Man sells his own life on eBay and buys deserted Caribbean island with the profit
A man has sold his own life on eBay in order to buy a deserted island with the profit.
The man in question is Ian Usher, 60, who decided to sell his entire life so that he could fund his fresh start.
He made the decision to up sticks and leave everything behind in Perth, Australia, 15 years ago after going through a dark point in life.
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Now, Usher has revealed what he’s done since he made the drastic move.
The Brit listed his three-bedroom home on eBay along with everything in it, including his car, motorbike and jet ski.
He shared that this was due to a painful divorce that had led him to realize that he was sick of his job and the life he’d built down under.
So, he decided to sell it all, eventually accepting a bid of AU $399,300 (US $265,980).
Despite having expected higher offers, Usher said that he had ‘no regrets’.
Originally, he had aspirations to travel, saying that he'd ‘like to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower’.
Six years later, documentarian Ben Fogle caught up with him after he moved to a deserted island in the Caribbean, where Usher revealed that he was happier than ever in his new life.
In an episode of Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild, the Brit featured along with partner Vanessa on their tropical island, Bocas del Toro, just off the coast of Panama, where he explained: “I’ve always been a bit of an adventurer and so have always spent a lot of time pursuing outdoor activities such as climbing, canoeing and diving.”
Though he may not have had running water or electricity, he could pursue all three of his outdoor activities.
Usher shared: “We're not completely self-sufficient here on the island. We do grow coconuts, pineapples, yukka, sugar cane and almonds but we haven’t yet perfected the art of growing other vegetables on our land.”
While they had chickens for eggs and buying the occasional fish from a local fisherman, Usher admitted that everything came ‘from the supermarket in town’.
He’d bought the island in 2011 for $27,500 when it was overgrown and neglected, and spent four years working on improving it.
While there, he spent time working on the land or sitting on the beach, revealing his simple life where he would snorkel on the reefs, read or swim - more or less whatever he felt like, whenever.
Usher also explained that every 10 days, they go into town for food and fuel, while saying that girlfriend Vanessa Anderson, who he met on a visit to London, 'made a big difference' in his life as she moved over to live with him.
Speaking about what he misses from home, he said that apart from family, it's just jet-skiing that he misses, along with better WiFi and being out with friends and family at an English pub.
He added: “Vanessa still misses a London style cappuccino but I think she’ll get over that soon,
“I wouldn’t change anything - I really enjoyed building an off-grid home and living on the island. I've always thought life is supposed to be an adventure.”
However, in 2015, he managed to sell the revamped island according to his official website, where he has shared every aspect of his journey since selling everything he owns.
He noted that he has nothing tying him down as he was debt free after the sale, and looking for a new adventure.
He and Vanessa globe-trotted for seven years, visiting countries such as Thailand and Nicaragua before buying property in Burgundy, France.
The couple chose to settle there and is where they were based at the time of their last update in 2021.