English Family Trades $475,000 Home for $950-a-Month Thai Villa in Search of a Slower Life

A family of five from Darlington, England, has swapped their suburban life for a rented villa on a Thai island — after selling nearly everything they owned, including the house they once planned to live in forever.

Jasmine Scarr, 34, and her husband Ross, 38, made the move in May, boarding a plane with their three children, two dogs and only five suitcases between them. Their children — Jayden, 7, Johnson, 5, and Mali, 2 — are now being educated at home in their new surroundings.

Before departing, the couple sold the property they had expected to be their long-term family home, a house valued at roughly $475,000 according to People. The decision, Jasmine admitted, was daunting, but she now describes it as the best choice they could have made.

Today, the family pays around $950 a month for a four-bedroom villa that comes with utilities included. The home features a private swimming pool, a garden, and a veranda with views out over the jungle.

The catalyst for the move was work. Ross, a welding engineer, used to commute roughly two hours each way for shift work, a routine that squeezed the time the family could spend together and, his wife says, gradually took a toll on his mental health.

Their routines have changed completely. Days now center on the children, while Jasmine — who works in business payroll — fits her job in after bedtime. With Thailand six hours ahead of the UK, she is able to keep daytime hours free for family life.

Education has been reimagined as well. Jasmine pulled Jayden and Johnson out of their school in March in order to teach them herself abroad, and the boys settle into at least two hours of study after breakfast each morning, covering math, English and other subjects. Two-year-old Mali is getting her own introduction to learning through basic numbers and colors.

Lessons regularly extend beyond the villa. Temple visits have opened conversations about Thai culture, the two older children have signed up with a local soccer team, and Jasmine hopes they will pick up the Thai language in time.

Thailand was never a random pick. Jasmine first traveled there as a teenager and had long wanted to go back.

For now, the family has committed to at least a year in their new home, with no definite plans beyond that. But Jasmine says the goal is to stay put — and one day, perhaps, to open a business on the island.