Hey thereReader! Sorry, it's been a while! I feel like a reintroduction is in order! I'm Carlos, that guy from A Brother Abroad who promised to help you travel better. Remember me? Well, it's been 7 years since I boarded that one-way plane to Bangkok for "just one year of travel" and I'm still here, wandering the world! Although I have to admit, I've changed a lot, travel has changed, a lot, and how I help you better is going to change a lot! First off, let me apologize for leaving your email inbox dry, and let me tell you how that's going to change. For the last 4 years, I was "stuck" on Bali. Though I was able to travel on short stints to my favorite places in Asia – Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia – I was too tied up to wander the way a nomad is meant to. You see, during the pandemic, I made the very "adventurous" decision to buy a bit of land near the beach in Bali...and build a house. You read that right. I sketched out a picture of my dream home - a concrete surf shack - and without fully speaking the Indonesian language, and without ever having built anything beyond Legos, I launched into designing and building a surf villa in Bali. It was a beautiful disaster that left me chained to a plot of ricefield in Bali a bit longer than I planned! It was chaos from start to finish that went from fun, to educational, to nerve-wracking, into a lawsuit, and finally culmination. In the end, I love the result. A simple concrete box in paradise, with big comfy furniture, a massive garden with tons of tomatoes, and countless coconut trees that I grew from coconuts I found on the beach, all tucked into a surf village as my base to retreat to halfway around the world. It's the home I never knew I needed, and never knew I was traveling the world in search of. The villa compound, which compounds urban industrial design with 100’s of plants and trees is a cross benefit the best of my old home in California with open green spaces and surf culture, and my new home in Bali. It's Balifornia. My new base between travels, and a wonderful outcome from a risky adventure. But another result of this adventure was the discoveries I made during my short trips away from my surf shack in progress. I realized that travel and nomading have drastically changed since the end of the pandemic and pre-pandemic days. More importantly, your preferences for traveling and your ideal “dream life abroad” have changed as well. The same way my own adventure shifted from quickly backpacking to the best of the world, to building a base in the surf village I now call home…or at least one of my homes. During the 2 year long construction, I wasn't feeling energized enough to wander and travel like I had in the past. Instead, I took my months of vacation from construction to live in the best nomad hubs in Asia to recharge. Fukuoka. Chiang Mai. Kuala Lumpur. Kyoto. I soaked up the food. I soaked up the culture. But most importantly, I soaked up the nomad community and connected with other nomads who were escaping post-pandemic prisons. I learned... People do still love to travel abroad, but they want to live abroad much more. People do want to nomad, working and wandering between destinations, but increasingly they want to make a home some place abroad, and travel between stints of the expat life in a destination that leaves them satisfied just living a normal life. And I have a feeling you're like these people I met who are living abroad...or at least you want to be. You don't need itineraries to the places you dream of. You just need an escape plan, and to understand how those who live abroad stay abroad so you can copy their plan So, from here on out, twice a week, I'll pop into your inbox with what you need to know to make a life abroad possible, and how others make it happen. I'll also share.. · How to earn money to go abroad, and how to make money on the road. · Where to find the perfect long term destination for you, a base, a home, deliver high quality for cheap, · How to find the community that makes a life abroad richer - locals, nomads, and expats. · The best visas in nice countries that allow long stays (1+ years), residencies, and citizenship easily. · How to buy and own a home abroad, once you find a country you like Then, the complex yet interesting details of avoiding loads of taxes, understanding how to invest for a life abroad, and building a community of people in the home you choose. In my time living the best of Asia in the last 4 years, these issues repeatedly came as the pressing issues people would love solved. So, what does this mean? Every week, I'll email you twice to help you figure out how to go abroad, and how to live abroad better. Tomorrow, as I settle into Buenos Aires, I’ll tell you how. Stay tuned, Carlos P.S. Have a question about travel or living abroad? Hit reply, ask your question, and I'm happy to answer! |
After 10 years of travel and living abroad in 60+ countries, I now share the essential advice nomads and digital expats need on the destinations and places to live, visas & residencies, taxes, income ideas, and news about living abroad - to make the most of your experience as a global nomad or digital expat.
Hey Reader! Sometimes, I try to write the amazing stories of travel that will hopefully inspire you to take that leap, book that ticket, and find a way to start traveling the world! Other times I write to share tactical advice through guides and straightforward information, to help you find your happy place in the world as a nomad or lifestyle expat, as easily as possible, sharing the tidbits that I wish 25 year me would have known. However, today, I want to take you on a journey with me, as...
Reader, I need your help to figure out how best to help you live that life abroad that you're dreaming of... With every email I send, I chase the sole goal of inspiring you to escape to that beautiful life abroad that you know is possible then give you the information and tools to make escaping to your new life possible. Writing about living abroad, wandering the world, and how you can craft a “global lifestyle” from the life in front of you is a deep passion of mine. I only write for two...
Hey Reader! Carlos here, writing you from Medellin, Colombia, with some fun travel updates and thoughts for your chill Saturday. Being here in the green and beautiful El Pobaldo neighborhood (which I call the Beverly Hills of Medellin)and Medellin in general, also known as the “city of eternal spring,” have me in an amazing mood! If there is one place you need to visit that’s insanely underrated (even with the great reputation it already has) it’s Colombia. Plus, if you are considering moving...