How this couple uses a Facebook strategy to live abroad for half the cost of the U.S.

Ré Esordi, host of the budget-friendly retirement and life abroad channel Adventure Freaksss, sat down with Scott and Maddy to talk about a version of international living that does not begin with buying property, applying for permanent residency, or making one final decision about where to spend the rest of your life.

Instead, the couple described what they call “country sampling,” a slow-travel approach that lets them live in different places for one, two, or three months at a time while testing whether the country could become a long-term home.

Maddy told Esordi that she and Scott are originally from South Florida, a little north of Miami, and started traveling after they got married. She said living outside the United States was never a foreign idea to her because she was born in Guam, but it became possible only after she and Scott figured out how to work remotely.

They initially kept their apartment in Florida, then eventually gave it up when the cost no longer made sense. Maddy said they moved their belongings into storage first, but after returning from Greece, they realized even the storage unit had become an unnecessary expense and flew back to sell most of what they owned in one weekend.

That kind of move sounds drastic, but Scott framed it as a process that grew gradually. He said slow travel gave them courage because the first step was simply leaving home for a month, learning how it felt, and then trying a slightly longer stay somewhere else.

The larger lesson is practical: people often imagine moving abroad as one giant leap, when it may work better as a series of smaller experiments.

Slow Travel, Or “Country Sampling”

When Esordi asked them to define slow travel, Scott said it is the opposite of rushing through a checklist of tourist attractions.

For them, slow travel means staying long enough to live at a normal pace, get a better deal on housing, and understand what daily life actually feels like. Scott said they still work during the week, then explore one thing at a time on their free days, rather than trying to see everything in a few packed days.

Maddy said they use the phrase “country sampling” because they are not just taking vacations; they are looking for a home base. In each place, they ask whether they can keep the habits they had in Florida, such as going to the gym, cooking at home, keeping a regular work schedule, shopping for groceries, and handling ordinary errands.

Those details may sound small, but they often decide whether a place is livable. A city can look beautiful in a travel video, but if the grocery routine is hard, the apartment is noisy, or the neighborhood does not fit someone’s lifestyle, the fantasy can wear off quickly.

Esordi agreed with that point, telling viewers that if they have the means, they should do an exploratory trip before making a major move. A destination may look perfect online, he said, but the feeling on the ground can be very different.

Scott and Maddy have now slow-traveled through roughly 12 countries across four continents, including Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany, Thailand, and Malaysia, with Vietnam next on their list.

The Facebook Rental Strategy

The couple’s most useful advice came when Esordi asked how they find apartments for one- to three-month stays without paying full Airbnb prices the entire time.

Maddy said their usual strategy is to book a hotel or Airbnb for the first five to seven days in a new city, giving them a safe and predictable place to land. They then use that first week to search for a longer rental in person.

A lot of that search happens on Facebook.

Maddy said they have found apartments in both Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur through Facebook groups, usually by searching the city name with terms such as “short-term rental,” “rentals,” or “accommodations.” She said they often join local groups about a week before arriving, because in Southeast Asia, looking too early can be pointless since good apartments move quickly.

Her advice was simple but smart: post what you are looking for, include must-have amenities, name the area you want, and list a maximum budget, but set that number slightly below your true ceiling.

Agents then reach out, often through Facebook Messenger, and the conversation moves to WhatsApp so they can schedule showings.

Maddy also warned that travelers need to be careful, because rental scams do exist. She said people should ask about the owner, try to confirm whether the agent is licensed, and avoid handing over money blindly before seeing what they are actually renting.

This is where their strategy makes sense. Airbnb can be convenient and safer in certain ways, but for longer stays, the platform often comes with a heavy premium. By arriving first, seeing the building, walking the neighborhood, and then negotiating locally, Scott and Maddy say they save money and avoid being stuck in a place that looked better in photos than in real life.

Half The Price, Same Building

The clearest example was their apartment in Kuala Lumpur.

Maddy said they first stayed in an Airbnb in the same building, liked it, and then found a longer-term unit there through Facebook. The Airbnb had been about $75 a night, while their longer rental came out to about $29 a night, or $864 a month.

Scott said that was actually under half the nightly price, and the apartment still came with the kind of amenities that would feel expensive in the United States.

They described the building as a high-rise with two towers, two pools, two gyms, security, public spaces, a sauna, a hot tub, and a connection through a walking corridor to a shopping mall. Maddy said they are on the 21st floor, with access to a pool on the 35th floor and skyline views.

The apartment itself is about 800 square feet, with a true bedroom, a den-like second space, a kitchen, a dining area, a living area, a washing machine, and even an oven, which Maddy said is not always easy to find in Southeast Asia.

For comparison, Maddy said their Florida apartment had similar amenities in a smaller building and a walkable neighborhood, but cost about $3,000 a month. It was a 20-minute walk to the beach, which she acknowledged was a major difference, but in Kuala Lumpur they are in the city center and a five-minute walk to public transportation.

Scott summed it up by saying they had cut their costs by roughly two-thirds for what they were getting. That does not mean every person would prefer Kuala Lumpur to South Florida, but it does show why slow travelers and remote workers are looking overseas with fresh eyes.

Southeast Asia Stretched Their Money The Furthest

When Esordi asked which places had been most affordable, Scott answered quickly: Southeast Asia, by far.

He said Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok are both capital cities, meaning someone could likely find even cheaper options outside those major hubs. Even in those cities, though, he said they were not sacrificing quality.

That point matters because many Americans assume lower cost means lower standards. Scott said the scale is simply different in some countries, where a middle-class American income can place someone in a much stronger position locally.

He said a person might pay a third or half of what they pay in the United States and still live in one of the best neighborhoods in a modern capital city.

The couple said they paid about $975 a month in Bangkok for a one-bedroom apartment with a gym, pool, security, and a walkable neighborhood. Kuala Lumpur has been even cheaper for them, though they said the better choice depends on someone’s personality, visa situation, and lifestyle needs.

Their broader point was not that every American should move to Southeast Asia. It was that people should test places in real life before assuming the U.S. is the only place where a good life is possible.

Healthcare Was Another Surprise

One of the biggest surprises for Scott and Maddy was healthcare in Malaysia.

Maddy, who is a nurse, said they recently went through full health screenings in Kuala Lumpur and had a very different experience from what they were used to in the United States. Scott said the same tests would have cost them about $10,000 in the U.S. because they would not have been covered, while in Malaysia the total came to less than $800 for both of them.

He said he had a cardiac stress test and other screenings, with most results returned the same day and a few emailed shortly afterward.

Maddy said the biggest difference was price transparency. At Prince Court Medical Center in Kuala Lumpur, she said they were told which tests they were getting and exactly what the cost would be before the appointment began.

In her view, that level of clarity was refreshing because in the United States, finding out the price of medical care can be almost impossible, with or without insurance.

Esordi said he hears similar stories often from people who go overseas and discover that the quality of care can be strong while the process feels far more straightforward.

Freedom, Not Just Savings

Toward the end of the conversation, Scott said living abroad is not only about spending less money, though the savings are real.

For them, lower expenses open up larger choices. If they can cut their cost of living significantly, they may be able to work less, spend more time together, retire earlier, or eventually raise a child with more flexibility than they would have had in South Florida.

Maddy said they are ultimately looking for a home base where they could live indefinitely and possibly raise a family. Safety, walkability, healthcare, affordability, family-friendliness, and an existing expat community all matter to them.

Their next stop is Da Nang, Vietnam, followed by Bali, Indonesia, as they continue testing places before making a longer-term decision.

The practical takeaway from Scott and Maddy’s story is not that Facebook groups are magic or that every cheap apartment abroad is a good deal. It is that slow travel gives people time to compare real life, not just prices, and Facebook can be a powerful tool when used carefully.

For Americans who feel squeezed by housing, healthcare, and everyday costs, their experience offers a grounded version of the move-abroad dream: arrive safely, test the city, use local rental networks, verify everything, and let the decision come from daily life rather than a vacation fantasy.