Today’s guest is Sam Rivello, who left his home in Los Angeles, California in 2010 as a ‘life experiment’ to combine work and travel to see the world. Since then, he has spent “1 minute or more” in 81 countries, with an average time of 58 days per country. Over the past 12 months, he has travelled extensively throughout Africa and plans to spend at least another 12 months seeing what this amazing continent has to offer. Sam and I have a lot in common, and this discussion is chock full of nuggets of wisdom on every step of the expat journey. Enjoy!

TODAY’S CONVERSATION WITH SAM RIVELLO

• Listen in to hear Sam recount how he decided to try the “life experiment” of working while travelling “for two years” – which is still going strong thirteen years later! Wow!
• Sam reflects on what it was like becoming a “digital nomad” before the term was popularized – and the infrastructure challenges that came along with it.
• We discuss the importance of setting personal boundaries when it comes to technology and the constant challenge of drawing a hard line between work and personal time.
• Sam explains how he made the professional choice to take more long-term ownership and responsibility for his own lifestyle as a full-time expat, to ensure balance in all areas of life.
• Listen as Sam breaks down the challenge of expats and those leading a digital lifestyle to break a lot of their old mindsets in order to make the lifestyle sustainable for them.
• We discuss the concept of “nomad burnout” as Sam explains what led to his decision to live for an extended period of time as an expat in Scandinavia.
• Sam details how the Danes have a very different concept of what entails “friendship” and the difficulty of breaking into pre-established friend groups there in Denmark.
• We dig into our shared view that the expat lifestyle is a fantastic vehicle for learning, which makes it perfect for those with a passion for learning as Sam and I both hold.
• We then discuss some of the reasons that many live vicariously through other expats instead of pulling the trigger and giving it a shot themselves. I’ve heard a ton of these before!
• Sam lays out some of the top reasons that some expats end up burning out from the lifestyle. Be sure to listen in for his advice on how to make sure this doesn’t happen to you!
• Listen to Sam’s insights on the key to learning a new language. Hint: there are no shortcuts!

RELATED EPISODES

209: Life As A Long-Term Digital Nomad – Kristin Wilson168: Digital Nomad Mindset Tips and Challenges150: – Six Months In Florianopolis, Brazil – Mikkel ThorupHOW TO REACH SAM RIVELLO

Website: https://www.SamuelAsherRivello.com/Contact: https://www.SamuelAsherRivello.com/Contact/Grab My New Book On Being A Digital Nomad

Digital Nomad Visas

CONCLUSION

Sam and I have a lot in common when it comes to our passion for travel as a challenge to learn and grow from. It was an absolute pleasure to learn from his efforts and struggles as an expat, and this discussion is a great example of the value of becoming an expat and what it can bring to your life.

The post 240: Ahead Of The Curve: Sam Rivello’s Early Adventures In Digital Nomadism appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

Today, I am going to share a conversation I had on The Tom Woods Show. This interview has gotten such a great response since it first aired that I wanted to share it here with you to make sure you didn’t miss it.

Tom didn’t let me off easy and really put me on the hot seat, bringing up a ton of objections that many who are first hearing about the expat lifestyle tend to come up with.

Answering Common Expat Objections

• In this discussion, I respond to some common “black pilled” takes that Tom has heard about the negative side of expatriation, dispelling the notion that the advantages you can achieve outside your country of birth aren’t all that great when you break it down.
• There is no Shangri-La – no perfect libertarian country in the world. It does not exist. But that’s not to be said that we can’t get more freedom in our lives by being overseas or by jurisdiction shopping.
• I explain to Tom exactly what FATCA – the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act –  is and how it works, and why it’s even caused some Americans to go as far as to renounce their U.S. citizenship!
• I address Tom’s concern that whatever problems you have in the U.S., they may very well be worse outside the U.S., as was the case in certain countries when it came to COVID restrictions.
• Tom and I talk about how Americans can utilize the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to greatly reduce their tax burden while living overseas.
• I break down the concept of citizenship by investment and how the process typically unfolds for those with substantial funds to invest overseas.
• I lay out the many reasons to have a second passport, even if you do not plan to live outside your home country!
• I provide some definitive first steps to take for those that have caught the expat bug and are ready to take their expat journey to the next level.

RELATED EPISODES

221: What The World Can Expect In 2023 – Ron Paul

170: Searching For Freedom In Mexico – Marc Clair

093: Why Are People Leaving The USA – Travis Luther

PURCHASE THE EXPATS GUIDE TO MOVING TO MEXICO

Get your own copy of the Expats Guide on Moving to Mexico and after you read the book, do us a HUGE favour and leave us a great review on Amazon! This is a huge help in getting the book in front of more people.

THE EXPAT MONEY SUMMIT

We also discussed the Expat Money Summit a bit, and even though this was from last year, we will be doing another summit this year, so you can head to this link and grab a FREE ticket to the largest expat event of the year.

CONCLUSION

I hope you enjoyed today’s conversation on The Tom Woods Show. Tom is an excellent interviewer, and I loved how he pressed me on some of the common objections people who are first learning about the expat lifestyle often hold. These are questions that don’t often come up here on the Expat Money Show, where I primarily interview those who are already on the expat journey, so it was a great change of pace.

This is the perfect episode to share with a friend or family member who has expressed interest in the expat lifestyle but has been hesitant to pursue it further due to many of the objections addressed in this conversation.

See you all next Wednesday on the podcast!

The post 236: Debunking Expat Myths: Mikkel Thorup Sets the Record Straight on The Tom Woods Show appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.

Francisco Litvay is the Co-founder of Settee, an internationalization company. At age 17, he moved from Brazil and, at 21, became a digital nomad, having been in more than 20 countries on 4 continents since then.

He specializes in Special Economic Zones and Charter Cities and is an ambassador for the Free Private Cities Foundation and Head of Internationalization at the Adrianople Group, a business intelligence firm focused on special jurisdictions.

TODAY’S CONVERSATION WITH FRANCISCO

• Today I chat with Francisco Litvay about the power of free cities and private cities and how they just work better. If you’re new to this idea, listen to the entire podcast, there’s so much we unpack.
• We discuss the possibility of creating a voluntary system of government and how that can help your business, how you can pay less taxes, and how free zones can help you move to different countries.
• And if you’ve ever wondered how each of my podcast episodes is connected, week after week, I’ll let you in on the secret during this show.  
• A fascinating conversation on the practicality of libertarianism, what are the big projects in this space really have legs, things that are up and coming and what Francisco is working on right now.
• Francisco and I talk about ZEDEs, the concept, and the value they bring to the world. We talk a lot about Honduras and what it will mean to the country, but there are many around the world. 
• We delve into other jurisdictions like Uruguay and the UAE, how their governments have handled special economic zones, and what the incentives are for businesses set up in these zones.
• You’ve decided that you love the idea of a free zone, and you want to participate; Francisco discusses the company formation side, the banking side, the living side, and anything you can actually do to increase your own freedom using this vehicle and this varies from country to country, so listen carefully.
• Special Economic Zones in Africa? Countries like São Tomé and Príncipe or Nigeria. Maybe these are great alternative countries and islands that we should look at?
• If you want to see where all of the special economic zones are across the world, basically every zone on earth, go to Open Zone Map. If it’s a charter city, a free zone, a free port, private or public, or if you really want to learn about zones and see where there are opportunities close to you, check out the open zone map; I’ll give you the link below.

HOW TO REACH FRANCISCO LITVAY

Adrianople Group – https://www.adrianoplegroup.com

Open Zone Map – https://www.openzonemap.com

Internationalization website (for Portuguese Speakers): https://settee.io

Francisco’s contact: @franlitvay on every social media

RELATED EPISODES 

196: How To Make Friends With Warlords And Other Dangerous Individuals – Kolja Spori

192: Building Free Private Cities Around The World – Peter Young 

CONCLUSION

This is a super exciting topic for my clients and for me. I love learning about ZEDEs, free private cities, and special economic zones around the world. I’m also grateful to be connected with people who really understand what’s going on in the world today.

Don’t miss this episode!

The post 202: The Startup City Concept: Francisco Litvay’s Insights appeared first on The Expat Money Show - With Mikkel Thorup.