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US entrepreneur moves to Thailand, says he’s happier despite making less money
American entrepreneur Paul Lee decided to move permanently to Thailand after a vacation in the Southeast Asian country.
American entrepreneur Paul Lee decided to move permanently to Thailand after a vacation in the Southeast Asian country. He spoke to CNBC Make It about his life-altering decision and how he is happier for it.
When he was living in the US, Lee was making around $1 million a year from his e-commerce business. Despite the success, he found himself feeling depressed and without a purpose. Then he took a vacation to Thailand, a country known for its tropical beaches and vibrant culture.
“When I first arrived in Thailand, I just felt rejuvenated. Everything was completely new to me, and I felt like it was a fresh new start,” he told CNBC Make It.
In April 2021, five months after the vacation, Lee decided to move base permanently. Since then, he has been working as a content creator and real estate agent in Bangkok - jobs through which he earns $150,000 a year, a significant dip from his earlier income.
‘I’m happier'
But the 28-year-old entrepreneur, originally from Georgia, does not regret the move one bit. In fact, he realized that the money he was making in the US did not bring him the satisfaction he craved - living in New York City, he found himself in an environment he described as “very individualistic, very doggish, and very hyper-aggressive.”
“I had to go through this journey of being poor and becoming quite wealthy to realize all this wealth that I had accumulated didn’t really give me what I wanted and didn’t give me the satisfaction I was looking for,” he explained.
“At the end of the day, even though I don’t make nearly as much money as I made in New York City, I am far... wealthier in terms of my happiness, in terms of my well-being, my peace,” he added. “These are things I never was able to achieve back home in the States.”
