Category Archives: Malaysia

. Are you tired of Australia’s Cost of Living Crisis in 2025? Learn why one Aussie is never going back, trading the housing crisis for a life of financial freedom and adventures in Southeast Asia.

The Ten-Dollar Loaf of Bread

So, get this. A single loaf of bread in Sydney can set you back ten dollars.

Yes. TEN. DOLLARS.

I can already hear the excuses: “Oh, but that’s just from some fancy artisan bakery in Surry Hills!” Mate, it doesn’t matter. It’s a flashing red warning light on the dashboard of a country that’s driving full-pelt off a cliff. That same loaf of bread costs me about $1.70 here in Bangkok. In Vietnam, it’s a buck.

Let that sink in for a second.

Look, don’t get me wrong. I love Australia. I miss the footy with my mates, the smell of a backyard barbie on a Sunday arvo, and the simple, friendly “how ya goin’?” from a complete stranger. There are days when I genuinely believe it’s the best country in the world.

So why did I leave? Why did I decide that I’m never going back to Australia?

Because the “fair go” has become a fairy tale. The “she’ll be right” attitude has been weaponised against us, a way to keep us compliant while our pockets are being emptied.

My name is Shaun. I grew up in Australia, built a 20-year career in finance in Sydney, and even ran a successful side-business. I did everything ‘right’. But I realised that doing ‘right’ doesn’t pay the bills when the game feels rigged. The ever-worsening cost of living crisis Australia was no longer a headline; it was my reality.

So in 2022, I packed my bags. I gave up on Australia. And I found a life I never thought was possible. This isn’t a sales pitch. This is just my story. And if you stick with me, I’ll show you the real, honest-to-God steps that took me from soul-crushing financial stress in Sydney to absolute freedom here in Southeast Asia.

The Groundhog Day Trap: My Breaking Point

My decision to leave wasn’t some grand, dramatic explosion. It was a slow, quiet implosion. It was the soul-crushing grind of Groundhog Day. Wake up, work, pay bills, sleep, repeat. Despite a two-decade career and a successful business, I was stuck on a hamster wheel, running faster and faster just to stay in the same place.

Let’s talk real numbers, because this is where the story gets truly insane. These were my actual monthly costs for two people living in Sydney back in 2022:

• Rent: $2,000/mo
• Groceries: $1,200/mo
• Transport (Car & Insurance): $320/mo
• Electricity: $200/mo
• Phones/Internet: $250/mo
• Total: $3,970.

That’s nearly four grand before you’ve had a beer with a mate, bought a new pair of shoes, or saved a single dollar. And the rent? Just before I left, my landlord hit me with a $100-a-week increase. An extra five grand a year for the privilege of… nothing. That’s the rental crisis Sydney for you in a nutshell. It’s a landlord’s market, and tenants are paying the price.

But even that wasn’t the final straw. The breaking point, the moment I truly knew I gave up on Australia, was a parking fine. I got slapped with a $136 ticket for parking nose-first in a “rear to kerb” spot at a public pool. A public pool! The sign wasn’t even visible from where I parked. One hundred and thirty-six bucks for an honest mistake in a mostly empty car park.

It was a small thing, but it represented everything that was wrong. The feeling of being constantly nickel-and-dimed by a system that no longer serves its people.

Now, I live in a two-story, four-bedroom house in Bangkok with three bathrooms, a communal pool, and a gym. My total cost for rent, internet, water, and electricity combined? $840 a month.

How is that even possible? Read on.

It’s Not Bad Luck, It’s By Design: Australia’s Policy Problem

This isn’t an accident. The cost of living crisis that’s crippling millions of Aussies is the direct result of years of terrible government policies that have abandoned the middle class.

Problem #1: The Housing Spiral of Death

The government and australian news outlets keep celebrating rising house prices. But who are they celebrating for? For everyday people, it means rents are climbing twice as fast as wages. This is the core of the australia housing crisis 2025. They’ve engineered a massive demand for housing through record-high migration but have utterly failed to increase the supply of actual homes for people to live in.

It’s like inviting 100 people to a barbecue but only putting out 90 chairs. It guarantees someone is left standing. This isn’t just a stuff-up; it’s a deliberate policy choice, and it’s crushing a generation’s dream of owning a home, or even just having affordable rent. The problem of housing affordability Australia has been decades in the making.

Problem #2: The Cost of Living Squeeze

While housing becomes a pipe dream, the price of everything else is exploding. My electricity bill jumped 25% overnight. They tell us inflation is around 3%, but we all know our grocery bills have gone up by way more than that. Yet, has your pay jumped 10-25%? Of course not. Wage growth is stuck in the mud.

You don’t need a 20-year finance career to see that the math doesn’t add up. They’ve created a system that guarantees you’ll have less money and more stress every single year.

The Great Escape: My 3-Step Plan to Freedom

So, how do you actually escape the trap? It’s not about winning the lottery; it’s about having a solid game plan. Here are the three practical, no-fluff steps I took to build my new life.

1. Build Your “Freedom Fund”
   This is the most critical step. Do not leave without a safety net. I saved like my life depended on it until I had a solid chunk of cash in the bank. I recommend having at least $20,000 AUD.

This isn’t “fun money” for your Paradise adventures. This is your runway. It’s a year’s worth of basic living expenses in Southeast Asia. It’s your emergency flight home with cash to land on your feet if things go sideways. Having this fund is what turns a risky gamble into a calculated strategy.

1. Get “Remote-Ready” Skills
   You need an income stream that isn’t tied to a physical location. You need skills the internet will pay for. My finance background gave me analytical skills, but I had to learn how to apply them online by building a YouTube channel and an e-commerce store.

You don’t need a degree for this. You can find remote jobs or learn incredibly valuable skills from online courses. Focus on these in-demand fields:

AI Agents: Every business will need them.

Online Marketing: Every business needs customers.

Content Creation: Because attention is the new currency.

E-commerce: It’s flexible and it works.

Virtual Assistant & Remote Support: Businesses always need help managing their operations.

1. The “Visa Voyage” Strategy
   This is the part that scares everyone, but it’s simpler than you think. Don’t try to plan the next ten years. Just start.

Come to Thailand on a 60-day tourist visa. See if you like the vibe. If you do, you can extend it. If not, hop over to Vietnam for 90 days. Or Malaysia. Or the Philippines. I’ve lived in five countries over the last three years simply by planning my moves from one tourist visa to the next.

Yes, there’s some bureaucracy. But trust me, filling out a few forms is a thousand times better than the daily, repetitive, soul-crushing grind back home.

A Tale of Two Worlds: The Reality Check You Didn’t Know You Needed

The craziest part of this whole journey is realising you’re not just ‘paying a bit more’ in Australia. You’re living in a completely different economic universe.

My old rent in Sydney, which would now be about $2,800 a month, could get you what in Bangkok? You could rent an entire house. Maybe two houses. And hire a cleaner. And have a car. My old grocery bill of $1,200 a month? You could eat at the best restaurants in Bangkok every single night for that kind of money.

I’ll never forget my first grocery shop here. I loaded up the cart with everything—snacks, coffee, deodorant, even a few cheeky beers. The total came to about 25 Aussie dollars. I literally laughed out loud in the aisle. Back in Sydney, that was a single lunch. Here, it was a week’s worth of supplies.

It’s not just about the money, though. It’s the feeling of freedom. I was in a car with my fiancée’s brother when he accidentally turned the wrong way down a one-way street. The police were right there. I braced myself for the inevitable fine. Instead, the cops just started laughing. They casually walked over, asked him to turn around, and waved us on. No fine, no lecture, no license check. And we think we’re the laid-back country?

After three years of seeing this pattern over and over again—in five different countries—you realize you’re not just paying a premium for a better lifestyle in Australia. You are paying a massive ‘unhappiness tax’ just to exist in a system designed to keep you struggling.

A Message to My Mates Back Home

To every Aussie reading this, especially if you’re feeling trapped, I want you to hear me. I see you. I was you.

You’re working your guts out and still being told it’s not enough. You’re feeling like a failure because you can’t even dream of a house deposit while the government talks about the australian housing crisis as if it’s some abstract concept.

You are not the problem.

This life—a life where your hard work actually translates to freedom, where your money goes further, where you can have genuine Paradise adventures without going into debt—is not a fantasy. It is a choice. And it starts with believing you deserve more than what you’re being given.

Your First Actionable Step Towards a New Life

A wise man once said, ‘Tough times create strong men.’ Well, the tough times are here. It’s time to get strong.

Your first step isn’t to pack a bag or sell your car. It’s much smaller. It’s to open a new browser tab.

Tonight, I want you to search for “Top 5 in-demand remote skills in 2025.”

That’s it. Just look. Plant that seed. See what’s out there. Take that first, tiny step away from the cost of living crisis and towards a life of your own design. The “fair go” might be on life support in Australia, but I promise you, it is alive and well out here.

My Bangkok Basecamp Recommendation

If you’re planning a trip to Bangkok to scope things out, you’ll need a great place to stay that won’t break the bank. I recommend checking out the Lumen Bangkok Srinakarin. It’s a fantastic spot that gives you a taste of the quality of life you can have here.

You can find it on https://agoda.tp.st/LKGhCniM

You can also book it through https://booking.tp.st/ZjeV6SG5

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