If you can speak english, you can do phone sales. Selling to people in the USA. Get paid in USD. A lot of these gigs can be freelance, independent contractor. BUT, it is hard work, definitely not a "get rich quick" scheme.
this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
3 points (100.0% liked)
Digital Nomads
14 readers
1 users here now
founded 10 months ago
MODERATORS
I would love to do this! Do you know any reputable agencies companies? Happy to put in the hard yards, just don't want to move back to the UK -
Lucked out during COVID...
My US-based company went fully remote, and I started traveling LATAM. Never really looked back.
How do you handle taxes if you live outside the states? Don't you have to pay taxes in both places?
Most nomads doing this are on tourist visas and pay their taxes as if they were living at home
exactly.
Only pay taxes back home, but if I were self-employed I could probably get away with paying next to nothing. Every place I visit is on a 3-6 month tourist VISA, so Airbnb is the only taxing me outside the States.
I overstayed in Mexico by 2 months and no one cared. I overstayed in Colombia by 2 weeks, and they'll probably fine a couple of hundred bucks the next time I return.
Affiliate marketing.
I wrote a couple of guides on how to get started. They’re pinned on my Reddit profile.
Pro tip: don’t buy any courses. 99.9% of “educators” make money by selling courses instead of doing actual affiliate marketing 😉
may I ask how much roughy do you make a month (if comfortable sharing publicly or you can dm)
load more comments
(1 replies)
Get a remote job, don’t tell employer
Yeah basically. I’ll have to use VPN and I don’t want to risk it.
Having a remote job does not mean you can move anywhere. The US-based employer has to report you for state and federal taxes, or whatever I’m not an accountant.
Get really good at something valuable.
Freelance or charge a company royally to do it.
I prepared for hard times while I was working in tech before moving abroad - managed to save just shy of £150k.
I spent 2 further years in Thailand but working full time for a UK company earning ok money.
Lost my job in September and haven't earned a penny since. I know I will never find a real DN job again, so in an effort to remain abroad I'm trying to become a WordPress website designer.
No luck so far in finding paying clients, but I'm at the beginning. At least I've got my savings to help me out.
Hope it will improve.
load more comments
(2 replies)
Just sell feet pics /s 😎
One of the best threads on this topic with many realistic replies. Thanks everyone that contributed, this was helpful.
Work for a usa company and secretly leave the usa with a setup that lets them think you're still in the usa... there's two general ways to do this and both work pretty well. You'll make enough that when/if caught and fired you can easily coast until you get a new job. It's a cat and mouse game
load more comments
(1 replies)
The thing I have learnt about this sub is that for the most part people are Digital Nomads because they CAN and CHOOSE too, not just because they choose too. Most of the successful DNs I see here are people that worked/gained skills are successful in their careers than choose to become DNs.
The advice that is given here and is frankly correct is: Get a job skills/become valuable then work your way to becoming a DN. You clearly are skilled as you are working in AI, now attain value. Maybe go back to the states for a few years, work at reputable companies then go back to DNing in Brazil.
going to school for nursing. after I have some experience under my belt the plan is to work 6-9 months a year as a travel nurse then spend my time off exploring different countries with my camera.
Many of us have residency in our home country and travel/work a few months of the year. Others do jobs like teaching English to travel full time on a low budget. A third option is to create your own business, grind it out and find a market.
Skills and network
No idea. My company does not allow me to work outside the lower 48 states due to tax reasons.
No I do not want to cheat the system within VPN.
Seems like most DN’s own their own business (social influencers, entrepreneurs etc).
Most are lying. Dont believe the internet.
Online language training
That can prop you up but it's not like it's gonna make you a lot of dosh, especially in certain countries - you have to charge what people are willing to pay, and you'd have to be booked pretty much back to back to actually pay off a flat as a Digital Nomad in Mexico City.
Depends on what your expectations are / what kind of deal you find / if you have a significant other that works.
My gf and I both teach online and have no issue in Mexico City - even in a beautiful apartment in Hipodromo Condesa. If you're by yourself making $10/hr? Yeah, probably won't be in a good neighborhood.
It’s difficult to do. I work remotely in epidemiology for state public health department. But I tried asking to work overseas and they said no because of data security rules. The best I can do now is save up all I can with my wife and then quit in a few years and live in vietnam.
I work remotely in IT, live frugally and invest my savings - last 8 years of my life.
ATM I'm debt free with my own apartment, with another apartment I'm buying for cash, some stocks and a good emergency fund (3 years of living expenses).
I'm still trying to earn as much as possible for my contract work. I mostly don't splurge at all.
While I currently am not living abroad, then I have basically for 2 years had a job that could support it. To continue I would just need to setup a VPN or local server and I could continue doing my job abroad. I get paid for how much I work and can scrape in anywhere from 1k to 5k USD a month based on time and task availability. This is my part time job, while I currently also work as a consultant in ERP, which is my future hope to turn into a legit nomad job which hopefully I can use to work remote with a little more experience and network. But I would say, unless you have your own digital business or have some skills that can land you good jobs abroad or allow you to work abroad, then expect it to be nothing more fancy.
If you're currently living in Brazil, I suggest you find the meetups and WhatsApp groups for digital nomads. You will find out what people do there. Do not get false impressions from Instagram.
In my experience, people have a variety of jobs that they do but most lean towards tech. I've also seen my fair share of coaches, whether life or executive coaching, as well as remote teachers. Some are doing it via discreetly via full-time W-2 employment, with a tacit understanding of "don't ask, don't tell".
There are two factions here, the "be honest, there are plenty of jobs for honest people" crowd, and the "lie and actually get a job" crowd. It's time you joined us in the later group :)
It's hard.
Most successful digital nomads I know ($150k+) are US-based and in software or corporate accounting/finance. I've seen quite a few marketers, freelancers etc., but they always seem preoccupied with cost whereas the SWE/finance guys will casually drop $100 on a meal and not think twice about it while hostel hopping.
Corporate finance/accounting executives bouncing around hostels? Don't believe it for a second.
load more comments
(4 replies)
lol corporate finance types don't live in hostels, come on. maybe a small percentage of them.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Anyone promoting some easy way to make internet monies is full of shit, and that is their way to try to scrape by (selling courses, being an influencer, scamming etc.)
99% of jobs in the US want nothing to do with some guy who is going to be bouncing around the world from Airbnb to Airbnb.
That's why you don't tell them you're bouncing around. People tell too much and then act surprised when the information that works against them and they disclosed, backfired on them.
I used to be one of those people, too, but I learned the hard way. I always limit the information as much as I can, they don't really need to know those kind of things in my line of work - and I'm also always mentally prepared for losing the project at no notice, should they find out somehow and corner me with that or tell me "You need to come back next week or we're terminating your contract".
The people on social media telling you about all the money they are making working from a beach on their laptops make their money by selling courses on how to make money working on a beach from your laptop.
Yeah a lot of those course gurus telling you how to make money on X really make money on selling you courses on how to make money on X.
Quite often those courses are absolutely abysmal, they might also even have terrible advice - but if you've bought a pig in the poke, you can't really get your money back. Even those who claim "100% satisfaction guaranteed!" always have some fine print in the T&Cs they try to exercise and claim you were not eligible because…, and then your only way is to chargeback via a CC.
By being a very senior person with lots of experience
You live abroad and wonder why it's difficult to find US companies willing to hire you?
....did anyone else already tell him or...?
Day trade stocks, crypto and futures.
It's not really a sustainable career. Get a real job.
Teaching English online and also keeping expenses low by doing work exchanges (world packers and workaday are two examples)!
They are working illegally most likely. There is almost no way one can work and live all over the world while earning in USD. In one country, yes, but moving all over?! That’s illegal work right there. Unfortunately, lots of influencers just ignore legal matters to sell their products
Onlyfans and hooking
I am aligned with those who are saying " Build a career THEN become a digital nomad" 💡 Starting as a Nomad doesn't work well for entry level / early career = they adjust the pay to your country of residence and you may not advance fast enough. You can always mislead them and keep moving but that doesn't always workout nicely.
I honestly build a US career then moved after 6 years to a cheaper country. You can easily find yourself making 20 or 30 times the average salary with a robust profile in a well paying industry.
N.B: keep in mind that you can only reach that level when you are a true professional: meticulously respecting company's hours even with a huge time difference and ofc working in cafè/outdoor/beach is not a thing tbh
I teach English as a second language and do all my classes online
You won't likely make amazing money, but depending on where you live and your standard of living you can certainly live comfortably
It's really rewarding to help someone learn English and improve themselves. Also I work independently so it's nice not having a boss
load more comments
(2 replies)
I make my money as a writer/blogger, so I write and self publish books and my site earns money via ads. I also own a little real estate and have some passive income investments (stocks).
But here's the more useful thing for you - I did some deep research into digital nomads a while ago, and along the way I collected data on professions for those who make a living on the road with what they do. As you'd guess, the software side of tech (web dev, software dev) and marketing (seo, agency work, consulting) jobs dominated the list. I can't remember exactly how much but about 1/3 to 1/2 were tech or marketing.
But the remainder completely ran the spectrum. Doctors, lawyers, multiple architects, virtual game show hosts, university professors, PR, etc. The tying theme was they were all very senior management and specialists and had either virtualized a portion of their work and grew that portion or monetized their knowledge. I remember the architect simply met clients online and delivered the same way. A doctor wrote for medical journals and practiced telemedicine. A lawyer specialized in contract law and was somehow able to do that at a distance. It blew my mind because it seemed like pretty much any profession can be rolled into a virtual approach if you have enough expertise and experience and if you get creative with and focus on the aspects that can be delivered virtually.
I don't have the exact percentages on how much, but I remember a handful of these people actually found their current remote clients through old employers or colleagues, so that is a worthwhile note.
The list of jobs that every reported is here if you're interested:
Freelance public relations. Work 20-30 hours per week.
Just develop in demand skills and be very good at what you do. I've worked remotely since 2017 and have remote positions I'm hiring for that require specific niche skillets. I've got team members in Europe and the US, but I hire a lot from the Philippines as the wages are ALOT cheaper and I can train them up. Their churn rate and retention is also extremely high if you pay above average local wages and treat them like humans (allt of companies treat them like robot VAs)
Don't pull the wagon before the horse. Get the skills and experience first then take it abroad. You need to have leverage. Why would a company hire you abroad for more money if they can hire cheaper abroad or hire someone locally instead? You need to solve that value proposition first. Do that first locally and then go abroad or fund a "remote first" company with a remote culture.
In the meantime, the other method to go is build your own location independent business so that you set the rules. This isn't a get rich quick scheme. There are no magic bullets or short cuts. Put in the work and build a proper business. I always recommend people do both at the same time.
Work a job > become valuable > contractor Work a job > become valuable > hire into remote first company Work a job > become valuable > build business with that skillset on the side
This question gets asked every day! Just look up previous questions and you’ll get the answer.
view more: next ›