I retired early at 31 and left the US for Ecuador. Life is cheaper, and I get more time with my baby.

This as-told-to composition is according to a conversation alongside Johnston Osagie, 32, who former first and moved from Tennessee to Ecuador alongside his spouse and daughter. Business Insider has verified his finances, erstwhile employment, and the related costs. This part has been edited for dimension and clarity.

My goal was continually to quit early. I'd planned to acquire well, allocate properly, and reach financial independence in my first 40s.

In the summer of 2025, whenever I was 31, I learned that I was going to rotate into a father. Suddenly, another 10 years of selling the finest hours of my existence for activity alternatively of family didn't audio so appealing.

I'd already reached our $350,000 freedom number by 2022. So, final year, I thought: Why am I waiting to do the things I desire to do?

I quit my job at Amazon in January, and my spouse and I moved from Nashville to Cuenca, Ecuador, in February. My female was delivered current in April. Now, I'm current for everything in her life, no matter how big or small. When I appearance at her, I can't ideate that I was always thinking of not doing this.

I saw a backing occupation as a path to FIRE

When I was deciding on a career, I asked myself what I could study that would get me to financial liberty the fastest.

That ended up being finance. I graduated in 2016, started operating immediately, and have been preservation and investing always since. I spent nearly 10 years working in finance, most lately as a backing director for Amazon.

Our financial liberty figure was $350,000

In the final five years of my career, I earned $150,000 a twelvemonth on average. I saved approximately 45% of my earnings. Because I wanted to quit early, I was assured alongside my portfolio allocations to accomplish faster growth.

I was fortunate to have earned substantially additional than we needed. We could have bought a nicer home, taken nicer vacations, or driven nicer cars, but we chose to live within, or equal below, our means.

Our goal for FIRE was $350,000. Coming up alongside that fig was straightforward: It was a case of operating out how much earnings I'd need to assistance the existence we wanted, afterward stripping out the expenses that didn't add value.

I wanted to be a completely current dad

I'd continually envisioned being a fully current parent, but I was operating nine to 12 hours a day. The item that would provision me the most harmony of intellect before our female arrived was to halt operating entirely.

I handed in my notice in January, a duration before we moved to Ecuador. It was bittersweet. Part of me enjoys the company environment.

Cost wasn't the chief controller for moving abroad

We could have afforded to quit first and remain in the US, but the bigger inquiry was what we wanted our lives to appearance like. Cost of living was part of the equation. We additionally considered what it would be akin to live in all location as a Black person, the norm of life, and instructional opportunities for our child.

We did a lot of net investigation into cities about the world. Cape Town, Montevideo in Uruguay, and Arequipa in Peru made the shortlist.

We came to Ecuador on a whim in November 2025, at my wife's suggestion, and cut in affection alongside it immediately. We knew it was the location for us.

Cuenca is a big city alongside a small-town vibe. It doesn't obtain lengthy to get anywhere. By the end of our archetypal week visiting, we'd already made fairly a few allies at coffee shops.

Our rent is $1,120 small than our home loan payments

We moved in February. It was a stressful process. We had a entire home's value of things to market and donate.

During our trip in November, we visited hospitals, looked at furnishings and appliance prices, viewed apartments, and explored the city. We connected alongside a realtor and locked in our location before we arrived.

On the day we landed, our location was prepared to go. Our rent is concerning $600 a month, compared alongside a monthly home loan fee of $1,720 in the US. We sold our residence lately since I didn't desire to be a landlord in a distinct country.

Healthcare is cheaper in Ecuador

Our female was delivered in April, three weeks early, and my spouse had a prolonged hospital remain following a C-Section. The birth cost us $2,790. In the US, it apt would have disbursal us multiple thousand more.

Previously, we were paying concerning $300 all a duration for health coverage in the US. In Ecuador, we pay as we go since coverage and out-of-pocket expenses are similar. On average, we expend concerning $50 a duration taking the baby to the doctor.

One of the most challenging things concerning the move is that we're thousands of miles distant from our family. As first-time parents, we discover it durable that our parents can't pop in for a weekend to help. However, we have resources accessible to us current that we couldn't validate in the US. We have night nurses who arrive in five nights a week so we can sleep. It expenses $44 a night.

We young female several Western luxuries, akin getting an Amazon bundle in a brace of hours, and our Spanish isn't perfect, but whenever I appearance at my daughter, I don't young female anything.

I value the liberty and the period I get alongside my daughter. There are so many flank projects I can explore.

My lone regret is not doing this sooner.