Why it exists, what to accept, what to plan for, and how to tackle it (Friends meeting at a bar to socialize, taking a break from each other for their phones) I’m a millennial. One of the defining traits of my generation, is we were lucky enough to be “digital pioneers.” We grew up in … 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
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
Frugality is a tax you pay every day through mental energy and effort, with each additional decision sticking to the plan. “Lock-in” is a single decision made once that pays dividends indefinitely, and living abroad multiplies the possibilities of “locking in” more for less. There’s a number most people never think to calculate, and it’s … Read more
Two Americans move abroad for the same dream. One leaves hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table. The other never pays a penny of income tax again. The difference isn’t luck — it’s two decisions almost nobody knows they’re making. The story of two Americans abroad In the flood of Americans moving abroad in … Read more
In a world where wealth has always equaled accumulation, the future of wealth holds a counterintuitive opportunity. Boarding school… I didn’t expect that answer. As we sat chatting over a midday cappuccino, in a café filled with teak, surrounded by banana trees, and filled tropical ambiance, I’d asked a casual question as we discussed plans … Read more