About Steffi and Jason: Our Life in Thailand

We’re Steffi and Jason, a UK and US couple living in Bangkok.

I’m Steffi, the creator behind Beach Bum Adventure. I’ve lived in Thailand for 9+ years, mostly in Bangkok, and I moved here as a teacher. Jason is from the US and moved to Thailand as a remote worker, which means we have experienced two very different versions of building a life here.

I came to Thailand with a school job, a work permit route, and a lot of employer support – both times that I moved here. Jason had to figure out a lot more independently, including remote work, visas, US banking, insurance, and all the admin that comes with moving from the US to Thailand. It was super stressful and involved a lot of frustration and tears (more so from me, and not Jason!).

Bangkok is home for us, and we love it. But we also know that building a real life in Thailand is very different from travelling here.

How We Ended Up in Thailand

I first came to Thailand after backpacking around Southeast Asia in my early twenties. Like a lot of people, I fell in love with this part of the world very quickly, but travelling here and actually living here are very different things.

I moved to Thailand as a teacher, and over the years I have lived through the much less glamorous parts too: work permits, school paperwork, salary realities, condo hunting, Bangkok traffic, hospital appointments, rainy season errands, the covid pandemic and the joy of trying to get things fixed when you do not fully understand what anyone is saying. (Yes my Thai is still an ongoing work in progress…why is it such a hard language?!)

Honestly, Bangkok started feeling like home within my first two months. I know not everyone has that experience and it was definitely harder for Jason to make a life here and settle in.

Jason’s move was different because he came from the US as a remote worker. He did not have a school or employer sorting out the same things for him, so his move involved a lot more figuring things out as we went.

That gave us two very different perspectives. I understand the teacher route and what it is like to have a job connected to your visa and work permit. Jason understands the remote worker side, the DTV visa stress, US banking problems, and what it feels like to move here without the same built-in structure.

I think the amount of mistakes we made when Jason was moving here shocked us both! I had no idea that there was so much to organise when you’re moving without an employer! We’ve taken all those mistakes, some of them super expensive ones, and have channelled them into my blog, our Youtube channel and our Move to Thailand tools.

Why We Write About Moving to Thailand

We started writing more about moving to Thailand because we were tired of seeing advice that made it sound like something you can just wing.

Thailand is an amazing place to live, but it is not helpful when people make it sound as simple as booking a one-way flight, doing border runs, living on nothing, or hoping the legal and financial parts will somehow work themselves out.

We wanted to share the more realistic version.

Not to scare people away, because moving to Thailand has been one of the best decisions of our lives, but because we want people to arrive with a proper plan. It is much easier to love living here when you are not panicking about visas, money, insurance, banking, housing, or all the boring admin that suddenly matters a lot once you are actually abroad.

What We Have Learned the Hard Way

We have made plenty of mistakes ourselves.

I underestimated how much the first month in Thailand would cost, even with a job lined up and a settling-in allowance. I still ended up borrowing money from a new friend because everything added up faster than I expected.

Jason had his online job fall through within six weeks of moving to Thailand, which made us realise very quickly how important savings and backup plans are. He also had his US bank block his only card while he was living here, which turned into a very expensive problem when he had to fly back to the US to sort it out.

Then there was the health insurance mistake. Jason forgot to renew his health insurance before a trip to Phuket, had an accident involving a glass door, and ended up with a hospital bill of around $2,300 USD (฿74,200 / £1,690 GBP) before all the aftercare.

Since then, we’ve seen so many new expats make mistakes, including sending panicked Go Fund Me pages when things fall apart.

Those mistakes are why our Move to Thailand content is so practical. We are not writing from theory. We are writing from the things we wish we had checked earlier.

What We Help With

Beach Bum Adventure started as my Asia travel blog, and I still write about Thailand travel, Asia destinations, scuba diving, wildlife and the places I love.

But the Move to Thailand side of the blog has become a big part of what we do because we know how much people need realistic, experience-based advice before they relocate.

We write about Thailand cost of living, Bangkok rent, condo bills, teaching in Thailand, DTV visa experiences, moving from the US, hidden costs, mistakes to avoid, and what daily life here actually feels like once the holiday version wears off.

We are not visa agents, insurance brokers, financial advisors, or immigration professionals, and we do not pretend to be.

What we can share is our real experience living here, what we personally got wrong, and the questions we think people should ask before they spend serious money or move their life across the world.

Our Thailand Resources

If you are planning your own move, we have built a few resources to help.

Our Moving to Thailand hub is the best place to start if you want the full library of posts on costs, visas, housing, teaching, remote work and daily life.

Our Thailand Cost of Living Guides brings together the money advice including Bangkok rent, condo bills, moving costs, hidden costs and monthly budgets.

Our Thailand Cost of Living Calculator helps you work out your likely monthly budget based on your own lifestyle.

Our Thailand Move Reality Check combines the calculator with our mistake audit, so you can check the expensive gaps before you book flights, sign a lease, quit your job, move your pet, or commit to a plan that has not been properly tested yet.

More About Us Outside the Admin

As much as we talk about visas, bills and boring moving admin, our life here is not all spreadsheets and paperwork.

I’m a teacher, travel blogger, scuba diver, and the person most likely to start planning a weekend trip when I should be doing something more sensible. I have lived and travelled across Asia for more than 10 years, including 1.5 years living in the Maldives, and I am happiest when I am near the ocean, diving, looking for wildlife, or finding quiet beaches.

Jason loves his music, it’s his passion and his therapy. He’s a hiphop artist that gives vibes like it’s the 80s again! Being in Thailand has been great for him as he has lots of time to focus on writing new songs and performing globally. He’s recently taking up horse riding, something he has always wanted to do since he was little.

Together, we live in Bangkok, spend far too much on food delivery and bottles of red wine, love a long weekend away, and are still very much learning as we go.

We love Thailand, but we are not here to sell you a fantasy version of it. We are here to help you understand what moving here can actually look like, so you can decide if it is right for you and plan it in a way that gives you the best chance of loving it too.