Imagine yourself (legally) putting that money you send to the government every year somewhere else. That’s the #1 thing you are missing out on by not going abroad: the economics. And I know it can sound kind of silly, but think of it this way: if you save about $200,000 USD per year in taxes by not living in the U.S., you could have lived in the Four Seasons hotel that entire year for the same amount — or, depending on where you go, for just a fraction of that amount.
Think about that for a second.
People can get scared and ask themselves if they can really live the nomad lifestyle or survive in other countries; meanwhile I’m staying at the Ritz Carlton in Kuala Lumpur in a two bedroom suit for $180 USD a night with breakfast included, delivered to my room by a butler.
People can get scared and ask themselves if they can really live the nomad lifestyle or survive in other countries; meanwhile I’m staying at the Ritz Carlton in Kuala Lumpur in a two bedroom suit for $180 USD a night with breakfast included, delivered to my room by a butler. And all thanks to tax savings the government gives me for staying out of the country!
Digital nomadism lessons learned
Another thing I’ve discovered living abroad is the cost of being cheap. It’s another one of those things I can’t help but think about when I look back at my time getting started as a U.S. businessman. What would have happened if I had applied the principles that I apply now of saving time and outsourcing? I know now that I was holding myself back by being cheap and scared.
The hardest lesson my ego has had to learn is that I don’t know everything and I won’t know everything just by scouring the internet for free information sheets. I am a reformed info sheet seeker. I’ve learned the hard way that it’s much better to go hat (and check) in hand to people who can help me.
I also know that it’s much better to go out and get all the boots-on-the-ground experience in the world than sit and read about it online. The real business success is waiting for those who are willing to go out and find it. You give that up by staying put.
Being cheap and being afraid of real world experience are some of the issues that hold people back from becoming Nomad Capitalists.
Being cheap and being afraid of real world experience are some of the issues that hold people back from becoming Nomad Capitalists. When people assume that it was easy for me to figure all of this out and they question the principles I use in making an offshore plan for them, I just have to shrug. They’ll have to learn the hard way like I did. Too bad they won’t take advantage of my experience.
But what else are you missing out on? You’re missing out on anything different that you find appealing, the new experiences and actually having a lifestyle that you want without struggling. The world is changing in a very fast way and it’s fascinating to watch it all happen front and center. It is exhilarating to go to a place like Hong Kong and see how the world is developing, or Georgia and watch a newly capitalistic country begin to flourish.
The number of people across the globe who have been lifted from poverty in just our lifetimes is staggering and it’s transforming the world in a very interesting way. The growth is not in the U.S. anymore and I want to see where it is happening and how it’s happening across the world. I want to see this great new era and how our entire world is becoming interconnected. And I want to be involved in it from a monetary perspective, as well.
Becoming a Nomad Capitalist
Traveling puts you in the middle of the action, not on the sidelines. For instance, I am doing very well with my small scale property business as an investor in Georgia. I’m also starting to do very well in Montenegro and there is a lot of money to be made. Unlike in the U.S. (or specifically in Cleveland where I am from) where property values go down every year or just flatten out, property values in some of these places are going through the roof.
In Istanbul, for example, property values haven’t gone down a bit for the last 25 years. So, in a sense, you’re missing out on seeing how other countries operate and taking advantage of those markets and opportunities. People would think you were crazy if you ever said that there are parts of the U.S. where property values haven’t gone down for 25 years in a row. But there is a reason that that happens in Istanbul. People are going and investing. I want to be a part of that, I want to see what is happening.
On top of all of this, I love to see other people’s culture, lifestyle, history, fashion and food. I love to learn what people are thinking in other places and what their perspective is of the world. I want to learn about different approaches and mindsets to business, investment and life.
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