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What can we help you find?

Search more than 200 practical guides and destination pages.

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You can be specific. Try a topic and place together, such as “healthcare in Bali”.

Your friendly starting point

Turn “we could move” into a plan your family can research

Begin with the question you can answer today: which destination fits, how the five countries compare, or what needs doing first.

Find your family’s fitCompare the five countries
A calm research route
  1. Comparecountry and city fit
  2. Checkschools, visas and care
  3. Budgetthe whole family move
  4. Preparethe move and departure
  5. Decidewith the trade-offs visible

Choose your way in

Three useful places to begin

You do not need to read the site in order. Start with the question that feels most important to your family today.

  1. 01

    Find your strongest destination fit

    Answer seven practical questions and get an immediate shortlist across Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Bali and the Philippines.

    Take the two-minute quiz
  2. 02

    Compare all five destinations

    Put family costs, international schools, visa routes, healthcare and international connections side by side.

    Open the big comparison
  3. 03

    Put the move in a sensible order

    Work through the family relocation checklist from early research to schools, paperwork, healthcare, housing and departure.

    Use the relocation checklist

The whole move, connected

Six decisions that need to agree with each other

A beautiful destination is not workable if the visa, school, healthcare or budget does not suit your family. Consider these decisions together because changing one can affect the others.

Browse the complete guide library
  • Schools

    Curriculum, fees, admissions and the school-home journey.

  • Visas

    Main applicants, dependants, work rights and renewals.

  • Healthcare

    Hospital depth, insurance and medical evacuation planning.

  • Family budget

    Housing, school, transport, care and overlooked setup costs.

  • Where to live

    Fifteen city and island bases researched for family life.

  • Leaving home

    Tax residence, healthcare records, finances, documents and the family home.

The half most relocation sites miss

Plan how your family leaves home, too

Tax residence, pensions, healthcare, savings, property and family records can follow you across borders. Start with the worldwide departure plan, then use the dedicated guide for the UK, United States, Australia, Canada or Europe where one is available.

Plan the departure side

When you want one joined-up plan

Keep the whole family move in one place

The Family Move Planner gives your research a clear home: family priorities, destination evidence, a first-year budget, provider questions and the move timeline.

Explore the complete planner

£39one-time digital purchase

10 organised filesEdition 1.0No subscription

Common questions

Starting a family move to Southeast Asia

Where should I begin if we have not chosen a country?

Start with the destination quiz, then compare its first and second suggestions in the five-country guide. Treat the result as a research order rather than a verdict: confirm the visa route, school availability, healthcare access and a realistic budget before choosing a place.

How far ahead should a family start planning a move to Southeast Asia?

Nine to twelve months gives many families enough time to compare schools, confirm a suitable visa option, organise healthcare and deal with departure administration without forcing every decision at once. School application cycles or complex tax and property questions may justify starting earlier.

Does SettleHappy arrange visas, schools or relocation services?

No. SettleHappy is an independent information platform. It helps families research and sequence decisions, then points out where current official rules or individual circumstances require a school, authorised immigration professional, tax adviser, solicitor or regulated financial adviser.

Can I use the guides before visiting a destination?

Yes. The guides are designed for planning from home. Use them to narrow five countries to a manageable shortlist, compare family bases and decide what you need to check during a later research trip or directly with a provider.

A more useful price view

Which currency would you like to see?

We can show SettleHappy planning figures in the currency that is most useful to you.

This changes approximate planning conversions and the representative origin used for journey and time-zone examples. Local prices and contracts stay in their original currency. You can change it in the header at any time.

Before you go

Take the family move checklist with you

A practical PDF to help you research schools, visas, healthcare, housing and moving day in a sensible order.

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