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Please teach me how to become a digital nomad from the beginning?

clemens

clemens

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Jan 2, 2009
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#1
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I’ve read countless articles about being a digital nomad and living as one, but in all the thousands of articles written about this lifestyle, I haven’t seen a single explanation of HOW TO BECOME A DIGITAL NOMAD.

What I’m really missing is a simple step-by-step guide that tells me where to start and what to be aware of if I decide to become a digital nomad tomorrow.

Does anyone actually know how to make it happen, or are all the ones out there just thrill seekers living in an unconventional reality, bending the rules to fit the situation of the day, without worrying about what tomorrow brings?
 
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#2
I think most people start small. Maybe just more and more travelling at first while officially living at their parents.

They then cancel all rented apartments and changed their address at the banks to the one of their friends. You still need to be able to receive your debit cards.

Later on, they deregister with the government. You then are either not tax resident anywhere or you choose a favourable jurisdiction. This would be one with minimal reporting requirements, i.e. no wealth and ideally also no income earned abroad. Ideally also with no tax on interest nor dividends.

Ideally you have a good network of business partners and friends that let you use their addresses for banks and online orders. If possible you can also store some personal things of sentimental value like postcards or gifts from others.

My step by step guide
  • Decide for a jurisdiction to get a tax residency if needed. You can do it without and trade with a US LLC or a Singapore company. In this case, I would recommend getting a tax id in a place where you can get it without visa such as Australia in order to be able to tell banks and governments something.
  • Check with friends, family and business partners who can handle you mail. It is a matter of taste but I would not settle for less than like 5 countries. It gives you flexibility if you have 50 bank accounts across 5 continents.
  • Decide where you can store personal things. I would spread then out a bit, so that you have all in reach.
  • Go travelling, keep track of any SIM cards and bank accounts, so that they do not expire. I recommend using a calendar with reminders. Some SIM cards need to be reloaded, others need to send messages etc. Some banks need a login while others need a transaction.
  • Keep sending postcards to your friends, they will be very happy to host for for a week or two!
  • Keep me posted where you are, I will eat some tapas with you!
 
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#5
clemens said:
I’ve read countless articles about being a digital nomad and living as one, but in all the thousands of articles written about this lifestyle, I haven’t seen a single explanation of HOW TO BECOME A DIGITAL NOMAD.

What I’m really missing is a simple step-by-step guide that tells me where to start and what to be aware of if I decide to become a digital nomad tomorrow.

Does anyone actually know how to make it happen, or are all the ones out there just thrill seekers living in an unconventional reality, bending the rules to fit the situation of the day, without worrying about what tomorrow brings?
Click to expand...
well looking back.
The one and formost important issue to start is the money flow.
You either have one or a mix of:

a) enough capital and/or interest income
b) passive income streams (non capital sourced)
c) active working income from wherever (job or business) which does not require physical presence.

The rest (and its headache) will follow.
 
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#6
YoungLansk said:
When you land in a place find a decent Taxi Driver ( they all will try to get some extra $$ be generous) and they have a solution to all your problems , questions and needs.
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You think that works? he will help me with authority stuff and all this? If he can, he should make this as a second job.

Mercury said:
To me, nomadism rhymes with freedom, minimalism and above all the least possible bureaucracy.
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exactly what I think. Can't see why I need more than one bank account or two with crypto etc.
JackAlabama said:
a) enough capital and/or interest income
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I have roughly 800K euro on the bank and in crypto. I'm on a digital job already only doing money online.
JackAlabama said:
The rest (and its headache) will follow.
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yeah I'm afraid of it.
 
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#7
clemens said:
You think that works? he will help me with authority stuff and all this? If he can, he should make this as a second job.


exactly what I think. Can't see why I need more than one bank account or two with crypto etc.
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Its enough. Just look for a local card when take longer than 90 days vacation at times. (When I started out at first, I did like 3 months away 3months at home).
clemens said:
I have roughly 800K euro on the bank and in crypto. I'm on a digital job already only doing money online.
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thats a great way to start. I had much much less than that when i started (as a young and dumb lad, now Im just not young any more ;).
clemens said:
yeah I'm afraid of it.
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start small by taking longer vacations.
 
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#8
After you have given up your residency, and 12 months have passed, the bank will ask for a TIN (Tax Identification Number) and a current address. What will you do in that situation?
 
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#9
JohnLocke said:
After you have given up your residency, and 12 months have passed, the bank will ask for a TIN (Tax Identification Number) and a current address. What will you do in that situation?
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I usually only give them my local TIN. If they ask for the TIN of my nationality, they can have that one too (this does not cause any troubles as long as I am not resident). I personally would highly recommend getting a TFN in Australia for example that you can use to give the banks.

Mercury said:
... and a lot of headaches to admin it.
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Some people like bank accounts, some not. There are digital nomads that pretty much finance all their flights every 3 months with credit card welcome bonus. It works pretty well in the US to be honest. But you would need somebody on the ground who gives you the card numbers when new cards arrive.

I would recommend a minimum of two accounts as one may easily get blocked or the card gets lost etc. You don't want to sound like a scammer calling your grandma asking her to send you 5000 USD with Western Union. Better be prepared.

If you follow the flag theory or are worried about governments, I would recommend accounts in multiple jurisdictions just in case.

For cashback US is certainly best.

YoungLansk said:
I will give you a pro Tip
When you land in a place find a decent Taxi Driver ( they all will try to get some extra $$ be generous) and they have a solution to all your problems , questions and needs.
Click to expand...
My experience with them is that they normally have a limited mindset. But yes, for basic things, they can definitely give you some idea where to get work permits or driving licences.
 
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#11
There's a lot I have learned over the years. Here's just a brain dump of the things that came to mind just now and not focussed on the business setup stuff as that's covered very well already.
  • Don't burn your bridges and better to have something to go back to if you find it's not for you. I kept my house for 18 months and then sold it once I realised I didn't want to live there again.
  • As said above, friends/family in various locations can be a great help. The world is still not suited to nomad living. eg address for banks, places only sending goods to address on credit card.
  • Make sure you have a phone number that can receive 2FA messages. Bouncing around causes an extra step for many logins.
  • Learn to enjoy researching places and booking travel. I hate it and after more than a decade I still don't enjoy the process.
  • When you get to a place, look at the public holidays. I've been caught out a few times when shops were closed and I'd almost run out of food.
  • Spend time at each location thinking about what you like and don't like. I have learned a lot about myself and now avoid some places because I know I would get too frustrated. Holidays are fine, trying to live a normal life is very different.
  • Don't obsess about the digital nomad visas if you are staying less that the tourist visa length.
  • You will not leave all your problems behind. You will just trade them for a different set of problems. Find the problems you enjoy solving and tailor your life around them.
  • If like me your income varies weekly/monthly, adding in variable expenses (more than if living in one place with mortgage/rent/car/food etc), means things can get out of hand quickly. Keep a budget of the major things. I have a spreadsheet going back over 15 years and I can tell the cost of every night's accommodation and more. I have a set nightly budget and if I'm averaging less then I feel fine about going somewhere expensive for a few days and not worry about the cost.
  • People complain about Airbnb. Sure it has issues, however, if you do your research and don't go for the $500 a month place when all the others $1000 or more it works better. If you find the host listing the property elsewhere and you can contact them directly, you might save a bit. Plus if you go back to the same place, you obviously deal direct and can avoid the Airbnb fees.
  • Learn the ins and outs of airline and hotel loyalty programs. Don't let it rule your decisions, just make sure if you are flying or staying in a hotel, you are getting some reward. Look into the lesser known ones such as Airbnb/Qantas, Turkish Airlines/Booking.com etc.
  • One thing I really like about the lifestyle is not getting caught up in things like local politics. I'm not in places long enough to understand the history and it's easier to avoid when you aren't there full time.
I'm sure I have more, however, I start a five flight, four day, three continent adventure tomorrow and need to make sure I have everything sorted.

At the end of the day there's no how to manual. It's just being an adult and living your life. Anyone trying to sell you a digital nomad course/ebook is probably not the best source and they are just trying to earn enough to stay in Bali for a few more weeks...

Any specific questions you don't want to ask here and you think I may be able to help, shoot me a message and I'll try and provide and answer. Because I ended up in the US tax system, I'm not familiar with all the financial stuff and know more about the 'living' stuff.
 
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#15
kislokan said:
Yeah. A freezone company with a residency visa you only have to be there once for a minimum of 24 hours every 6 months. Dubai is nice to visit but not great for living permanently imo.
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How much do you pay per year to keep that active with the audit etc.?

Why not use a US LLC instead?
 
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#16
clemens said:
I’ve read countless articles about being a digital nomad and living as one, but in all the thousands of articles written about this lifestyle, I haven’t seen a single explanation of HOW TO BECOME A DIGITAL NOMAD.

What I’m really missing is a simple step-by-step guide that tells me where to start and what to be aware of if I decide to become a digital nomad tomorrow.

Does anyone actually know how to make it happen, or are all the ones out there just thrill seekers living in an unconventional reality, bending the rules to fit the situation of the day, without worrying about what tomorrow brings?
Click to expand...
Do you really consider to give up everything at home and start travelling the globe as a digital nomad?
 
#18
clemens said:
I’ve read countless articles about being a digital nomad and living as one, but in all the thousands of articles written about this lifestyle, I haven’t seen a single explanation of HOW TO BECOME A DIGITAL NOMAD.

What I’m really missing is a simple step-by-step guide that tells me where to start and what to be aware of if I decide to become a digital nomad tomorrow.

Does anyone actually know how to make it happen, or are all the ones out there just thrill seekers living in an unconventional reality, bending the rules to fit the situation of the day, without worrying about what tomorrow brings?
Click to expand...
Watch the hobbit and derive - bilbo showed proper tax planning
 
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#19
cuno said:
Do you really consider to give up everything at home and start travelling the globe as a digital nomad?
Click to expand...
I'm thinking about something like that, but I don't have a solid plan yet. I just know I don't want to go back to my home country because it sucks.
 
#20
You can just move to another country, go nomadic for a while, explore the other countries, and then settle in the one you like.
 
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