Hi all,

Has one of you non-US perpetual travelers worked with a international tax accountant/advisor you could recommend?

All sources I can find (including the Wiki of this sub) are either specialized in US citizen nomads (with very unique rules)

I am a citizen of an European country, currently live in the US (but not much longer). I work remotely for a US company, who will keep me on as an overseas contractor once I leave. I am trying to take this opportunity to travel around a little while working.

I am trying to make sense of all the tax filings I have to do in the US and elsewhere, and trying to find out what to do with my US bank accounts. Where is the best place for me for a new tax home? etc.

I keep reading the advice to consult an international tax professional, but how do I go about actually finding one experienced with cases like mine? All high-ranking google hits I get lead to US-specific advisors or look very scammy.

Any insights will be appreciated, please name the advisors you have in mind if you know any. Thanks!

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Hello nomads! I'm from the US with a spouse and kids (6 and under). I work remotely, permanent employee for a small US company. We are considering bugging out of the US for awhile, targeting EU countries within good rail access.

Any insight, pros, cons, major obstacles, limitations... on going the visa route vs "border hopping," treating it more as a big long vacation bouncing around? It's been a decade since I've traveled in EU so not sure if bouncing around has gotten tougher.

When I review visa information it seems so much more unlikely to make it happen: Income requirements, tax gouging, healthcare confusion... Everything seems to revolve around "if you're fairly wealthy you can get in." Well, we are not.

Please let me know everything you know about touring to EU with a pet.

She is a service animal here in the states but I’m not sure if the legality traveling abroad with one. (Specifically my flight back)

I know she needs a Pet Visa and Health Certificate from the vet.

Has anyone gone through this process before and has any tips? I know there are small timeframes for certain aspects…

Thanks!

Hi, I’m a remote worker/freelancer and though I wouldn’t consider myself a digital nomad (I have a base in my home country), I love to travel often to new places and work from there.

I’ve been looking for a place to spend about 1 month and I’ve seen really good reviews about Bangkok, Thailand.

For all the people who already live there of had travelled there, I wanted to ask a few questions (especially if you’re a solo female traveller!):

• How expensive is renting a condo? I’ve seen some small but nice and modern studios or apartments online, but most of them have a minimum 1-year rental period. I’m looking for a 1-month stay that isn’t too expensive but is central and close to basic amenities (supermarkets and public transport). My ideal budget would be 300$ - 500$ for rent.
• Is it safe for solo female travellers? Are there places/things I should look out for?
• How’s the remote working/coworking scene? Do you recommend finding a coworking space to rent or working from a cafe? I plan to work mostly at the condo but I’d love to go around and also find like-minded people
• I know I’ll be staying for just a month, but I’d like to pick up some very basic Thai (greetings, asking for directions, etc.); should I even bother? I’ve lived in China as well and I speak the language, and it made my experience so much more enriching and the locals always appreciate it when you can speak their language.
• Do you have any tips or recommendations for introverts like me? I’m open to socializing but I'm not into partying a lot.

Thank you!

I had the 'epiphany' of wanting to digital nomad around a year ago, right after I joined a new company that I didn’t think would have anyone doing the same thing. For the last year its been eating away at me that I could really struggle to find a company that would permit me to travel and stay working for them

Well around a month ago I had a 1-2-1 with my boss and at the end, asked the question and he was more than happy with the idea, his response was along the lines of 'As long as you still get you're job done and attend any meetings that might be out of your time zone, I don't see there being any problem with it'

It's been such a relief and I just wanted to share the update with people that would understand

Edit: poor wording

Hey everyone,

I'm here seeking advice. I have $10,000 to live on for the next six months, and I came to Cambodia to kickstart my online business. However, the sweltering heat has me seriously regretting my decision.

Do you have any suggestions for other places where I could use this time and money more effectively for my online business?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot!

What goes into your decision making when comes to choosing a location? Typically how long do you stay in one location? Also, what do you hate about AirBnb as an option?

Thanks. Look forward to learning from everyone

I currently use a V.PN router with a dedicated IP which I connect to via ethernet cable. For work I use a company laptop with Global Protect installed. I was provided a log in for the company V.PN, however, even when I am connected to Global Protect I am unable to connect to the AzureSQL servers on my work computer. When trying to connect I receive the following error message:

"Cannot access server XX requested by the login. Client with IP address [V.PN ROUTER DEDICATED IP] is not allowed to access the server. To enable access, use the Windows Azure Management Portal or run sp_set_firewall_rule on the master database to create a firewall rule for this IP address or address range. It may take up to five minutes for this change to take effect."

I have reached out to IT about this twice and each time have had them add my IP address, connection resumes but only for a few days and then I get this message again. I am also confused as to why my IP shows up when connected to the company V.PN.

I would appreciate any insights into what might be causing this issue and how to address it, I have not run in to this issue with previous similar jobs. Thanks!

EDIT: Could also be Canada.... but only British Colombia. Something like Revelstoke. Beautiful + tiny population (not that tiny population or not is a complete dealbreaker) but it's expensive!

Don't want a cheap place in a crappy room in some big city. Would rather live away from the city in better conditions even if its isolated. Research came up with Missoula, Montana which is exactly what I mean by interesting.

I saved an image somewhere of some small town on one of the major routes like Route 66 or one of those famous routes in the US, somewhere in Arizona or some desert. Looked amazing and probably cheap. So really it's about cheap but also aesthetic/interesting, which small towns would probably be those places.

Or somewhere where there are those towns in the forest. I came across this pic of Hazard, Kentucky: https://twitter.com/ryanhermens/status/1782223196936097853/photo/1

Even like those small towns with musician culture. Just looking for a place to lay low for awhile that isn't ugly and overpopulated.

Also, would Craiglist be better than Airbnb? Searched some of these places on Airbnb and nothing came up. Or maybe another site/app? Don't know where to look besides the obvious choices for renting options.

I wish I knew how little I need to travel virtually anywhere, how immersing myself in new cultures helps me become so much more aware of my own, that there are people living the dreams I have and their stories can be found online, etc.

l found this link, maybe it would be useful for someone.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/turkey-digital-nomad-visa

Hello there,

Currently, I am travelling through Asia to discover where I can see myself living long-term and have been in KL before and really liked it. However, I was only a short-term there so I am now returning for a bit longer. I am wondering how easy it is to get to know other people in KL, I heard some people find it easier in BKK to get to know people.

Also, anyone could recommend a good area to rent a Airbnb where most expats are.

I have been on the road for 4 years now. 2 months ago I was in Colombia. I am now in Spain, hoping I could get the digital nomad visa.

This visa allows me to freely travel within the EU. My current trip (In Nijar, Almeria, Spain) ends on June 28th. If I am accepted into the program, my next destination will be Agrampela, Greece. As there is a former monastery there who now accepts digital nomads like myself to stay there. (And they flaunt their 50mbps internet which is more than enough for me to work).

I would love to stay there for 3 months.

If I am not accepted into the program, my next destination will either be Istanbul or Prague.

While my native language is Spanish, this application process is so difficult that I have been told, numerous times, that I should seek outside help. But all of the services I am looking into are charging, minimum, 1000 Euro. Also, there are some services claiming they only charge 500, but they refuse to tell me about the upcoming charges down the road.

Any recommendations on how to apply for this Visa? I already have my NIE digital certificate.

Here was my strategy.

I find 2-3 AirBNBs that I like. Then I keep an eye on them on AirBNB to see how often they are renting.

This one isn't rented until next month.

Then I rent for 1 week at the normal AirBNB price but they usually give you a discount which is about the same as the month discount.

At the end of your stay ask if they can message you directly.

Then I now know the rough prices of the area. They don't have next week rented so 50% is better than 0% ...

They can always say no. I also know that I can go to others in the area.

This was a 2 bedroom so I said they could probably rent it to a family but I'm only using half of the house.

I imagine 80% of you guys already do this but I'm just trying to celebrate a win here! :)

After spending a pretty nice month in Antigua, I headed to San Marcos as my base of operations for a month in Lake Antigua. I'd gotten the impression that San Marcos was an international gathering spot for hippies and consciousness-minded folks, so there'd be some good partying, nice yoga classes, and tasty, healthy food. I was also looking forward to learning about the indigenous Mayan folks who historically call the town home and speak various indigenous languages in addition to Spanish.

I know the consciousness sort of thing typically comes with its good and its bull, so I was prepared for that. I also knew the town had some issues with water and power getting turned off for a period of time. Friends that had been there said the worst was power going out for 1.5 days, which happened once during their 3 month stay.

Overall, I realized we'd need a decent place to work from, with Starlink. And I'd make sure to keep devices fully charged. If power went out, I could tether to my phone's hotspot (Claro SIM card) until it came back. It was a calculated risk.

We booked one month at an AirBnb with a beautiful view of the lake, open loft floor plan for $1500. High price but it's larger than we're used to and we thought we were giving ourselves a treat for once.

The San Marcos downtown is lake-level, and there are two steep hills heading away from the lake, and further up into the hills there are some beautiful properties that do things like host retreats. We're 5-10 minutes up one of the hills. Been here 2 weeks so far.

The Good

The view from our place is superb. The lake is just gorgeous and on a clear day, you can see the neighboring towns and the volcanoes watching over it all. The vibe in town is pretty good and people are generally really nice. The indigenous residents always say hi back to us. The restaurants and cafes serve tasty food, in particular the Guatemalan-owned joints, and have a great aesthetic. Also, the women's tradition Guatemalan clothing is beautiful, and I find myself really admiring it often. There's a decent weights gym for the small town, a day pass was just Q20.

The Bad

The Noise and lack of peace

I was warned about roosters and dogs howling at night. Honestly, no problem. The nights where it's been just roosters and dogs have been fine. But, somehow, we arrived when the annual St. Mark (San Marcos) celebration was taking place, which has been going on all day, every day of our stay. We were hoping and expecting this would be a kind of tranquil, peaceful place, but in fact it's disturbingly loud:

• Loud amplified music playing in town all day. Think traditional, latin folk big band music. I am grateful thought: the bands can keep time.
• Bombas (fireworks). Not the sparkly ones that are fun to watch. Just ones that you light off and make a disturbingly loud bang. All day and night at random times. Sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes (like today) at 6:30am.
• Our location makes this so much worse. The noise echoes between the two hills, and amplifies it that much more. Generally, we go down into town because it's more quiet there.
• I'll just add, there's so much dog crap on the streets from the strays you really have to watch your step. There's also some open vents for sewage. Sometimes the smell really gets you.

Gentrification

There's blatantly two different worlds here. Foreigners came in on the new age hype train and bought up property and opened up businesses that clearly cater to only other foreigners with dollars. Employing Guatemalans at $2-4/hr and then charging like $8-9 for a bowl of rice and veggies. Yoga classes and other "high vibe" offerings are like $15-20 in most places.

The locals also now set different prices for foreigners. Not gringo price - it's out in the open. A tuktuk ride which is Q5 for Guatemalans is Q10 for foreigners. They will not take you for 5.

I was expecting more from a "conscious" community that there'd be more effort to create equality among services/offerings. Some places offer reduced prices for locals but other don't even try. I was initially excited to do yoga and try some vibey activities in these beautiful places but it's turned me off a bit.

Not much to do on a weeknight

All the classes and workshops are held during the day, so I found it pretty difficult to take advantage of them. The latest they'd start was 3 or 4. Makes sense since most people here are backpacking and/or on vacation, or holding their own classes and workshops. Most restaurants closed by 8.

Basic Utilities are much more sporadic than I expected

When you're paying a high price for a nice place and just want the basics so you can get your work done without stress, and running water gets cut off for 95% of the day for 3 1/2 days straight, and you don't get a chance to shower for 72 hours, it sucks.

Power has only been out once since I arrived, and was back in a few hours. But water's been much worse. It's been turned off for some time at least once a day. I've had to adapt where if it is on, that might be my only chance to shower and do dishes or else.

My place was supposed to have backup tanks, but they ran out fast. They got 5 gallon jugs delivered too, for drinking etc., but you have to pour 1/4 of those in the toilets to flush a turd. I'm also here at the beginning of rainy season, except it hasn't really started raining, so I wonder if low mountain flow/aquifer/reservoir has something to do with it. Bad timing on my part.

TLDR

San Marcos is not a good base for a digital nomad who actually works full time. However, I'd probably come back as a backpacker and/or stay at one of the beautiful retreat centers, and give it another chance.

But I definitely will never come back here in April or May. And I wouldn't stay on the hill. Either in town right by the lake, or way back in the woods. Joke's on me!

EDIT: The point of my post is to share my experience to with other DNs in the hopes they'll find this useful, not to complain and seek sympathy.

I was looking for DN locations in winter, main contenders: Lapland (Finland) and Montana. Was looking at stuff to do in both. I will be working some but want to emphasize travel/vacation as well.

However, I noticed in Lapland, everything seems so... "flawless" for a lack of better word. Manicured? The village, the activities, the tours, for example "try finish food" go on a finnish sauna + ice bath" "visit the ice hotel" "pet reindeers" "husky sleigh ride." "Visit the Santa village." Everything seems very easy to get around and arrange. I almost feel I'm in winter Disneyland.

In Montana it's like "bring snow tires/chains. One wrong move, you die" watch out for blizzards, getting stranded, and then there's mountains and wildlife (aka dangerous).

Idk which one to pick because Finland seems so easy and winterish, but Montana/Canada seems like a real winter adventure with more awe-inspiring nature, and feels more authentic overall.

Can someone correct me if I'm wrong or give me advice?

​

I love being a digital nomad. I have experienced more pros than cons; hence, why I still love it and still continue being a part of it.

Although, there is one thing that I don’t really enjoy; language barrier.

I know there are people who would be like, “dude just learn the language.”

I love Japan but learning Japanese is just “Big exhale!!!! 😮‍💨 “

Sometimes I think language barrier limits the full experience.

What about you fellow nomad? What’s something that grinds your gears about this lifestyle

I'm looking to stay put in a city or town for 6-12 months. I'm in Mexico City, and as much as I love it, it's way too expensive. I also found out the area I am in has contaminated water, so hooray for me. I have also have had stomach issues for like a month now and caught a parasite. Queretaro is too suburban, hot and boring. I never had any stomach issues in GDL. GDL however is kinda boring, hot and I honestly don't feel like looking over my shoulder when I have my phone out. I felt very safe in CDMX and Queretaro while GDL I had to be more vigilant. Anywho, any other cities you guys recommend that are safe and not blazing hot or humid?

Is there anywhere to just up and go with a small suitcase and a laptop for a month that is dirt cheap from the UK. I live with my mother and she spends all day ripping into me. I used to live in Japan and they have it easy, you can just go to a manga cafe every night to sleep for £10. I wake up and get dressed before she gets up and run off to the library so I can at least live with some small dignity. Anything I do causes huge arguments to the point where I don't bother looking after myself when I'm at home. For example eating, I will get yelled at for using plates, kitchen roll, cutlery cooker electricity every angle. I basically live off crumpets. I'm a grown man but I'm called a child and belittled every day. Ive become a punching bag.

Before this point I had my own life and a good easy job but I foolishly came back to the UK. I can't keep going to the library every day, I don't even want to come home to sleep. I have a little money but obviously its worthless here with rent prices so high. Is Spain cheap? Somewhere I could go and do online teaching. I don't care where I go.

Hey yall,

I was curious if anyone has any experience with cruises that run along The Mediterranean and if the cellular coverage and/or wifi on cruises (Holand America specifically) is any good. Ive never been on a cruise before and my fiancee wants to go on a 24 day long cruise through The Mediterranean, I am not totally against the idea, my only fear is that a stable connection may not be sustainable through either the ships wifi or being hopefully close enough to land to pick up cellular signal. I would need to connect to a strong enough/stable enough network so that I can connect into my works US based server

My fiancee says that there would be cell service strong enough through The Mediterranean that it should be a problem. So I am looking for anyone that has any experience on this or can add their .2c on wether going on this would work or not

Hi all! I am Italian but financially based in Germany and a freelancer since last September.

Since I don’t have to be in Germany to work anymore I’m thinking of registering my VAT number elsewhere.

As I’m traveling a lot I don’t really have a “base” country, so I could register my residency and VAT anywhere.

What would you recommend? Should I register my VAT in a country and pay taxes there or are there other ways?

Thanks!

I have a wise account with two different currencies. Do I have to pay file taxes in both countries or just the one I reside in? TIA

I am about to travel a lot and as a result need a laptop. I need it for work (programmer and such), as well as streaming and gaming (Helldivers and Valheim). I really need some recommendations.

Edit to add that space is limited so seperate devices for work and gaming is not a possibility.

Anyone knows where to buy a t-mobile UK based sim card for less than $15?

I work maybe 10 hours a week. I get bored if I stay in a place too long. I’m usually staying less than a week in a city.

How bad is this? You can see my previous post for context

I’m not necessarily trying to build a stable social circle because if/when I meet someone I connect with that becomes very apparent in 1-2 hours. If that happens, I can stay longer there or travel with them. But Maybe the way I think about this is wrong, not sure.

Can anyone rec. a good virtual mailbox in NYC that they have used and where you can go in and pick up your mail in person?

Greetings,

Wondering if anybody else is experiencing higher food costs in developing countries compared to their home country in the 1st world.

For context, I am from the US. In the US, I spend about $35 per week on groceries. Yes, it's a very low budget. I've mentioned this before online and people don't believe me. I can assure you it's due to very careful diligence and choices on my part. I eat relatively healthy and have good BMI.

Anyways, I'm in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, at the moment and I can't help but notice how incredibly high food prices are. Yes, I have searched all over for food; not just at the fancy, tourist-friendly supermarkets. I've gone to practically the poorest part of PDC and found the prices were the same everywhere. For one thing, bread/wheat, oatmeal are a lot more expensive in Mexico than in the US. These are core items of my diet. But also chicken, beef, peanut butter... It's everywhere. Food is just very expensive here.

So far, in 4/5 days, I've spent $50 and I already have to spend more soon before the end of the week (probably at least another $20). That's double my grocery expense in the US. I have spent hours at these supermarkets, scouring for good deals and meals to make this happen.

Worth mentioning I haven't purchased any spices, kitchen utensils or even toiletries (Airbnb came with those); anything that I wouldn't consume within a week.

To make matters worse, I'm not eating as well. I've had to resort to low quality food, so I'm not too happy about that either.

Is it just me? Any tips on how you keep food costs down in a developing country? I don't care how extreme it is - could be eating the same thing for two meals.. anything to keep food costs down.

Any info welcomed. Thanks!

Hi guys! Sorry if smth similar has been posted already, couldn't find it!

I want to go to Turkey's riviera, I don't mind any place like Kemer, Alanya, Belek, Bodrum etc. As long as it is an all inclusive hotel so I don't have to hustle for food and as long as it has a decent Wifi since I'll be working from my room probably and it is very important.

These kind of all inclusive hotels are notorious for their bad wifi and that's the main thing I want to figure out.

Many thanks!

Hi.

I work a remote job that is pretty lax especially on meetings. It's very "just get your work done and we won't bug you" job.

I want to work and travel but I wouldn't call my self a nomad but this is the closest subreddit to the questions I have.

I'm from West coast and so is my company, so I have those hours. Right now I want to go to work and visit nyc and London for 1-3 weeks at an airbnb.

1. What do I need to work and work-vacay effectively. I have a light laptop and travel bags, what else should I get.

1a. Any reccs for cheap and portable monitors I can take through tsa.

2. How do you all manage the time difference. Nyc's 3 hrs easily possible and London's 9 hrs is not as easy but possible. Do you all just stay up late working?

2a. How do you enjoy the city if you're working at weird hours?

3. Any other things I need to consider?

I eventually will branch out to other cities but probably won't increase my length of visit due to various reasons.

Any tips or other posts that relate to me would be great :)

I’m currently in Chiangmai, been here for a month and love it. Though the consistently high temperatures (averaging 40 degree Celsius) during this season have got me thinking about avoiding this place during this time of the year. I’d really like to be outside a lot more but the heat makes it very challenging.

I have a preference for being based in Asia, perhaps spending several months in a place before moving on.

So I’m curious - anyone here primarily based in Asia, and rotate through different locations based on weather/seasons? For example, Chiang Mai from November to February, Danang from month x to month y and so on.