British couple sold all their possessions and moved to Bali - now their rent is just £2k a YEAR
- 9 months ago
A British couple sold their home and all their possessions and moved to Bali to become "financially free" - now their rent is just £2k a YEAR.
Matt Dearing, 36, and his partner, Carlie Donnelley, 35, say building their home there will also save them £236,000 overall.
The family from Denton, Manchester, wanted to "escape the rat race" and were sick of "living to work".
They felt they were constantly chasing bills and not spending as much time as they wanted with children Lincoln, seven, Delilah, four and Adelaide, one.
The couple started researching Bali - due to the year-round tourism and hot weather - and sold their three-bedroom property for £365k.
They booked one-way tickets in November 2022 and say relatives thought they were "mad" and didn't believe they'd go through with the move.
In March 2023, they found a three-bedroom house to rent for £2k a year, as well as a nearby 1,200 square-foot plot of land for £100k.
They plan to build their dream home - which will cost them 263k less than in the UK.
Matt, a joiner, now living in Ubud, Bali, said: "This was something we have wanted to do for years.
"A couple of times we would go over to Spain, and I was looking for cave houses as I wanted to go off grid.
"In the UK it got to the point where I wasn't spending much time with my kids, I would spend about an hour with them before bedtime.
"I was constantly chasing bills and working.
"I did a lot of research into Bali as it has all-year-round tourism, and the weather is great.
"The return on your investment here is amazing.
"We sold the house we were living in and doing up for £365k.
"With that money, we were able to buy a 1200 square foot plot of land to build two villas on.
"We have struck gold - this is everything we want.
"For us, being financially free is literally freedom to do whatever we want with ther kids, compared to working 10 hours, seven days a week sometime.
"I have always dreamed of dropping the kids off at school and picking them up - I can do that here.
"The people here are lovely and show a lot of gratitude - it ticked all the right boxes."
When Matt was 24, he had a dream of becoming financially free - having sufficient income, savings, or investments to live comfortably for life.
When he turned 36, he slowly started to realise it would not be possible in the UK - despite working 10 hours a day six days a week.
Matt said: "At the time I owned five houses in Manchester, and I realised that in order for me to be financially free I would need 10 of those but I wanted to do it quicker.
"I was working so hard at home - I didn't have much of a social life.
"I didn't really go out partying - my main goal was that I wanted to be financially free.
"It was something I have been pushing for the last 10 years, because of the cost of living in Bali, it is something we will achieve quicker."
When Matt and Carly told their family about the move, he says they thought they were "mad" and told them to "stop being silly".
Matt Dearing, 36, and his partner, Carlie Donnelley, 35, say building their home there will also save them £236,000 overall.
The family from Denton, Manchester, wanted to "escape the rat race" and were sick of "living to work".
They felt they were constantly chasing bills and not spending as much time as they wanted with children Lincoln, seven, Delilah, four and Adelaide, one.
The couple started researching Bali - due to the year-round tourism and hot weather - and sold their three-bedroom property for £365k.
They booked one-way tickets in November 2022 and say relatives thought they were "mad" and didn't believe they'd go through with the move.
In March 2023, they found a three-bedroom house to rent for £2k a year, as well as a nearby 1,200 square-foot plot of land for £100k.
They plan to build their dream home - which will cost them 263k less than in the UK.
Matt, a joiner, now living in Ubud, Bali, said: "This was something we have wanted to do for years.
"A couple of times we would go over to Spain, and I was looking for cave houses as I wanted to go off grid.
"In the UK it got to the point where I wasn't spending much time with my kids, I would spend about an hour with them before bedtime.
"I was constantly chasing bills and working.
"I did a lot of research into Bali as it has all-year-round tourism, and the weather is great.
"The return on your investment here is amazing.
"We sold the house we were living in and doing up for £365k.
"With that money, we were able to buy a 1200 square foot plot of land to build two villas on.
"We have struck gold - this is everything we want.
"For us, being financially free is literally freedom to do whatever we want with ther kids, compared to working 10 hours, seven days a week sometime.
"I have always dreamed of dropping the kids off at school and picking them up - I can do that here.
"The people here are lovely and show a lot of gratitude - it ticked all the right boxes."
When Matt was 24, he had a dream of becoming financially free - having sufficient income, savings, or investments to live comfortably for life.
When he turned 36, he slowly started to realise it would not be possible in the UK - despite working 10 hours a day six days a week.
Matt said: "At the time I owned five houses in Manchester, and I realised that in order for me to be financially free I would need 10 of those but I wanted to do it quicker.
"I was working so hard at home - I didn't have much of a social life.
"I didn't really go out partying - my main goal was that I wanted to be financially free.
"It was something I have been pushing for the last 10 years, because of the cost of living in Bali, it is something we will achieve quicker."
When Matt and Carly told their family about the move, he says they thought they were "mad" and told them to "stop being silly".