In 2018, Andrew Corona flew to Bangkok with a good friend for a monthlong trip. However because the journey drew to an in depth, Corona realized he wasn’t prepared to go away.
“I advised my buddy that I used to be not going dwelling, and I prolonged my keep for an additional three months,” Corona, now 30, advised Enterprise Insider stated.
He spent the time traveling around Southeast Asia and returned to San Diego satisfied he needed to reside within the area sometime.
Homyakov Photograph.
Relocating the world over did not really feel possible at the moment. Distant work was far much less widespread then, and his corporate job hardly ever allowed for prolonged journey, Corona stated.
“You are fortunate if you may get even two weeks’ time, sometimes,” he stated.
By early 2019, Corona had stop his job to run his personal enterprise. Nonetheless, it wasn’t till the pandemic normalized distant work that he felt the transfer was attainable.
On the similar time, Corona stated he was rising annoyed with San Diego. Homelessness, drug use, and political divisions had modified the way in which he considered town, main him and his then-girlfriend to noticeably contemplate a life abroad.
Taking the leap
In early 2024, Corona and his now-fiancée rented an Airbnb for 3 months in Bangkok as a trial run.
They started envisioning a long-term future in Bangkok however nonetheless spent the remainder of 2024 touring world wide, exploring cities similar to Buenos Aires, Madrid, and Dubai.
Supplied by Andrew Corona.
“I communicate Spanish fluently, so on paper Madrid or Buenos Aires ought to’ve been the plain alternative,” Corona stated. “However Bangkok simply felt like dwelling in a approach I did not anticipate.”
In January 2025, Corona and his fiancée formally settled in Bangkok.
They now reside in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom furnished condominium in Thonglor, a trendy, upscale neighborhood generally known as the “Beverly Hills of Bangkok.”
Their month-to-month hire is 80,000 Thai baht, or about $2,500 — roughly half of what Corona stated he paid for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in San Diego.
Supplied by Andrew Corona.
Their constructing in Bangkok comes with facilities similar to a rooftop pool, a health club, a golf simulator, lounges, and parking. It is also inside strolling distance of a prepare station.
Nonetheless, some individuals again dwelling had very totally different concepts about what life in Thailand would truly appear to be. Corona stated one relative initially imagined the couple dwelling “in a hut on the seaside,” moderately than in a contemporary metropolis.
Whereas he does not comply with a strict finances, he estimates his month-to-month bills — together with utilities, groceries, and a health club membership — come to about $1,700. He units apart one other $1,000 to $2,000 for leisure and leisure.
Working US hours in Asia
Regardless of shifting the world over, Corona nonetheless works American hours, operating a private lending firm for US business actual property.
The vast majority of his work takes place in a single day in Thailand. His fiancée largely follows the identical routine.
“It was slightly little bit of an adjustment to reverse my total schedule,” he stated.
Most days, he wakes up between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and spends his afternoons on the health club, operating errands, and stress-free by the pool earlier than beginning his workday at round 7 p.m.
Supplied by Andrew Corona.
“In a approach, it is supplied extra of a soothing work schedule — and a cup of espresso round 8 or 9 p.m. is not so dangerous,” he stated.
The couple typically takes what Corona jokingly calls a “lunch break” at a close-by Japanese restaurant that is open till the wee hours of the morning.
After ending work, he normally heads to mattress between 4 and 6 a.m.
“I actually favor it as a result of I discover it simpler to focus at evening. Even within the US, I’d catch myself working within the evenings simply because that is when there have been fewer distractions,” he stated.
Making Bangkok dwelling
Corona and his fiancée are among the many many foreigners who now name Thailand dwelling.
In 2025, Thai civil registration knowledge recorded 102,988 international residents living in Bangkok. The true quantity might be a lot increased within the metropolis of 5.4 million.
Enterprise Insider has spoken to a number of Bangkok expats within the final 12 months. They cited Bangkok’s safety and vibrant social scene as causes for making the transfer.
“I ought to spend extra time at dwelling, however there’s a lot to see and do and folks to satisfy that I’ve a tough time staying dwelling,” Invoice Strayer, a retiree who trades US stocks in the midst of the evening, advised Enterprise Insider in February.
Lately, Thailand has launched a number of visa applications to draw distant employees, together with the five-year Vacation spot Thailand Visa, which Corona and his fiancée maintain.
It additionally helps that English is extensively spoken in Bangkok.
“And if we will not overcome that language barrier, we’ll use Google Translate to assist bridge that hole,” Corona stated.
Certainly one of his first shut friendships took place unexpectedly final 12 months, when town skilled earthquake tremors.
“One other tenant who lived in my constructing ran down in nothing however a towel as a result of he was within the bathe on the time the earthquake occurred,” Corona stated.
The 2 struck up a dialog through the evacuation, which turned much more memorable after one other resident by accident ran exterior bare, his gown undone.
“Due to him, I obtained launched to lots of people that I then turned shut with,” Corona stated. “What I’ve realized is that, as massive as town is, it is very interconnected. When you get adopted into one good friend group, many comply with shortly after. It is like a domino impact.”
Homyakov Photograph.
As Corona settled into Bangkok, his enthusiasm for town started rubbing off on buddies again within the US. Certainly one of his buddies in San Diego moved over too, regardless of by no means having visited Thailand.
“The following factor I do know, he is dwelling right here and having simply as a lot enjoyable as me,” he stated.
Other than a “good burrito,” there’s not a lot Corona misses about life in Southern California — and the transfer modified his definition of success.
“Now I measure it by freedom. The power to get up and resolve the place I wish to be, how I wish to spend my time, and construct one thing that funds that life moderately than consumes it,” he stated.
