It's not about wanting to be away from your friends. It's about not wanting to be stuck in your apartment in a city that's rainy and cold for six months straight starting in late October when you're young and unencumbered and you know that there's a sunny tropical paradise just a quick 16 hour flight away.
There's lots of other unencumbered young fun people there riding out the winter season, working on their surfing skills while coding from their laptops. Some of them you already know, others you'll meet when you get there, and you'll keep in touch for years (even if you're no longer living near them).
It's such a good way to do things that many people have arranged their lives so that they can do it every year (I did it for maybe 15 years before finally buying a couch in a place where there was something to do in the winter).
But I might point out to the author that 27 inch monitors cost $129.00 each. Even in Krabi, Thailand. And they make good gifts to the locals when it's time to move on.
Sorted.