So, you’ve moved overseas, and it’s great. You’re a digital nomad, passport bro, or perhaps you’re moving back to live with your family. You’ve hit the jackpot, discovered the lifestyle version of bitcoin. You want to kick your feet up and enjoy the sunshine and beautiful women. But not so fast! You shouldn’t use your new move as an excuse to take your foot off of the gas. Having lived overseas for 5 years and built my career abroad, I’m sure that going to Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, or the Caribbean and taking it easy is one of the biggest mistakes one can make. I wrote this article with Southeast Asia in mind, but I believe the concept applies across the globe, if you’re an expat or digital nomad moving from a wealthy country to a poor one.
Things might be cheaper, but you probably aren’t as rich as you think you are
This is true across Southeast Asia. These are very young countries, and a lot of the wealth is hidden or not being properly tracked. This means that while you might find that your American or Canadian dollars go pretty far overseas, you aren’t necessarily a big baller. The wealthiest people in your new country are worth billions of dollars, I can promise you that. So yes, you might have a high standard of living as a remote worker. You might even be in the 1%. But you almost certainly aren’t a baller. Don’t rest on your laurels.
Not working is more expensive than you think
If you have a full bank account and no job, you’re probably going to find that you’re constantly spending money. This is because you won’t have anything to do with your time. You’re going to end up spending money to fill it. This means that whatever you thought was enough money to live on, likely won’t be. If you’re going to stop working, you’re going to want to be very rich. You should be wealthy and your assets should be well diversified. Otherwise, you’re taking a massive risk, because being unemployed can get really expensive.
You’re going to experience American FOMO
This is the biggest problem with moving overseas, even if you work hard. There just isn’t as much money as in the United States. Even if you’re a top performer overseas, you’re going to be struggling compared to your American peers over the first few years. If you chose to bum out, within 5 or 6 years you’ll find yourself clearly missing out on opportunities to enjoy yourself in ways that your American or Canadian peers can. This is going to be a terrible feeling, and will probably lead to a lot of disappointment on the part of the women you’re dating if you’re a passport bro.
Inflation is still a fact of life
You won’t be able to escape inflation just by moving to South East Asia. Moving to South East Asia makes things cheaper, but prices will continue to rise. The US dollar is the world reserve currency. This means that as long as there is inflation in the United States, there will be inflation overseas, generally speaking. This is definitely true if you’re a remote worker. You’re going to need to grind in order to stave off inflation. Or at the very least make smart investments. Which brings me to my final point.
Southeast Asian economies are growing fast
The ASEAN economies are growing at about 4.5%. This is a lot faster than the global average, and certainly faster than most of the west. You might have money today, but new people are getting rich every single day in South East Asia. This means that prices will rise even faster than you expect. Even if prices weren’t rising, wealth is relative. You’re going to need to grind extra hard in order to maintain your standing in Southeast Asian society. You don’t want to be a broke foreigner in Asia, that much I’m sure of.
It’s surprisingly easy to get stranded in a foreign country
All it takes is being broke and losing your passport. If you get stranded overseas, you’re absolutely SOL. The easiest way to avoid getting stranded is to avoid being broke, and to get citizenship in your new country. Both of these things are going to take a decent amount of foresight. Stay awake when you’re in Southeast Asia.
Not working will separate you from the locals
And this is a very bad thing. If you don’t work, you’re going to find yourself in a different “tier” of society from the locals. This will be the rich person/weirdo expat tier. It’s just not normal to not be working or hustling in poor countries. Most people are focused on survival. Not working will make your interpersonal relationships weird in ways that you can’t imagine. It’s best to at least do some charity work to remain engaged. It’s not good to be too out of touch with reality.
You want to have a buffer in case of a recession
Poor countries don’t have welfare, and people can’t afford to help you. How would you be living if you lost half your wealth? If the answer isn’t “like a king”, you want to continuously be working on your buffer. Especially if you have a family.
The key to a good life is to work hard. You don’t need to break your back, but you should be trying your best and producing a lot. If not you’re just wasting your life. You’re also playing a very dangerous game. Not working means that you don’t earn money, gain new experiences, or practice skills. If things go wrong, you’ll find yourself in a very bad position. Have a bit of foresight. Enjoy paradise, but remain engaged with your work, family, and other pursuits. It’s a simple way to avoid disaster.
Thanks for paying attention.
