As an expatriate, I have been living my dream for seven years in Thailand, where I manage my graphic design company mainly active in Switzerland.
Here, every morning, I can say that I am happy! I feel alive. Since 2009, I am established on Kho Samui, an island in the Gulf of Thailand. Independent in the field of graphic design, I manage my own business, Simple Agency, on the ground floor of the house that I rent in the north of the island. More than 90% of my clientele is Swiss yet. The fact to be installed in Thailand allows me to be competitive and to live better than in Switzerland.
I am a 38 yo graphic designer and not as much traveler in the soul. It must even be all the enthusiasm of a friend already installed in Kho Samui to convince me to visit him for two months. I love Switzerland, its mountains, its forests, rivers… but it is true that I was missing something to be happy. The desire to be independent, it, has existed for a long time already. I had tried the experience when I was 22 yo, shortly after the end of my learning. During a year and a half, I worked hard. I came to pay my invoices, and I had two part-time collaborators. But at a given time, two of my biggest customers have stopped to pay, and I had to close down. It was tough to live through.
After a difficult period, I found a job in an agency, then I became the marketing manager for a cosmetics company, before taking a position as a graphic designer in a small but very friendly office. But it was harder and harder to carry the load of work required in Switzerland. I entered a depression muddled with stress. I sometimes had palpitations; I had problems to find the sleep at night…
My two months to visit my friend, himself active in web design sounded like a revelation. When you create websites, my primary activity since the end of my learning, it can be done remotely. Since I moved to Thailand, I have been able to achieve my dream to be independent, without knowing the anxieties that imply in Switzerland. Here, with 3000 USD turnover per month, I live almost like a king. In Kho Samui, the monthly rent of my house rises to 300 USD. The costs of insurance, transport or food are reduced in the same proportion. If it remains you one hundred dollars in your wallet, you can still eat for two weeks.
Do I felt like It was unfair competition to my confreres installed in Switzerland? No, not really. If an association or small business has a budget of 1,500 dollars to make a website, it will look for someone who can meet its finance, which is in Switzerland or abroad. The difference is that, for the same price, I can offer a superior quality because my expenses allow me. I am enthusiastic to evoke my journey because I want to share my experience. To say to those who want to change their life that it is not so complicated. I nevertheless remain realistic: all professions would not have helped to achieve my Thai dream. On the long run, those who live well here are annuitants and people who work via the Internet. For businesses where it takes a lot to invest in installing, it is much more challenging.
A few years ago, I had transferred my papers in Thailand. I pay now my taxes here, just as my healthcare insurance and other. For my retirement pension, on the other hand, I better have to save some money. There is no coverage here.
If I can confess that I miss the snow and the winter sports sometimes, I am not considering to return to establish in my region of origin.
After seven years, I can say that my life is here. I have a full load of projects on my roadmap, of course, Steemit will be on my top list. And I am not ready to let go of the style of life I found in Kho Samui. During periods of stress, it works three to four hours per day. The rest of the time, I share moments with my Thai girlfriend, Benjawan, encountered on the island.
There is everything here: the corner grocery store proposes six kinds of cheese, including the famous Gruyère from my hometown. And, last week, I even ate of the Swiss « Papet Vaudois » which is potatoes and leeks with a cabbage sausage with a neighbor!
So this post is a message to the Steemians, if you are bored with your life, you should consider jumping on a plane and pay me a visit.
PS: This is a re-post of my introduction I posted three weeks ago. Unfortunately it had very few traction because of a misleading title, in fact, I've mixed two topics.
