After his mom’s sudden death, Brandon Turrell decided he wanted to make the most out of life.The idea of working in a 9-to-5 job for the rest of his life no longer interested him.He made a plan to be financially independent by 40 and hopes to be able to move to the Philippines with his fianceé.
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This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brandon Turrell, a 37-year-old aerospace technician based in Washington. He runs a YouTube channel about being in a long-distance relationship and moving to the Philippines. This essay has been edited for length and clarity.In 2011, when I was 24, my mother died unexpectedly from cardiac arrest while on her way home from the gym. She was only 50.Her sudden passing had a profound impact on me. I realized we only have one life and wanted to make the most of it. Working another 40 years in a 9-to-5 job no longer interested me.In 2012, I came across the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement — better known as the FIRE movement.Rather than the “Retire Early” part of FIRE, I was always more interested in the “Financial Independence” side.I don’t think I ever want to be retired in the traditional sense. I’ll still find ways to keep busy — like continuing to create YouTube content or maybe even running an e-commerce business. But as far as an actual 9-to-5 job where I have to clock in and out, I needed to see an end to that in sight.I decided I could be financially independent by 40When I was 20, I bought a three-bedroom house in Puyallup, Washington. I had skipped college and gone straight to work after high school.After two years, I’d saved enough to buy my own place, so I moved out. But after my mom died, I moved back in with my dad so that we could grieve together.A year later, I decided to rent out my house and move into a mother-in-law apartment in northeast Tacoma. It’s a separate living unit that’s been incorporated into a larger home.My rent was $890 a month back then, including utilities and the internet, although it’s been $1,050 a month since 2020. The average monthly rent of a studio apartment in Tacoma is $1,199, according to the latest data from real-estate platform Apartments.com.This move allowed me to save more than half of my income over the past decade. Everything that remains at the end of the month gets invested.As for my house, I sold it in 2017 for $212,000. I knew I would never move back in and didn’t enjoy being a landlord.I knew I didn’t want to live in the US in the futureMy research on financial independence introduced me to the term “geographic arbitrage,” which refers to the benefits of living in a lower-cost country while earning income from a higher-paying country.
I came across some expat creators living in Southeast Asia and realized how much lower the cost of living was there. This was what planted the seed.I started dating Arlene online. She was based in the Philippines, which helped me decide which country to visit first.
Brandon Turrell and his fiancée Arlene.
Brandon Turrell
We had talked for nine months before I flew over. Soon after arriving there for the first time in 2021, I quickly fell in love — with both her and the country. I’ve been visiting every six months since. The people are friendly and generous, and everyone speaks English — which makes it easy for foreigners like me. It’s a slower pace of life, with more time to relax with family or friends.Leyte — an island in the Philippines about 350 miles southeast of Manila — was a place I could see myself living. It’s also where Arlene, now my fianceé, is from, so I decided to look for land there.
The couple’s tiny house and land as seen from above.
Brandon Turrell
I bought a 7,000-square-foot plot of land near Tanauan, a city in Leyte, for $12,400. After fees, the total cost came up to about $12,850. Due to property ownership laws, the land is in Arlene’s name.We are 30 minutes from downtown and the airport — it’s close enough to the city to get anything we need but far enough away to still enjoy the simple provincial life we desire.I don’t live in the Philippines full-time yet but the plan is for us to settle into a house that we build there eventually.Leading up to that, I decided to build a tiny house to see what the experience would be like.Although I wasn’t directly involved in the actual construction, I made all the design sketches and oversaw the project.
The exterior of the couple’s tiny house.
Brandon Turrell
It took about two-and-a-half months for the tiny house to be completed. Due to work commitments back in the US, I couldn’t be on-site the entire time, so I checked in via video calls instead.At the moment, we use it as a studio apartment. It’s where I live when I’m back in the Philippines and where Arlene lives as we wait for her visa to be approved so she can come to the US.
The couple’s primary living and sleeping area in the tiny house.
Brandon Turrell
After she arrives, we plan on staying in the US for a few more years before we move to the Philippines full-time. At that point, we’ll live in the tiny house as we build our dream bungalow-style home on the main lot.I’m 37 years old now, and I’m on trackI could probably quit right now, but I believe in having a big safety margin. I don’t want to leave and then have to come back to the workforce, so I’m adding a few more years.I’m fortunate in a way because I don’t have credit card or student debt. And that’s a big thanks to my parents, who taught me to save money when I was young.I also believe in tracking your income and expenses, as well as living below your means.It’s important to avoid lifestyle inflation. As I’ve grown in my career, I’ve made it a point to keep my expenses at the same level instead of keeping up with the Joneses. I remind myself that the dopamine rush from the fancy car or a bigger house would only last a few months before it wore off.
