She Settled in Thailand After Quitting Her Job to Travel the World

In her 20s, Claudia Woodham decided to quit her job in Manchester to travel abroad.

She had a degree in marketing, but low starting salaries in the field had led her to take a job at a bank instead. But the 9-to-5 corporate lifestyle left her feeling stressed and unfulfilled, and she knew she had to get out.

What began as a yearlong trip through Southeast Asia and Australia with her partner, Danny, turned into four years of full-time travel. But eventually, the two of them craved something more permanent.

“We kind of got sick of living out of the suitcase, so we just tried settling down in different locations,” Woodham, now 31, a marketing strategist and content creator, told Business Insider.

They were looking for a laid-back vibe, sunshine, and a place that wasn’t overrun with tourists. So they tried living in Bali, Vietnam, and even Lisbon, but none of them felt like a good fit.

They remembered how much they had enjoyed Thailand — the first stop on their journey — and decided to give it a shot.

They lived in Phuket for a month but didn’t like it very much, so they set their sights on Koh Samui, the third-largest island in the country.

Samui had been a short pitstop at the beginning of their trip. The two nights they had spent there had been rainy, preventing them from getting the full experience. “We didn’t really think of this as a place to live for a really long time,” she said.

But they heard others raving about life on Samui, so they decided to give it a go.

As it turned out, it only took three months of living in Samui to change their minds.

Finding a slice of paradise in the tropics

Samui, located in the Gulf of Thailand, is known for its stunning beaches and waterfalls. It has a population of about 70,000 people, per the latest April government data.

It was also most recently featured in the third season of HBO’s hit series “The White Lotus.”

In addition to the island’s natural beauty and landscapes, Woodham said the people also drew them there.

“The community here is amazing. The expat community, but also the locals, are so friendly,” she said.

Moreover, Samui has all the charm of a relaxed beach town and the comforts of modern living. The island is serviced by several private hospitals and an international airport.

“Even though it’s island life, it’s also quite built-up,” she said. “There’s a lot of infrastructure, so there’s great WiFi. You can get everything you need here. You don’t feel like you are too remote.”

It’s been two years since Woodham and her partner started living in Samui.

They spent the first year near Bo Phut, a popular but laid-back neighborhood on the northeast part of the island. They rented a three-bedroom townhouse with a shared pool for 70,000 baht a month.

During their second year, they were ready for a change. They wanted a sea view and a private pool, and found the perfect place listed on Facebook Marketplace.

The four-bedroom villa is located atop a hill in the northwest region of Samui, surrounded by lush greenery and overlooking the ocean.

There’s a quiet beach nearby, and the villa’s off-the-beaten-path location adds to the sense of privacy and tranquility.

“We didn’t really need as many bedrooms as we have here,” she said. “But we wanted somewhere kind of modern with nice interiors, and this place had that,” Woodham said.

The only catch is that their neighborhood is a little further away from their gym, their friends, and their usual hangout spots — all of which are back in Bo Phut.

Rent is 140,000 Thai baht — about $4,000 a month — which is twice what she paid at her previous place.

Woodham says she gets mixed reactions about her rent whenever the topic comes up, especially on social media, where she posts content about her life in Samui.

“I think people come to Thailand expecting to live on a budget, which you can. I think Thailand’s a great country for that,” she said. “But the way I see it is, yes, you can live on a budget, but you can also live how you want and get more for your money.”

In parts of the UK, something like this would easily cost £10,000 to £15,000 a month, if not more, she added.

Rather than assuming everything in Thailand should be dirt cheap, she urges people to visit and see the real value for themselves.

Typical workday and 5-to-9 life in Koh Samui

A typical day for Woodham in Samui starts at around 6 a.m., and that involves waking up naturally — no alarms involved.

After sharing a cup of coffee with her partner by the pool, the couple takes their dog, Leo, on a walk.

Woodham usually hits the gym around 8:30 a.m., spending an hour or two working out before heading to a café — sometimes with a friend — to catch up on work.

She is self-employed, and she helps online businesses with their social media marketing and sales strategy.

By the afternoon, she’s back home, where she might take a few calls or continue working. As the day winds down, it’s time to unplug and head to the beach to catch the sunset.

It’s a far cry from her 9-to-5 corporate life back in the UK.

“Back then, I would wake up at 5 a.m. but struggle to get up. I’d be so tired, go to the gym in the dark, commute to work, spend all day at work, get home, maybe cook dinner, or maybe prep food for the next day, and then that’ll be it,” Woodham said.

Now, she has more time for herself and her hobbies, such as badminton, padel, and yoga. She also picked up CrossFit, learned how to do handstands, and is training for a Hyrox competition in Bangkok.

Her hobbies also helped her form a social circle, although it was challenging to get to know people at first.

“I actually met most of my friends through my CrossFit gym,” she said. “But I also meet people through friends now, because everybody knows each other. You kind of meet people through other people.”

She misses her family and being able to take a long walk through the countryside, but she doesn’t see herself living in the UK again.

“Sometimes I think it would be nice to take Leo on those kinds of walks because the countryside in the UK can be beautiful on a nice day. It’s so hot here, he can only walk for a short amount of time,” she said.

“But I don’t miss it enough to make me want to go back.”

Do you have a story to share about relocating to a new country? Contact this reporter at agoh@businessinsider.com.