This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Michael Kane, 54, who moved to Koh Samui, Thailand, to retire. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I grew up in Orange County, Southern California, and started my career in restaurants before getting into software. Over the years, I worked in many different fields, from construction and real estate to sales and marketing.
I moved to Atlanta in 1990 and lived there for most of the next 30 years.
About a decade ago, a friend invited me to Thailand for a couple of weeks. I liked the place so much that I stayed for three months. After that, I began splitting my time between Thailand and the US.
My last business before leaving the US was a doggy day care outside Atlanta, which I started after struggling to find one nearby for my own dog. The pandemic hit just before it opened, but I was thankfully able to sell it. After that, I decided I was done with running businesses in the US.
For a long time, I knew I did not want to spend the rest of my life in the US. I had traveled internationally for much of my career, and I felt that spending the rest of my life appreciating other cultures, specifically Thai culture, seemed more appealing.
So, in 2020, I moved to Koh Samui, an island in Thailand, to retire. I bought a two-bedroom apartment in Mae Nam, in the northern area of the island, for $186,100.
I initially came on a five-year Thailand Elite visa, which has since been restructured into the Thailand Privilege visa.
When the Thai government announced the Long-Term Resident Wealthy Pensioners visa in 2022, I decided to switch to that instead, since it was valid for 10 years.
But I got bored with doing nothing
When I moved to Koh Samui, I was looking for a slower life.
I spent my first year and a half there doing what people imagine retirement on a Thai island looks like: going to the beach, getting massages, and enjoying the freedom of not having to work.
But there are only so many days you can spend at the beach and so many massages you can get. I started to get bored.
I don’t play golf, I don’t fish, I don’t paint, and I don’t write poetry.
My ex-girlfriend, a personal trainer, was making banana cakes in our kitchen and selling them around the island. I suggested renting a small space so we could put in ovens and turn it into a little business.
I also couldn’t find good coffee on the island, and we thought it would go well with the cakes. I started researching it and got really immersed, which eventually led us to open Izzy’s Coffee. We named it after my dog.
It started as a small outdoor kiosk that cost about 100,000 Thai baht to build. We then spent another 400,000 Thai baht on equipment and furnishings.
Being on the Long-Term Resident visa allowed me to get a work permit. My current partner, Yam, and I now run the café together. I developed all our drinks.
About six months ago, we questioned why we were standing outside in the heat, rain, and noise. We decided to enclose the kiosk and turned it into a café.
I’m around every day, talking to people and making sure every customer has a perfect experience.
Thailand feels like home
Thailand is not the panacea people think it is. It can be expensive and challenging to live here legally. But I have built a life here, and I am pretty happy.
I have only been back to the US once in the six years I have lived here — it was for a funeral.
But moving to Thailand has not meant losing touch with the people I care about. Even after our divorce, my ex-wife and I have remained close. She and her new husband have visited me in Thailand, and her father, who is like a dad to me, has been here twice.
Even though my life here is slower, I’m not one to sit still. The café gives me a sense of purpose, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be fully satisfied with retirement.
I took what was basically a box on the side of the road and turned it into something people seek out. I don’t want 20 locations or to franchise, but now that the café is on autopilot, I’m getting bored again.
I don’t think I will ever stop looking for the next thing to build. I just don’t know what that’ll be yet.
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