I guess it's all a matter of perspective. As stated earlier, in the Netherlands I worked as a freelancer for 70 EUR an hour (probably around 80 USD or so) and t

I guess it's all a matter of perspective. As stated earlier, in the Netherlands I worked as a freelancer for 70 EUR an hour (probably around 80 USD or so) and there it's not considered low. You'd probably be in the 10% highest earners in the country. And then I'd also probably lose ~35% of my income on income tax. Here in Thailand I pay pretty much no tax and cost of living is cheaper so for me this is a great improvement.