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Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

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Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#81
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, the world's 45th most powerful passport. [0]: https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php

It seems like this is hugely effected by covid ban right now. A large % of countries that are just enter - italy as an example - are counted as Red given the covid ban.

Yes, OP is thinking about leaving now.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#82
post #33

I am approaching one year off right now, and will probably take all of 2021 off. I really love it, but I'm also very introverted. I am working on a dream project, basically before I die I want to build something cool, that's important to me. I think the most important thing is keep an eye on your runway, and if/when you need to get back into the work force, make sure you're still on top of whatever it is you do. For…

I’m in a similar boat, have a dream project I want to accomplish or atleast give it a serious go before I die, so I quit my job moved to a third world country and am basically rebuilding my toolset in ml to see if it can be used to tackle that problem

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#83
I’ve quit my job a couple months ago and moved to a third world country. Expenses here are only a fraction of us and I don’t have to worry about medical insurance. and am expecting to take at least 8 months to a year. I’ve been working as a software engineer for about 9 years so I feel like it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate my goals for the next ten years, as well as learn whatever I find interesting. We in the software field are privileged, and it is the responsibility of privileged people to pursue creative endeavors to benefit humanity instead of being a hamster on a treadmill

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#84
My only advice is to enjoy it.

I had 6 weeks off for paternity leave. It was magical. I was only getting 5 hours of sleep, but I was more well rested than when I was getting 8 hours due to not having any work stress. I was able to do a bunch of projects around the house too.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#85
post #51
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bocas Del Toro, Panama is fun, safe (crime but it's only property/opportunity), and cheap island to setup at. Lots of expats, rent starts at $250 , I might even see you there

Any experience working remote there. I imagine if you can earn a six-figure salary as a digital nomad but keep your monthly expenses to less than $1,500 you'd be able to retire within a decade. I've seen the rat race to the top, but aside from taking some shallow pride in making a lot of money I don't really see the point.

Yes I did work remote there, the maximum internet speed you'll get is 5mpbs/1mps , and it's flaky.

It goes down once a day , you'll want to be setup to work through the down times ( offline documentation, be able to fake connections etc ).

You wont be able to Zoom, but you can get a google number and use a local telephone if that works.

But yeah I'm with you on working less and enjoying life more, that you can definitely do there. There is actually a lot of similarly minded people ( expat Americans and Canadians ), doing the same thing. I love it there, as soon as the Pandemic flushes out I'm going back, though I'm trying to get out of software work.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#86
post #85
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any experience working remote there. I imagine if you can earn a six-figure salary as a digital nomad but keep your monthly expenses to less than $1,500 you'd be able to retire within a decade. I've seen the rat race to the top, but aside from taking some shallow pride in making a lot of money I don't really see the point.

Yes I did work remote there, the maximum internet speed you'll get is 5mpbs/1mps , and it's flaky. It goes down once a day , you'll want to be setup to work through the down times ( offline documentation, be able to fake connections etc ). You wont be able to Zoom, but you can get a google number and use a local telephone if that works. But yeah I'm with you on working less and enjoying life more, that you can defini…

What if I pick a fast internet county like South Korea ?

I'd also know what's the best thing to do tax wise, I'm working on getting a nomad visa, does Corp to Corp work , should I create an LLC ?

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#87
post #86
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes I did work remote there, the maximum internet speed you'll get is 5mpbs/1mps , and it's flaky. It goes down once a day , you'll want to be setup to work through the down times ( offline documentation, be able to fake connections etc ). You wont be able to Zoom, but you can get a google number and use a local telephone if that works. But yeah I'm with you on working less and enjoying life more, that you can defini…

What if I pick a fast internet county like South Korea ? I'd also know what's the best thing to do tax wise, I'm working on getting a nomad visa, does Corp to Corp work , should I create an LLC ?

There are many countries in Asia that fit the "decent internet" requirement if you are able to put up with the timezone difference: SKorea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia (and I'm sure many more). Quite a few of them are also pretty cheap (SKorea would be on the expensive end of the spectrum)

I've been living in Taiwan for ~5 years now and have 1GB/down 40MB/up internet to my apartment that costs around $40USD/month. Total living expenses for a family of 3 are around $2kUSD a month.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#88
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if I pick a fast internet county like South Korea ? I'd also know what's the best thing to do tax wise, I'm working on getting a nomad visa, does Corp to Corp work , should I create an LLC ?

There are many countries in Asia that fit the "decent internet" requirement if you are able to put up with the timezone difference: SKorea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia (and I'm sure many more). Quite a few of them are also pretty cheap (SKorea would be on the expensive end of the spectrum) I've been living in Taiwan for ~5 years now and have 1GB/down 40MB/up internet to my apartment that costs around $40USD/mon…

Great, how do you file taxes though . That's my main concern, I assume most American employers will be weirded out if you put down a foreign address.

Do you contract Corp To Corp ?

The absolute dream would be to live off 2 or 3k a month , but still pull down 10k or so from a remote job. I want to retire early.

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#89
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many countries in Asia that fit the "decent internet" requirement if you are able to put up with the timezone difference: SKorea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia (and I'm sure many more). Quite a few of them are also pretty cheap (SKorea would be on the expensive end of the spectrum) I've been living in Taiwan for ~5 years now and have 1GB/down 40MB/up internet to my apartment that costs around $40USD/mon…

Great, how do you file taxes though . That's my main concern, I assume most American employers will be weirded out if you put down a foreign address. Do you contract Corp To Corp ? The absolute dream would be to live off 2 or 3k a month , but still pull down 10k or so from a remote job. I want to retire early.

>The absolute dream would be to live off 2 or 3k a month , but still pull down 10k or so from a remote job. I want to retire early.

I've done that for a few years with an even bigger difference between income and expenses :) I'm set to quit working for money this year (see post history for more on that).

>Do you contract Corp To Corp?

I have a foreign corporation and invoice my US clients through that.

It sounds like you're a US citizen so a foreign corporation might not make sense in your case. The IRS is after your worldwide income and a foreign corporation isn't necessarily going to help avoid US taxation given that you'll have to disclose the ultimate beneficiary (you) to your US clients with the W8-BEN-E form.

A US LLC might be a better fit for you. Also look into the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion[0], which allows you to earn ~$100k free from US federal taxes if you spend the majority of the year outside of the US. You'll of course have to pay taxes wherever you reside as well, but it's a bit of a grey area if you don't spend >= 6mo anywhere. In that case, you could likely get away with only paying US federal taxes on the amount above the FEIE limit and pocketing the rest. But do consult professionals, don't trust me!

Good luck!

[0]: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/fore...

Re: Ask HN: Those who have taken extended time off, any advice?

#90
post #89
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great, how do you file taxes though . That's my main concern, I assume most American employers will be weirded out if you put down a foreign address. Do you contract Corp To Corp ? The absolute dream would be to live off 2 or 3k a month , but still pull down 10k or so from a remote job. I want to retire early.

>The absolute dream would be to live off 2 or 3k a month , but still pull down 10k or so from a remote job. I want to retire early. I've done that for a few years with an even bigger difference between income and expenses :) I'm set to quit working for money this year (see post history for more on that). >Do you contract Corp To Corp? I have a foreign corporation and invoice my US clients through that. It sounds like…

I'm in the process of establishing a US based LLC.

I figure clients would pay the LLC and then the LLC pays me.

> I've done that for a few years with an even bigger difference between income and expenses :) I'm set to quit working for money this year (see post history for more on that).

Awesome ! I don't have to really work for the rest of the year , but I want to save as much as I can so I can take a good long vacation. If working from overseas doesn't work out I could still live without work for a solid year or so.

Any other tips to share ?

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