Hi all,
I’m an American living in Brazil. I work in AI at a Brazilian firm on a Brazilian contract.
So here’s the thing: Before I accepted this current work contract it was a real struggle for me. I was thinking to myself, “Hey, wouldn’t it be great if I was earning in US Dollars down here, that would surely give me an advantage.” I tried applying for US jobs but there simply not a lot of firms that want to hire an employee living in Brazil. I tried following a bunch of digital nomads on Instagram and they keep talking about how easy it is to make passive income digital marketing or on PInterest, or some other site, I just can’t understand how I could get involved with something like that. I tried freelancing on Upwork in my area and couldn’t find many opportunities. I tried looking on remoteok and other digital nomad sites where programmers could get hired. There were barely any postings that went to AI. And most of them went to very senior front end developers with LOTS of years if experience. Finally I applied to local jobs down here and got an offer.
Which brings me to my question, how exactly do you guys make money as digital nomads? It seems like everyone but me has a get rich quick scheme going on or some digitial marketing thing and I just can’t get it. Are people lying and just getting some money on the side from their parents or something?
You must log in or register to comment.
Online language training
That can prop you up but it’s not like it’s gonna make you a lot of dosh, especially in certain countries - you have to charge what people are willing to pay, and you’d have to be booked pretty much back to back to actually pay off a flat as a Digital Nomad in Mexico City.
Depends on what your expectations are / what kind of deal you find / if you have a significant other that works.
My gf and I both teach online and have no issue in Mexico City - even in a beautiful apartment in Hipodromo Condesa. If you’re by yourself making $10/hr? Yeah, probably won’t be in a good neighborhood.
just found this quote in my quote file, feels relevant:
“time is the raw material of creation. Wipe away the magic and myth of creating and all that remains is work: the work of becoming expert through study and practice, the work of finding solutions to problems and problems with those solutions, the work of trial and error, the work of thinking and perfecting, the work of creating. Creating consumes. It is all day, every day. It knows neither weekends nor vacations. It is not when we feel like it. It is habit, compulsion, obsession, vocation. The common thread that links creators is how they spend their time. No matter what you read, no matter what they claim, nearly all creators spend nearly all their time on the work of creation. There are few overnight successes and many up-all-night successes.”
Be employed a country of your choice. Pay taxes, work remotely.
I spent a decade building a software engineering career, am a department head right now and start to restructure my department now in a way, that when I step down as head next year I can travel full time while being a developer in said department again.
This year I have been trying to get out of my job here in Thailand and to get myself plugged into some remote gig with a US company.
I have found it very challenging to seek gigs through the mainstream resume mills.
Maybe somewhat similar to you. Will keep trying though. It’ll definitely be worth the effort when my portfolio lands on the right desk.Have you tried companies like Globant, Toptal and EPAM?
Have a remote job at home and just started traveling. No one ever really asked where I am and when they do I just say at home. If someone new asks, I say “I am based in {city}” so basically a lot of people are just lying to their employers. But employers don’t have your best interest in mind so I’m not going to have theirs.
The trick is to apply for local jobs in the US, not “remote” jobs. Any website that has all remote jobs listed on it will be super competitive.
But applying to local companies in mid-sized cities will be significantly easier AND still often have remote positions (especially depending on experience or if you’re cheap).
Many many companies went to remote whenever Covid happened & not all of them went back to being in-office. Some went back to in-office, some went to hybrid, some are still completely remote to save money on office space.
So you need to find these local mid or small sized companies that probably don’t have the biggest advertising or recruiting budget & get them to hire you remotely.
Heya
I have been a digital nomad since 7+ years now and the best part?
I met a financial advisor during my stay in a country and he helped me strategise how to make $10k/month in digital nomadic lifestyle
Web developer here but I’m not making crazy money at all. But I have a very flexible schedule.
What helped me was placing myself in a situation where I had to force myself to find remote jobs and having nothing to fall back onto if I failed. Started way back in 2013.
Point is you like where you live but you would also like to get a foreign income. So, my question is if you have something to bring to a company, I guess you are pretty well positioned to register an LLC, s-corp in the US. And start approaching companies with what you do. Then sell your business services without the need to be physically in the US, or anywhere as you demand that in your b2b agreement.
That**,** my friend**,** is called the nomad way. Now**,** regarding the social media narrative about nomads, it’s a well diversity universe of people selling digital stuff, whether it is a service, products, or knowledge.
When I mean products, it could be both digital assets like print on demand products, or even real products that might be like Amazon FBA type. Which means that each of these things by itself isn’t anything close to ponzi schemes… that’s too naive… but contrary, it requires other skills that you seem to have not developed them yet.
Get skills, learn how to sell skills, find a job, become a contractor for that job. Upon negotiations tell them you’re going to travel slowly, this is key. Start job by building trust that you can get your stuff done. THEN go become DN.
I personally know how to code, read data, and used skills for conversion rate optimization. Make low six figs, super proud on this one. Traveling is awesome. I do hostels cause I don’t mind getting to know people and saving. I got super lucky, but key is that I know I can sell my skills if I get laid off, but also get shit done. Also put myself in a position that I am needed. No one else can do my job besides the manager.
Software engineer here 👋
I had the same idea as you, but for Colombia.
How did you get hired with a local firm? Did they sponsor a work visa or something?
Also, if you don’t mind, how much is the Brazilian company paying you? Or maybe you could just say: 20% of the normal USA salary.
Don’t pay attention to idiotic social media influencers. First rule.
After applying that, it really is as easy or difficult as you want to see it.
It is as simple as generating income online, you can get a job, be a freelancer or start a business. But don’t think it will be easy, people overvalue their effort, how many quotes did you send to say it’s not working for you? How many jobs did you apply for? If the answer is 100 it is little, if it is 200 it is little, if it is 500 it is also little, nobody knows. That it is COMPLETELY POSSIBLE to earn income to live as a digital nomad is a fact, I am from Uruguay and I have been doing it for years and many of my friends have made the transition, partly seeing my experience.
But there is no magic recipe, think creatively, try several different ways, find a way that works fairly well and try endlessly with that formula. It’s a matter of time until you get it
I work as a psychotherapist (in the USA), but travel to new countries every few months (tourist visas).
I spent 2.5 years in grad school then worked a handful of years to build up my career. Then took the plunge to live abroad after some big life changes. After having a solid footing in my career, THEN I made the fully remote push.
While the “digital nomad life” seems glamorous, it is not for the faint of heart and it is not usually long lasting for people. It is certainly not “vacation” mode. I spend Monday-Thursday inside my apartment (an AirBnB) working, then get to go out on the weekends. While it is generally cheaper to live abroad than in the US, it’s not an astronomical difference.