How I moved overseas and live as a Digital Nomad!

I quit my job and moved to the other side of the globe….twice!

Although I have not traveled to a lot of other countries, by choice, I have "flags" in a few countries including living in other countries on and off for 15 years. To me, I’m the most free I’ve every been.

I always wanted to live in another country that had a drastically different culture than my own. I initially was going to live in Paris for a year. About 16 years ago,I had an apartment picked out online and was all set to move. But the cost of living there and prospects of getting a job with no contacts didn’t look all that inviting.

My first time…
Then I saw a documentary on one of my favorite punk rockers who talked about his tour through Southeast Asia. It looked like a lot of fun so I researched it. It had a much lower cost of living than Paris and since I have a B.S. and Master’s degree, easier to find work there as well.

I always said to myself that I wouldn’t move if I had a good job. I did have a job I enjoyed right out of grad school. But after about a year things changed and the company I worked for got raided by the FBI for insurance fraud. I knew they were doing it because they tried to get us to do it for them. I wouldn’t so I knew my days were numbered there. So I soon quit and moved to Southeast Asia.

I first moved to Asia with no job prospects or knowing anyone. This was many years ago when the internet was still a baby and ebay was starting out. I bought things at culturally related things at markets and sold them on ebay. Then I met some people at shops from clothing manufacturers and I sold music related clothing online. Now ebay is more saturated so I don’t use it although many people still do so it is an option still. Just make sure you set up your paypal account in the US before you go. They are picky about setting up accounts in foreign countries.

I also taught English, worked as a voice over actor, model, and actor in TV commercials and movies in a couple countries. It was all part of the adventure. Teaching English allowed me to have a work permit, have a steady income, and network with other expats.

I didn't like teaching in Asia because they really didn't care about the student learning, it was more a status thing to have a foreigner working at their school so I vowed to never do it again.

As a hobby, I used to write a lot of TV and movie screenplays. During my first time living in Asia I submitted a couple TV projects based on my life working in psychiatric hospitals (the career I went to school for) to a writing contest in the US. One of the projects won the grand prize and the other was a top ten finalist. As a result, I received a paid option contract and an offer to shop the project around Hollywood if I wanted to move there. So I did. I spent three years pitching to movie and TV producers from the networks to Disney and everyone in between. I’ve walked the red carpet at an awards show in Hollywood. I even went to the Playboy Mansion for a charity party.

The plan…
After some years in Hollywood, I missed Asia. But I didn’t want to work for anyone or be dependent on a job there. So, I thought about living off of passive income. But how to do that takes lot of planning. I had saved some money but not nearly enough to invest and live off of. By chance, I went to a three day Robert Kiyosaki real estate seminar. They gave us a bag of books that included a goal planning book and other texts. It had numerous worksheets that I completed in detail.

I set up a five year investment plan that would give me a base income once I achieved my goals for enough income to live off of in the country I was moving to. The country I chose to move to has a much lower cost of living than the US which makes this plan easier to achieve and maintain.

Now each of these steps can be broken down into chapters of a book but this is enough to get started and also provide a framework to move forward in your research.

I read a lot. I listened to podcasts, anything. Robert Kiyosaki, Tony Robbins, Napoleon Hill, and anyone else on real estate and financial investing. Stocks, options, forex, online ecommerce, you name it! I read about frugal living as well.

Next, I accepted and planned on living a modest, frugal life during this five year time to help achieve my goals. It’s a complete change of mindset. Consumerism is American. Buying what you want, when you want, and for whatever reason you want is the American way. You want a big new truck but don’t need a big new truck? Buy it anyway. I changed my thinking about what I wanted and what I needed.

I could afford a new car, but I kept the one I had because it was paid off. So, no car payment and cheaper insurance.
I could afford a nice two bedroom apartment or even a house, but I lived in small studio in a nice area. It was modestly furnished and I kept it that way. I wasn't a big clothes type person so I saved money on that. I didn’t drink hardly at all, so no sacrifice needed there

I cancelled my cable, so another bill gone. I read a lot or exercised instead. I had a motorcycle at the time so I rode with friends and did other motorcycle events like shows and charity rides.

I worked at a well-paying government job that gave a lot of overtime so I worked 8-10 hours a week of OT. Not a lot, it was the most I wanted to do in that type of job. If I didn’t have OT choices, I would have gotten a part-time job instead.

I shopped at dollar stores. If they didn't have what I wanted, I went to a discount store. I rarely shopped at regular stores anymore but I still got the same things and didn't feel any negative change in my life. I did shop at the more expensive health food stores because I wanted to eat healthy, but I was careful about how I spent my money there too. Co-workers used to tease me about shopping at dollar stores until I took them there and they realized they could buy the same things for a fraction of the price. Teasing them in return was good fun as over time they became hooked on dollar stores too!

I learned about how to reuse, repurpose, and recycle things. I didn’t get too crazy with this though. It was fun figuring out ways to use things 2,3, or more times instead of once and throwing them out.

I put away all my credit cards but one. I paid them off and never used them to buy anything I didn't need or couldn't pay off that month. So, I stopped carrying a balance and now, I never do.

Then I built up a real estate investing team. I laid out my plan to my real estate agent, and she helped me get some of the team for me. Since my real estate success meant she would make more commissions, she was quite helpful. There are checklists for people you need on your team to be successful.

I studied the market I was to invest in and eventually I saved enough for my first down payment. I was saving a lot of money from my job while I was working this plan. I found properties that needed some work so I could get them cheaper and improve their value and then put tenants in.

You see, I did all of my real estate while working a full time job AND I was buying in a different state than where I lived. I had trusted people to inspect the properties for me plus an inspection company all as part of my real estate team.

There are also so many ways to invest in other financial avenues online that you can do from anywhere in the world, but many of them require that you have a US bank account, address, and phone number. This is also something you will need to maintain when you are gone. You can use a family member's address, keep your current bank accounts, and get an inexpensive cell phone with voicemail that gets reception in your new country. Do all of this before you go.

I have different business entities and back accounts for each property too. Make sure you use a larger bank so that they have an ATM you can use around the world. Also have a personal bank account with worldwide ATM ability.

The second time….
Once I got enough properties and income, my real estate team was solid and in place, I moved back to Asia. I found a brand new condo to rent for a good price. I got fresh cooked food at the market next to my building. The building had a gym so I exercised there. I used the inexpensive public transportation. Then I got the bug to live on the beach. A good friend lived in a beach resort area about 90 minutes away so I visited him a few times and he convinced me to move there, which I did.

Now, I look out my window and there is the beach, about 20 seconds away. It costs less than what most people pay for a car payment in the US.

Now I live off my investment income. I study and research all kinds of different strategies. I have investments in numerous asset classes. I still have some of the properties I initially bought. They have gone up drastically in value and make a good monthly income for me. I have repair people who I trust and they know I live here and don't take advantage of that. I have one family member who is a real estate agent now and she is my property manager. My tenants don't know I live out of the country but they have my US cell phone and email address as a contact. I usually communicate with them by email. It’s better to have a hard copy for future reference.

I use a free online property management program to keep track of my real estate. I enter all the emails I send to and get from tenants, their payments, repairs, pictures, etc.

I have other family members who I pay to do any rehab and repair work. I keep in contact by texting, email, and phone. My cell phone company allows free global texting so I use that often.

I also do peer to peer lending, real estate crowd funding, short term and long term stock investing, cryptocurrency investing, angel investing, own a drop shipping website business, and always researching new ways to invest online. I also submit new product ideas to companies for potential licensing deals and still submit my TV and movie projects to contests and producers to try and get a sale.

I have a good health insurance plan where I live as well. I eat better and exercise more now in the new country I live in. Living on the beach just encourages a healthy lifestyle. I saw some exercise equipment that is pretty expensive in the US so for one of the items, I contacted a manufacturer in China from a popular manufacturer website and ordered a sample. I paid about 90% less than it costs in the USA. Another piece of equipment I brought with me from the US that I made at a fraction of the cost. I also ordered some weights here at a fraction of the cost of paying for a gym membership.

I’m always reviewing my costs and figuring out ways to reduce them while increasing my income. I never mentioned my family situation but I have no children and recently got engaged. So, you might wonder about how and where I bought her engagement ring right? I got a real nice one, fifty-five diamonds, but I didn’t pay retail. In fact, I paid less than half of what the insurance value is. I shopped at local retailers, saw what her and I wanted, then bought the ring online through a big site my friend recommended. She loves it!

The success of living overseas really depends on extensive research, planning, discipline, and sacrifice. But it’s well worth it!

I hope this article gets you started on your path to freedom! Each topic can be a chapter or a book unto itself but this is how I did it.

Good luck!