Teacher Quits America But Still Can't Stop Spending On Flights Home
KEY POINTS
- •Miguel Marquez, originally from Spain, earned a French linguistics PhD and taught in Indiana for nearly 11 years.
- •He moved to Brazil in 2016, then China in 2020, saving about 70% of his $75,000 salary thanks to low living costs.
- •By 2026, living cheaply in Shenzhen with $200 rent and $3 lunches, Marquez claims 'Lean FI' but keeps teaching and traveling.
Miguel Marquez, a polyglot professor with a PhD in French linguistics from Indiana University Bloomington, quit the US visa rat race in 2016 for cheaper rent in Campina Grande, Brazil, where $3 lunches helped him save 10x more than in Bloomington. After a brief Spanish detour back to Spain, he landed a gig teaching Spanish and personal finance at a Shenzhen university during the global chaos of 2020, initially remote thanks to COVID. Renting a campus apartment for $200/month (verified by a 2026 June bill) and riding subways under a dollar, Marquez now saves 70% of his $75,000-ish after tax pay, aims for 'Lean FI,' and claims, 'I'm not a millionaire, but I feel like one,' proving you don’t need yachts or latte art to impress your bank account.
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(1 of 3)Saving 70% by swapping America's expenses for $3 lunches and $200 monthly rent in China just screams peak adulting that also includes me still broke and annoyed.
Who knew that quitting the US, avoiding visa hell, and eating $3 lunches was the government-mandated adulthood hack no one mentioned in school?
Miguel’s saving so much by teaching overseas while I’m still paying $8 for coffee and $12 for regret at the bar. Clearly, I choose dumb.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 7/29/2026 | Author: Kathleen Elkins
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