Why thousands of Aussies are packing up and moving to Southeast Asia for good to escape the cost of living crisis: 'We can't survive here anymore'

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An Aussie man has revealed the cost of living crisis has inspired a new life goal: moving to Southeast Asia for good. 

The 30-year-old claimed the move is a no-brainer as it's a 'tropical paradise' with 'warm weather, vibrant night-life, cheap rent, cheap food and friendly people' - a stark difference from 'fighting to survive' in Australia.

He makes $80,000 a year, has $50,000 in his bank account, and spends a whopping $665 a week on Uber Eats - but has no other assets, no partner or children, and no inheritance coming in anytime soon. 

'Anyone else feel like giving up on Australia and moving to Southeast Asia?' he asked on Reddit.

'I mean what am I going to do? Spend another one to two years saving up a 20 per cent deposit on the cheapest, smallest one-bedroom unit in a high crime rate suburb, just so I can be trapped in a job I hate for 30 years paying it off?

'Does anyone else just feel like giving up on Australia?'

Despite receiving backlash from hundreds about his 'privileged' life - several other Australian families have moved away for similar reasons and never looked back.

Tom Wedding was sick and tired of feeling 'poor' while living paycheck to paycheck in Australia - so he packed up his life and moved to Asia.

Every two months he needs to leave the country to reapply for the $60 Visa - but tends to travel somewhere he hasn't been before. So far he's visited Japan , Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam then uses Bali and Thailand as a 'home base'

Tom also met his now-girlfriend while living in Asia (pictured together) 

The 24-year-old sold his belongings at the start of 2023 and worked remotely from his laptop while travelling overseas.

Tom, who splits his time between Bali and Thailand, previously told FEMAIL he couldn't afford to have a night out with friends in Australia, rarely dined at restaurants, and felt restricted by his finances.

He now invests and saves 60 per cent of the $6,500 he earns every month while working in tropical paradises.

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'I missed out on a lot in Australia and felt like it was controlling my life. Everything adds up so quickly when you go out,' he said.

'Now I'm very spontaneous - if I want to go somewhere I'll just book it. It's also nice working remotely as it gives me the freedom to do that.'

Another father-of-two also explained why moving overseas with his family due to the cost of living has now 'ruined' Australia for him.

Jimmy Mitchell, 36, and wife Pauline, 35, gave up the 'stereotypical lifestyle' in Western Australia and have been travelling around Southeast Asia for the past 12 months with their sons Riley, seven, and Liam, eight.

Jimmy previously told FEMAIL he was working endlessly to make a decent amount of money but felt like he was 'never getting ahead' and would at times arrive home in tears.

At the time the couple were renting a four bedroom house in Mandurah, an hour south of Perth, and struggled saving for a house deposit despite working long hours.

'The core reason why we decided to travel full-time was to improve our quality of life and spend more time together as a family,' Jimmy said.

They're also now saving as much as 50 per cent of their income in a good month instead of zero to five per cent.

The pair haven't looked back since taking the leap and aren't sure when - or if - they will return to Australia permanently.

'In Australia we earned good money - this is the thing I couldn't get my head around. We had good jobs but we always felt like we weren't getting ahead,' Jimmy said.

'The more I worked and the harder I worked to earn the money so we could have the stuff, the less time I got to spend with my family.'

The stress felt like such a massive burden that sometimes Jimmy would come home from work crying, and it was only getting 'progressively worse'.

'I'd come home and say to Pauline, 'I can't keep living like this anymore'. And that was a combination of the fact that we were both working in the business, the kids were at school and we had barely seen each other,' he said.

'We've been back [in Australia] for three weeks now, we're supposed to be here for two months but we may even leave earlier now,' Jimmy said 

However, many Australians on Reddit revealed that simply packing up and moving was no easy feat.

'It's only cheap with you have western money to spend. I recommend you move to Southeast Asia and experience living there on a local wage - it'll give you a new appreciation for Australian living standards,' one said.

'My friends back home work 70+ hours a week in hospitals and 'high paying' office jobs and make less than $2,000 a month. Going home at 5pm and getting Saturdays off is a luxury, not the norm,' a former SEA native said.

Another shared their experience spending over a year in Thailand. 

'The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,' the traveller said. 'I just returned from 15 months in Thailand, teaching English. The reality is no tropical paradise at all.

'I reckon the vast majority of farang there teach English. Other options are very limited. The job is not rewarding, pay will hardly cover your bills. You will always be classed as an outsider.

'The lifestyle is third world in so many ways. This is the grim reality. The real problem is you can't find satisfaction with what you have here. That dissatisfaction will follow you everywhere. Come to terms with that, and your problem is solved.'