This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Clea Barry, 44, an interior designer who moved from Kansas City to Chiang Mai, Thailand, with her husband and three kids in 2022. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My husband and I met 20 years ago, and our shared love of travel brought us together.
Over the years, we lived in several cities across the US with our three kids, including San Diego and Denver. Before moving abroad, we were living in Kansas City, where my husband taught middle school and I worked as an interior designer.
I traveled quite a bit for work. Life with little kids already felt hectic, and then the pandemic happened. After about a year and a half of online school, we felt ready for a change.
We had friends working abroad as international teachers, and seeing their experiences inspired us.
We thought it would be a good opportunity for my husband to teach abroad for a couple of years while our kids attended the same school. It felt like a chance for all of us to experience life in a new country together.
A new chapter abroad
While we had considered moving abroad before, and had even received a few offers over the years, the timing never felt quite right. However, when a teaching opportunity in Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand, came up in 2022, we jumped at it.
By then, I had already scaled back my work after our third child, and I was freelancing remotely, which made it easier for us to move. It also helped that my husband and I had visited Chiang Mai on our honeymoon in 2009, so we knew we loved the Thai culture, food, and lifestyle.
When we talked to our kids — who were 9, 7, and 2 at that point — about the move, we framed it as a family adventure.
We also showed them YouTube videos about fun things they could try in Thailand, such as rolled ice cream, a popular dessert available at the night markets. That really excited them.
In July 2022, we packed up our bags and officially moved to Chiang Mai.
The original plan was to live for two years, but now it’s been four. We’re living in a three-bedroom home in Hang Dong, a district about 15 minutes outside Chiang Mai’s city center.
The home came furnished, including plants. We have a pool and a garden, and it’s an eight-minute drive to the international school. There’s a coffee shop across the street, and we’re also right by walking trails. Rent is 32,000 Thai baht, or about $975, each month.
Our kids have adjusted well. Since people move in and out of Chiang Mai throughout the year, it’s common for a new student to arrive in August, January, or any other time. Instead of thinking it’s strange, the kids get excited. They’re very open to meeting new people because they know everyone comes from different parts of the world.
I started volunteering at my kids’ school over the holiday season, and that experience has been great because I get to see my kids at school, have lunch with them, and head home together.
On days when I’m not volunteering at school, I drop off my kids at 8 o’clock in the morning, head home to do my design work, then pick them up again in the afternoon.
Another thing I appreciate is that the school has club activities, like swimming and soccer, for the kids. Back in the US, I often had to shuttle them from place to place for activities.
A family-friendly lifestyle
The slower pace of life has been great for our family. On the weekends, we enjoy hiking together and going out to eat.
One thing we love about Chiang Mai is its play cafés — restaurants with built-in play areas or activities for kids. So much of the dining here is outdoors, which means the kids get to run around. It almost feels like stepping back into the ’90s.
It feels safe here, and we feel comfortable letting the kids have a bit more independence. My daughter, now a tween, likes to go to the mall and meet her friends.
It’s also been very easy for us to find our community, especially through the school and through social media groups. There are a lot of events happening every weekend in Chang Mai, you almost have to pick and choose what you want to do.
I still work remotely, but I don’t have to work as many hours as I used to. In the US, I only had a few weeks of vacation each year and didn’t have summers off, which made family travel much harder. Since moving to Chiang Mai, we’ve been able to travel to 10 different countries together, including Laos and Vietnam.
What has been nice is that we’ve had a lot more time together. I’m able to enjoy my children’s childhoods more, and that’s something I’m really grateful for.
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