- Johan and Sabine Bogaerts left the Netherlands and moved to Thailand to open a beach resort.
- The couple says they always dreamed of running their own business instead of working for someone else.
- While life now feels “slower, and definitely more fulfilling,” Johan, 54, says it’s not all play.
In November 2022, Johan and Sabine Bogaerts packed up their lives and moved from the Netherlands to Koh Lanta, an island off the west coast of Thailand, with their two sons.
They had traveled to Thailand countless times on vacation and loved everything about the country, but it was the pandemic that gave them the idea of moving there.
“Life just happens really fast, and we wanted to do something else before it was too late, physically and also mentally,” Sabine, 51, a former chef, told Business Insider.
Mellow Mango.
The couple always dreamed of managing something on their own instead of working for someone else.
“We’ve agreed to change our life a little bit, get out of the rat race, and do something totally different in a beautiful country that we knew already,” Johan, 54, a welding engineer, told BI.
But the real decision was made after they saw some ads on Facebook about properties for lease in Thailand, Sabine said.
Mellow Mango.
“We found this piece of property online. We were interested, and we knew the area since we’ve been here a few times,” Johan said.
The property was located less than 200 feet away from Klong Khong beach, a popular tourist destination on Koh Lanta.
Koh Lanta is part of the Krabi province and is about 45 miles from Krabi International Airport. Visitors can also reach Koh Lanta via a 1.5-hour ferry ride from Phuket.
It was already built like a resort with freestanding rooms but looked dated, with minimal furniture and basic finishings. Due to the pandemic, the original resort had ceased operations, and the humid climate had left the property in a bad state.
Mellow Mango.
Despite that, the couple saw its potential and made their decision during a video call with their agent.
Since foreigners can’t own land in Thailand, the couple leased the property for 20 years instead. They declined to share specifics, but estimated that their total costs — inclusive of renovations — came up to about 200,000 euros, or about $206,000.
The couple also said they managed to sell their house in Holland, which helped cover their costs.
Running a resort by the beach
Thailand has long been a popular spot for tourists and expats alike, thanks to its rich culture and relatively low cost of living.
In recent years, it’s also been a popular destination for retirees: Thailand was ranked 10th on International Living’s 2025 Annual Global Retirement Index.
However, the couple says that they knew they weren’t ready to retire and decided to start a business in Thailand.
Mellow Mango.
“I think retiring at 50 would be so boring for us,” Sabine said.
“You have to be really comfortable. We were doing OK, but we weren’t ready financially to totally retire yet,” Johan added.
When they got the keys to the property, the first thing they did was start renovating and getting it up to their own standards.
“We took out some walls, made them bigger, redid all the bathrooms, made new balconies, new paint — everything is brand new,” Johan said.
The resort has 16 guest bungalows, a pool, a restaurant and bar, and a laundry area.
Mellow Mango.
Their busiest season runs from the beginning of December until the end of March, since that’s when the weather is sunny with less rain. Room rates during the low season are about one-third of the price of the high season, Sabine said.
During the low season, the cheapest room is around 1,100 Thai baht, or about $32. During the high season, the same room can go for around 2,600 Thai baht, or about $75, Johan said.
Mellow Mango.
The couple also employs nine full-time staff, including a receptionist, housekeepers, kitchen staff, and gardeners.
One of the biggest challenges they faced during the renovations was differing expectations of when things would be completed.
“With us, a deal is a deal, and a time of finishing is the time of finishing, but that’s a little bit different here. So, we really have to adapt to that,” Johan said.
Mellow Mango.
A “slower, and definitely more fulfilling” life
One of the things they loved most about their lifestyle now compared to back in the Netherlands is that they no longer feel the need to keep up with the Joneses.
“You decide yourself. For me, it’s that you’re not being driven by something that needs to be done. When we were living in Holland, everything had to be the way things were,” Johan said. “You have a lot of possessions and you were only busy trying to maintain and to upkeep all the possessions that you have.”
Mellow Mango.
Not only that, the couple gets to spend more time outdoors compared to before.
“We have beautiful surroundings. We have many palm trees, and we hear the birds, and we can look at the ocean from here,” Sabine said.
However, there are times when they miss the Netherlands, too — especially the weather. Thailand has a humid tropical climate, and the weather is either “hot or really hot” or “raining or not raining,” Johan said.
“We do have to say that we miss a little bit of cold sometimes,” he said. “We’re seasonal people. We grew up in the four seasons, so that’s something you tend to miss a little bit.”
Even the Christmas season doesn’t feel the same anymore.
“We, of course, never ever worn a jacket anymore or proper shoes or trousers,” Sabine said, adding that her go-to outfits now are sleeveless tops and shorts.
Work-life balance in Thailand
These days, the couple’s routine starts by dropping off their youngest, 7, at school before heading to the resort to check in on things. Their other son, 21, returned to the Netherlands last March.
They say their youngest son is adjusting well to life on the island.
“It’s a little more difficult for him to visit friends sometimes, like he did in The Netherlands, but he loves the beach life here,” Sabine said.
The rest of the couple’s day is usually spent on miscellaneous tasks — such as fixing things around the property and getting groceries for the restaurant — to ensure the resort runs smoothly,
While life now feels “slower, and definitely more fulfilling,” Johan says it’s not all play.
The couple has been busy getting the resort up and running over the past years, and they’ve only just begun to somewhat settle down — considering that they also recently opened a restaurant nearby serving European and Thai cuisine.
“People think, ‘Ah, you must be so happy you can watch the sunset every evening.’ We hardly do because we’re always busy,” Sabine said. “At the moment, everything is sort of done. Of course, in a resort, you are never truly done, but all the massive projects are done. So, I don’t know, maybe life is going to be different now.”
Have you recently relocated to a new country and found or renovated your dream home? If you have a story to share, contact this reporter at agoh@businessinsider.com.
