A digital nomad moved to Bali for a better quality of life. He doesn't want to be a gentrifier, but he's sick of America's toxic work culture.

24.11.2023 - 13:40 / insider.com

Thomas Manuel was born and raised in Texas, but he always knew that one day he would leave the US to explore new places.

Manuel, who is now a 25-year-old full-time online content creator, has a love of traveling that's taken him to many locations over the years, including Brazil, Israel, France, and the Dominican Republic.

In June 2022, Manuel made the decision to live in Barcelona, Spain, full-time, staying there for several months before moving to Bali, Indonesia, in October, where he currently lives in a one-bedroom guest house with a shared pool area, paying the equivalent of around $290 in rent per month — just a fraction of the $1,413 he paid per month to rent a one-bedroom apartment back in Texas in 2020, according to a rental contract and payment receipts viewed by Business Insider.

Being an influencer, Manuel posts about his life online, which has at times led to criticism — the trend for American "digital nomads" moving abroad to have a higher standard of living has long been called out for contributing to gentrification as it drives up costs, potentially pricing out local residents.

Manuel says he is against gentrification, but he moved to Bali to escape the personal struggles he experienced in the US. He wants to encourage other people to think outside the box, but be respectful of the local cultures they may move to.

Manuel told Insider there were many reasons he wanted to emigrate, including the high cost of healthcare in the US, and that one of the biggest differences he's noticed since moving to Bali is that he feels American culture is very money-focused, while in Bali, where there is a large Hindu population, religion and family are key focuses for many people and take precedence over their careers.

Since he left the US, Manuel said the biggest change to his lifestyle has been the way he views his relationship with work.

"In America when I worked, the main focus was work and money. If you didn't have those two things, then you know you really couldn't do much else, and even when you have a decent job or you were kind of getting ahead, the expenses follow right behind you and it's just a never-ending cycle," he said.

Manuel said that in the US, his life was spent "working, grinding, hustling 24/7 just to barely make ends meet. And even then still came up short sometimes."

Meanwhile, in Bali, living costs have been much lower for Manuel. Not only has he saved money on rent, he also says that you can get good healthcare in Bali "for a fraction" of what it would cost in the US.

But it's not just a question of money for him.

"My main thing was my pursuit of happiness," Manuel said.

Making the move to Bali has given Manuel a different kind of life, and the content creator, who has