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- The Truth About WiFi Money
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Welcome to another issue of Passionate Income.
Today we’ll be following with Part II in our digital nomad series.
In particular, we'll analyze how running your business from overseas can damage your long-term finances and career prospects if you don't plan ahead.
More important, we'll touch on how you can avoid these issues by planning ahead and making strategic decisions.
Let’s dive in.
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In our previous issue, we discussed some of the not-so-rosey realities of working as a digital nomad.
From adjusting to timezones, to becoming a tax resident in a foreign country, there's more to living overseas than sun and sand.
In today's issue, however, we'll dive into some even deeper issues.
Once again, our goal here is not to be negative or dissuade you from going down this path. I've lived overseas for a decade and highly recommend it.
Instead, our goal is to shine a light on the reality of this lifestyle so you can make an informed decision regarding whether this is right path for you.
*This is Part Two in our Two-Part series.
4 - Lowering of Standards
If you’re considering going overseas, odds are a large part of that has to do with the exorbitant cost of living in your home country.
While there’s nothing wrong or unethical about doing this, one problem many people run into is spending so much time out of their home country that they lower their standards to the income level required to survive overseas.
The problem, however, is that many people—after spending years or even decades overseas—decide they want to return home.
But if you’ve been living somewhere like Costa Rica, where you only need to make $2,000 per month to survive, you could be facing a massive uphill struggle if you need to move back to somewhere like the U.S., UK, or Canada.
And the longer you spend overseas adjusting your finances to adapt to that country’s income requirements, the harder it can be to muster up the savings needed to move back home.*
*For example, to buy a car, afford a down payment on a house, etc.
5 - Loss of Opportunity
Of all the problems we’ve mentioned here, this is arguably the least important.
In the past, fleeing the U.S. to somewhere like Thailand for years (or decades) would be disastrous for your career.
From missing out on networking opportunities to having large gaps in your résumé, that kind of behavior just wasn’t conducive to getting a high-paying job.
These days, going somewhere like Dubai or Mexico City could expose you to even more opportunities than you would’ve been exposed to back home.
But you have to understand the nature of those opportunities.
If you go down the Wi-Fi money path, odds are the other entrepreneurs you meet will be involved in Wi-Fi money businesses. Because of that, the overwhelming majority of opportunities you’ll be exposed to will involve internet businesses.
If you know you’re committed to this path for life, then that’s not a bad thing.
However, if you think there’s a possibility you might want to return home and get involved in whatever career you were in before (or even a new one), odds are you’re not going to have much of a network to tap into.
Because of that, returning to the “real world” can be difficult if you spend an extended period of time living the digital nomad life.
This one depends heavily on where you move and what the social scene is like there.
If you relocate to a digital nomad hotspot like Mexico City or Budapest, and you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone a little, it can be extremely easy to get plugged into existing social circles via meetups and events.
On the other hand, as someone who’s done the Wi-Fi money thing from remote surfing beaches in the far corners of various countries, there have been periods where I’ve spent a lot of time by myself.
As an introvert with relatively low social interaction needs, this wasn’t a big deal for me. At the same time, there have been times when I’ve isolated myself too much, to the point it started affecting my mental health.
Unfortunately, whether the places you want to live have a social network is largely out of your control.
Yes, there are humans almost everywhere. But that doesn’t mean they’ll be open to meeting or making friends with you (this varies by both city and country and is highly cultural).
Sure, you can pick from the known hotspots, in which case you’re virtually guaranteed to have a network to tap into as soon as you land.
The problem, however, is that making this a criterion will limit your options to a relatively small number of cities. Branch out from those, and building a social circle will become more difficult.*
*A lot of this depends on what you do for work and your dating situation.
If you’re single and/or will be working at a foreign company, it will be much easier to meet people. If you work from home and/or are not interested in dating, having an existing circle you can plug into is nice.
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In conclusion, the decision to become a digital nomad involves some serious upsides and some potentially difficult downsides.
At the same time, the same can be said for most every major decision.
So if you want to go this path, don't let fear stop you.
Instead, plan for the challenges ahead of time so they don't affect you as dramatically when they happen (which they inevitably will).
And remember, if you're unhappy where you're at, you can always go back home or simply relocate to somewhere else!
💡 Takeaway: From making friends to losing out on career opportunities, there are plenty of downsides to consider before committing to the international lifestyle. With that said, by plugging into existing networks and getting out of your comfort zone, most of those downsides can be turned into positives.
🎁 Resources:
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