Get me out of here, but where?
Get me out of here, but where?
In this article we look at the topic of the practicality of going very remote and how to decide where.?At beWise we talk to lots of freelancers who have noticed that where they’re based could be a really open decision. In other words, their choice isn’t only about moving further into the suburbs, or the countryside near their last job. It really can be the beach, or a beach in a country where the cost of living and taxes are lower.?
The cost of living has been rising in real terms for decades and since the 2008 financial crisis, or earlier, salaries haven’t even started to keep up. So, lowering your living costs while keeping the same clients and day rates could be a great way to increase your quality of life and keep more of the money you earn. That’s the theory, but can you really manage it? That is the question we’ll look into, suggesting some factors not to overlook. For the purposes of this article we’ll focus answers for readers who don’t have to consider kids schooling.
Let’s start with the key basic questions to guide your calculations:
How often do you meet your clients? Do they even know where you’re based?
Once upon a time the answers for 95% of freelancers would have been ‘often’ and ‘yes’. Post-pandemic, not so much… Apart from there being less demand for it, these days it’s really quite easy to also say you prefer to avoid face to face for reasons you don’t need to specify. The rule of thumb is that the longer the client knows you, the more tolerant they will be of your preferences. If they’re new, it’s up to you to set the expectations. We suggest you calculate how many?‘must be there’?physical meetings your client base requires in a year. If the answer is 3 or less, you could be based somewhere else in your region without??impacting your long-term client relations. Any travel costs (sometimes chargeable) will be covered by the living cost savings.?
Does your business development require face-to-face networking, or project teamwork?
If your line of business needs physical controls over the output, or the need to gather in person to develop products, you won’t be able to be gone long-term. Sorry ;-( If you don’t have a big base of clients and an established reputation; or if your line of business is accelerated by physical networking in client meetings, conferences, bars or shared workspaces, it’s best you don’t move too far, or for too long. Sorry again. But if that’s not the case, then you’re rather free. Take off the ankle tracker and savour that feeling ;-) Remember that you can manage ‘network top-ups’ from time to time by picking the occasions when it’s worth the investment.
How not to be missed in town:?Don’t show, don’t tell!?There are some simple ways to avoid being missed. Keep a postal address that doesn’t need to change (friends or a relative) and where someone can read and forward urgent stuff. Never close your local banking accounts. It’s better to be non-resident and incur some extra bank charges than to signal you’re abroad. Money transfers are cheap via crypto and Wise. Also avoid changing your phone number and skip automatic message settings that can suddenly appear in a foreign language.?
Next, remember that people may search your name in social media. So, if you want to secretly live in Bali while telling everyone you’re still in Balham, don’t post evidence of the new reality ;-) Simply establish a more private and different profile open to your friends for those elephant riding and snorkel shots.
Finally, keep up to date on your old ‘local’ business environment and keep the professional-social activity current. If you’re posting in Linked-in about a local discussion topic you’re clearly ‘present’ in every sense of the word!
Some practicalities to consider:
Time zones are the killer, not distance.?If your job never requires Zoom meetings and doesn’t require being ‘live’ constantly, the world is your oyster. Otherwise, if you’re considering a really long stay-work choice, you best consider that it’s hard to manage anything with more than a 2 hour time difference. It’s feasible, but will be more demanding and anti-social than expected.?
Resident and work permits are a thing. Some countries are much more welcoming and flexible than others. Others not so much. In some it’s much easier to get along in the informal economy without establishing a personal company or other local work footprint. In a lot of destinations, it’s best to forget local employment possibilities. If you’re not planning to keep moving constantly, read the forums and free info from re-location companies and law firms that will pretty accurately tell you how challenging it will be to ‘regularize’ your right to live and work with the benefits that could offer (local bank account, rental, social security footprint). Even if you’re moving from one EU country to another as an EU citizen, the local authorities will expect you to be registered in some form if you’re staying more than a few weeks and to get a flat rental in your own name it will also be required. If you plan to move on in a few months and can keep your ‘footprint’ like that of a tourist, there are few restrictions. But before you invest any effort in putting down work roots somewhere, make sure to check what the obstacles are to becoming officially resident. Try a short stay first. There’s a tonne of accurate info out there and it’s worth the time to read it.
Where to live then??You’ve already defined your ‘work practicality’ criteria. You’ve aware staying for an extended period can involve some permits. Now comes the really subjective part! Don’t believe the regular indexes for the best places to live because they’re probably not applying your criteria, at least in this stage of your life. You need to define your own index criteria! The Economist publishes a list of most liveable cities each year. The 2022 leaders are Vienna, Copenhagen, Zurich, Calgary, Vancouver, Geneva, Frankfurt and Toronto. A Fortune article says the ranking for best countries to be a remote worker are Germany, Denmark, the U.S.A., Spain, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden and Estonia. Another guide will say Portugal, Spain and Romania are the best destinations. But the reality is that if you’re not dependent on local client work and open to adventure, the choice is much, much wider! An analysis by Peter?Wade (https://qr.ae/pvwTCN)?comes up with a much more interesting list by comparing?the best balance?between?monthly expenses and?the country levels of?development?(and recall that country averages can conceal local treasures).?In this list Turkey ranks no 2, while Palau, Georgia, Argentina and Colombia also rank highly. Security is often much less of an issue than preconceptions and prejudice would have most of us believe.?
To wrap-up, our advice is first research well. Go to the effort of defining your own “life index criteria” for where is feasible for you. You might find that the adventurous ‘affordable retirement options’ like Costa Rica are also great working location options. Next, do the numbers. Where you spend least for good quality housing, food and leisure and are liable for the least taxes might just be a more appealing choice for you than the high cost, high tax city options. And finally try brief stays before settling on your best long-term remote option.