• Turning 50 led Arinjay Jain to rethink how he wanted to spend the next few decades of his life.
• He traded his IT sales career for early retirement in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
• He now lives in a one-bedroom apartment that costs about $425 a month.

When Arinjay Jain turned 50, he was sitting in yet another meeting when it hit him: "What am I doing here?"

Jain hadn't always questioned the grind.

He had moved from India to Singapore in 2013, when the IT company he worked for opened a local office. After changing jobs a few times, he cofounded a small IT services startup in 2016.

He originally planned to build the company, sell it, and cash out. But as the years passed, the finish line felt increasingly distant.

"I thought, this is looking like several years away still, and I will have to work very hard to make it happen," Jain, now 53, told Business Insider.

At that point, he was no longer sure the stress of running his own company justified the reward. Around the same time, several real estate investments Jain had made in India appreciated significantly, giving him the financial security to consider stepping away.

"So then, why am I wasting my years?" he said.

Soon after, he began researching where he might want to spend the next chapter of his life. He knew he didn't want to go back to India.

While researching where to retire in Southeast Asia, a friend encouraged him to check out Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand he'd never visited.

In April 2023, five days in the second-largest Thai city sold him on the idea, and he threw himself into research about retirement visas and living costs.

By October 2023, when his lease was up for renewal, he decided against staying in Singapore.

Jain spent a couple of months visiting family and traveling around Asia. In February 2024, he arrived in Chiang Mai.

A new base in northern Thailand

February is often considered the start of the burning season in Chiang Mai, where farmers burn agricultural waste to clear their fields, often causing haze to drift into the city.

"I landed here in the worst possible time, but I still loved it," Jain said.

Thailand offers several long-stay visa options, and Jain holds a retirement visa.

While the Thai government publishes overall foreign resident figures, it does not appear to release a regular public count of retirement visa holders.

The latest civil registration data shows that 163,036 foreigners — not just retirees — lived in Chiang Mai in 2024, a level broadly comparable to a decade ago. That amounts to about 9% of the province's roughly 1.8 million residents.

Jain connected with a real-estate agent through Facebook and viewed several units before choosing his current one-bedroom condo near Nimman, a trendy, cosmopolitan neighborhood known for its café scene, chic boutiques, and international restaurants.

Rent is 14,000 Thai baht, or about $425, each month. His apartment building comes with a pool and a gym.

Jain says he tries to keep his monthly expenses between 40,000 and 45,000 Thai baht. In months when he travels, his expenses can reach around 60,000 Thai baht.

"For a lot of people from Western countries, the cost of living is a major attraction," he said. "For somebody from India, it's two or three times what I spent back home."

Still, Jain said his decision was driven more by lifestyle than money. He's grown comfortable with Chiang Mai's slower tempo, its sense of safety, and what he describes as a culture of respect and patience.

"Everybody likes to avoid stress, right? I'm very happy not to have stress living here," he said.

Life after the grind

That slower rhythm now shapes his days as a retiree.

Jain starts most mornings at the gym, then prepares a quick breakfast at home and does some household chores. Some afternoons, he plays golf at a nearby driving range. On other days, he joins a hiking group and heads out to explore waterfalls and trails around Chiang Mai.

In the evenings, he enjoys going for walks at nearby Chiang Mai University, whose scenic campus is a popular spot not just for students, but also locals across the city.

While he enjoys being around people, building deeper connections with locals has been more challenging, in part due to the language barrier.

Even though the city has a thriving expat scene, many tend to gravitate toward others from their own countries or from similar backgrounds.

Jain says he occasionally joins activity groups to stay social.

"But ideally, what I would like to do is become part of the local communities," he said. "That takes time, and the effort has to come from my side in terms of learning the language, but it's not easy."

Jain said he expects to stay in Chiang Mai for the foreseeable future, but he knows there are variables he can't control.

Visa rules can change, and retiring early means planning for decades ahead in an era of longer life expectancy.

"I have to plan for like 35 to 40 years," Jain said. "Look at all the changes that have happened in the last 20 years. It's difficult to imagine what might happen in the next 20 years."

For now, he said, he's content where he is.

• Candace Parker says one habit makes hectic mornings more manageable as a mom of three.
• "I'm a big Peloton person, so I like to do that and lift. I also use the sauna quite a bit," she said.
• The former WNBA star says even small beauty choices can reflect how she's feeling.

Candace Parker, 39, says she relies on one habit to get going on hectic days.

"I love slow mornings, but if I need a jolt because obviously the kids have school and work and all those things, I usually get up and work out," Parker told Byrdie in an interview published on Saturday.

The former WNBA player is a mom to three kids. She shares daughter Lailaa with her ex-husband, Shelden Williams, and sons Airr and Hartt with her wife, Anna Petrakova.

On those busy mornings, Parker often turns to a mix of cardio and strength workouts to get going.

"I'm a big Peloton person, so I like to do that and lift. I also use the sauna quite a bit," she said.

From there, she gets ready for the day and says even the smallest beauty choices can reflect how she's feeling.

"It's so funny because my friends can tell if I'm having a great day or not by whether my baby hair is done," she said.

Parker says her approach to wellness has evolved over the years. Looking back, she says she would've given her younger self more grace.

"As most athletes do, I kept moving the goalposts. Sometimes, it's okay to stop and smell the roses and realize this is what you worked your whole life for. This generation actually does that better — prioritizing mental well-being and self-care. It's inspiring," Parker said.

This isn't the first time Parker has spoken about how she stays fit.

Before retiring in 2024, Parker told Boardroom in 2023 that she prioritized working out even during the offseason, focusing on "really taking care of my body and making sure I'm getting my lift in."

In 2023, Parker also told Essence that Pilates challenged her more than she expected.

"Pilates is probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life," she said. "I walked in there like, 'I'm strong! I lift weights.' This grandma [instructor] killed me, so I have tremendous respect for Pilates.'"

• Peng Lin Hua, 86, taught physics in China before retirement.
• He still leads an active life — in his 50s, he started doing headstands with his wife.
• Now, he exercises daily, enjoys brisk walks, and can do flips on a pull-up bar.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Peng Lin Hua, an 86-year-old retiree in Singapore. It has been translated from Mandarin and edited for length and clarity.

Before I retired, I taught physics at a secondary school in China. While working as a teacher, I met my wife at an event. She was a chemistry teacher, and we hit it off right away.

We were as active as the students we taught, spending our free time playing badminton, basketball, volleyball, and table tennis.

In my 50s, I began practicing headstands after learning about the exercise from a Taiwanese health guru. I was already fit, but I was looking for a way to build strength and stave off aging-related illnesses.

Retirement didn't slow us down. My wife and I kept playing sports, and I continued long-distance running.

Most days, I wake up at 5:30 a.m., blend fresh apples into a puree, and have it before heading downstairs with my wife to exercise. We begin with a walk and gradually pick up the pace, incorporating light exercises like stretching along the way.

In the afternoons, at home, I like to sing with my wife. She plays the violin and the erhu, a traditional Chinese two-stringed bowed instrument.

Before I turned 65, I went running every morning. After that, my heart could no longer handle the strain, so I stopped and switched to brisk walking instead.

After that, I focus on building my core and upper-body strength with a series of exercises on the horizontal and parallel bars. I finish off my routine by doing headstands with my wife.

About 20 years ago, my wife and I began traveling regularly to Singapore to visit our daughter, who lives here with her family, and to spend time with our grandchild.

Our granddaughter has since graduated from university and no longer needs looking after, which means we are free to head out for walks and explore on our own.

About 10 years ago, I was exercising at a fitness corner, doing pull-ups and dips on the bars, when a man approached me and struck up a conversation. He joined me for my workout, and we got to know each other.

He told me he was part of a fitness group for older adults and encouraged me to join. That was how I became a member of Team Strong Silvers. We are a group of older adults committed to keeping our bodies strong as we age.

A lot of people don't expect us to move the way we do, so we're sometimes invited to healthy-aging workshops and exercise sessions to demonstrate our workouts and inspire fellow seniors to keep moving.

Now, my wife and I split our time between the two countries, typically spending half the year in Singapore during China's colder autumn and winter months, and returning to China in the spring and summer.

Staying active has spared me many of the aches and fatigue that often trouble older travelers. I rarely feel stiff on long flights or worn out after a full day of walking, and I credit years of regular exercise for that resilience.