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    RaeKristin Wong
    7/20/16 8:35am

    I’m a digital nomad with a transcription business. I started as a full-time RVer, snow birded in Mexico for two winters, and now I’m financially secure enough to have moved my life to Europe for at least the next year. I’m dog sitting in Bulgaria for the summer, then plan to spend a few months work my way up to Poland and will stay as long as I can stand the weather before finishing the winter in Portugal.

    This article is en pointe. When I was RVing, I had no home base and it was so stressful. Now, I have a property in Saskatchewan where my RV is parked. When I’m there, it’s a comfortable home, but I can lock it up and leave without worry. It’s a place I know I will always be able to land without bothering anyone.

    This is my first time having a huge time zone difference with my clients, but it’s been working fine. I work mornings when there are few distractions since everyone across the pond is still sleeping and accept that I may have to answer emails in the later evening.

    The cost of living in Canada is really high and the more money I make, the more Revenue Canada takes. My standard of living in Canada was going down every year even though business was improving and I was making more money since prices have been skyrocketing. Being a digital nomad means I can have a much better quality of life for a lot less money in countries that are still highly developed.

    Pet and house sitting is new to my experience and something I am going to explore further. Even with the cost of airfare and a three-day vacation in London, being in Bulgaria this summer with no bills is saving me a ton of money over being in Canada, where my primary expense is food (meat and crappy fresh veg with limited amounts of exorbitantly priced dairy, no junk food or beverages) sets me back about $150 a week!

    Finally, internet access determines if I can work somewhere. I need fast reliable service to download my work files and can’t use unsecured public wifi. Internet in Mexico, both hard wired and cellular, was quite good, but it was dismal in the US and abysmal in Canada. I’m being mocked for having chosen to go live in a Bulgarian backwater for the summer when I live in a Canadian backwater (basically saying I might as well have stayed home). Well, I have access to super inexpensive and high quality food here for a quarter of what I spend in Canada and I have a free 20Mbps internet connection, versus an $80 a month 256Kbps connection in my Canada...

    I love being a digital nomad. This is the way I want to see the world, one apartment/house and a three to six month stint somewhere at a time, to truly live like a local. My clients are supportive of my lifestyle and the less time I spend in Canada, the better off I am financially. This is what contentment, maybe even happiness, feels like.

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      kayoRae
      7/20/16 9:09am

      Good for you, Bulgaria has a bad rep but it’s full of beautiful cities, beaches and landscapes, plus as you said, very affordable. And you can take cheap weekend trips to the Greek Islands.

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      Raekayo
      7/20/16 10:04am

      I can’t imagine why Bulgaria has a bad rep. It’s an EU country with all the stability that comes with that, but is much less expensive than Western European countries. The food is fresh and amazing and the history is fascinating. Since I’m pet sitting, I’ve been pretty much stuck in my tiny village and the closest town I can walk to (about 8mi round trip), but I just got back from a lovely weekend in Sofia. I will also be able to get away for a week to ten days at the end of August to rent a car and go on a tour of the country to see other cities and the coast.

      I made an effort to learn to read Cyrillic before I left and have been picking up the language in bits and pieces. Learning to read Cyrillic only took me a couple of hours (http://www.raecrothers.ca/blog/how-i-tau…) and was a better use of my time than trying to memorise a bunch of stock phrases. So many words sounds like French or English when transliterated into Latin scripts that I could immediately pick out hotels, restaurants, pharmacies, museums, and a host of other buildings and services, as well as read a fast food menu (burger, hot dog, pizza, soup, salad, sandwich, and many other words are instantly familiar if you can read Cyrillic). It also means that if I have to decipher a bus schedule or something equally complicated, I’ve only got the stress of translation, not of staring at hieroglyphs. So that’s my tip for going to Bulgaria (or any country that uses Cyrillic) — learn to read the language first!

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    NerdyNomadKristin Wong
    7/20/16 9:50am

    “the digital nomad lifestyle might not be sustainable long-term”

    As someone who just past their 7-year anniversary as a digital nomad, I have to disagree. :) The rest of this article is pretty on-point though!

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      Kristin WongNerdyNomad
      7/20/16 10:59am

      Nice! I think she’s planning to keep going, so maybe she’ll find that it is, too.

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      Stephanie LeeNerdyNomad
      7/20/16 11:47am

      I mean it in a way that instability is rough on energy, relationships, and psyche. We’ll see how it goes :)

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    scottdKristin Wong
    7/20/16 10:21am

    Another thing is “having Wi-Fi” does not mean fast Internet connection.

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      DreadPirateSnuggingsonscottd
      7/20/16 7:20pm

      Yeah, this has been my experience as well. It’s really worth it to take a day to scout out good and fast WiFi. When an OS X update or a Skype call comes up, you don’t want this to be a problem.

      Also, I have an ultrabook without ethernet, thus I always carry an USB-to-ethernet adapter with me. Whenever there’s plain ethernet, I prefer this over wifi.

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    ArvidKristin Wong
    7/20/16 8:13am

    Great that the piece on taxes is explained, but still you can’t just work everywhere without the appropiate visa. Sure, for meetings often a normal entry visa would do (like for the US the Business Visa Waiver) but doing any other type of work, even just working on your laptop could be considered not inline with the normal entry visa rules.

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      RaeArvid
      7/20/16 8:42am

      Yes. But the countries I’ve been to have been thrilled to know that I am going to have no need to take a job illegally in their country. Most countries’ rules have not caught up with the digital age, but common sense appears to be prevailing. The US is the most no nonsense folks I’ve met at the border and when I tried to cross over with my RV for the first time for a two-month visit, it was the fact that I have my own business that pushed them to let me in. I really did not intend to work during that two-month period, but they looked at it as, “If someone goes wrong and she needs money, she can earn it without taking a job from an American.”

      The Mexicans have been the same way. They are thrilled to have me come and make money outside their country that I will spend in their country. Same thing with the Brits and the Bulgarians.

      Just don’t work in a country if your clients are in that country. I’ve stopped traveling through the US long-term for a number of reasons, one of which is that most of my clients are now in the US, which is legal thanks to NAFTA, as long as the work is performed outside of the US. I would be in serious trouble if I got caught working for a US client while in the US.

      I don’t advertise or volunteer to officials that I’m working remotely, but I don’t lie about it either and when the subject comes up, it always ends up being something in my favour.

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    antwar66Kristin Wong
    7/20/16 10:06am

    First, if mail is really a concern, look into mail scanning services like https://travelingmailbox.com/ . They can scan the outside of the envelope, or the whole package. And they can forward packages or mail in bulk. I haven’t used these services, but looked into them for my in-laws who moved abroad for 2 years.

    Second, a big thing to be aware of is US taxes if you are traveling within the US. Definitely check with that tax person, because you are most likely required to file a tax return for EACH state you work in. This hits professional athletes, but also consultants who work in different states.

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      sonofdadantwar66
      7/20/16 12:33pm

      I have used these. They’re inexpensive. You get a U.S. address, all your mail gets digitized, and they toss all your junk mail too. They can forward your mail anywhere in the world, which allows you to buy necessities from sellers that won’t ship overseas. They’ll also deposit checks and receive faxes for you. The service I use is mailboxforwarding.com, which has addresses in Michigan, Florida, and California. They’re not perfect, but I’ve been quite happy with them for five years.

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    FreshInkKristin Wong
    7/22/16 1:28pm

    The medical insurance links are useful, but I’m really looking for a more economical way to insure a rental car while overseas. Typically the rates I get at a rental agency are horrific and can exceed the cost of the vehicle itself. Any help would be appreciated.

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      Joe CroninFreshInk
      8/01/16 9:34am

      Try looking at a credit card that provides car rental insurance as a benefit. You would get coverage and not have to pay extra for it. You just need to make sure you use the credit card when renting the car.

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      FreshInkJoe Cronin
      8/01/16 12:27pm

      That’s something I’ve considered, but the cases I’ve come across would only offer me third-party coverage and so I’d still be liable for my own vehicle. I’ll keep looking.

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    Amy HartleKristin Wong
    7/27/16 12:18pm

    This is a really cool and comprehensive article! My husband and I are both digital nomads and we were talking just this morning about how our upcoming travels will need to be a balance of work and adventure. I like your set schedule that combines work and exploration on a daily basis. We may need to experiment with that. We definitely need to be better at not procrastinating (::::She says as she writes from Starbucks where she should be working on freelance projects:::::) hehehe

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    Zero GravitasKristin Wong
    7/20/16 8:08am

    It’s worth noting that if you’re a digital nomad, living in an RV or sailboat and traveling that way is a viable option (and cheaper, depending on where you want to go).

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