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Anyone living life of a digital nomad?

rokkerkory

rokkerkory

Banned
Jun 14, 2018
14,128
Anyone living as a digital nomad? Where are you living? How do you like it? How's it being an ex-pat?

I am seriously considering moving to southeast Asia in 2 years. I would be completely debt free with a good chunk of cash saved up / investments. My house would be paid off and I could rent it out to get recurring income in bay area I am sure I can get at least $2500 a month for it.

Seeing as many places such as Da Nang and Changmai you can comfortably live off of $1200+ a month including housing and not having to be in a freakin stressful 9-5 (more like 7 to 5 now with covid WFH), it would be amazing to trade some of what I am used to for a better lifestyle (ie I get to make my own schedule each day).

I'd love to hear your experiences!
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
59,968
I've considered that, but I have a lot of my social network is in the states. COVID-19 made me realize the importance of these relationships.

I wouldn't mind doing it for a season, but not long term.
 
Jonnax

Jonnax

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,920
Well I'm not a digital nomad.
But please don't move to a country and just live in a bubble.
There are many people who take advantage of the cheap cost of living or weather and move and treat the local population with disdain.
Consider that you're making another country your home.
Also moving from a rich country to a poorer one, and using a loophole to not pay income tax, and also pricing locals out of housing is morally dubious so don't do that.
 
Tamath

Tamath

Member
Oct 31, 2017
742
Vienna, Austria
Maybe I'm slow but I don't understand the phrase digital nomad when you're talking about moving to another country, which is neither digital nor nomadic.
 
Neutra

Neutra

Member
Oct 27, 2017
988
NYC
the concept sounds glamorous but i wonder how sustainable or truly enjoyable that life is. what makes work fundamentally less stressful or more fun if you're doing it in a cabana instead of a wework space?
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
59,968
Tamath said:
Maybe I'm slow but I don't understand the phrase digital nomad when you're talking about moving to another country, which is neither digital nor nomadic.
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Good resource on the topic

www.tropicalmba.com

Tropical MBA | Official Podcast for Location Independent Entrepreneurs

The TMBA podcast, free resources, & community have helped millions of location-independent businesses grow. Use our quick start guide to dive in.
www.tropicalmba.com www.tropicalmba.com

h/t to ZackieChan

He's been doing it for a while so I tagged to this thread.
 
VorpalNonsense

VorpalNonsense

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,645
considering moving to southeast Asia in 2 years
southeast Asia in 2 years
in 2 years
2 years

It's the second line in the post
 
Soda

Soda

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,852
Dunedin, New Zealand
Keep in mind, renting while being out of the city, state, country, and continent can result in some challenges. Tenants can be a pain in the ass even when you are located nearby. You may want to get a very well-trusted management company to handle your rental and let them take their cut so you can not worry as much.
 
ProfessorLobo

ProfessorLobo

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
1,523
Yes, I've been doing it around two years. I came to Europe in the middle of March, and have been stuck between wanting to go back home to protest and finding myself lucky that things are so open and not fucked up here. Not sure what I'll do.
 

Tangyn

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,280
I mean if I had a guaranteed income of £2k per month you are god damn right i'd try to make my life work in Vietnam or Thailand.

I spent a couple of years travelling around SE Asia on money i'd saved up and yea the internet is amazing is both countries, food is incredible and you can as you say live very well for that kinda money.

You would be crazy not to imo - also the food in chiang mai was truly incredible... i think about it reguarly
 

JasonV

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,967
Not taking a shot at the OP but I always found something distasteful about this.

I know a few people who saved up some cash and moved to a SE Asian country from a wealthier nation and "lived like a king".

It seems like they just end up exploiting the local population.
 
Basquiat

Basquiat

alt account
Banned
Apr 2, 2020
369
Transistor said:
Covid very well could be around in two years still, so planning for the future like this might still be a very unsure thing.
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Well 2 years in the future can always be seen as an unsure thing, no matter the global situation. The critical part here though is that it seems like he wont be screwed even if this plan doesn't go ahead.
 
OP
OP
rokkerkory

rokkerkory

Banned
Jun 14, 2018
14,128
JasonV said:
Not taking a shot at the OP but I always found something distasteful about this.

I know a few people who saved up some cash and moved to a SE Asian country from a wealthier nation and "lived like a king".

It seems like they just end up exploiting the local population.
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I get this for sure. But I am viet and have family there so I get it. I'd like to live pretty modestly / simply tbh it's partly why I wanna get out of the US.
 
ZackieChan

ZackieChan

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,056
entremet said:
Good resource on the topic

www.tropicalmba.com

Tropical MBA | Official Podcast for Location Independent Entrepreneurs

The TMBA podcast, free resources, & community have helped millions of location-independent businesses grow. Use our quick start guide to dive in.
www.tropicalmba.com www.tropicalmba.com

h/t to ZackieChan

He's been doing it for a while so I tagged to this thread.
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Did it for about 5 years, but I've been staying here in Bangkok for the last 3 since I met my wife. We were going to go nomadic for a while together, but then COVID happened. Glad I'm here rather than there!
I actually started a nomad thread on GAF that didn't get much traction. I definitely had a great time with the lifestyle. Saw tons of places. I love Thailand in particular, but HCMC, Budapest, Prague, Tokyo, Amsterdam, and Oaxaca were some of my favorite places. It can get lonely, but there's lots of other nomads around and you can always meet up with locals.
My advice would be to find a way to make money online. I run my law practice remotely, so I have done that work from all around the world successfully. It's all about the Internet speed and about matching time zones where needed (I wake up every day at 4am now, so I can hit the west coast afternoon for client calls and such).
Aside from the condo, what can you do to make money rokkerkory?
Also, I highly recommend a 1-2 combo of a Charles Schwab Investor Checking account (no atm fees worldwide) and a Chase Sapphire Reserve Card.
 
OP
OP
rokkerkory

rokkerkory

Banned
Jun 14, 2018
14,128
ZackieChan said:
Did it for about 5 years, but I've been staying here in Bangkok for the last 3 since I met my wife. We were going to go nomadic for a while together, but then COVID happened. Glad I'm here rather than there!
I actually started a nomad thread on GAF that didn't get much traction. I definitely had a great time with the lifestyle. Saw tons of places. I love Thailand in particular, but HCMC, Budapest, Prague, Tokyo, Amsterdam, and Oaxaca were some of my favorite places. It can get lonely, but there's lots of other nomads around and you can always meet up with locals.
My advice would be to find a way to make money online. I run my law practice remotely, so I have done that work from all around the world successfully. It's all about the Internet speed and about matching time zones where needed (I wake up every day at 4am now, so I can hit the west coast afternoon for client calls and such).
Aside from the condo, what can you do to make money rokkerkory?
Also, I highly recommend a 1-2 combo of a Charles Schwab Investor Checking account (no atm fees worldwide) and a Chase Sapphire Reserve Card.
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Hey ZackieChan - This is some good stuff... Yeah Thailand... esp Chiangmai is a place we also fell in love with the charm of the people and food. It's just not anywhere close enough to the beach which my wife and I love. So we are thinking more Da Nang at least right now at #1.

I might be able to even keep my job or a reduced version of it as it's all remote anyways and even if I have to work in middle of the night it's not THAT BAD if it can give me a better lifestyle. But really the goal is to not have to wake up to anyone else's terms but on my own schedule.

I have both CS and Chase SR as well... as far as other income streams, I have some stocks that pays dividends although not THAT much at the moment, I can buy some more to give me a couple hundred per month. During covid, my wife is starting online business as well, hopefully that takes off. She owns a salon which is currently closed for obvious reasons but we can sell beauty care online.
 
ZackieChan

ZackieChan

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,056
rokkerkory said:
Hey ZackieChan - This is some good stuff... Yeah Thailand... esp Chiangmai is a place we also fell in love with the charm of the people and food. It's just not anywhere close enough to the beach which my wife and I love. So we are thinking more Da Nang at least right now at #1.

I might be able to even keep my job or a reduced version of it as it's all remote anyways and even if I have to work in middle of the night it's not THAT BAD if it can give me a better lifestyle. But really the goal is to not have to wake up to anyone else's terms but on my own schedule.

I have both CS and Chase SR as well... as far as other income streams, I have some stocks that pays dividends although not THAT much at the moment, I can buy some more to give me a couple hundred per month. During covid, my wife is starting online business as well, hopefully that takes off. She owns a salon which is currently closed for obvious reasons but we can sell beauty care online.
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Yeah, if you can go remote that would be best at the start. If you have a weird schedule like me (sleep 20:30 to 04:00) you'll get enough sleep and be awake for west coast work. It really depends on the type of business you have.
Feel free to PM me! I haven't been to Da Nang, but the visa situations out here can be tricky. That's why it's best to stay nomadic, honestly. Hit up all of Asia, Aus/NZ, go to Europe, etc. I did a lot of hostel living, but I'm sure you can find AirBNB places for not too much.
 

Benjamin

Member
Nov 11, 2017
154
JasonV said:
Not taking a shot at the OP but I always found something distasteful about this.

I know a few people who saved up some cash and moved to a SE Asian country from a wealthier nation and "lived like a king".

It seems like they just end up exploiting the local population.
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Taking a western salary and putting it all into a poorer nation's economy is not exactly an exploitative action. If anything it should be beneficial to the local population, provided it isn't done in an overbearing manner
 

nitewulf

Member
Nov 29, 2017
7,193
I have played around with that idea. I also love that part of the world, I've been to Da Nang, Phu Quoc and Chiang Mai. I'd prefer Krabi, Thailand as I love the beach towns, but SEA in general is great. I'd also suggest looking into Costa Rica, which is also amazing for a digital nomad lifestyle. Or Lisbon as well.

Now I am married so those dreams have hit a roadblock but who knows what the future holds.

I do have friends that are doing this in Jakarta and Bali. If you can rent out your US home and bills are paid for, and can work remotely (I was freelance consulting for a while, which is what got me thinking deeply into converting into a digi nomad to begin with), then I don't see why not. Just have to be aware of the culture and be respectful of local cultures, laws and regulations. ie, don't be a dick.
 
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