5 ms·

How long have you lived this lifestyle?

philip1209 9y ago
About a week :-) Took about 2 months for us to ramp down life in SF. We're planning on staying in cities for ~3 months at a time each. When we shut down [1] my last company, my girlfriend said "it's now or never." I had realized that I dreaded going to an office every day, so I'm working on making my new company 100% remote. [1] https://blog.staffjoy.com/staffjoy-is-shutting-down-39f7b5d66ef6 https://blog.staffjoy.com/staffjoy-is-shutting-down-39f7b5d6...
- ohyes 9y ago
  I would be interested to hear how this works out for you, do you plan on chronicling the experiences? I'd be worried about mundane things like income taxes and having a proper mailing address. This seems like something only enabled by having a truly 'digital' lifestyle.
  - philip1209 9y ago
    We'll set up a blog at some point - for now I have my personal [1] and company [2] Instagrams. We're using Earthclass Mail for a mailing address. Works super well. They even cash checks for us. [1] http://instagram.com/philipithomas http://instagram.com/philipithomas [2] http://instagram.com/moonlight_work http://instagram.com/moonlight_work
  - devrandomguy 9y ago
    For expats of most countries, if you spend no more than about a month per year in your native country and don't have property there, then you can declare non-residency. This way, you don't have to pay income tax to your home country, as you are not using their services. Also, if you are constantly on the move, not actually setting up shop and taking local clients, then local income taxes don't really apply either. Nomads aren't really compatible with most income tax systems, for better or worse. It is different for Americans, though, they are on the hook for income tax regardless of where in the world they reside.
    - philip1209 9y ago
      For us personally - we don't plan on being out of the USA enough for it to matter on income taxes. We plan on spending some time traveling through a couple US cities, too (like NYC, LA, and Chicago).
mapmeld 9y ago
Not OP, but I have been doing something similar in Airbnbs for three years ( I was interviewed for an article last year: https://qz.com/643181/ https://qz.com/643181/ ). Sometimes I move between neighborhoods while working on-site in NYC / SF Bay Area, other times I was a traveling consultant, other times I work remotely and choose where I go. Usually I stay 1 month (reaching 2 months at only two places). It works because I am flexible about renting studio apartments or rooms in Airbnb-dorm-like houses, and I don't have other responsibilities or attachments. Compared to the up-front costs, commitments, and assorted bills connected with an annual lease, I prefer it.
- philip1209 9y ago
  Cool article! We're planning on staying in places for 3 months at a time. It gives us the flexibility to join a gym, take time to relax, and get a routine.
keerthiko 9y ago
The question I ask everyone who highly recommends this lifestyle :) I spent ~2 years as a completely untethered nomad, and love having my feet planted somewhere I love while I still travel+work 3+ weeks at a time regularly so so so much more. Besides the means (financial) and freedom (remote-friendly employment/relationships) to do this, there are a lot of cultural/social aspects that influence the viability of the long-term nomadism. 1) White privilege: Are you white? Being a nomad is WAY nicer! People are nice and welcoming to you almost everywhere, and go out of their way to involve you in their local stuff, making life more interesting and fun. Also, everyone wants to bang you, if you're into that. Otherwise, get ready to lead a lonely life, struggling to build deeper connections, and having a hard time experiencing the "serendipity of traveling". 2) Your support network's relationship with this lifestyle: This is a romanticized lifestyle for the western world, whereas it's treated as a vagabond-like, evasion of responsibility in Asian culture. This can be draining if your family is mostly disparaging of your lifestyle choice (or others are of your parents for bringing you up wrong etc). 3) You always have a home when you want it: There is a place where you feel safe, you belong, you love and can easily go back to and stay whenever you want for however long you want to recharge in between. If you end up nomading to someplace that doesn't work for you, you can bail on short notice and re-plan. If something happens or if you need to just take a break from the nomadism, you know where to go. If you don't have this (you don't care for your hometown, or was in my case, you have/had legal visa complications preventing you from "calling where you wanted to stay home"), being a nomad can be stressful and uncertain. As a brown entrepreneur raised in Asia who wanted to settle in the Bay, and chose the nomad life while waiting for my visa to come through, I learned the above the hard way.

About a week :-) Took about 2 months for us to ramp down life in SF. We're planning on staying in cities for ~3 months at a time each. When we shut down [1] my last company, my girlfriend said "it's now or never." I had realized that I dreaded going to an office every day, so I'm working on making my new company 100% remote. [1] https://blog.staffjoy.com/staffjoy-is-shutting-down-39f7b5d66ef6 https://blog.staffjoy.com/staffjoy-is-shutting-down-39f7b5d6...

ohyes 9y ago
I would be interested to hear how this works out for you, do you plan on chronicling the experiences? I'd be worried about mundane things like income taxes and having a proper mailing address. This seems like something only enabled by having a truly 'digital' lifestyle.
- philip1209 9y ago
  We'll set up a blog at some point - for now I have my personal [1] and company [2] Instagrams. We're using Earthclass Mail for a mailing address. Works super well. They even cash checks for us. [1] http://instagram.com/philipithomas http://instagram.com/philipithomas [2] http://instagram.com/moonlight_work http://instagram.com/moonlight_work
- devrandomguy 9y ago
  For expats of most countries, if you spend no more than about a month per year in your native country and don't have property there, then you can declare non-residency. This way, you don't have to pay income tax to your home country, as you are not using their services. Also, if you are constantly on the move, not actually setting up shop and taking local clients, then local income taxes don't really apply either. Nomads aren't really compatible with most income tax systems, for better or worse. It is different for Americans, though, they are on the hook for income tax regardless of where in the world they reside.
  - philip1209 9y ago
    For us personally - we don't plan on being out of the USA enough for it to matter on income taxes. We plan on spending some time traveling through a couple US cities, too (like NYC, LA, and Chicago).

mapmeld 9y ago

Not OP, but I have been doing something similar in Airbnbs for three years ( I was interviewed for an article last year: https://qz.com/643181/ https://qz.com/643181/ ). Sometimes I move between neighborhoods while working on-site in NYC / SF Bay Area, other times I was a traveling consultant, other times I work remotely and choose where I go. Usually I stay 1 month (reaching 2 months at only two places). It works because I am flexible about renting studio apartments or rooms in Airbnb-dorm-like houses, and I don't have other responsibilities or attachments. Compared to the up-front costs, commitments, and assorted bills connected with an annual lease, I prefer it.

philip1209 9y ago
Cool article! We're planning on staying in places for 3 months at a time. It gives us the flexibility to join a gym, take time to relax, and get a routine.

keerthiko 9y ago

The question I ask everyone who highly recommends this lifestyle :) I spent ~2 years as a completely untethered nomad, and love having my feet planted somewhere I love while I still travel+work 3+ weeks at a time regularly so so so much more. Besides the means (financial) and freedom (remote-friendly employment/relationships) to do this, there are a lot of cultural/social aspects that influence the viability of the long-term nomadism. 1) White privilege: Are you white? Being a nomad is WAY nicer! People are nice and welcoming to you almost everywhere, and go out of their way to involve you in their local stuff, making life more interesting and fun. Also, everyone wants to bang you, if you're into that. Otherwise, get ready to lead a lonely life, struggling to build deeper connections, and having a hard time experiencing the "serendipity of traveling". 2) Your support network's relationship with this lifestyle: This is a romanticized lifestyle for the western world, whereas it's treated as a vagabond-like, evasion of responsibility in Asian culture. This can be draining if your family is mostly disparaging of your lifestyle choice (or others are of your parents for bringing you up wrong etc). 3) You always have a home when you want it: There is a place where you feel safe, you belong, you love and can easily go back to and stay whenever you want for however long you want to recharge in between. If you end up nomading to someplace that doesn't work for you, you can bail on short notice and re-plan. If something happens or if you need to just take a break from the nomadism, you know where to go. If you don't have this (you don't care for your hometown, or was in my case, you have/had legal visa complications preventing you from "calling where you wanted to stay home"), being a nomad can be stressful and uncertain. As a brown entrepreneur raised in Asia who wanted to settle in the Bay, and chose the nomad life while waiting for my visa to come through, I learned the above the hard way.