The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Countries to live in to optimize your costs

Anything considered a "hustle" and not necessarily a CENTS-based Fastlane

maikooo

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
84%
Dec 7, 2018
164
137
Hey guys,
if you have experience with living a digital nomad lifestyle, what countries have you lived in (or are you living in) and you can recommend to optimize the costs?
Criteria:
  • personal and business safety (no wars, no disease outbreaks, no mafia protection fees)
  • good infrastructure (roads, airports, healthcare, water/sewage, shops, restaurants)
  • favorable taxes
  • good and reliable internet access
  • manageable health insurance and social insurance fees
  • manageable government bureaucracy [registrations, setups, etc.]
  • easily accessible in regards to VISA, permits, etc. [EU passport]
  • manageable monthly overheads [rent, food, utilities]
  • favorable costs of entertainment
Has anybody experience with e-citizenship from Estonia? Were you able to set up a legal entity/company there without living there? Where do you pay health insurance, social insurance, and taxes?

Anyone with experience from Monte Negro? The Czech Republic? Malta? Bali? Thailand? California (non-US citizen)? The Bahamas?

Thanks
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MTF

Never give up
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
455%
May 1, 2011
7,560
34,430
You won't be able to get it all. If the living costs are lower, it's often because the infrastructure isn't that great. It depends on what you like (what's the point of moving to the Bahamas if you hate island living?) and the type of business you want to run (for example, PayPal isn't available in some countries, Stripe is even worse). And if you don't have a profitable business yet, I wouldn't even think about cost optimization, unless you want to move for personal reasons anyway.
 

Patrick Jones

growing
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
298%
Dec 9, 2018
136
405
Berlin
This is a good reference for numbers: Nomad List

From my experience in Thailand:
  • personal and business safety: if you have a business with a store front, you have to bribe the cops
  • good infrastructure: Bangkok is very good, Chiang Mai is... entertaining
  • favorable taxes: can't say, never paid any there
  • good and reliable internet access: yup, mobile data is also dirt cheap
  • manageable health insurance and social insurance fees: If you're a digital nomad, you're not becoming a resident, i.e. no social security. I had a health insurance from my home country (Germany).
  • manageable government bureaucracy: The more you bribe, the faster it goes
  • easily accessible in regards to VISA, permits, etc.: Getting in is easy, staying is more difficult. Most DN go for a visa run every 3 months.
  • manageable monthly overheads: soooo cheap
  • favorable costs of entertainment: Depends on what you're into. An hour of good Thai massage (w/o happy ending) costs you around €5. An evening of watching Muay Thai is also quite affordable.
 

poseidn

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 1, 2016
70
111
Medellin, Chiang Mai and Bali are the "in" ones for DN's atm.

I stayed in Thailand for a few months and i would recommend Phuket over Bangkok any day. Haven't been to Chiang Mai though, i like beaches too much.
 

RazorCut

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
358%
May 3, 2014
2,032
7,269
Marbella, Spain

Al Berton

New Contributor
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
100%
Aug 27, 2018
16
16
Well, i lived in the Principality of Monaco for some years. No taxes, safest place in the world, very beautiful place. To stay there you have to work there for a local company or be already rich so you can afford to buy a property there; you can also set your business there and rent an apartment, but be aware that it's quite expensive ( a two bedroom apartment rent costs on average 6000-7000 USD per month).
 

Rabby

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
319%
Aug 26, 2018
1,924
6,128
Florida
Thailand is cheap and pretty easy to deal with. Sometimes they'll have a coop d'etat or something but it's not as bad as it sounds ;) It would be especially easy if you were just running a web site or something... digital nomad stuff, like you mentioned. If you are there on a visitor visa, the immigration people tell you to make a border run every 30 days and check back into the country (in other words, you can keep extending your stay by getting your passport stamped). Personally, I never needed to bribe anyone there. Just said please really nicely.
 

maikooo

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
84%
Dec 7, 2018
164
137
You won't be able to get it all. If the living costs are lower, it's often because the infrastructure isn't that great. It depends on what you like (what's the point of moving to the Bahamas if you hate island living?) and the type of business you want to run (for example, PayPal isn't available in some countries, Stripe is even worse). And if you don't have a profitable business yet, I wouldn't even think about cost optimization, unless you want to move for personal reasons anyway.
Thanks, yeah, after a few days pondering (aided by great podcasts) I realized this was a stupid post/question. It's ying/yang in everything!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

maikooo

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
84%
Dec 7, 2018
164
137
This is a good reference for numbers: Nomad List

From my experience in Thailand:
  • personal and business safety: if you have a business with a store front, you have to bribe the cops
  • good infrastructure: Bangkok is very good, Chiang Mai is... entertaining
  • favorable taxes: can't say, never paid any there
  • good and reliable internet access: yup, mobile data is also dirt cheap
  • manageable health insurance and social insurance fees: If you're a digital nomad, you're not becoming a resident, i.e. no social security. I had a health insurance from my home country (Germany).
  • manageable government bureaucracy: The more you bribe, the faster it goes
  • easily accessible in regards to VISA, permits, etc.: Getting in is easy, staying is more difficult. Most DN go for a visa run every 3 months.
  • manageable monthly overheads: soooo cheap
  • favorable costs of entertainment: Depends on what you're into. An hour of good Thai massage (w/o happy ending) costs you around €5. An evening of watching Muay Thai is also quite affordable.
Thanks for a comprehensive summary. Thailand is on our list next European winter :)
 

maikooo

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
84%
Dec 7, 2018
164
137

Niptuck MD

plutocrat-in-training
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
164%
Aug 31, 2016
1,421
2,330
NORWAY - POLAND - WEST EUROPE
I would consider Brazil in terms of resident leniency. Also south india (predominantly kerala and west Tamil nadu are great) furthermore, poland.
 

Longinus

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
441%
Aug 28, 2014
1,132
4,995
Poland / Belgium
I would consider Brazil in terms of resident leniency. Also south india (predominantly kerala and west Tamil nadu are great) furthermore, poland.

Poland is nice, good food and infrastructure.
Hungary is nice too. And Belgrade, I think it's an upcoming "Budapest".
I really like Sarajevo which is cheap too, but the Winters are cold.

Bulgaria, Albania and Ukraine are on my to do list.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top