Looking out over the silted green lake, reflecting the lush mountains on either side, I sipped my coffee and stared miles out as my laptop sat untouched. The hills towering out of the water could easily be mistaken for fjords in Bergen, Norway, or Kotor, Montenegro, if not for the white Peace Pagoda barely visible … Read more
As I sat on the short flight from Chiang Mai, the plane landed in Kuala Lumpur while I skimmed my handwritten notes from the last two weeks. Ten days in silence in the hill country of northern Thailand, followed by a few days of grilled meats, savory curries, and satisfying Thai beer, put life in … Read more
“It’s so big!” She said. I couldn’t help but agree. Chuckling lightly, still thinking about how much fun it would be. It was possibly too much, but we were already committed, so we had to get on with it. Lifestyle creep in action. As we loaded our belongings into the back of our rental car, … Read more
Bali Taxes & Villa Essentials: What Nobody Tells You Until You’ve Already Signed Something I’ve sat across from enough notaries, and enough Sunday-morning panic-WhatsApp-messages-from-friends, and enough sauna and ice bath conversations of “I’m building a villa, and I just got hit with…” to know exactly how the conversation usually starts, and ends. Someone shows up … Read more
A list of highly recommended books for digital nomads, to accompany you into and through a fulfilling and sustainable life abroad. In nine years living a nomadic life across 65 countries, interviewing and mingling with nomads on six continents, and writing a book about the culture being built, I’ve become intimately familiar with the insights, … Read more
A tax-friendly, affordable, comfortable base in the heart of South America Most people dismiss Paraguay as a tax-friendly afterthought — too small, too plain to be worth the trip. In reality, it’s the cheapest genuinely livable country in Latin America. Its best neighborhoods rival Buenos Aires’ Palermo and Medellín’s El Poblado. Its tax exemption on … Read more
Fifteen years ago, after just over a decade playing my part in a war that had already gone on too long and a lot of accumulated “travel abroad” to sandy locales, I was at a happy transition point in my life. A short walk, mere blocks from the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, I was … Read more
I blew part of the first six figures I ever saw at once on a Vegas trip and a season snowboarding pass with a little fluff in between. I got the next windfall right. The difference wasn’t the amount — it was having priorites and a healthy personal financial management process before the money hit … Read more
A tropical destination closer to home than Bali or Thailand, cheaper than Panama or Costa Rica, more welcoming than the EU or US, safer than you think, and nobody’s there yet El Salvador. A Central American country tucked along the Pacific coastline with tropical, palm tree-laden backdrops, people fly to Bali or southern Thailand for … Read more
A guide to every variation of FIRE, how taking it abroad enhances the plan, and how to use each in sequence to achieve financial independence faster. Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and is not individualized financial, tax, or legal advice. Examples and calculator outputs are hypothetical. Consider consulting a qualified … Read more