- Johan and Sabine Bogaerts left the Netherlands and moved to Thailand to open a beach resort.
- The couple says they have always dreamed of running their own business instead of working for someone else.
- Although life is now “slower and certainly more satisfying,” 54-year-old Johan says it’s not all play.
In November 2022, Johan and Sabine Bogaerts packed up their lives and moved with their two sons from the Netherlands to Koh Lanta, an island off the west coast of Thailand.
They had traveled to Thailand numerous times on vacation and enjoyed everything about the country, but it was the pandemic that gave them the idea to move there.
“Life just happens very quickly and we wanted to do something different before it was too late, physically and also mentally,” Sabine, 51, a former chef, told Business Insider.
Johan and Sabine Bogaerts always dreamed of starting their own business. Soft mango.
The couple always dreamed of managing something themselves instead of working for someone else.
“We agreed to change our lives a little, get out of the rat race and do something completely different in a beautiful country that we already knew,” Johan, 54, a welding engineer, told BI.
But the real decision was made after seeing some ads on Facebook about rental properties in Thailand, Sabine said.
They found the house online and viewed it via video call. This is what the rooms looked like before the couple renovated them. Soft mango.
“We found this property online. We were interested and we already knew the area since we’ve been here a few times,” said Johan.
The property is less than 60 meters away from Klong Khong Beach, a popular tourist destination on Koh Lanta.
Koh Lanta is part of Krabi Province and is approximately 72 kilometers from Krabi International Airport. Visitors can also reach Koh Lanta via a 1.5-hour ferry ride from Phuket.
It was already built as a resort with detached rooms, but looked dated, with minimal furnishings and simple finishes. Due to the pandemic, the original resort had been shut down and the humid climate had left the property in poor condition.
One of the back rooms on the property before the couple renovated it. Soft mango.
Nevertheless, the couple saw its potential and made their decision during a video call with their agent.
Because foreigners cannot own land in Thailand, the couple rented the property for twenty years. They declined to share details, but estimated their total costs — including renovations — were about 200,000 euros, or about $206,000.
The couple also said they managed to sell their house in the Netherlands, which helped them cover their costs.
Running a resort on the beach
Thailand has long been a popular place for tourists and expats alike, thanks to its rich culture relatively low cost of living.
In recent years it has also been a popular destination for retirees: Thailand ranked 10th on International Living’s 2025 Annual Global Retirement Index.
However, the couple says they knew they were not ready to retire and decided to start a business in Thailand.
The first thing they did after getting their keys was renovate almost the entire house. Soft mango.
“I think retiring at 50 would be so boring for us,” Sabine said.
“You really have to feel comfortable. We were doing well, but we were not yet financially ready to fully retire,” Johan added.
When they got the keys to the property, the first thing they did was start renovating it and bringing it up to their own standards.
“We took out some walls, made it bigger, redecorated all the bathrooms, made new balconies, put in new paint – everything is brand new,” said Johan.
The resort has 16 guest bungalows, a swimming pool, a restaurant, a bar and a laundry room.
The property has 16 guest bungalows and is located right on Klong Khong Beach, a popular tourist destination in Koh Lanta. Soft mango.
The busiest season runs from early December to late March, when the weather is sunny with less rain. Room prices in the low season are about a third of the high season price, according to Sabine.
During low season, the cheapest room costs about 1,100 Thai baht, or about $32. During high season, the same room can cost about 2,600 Thai baht, or about $75, Johan said.
The couple employs nine full-time employees. Soft mango.
The couple also employs nine full-time staff, including a receptionist, housekeepers, kitchen staff and gardeners.
One of the biggest challenges they faced during the renovations was varying expectations about when things would be completed.
“With us, an agreement is an agreement, and a time to finish is a time to finish, but that’s a little different here. So we really have to adapt to that,” said Johan.
The high season runs from the beginning of December to the end of March. Soft mango.
A ‘slower and certainly more fulfilling’ life
One of the things they liked most about their lifestyle now compared to back in the Netherlands is that they no longer feel the need to keep up with the Joneses.
“You decide for yourself. For me it is that you are not driven by something that needs to be done. When we still lived in the Netherlands, everything had to be as it was,” said Johan. “You have a lot of assets and you were just concerned with maintaining and maintaining all the assets you have.”
The couple says life is slower and more satisfying now. Soft mango.
Not only that, the couple is spending more time outside than before.
“We have a beautiful environment. We have a lot of palm trees, we hear the birds and we can look at the ocean from here,” said Sabine.
However, there are also times when they miss the Netherlands, especially the weather. Thailand has a humid tropical climate and the weather is “hot or very hot” or “rainy or not,” Johan said.
“We have to say that sometimes we miss a little bit of the cold,” he said. “We are seasonal people. We grew up in the four seasons, so you miss that a bit.”
Even the Christmas season doesn’t feel the same anymore.
“We obviously never wore a jacket or good shoes or pants again,” Sabine said, adding that her favorite outfits are now sleeveless tops and shorts.
Work-life balance in Thailand
These days, the couple’s routine starts with dropping their youngest, 7, off at school before heading to the resort to check things in. Their other son, 21, returned to the Netherlands last March.
They say their youngest son is adapting well to life on the island.
“It is sometimes more difficult for him to visit friends, such as in the Netherlands, but he loves the beach life here,” says Sabine.
The rest of the couple’s day is usually spent on various tasks – such as fixing things around the house and running errands for the restaurant – to ensure the resort runs smoothly.
Although life is now “slower and certainly more satisfying,” Johan says it’s not all play.
The couple have been busy in recent years getting the resort up and running, and they have only just begun to settle down somewhat, as they also recently opened a restaurant nearby serving European and Thai cuisine.
“People think, ‘Oh, you must be so happy that you can watch the sunset every night.’ We hardly do that because we are always busy,” says Sabine. “Everything is more or less ready at the moment. Of course you’re never really done at a resort, but all the huge projects are done. So I don’t know, maybe life will be different now.”
Have you recently moved to a new country and found or renovated your dream home? If you have a story to share, please contact this reporter at agoh@businessinsider.com.