Couple ‘retire’ in their early 30s and travel the world on just £60 a day
A couple from Cambridge have revealed how they managed to escape the ‘rat race’ by retiring in their 30s.
Ryan Blackley, 35, and wife Jess, 34, say they spend just £60 a day on their new life, having travelled the world together back in 2016.
The pair now class themselves as retired by renting out two flats and the family home they still own, bringing in around £2,500-a-month.
Ar 20, Jess purchased her first flat for £120,000 and rented it out before the couple bought their second flat for £145,000.
Advert
They went and sold it for £183,000 and got their hands on another two-bed flat £190,000 that allowed them to buy their four-bed family home in 2021.
But because of the high cost of living, concerns about safety and their views on the school system they decided to leave the UK.
They headed out to Chang Mai, Thailand on 24 February with sons Noah, six, and Bodhi, four, and never looked back.
Thanks to a five-year Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), both Ryan and Jess are able to live and work there remotely.
"We had a plan basically of how to get out of the UK and that was through property," Ryan explained.
"But I think we obviously had a good life in the UK but it got to a point where I guess we felt that the UK wasn't the right place for us to live and bring up kids. The cost of living is insane.
"We've got two boys and at some point, they are going to want to go out on their own and we don't feel the UK is a safe country anymore because knife crime is massive and I don't want one of the kids being a statistic of knife crime anymore.
"The school system is a very outdated system.”
Ryan believes that the ‘whole concept of life is backwards because you've got to go to school, work, and then enjoy life when you're 68-years-old’.
"Who knows one, if you'll be alive then and then two, health-wise what that will be,” he added.
"This way we're teaching the kids everything.
"They know how to read, write, maths, English etc., and then learn the skills they don't get taught at school.
"We both class ourselves as retired because the property work requires minimal upkeep and effort."
Mum-of-two Jess said the school runs became repetitive, adding: "Every time I'd pick Noah up from school I'd ask 'how was your day blah blah blah'.
"He’d say 'these kids were naughty today' or 'these kids got their names on the board' and I never heard positive things.
"I thought ‘what's the point?’. I feel like a lot of the school day is spent controlling the class and troublesome kids.
"How much is actually spent learning?"
Currently in Koh Samui, they plan to visit Malaysia and Singapore next.
"The plan still is to travel the world but having a base in Asia makes it easier," Ryan says.
"We've basically got freedom and don't have to be anywhere by a certain date or time.
"It's just the four of us and we pretty much go with the flow.
"It's just nice being free".
Ryan and Jess' cost breakdown
UK costs per month
- Mortgage - £1,459
- Bills - £427
- Food - £400
- Total: £2,296
Thailand Costs in July
- Accommodation - £790
- Food - £350 a month
- Other - Days out, transport, miscellaneous- average per month £420
- Total: £1,560
- Rolling average per month: £1,800
Anish Vij