialistic and living in a “very individualistic, very tough, very aggressive environment.”
“Bangkok stood out to me because it seemed like a big city,” he tells me. “It seemed like a lot of fun. It seemed very affordable, had a very good culture, and didn’t have any major compromises for me.”
He tells me he has started a new life in Thailand, and it seems unlikely he will ever return to the United States.
“I had to go through this rags-to-riches-quick journey until I realized that all this wealth I had accumulated wasn’t really giving me what I wanted and wasn’t giving me the satisfaction I was looking for,” he tells me.
Since moving to Thailand, Lee’s parents have moved to South Korea and visit him several times throughout the year.
Paul Lee
His parents were initially shocked that he was moving so far away, but eventually decided to follow suit when they moved to South Korea. They visit him in Bangkok from time to time, and Lee travels to see them too. He says this is one of the best things about his new life in Thailand.
“Ultimately, even though I don’t make nearly as much money as I did in New York City, I am much richer in terms of my happiness, my well-being, my peace. These are things I could never achieve in my home country, the United States,” he added.
Conversions from Thai Baht to US Dollars were made using the OANDA conversion rate of 1 Baht to 0.02 US Dollars as of July 1, 2024. All amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar.
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