…if I work online as a contractor, and don’t take any jobs from the local economy. I don’t see how they could care if you don’t take any of their jobs. If i make, say the equivalent of $15 an hour, I cold live like a king over there.
Yes. However I’d say it depends upon the type of computer programming you do. I cut my teeth as an assembler language programmer for *a major airline. The reservations systems between airlines, hotels trains, etc. are all very similar. We are a small family, so to speak, and cross industries all the time, and always see familiar faces. Anyway, my point in all that is that a very good friend of mine owns a house in the Azores, and lives there perhaps 2 or 3 months a years. Her house (and her husband’s of course), Santa Rosa is an awsome place. My wife and I honeymooned there! Anyway, she’s also trying to become a citizen of Ireland, where she wants to live and telecommute to her American programming job in Washington DC, from Ireland and the Azores.
If you want an awesome place to vacation, check out the Azores. The above mentioned Santa Rosa is available for rent.
I agree with Enright3. It’s absolutely possible. However, you have to have a reputation in the industry as one who gets the work done, and typically you have to work in a specific niche such that there are no local contractors who could do the job. Most companies would just as well not deal with the hassle of working with someone on the other side of the world unless they know you are a specific talented person.
Ed
I work from home nowadays, and could really work anywhere since it’s a technical job. So I’ve given this some thought, especially since I would be making full US wages…
The tricky parts seem like they would be:[ol]
[li]Different time zones. People expect you to be available on either East or West coast time. OK for Mexico, a problem for Thailand.[/li][li]Tourist visas are only good for 6 months.[/li][li]Getting a decent internet connection can be hard unless you want to hang out in internet cafes all day.[/li]If anyone does want to see you in person, it could be an issue.[/ol]
You often need some kind of a visa to take up residence in a foreign country, regardless of whether you are working there or not, although depending on where you are you may be able to leave the country regularly and re-enter. (That’s an expense, though.)
Also keep in mind that you would still be liable for US taxes, and while you might be able to live just fine, “living like a king” might depend on your definition of “king.” Foreigners often pay a premium for essentials like housing, and even if you are fluent in the local language you will have difficulty getting the price down - people in developing countries have an understandable tendency to get dollar signs in their eyes when they see foreigners. Some non-local items that you might not want to do without, such as western-style transportation or your favorite peanut butter or cereal, can actually be substantially more expensive than in the US.
Although I would never recommend it, many farangs (Westerners) live here in Thailand and work illegally on a Tourist visa, leaving the country every three months to renew it. There are whole companies dedicated to helping you make your periodic “visa run.” The government from time to time announces that they’re finally going to “get tough” with these people – some have been living here 10 or 20 years or more on a Tourist visa, crossing the border every three months – but they never seem to get all that serious about it.
So it is doable. The thing is, if you are living here and making money while you are living here regardless of the source, the government will want you to pay income tax. Even English teachers working illegally still pay income tax. If you want to avoid the hassle of leaving the country every three months, you will have to be on a Non-Immigrant visa, which is renewable annually without having to leave the country, and that means you’re going to have to show the source of your income. One of the things I must show Immigration every year is my Thai tax return.
I’ve never had to do visa runs myself, and I have to say it sounds like a nice little break, but everyone I’ve ever known who have had to do them quickly came to consider them nothing but a big hassle.
So I dunno. Might be worth trying for a while and see how it works out.
It depends on the specific laws of the country you want to move to; you may also have to pay taxes (depending on both countries) in both the receiving country and your country of origin.
In Spain one of the kinds of people who have been moving into dwindling villages, buying an old (and huge) house and restoring it, are foreign telecommuters. It’s not something common enough to make jokes about it - yet.
I’m in a similar (and no Visa runs) situation right now: I work for a Spanish company which has me subcontracted to another Spanish company which has subcontracted me to yet a third Spanish company… which has sent me to work at their Scottish division. I get paid in Spain, by a Spanish company, my commercial contract with the first company in the chain is drawn according to Spanish law; the only reason I sit my butt on a Scottish chair is for the convenience of and ease of communication with the Scots, part of our team works from Spain. My income taxes are paid in Spain (including healthcare related ones) and I don’t need a UK SSN (I’m from Spain, so no work permit would be required in any case). I do pay Council Tax in Scotland, since that’s due to renting a flat in Scotland (I’d pay VAT instead if I lived in hotels).