The Hype of GeoArbitrage
You might of heard about GeoArbitrage recently and for good reason! It means you’re on to something good. While it is still one of the most underrated forms of living in the world, it’s starting to gain popularity. If you’re new to the topic, don’t worry, we’re going to break down all the details behind what makes Geoarbitrage so special, how it can change your life, and how to get started!
What makes Geoarbitrage so special?
The great thing about geo arbitrage is the ability to live anywhere in the world while also earning money from your home country.
Tim Ferriss beautifully explains it when he says, “Fun things happen when you earn American dollars, live on pesos and compensate in rupees.”
Think of it as remote workers. The most common way for people to make this happen is through earning American dollars and Living in another country to make those dollars stretch farther. To take it one step further you could very easily run a business full of VA’s and compensate international workers in their currency.
Alot of people genuinely enjoy Geoarbitrage because it removes the financial stress of living in a country like the United States. It then allows you to live life a little by exploring other cultures and in many cases, save money in the process.
Why should you consider GeoArbitrage
Well for starters, it’s cheaper! Much cheaper than most alternatives. Especially if you have medical conditions that need to be addressed. In most cases, the American way is to charge you at minimum $5,000 or more for most basic needs. Just going to the hospital room will likely cost you over $2,000. My wife had Braxton Hicks a few days before our child was actually supposed to be delivered. Just going to the delivery room to get some bloodwork done for 45 minutes was $2,500. What??? Likewise, in comparable countries, that would either be completely free or maybe $100 total. So for many people with pre-existing conditions or routine medical care will be able to save upwards of $10,000 or more a year just on medical costs.
Apart from cost of living, most countries offer a better quality of life with better quality foods, happier people, and more engaging communities. America is one of the only countries that puts a wide variety of chemicals in their food. That of course leads to health issues in many facets. In addition to the food quality, other cultures aren’t as focused on hustling all the time and have learned to deeply appreciate the finer things in life. Many other cultures place a large focus on family and doing what they can to take care of the people that matter most important to them.
While hustle culture is great to a point, seeing people from other regions take pride in the little things bring a whole new perspective to your life.
What kind of results should you expect?
Mainly when you decide to move forward with GeoArbitrage, it’s fair to be relatively nervous. It is a new environment after all. I wouldn’t worry too much however. It’s more about taking small next steps that will help you get to the next place. The big picture is almost anywhere you go, you will be welcomed by a new adventure and likely, a new perspective on life. By moving forward with GeoArbitrage, in many cases you will inevitably save money especially if you’re coming from the United States. So get ready, this new chapter of your life will be incredible!
Step #1 Make a Plan
Now that you’ve decided to take the journey and tackle GeoArbitrage head on, you need to decide a few things. The first is where you’d like to go. Then for how long. How much will you budget for this trip? What should you do with your possessions?
These questions are all a really important step to help make the decision process easier for where you should make the move to.
Some people prefer a more calming beach location. Other’s want to get plopped right in the center of the city to get involved in everything that’s going on. There really is a place for everyone at an affordable price point.
What about visas? Most countries require one so be sure to do your research before making the move!
You’ll also need to think about what you will do about your living situation. Will you rent out your house, sell your house, end your lease, sell all your possessions and take a backpack? What will you do with your car (if you have one) that will either need to be sold or kept depending on how long you plan to live out of the country. But truth be told, the more you hold back, the harder it is to immerse yourself in the whole experience.
Nonetheless, if you do a few google searches and you should be able to quickly find a great spot for you work remotely from. The great thing about Geoarrbitrage is the ability to choose your work destination. There are so many possibilities of where you could work from!
Step #2 Create the Environment For Geoarbitrage To Happen
Once you have made a plan for WHERE you want to how, let’s focus on the way to streamline you getting there. Start creating the environment (if you haven’t already) to welcome a geoarbitrage lifestyle into your own life. This might mean opening a bank account specifically for travelling expenses, getting chase credit cards to travel hack. Writing down what your ideal destination spot is and looking at that daily. Putting your dream destination as your lockscreen on your phone and computer. Join facebook groups of the location you’re considering visiting. That way you can ask plenty of questions and get answers directly from someone who lives there.
Step #3 Commit to Making the Plan a Reality and Act On It!
Now is the fun part! Now is the time you can make serious steps in the right direction to embrace GeoArbitrage. Either get a remote job opportunity, create income streams via a business/investments, or pick up freelance work. You’ll need a way to earn money abroad. There’s an abundance of remote working opportunities out there. While some companies want you to work in the office, there’s many others who would be happy to have talent from all over the world at their company.
After figuring out earning income abroad, think about your expenses. Will you sell everything and just go all in? Or would you like to keep some items back home? Decide on things like if you would like to sell your home vs rent it out. Personally, we will be renting our home out (or at least a portion of it) while we’re away on Airbnb.
We have a basement that we have furnished and that allows us to rent the property out on Airbnb to heavily reduce or even pay our mortgage. We are going to keep the house primarily because we know we will want a place to have as our official home. This is our current mindset. As things progress, we may decide to commit fully, rent the full house out and live abroad full time. Geoarbitrage is all about flexibility and even if you don’t have it all figured out right now, that’s perfectly okay.
Before booking anything, you’ll need a visa depending on where you will be going so be sure to confirm your destination(s) don’t require one. Most services can knock this out within a few weeks or a month.
Lastly, and the most exciting part of Geoarbitrage is to take the step, buy the one way plane tickets, book the housing, and start your new chapter!
Decide there’s nothing holding you back so just take the next small step that you’re able to.
Step #4 Start Living Life Abroad!
Congratulations! You have successfully gone through all the necessary steps in order to embrace Geoarbitrage straight on!
While the road ahead is sure to have challenges, these are good ones to have! So now that you have looked at all the steps to live a life abroad and tackle Geoarbitrage directly, what are you waiting for? As the movie Up famously said, “Adventure is out there.” but we’d like to revise it to, “Adventure is out there for those who do something about it.”
So put those excuses and limiting beliefs aside, and start living your adventure!