He always felt he needed a vacation from his life in Chicago. So he retired at 40 and moved into a $110,000 house in the Philippines with his wife.

• Corey Fraser, 42, moved from Chicago to the Philippines with his wife, Rachel, in 2022.
• He put together a six-year plan that led him to retire early and build a $110,000 house near the sea.
• "I wasn't going to be rich, but I was comfortable every month, having more than I would need in the Philippines," he said.

After a two-and-a-half-week vacation in the Philippines in 2016, Corey Fraser realized he didn't want to go back to his regular life in the US.

Back then, Fraser — a Portland native — had been living in Chicago for almost seven years. While his career in the automotive industry was good, Fraser knew he wasn't happy.