Post: #51

(01-11-2016 11:03 AM)262 Wrote:  Which one are you using? I use US Global Mail for $15/mo. They scan the front of the letters for free, but it's extra to scan the contents. I receive so little paper mail though (by making everything electronic) that I don't mind this.

That's the same one I use. But I receive a lot of mail, and it's tax season so I don't want to miss anything important. Maybe I'll give it a chance for a month and see how it goes.

Post: #52

(01-11-2016 11:06 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  

(01-11-2016 11:03 AM)262 Wrote:  Which one are you using? I use US Global Mail for $15/mo. They scan the front of the letters for free, but it's extra to scan the contents. I receive so little paper mail though (by making everything electronic) that I don't mind this.

That's the same one I use. But I receive a lot of mail, and it's tax season so I don't want to miss anything important. Maybe I'll give it a chance for a month and see how it goes.

Ah. Yeah, if you receive a lot of mail and need to look at the contents, it'd probably be worth it to shop around.

Don't stick with it just because I chose it in my relocation thread. You won't hurt muh feelz

Post: #53

(01-11-2016 11:54 AM)262 Wrote:  Don't stick with it just because I chose it in my relocation thread. You won't hurt muh feelz

Haha nah, I don't want to overreact so I'll try it out for a few weeks or so and if I don't like it, then I switch.

Post: #54

Wanted to update this thread, but I found that I fucked up my mail forwarding. I cancelled that, and I'm hoping I didn't lose any mail. Will visit my local post office first thing as soon as I'm back in town.

Losing sleep over this. Got some important stuff I'm expecting in the mail, including a $800 home insurance refund. If it's lost, I'm going to be really sick over it. Not the end of the world, but it just sucks.

Don't ever play games with your mail, boys!

Post: #55

^^^
How did you fuck it up, if you're willing to share?

I haven't had an issue yet, but might be helpful to guys following us.

Post: #56

(01-25-2016 10:18 AM)262 Wrote:  How did you fuck it up, if you're willing to share?

Well it's kind of embarrassing, and something like an idiot would do. After changing my mailing address, I forwarded my mail from the residential post office to the mail scanning address. But when I want to ship my mail from the mail scanning address to my residential address (I haven't moved yet), the mail gets undelivered because the forwarding request prevents it from reaching my home inbox.

It would have been fine if I didn't forward any mail until I actually moved to a new address, but jumping the gun here has my mail in limbo right now. I cancelled the forwarding request and now sitting and hoping that the post office don't lose anything.

Post: #57

On a positive note, lest I sound like I'm bitching about the smallest things, here are some updates about my progress:

Business

- Signed up for an exclusive freelance programmers community. Heavy screening process and lots of hoops to go through, unlike Upwork. If I make it through, I can see it being a good source of work and income.

- Two months ago I had sent a five figure estimate to a client for a mobile app. Client goes ghost. Written the job off, thinking I priced too high. But to my surprise, client emails me a few days ago asking for a face-to-face meeting. This fact alone makes me think they are thinking about paying that much. We shall see.

- I've reached out to my connections in a particular niche, and there may be some work coming down my pipeline. I responded to a RFP with a professional looking template response and an estimate. Low 5 figures. There may be competition for the job since it's an open RFP, though... but my connections and expertise with the niche should give me the edge here.

- Still doing small website and writing jobs as I receive them. They don't pay a living wage, but my hope with these small jobs is that they lead to a bigger portfolio and more experience to parlay to larger jobs. Testimonials and references, too.

- I still have not locked down a thousand-dollar+ job yet, but I feel I'm really close. Once I get over that hump, I should really be hitting my stride.

Other stuff

- Mainly focusing on locking down my diet and limiting alcohol. Exercise, cutting, and my goal is to drop a couple of inches off my waist. Got through the holidays without adding an inch, in fact losing about half an inch, which I'm happy with.

- I still have so much shit in my apartment, it's going to take time to unload everything. Thinking that instead of selling my car, I will just leave it with my relatives.

- I only have so much time during the day, so I am learning to be really selective in what I do each day. Most important stuff gets done as opposed to goofing around all day.

- Starting to make appointments with an audiologist and talking to insurance about coverage for a new hearing aid and a cochlear implant upgrade as mine is getting old. This will take a while, but hopefully should be all said and done by May or June.

Post: #58

(01-25-2016 11:57 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  - I still have so much shit in my apartment, it's going to take time to unload everything. Thinking that instead of selling my car, I will just leave it with my relatives.

Thanks for the update CleanSlate. Regarding the car, you may want to look into things to consider for long term car storage. Taking a few steps before letting it sit in a drive way can save you a few maintenance headaches down the road. Also consider how long it will be disused when figuring out if you should run it to empty or not. Gasoline goes bad after a certain amount of months.

Post: #59

(01-25-2016 11:57 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  - I still have not locked down a thousand-dollar+ job yet, but I feel I'm really close. Once I get over that hump, I should really be hitting my stride.

Boooyah!!

Sent my first $1000 invoice! And it's only the first of the 3 partial invoices for the same job.

For the first time in months, I feel like I'm not just spinning my wheels.

Post: #60

Congrats man! Happy to hear things are going towards the right direction!

Keep at it my friend!

Post: #61

Keep moving forward with your plans! Fortune Favors the Bold. It will be a great adventure and a life worth living.

Consider having a list of locations after your three to six months of reconnaissance. After developing this list, you have the opportunity to reside in them one at time for three months and move to the next. I highly recommend living in a country for 30 to 90 days before you move there more permanently. If you do find ´the one´ your decision will have less negative consequences.

I mentioned elsewhere that a longer term plan can be to position yourself so that you have a passport from one country, your residence in a second country, work (income) in a third country and banking in a forth country. The formula for freedom is taking your ass and your assets and spreading them to the wind.

It is mathematically expressed as F = (A+A) to the infinity power. Throughout history people want take your assets and control your ass. It is no different now. There is nothing illegal about it.

Ideally 2-3 passports, 2-3 countries of residency, mobile work (or retired), banking/finance/storage in 3 or 4 countries.
In the 70´s and 80´s we were called PT´s (perpetual travelers, previous taxpayers, permanent tourist and many others).

Post: #62

(01-25-2016 11:57 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  - Still doing small website and writing jobs as I receive them. They don't pay a living wage, but my hope with these small jobs is that they lead to a bigger portfolio and more experience to parlay to larger jobs. Testimonials and references, too.

Exactly. Not least, you are gaining experience in project management. How to set expectations for clients, estimate work, avoid doing work for free as the project nears completion and the client tries to add extra features.

It's good to make your rookie mistakes on small projects. Makes you ready to pull the trigger on larger projects with a feeling of being properly prepared.

Post: #63

Congrats on the new developments!

Keep on updating the thread man. I want to make a similar change in the future and threads like yours and 262's inspire me.

Post: #64

I changed my mailing address back to my current residence and I'm going to cancel the mail scanning service subscription tomorrow. The extreme incompetence of both the US Post Office and US Global Mail, which cost me over $800 and three weeks worth of mail, still has not ceased to amaze me.

I'll take a step back from this whole mail stuff in the next couple of months, and then try to find a new mail scanning service. Before I sign up, I will read all the fine print, study the address format and whether the post office can work with such addresses, figure out overseas shipping fees. Basically I will screen them hard by asking pointed questions that drill down into the specifics.

On another note...

Sam^3 mentioned this:

(01-28-2016 02:48 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  I believe you said in your 5 year plan that you wanted to ask them if you could work remotely.

So if you stay, and ask for the remote work then, it might help you showing your boss how loyal you are.

I've actually been moving away from this idea for some time now. Many reasons. One, I'm tired of this job. Two, the boss doesn't like it when I work remotely. He never complained when I do that, but I can tell that he prefers face to face conversations over email (plus his English is his second language so he probably feels his emails aren't clear enough). Third, the IT department in my company is terrible. They make life hell for people remoting in from anywhere other than their brick and mortar offices. The connection is really sloooooowwwwww and sometimes that makes me want to shoot myself when I have a deadline to meet. It would probably be more frustrating than liberating if I went down that path.

More updates later.

Post: #65

Has something different happened in your experience with US Global Mail? Just want to make sure that I don't end up in the same minefield.

As for working remotely in your current job, I hear ya. I liked my last boss (he was pretty chill), but even he wasn't keen on folks working remotely unless necessary (to be fair, it was a company-wide mentality). Also hear ya on IT being incompetent - remote connections were painfully slow.

Post: #66

(02-01-2016 04:14 AM)262 Wrote:  Has something different happened in your experience with US Global Mail? Just want to make sure that I don't end up in the same minefield.

I don't think anything is wrong with US Global Mail (other than their pricing structure). My problem is with the US post office.

Mail is not something you fuck around with.

Post: #67

Some updates:

- I had a very enlightening conversation off the forum with some members about expat taxes. I'm going to review the physical presence test (>330 days) to confirm my understanding of it. Don't want any nasty surprises down the road.

- I got a new rewards credit card with no foreign transaction fees, so it will become my default credit card. Sticking with my Schwab and Wells Fargo checking accounts at least for now. May consider opening a new bank account and/or a second company in HK or SG later down the road, but that's probably at least a year away.

- Business is good. No news on the website RFP yet, but had another meeting with a different client for a large mobile app job... we are slowly making progress on this, but I think I have this job on lock. Things are going as planned, but I will need to start acquiring more clients to solidify my client base for a larger and more consistent income.

- Sold my road bike yesterday. Was very sad to see it go, but it has a happy owner now. Also sold a couple of other small items, but once I get back from Thailand in April, it will be time to put up my furniture and TV for sale.

- I plan to make an announcement informing my family of my plans sometime in April, after my BKK trip. I expect to get moderate to heavy resistance from those closest to me (especially mother and sister) and to get mild support from extended family and friends. I will be asking them to help me with storage of certain items and maybe my car.

Next update in April, unless something major happens sooner than that.

Post: #68

^^^
What new credit card did you get?

I hear ya on the road bike. I had some good times riding with a buddy - and picking up chicks at the park using it

Finally, in your announcement, will you have a definitive leave date?

Enjoying the updates.

Post: #69

I got the Quicksilver Capital One rewards card, it was recommended in one thread here about the best credit cards to use when traveling.

I'll keep the leave date somewhat flexible. Mid-July, more or less. I have to vacate my apartment by June 20, though.

Post: #70

- Make sure you use your Quicksilver card when using uber. You get a 20% discount on all rides.

- Get at least one more credit card as a back up.

- Schwab is the shit. There is a $1,000 per day ATM withdrawal limit. If you ever want to buy something like a motorcycle you can call them up and ask them to raise your limit to $5,000 for 24 hours and make as many ATM withdrawals as you need. I have needed this several times. When you need to pay 2 months deposit + first and last months rent that can add up to a lot of cash you need.

Post: #71

Watch and learn from this thread guys. If you really want to do this, you can make it happen.

In the beginning I admit that I wondered how committed CS was to becoming location independent. Waiting a year to quit seemed like overkill to me as lots of guys bail before that.

However, I've since corresponded with him offline and seen him make some amazing progress.

This guy is a machine of organization and is absolutely determined to achieve his goals. I'm now 100% certain that he will be successful with his endeavours.

Looking forward to welcoming another RVFer to Team Location Independent! And see you soon in Asia.

Post: #72

I've been reading a few posts on the Thailand backpacking groups about the Thai police coming down heavy on scooter riders who do not have the proper licence to ride. It may be worth looking into getting an international drivers licence if you haven't already done so.

Post: #73

^^^ Thanks guys for the tips and encouragement.

I'm glad I gave myself a year to do this. While dropping everything and getting on the first plane out is appealing, I was in no way prepared to make a semi-permanent move at the time, plus my savings would have been 70-80% spent by now as I was (and still am) feeling my way through making money through a portable business. Plus that annual bonus would buy me a year minimum, probably 2 years in SEA, if I just stick it out a bit longer.

It might have been easier for an 18-22 year old to up and go - just like that - but as a 36 year old I have lots of entanglements and roots here. It's this untangling process that takes a lot of time... and it seems my to-do list is getting longer and longer despite systematically checking them off as I go. But I fully expected this, so that's already been factored into my plans.

Post: #74

(02-19-2016 12:07 PM)CleanSlate Wrote:  I got the Quicksilver Capital One rewards card, it was recommended in one thread here about the best credit cards to use when traveling.

I'll keep the leave date somewhat flexible. Mid-July, more or less. I have to vacate my apartment by June 20, though.

What's the best card to use to rack up miles? I've haven't had a CC in years...

Post: #75

Another thing to consider would be expiry dates on your cards / documents. I've just realised that my drivers licence expires the end of this year, and my bank card the beginning of next year. No doubt it would be easier to renew anything with a close expiry date before you go, rather than when abroad.