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Given the opportunity move somewhere where your rent to pay ratio is better.
I'd make more living in a big city. I have much more leftover every month by living in a small town far away from everything.
Even better, move countries while keeping your job if possible. Rent is now 3% of my salary after tax.
"Digital nomad, go home" is literally spray painted outside your window, right?
This guy Barcelonas
I'm not a digital nomad. I'm employed and pay my taxes.
It's more about you going to a poor country, and raising the cost of living of the communities there by telegraphing to landlords and retailers that you will happily pay X% markup for goods and services.
Who told you I'm paying any markups? Nobody is aware of my income, and I'm paying the same prices anybody else does.
Any more assumptions?
Locals: shop around for the place that sells it at the lowest cost. Take extra time to go to different stores for different products even if they're all available in one place. Regular price too high? Vote with your wallet and don't buy it. Good price but you don't have much money? Buy less.
Wealthy foreigner: This is cheap. I'll take it.
No one needs to know your income. The price may be the same for everyone, but if you're willing to pay a higher price, then they'll be more likely to keep the higher price, thus reducing everyone else's buying power. If you buy more than the locals and help eat up their stock, that again incentivises keeping prices where they are, or even increasing them. The storekeepers don't care about how much money you have. They look at whether things sell or not, then make their decisions based on that.
There's only one supermarket near me, everybody goes there.
And everybody buys all the rest online. I don't shop in malls because the prices are inflated. Even if I don't need to watch every penny, it doesn't mean I shouldn't.
Yes, many. Rent is 3% of your salary and you don't believe that that automatically grants you far more buying power than others?
You will never have to make the choice of paying for treatment or food, and retailers and insurers see this as a stat they can bank on to jack local prices.
Of course it grants me more buying power, but that doesn't mean I'm using it. 80% of my income goes to savings, my lifestyle is no different to my next door neighbors, for whom the 20% I do spend is all they have. The only difference is that for every month I work, I can retire 4 month early.
Fair enough. To be fair, I don't know you. I just wanted you to be in the category of digital nomads that I can rage against because the world is expensive and unjust, and if I'm suffering through it then so should you.
But that's not fair to you. Sorry for pinning my frustrations on you, and I'll try to be better in the future
No worries, it happens. Thanks for speaking it out though rather than just walking away, that really says something about your character. Much appreciated!
Employed by the country you live in..? Doesn't sound like it. How are you not a digital nomad?
I am employed in the country where I live, correct. Hence, not a digital nomad, as stated.
Instead I'm using an EOR (employer of records). My company pays them, they run the payroll and taxes, and pay me domestically. Win-win.
I’m sorry but what in the shit.
Boss is in Palo Alto and you’re in the no-data-found part of Greenland??
Greenland is surprisingly expensive. I'm actually in China right now, and will be off to Malaysia soon.
China’s really that cheap? 3% did you say?!
Depending on where you live, yes. I'm in the far outskirts of a mid sized city (12 million people...). If you live dead center, the rents easily quadruple and more. My salary is also above the local standard, so it's really a mix of both.
Noice!
Work-pay-lifestyle, I'd offer.
Our rent is high. Our pay is high. But almost everything I need is within a 10-minute walk. I haven't driven in months but I need new shoes and I'm 100% okay with that.
If I could move to a place with the same or better climate, keep my jobs and still have the daily living improvements of this area for a little cheaper, I would.
There's a HUD study that basically says the same thing. That people who receive housing vouchers and live in HCOL areas have better outcomes than people who live in LCOL areas. Not just because income to housing ratio is better, but also because of better education and job opportunities in high density areas.
You also have the advantage of percentage based employer retirement contributions and health insurance costs being relatively similar, so you're getting more benefit from higher pay.