Feb 6, 2025 • 6 min read
20.01.2025 - 00:57 / insider.com
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
"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
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