Thread: Where to live with $100k per year

Originally Posted by mst

Hi all,

I am contemplating where to locate myself in order to build a new web-based business. Customer base and contact is purely international and passive, I simply need to put my head down, program, and iterate.

Where would you locate yourself if you could spend $100k per year on living expenses? I am 100% mobile currently. I am wondering what people think about this.

Thanks!

If you have that kind of freedom why not relocate to somewhere with good weather like southern California?

Personally, I'd go to the Gold Coast in QLD, Australia, but I'm guessing you're looking to stay in the US?

Thanks for your reply. Taking just the weather and demographics into account, Socal is definitely a good place to be. I lived there for many years, and did enjoy it. I believe it would be a nice part of a larger plan, e.g., 3 months in Socal, the rest of the year elsewhere.

Personally if I had to live somewhere I would go live in Japan. I lived there for 2 years and loved it, although recent events may sway you away from that place altogether. None the less if I had a business that has sustain no matter where I lived, that would be my country. I'm not big into living in the US, great country and has some nice places but Japan was always a country I admired even as a kid and spending time there made me realize how much I was right. If I had to pick a specific city, I'd probably pick Osaka, or maybe even Roppongi.

Thanks for all your inputs. Any thoughts on business environment? I believe it does not matter much with an online business, but the occasional networking event would not hurt I believe.

Originally Posted by mst

Where in the world would you locate yourself

This is a hugely personal question.

You need to ask yourself a few questions to help narrow the field;
1- What weather do you prefer?
2- What language(s) do you speak?
3- Are you trying to minimize taxes?
4- Do you want to live in the city or country?
5- What social environment do you want?

This is just a start. For example if you answered;
1- Moderate to warm
2- English and Spanish
3- Yes
4- City
5- Lots of nightlife

I would chose Montevideo or Santiago

Cost of living is another huge question that needs answered.

Personally I love Spain, but it can be quite expensive there. You could live in Portugal with similar attributes to much of Spain, but at a lower cost of living.

I am a big fan of Eastern Europe, but I don't mind cold winters. Not everyone does, so its not for everyone.

I prefer countries that have minimal regulation for starting and running a business.

I am a big fan of countries that don't tax foreign sourced income - makes it easier to minimize your tax burden.

You really need to decide what's important to you, then do some research.

Thanks, all great insight!

my wife and I sat down and mapped out all the things that were important to us. then visited alot of places.

1. weather was very important
2. business climate was only kinda important
3. privacy and land was the most important.
4. lifestyle was very important

so 100K in the US will get you X in terms of house, services, amenities ect.
outside the US you can double or triple that lifestyle.

As long as they have good internet, I would say, Mexico, panama, or Belize.

we prefer belize for a number of reasons, as well. for around 2500 a month total, you can live well, have a house cleaner, and for a little more, a cook,
Good internet in somplaces, (not all) beach living, and a high traffic area for cool people who are usually business oriented enough that it can feed that desire to meet with people.

If you are looking for progressive business contacts ect, Then Austin Texas is a good hotbed of interwebbies

but 100K is not goting to get you much in the way of life style there.

I prefer to live somplace fun, and close enough to an airport. flights are cheap enough that you could spend 500 a month to get where ever there is a gathering of the cool webies you may need.

we chose corrales NM, outside of Albuquerque, because it had the land, the lifestyle, and the privacy. not the best business climate of hotshot up and commers, but it does have an airport. we have a couple acres here, and its nice to work from the house and only see 1 neighbor

Def not a 100K a year place tho " good luck

I've heard some of Chile's climate is similar to SoCal and they seem to luring entreprenuers.

If taxes were a concern, you could also look at Singapore.

Interesting, thank you for this post. I once contemplated Austin but gave it up in favor of Japan a little later. Must definitely revisit! NM seems interesting as well. Airport is definitely key.

My wife and I were actually just discussing this the other day, when I mentioned that a big benefit of an online business would be the ability to operate anywhere with an internet connection. Thing is, we both love living in Colorado. Every time I go on vacation, there's just something comforting about seeing those mountains through the plane window coming home, and I really feel in my element here.

That being said, neither of us ski and we hate the cold weather. It's OK during the holidays, but I get sick of it soon after that. We agreed the ideal setup would be to spend May-December in CO, and migrate south for January-April. We really love Key West, its the type of place where I could be happy with a tiny cottage or apartment because I'd be spending almost all my time having fun somewhere else on the island.

Sorry, I realize that's more about me than a suggestion for you, just seemed relevant. The Belize idea was a very good one, when I was there our guide mentioned that many people locate there and are able to live very well with less money than is needed in similar places. I'd think 100k would set you up very well there, and it is extremely beautiful.

I often thought about this same question. Good weather is a must for me. It's Interesting that someone mentioned Japan. I always wanted to go there. It's unfortunate what has happened there recently. I will go eventually but I think now is not the time considering the uncertainty with their radiation situation. I'm gonna research Belize. Thanks for the suggestions.

Costa Rica!!! It's my dream location - fairly low cost of living, very safe and stable, gorgeous and temperate, and very easy to get a visa if you have cash and don't need to get a job there.

If you are 100% mobile why donīt you just sign up to a apartment rental service, if you op for a relatively short term contract then you can feel if the place is right for you and more importantly you business interests. I did that for a while, it is really flexible and that is what attracted me.

You could of course just hop from a few different countries if circumstances allow.

My long term plan: domicile in a country with no personal taxes, business in a country with no or very low corporate taxes, corporate owned RE in 2 temperate weather places and nice beaches, 1 in a skiing town.