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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
How one man ditched the American dream to embrace island life: The money he saved on living costs will surprise you
Seven years ago, Mike Holp was cycling through the congested streets of Austin, Texas, delivering food to make ends meet. Despite holding a computer science degree, the fierce competition kept him away from landing a tech job. Instead, he found himself earning $15 to $20 an hour as a delivery worker, sharing a cramped rental with three roommates just outside downtown. The relentless cycle of working long hours to cover soaring rent left him exhausted and questioning his future. 'What am I doing all this for? Just to get by?' he recalled while talking to Business Insider , feeling trapped in a life that seemed unsustainable amid Austin's skyrocketing living costs. A Leap of Faith: The One-Way Ticket Out Determined to change his life, Holp saved enough through food delivery and side gigs in real estate photography to buy a one-way ticket to Asia in 2019. His journey began with stops in Bali and Singapore but soon settled on an island that offered the slower pace and affordability he craved. This new chapter marked a stark contrast from the frantic, expensive hustle of Austin. Finding a New Home and Love on a Quiet Island After moving around Thailand, Holp landed in a relaxed coastal town on an island. Here, he met his fiancée Mary, whose work split time between Bangkok and the island. Together, they found their first modest one-bedroom home through Facebook Marketplace, renting it for just 9,000 Thai baht a month—roughly $270. After three years, they upgraded to a larger, modern home with flood protection features for about $600 a month, still a fraction of what a similar place would cost in Austin. A Lifestyle Transformed Holp's days now start with dropping off his fiancée at work, followed by peaceful beach walks and workouts at an outdoor gym. His work is flexible, blending content creation, photography, and consulting to help others relocate abroad. Freed from the financial stress and grueling pace of his former life, Holp embraces a carefree lifestyle filled with island exploration and community connection. The lower cost of living—monthly expenses around $1,500 to $1,800—allows him to focus on passion projects without constant worry. Beyond Finances: Safety and Serenity Holp cherishes the safety and warmth of island life. 'I don't even have to worry about locking the door,' he says, a sharp contrast to his time in Austin. Though he misses family and friends back home and occasionally the convenience of driving a car, he has no desire to return to the rat race that once consumed him. You Might Also Like: Stanford longevity expert reverses his age by 10 years with one radical lifestyle shift Mike Holp's journey from a stressed-out food delivery worker to a relaxed island digital creator paints a vivid picture of how escaping the expensive and competitive American lifestyle can open doors to new possibilities—at a fraction of the cost and with far greater peace of mind. You Might Also Like: Bengaluru employee gets suggestions on how to cut living costs. But his expenses on lemons amuse netizens
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Priced out of Austin, he bought a one-way ticket out of the US. Now, he lives on a Thai island for a fraction of the cost.
Mike Holp, now 38, left Austin in 2019 due to the high cost of living. He bought a one-way ticket to Asia and eventually settled in Koh Samui, Thailand. Island life is slower and much more affordable; his monthly expenses rarely exceed $1,800. Seven years ago, Mike Holp was riding through the streets of Austin as a food delivery worker, earning between $15 and $20 an hour. He lived just outside downtown in a shared rental with three roommates. Even with a computer science degree, the tough competition made it hard for him to get the tech job he'd hoped for. "Basically, the only thing that I could find to do to pay expenses was to deliver food on my bike," Mike Holp, now 38, a digital creator, told Business Insider. Each day blurred into the next as he worked long hours just to cover rent, only to repeat the same grind the following month. It was a relentless cycle, and the lifestyle started to wear him down. He felt disillusioned, and the rising cost of living wasn't helping his situation. "At that point, I was like 'What am I doing all this for? Just to get by?'" Holp said. His life in Austin didn't feel sustainable, and he knew he had to get out. In 2019, with money saved from delivering food and working real estate photography gigs on the side, Holp bought a one-way ticket to Asia. Finding home in Thailand After a brief stint in Bali and then Singapore, Holp decided to make Thailand his next stop. He spent time living in different parts of Thailand, including Chiang Mai — where he met his now-fiancée, Mary. She was on vacation at that time but was based in both Bangkok and Koh Samui for work. Wanting to be closer to her, Holp decided to move to Samui because he preferred its slower pace over the bustle of the Thai capital. House-hunting was fairly easy: He found their first home on Facebook Marketplace. It was a one-bedroom house located in Lamai, a laid-back area along the southeastern coast of the island. Rent was 9,000 Thai baht a month. After three years in that house, it was time for a change. His fianceé had left her previous job and now works at a school, and they wanted to live close by. They're still in Lamai, but in a bigger one-bedroom property that costs 20,000 Thai baht, or about $600, each month. "It's a modern village-style home. It's on a raised platform, about 12 feet off the ground, so if there's any flooding, we don't have to worry about that," Holp said. Although Holp has learned a little bit of Thai, the good thing about Samui, being a tourist destination, is that many locals can speak and understand basic English, he said. It was also fairly easy for him to connect with new people. "There's a large Facebook group called Koh Samui Expats — they've got about 40,000 people in there," Holp said. "And I'm actually a moderator in that group, so that helps to meet people." Escaping the rat race Holp says his life in Samui is "completely different" from that in Austin. He starts his mornings by dropping off his fiancée at work. After that, it's time for a walk along the beach and a quick workout session at an outdoor gym situated on a tiny islet linked to the Samui mainland by a wooden bridge. Post-workout, it's time for a coffee at a nearby café before he heads home to start work for the day. Apart from creating content for his own social pages, Holp also runs a photography business and a consulting business that helps others relocate to Thailand. "I have a flexible schedule," he said. "It's just a much more carefree, relaxed lifestyle compared to Austin." The fact that he's no longer in the rat race also means he has the time and energy to spend on his hobbies, such as exploring the island on his bike and meeting with friends. The lower cost of living in Thailand helps, he said. "It frees up my time so that I can focus on passion projects like the YouTube channel, and I don't have to worry about just paying rent all the time and stressing out," he said. Holp says he and his fiancée typically spend between 50,000 and 60,000 Thai baht, or about $1,500 and $1,800, a month. "We sometimes cook at home, but the meals are usually very affordable here, so going out to eat is very easy," Holp said. Their weekly grocery run costs about 2,000 Thai baht, and it's also fairly easy to find international brands and products at the larger stores, he said. "Even going to the grocery store, you can get 30 eggs for 5 bucks," he added. Holp estimates a comparable lifestyle for two in Austin would cost about five times as much. A single person needs to earn at least $101,587 annually to live comfortably in Austin, per a 2025 SmartAsset analysis based on data from MIT's Living Wage Calculator. The average rent in Austin was $2,000, per the latest May data from Zillow Rentals. Not missing the lifestyle in the US Holp says he loves the warm weather and the friendliness of the locals. He also feels very safe living in Samui. "I don't even really have to worry about locking the door, whereas back in Austin, I probably have to worry about how somebody might break in and rob me," he said. He hasn't been back to the US in five years, not even to visit. There isn't much that he misses anyway. "There's a big car culture in the US. I do kind of miss driving a car around here. I just use the motorbike for everything since it's really easy to get around the little roads and stuff," he said. "But I can't think of much that I really miss about the US other than my family, obviously, and friends. That's about it," he added.
