Post: #1

I am currently weighing an option to go semi-nomadic (maintaining a residence in the United States and traveling frequently) against living abroad full-time.

Since I have location-independent W2 employment in the United States and our team is international, saying "I will be working from abroad for a while" is not a problem. I am, however, concerned about how they'll react to hearing "I will have no permanent residence".

My list of destinations are fairly mainstream, so I'm not worried about getting the evil eye for spending months in Bangkok. I simply don't want to appear undependable. There's also probably no way I can do this quietly, since they'll be involved in the tax fallout and I'll be connecting to the network from abroad.

An earlier thread from user poledaddy, in a very similar situation, prompted user presidentcarter to comment:

Quote:"I think if you show your cards and hint that you want to live abroad, it'll do a lot of damage. They'll see it as you having one foot out the door. Take it from me, when employers hear about your plans to move out of the country, not just a vacation, they will start to question your commitment, future availability, and overall sanity."

/thread-42643.html

Can anyone speak to this from experience? I am so used to both working remotely and traveling abroad that it doesn't feel extreme to me, but I can understand why going fully nomadic may appear outlandish to people with more conventional situations.

Post: #2

I see two trends happening with working remotely. Some employers are loving it and others who did it are getting away with it as many employees abuse it. The hard sell IMHO is that many people I know who work remote mabye come in 1 day a week or at least 1 day a month. Also if for some reason shit hit the fan and you needed to have an emergency meeting with your team, it's not really possible. I realize anything can be done via skype or onlien meetings but many people still value some face to face interaction.

Post: #3

Very interesting thread. It's something I'd like to figure out as well. Where I'm currently at, there are a number of people that work remotely, but they all have "serious" reasons such as: a spouse that needs to be in that particular city, family issues etc. No one I know so far has been able to move "just because" and continue working from there, so I'm not sure how I can pull it off at my current place of work.

I would suggest that unless you absolutely have to, don't tell them about your lack of a permanent residence. Or find one of those 100% remote companies that are becoming increasingly common these days.

Post: #4

As an employer having remote workers on 1099 works well for me

https://www.careerusa.org/resources/care...list-.html

Post: #5

What if you proposed a pay cut, say 20%, then moved to a 3rd world shit hole were the cost of living is significantly lower, think they'd buy that?

Post: #6

If you are truly allowed to work remotely then why would you need to inform them that you have no perm. residence?

"Pitching" them the nomadic lifestyle could also backfire on you. Yes they have remote and international workers but you underestimate the ENVY factor of American workplaces. The moment you share your enjoyment of this awesome lifestyle to them you risk loss of control of the job.

This is truly a "48 Laws of Power" case where you sharing your intentions could hurt you. Let them know you will work remote? Fine, if that is an accepted option in your office with minimal requirement to show up in person.

Another issue with your situation is that you want things both ways. I am not saying you can't have them both ways, but it doesn't always work. Can you (eventually) create zero dependence on this job so that you have the ultimate tool which is to say if you don't like it no problem I quit.

Post: #7

These are all good points, and yes, thinking it through, I can frame it in a way that doesn't draw attention to the lack of a residence. That's an issue that only becomes significant on my end, not theirs.

The trick is that payroll is calculated on our place of residence for tax purposes, so at some point I'm obligated to point out that my physical address...is not. I would prefer to be honest to the extent required rather than give the appearance of doing anything shady.

However, it occurs to me this is only of interest to the payroll company for tax purposes. An itinerant employee without a fixed worksite is not uncommon and this is probably a solved problem. I may even be able to handle it through their system without bringing it to management at all.

Going 1099 is also a valid answer and one they would likely cooperate with without asking for much additional information.

Post: #8

If you're allowed to work anywhere then just use a PO box as your permananent address or if you have family or friends get mail sent and redirected from there. No need to explain being a nomad.

Just make sure your travel doesn't get in the way of your work.

Post: #9

Its better to negotiate or compromise rather than pitch a remote position. In order to negotiate you need something to bargain with such as another offer. You can tell the company i'll stay if i can do this job remote, then your "pitch" will be heard loud and clear.

Post: #10

Sign up for a registered agent service that you like (should be under $100 a year) who also does scanning of mail. Tell the registered agent the name of the company is YOUR REAL NAME LLC. But that you often get mail in YOUR REAL NAME because they drop the LLC. In actuality maybe you never even open the LLC. Then tell everyone that your address is the one provided by the registered agent. Not all such services include mail so be sure what you are doing.

What you need is an address. The legal concept of "residence" is another thing entirely. Better ask the lawyers about that.