A couple in their 30s say they’ve retired for good, and living in Thailand only costs them $82 a day

Ryan Blackley, 35, and his wife Jess, 34, say they have retired for good after relocating their family from Cambridge to Thailand. The couple made the permanent move on February 24, along with their two sons, Noah, six, and Bodhi, four. As reported by Ladbible, they now live on a budget of about $82 a day, roughly £60.

The family is currently based in Koh Samui after spending part of the year in Chiang Mai. Their move was made possible by a five-year Destination Thailand Visa, which allows both Ryan and Jess to live and work remotely. They consider themselves retired because their income comes entirely from renting out their former family home and two additional flats in the United Kingdom.

That property portfolio brings in about $3,250 a month, or £2,500, which the couple said covers their living expenses with room to spare. Building the portfolio took years of planning, starting when Jess bought her first flat at 20 for $156,000.

The couple built their exit from the UK through property, one flat at a time

Jess’s first flat was later joined by a second, bought for $188,500 and eventually sold for $238,000. The proceeds went toward a two-bedroom flat worth $247,000, which in turn helped fund the four-bedroom family home the couple secured in 2021. Ryan said the plan all along was to use property as their way out of the UK.

Ryan said he no longer felt the UK was a safe place to raise his children, pointing to rising crime rates as one factor behind the move. Cost of living and concerns about the local school system also played a role in the decision. Ryan said he sees the traditional path of working until retirement age as backwards compared to the freedom the family has now.

Jess said she found her children’s old school routine repetitive and questioned how much of the day was spent managing the classroom rather than teaching, saying “I thought ‘what’s the point?'” The couple has since taken over their children’s education directly, focusing on math and English while also teaching them practical skills outside a traditional curriculum. The change came the same week a viral TikTok tipping debate was drawing attention online, though unrelated to the family’s decision.

In the UK, the family’s monthly expenses ran to roughly $2,985, covering mortgage payments, bills, and food. In Thailand, their July costs totaled about $2,028, split across accommodation, food, and miscellaneous expenses like transport and outings, in a stretch that also saw an unrelated New Jersey restaurant dispute go viral online.

The couple said they plan to keep traveling through Asia, with Malaysia and Singapore next on their list, and have no plans to return to the UK.