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Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

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Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#191

Post by turbojerry »

jhome wrote: post #176
turbojerry wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The DSL service we have had over the last year in Los Gigantes in Tenerife has been atrocious, down from 3Mbps to under 1Mbps, we are better off with a 3G connection and if you go with UKs 3 network you can roam there and use up to 250GB a month on the all you can eat plan.

Sadly 3 stopped all-you-can-eat tethering in December. People were using insane amounts - significantly more than 250GB.

Thanks, I hadn't noticed that, now it looks like only 25GB and no hotspot, I'll have to try Canaries Wireless next time I'm out there.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#192

Post by ben_pr »

johnm1019 wrote: post #158
lifeisstillgood wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I just clarify - you work remotely for NY finance industry, at presumably near NY rates, paying 4% coproation tax and no tax on dividends from that income? With tropical weather. What's the schooling like?

If you're a US citizen it's not so easy. You are taxed on your worldwide income no matter what. There is a deduction for living abroad on the first $100,800 (2015) of income or you can also take a credit for income taxes paid to another country. You also need to pay into SS and Medicare either in the US or in another country which we have a treaty with. Don't get me wrong, getting the first $101k @ 4% tax sounds pret…

Most people do not realize that Puerto Rico is not a foreign country for U.S citizens and so while this may be good points for other situations it does not apply to Puerto Rico.

You are correct on the SS and medicare but the assumption is if you are the business owner the majority of your income will be dividends and not subject to SS or Medicare, so just the 4% tax applies.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#193

Post by slayed0 »

getsat wrote: post #146
slayed0 wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well I get off work at about 2:45pm which leaves ~5 hours of daylight after work. I go to bed at about 9pm and feel much better than I ever have energy-wise. You can argue that these were not choices I got to make, and maybe I just have stocklholm syndrome, but I sure do not miss browsing the internet until late into the night and waking up groggy every day. Plus on the weekends I wake up with the sunrise, which actu…

Where do you work, if I may ask? This kind of arrangement would actually make living near and working in SF tolerable. No traffic getting into/out of the city at those times.

Because of the way financial institutions like ours are regulated, it would actually be a SEC violation to mention the name here (silly I know but it can technically be considered a form of marketing and we are very restricted in the ways we can market). I put my email address on my profile page if you would like to discuss further.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#194

Post by ashconnor »

prawn wrote: post #160
hingisundhorsa wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No locals were out of a job Could you explain how you formed that conclusion? > They lived there as tourists so paid a lot more into the local economy than locals How did you determine that? I've lived as a hippie in India, similar to what Steve Jobs did. I spent 0 money and lived off the temple welfare system. I was exploiting the generosity of people who had a thousandth the resources and welfare that I had. I wa…

They put more into the Thai economy (renting a house, buying products, paying for services) and didn't take any money out (all earnings were from existing clients abroad). It might contravene visa issues from a literal read, but I think the intent was fair. Many Australians would call this "the vibe of the thing" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJuXIq7OazQ

By that logic. Rental prices would go up, as foreign demand for property increases, pricing locals out of the market in the process, because they cannot compete with foreign earned salaries. Not just rentals, goods and services go up.

Increased strain on policing and hospitals. Strain on Thailand's subsidised public transport system, subsidised diesel fuel, subsidised water utilities.

No tax revenue from foreign workers as they don't declare in Thailand despite being required to do so by law. The only exception being VAT.

The general point of nomads working in Thailand is the ability to lower outgoings beyond what you could do in North America or Europe. Nomads don't spend cash like tourists and that makes them a drain on the economy.

So what's Thailand got to lose from allowing foreigners to set up shop. Well the huge fees required to be legal for one.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#195

Post by ashconnor »

jtf2 wrote: post #110
technomancy wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not financially motivated; it has more to do with nationalistic pride. They are very proud of the fact that they're the only SE Asian nation never to have been conquered by a western power. They are rightly wary of western power being exerted now through corporations rather than through a military, because that's how things work these days, so they limit the ability for western companies to make inroads here. (F…

My brother and I have been doing business in SEA for about 15 years now (exporting), and have looked into what is required to set up shop in Thailand or Indonesia. Limitations such as max 95% foreign ownership (Indo) end up with local lawyers or accountants owning 5% of the companies that are set up and are figureheads there to fulfill government requirements. Or in Thailand where many industries are only open to Tha…

It's the same in Thailand.

49% foreign ownership max, unless you are American.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#196

Post by simonebrunozzi »

ben_pr wrote: post #78
Kiro wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is the crime?

It's not too different than Atlanta, there are places to avoid and places that are OK. The west side of the island from Yauco around to the top center are going to be on par with most suburbs in Atlanta, San Juan and east are a more dicey. On the east side Palmas del Mar is very safe. I've never had a problem here or felt in danger.

Ben, I think you should write a blog post about your experience. Many of us would love to hear more about it, including me.

Re: Working Remotely From A Tropical Island In Thailand

#197

Post by socialist_coder »

stephenr wrote: post #188
socialist_coder wrote: post #153

This is great. My startup is really similar. We also value people over profits (and we're profitable!), we all work remotely, and we all meetup in random places for a few weeks so we can get a vacation plus some face-to-face working time in. So far, it's been awesome. We've only done 1 meetup so far, at a ski chalet in the Alps, and it was great. The significant others & kids came for 1 week, and then we had 2 weeks…

Why would you assume SE Asia has worse internet connectivity options than other countries? the vast majority of people here use just a smartphone or maybe a tablet to access the internet. 3G is fairly ubiquitous, 4G is in major locations, and data is relatively cheap. (I don't bother with a local Sim when I go back to Australia - it's literally cheaper to roam and use data via my Thai SIM than to pay for Telstra prep…

Because when travelling through SE Asia previously, the wifi was generally terrible. I didn't realize the mobile data was that good.
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