• In 2020, I quit my career in accounting and decided to focus on my real dream: writing.
• I planned on living off my life savings, but I lost it all in Lebanon's financial crisis.
• I'm trying to get back to work, but I'm struggling, so I started freelancing.

The year 2020 was supposed to be when I could finally take it easy and focus on myself. Years of odd jobs — which I started in my teens — had taken their toll on my health. I decided to leave my career in accounting behind and finally take a crack at my lifelong dream of being a writer.

By the time I was 23, I had $20,000 saved — thanks to tutoring and accounting — so I knew I could take some time to chase my dreams in Lebanon, where my family is from. I wasn't too concerned about my finances because my mother tucked away my substantial earnings in a local bank in Lebanon. We lived off the interest of our combined life savings.

But Lebanon's banking system collapsed — the World Bank called it a Ponzi scheme — and the country entered a financial crisis. As soon as the headlines broke, access to our accounts was restricted. It became a mess of confusion. We only knew that the Lebanese pound was in freefall, and businesses were closing left and right.

My savings were lost forever — just as I was making headway as a writer.

I didn't have a reentry plan

In late 2020, it became clear that our money was just digits on a screen, and the Lebanese government didn't have a plan to deal with the crisis. I knew I had to return to work but didn't know how. I hadn't planned for this.

Figuring out how to return to the workforce was the real struggle. Call it youthful naivety, but I didn't have a reentry plan in case I needed to return to work. I was prepared to do office work, but the job market in Lebanon was dead. I had to expand my job search to the US; thankfully, I'm also an American citizen.

But I struggled to find a job Stateside, too. My main issue was that I had a few gap years in my work history because of the break I took. I had to touch up my résumé so that hobbies, side projects, and activities were now valuable experiences to an employer, but it didn't help much.

The Lebanese financial crisis continued long after the COVID-19 pandemic. The only way to make ends meet was to crawl into the gig economy.

I'm now burning myself out

I don't have enough cash on hand to relocate to the States, so I have to subsist on odd jobs mixed with commissions from magazines, newspapers, and journals. But it's been a nightmare.

Working freelance is just a relentless hamster wheel. Not knowing where and when I'll find my next gig is demoralizing. I have to constantly search for more opportunities while trying to finish what I already have on my plate as fast as possible.

Being my own boss is also difficult. You can't help but be tough on yourself for fear of losing productivity. Initially, I figured it would be a temporary arrangement until I could use my freelance work as a launchpad for better things, but career development in freelancing is relatively linear compared to the old-fashioned corporate ladder.

Burnout has been a problem I've had to power through so many times that the long-term psychological effects have been debilitating. I must push myself to keep up, but I can only do it for so long.

Since losing my savings, I've been freelancing for five years. I know I can't carry on like this forever, but I have an exit plan in place this time. I'm pursuing a doctorate to access stable work outside a corporate setting. I still have years ahead of me and have all but given up hopes of trying to make it as a writer, considering how slim the opportunities are now compared to only a couple of years ago.

Still, I hold on to the hope that through the same hard work and perseverance that allowed me to shore up my savings in the first place, I can find my way back to financial stability.

• Bailey Varness is a voice-over actor who started fixing projects originally done by AI in 2021.
• She says AI voices are prone to mispronouncing, unable to change tone, and often stolen.
• The work is so time-consuming that if it continues, she plans to triple her rate of $500 an hour.

I've been working in the voice-over and marketing industry for 15 years. I started my career as an audiobook narrator and then moved into commercials. I've done small pieces for businesses just starting out and national campaigns for Fortune 500 companies.

After working on thousands of projects, I understand how companies can be tempted to use AI voices for their commercials and content. It seems like a solution to save both time and money. Unfortunately, in most cases, the opposite is true.

In July 2021, I received my first request to fix a voice-over project where a company tried to use AI, but it didn't sound right. It's become a regular part of my work, and I receive up to four requests a month. Redoing what an AI voice has failed to do is very time-consuming.

I charge SAG-AFTRA union rates or above for my work

Depending on where a commercial voice-over will be used and the length of the piece, I can earn up to $1,500 for a project, which breaks down to roughly $500 per hour.

If I keep getting projects where I have to redo the sloppy job of an AI voice, I will triple my voice-over rates. It's way more time and effort than my traditional voice-over projects.

It took me about three years and $10,000 in training to perfect my commercial voice, and the styles of commercial reads change every few years. There's a nuance to voice-over performances. AI voices can't be directed to keep up with it.

Fixing an AI ad is like working backward

Usually, when creating a commercial, marketing teams record the voice-over first and then add the video to match. With AI voices, a video has already been produced, so I have to match the speed that AI created and still make it sound good.

I've done a lot of political ads, and the client always wants to fit as many accomplishments as possible about their candidate into the allotted 30 seconds. It's a lot of work to ensure I can say everything on time.

I've learned how to adjust my reading speed and tone to fit the number of words needed into 30 seconds. AI can't vary its speed or sound natural if you try to speed it up to fit. An AI voice-over can easily become an unsalvagable mess.

AI voices end up costing more

AI makes a lot of common mistakes. There's usually a word or two that just isn't right — brand names and names of people are often pronounced incorrectly.

Another common AI mistake is not knowing what to emphasize. AI voices can give a casual, boring read that most marketers think will be fine, but they can't change tone or enthusiasm.

As a voice actor, I can't fix the one word AI said wrong. The voices won't match. The whole thing must be thrown out and started again. When your goal was to save time and money, you lose in both areas.

Beware the legal ramifications of using AI voices

There's also a good chance that if you're using an AI voice, it's been stolen. AI voice data is trained on many voices who never gave permission.

Groups like NAVA (The National Association of Voice Actors) are working to include a clause in voice-over contracts that says that you cannot use any recordings created to be sold for AI training data, but that's not stopping some tech companies from using whatever they can find.

While there's no precedent for unauthorized AI voice usage, Bette Midler and Tom Waits have both received $400,000 and over $2M, respectively, for sing-alike performances of their voices in commercials. Corporations should avoid using AI voiceovers if they want to ensure the voices they use will not get them into legal trouble down the road.

I started a company to help

I started a company this year called Brand Voice Consulting that focuses on the many aspects of marketing, including voice-over, because companies often don't realize what an important part of their campaign it really is. You want your brand to come across as authentic, and voice-over is a part of being able to do that.

I don't think correcting AI voice-overs will be the biggest part of my work in the future. I expect companies to learn the problems pretty quickly after trying AI voice-overs.

Be careful if you think AI is the miracle to marketing you were hoping for because you may be the next victim to have to hire me to fix your AI voice-over nightmare.

Bailey Varness is a marketing consultant, brand voice strategist, digital marketing speaker, and voice expert.

• Apple's much-anticipated WWDC 2024 keynote kicks off at 1 p.m. ET.
• Tim Cook is set to take the stage and reveal Apple's generative AI strategy.
• Apple has reportedly struck a deal with OpenAI to help power some of the AI features.

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote on Monday is expected to herald some major announcements from the tech titan.

This year's WWDC has been highly anticipated by analysts, investors, and beyond, who all want to know what CEO Tim Cook will reveal about Apple's generative artificial intelligence efforts. Major updates to iOS will also reportedly be announced from 1 p.m. ET.

An AI announcement from Apple can't come soon enough, analysts have said.

"Apple doesn't have to be first, but it can't be on the outside looking in when it comes to AI," Wedbush Securities managing director Dan Ives previously told Business Insider.

Although neither company has officially announced the deal, Bloomberg reported that Apple and OpenAI will likely partner to bring an AI chatbot to iPhones. OpenAI launched the new GPT-4o in May.

Other changes Apple is expected to unveil include updated Mac, iPad, and Vision Pro operating systems, AI-generated emojis, and a complete overhaul of Siri. By bringing the power of AI to Siri, the virtual assistant could integrate with Apple apps to perform a wider range of tasks than it's been capable of.

Apple is reportedly expected to reveal AI integrations throughout iOS 18 that focus on making everyday tasks on your iPhone easier, such as summarizing and responding to emails and recapping articles.

And while no new hardware is expected to be announced this year — last year, they introduced the Vision Pro — all eyes are on Apple to finally set the stage for an "AI iPhone" expected to be revealed later this year.

WWDC is Apple’s biggest conference

The Worldwide Developers Conference is held by Apple every year. It starts with a keynote speech from CEO Tim Cook that's available to watch on apple.com.

WWDC is being held at Apple Park, its headquarters in Cupertino, California. It's colloquially called "the ring" or "the spaceship" because its giant circular design resembles a flying saucer.

Developers will attend sessions at conference, which concludes on Friday.

Analysts think WWDC 2024 will “kick off an AI-driven accelerated growth cycle on the iPhone and Services”

Dan Ives said in an analyst note on Sunday that the AI-infused products and services "will be the narrative of the Apple story for the coming years."

Wedbush analysts predict a formal announcement of Apple's rumored partnership with OpenAI, which they think is a chatbot based on Apple LLMs and that an AI App Store will be unveiled. They also think an AI-powered iPhone 16 launch could be on the cards too.

Apple revealed its Vision ‘Vision Pro' headset at last year’s WWDC

Tim Cook unveiled Apple's first mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, during the company's annual keynote at WWDC 2023. It was the first major product announcement since the Apple Watch in 2014.

• A 2005 deal between Apple and Google changed the way Americans use the internet.
• Apple may soon reveal a new arrangement that could do the same for the AI era.
• Tim Cook is expected to announce a partnership with OpenAI at WWDC to bring ChatGPT to iPhones.

When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone in 2007, it was a landmark moment in Apple's history that involved the CEO of another Silicon Valley company: Google.

Eric Schmidt, Google's leader at the time, joined Jobs onstage at the Macworld conference as a symbol of the growing bond between their companies. In 2005, Apple and Google had struck a deal to make Mountain View's search engine the default option on the Mac's Safari browser.

The iPhone put Google front and center as the core search tool on the device Apple was betting its future on. It's a tie-up that has arguably determined who's dominated America's internet ever since.

As iPhones grew in popularity across the US, Google's reach spread too, giving an already dominant search engine more exposure.

The deal is now at the heart of a US antitrust lawsuit filed against Google in 2020, but it's shaped how Americans experienced the internet and has been extremely lucrative for Apple: Google paid $20 billion in 2022 to maintain the deal.

Now, Apple is preparing to reveal its plans to dominate the internet again — with the help of another Silicon Valley company.

Apple's plan to dominate the internet, again

When CEO Tim Cook kicks off Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, he's expected to unveil a new vision of artificial intelligence by announcing a partnership with OpenAI.

Bloomberg reported last week that Apple is all but set to announce that the ChatGPT maker's technology will be integrated into the iPhone operating system.

For Apple, the partnership is a bold attempt to bring generative-AI features to its devices after months of questions from investors, developers, and others about its plans to get in on Silicon Valley's most-talked-about technology.

Though Apple typically keeps its plans secret, there's been a growing sense that the company was falling behind on AI. Rivals like Google and Meta have charged ahead with their own AI models, while Microsoft partnered with OpenAI as early as 2019.

But by bringing an incumbent AI player like OpenAI into its mix, Apple hopes it can shape a new internet experience for iPhone users in the AI era.

In a research note, Wedbush analysts wrote that this year's WWDC could be "the most important event for Apple in over a decade as the pressure to bring a generative AI stack of technology for developers and consumers" grows.

For OpenAI, the deal would give it access to one of the most powerful distribution systems in the world, as there are more than a billion active iPhone users.

Time will tell if the deal is as fruitful as Apple's search-engine agreement with Google. Though OpenAI has emerged as the face of the generative-AI boom thanks to the early-mover advantage it gained from ChatGPT's release in November 2022, it's also been mired in controversy.

No done deal

The ChatGPT maker's AI has been criticized for making critical errors and being prone to "hallucinations," bringing its reliability into question. The company has also been the subject of controversy, as CEO Sam Altman has come under fire from former employees over safety issues.

It's worth noting that neither company has confirmed the deal yet. It was previously reported that Apple had been in discussions with Google over an AI partnership, but OpenAI appears to have earned its favor.

One thing is certain: Apple is about to pitch the world on its plans to dominate the internet in the AI age.

Correction: June 6, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated the length of OpenAI's partnership with Microsoft. It started in 2019, not 2023.

• Tesla shareholders might have another reason to vote for Elon Musk's pay package this Thursday.
• Musk has been touting the benefits of having Tesla be a part of his business empire. 
• The billionaire has touted access to future IPOs and showcased the synergies between his businesses.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been pulling out all stops to woo shareholders ahead of Thursday's vote for his massive $56 billion pay package.

Besides campaigning on his social media platform X, Musk has also dangled the opportunity of a guided tour of Gigafactory Texas with him and Tesla's design chief, Franz von Holzhausen.

But those seem just to be appetizers because Musk has now brought out the big guns — promising shareholders that a Musk-led Tesla will have access to his sprawling business empire.

A ticket to the 'Muskonomy'

The pitch is a smart move for Musk, as it turns what looks like a liability — running half a dozen companies at the same time — into an asset.

Nowhere was that vision clearer than on Sunday, when Musk began touting the benefits of having Tesla as a part of his business universe.

Musk's The Boring Company revealed in an X post that its tunneling machine, the Prufrock-3, had emerged inside the Gigafactory Texas' expansion. The tunnel that is being constructed will soon be used to transport Tesla's Cybertrucks.

"Cybertunnel will be online July," the post said.

It's not just hardware. Musk is looking to leverage the software built by his $24 billion AI startup, xAI.

The billionaire was livestreaming himself playing Diablo on X when he revealed that Tesla's cars could come installed with xAI's chatbot, Grok, in the future.

Besides cross-pollinating his companies' tech, Musk is also promising multiple windfalls to Tesla shareholders if they stick with him.

On Saturday, Musk said he would prioritize "longtime shareholders of my other companies, including Tesla" if any of his businesses were to go public.

"Loyalty deserves loyalty," he wrote on X.

Musk might not have spelled it out, but his X post sounded like a veiled reference to the long-rumored IPO for his satellite internet business, Starlink.

To be sure, this isn't the first time Musk has leveraged his network of businesses.

xAI had earlier sold investors on the benefits of being a part of what it called the "Muskonomy," Bloomberg reported in February, citing a pitch deck it had obtained.

In its pitch deck, the company said that Tesla and X were its strategic partners, and it would provide them with training data.

Similarly, when Musk bought Twitter in October 2022, he quickly brought in software engineers from Tesla and SpaceX to review the social media company's code base.

In fact, some of Musk's lieutenants are still double hatting at his companies. For instance, SpaceX's principal security engineer, Christopher Stanley, is also X's head of information security.

"The right thing for Tesla at this time is for Elon to continue to be at the helm, and this ratification of the compensation plan is exactly about that," Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm told CNBC on June 6.

Representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

• TSMC's CEO hinted at raising prices for Nvidia's AI chip products.
• Nvidia's market value recently hit $3 trillion, driving discussions on the value of its AI chips.
• TSMC plans price hikes for production outside Taiwan amid geopolitical concerns.

Nvidia's meteoric rise on the back of the AI boom has made it one of the world's most valuable companies and boosted the fortune of CEO Jensen Huang.

Now, key supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, appears to want in on the hype.

"I did complain to Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang — the 'three trillion guy' — that his products are so expensive," CC Wei, TSMC's CEO, said last week, per Nikkei.

Wei was referring to Nvidia's market value, which surpassed $3 trillion last week. The AI chipmaker submitted another blowout earnings report last month, with first-quarter revenue and earnings both beating Wall Street estimates.

Wei added that Nvidia's products are "really valuable for sure, but I am thinking about showing our value as well."

Wei's comments sparked speculation that TSMC — the world's largest contract chipmaker — is considering a price hike. TSMC produces, by some estimates, 90% of the world's most advanced processor chips.

TSMC sought to tamp down market speculation last week, telling local media that the company's pricing has always been "strategy-oriented rather than opportunity-oriented."

In April, an analyst asked if TSMC was reaping the benefits of the AI boom and how the CEO thinks about pricing.

"We are happy that our customers are doing well. And if customers do well, TSMC does well," Wei answered.

Nvidia's Huang doesn't appear to mind a price hike from TSMC.

He told reporters in Taiwan last week that TSMC's contribution to the industry is "really great."

"Raising prices is consistent with the value they deliver. I'm very happy to see them succeed," Huang said.

Morgan Stanley analysts wrote last week that Nvidia's management probably recognizes TSMC's reliability.

"We believe that if NVIDIA accepted price hikes, other key AI semi customers may follow," the analysts wrote in a note.

They estimated Nvidia will account for 10% of TSMC's 2024 revenue.

TSMC has already indicated price hikes for production outside of Taiwan

It isn't the first time this year that TSMC has signaled a price hike.

In April, Wei said the company plans to charge customers more if they want their chips made outside Taiwan.

"If my customer requests to be in some certain area, then definitely, TSMC and the customer had to share the incremental cost," the CEO said on TSMC's first-quarter earnings call. "In today's fragmented globalization environment, costs will be higher for everyone, including TSMC, our customers, our competitors, and the entire semiconductor industry."

Taiwan also hiked electricity rates for large industrial users in April, which would pressure TSMC's bottom line. Wei said inflation and electricity were leading to higher costs.

"We expect our customers to share some of the higher cost with us, and we already started our discussion with our customers," he said, declining to talk specifics about pricing strategies on the earnings call.

Used in everything from data centers to smartphones, chip production is now a geopolitical concern, since the world's chip production is concentrated in independently governed Taiwan — which China claims as its own territory.

There are fears that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could adversely impact the global economy and allow Beijing to seize TSMC's facilities.

TSMC is diversifying production with new facilities in Arizona, Japan, and Germany.

Wei said last week that TSMC has discussed moving some chip plants outside Taiwan, but that it was impossible to move all production out of the island.

TSMC's shares in Taiwan closed 1.7% lower at 879 New Taiwan dollars apiece on Friday and are up 48% year-to-date. The Taiwanese market is closed on Monday for a public holiday.

Nvidia shares closed 0.1% lower at $1,208.88 apiece on Friday after gaining over 140% year-to-date — ahead of a 10-for-1 stock split after the closing bell.

TSMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• Russia is replenishing its troops with an unlikely source — African migrants and students.
• Thousands of Africans have been forced to join in Russia's war against Ukraine, per Bloomberg.
• The country has also been plugging its manpower gaps by sending prison inmates to the battlefield.

Russia is forcing thousands of African migrants and students to join in their war efforts against Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing assessments from European officials.

According to Bloomberg's report, Russian officials have threatened not to renew the visas of African migrant workers and students if they didn't join the Russian Armed Forces.

Some African workers have even been threatened with deportation if they do not agree to fight in Ukraine, one European official told Bloomberg. Others have resorted to bribing Russian officials to stay out of the conflict, per the outlet.

A spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment.

This wouldn't be the first time the country has turned to unorthodox and controversial recruitment measures to replenish its troops.

Russia's reliance on attrition warfare has seen it continually drawing on its prison population to fuel its war effort.

In October, Russia's Deputy Justice Minister Vsevolod Vukolov said the country's prison population had plunged to a historic low of 266,000, per The Washington Post. Russia's prison population stood at 420,000 before the war.

In fact, Russia has recruited so many inmates that it has started to close down some of its prisons.

A local official told lawmakers in March that some prisons had to be shut down because of "a one-time large reduction in the number of convicts," per the Russian newspaper Kommersant.

But conscripting its migrant population could put further pressure on the Russian economy, which has been grappling with severe labor shortages.

"Unemployment is 3%, and in some regions, it is even lower," Russian Central Bank Gov. Elvira Nabiullina told lawmakers in November. "This means there are practically no workers left in the economy."

Representatives for Russia's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

• Russia is fortifying the Kerch Bridge with barges, says the UK's defense ministry.
• The barges will help "to defend the bridge and shipping channel" from Ukrainian attacks, per the UK.
• The bridge is used to transport Russia's military freight into Crimea and southwest Ukraine.

Russia is shoring up the defenses for the Kerch Bridge with barges, the UK's defense ministry said on Saturday.

"Analysis of imagery has identified the installation of eight barges on the southern side of the Kerch Bridge," the UK's defense ministry wrote in its intelligence dispatch.

"These barges were placed by Russian forces in an attempt to defend the bridge and shipping channel, reducing the angles of approach for Ukrainian Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs)," the ministry said.

According to the ministry, the barges were installed between May 10 and May 22.

This isn't the first time barges have been placed near the bridge, which connects Russia to occupied Crimea, per the UK's defense ministry.

"Previously installed barriers have been damaged by storms, reducing their effectiveness," the intelligence dispatch said.

The Kerch Bridge has been a key military artery for the Russians, who rely on it to transport their military freight into occupied Crimea and southwestern Ukraine.

But Ukrainians view the bridge, which was built in 2018 after the Russians had annexed Crimea in 2014, as an illegal construction. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the Ukrainians have managed to damage the bridge in two successful attacks.

The first attack occurred in October 2022, when a fuel tank explosion saw the bridge's road section collapse. The second attack took place in July when it targeted the bridge's support struts with sea drones.

The repeated attacks appear to have caused the Russians to stop using the bridge. According to a report from the open-source intelligence organization Molfar last month, Russian military freight trains weren't seen on the bridge between February and mid-April.

Instead, the Russians seem to have placed their hopes on a new railway route that runs along the Azov Sea. The route passes through Russian-occupied Mariupol and Berdiansk before ending in Crimea.

"The railway along the land corridor is recognition on the part of the Russian occupiers that the Crimean Bridge is doomed," Dmitry Pletenchuk, a spokesman for Ukraine's southern military command, told The Economist in a story published on June 2.

"They are looking for a way to hedge their bets because they are aware that sooner or later, they will have a problem," he continued.

Representatives for Russia's defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

• Zyn nicotine pouches are expected to return to more US shelves this year, said an executive.
• Zyn saw 80% growth in Q1 2024, causing supply chain shortages in several states.
• Its parent company is planning a new US production location in 2025 to meet growing demand.

Cans of popular nicotine brand Zyn will be back on more shelves before the end of the year.

Zyn shipped 80% more cans in the US in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2023, Philip Morris International, the parent company of Zyn maker Swedish Match, said in late April.

But that wasn't enough for consumers, and the company has had shortages across its supply chain.

A top executive now says that PMI is working on filling the gaps.

"We believe that we're going to be back to a normal situation in the course of Q4," Emmanuel Babeau, the chief financial officer of PMI, said at a Deutsche Bank conference last week.

Babeau also said that the company is working on a new production location for Zyn in the US in 2025. He did not add details about the location or the opening date of the factory.

In the spring, Zyn customers noticed fewer Zyn cans in stores and aired their grievances on Reddit forums. In April, Babeau acknowledged "tensions" in the supply chain during the company's first-quarter earnings call.

In late May, retailers and wholesalers in New York, New Jersey, and Florida confirmed the shortages to Bloomberg.

"It's just a part of the routine"

Zyn has been available in the US since 2014 and has spiked in popularity recently. The colorful, flavored gum-like pouches have become a common "pick-me-up" among office employees looking to boost productivity. They have also become a staple with high-powered Wall Street traders and Republican lawmakers. Loyal users of these pouches have said that Zyn has helped them lose weight, comparing them to the viral weight-loss drug Ozempic.

Clay Coomer, a 36-year-old who works in marketing, said he and his colleagues have shared Zyn cans.

"If I need to have a challenging conversation with somebody or if I need to work on something that's a little bit more important than other things — like it's just a part of the routine," Coomer told Business Insider in March.

In February, Zyn parent company PMI reported that nearly 385 million cans of the flavored nicotine pouches shipped in the US in 2023, up 62% year-over-year. The company expects to do even better business in 2024: At the Deutche Bank conference, PMI raised its US forecast for this year to 560 million cans, after saying it was aiming for 520 million in February.

PMI, which also produces Marlboros outside the US, has been pushing to create more smoke-free products, as cigarette smoking declines worldwide.

Medical experts and research studies warn nicotine — including in pouches — can be addictive and can have harmful effects on the body, including its cardiovascular and respiratory systems, BI previously reported.

The Food and Drug Administration has been cracking down on underage Zyn sales. In April, the agency said it sent 119 warning letters to retailers and filed 41 civil complaints for sales of Zyn to underage buyers last year and this year.

• Gabi Bondor and Zoltan Kaman moved from New York City to Bali seven years ago with their teenage sons.
• During the pandemic, they built a six-bedroom eclectic home for their family.
• Now, they're becoming empty-nesters and selling the Canggu villa for $1.895 million.

Seven years ago, Gabi Bondor and Zoltan Kaman packed up their lives and moved from New York City to Bali with their two teenage sons in tow.

It was an idea sparked by a conversation with a friend over coffee on a cold winter morning.

The friend had mentioned his plans to enroll his daughters in the Green School, which is made from eco-friendly bamboo buildings and is known for its sustainability-focused pre-kindergarten through high school curriculum. It's also located in Ubud, over 10,000 miles from New York, near the center of the Indonesian island.

"And while we had traveled to places like India, Vietnam, and China, we'd never been to Indonesia before. So I said, 'Bali, that sounds very warm. Tell me more,'" Bondor told Business Insider.

When they got home, they started researching what life in Bali was like.

"I looked at the school, and it was the opposite of what was happening to my children in high school in New York. When the kids got home that day, I said, 'Guys, we're going to Bali for spring break,'" Bondor said.

The spring break visit came and went, and the couple decided they wanted to experience what it was like to live on the island for longer.

They ended up selling their kids the idea of a yearlong sabbatical in Bali as a break from stressful city life and a chance to see the rest of Asia.

"We told them, 'One suitcase each. Everything else goes into storage because we'd be back in a year,'" Bondor added. "Although they were allowed to bring their Xbox in their carry-on."

But after their year in Bali passed, the couple realized they didn't want to leave. They made a trip back to the US to clear out their storage and have no plans to move back.

The friend who introduced them to Bali didn't make the move in the end, she added.

Building in Bali

Like many expats, the couple rented a few different homes in Bali before finally building their own house during the pandemic.

"When COVID-19 came, land prices were a lot more affordable than what it is today, so we decided that we were going to purchase a plot somewhere where we could create a space for our family," Bondor said.

Part of the reason they chose to build instead of buying an off-plan property or continuing to rent was so that they could ensure the quality of the build, Kaman, the cofounder of a digital payment app, told BI.

"We always had some issue or another with the homes — the pump, the AC — and the landlords don't always care," Kaman said. "We thought, 'Why don't we build something ourselves so at least we can control and make sure that everything is working the way we need?'"

Additionally, they had experience renovating their homes during their time in the US. It helped that they also had a great team of builders — recommended by a friend — to rely on too.

"We love the process," Bondor said. "We enjoy it. I think we're a great team. If he is down or pissed, I pick him up, and vice versa."

They knew they wanted to stay near Canggu which is known for its beaches and bustling food scene.

"We lived in the neighborhood and we had always scouted around. Many people like the rice field views, while others like the beach views. We are social people — we like our coffee shops," Bondor said.

When the couple first saw the plot, located at the end of a narrow street that branches off from the main road, they fell in love immediately.

"It was so quiet and peaceful. There was nothing, except for basically seven big mango trees and thick vegetation. It was like a mini jungle," Kaman said.

The plot was about 8,200 square feet. Since foreigners aren't allowed to own land in Bali, the piece of land they have is on a 30-year lease.

The entire construction process took slightly over a year to complete, and the couple lived in a rented home nearby so they could always be on-site.

The biggest challenge they faced was having to work through Bali's rainy season, which typically runs from November to March.

"We started digging a pool when it was the rainy season, and we were just digging mud," Bondor said. "For weeks and weeks, you didn't see the digger come out of the soil — it felt like we weren't getting anywhere."

A cozy, eclectic home

The couple's six-bedroom home sits in a cul-de-sac, next to a rice field that's been repurposed into a plot to grow cucumbers.

The two-story building — which comes with an accessory dwelling unit that the couple calls "the teenager pad" — has a red and gray exterior that stands out in contrast to the surrounding greenery.

Those who step beyond the gate are greeted by a long walkway flanked by two koi ponds that lead to the main building.

"I like to say that it has a lot of European charm, like Paris with New York dancing a tango kind of thing. I really wanted to incorporate a lot of Balinese elements as well," Bondor said.

The furniture is handmade in Indonesia, and even the terracotta tiles on the building's exterior were crafted by a local family, she added.

Most importantly, it's a house that they designed with their own living habits in mind.

"I think everything, from the kitchen layout to the lighting, is based on the way we live our everyday life," Bondor said.

Becoming empty nesters

But the couple has decided it's time to say goodbye to their house — they're putting the villa on the market for $1.895 million.

Their oldest son is already studying abroad, and the youngest will start college soon. The couple plans to downsize to a smaller place.

"He just graduated last weekend. It's really hit us hard that he's leaving very soon and we're going to have this big, empty house to ourselves," Kaman said.

Moreover, as empty-nesters, they plan to travel a bit more now that they have the freedom to, and a house of this size can't be left empty in tropical weather for too long.

"It's not four seasons, it's always a lot of rain. The sun is always strong. It wears materials out," Bondor said. "We have animals. If one little gecko dies here and nobody cleans for a day or two, the ants will come."

"This house needs a lot of care and maintenance. So if you're not here for months, this is not going to work," Kaman added.

However, Bali will always be their home base.

The slower pace of life on the island lets them stop and appreciate the little things in their day, like being able to work out in the mornings or have a nice lunch together.

That aside, Bali is a melting pot of different cultures, and its people never fail to inspire them.

"There's a very unique expat community that comes to Bali and I think our friends have very similar mindsets that we do," Bondor said.

The couple has one tip for those who want to build a house in Bali: Don't cut corners.

"Do it the right way, and always respect your team," Bondor said. "Don't use cheap materials because this weather is going to wear everything out. If your roof is not done well, this rain is going to find its way in."

Kaman added that it might not be wise for anyone without any prior experience to take on such an ambitious project.

"If they don't have experience building houses, don't start with Bali," he said. "Just pick the right contractors."

Have you recently built or renovated your dream home? If you've got a story to share, get in touch with me at agoh@businessinsider.com.