He moved to Bangkok but still works US hours — and says the overnight schedule feels more relaxed
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<p>In 2018, Andrew Corona flew to Bangkok with a friend for a monthlong vacation.</p>
<p>But as the trip drew to a close, Corona realized he wasn&#8217;t ready to leave. &#8220;I told my buddy that I was not going home, and I extended my stay for another three months,&#8221; Corona, now 30, told Business Insider said.</p>
<p>He spent the time traveling around Southeast Asia and returned to San Diego convinced he wanted to live in the region someday.</p>
<p>Relocating across the world didn&#8217;t feel feasible at that time.</p>
<p>Remote work was far less common then, and his corporate job rarely allowed for extended travel, Corona said. &#8220;You&#8217;re lucky if you can get even two weeks&#8217; time, typically,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>By early 2019, Corona had quit his job to run his own business.</p>
<p>Still, it wasn&#8217;t until the pandemic normalized remote work that he felt the move was possible.</p>
<p>At the same time, Corona said he was growing frustrated with San Diego.</p>
<p>Homelessness, drug use, and political divisions had changed the way he viewed the city, leading him and his then-girlfriend to seriously consider a life overseas.</p>
<p>In early 2024, Corona and his now-fiancée rented an Airbnb for three months in Bangkok as a trial run.</p>
<p>They began envisioning a long-term future in Bangkok but still spent the rest of 2024 traveling around the world, exploring cities such as Buenos Aires, Madrid, and Dubai. &#8220;I speak Spanish fluently, so on paper Madrid or Buenos Aires should&#8217;ve been the obvious choice,&#8221; Corona said. &#8220;But Bangkok just felt like home in a way I didn&#8217;t anticipate.&#8221; Have you relocated abroad — especially to Asia — for career opportunities, retirement, or lower living costs?</p>
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<p>In January 2025, Corona and his fiancée officially settled in Bangkok.</p>
<p>They now live in a two-bedroom, two-bathroom furnished condo in Thonglor, a stylish, upscale neighborhood commonly referred to as the &#8220;Beverly Hills of Bangkok.&#8221; Their monthly rent is 80,000 Thai baht, or about $2,500 — roughly half of what Corona said he paid for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in San Diego.</p>
<p>Their building in Bangkok comes with amenities such as a rooftop pool, a gym, a golf simulator, lounges, and parking.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s also within walking distance of a train station.</p>
<p>Still, some people back home had very different ideas about what life in Thailand would actually look like.</p>
<p>Corona said one relative initially imagined the couple living &#8220;in a hut on the beach,&#8221; rather than in a modern city.</p>
<p>While he doesn&#8217;t follow a strict budget, he estimates his monthly expenses — including utilities, groceries, and a gym membership — come to about $1,700.</p>
<p>He sets aside another $1,000 to $2,000 for entertainment and leisure.</p>
<p>Despite moving across the world, Corona still works American hours, running a private lending firm for US commercial real estate.</p>
<p>The majority of his work takes place overnight in Thailand.</p>
<p>His fiancée largely follows the same routine. &#8220;It was a little bit of an adjustment to reverse my entire schedule,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Most days, he wakes up between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and spends his afternoons at the gym, running errands, and relaxing by the pool before starting his workday at around 7 p.m. &#8220;In a way, it&#8217;s provided more of a relaxing work schedule — and a cup of coffee around 8 or 9 p.m. isn&#8217;t so bad,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>The couple sometimes takes what Corona jokingly calls a &#8220;lunch break&#8221; at a nearby Japanese restaurant that&#8217;s open until the wee hours of the morning.</p>
<p>After finishing work, he usually heads to bed between 4 and 6 a.m. &#8220;I honestly prefer it because I find it easier to focus at night.</p>
<p>Even in the US, I would catch myself working in the evenings just because that&#8217;s when there were fewer distractions,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Corona and his fiancée are among the many foreigners who now call Thailand home.</p>
<p>In 2025, Thai civil registration data recorded 102,988 foreign residents living in Bangkok.</p>
<p>The true number could be much higher in the city of 5.4 million.</p>
<p>Business Insider has spoken to several Bangkok expats in the last year.</p>
<p>They cited Bangkok&#8217;s safety and vibrant social scene as reasons for making the move. &#8220;I should spend more time at home, but there&#8217;s so much to see and do and people to meet that I have a hard time staying home,&#8221; Bill Strayer, a retiree who trades US stocks in the middle of the night, told Business Insider in February.</p>
<p>In recent years, Thailand has introduced several visa programs to attract remote workers, including the five-year Destination Thailand Visa, which Corona and his fiancée hold.</p>
<p>It also helps that English is widely spoken in Bangkok. &#8220;And if we can&#8217;t overcome that language barrier, we&#8217;ll use Google Translate to help bridge that gap,&#8221; Corona said.</p>
<p>One of his first close friendships came about unexpectedly last year, when the city experienced earthquake tremors. &#8220;Another tenant who lived in my building ran down in nothing but a towel because he was in the shower at the time the earthquake occurred,&#8221; Corona said.</p>
<p>The two struck up a conversation during the evacuation, which became even more memorable after another resident accidentally ran outside naked, his robe undone. &#8220;Because of him, I got introduced to a lot of people that I then became close with,&#8221; Corona said. &#8220;What I&#8217;ve realized is that, as big as the city is, it&#8217;s very interconnected.</p>
<p>Once you get adopted into one friend group, many follow shortly after.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s like a domino effect.&#8221; As Corona settled into Bangkok, his enthusiasm for the city began rubbing off on friends back in the US.</p>
<p>One of his friends in San Diego moved over too, despite never having visited Thailand. &#8220;The next thing I know, he&#8217;s living here and having just as much fun as me,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Apart from a &#8220;good burrito,&#8221; there&#8217;s not much Corona misses about life in Southern California — and the move changed his definition of success. &#8220;Now I measure it by freedom.</p>
<p>The ability to wake up and decide where I want to be, how I want to spend my time, and build something that funds that life rather than consumes it,&#8221; he said.</p>

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