Lessons Beyond The Classroom

Nobody is coming to save you — and that's the best news you'll hear all year.

Too many young people leave school thinking life owes them an easy ride: a good job will fall in their lap, money comes quick, or someone else will sort it all out. This is the wake-up call I wish I'd had at 16.

I get real about why life is hard, why no one is coming to rescue you, and what actually sets people apart — learning new skills, volunteering, and doing uncomfortable things long before you're forced to. It's not talent and it's not luck. It's being willing to do hard things while everyone else waits for easy.

If you're young, a bit lost, or a parent who wants your kid to hear the truth — this one's for you.

CHAPTERS

Follow me on Instagram, TikTok & Facebook: @WheresHodgie

linktr.ee/whereshodgie

Thailand or Vietnam — which one actually wins?

After living, teaching and travelling across both countries, Beth and I sat down to compare them properly. No tourist-board fluff, no "everywhere is amazing" cop-outs. Just two UK teachers talking honestly about what life is really like in each place.

We get into the food, the cost of living, what teaching is actually like day-to-day, the people, the weekend escapes, the culture shocks nobody warns you about, and which country we'd genuinely go back to.

Whether you're thinking about teaching abroad, planning a trip, or just curious how these two Southeast Asian giants really compare — this one's for you.

CHAPTERS

(0:00) Intro: Vietnam vs Thailand

(0:42) Best food & best dish

(2:41) Best beaches

(3:38) Cheapest & best value

(6:51) Best experience: the Ha Giang Loop

(8:15) Most authentic travel

(9:06) Most things to do

(10:33) Kindest people

(12:11) Best weather

(13:17) Funniest people

(14:55) Best fashion & style icons

(15:43) Best sales technique

(18:14) Best holiday & celebrations

(19:40) Best beauty treatments

(21:54) Craziest roads

(22:37) Best city

(24:15) Best for an adventure

(25:41) Best for a relaxing break

(26:21) Most livable & cost of living

(28:38) Final scores & the winner

(29:47) Outro & socials

Featuring Beth (@bethanypayetartist on Instagram).

Part of Lessons Beyond the Classroom — the series where we talk about everything teaching abroad has taught us outside the four walls of a school.

Follow along:

Instagram: @whereshodgie

YouTube: @whereshodgie - full video version with travel clips available there!

If you enjoyed this episode, a follow and a rating on Spotify genuinely helps more teachers and travellers find the show.

Cheers for listening.

Two big leaps. One conversation.

In Episode #2 of Lessons Beyond The Classroom, I'm joined by Reece Haslam — a British dad who packed up his entire family of 5 and built a new life in Thailand. You'll know him from @family.of.5.in.thailand on Instagram, where he documents the realities of raising kids abroad and the truth about leaving Britain behind.

CHAPTERS

(00:00) Intro & meet Reece

(02:07) Why leave the UK?

(03:34) Cost of living, tax & red tape

(05:49) Food, health & feeling better

(08:52) A day in the life

(10:04) Growing a social media following

(17:47) Authentic content vs the algorithm

(20:38) From UK teacher to world traveller

(21:29) UK vs Thailand: education

(24:46) What international school costs

(25:44) Homeschooling & teaching abroad

(28:38) Culture, safety & raising kids

(30:30) Best things about Thailand

(31:55) Healthcare vs the NHS

(35:32) Doing business the right way

(42:02) Advice for making the leap

(44:01) How they ended up in Thailand

(45:17) Visas & work permits explained

(49:42) Where to find Reece & Mr Hodge

This conversation came from a question I've been sitting with for a long time: what makes someone actually leave? Not dream about it, not talk about it on a Sunday night — but pack up their entire life and go.

I left teaching. He left the country. We sat down and compared notes.

What we covered:

→ The moment Reece knew the UK wasn't working for his family anymore

→ Why the British school system is failing kids (from both a parent and an ex-teacher's perspective)

→ The real cost — financial and emotional — of uprooting a family of 5

→ What "freedom" actually looks like when you have children depending on you

→ Why so many young British families are choosing to leave right now

→ The hardest part of starting over in a country where you don't speak the language

→ What we've both learned about ourselves by choosing the path nobody around us understood

→ The advice we'd give to anyone sitting on the edge of a similar leap

This is the kind of conversation I wish someone had recorded for me before I made my own leap. Honest, practical, and free of the "follow your dreams" platitudes you've heard a thousand times.

If you've ever sat at your desk and wondered whether there's another way to live this life — this episode is for you.

────────────────────

About the show:

Lessons Beyond The Classroom is hosted by Mr Hodge, a former UK teacher who walked away from the classroom to chase a more meaningful life. Each week features either a solo lesson (the kind that school never taught) or an honest conversation with someone living life on their own terms.

About the guest:

Reece Haslam documents life as a British expat dad raising 5 kids in Thailand. Find him on Instagram at @family.of.5.in.thailand.

────────────────────

Follow Mr Hodge:

Instagram: @whereshodgie

TikTok: @whereshodgie

YouTube: youtube.com/@MrHodge

For brand partnerships: [email protected]

────────────────────

If you enjoyed this episode, the best thing you can do is leave a rating on Spotify or Apple Podcasts — it genuinely helps new listeners find the show. And if you know someone sitting on the edge of their own leap, send this episode their way.

New lesson every week. Class is in session.

Authenticity over algorithms. Welcome to Episode #1 of Lessons Beyond The Classroom — a brand new series from Mr Hodge, the UK teacher who quit the classroom to share the lessons school never taught.

📍 CHAPTERS

(0:00) Welcome to the new series

(1:04) My career-ending football injury

(2:15) Why I started this series

(3:19) Authenticity over algorithms

(5:28) Real friends & being yourself

(6:32) Chasing the footballer dream

(8:18) Breaking my leg & a fresh start

(8:50) Camp America: the blinkers come off

(10:14) Two years in New Zealand

(11:54) The hangover that changed everything

(12:49) Becoming a teacher

(13:36) The brutal reality of teaching

(16:02) Why I quit & left the UK

(17:20) Where I am now & what's next

(19:48) How you can help & outro

🎥 ABOUT MR HODGEI'm Mathew — a UK teacher turned travel and wellness creator, sharing the lessons that school could never teach through self-diagnosed cinematic masterpieces!!All my links: https://linktr.ee/whereshodgie🤝 FOLLOW ALONGInstagram: @whereshodgieTikTok: @whereshodgieFacebook: Mr HodgeThreads: @whereshodgieBeth's work:Instagram: @bethanypayetartistTikTok: @bethanypayetartistWebsite: bethanypayetartist.co.uk────────────────────📩 BRAND PARTNERSHIPS & [email protected]────────────────────☕ SUPPORT THE CHANNELIf my content brings you value and you'd like to support what I am doing, you can buy me a coffee here:https://buymeacoffee.com/whereshodgieThank you and have an amazing day!

We hope you enjoy this episode with our amazing guest Liam and Sav, some of our closest friends whom we are very grateful to have spent the last 3 weeks travelling Asia with, and having them with us for the start of our journey has been special! this conversation was only a snippet of the amazing chats we have had in recent times, and we wanted to catch at least a snippet of them on camera to share with you all. enjoy!

While we conquer the world, push our limits and demolish comfort zones, we aim to share with you what’s possible when ordinary people, choose an extraordinary path. We want you to be INSPIRED and awaken the unlimited potential inside you. YOU are capable of achieving ANYTHING if you believe in yourself, are willing to take risks, and step outside your comfort zone - this is where the true MAGIC happens. Have a boss day, sending peace and love to you and your loved ones - thank you for watching. CURRENTLY IN: VIETNAM 🇻🇳 🌍🙏❤️Please support by subscribing and telling a friend 😎🌏 Leaving a thumbs up/comment on any videos supports us❤️ Checkout our Tiktok & Instagram below and follow along for the adventure of a lifetime - become part of our community Brothers and Sisters worldwide😁❤️@WheresHodgie@bethanypayetartist

Welcome back to another episode of The Mindset Curriculum - on todays episode we are delving into 9 Habits That Have Shaped My Life... For The Better!Habits are the outcome of the behaviours we display day to day, which eventually become second nature and we do them without thinking. So lets make our habits good ones, healthy ones, that are going to make us happier and healthier versions of ourselves! Watch your life change...Thank you for listening - please do not forget to click subscribe, leave a review, this really helps us grow quicker and help INSPIRE more people! If you could also leave a comment/like if you found this episode useful and let us know if there is any other topics you would like to see covered!Socials@themindsetcurriculum@whereshodgie@bethanypayetartistHave an amazing day - wishing you health wealth and happiness on your own journey!

Welcome back to another episode of The Mindset Curriculum - on todays episode I wanted to discuss some of the feelings I am currently experiencing in the build up to our travels, the darker side of travelling that people don't tend to talk about as much, like home sickness (I have travelled a lot and been through this all before), being away from family and on the other side of the world, the build up and the mental side of things knowing your going to be saying goodbye to all home comforts and your normality soon, and more...Thank you for listening - please do not forget to click subscribe, leave a review, this really helps us grow quicker and help INSPIRE more people! If you could also leave a comment/like if you found this episode useful and let us know if there is any other topics you would like to see covered!Socials@themindsetcurriculum@whereshodgie@bethanypayetartistHave an amazing day - wishing you health wealth and happiness on your own journey!

Welcome back to another episode of The Mindset Curriculum - on todays episode we are discussing 'The 5 Harshest Lessons Adults Learn, That Your Not Taught In School...' Some of the hardest lessons in life are the ones that only experience and circumstances can teach us, so we wanted to share this with you from our own experiences in the hope that they may help you avoid some mistakes in your own journey and prepare better for things to come...Thank you for listening - please do not forget to click subscribe, leave a review, this really helps us grow quicker and help INSPIRE more people! If you could also leave a comment/like if you found this episode useful and let us know if there is any other topics you would like to see covered!Socials@themindsetcurriculum@whereshodgie@bethanypayetartistHave an amazing day - wishing you health wealth and happiness on your own journey!

Welcome back to another episode of The Mindset Curriculum -

Todays episode is about how we can navigate our feelings and energy levels in winter, and highlights that it is completely normal for us to feel a little low on energy, motivation and mood in winter, compared to how we may have felt a few months back in the lighter days. This is something I have been fighting through myself, motivation to train as hard, getting up early is a struggle, but we cannot be too harsh on ourselves - it is natural to slow down, rest more and relax in winter - so do what you can and don't beat yourself up.Thank you for listening - please do not forget to click subscribe, leave a review, this really helps us grow quicker and help INSPIRE more people! If you could also leave a comment/like if you found this episode useful and let us know if there is any other topics you would like to see covered!Socials@themindsetcurriculum@whereshodgie@bethanypayetartistHave an amazing day - wishing you health wealth and happiness on your own journey!

Welcome back to another episode of The Mindset Curriculum - on today's episode I delved in to my TOP FIVE REASONS why you should quit your job and travel the world at some point in your life.

I appreciate this road may not be for everyone, but if you, like me, have a calling inside you to something bigger, you know there is more but your not sure what's missing... this could be for you.

Thank you for listening - please do not forget to click subscribe, leave a review, this really helps us grow quicker and help INSPIRE more people! If you could also leave a comment/like if you found this episode useful and let us know if there is any other topics you would like to see covered!

Socials

@themindsetcurriculum

@whereshodgie

@bethanypayetartist

Have an amazing day - wishing you health wealth and happiness on your own journey!