Their landlord hiked their rent by 25%, so they applied for the NYC housing lottery. On the 25th try, luck was on their side.

Tech Insider
The bedroom.
The bedroom.

Brynne McManimie and Peter Romano

He fell in love with Thailand while traveling in his 20s. Now 40, he's back and has built his dream 'James Bond' luxury villa.

Tech Insider : Travel
The house as viewed from above.
The house as viewed from above.

Johnny Ward/onestepforward

A millennial couple invested in a $143,000 vacation home in Bali. It's become the crux of their early retirement strategy.

Tech Insider : Travel
A drone shot of the two-story villa.
The two-story villa in Bali comes with a pool.

Rory Jones

A millennial living with his parents decided it was time to leave the nest, so he bought and fixed up a crumbling $192,000 house in Malaysia

Tech Insider
The master bedroom.
Kenneth Tan spent six months transforming an old terrace house in Malaysia.

Kenneth Tan

After 2 years of applying for the NYC housing lottery, she finally won her bid. Now she pays $1,000 in rent for her Manhattan apartment.

Tech Insider
The living room.
The living room is bright and airy.

Nkenge Brown

They celebrated their 25th anniversary with a trip to Paris and ended up buying a stone house in the countryside for $100,000. Now, they're dreaming of retiring there.

Tech Insider : Travel
A Gen X couple posing in front of their stone cottage in the French countryside.
Michael and April Meyer posing in front of their stone cottage in the French countryside.

Michael and April Meyer/@FrenchStoneHouseLife

A millennial couple moved into a 97-square-foot micro-apartment in Paris. It's not their forever home, but they've made themselves comfortable.

Tech Insider
An overview of the micro-apartment in Paris.
An overview of the micro-apartment in Paris.

Petit Nuage Himi

I've made simple changes in my life so that I can retire at 40 and move to the Philippines. There are 3 years left, and I'm on track.

Tech Insider
A Caucasian man standing by the ocean.
Brandon Turrell didn't want to spend the rest of his life working in a 9-to-5 job.

Brandon Turrell

They met in culinary school and renovated a $444,000 public housing apartment together. The kitchen was the heart of the project.

Tech Insider
The dry kitchen and island countertop.
The dry kitchen and island counter.

Amanda Goh/Business Insider

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.

Tech Insider
The exterior of the house.
The exterior of the house.

Corey Fraser

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