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Younger individuals pursuing an expat lifestyle may have a significant advantage due to generational wealth, allowing them to live below their means abroad without the same financial pressures as those relying solely on their own earned income.
The video explores the "dirty little secret" of many young expats, often referred to as "passport bros," suggesting that a significant factor enabling their lifestyle is generational wealth or family support. The host notes pushback and criticism towards younger individuals living abroad, with some suggesting it's only possible or appropriate for those nearing retirement age. However, the reality for many young expats is that they may be set up to inherit businesses, real estate, or investment portfolios, shifting their life goals from career advancement to wealth maintenance.
This financial advantage allows younger expats to live in lower-cost countries, such as those in Southeast Asia or Latin America, far below their means. This contrasts sharply with the high baseline expenses in Western countries, where individuals often work primarily to maintain their current position rather than to get ahead. The video highlights that a substantial portion of the millennial generation receives financial help from parents or grandparents, a reality that, while not universally applicable, significantly eases the burden of living costs like high rent.
The host acknowledges that this situation can breed envy, but argues against gatekeeping expat life based on age or financial background. He points out that the Baby Boomer generation, in particular, is the wealthiest in history, and many parents and grandparents wish to help their children achieve financial security and a better quality of life. The video also touches on the idea of "mini-retirements" and living in the moment, suggesting that with economic uncertainties and potential social security issues, younger generations may have valid reasons to pursue experiences abroad while they are young, healthy, and less tied down by responsibilities.
The secret for many young expats is generational wealth or family support, which enables them to pursue an expat lifestyle without relying solely on their own earned income. This financial backing allows them to live below their means in lower-cost countries.
Generational wealth, such as inheritances or family businesses, provides young expats with a financial cushion. This allows them to live comfortably in countries with a lower cost of living, freeing them from the pressure of needing a high-paying job to sustain their lifestyle abroad.
Yes, with sufficient generational wealth or family financial support, young individuals can live abroad without needing to work a traditional career. This enables them to focus on experiences and lifestyle rather than solely on career advancement.
Young expats often live below their means abroad because their financial needs are met by family wealth or support systems. This allows them to enjoy a high quality of life in lower-cost regions, which would be unattainable for many relying only on their own income.
The idea that expat life is only for those nearing retirement is a narrow view. Younger individuals with access to generational wealth can and do pursue expat lifestyles, often taking 'mini-retirements' or living abroad to experience life now.
The primary advantage for young expats with financial backing is the ability to live well below their means in more affordable countries. This allows for a richer life experience and greater financial freedom compared to staying in high-cost Western societies.
Young expats are sometimes criticized because some people believe that living abroad should be reserved for those nearing retirement age. There's a perception that younger individuals can only afford this lifestyle due to generational wealth or family support, rather than through traditional career success.
Many young expats can afford to live abroad because they benefit from generational wealth, family businesses, or inherited real estate. This financial backing allows them to live in lower-cost countries significantly below their means, a stark contrast to the high expenses in their home Western countries.
The video suggests that it is valid for younger generations to pursue life abroad, even with financial support. Factors like economic uncertainties and the desire to experience life while young and healthy make 'mini-retirements' or extended stays abroad a reasonable choice.
Envy towards younger expats often stems from their perceived ability to live a lifestyle that others may feel they have to wait until traditional retirement to achieve. This is particularly true when the younger expats have financial backing that allows them to live comfortably in lower-cost regions.
Yes, the video implies that early retirement or extended living abroad is possible for those with financial advantages, such as generational wealth or family support. This allows individuals to pursue experiences and a different quality of life before traditional retirement age.
0:02 Hey YouTube, Alex here. And in today's video, I want to cover something kind of controversial. And this is a video topic that's probably going to bother some people. Other people are going to think, "Wow, that's obvious to me." Let me know what you think down in the comments after you get a chance to watch it.
0:21 Anyway, the topic of today's video is the dirty little secret of young expats, or you could say young passport bros. Let's say guys in their 20s and 30s living overseas. And I'm making this video because I've gotten a lot of pushback. I also noticed a lot of people saying, "Oh no, you can't do that. You're too young."
0:53 I also noticed in a Thailand-specific Facebook group I was in, an expat had taken a photo of some younger guys on laptops in a cafe in a certain popular city in Thailand and was basically using it to try to make fun of them. They got called out like, "Oh, you know, don't be bitter and angry just because somebody has figured out or is trying to figure out how to do the expat life at a younger age."
1:19 And I wanted to address something that came to mind after I reflected on it and thought about different experiences. And that is the factor of generational wealth or the potential for inheriting a business or real estate as far as young people go.
1:34 So, one of the common critiques I hear from a lot of expats is that, "Oh, you can only do it once you're retired." And I totally respect guys that they wait until they're fully financially ready. They wait until they're collecting a pension, they've got real estate income, they've got stocks that are paying them every quarter, however they want it. Maybe they got precious metals, however they want to pay for their expat life in a responsible manner. They're not going over and crashing and burning, running out of money, asking people, "Hey, can you help me pay my rent?"
2:11 And I'm all for that. I'm all for responsibility, accountability. If you're somebody that's delayed gratification and sacrificed for financial freedom, more power to you. But one of the things that I hear a lot from some people is they want to gatekeep expat life or living abroad to only people who are at retirement age.
2:37 And one of the things that I noticed when I talked to some of the younger guys I met in Southeast Asia, and it's also readily apparent from some of the YouTube channels I've watched, is that some of the younger guys, they don't really have to pursue a traditional career because they're set up to take over some kind of business, real estate venture, and investment portfolio.
3:02 I'm not saying this goes for all of them or even 50% of them, but there's, I would say many out there that are in this position where their bigger sort of goal in life should be to just maintain wealth, right? Rather than to, uh, rather than need to try to, uh, work in a specific career field and make a lot of sacrifices to move up.
3:30 They basically, they're set up, and I know this really bothers some people because they're thinking, "I worked my whole life for this and it's unfair that somebody else can, uh, basically have the, you know, skip a few steps to get to expat life."
3:49 And I'm not here to debate the merit of this or the demerit of this or whether it's fair or not fair. I'm not one of those super envious people. Like I see, you know, you've got a nice car. More power to you. Like I'm happy for you. I drive a normal Camry.
4:05 Um, you might be driving a Porsche or, uh, you know, some kind of high-end car. I'm not one of those, "Oh man, that guy's bad." No. Like I'm happy for you. Just like if I hear about one of these, uh, CEOs, Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg, uh, doing a big deal or having a big jump in stock price. Awesome. You know, they're working hard and they're getting rewarded for it.
4:31 Uh, but I don't feel that that translates a lot to when you see some of these younger guys that don't necessarily have to put in the same amount of work as some other people because they've got that fallback option.
4:44 I mean, one of the first examples comes to mind is this guy that's a, uh, was basically living in the same community as my stepdad. And this guy came from a fairly affluent farming family and he was messed up, right? He enjoyed, uh, drinking too much, let's say.
5:05 Well, it got to the point where his family just put him on an allowance. They're like, "Look, if you're trying to work in the family business, if you're trying to work outside of the family business, you're going to run us up a bunch of legal bills. We're going to have to bail you out. You're going to cause issues."
5:20 They care about their family member. They don't want to just abandon this guy. So, they're like, "Okay, we're just going to put you on an allowance and we're going to beg you to stay out of trouble because, uh, whatever you do, like trying to be productive, you're just going to end up causing problems."
5:39 And I'm not likening all young expats to this guy, but this is the case for a fair amount of younger guys. They're being trained or they were brought up to maintain the wealth. So, learn how to handle property management, learn how to, uh, manage investments, learn how to live within their means.
5:57 And let's say they're going abroad to a cheaper country. It's a lot easier to live at a modest budget in Southeast Asia, Latin America, um, you know, other parts of the world, maybe the Balkans, than it is to live in the US.
6:15 US, your baseline expenses are very high. And if nothing else, you're going to need to work just to have health insurance. So, you're spending all this time, um, trying to get ahead.
6:27 And it's kind of gotten to the point in the US for a lot of people, cuz I talked to a friend of mine about this. He said the challenge in the West today in 2025 is that people no longer work to get ahead as much as they work to not fall behind. So, they work to maintain their position.
6:43 Almost like we use the phrase in expat communities a lot, "hamster wheel." Uh, and so basically, what some people have figured out is like, "Okay, why would I basically grind and grind and grind to maintain my position when I could go over to this other country and live far below my means?"
7:04 About half the people in the millennial generation are already getting help, financial support from their parents or grandparents, extended family. I know a lot of guys my age still living with their parents. I'm not judgmental. I wish I could do that. I'm not in a position to enjoy, uh, such a luxury, but I have friends that are.
7:22 And I say more power to you because, uh, it ain't easy out there. I mean, it's, you know, things are just really expensive and rent's super high. And if you're not having to pay all that money just to enrich a landlord, like go for it.
7:38 But, you know, the baby boomer generation is the wealthiest generation in history in the United States in particular, probably the wealthiest group of people, large group of people that's ever lived in the history of the planet. So, uh, if they're able to help out younger generations through generosity, through kindness, which many people with children want to help their kids out, they want to help make their kids' lives better, not just materially, but also, um, you know, in many different ways.
8:13 So, so there's that common trope. They're the first generation to not want, um, their kids to do as well as them. I don't think that applies in all cases. In fact, I know a lot of boomers that actually do care about the success or well-being of their kids. I've known some who have helped to get their kids a house. I know some, I know many who have put their kids through college. Uh, it's not uncommon to hear about these things.
8:39 So, you know, I noticed like when I, uh, talk to some of the young guys living in Southeast Asia, it's like, well, yeah, you know, my dad works for this business. He's pretty high up. He's doing well. Like, we also have, uh, some rentals, whatever it is.
8:58 Why is it such a problem that they can enjoy this life abroad and it still be financially viable? Um, I get that there's envy. People, well, I worked all this time to get to there and they don't have to.
9:13 And I was in this position, uh, in different expat hotspots where I had a number of guys come up to me, "I'm jealous that you're here at your age and, uh, I wish I would give anything to be here at your age as opposed to be to retirement age."
9:30 I don't feel that way, by the way. Like I think that people of all ages should be able to enjoy expat destinations, assuming they're adults and, uh, you know, they, what's, they, there's the word informed consent. They know the risks of being in a foreign country. They know the potential dangers. They're familiar with the laws. That kind of thing.
9:53 Um, but I heard that a lot. I just thought, don't be envious. Like, I, part of the reason I pursued living overseas is because I don't have, um, a strong relationship with my family. I mean, my folks are long gone and, uh, I'm just not close to the rest of my family. So, I, I don't want to say I envy, but I really admire the people who do have close families who don't feel the need to go live overseas for a while because, uh, they value that proximity to their family.
10:22 They're, they're, uh, getting a lot, like as far as just like they love their families, you know. So, um, that's one of those things where I just wanted to talk about it because I, I hear a lot, "You need to go back and work." And for a decent amount of us young guys, yeah, that's like right on the money.
10:40 I mean, I'm starting a new job like this week or next week. I'm not going to describe what that is, although if you know me personally, you've heard me talk about it. Uh, but there are other young guys that, like, they're not in that position.
10:53 And I look at it like, more power to your family for making wise financial decisions, for living below their means, uh, buying real estate, buying stocks, uh, trying, you know, grandparents as well. Like I worked with a guy whose grandfather owned real estate in San.
11:11 My grandfather owned real estate in San Francisco. This guy's grandfather basically let him rent an apartment for the cost of property taxes, which were really low. This guy was paying a couple hundred bucks a month in rent in San Francisco, one of the most expensive cities in the world, where he'd be paying like three grand a month at market rate.
11:34 Some guys gave him a hard time about it, but the reality is, don't we all wish we had that kind of good fortune? I know a lot of parents and grandparents out there want their kids to be happy, and if they're being honest, they see how much harder it is to live in the West today in 2025 than it was 40, 50, or 60 years ago.
12:00 It's hard to be willfully ignorant to not acknowledge that there's been wage stagnation in Western democracies such that capital is much more powerful than labor. Things keep going up in price, but wages stay flat, so you're not necessarily getting ahead in the same way that you could in the past.
12:28 I'm not saying you can't get ahead at all. Obviously, a lot of people still want to move to the US, Australia, or Canada, though less so it seems. These countries still remain quite attractive from an opportunity perspective.
12:46 But for those who have already taken advantage of opportunity and built generational wealth, I just don't understand the heavy critique. I had a few guys tell me I needed to go back to America and pay for their social security, and one of them was serious.
13:09 They asked what I was doing enjoying life when I needed to be doing my part so they could enjoy life. It reminded me of a speech the CEO of my last company gave. He specifically said part of the reason he founded the company was to create generational wealth so his family could enjoy a certain level of financial security and material wealth.
13:39 This guy poured his heart and soul into his company for 13 or 14 years, built it up to IPO, and created a net worth of roughly $100 to $200 million. Do his kids need to go work some random job or grind? He talked about being able to take his kids to concerts and pay for their apartments.
14:21 Some people were envious because not everyone gets to found a company like that and create wealth on that level. But I never once went up to the CEO and said, 'How dare you pay for your kids' apartment? How dare you take your kids to front-row concert tickets?'
14:41 I just thought, how cool. This guy worked really hard, had a cool idea, overcame a lot of objections and naysayers, and did something remarkable. He also created a lot of wealth for his employees and did something really big.
15:05 I've noticed people saying these young guys need to go back home, that they're going to be hard up and vote Democrat and raise taxes. It's like, you don't fully understand that you're not the only person with money.
15:20 That's one of the common tropes I notice among some people in older generations. In my generation, they operate on the premise that they're the only person with money. It's like, no, if you're in a Western democracy, there are a lot of successful people, and they're very common.
15:43 It's very common to see successful people in older generations, and they can decide what they want to do. If they want to empower their kid to go have an adventure, why not?
15:58 One of the channels I mentioned, Analyzing Finance with Nick, talked about studying abroad in Europe. I did my study abroad in the Middle East, based on the generosity of people in my life, and I'm extremely grateful for that. I don't look down on people who don't have those experiences.
16:24 I think I'm very fortunate to have been able to travel to all the places I've traveled and take some of the risks I've taken. I've had a number of business failures, but we want to encourage risk-taking and people doing different things.
16:40 If a young person knows somewhat what they're getting into and wants to live an expat life, more power to them. There's so much excess in Western democracies. We have subsidized housing, food banks, subsidized community college, so many things that are free.
17:02 People look at 'free' as a bad thing, but why is charity a bad thing? Isn't it awesome that these societies are so wealthy that they have access? A number of countries in the world heavily rely on donations from the United States, Australia, Canada, and the UK because those countries aren't as materially well-to-do.
17:29 They had different kinds of problems that prevent them from succeeding in the same way some other countries have. I don't look at those countries and say, 'We need to stop sending them extra food.'
17:42 The thing in the West today is we don't really have the problem of people not having enough; it's really having too much. If I'm struggling with my weight, it's not that I don't have enough to eat, it's that I have too much to eat.
18:04 If I have too much debt, it's not that I don't have enough to buy; I've chosen to purchase too much. I wanted to give an alternative to this narrative of, 'You're too young to become an expat.'
18:20 Tim Ferriss talks about taking many retirements throughout your life if you can pull it off. He said you don't know if you're going to be healthy when you're older or if you'll have different obligations that tie you down.
18:36 Of course, some balance is needed; you can't just vacation. Most people can't afford to vacation from 18 to retirement age. But a lot of us are skeptical of being able to rely on social security; many in my generation are skeptical it will still be around.
18:57 We have more caution about that, and I think a lot of us want to live more in the moment. It seems like growing up, every couple of years there was a once-in-a-lifetime crisis: 9/11, the global war on terror, the 2008 financial collapse, COVID, and even a mini-recession from 2015 to 2016.
19:32 There were all these different crises, and you're only going to be able to count on the present moment. I think it's great to be able to travel to other countries when you're young, healthy, and have less responsibility tying you down.
19:45 I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all approach where everybody should wait until traditional retirement age to enjoy life. I know some people constantly warn about potential downsides, but they don't understand there's a lot of wealth that's been built in this country over the last century, and even the last few decades.
20:12 A lot of people talk about the destruction of the middle class and operate on the premise that people have only moved down. But actually, a lot of people have moved up, and many of those people have kids they want to provide opportunities or lifestyle choices for that they didn't have.
20:28 Let me know what you think down in the comments below. Do you think my observations are on point, or do you think I'm not making a lot of sense? Feel free to share this with other people in the expat community or would-be expats. Give us a thumbs up if you enjoy this content and want to see more like this, and subscribe to the channel if you want to help support it. We'll see you soon. Bye-bye.
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