Thailand FI- Bridging the Gap Between Zero and FIRE

May I introduce to you a new concept? Beaches. Sand. Questionable water pressure. Coconuts. Loosely enforced electrical codes. Intrigued? I’m talking, of course, about the very fancy concept of Thailand Fi.

It can feel like getting to financial independence is a never-ending slog. Most of us are in debt and foolishly sipping lattes when we first hear about the magical FIRE cult.

Once you learn that taking control of your financial life is possible it can become a little bit of an obsession. There’s no where to go but up. We claw, we fight, we heroically scratch our way out of debt and back to zero.

Then what?

We look up to see an enormous chasm between us and our next goal-financial independence.

How can we stay motivated to go from zero to FI in a single shot? Answer: We don’t need to get to FI, we just need to get to Thailand.

Thailand FI

What is Thailand FI, you ask? It’s a made up term to mark what countries we’re financially independent. In America we’re still several dollars away from reaching our goal because the cost of living in the United States is relatively high. The cost of living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for example, is a lot lower. It’s so low in fact, we’d be financially independent there, right now.

Let’s take a look at the numbers.

Cost of Living in Chiang Mai, Thailand is 53.22% lower than in the US

Portfolio Needed: $469,218

In Thailand you can buy a similar lifestyle to what you enjoy in the US for $3333/month for only $1564.06/month. In order to passively generate that amount using the 4% rule, you’d need a net worth of only $469,218. Compared to a cool million in the States, becoming FI on less than half a million is tempting. See how I said that all nonchalantly? The States. [lowers sunglasses]

Anyway. Look at this picture. See? Not making it up.

Here’s where Thailand is on the world stage.

We went to Thailand for our honeymoon. It’s  gorgeous there. You can buy Pad Thai for like $2. They do tend to let cats just run around freely in restaurants, which is a little weird. But hey, $2 Pad Thai is $2 Pad Thai. Some other fun tidbits about Thailand, the bathrooms are kind of just out in the open, centrally located in the middle of bars. You’re on vacation near the beach, loosen up. What I mean to say is, Thailand kicks ass.

 

Doesn’t being Thailand FI sound fun?

So, instead of looking at this huge goal of becoming financially independent (with nothing between zero and a million), we’re able to add smaller FI goals along the way. In this case, Thailand FI.

But, Thailand FI isn’t the only milestone. What about being Belfast FI, or even Dominican Republic FI? The idea is to pick a few countries (or cities) along the way and mark when you’re financially independent in them. If you need $1,000,000 in Portland, Oregon, United States you’d need less than $700,000 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. You’d need less than $400,000 to be financially independent in Bali, Indonesia. Ever considered living in Algeria? You only need  around $300,000 to be financially independent there.

Once you pick your places, your climb to FI looks more like this.

There’s something comforting knowing that if we just really got sick of all this work nonsense we could Bali out, and head to Indonesia (Get it? Boom. Puns). We might have to go to a foreign country on the other side of the planet, but we’d be able to retire as soon as we landed.

How I did my calculations:

Okay. So we’re doing the very generic follow the 4% rule and shoot for $1,000,000 to consider ourselves financially independent here in Portland, Oregon, USA. That means we’d spend roughly $40,000 per year, which comes out to $3,333/month.

It’s fun to dream about packing our bags and heading to some exotic locale where our hard earned money would stretch a lot further. In some places our money would stretch so far that we’d already be financially independent. Each new milestone brings more options for where we can run off to if we suddenly need to leave the country real quick in the dead of night.

Anyway.

Once we’re done making our little chart we have smaller FI goals all over the place. Forget all that zero to a million junk. Let’s just focus on getting to Algeria FI, amirite?

 

These are real numbers. I did research. I feel like this blog isn’t known as a research heavy blog, but maybe it should be. Those numbers aren’t made up. They are real, and they just punched you in the face with freedom.

While we’re here, let’s learn a little more about some of the countries listed, because I sunk ten hours into researching them only to later realize it wasn’t fully necessary to prove my point.

Countries Where You Can be Financially Independent for Under $900,000

Cost of Living in Abu Dhabi, UAE is 13.14% Lower than in the US

Portfolio needed: $868,551

image via ontheworldmap.com

In Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates you don’t need a cool million to retire. You just need a cool almost a million. I know you’ve probably seen people in Abu Dhabi running around in Range Rovers with cheetahs in their front seats, but it’s really a pretty safe place.  Look how peaceful and tranquil the below picture looks if you don’t believe me.

photo via https://www.planetware.com/united-arab-emirates/

Peaceful, huh?

Okay. What else? What if you have only $800,000?

Countries Where You Can be Financially Independent for Under $800,000

Cost of Living in Vienna, Austria is 21.07% Lower than in the US

Portfolio needed: $789,231

Ooo Austria, huh? I’m not really into wooden shoes either, but I’ve heard it’s lovely there.

Vienna, Austria is known for its coffee, cozy wine taverns, and architecture.

Who has time to wait around for a portfolio of nearly $800,000? Austria just sounds cold. I have no information to back that up. I refuse to Google it. Let’s see what else is available.

Countries Where You Can be Financially Independent for Under $700,000

Cost of Living in Palma de Mallorca, Spain is 30.43% Lower than in the US

Portfolio needed: $695,661

Woo. This sounds promising. I’m pretty sure Spain is fancy as pants get. I don’t even want Mrs. Burrito Bowl to proofread this article because I’m afraid she’ll get pregnant just by reading the name of this town. Palma de Mallorca…Woah, slow down Casanova, you haven’t even offered me a drink. It’s getting late, in case that’s not obvious. Moving on.

Beautiful beaches, fancy sounding words, Spain has it all and for a fraction of the price.

Spain look too warm and tranquil for ya? How about Belfast?

Cost of Living in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK is 35.68% Lower than in the US

Portfolio needed: $643,101

Ah, good ol’ Belfast. It’s part of the United Kingdom. Which, as an American is confusing, but it’s substantially less expensive than Portland, Oregon. You should probably learn to box if you’re going to live in Northern Ireland. It’s no regular Ireland, but you still want to know your one-twos.

 

You’d need a portfolio of $643,101 in Belfast to live the type of lifestyle that would cost you a million if you lived in the US. A lot of these countries are right next to each other on the world map. I’m sure it’s more complicated, but it LOOKS like you could just jump on over from country to country over in that part of the world.

$600,000 still too steep for ya? Let’s get tropical…or at least warmer.

Countries Where You Can be Financially Independent for Under $500,000

Cost of Living in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is 52.45% Lower than in the US

Portfolio Needed: $475,416

 

Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic. The DR is a gorgeous little hop, skip, and jump away from the US and it would be a full-fledged US State if we hadn’t already printed all our flags with 50 states on them.  Here’s where it is in the world. If some of these other locations feel too far away from home you should consider the DR.

Dominican Republic feel too ‘American’ for ya? I got you.

The Cost of living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam is 56.95% lower than in the US.

Portfolio Needed: $431,592

In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam we’d need $1,438.64/month or $431,592 saved up in investments. Wee! We actually are Ho Chi FI! I was lying about being Thailand FI, because we’re pretty close, but we really are Ho Chi FI. Yippee. Isn’t this fun? Never mind about being Ho Chi FI, thanks a lot market correction (Classic August 2019 joke if you’re reading this in the future).

Let’s do more. Let’s do more.

Countries Where You Can Be FI for Under $400,000

The Cost of Living in Penang, Malaysia is 60.11% lower than in the US

Portfolio needed: $400,000

Penang, Malaysia seems really nice. You’d need about $400,000 to be FI there, compared to $1 million in The States.

Watch this relaxing video of drone footage of Penang.

Here’s a fun article about the best beaches in Malaysia. There’s just too many beautiful places to list.

I can’t talk about Malaysia anymore. I’m getting to wanderlusty.

The Cost of Living in Bali, Indonesia is 61.69% lower than in the US

Portfolio needed: $384,837

Bali, Indonesia has your name written all over it. Want to live out your days drinking coconuts and being awesome? You’ll need to passively generate $1,282.79/month to afford the same lifestyle you enjoy here. That comes out to a portfolio of $384,837. Woo give me that jungle.

 

Doesn’t Bali look amazing? Maybe it’s too wet for you. How do you feel about sand? I’ve got a lot of sand for you in these next two.

The Cost of Living in Algiers, Algeria is 68.27% lower than in the US

Portfolio needed: $317,997

We’d need (gasp) $317,997 in our portfolio to be considered FI in Algiers, Algeria. We’re super FI there. Why are we even here?

 

Watch this video about why you shouldn’t go to Algeria.

Countries Where You Can Be FI for Under $300,000

The Cost of Living in Cairo, Egypt is 70.11% lower than in the US

You only need $299,577 or $998.59/month to live that life in Egypt. You know I love ancient Egypt. I’m sure modern Egypt is cool, too. I’ll look at those pyramids for the next 60 years, no problem.

Egypt has so much to look at and discover. There’s a fair amount of political unrest in Egypt, but I think you’re up for it.

Here’s a picture and fun hype video to get you pumped for your move.

So, that’s the idea behind Thailand FI

You can make charts for much smaller goals as well. I’m sure there are plenty of places you can live for even less, but Egypt is awesome, so we’ll end there.

If you’re not into going to a foreign country you could make your own domestic chart. You could call it Alabama FI, or something. I don’t know, naming it is your deal. If your article on Alabama FI really takes off, link back to this article won’t you? We’re a humble people and we appreciate those page views.

Thanks for reading! Where are some areas you’d consider retiring to? Let me know in the comments because I selfishly want more ideas on where we should go.

If you enjoyed this article please share it! This is also a purely selfish request as widespread sharing of this article would make me feel all warm inside. 

Oh, also, please read these articles before you go. I’m sorry, I ask too much. Just share this article and don’t read these. You haven’t got all day.

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