Tim Booker, a 42-year-old American national living in Nairobi, has revealed that living in Nairobi is far much cheaper and peaceful than in some cities in the United States.
Booker, an American multi-millionaire businessman from Washington D.C., revealed he came to Kenya on a visit only to end up relocating permanently.
In an interview with Webnation, Tim revealed he was invited to Kenya by his cousin, who was on a charity mission in the country.
“She spent her career with disadvantaged people. She has been telling me for years to come and give back. After COVID, last year, I came to participate and see Kenya, and that experience changed my life,” he narrated.
While in Machakos County, Tim revealed interacting with strangers made him feel more at home in Kenya than in Washington.
What was supposed to be a short visit turned into a five-week extension and eventually a permanent relocation.
The businessman currently lives in a four-bedroom mansion in Lavington, Nairobi, paying a monthly rent of Sh450,000. The rent package includes security, a housekeeper and utilities.
How Somalis in Eastleigh became Kenya’s most successful business people
According to him, the rent he pays in Nairobi is way cheaper than what Americans are subjected to for a small one-bedroom apartment in some American states.
“For that price, the much I could have gotten in Washington would have been a two-bedroom apartment,” he said.
Additionally, the current shift to online working and Kenya being an English-speaking nation made it easy to transition from the U.S. to Kenya, which he describes as much more peaceful than the U.S.
“My life here in Nairobi is much different. First of all, it is more relaxing. The energy level is higher, but it doesn’t have the stress. So I’m able to think a lot clearer, so that is a huge difference,” he explained.
“When I was in the U.S., at times I couldn’t sleep because my mind was filled with tasks and responsibility. In Nairobi, I wake up with a sense of calm and stillness. In the States, I just didn’t have enough time,” he adds.
Businesswise, Tim describes Nairobi as “the jewel of Africa”, a place where both personal fulfilment and investment opportunities coexist naturally.
However, he admits that the seven-hour time difference has been a challenge because he misses his family back in the US.
He now spends his weekends volunteering with the same nonprofit that first brought him to the country.
