The Lived Experience Exchange
Browse profiles of adults with rich lived hindsight, or explore community questions and match with the right perspective.
Erika
Verified🪷Gentle HealerWeekday afternoons (GMT+7)
English
Koh Samui, Thailand
An artist, certified sound healer, and former art director in Hawaii who transitioned her career from graphic design into wellness and spa consulting across Central America and Mexico. After returning to the US to care for her mother until her passing, she sold everything and relocated permanently to Thailand with her dog and 4 cats. She recently published her book, "Retiring in Thailand", on Amazon.
- Career Pivots & Multi-Disciplinary Paths: Transitioning from commercial design into sound healing, wellness, and international hospitality consulting in mid-life.
- Moving Abroad & Retirement Fear: Navigating bureaucratic hurdles, cultural adaptation, and moving continents with pets with peace of mind.
- Starting Over & Bold Life Changes: Overcoming the loss of a traditional career to technology, selling everything, and reinventing your lifestyle in your 60s.
- Caregiving & Grieving Parents: Lessons from returning home for 20 years to care for an aging parent and finding self-worth afterward.
Erika | Female
Age 70 | American
Marc
Verified⚡TrailblazerFlexible mornings & evenings (GMT+7)
English, Spanish
Koh Samui, Thailand
Spent over 30 years working in luxury hotel management across Europe. Facing severe burnout, he chose early retirement at age 56 against strong family objections. He lived in Japan, embraced photography, stock trading, and the digital nomad movement, and now lives independently in Samui.
- Escaping Corporate Burnout: Recognizing when professional exhaustion is killing your vitality and making the courageous decision to exit.
- Standing Up to Family Disapproval: How to handle criticism from relatives when your life decisions deviate from conventional social norms.
- Solo Living & Overcoming Loneliness: Building meaningful community abroad, embracing solitude without loneliness, and finding creative passions.
Marc | Male
Age 60 | Spanish
Heiko
Verified🦉Deep ThinkerTuesdays & Thursdays (GMT+7)
English, German
Koh Samui, Thailand
Former Global HR Executive at IBM Germany who spearheaded organizational leadership across Europe and Asia for decades. A survivor of childhood heart disease that shaped his understanding of self-worth, he later navigated divorce, reinvented his life, founded cross-generational workshops, and now lives happily with his Thai wife in Samui.
- Leadership & Navigating Organizational Politics: Managing high-stakes corporate decisions, mentoring diverse teams, and staying true to your values under pressure.
- Divorce, Healing & Loving Again in Later Life: Understanding relationship patterns rooted in childhood validation, navigating separation with dignity, and remarrying.
- Cross-Generational Understanding: How seniors and younger generations can exchange fresh perspectives without patronizing lectures.
Heiko | Male
Age 68 | German
Mario
Verified🔄ReinventorWeekends & weekday mornings (GMT+7)
English, Italian
Koh Samui, Thailand
Former Computer Engineer who worked internationally across the UK, Mexico, and Europe. Achieved financial independence and early retirement 7 years ago. Navigated divorce with joint custody of two children who are now flourishing adults, and has spent recent years traveling the world before settling in Samui.
- Engineering Financial Freedom & Early Retirement: Practical financial independence, investing mindset, and designing a life where work is optional.
- Co-Parenting Through Divorce: Managing fear about how separation impacts young children, maintaining healthy co-parenting, and seeing kids thrive.
- Bridging the Gap with 20-Something Children: Learning to respect adult children taking non-traditional paths (gap years, solo travel) and letting go of control.
Mario | Male
Age 62 | Italian
Achara (Malee)
Verified🎧Warm ListenerMon, Wed, Fri afternoons (GMT+7)
Thai, English
Bangkok / Samui, Thailand
Former university lecturer and founder of an organic wellness retreat. She navigated the delicate balance between traditional Thai family obligations, caring for aging elders, and allowing her adult children the freedom to build their own non-traditional lives abroad.
- Navigating Family Duty vs. Personal Dreams: How to communicate personal boundaries with traditional parents with love, respect, and emotional maturity.
- Starting a Sustainable Small Business at 48: Leaving safe institutional employment to build an eco-wellness business rooted in community and purpose.
- Emotional Resilience & Inner Peace: Buddhist philosophy applied to everyday modern anxiety, career pressure, and personal loss.
Achara (Malee) | Female
Age 65 | Thai
Jim (Sompong)
Verified🛡️Resilient HeartMorning calls (GMT+7)
English, Thai
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Over 45 years in engineering management, small business turnarounds, and long-term saving. Married for 44 years with two adult children. A passionate woodworker and mentor who believes that sharing life lessons openly keeps society grounded.
- 44 Years of Marriage: What Actually Matters: How to grow together rather than apart through financial crises, career transitions, and raising children.
- Recovering from Business Failure: Surviving a company bankruptcy in his 40s, paying off debt, and rebuilding financial security with dignity.
- Hands-on Crafts & Finding Grounded Peace: How working with your hands and slowing down brings mental clarity when modern life feels overwhelming.
Jim (Sompong) | Male
Age 74 | American-Thai