Comments on: 8 Reasons Why You Should Work in a Foreign Country

By: John

John — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:23:05 +0000

Actually, I am Canadian and we don’t have to pay taxes in Canada if we are paying them somewhere else.
Maybe some Americans can answer that question???

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:03:10 +0000

Hi John – May I ask where one pays their taxes to the US if working abroad? Do we just pay Federal, or do we also have to pay State taxes somewhere?
.-= Financial Samurai´s last blog ..Why The World Forgives Rich And Famous People For Cheating =-.

By: John

John — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:09:21 +0000

@Brian Smith
Thanks for the great comment and yes you are correct on both accounts.

I personally like change, it is difficult to hate any new job in the beginning at least. That is why I think it is a welcome change for most people. They won”t hate the job in the beginning because there will be so many new things to experience. However, if you are not the adventurous type, it may be too much to handle like you suggest. I have seen a couple of those situations as well.

Your second point is 100% correct. Traveling to escape personal issues is not going to work. In my case, I needed a major life reset and couldn’t do it in my home city. Radically changing everything was the only way to break from my old habits and ways of thinking. This is the type of “baggage” I was referring to.

By: Brian Smith

Brian Smith — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:39:18 +0000

John:

I really enjoyed this post, but I’ve got two observations. One – if a person isn’t a traveler or adventurous at heart, they will likely be even more stressed by working a job that they hate in a foreign country. For those of us that are adventurous, I agree with you.

My second point is that I don’t think that anyone should simply move to a new country to escape any baggage that they may have in their home country. If you haven’t rectified any situation which you would consider “baggage” moving to the other side of the world will only delay the reemergence of those issues. Running from problems is not a solution (I do think that many location independent persons chose such a lifestyle for this exact purpose, but many will tell you that the approach fails.)

All in all, a great post! I just wanted to add my two cents.

Thanks for the great content, John.

-Brian

By: 13 More Location-Independents, Digital Nomads, and Perpetual Travelers to Follow on Twitter | Thrilling Heroics

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:51:21 +0000

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By: Brian

Brian — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:46:27 +0000

Wow, did #5 hit home. I’m in the States, and about a year ago I got fired up and fed up enough with working that I quit my job to go out and do web consulting. Now, web consulting is not my passion. Beer is my passion.

So, I have sort of floundered around with the web stuff, not really wanting to try hard to get new business, because deep down I don’t really WANT the new business. So, I’ve decided to try and jump full steam into the beer world. However, since I have no professional experience in the production, retail, or service ends of this, it’s hard to find anything but entry level positions. That includes things like waiter, stocker, delivery truck driver.

And living in a city where some people know me as a web guy, the thought of running into these people in a restaurant and taking their order is quite humbling. That baggage and inhibition has really hindered me from making the jump.

However, I’m about ready to move on to the next phase of my life, here or somewhere else. Pride is no longer an option. Sometimes you have to get desperate to be motivated to act!