Selfless Living: Meet Banker Who Abandoned His £75K Job For New Life In A Remote Island

A banker who used to earn more than £75,000 a year and live in a plush apartment in London gave it all up at the age of 27 to find a more peaceful way of life on a remote island.

Jon Watkinson, now 31, bought a one-way ticket to Bangkok four years ago and, after traveling around South East Asia, chose to settle on the island of Don Det in the middle of the Mekong River in Southern Laos.

Now he says he couldn't be happier with his simple existence, which includes hunting for his own food, washing in the river and living without modern technology. The only thing he misses about his old life is the friends and family he left behind - but he believes the separation is well worth it.

'My family are very supportive. I miss them but they supported me in this. It's a sacrifice for my way of life,' he said.

Mr Watkinson started working in finance at the age of 19 and became a high flying banker in the City of London. But after less than a decade of city life, he became increasingly unhappy with his career and felt trapped in the rat race.

"The epiphany moment came when I looked around at work at everyone typing into their computers. I didn't see what we were producing. We were just producing emails and nothing of any value. I thought I have never built or made anything or had tangible results in my hands, I thought that's what I want to do."

Mr Watkinson quit his job and London home, sold 'everything I had' and decided to go traveling.

'I found this place where I thought I could put roots down and do something different. I love it here, I am indebted to this country as it has given me back my trust in humanity which I lost in the UK,' he said.

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