A few days ago I posted an excerpt and some comments from my blogging colleague Ben who is living the life of a “Digital Nomad” … that is, earning a living independent of where he lives, and is thinking about travelling long-term, with plans to live for some period of time in a number of Asian countries. If you haven’t read it yet, you might enjoy reading a kind of different view on living overseas as well as the comments between Ben and I.
I also received an email a day or so ago from my colleges Jon and Kathryn who run the The Portable Lifestyle … they are a young couple, with small children, who travel the world, staying mainly in high-end resort areas (for deep discount prices, by the way) and are enjoying their life (and giving their children a great head start in life, by the way) while they are all still young enough to enjoy it … instead of wishing. Jon and Kathryn are tentatively coming to the Philippines (likely Boracay) soon, and I hope we’ll be able to hook up while they are here. 
photo credit: emilie raguso
Incidentally, this is the complete a to z breakdown on how they are able to manage that sort of lifestyle … making their income “portable” and living where they want to instead of where they are told. I also just came across this excellent post from my blogging friend Lis who is technically a New Zealander but has been living in Australia (and earning online) for the better part of two years now. Lis and her partner are heading back to New Zealand and some of the issues she wrote about their sojourn abroad and their preparations for moving back are quite interesting … really interesting to a Yank, I guess I never realized just how good we Americans have it when it comes to living where we chose rather than where some bureaucrat tells us too.
Digital Nomads, Passive Income Online – the Reality
I was a gypsy before I discovered what a digital nomad was – I like the name – it was easier to spell… The idea of being able to pack up up the laptop and move your life at whim – how alluring is that to so many people? Ben wants to use his success at making money online with SEO and travel the world – he’s clearly been to some places already judging by his stunning travel photos – so he possibly knows what he’s getting himself into – or may be not.
Back in 2006 I had a brain wave – I was earning a good hourly rate in a job I hated and despised. I woke up sad on Sunday because I had to go to work on Monday. I buried three friends that year – two of them were younger than my partner and less than ten years older than me – it makes you think. It makes you think that life is for living and life is too short to waste it doing something you hate – I’d known that for a while but I managed to persuade my partner too…
Why does the world make it so hard to be location independent? …
Actually my impression has been that it has been pretty easy for Mita and I, but then again we are not new Zealanders or Australians.
…Can I transfer my phone number? You’re joking aren’t you – well this is the last time I am ever being taken that con again – I am getting a location independent IP phone as soon as I work out the details – I know Skype will do it but there might be other options. At least I don’t have any emails attached to local ISPs anymore (you don’t do you?) …
Lis has the bubble here .. there is never a reason to be captive to a phone company again, no matter where you live.
…. My partner needs to ensure that he spends enough time in New Zealand to qualify for superannuation over the next few years – the fact that he was born there and worked his entire life there is irrelevant – he needs to spend 5 years between 55- and 65 in New Zealand – oh and then when he retires he needs to spend at least six months a year in the country- that could become quite inconvenient long-term….
Indeed this one was a real eye opener for me, as an American. Of course the first thing that came to mind is the ‘clever’ use of “superannuation” … what the heck is that? Turns out that the definition (in at least some countries) is similar to what an American calls Social Security Retirement Benefits” and what people in other common English Speaking countries call an “old age pension” … that is money you get from the government that is based on your age and your work history.
It’s a wonderful freedom we have here in the US that we can live anywhere on earth we wish to and for as long as we wish to, and whatever Social Security retirement benefits we have earned, we get (remember this is for US citizens only, vastly different rules apply for, let’s say, non-US spouses).
This certainly made me think a bit and count my blessings … in fact as I read through a number of New Zeeland and Australian government web pages on the this subject I was forced to quit because I was so fed up with reading the instruction/comment “You must check with us first” that I was ready to scream. I’m not in the habit of asking permission to do virtually anything legal … and thank God I typically don’t need to.
God Bless America, when it comes to world travel and deciding where we want to live, we certainly are, without a doubt, the land of the free.
… The point of this post? I’m not sure that I have one but it some ways I think I look at the other side of living the Nomad’s Lifestyle and wonder if people realise that sometimes it has its own disadvantages – I for one don’t see too many Western countries making it a whole lot easier any time soon. And relatives who don’t understand travel – about 90% them don’t who ever you are related to – will never understand your inability to “settle down”. ….
And this could be the most important issue of all those that Lis brought up. I find it amazing how many folks have issues with relatives back in their home country who think that where a person lives determines who they are and that chances they have for happiness in life. Do not underestimate the pull of family and the ability of family to take years (if ever) to accept where you chose to live. There’s no sense in trying to minimize this or sweep it under the rug, it’s going to be an issue … and it may be a huge issue before your life is finished.
But am I planning to “go home” any time soon? Nope, because, so far as I have ever been “home”. I am home right now. If I were to move back to the US, aside from my sons and a tiny handful of people, who would I even know … and what city (let alone doctor) even wants yet another old fart? I feel more at home in the Philippines, strange as it is at times, than virtually any other place I have ever been. YMMV.
Popularity: 5% [?]
YOUR SITE IS CRAP ,WHEN I CANT HAVE MY SAY ,
I beg your pardon, sir? In what way have I not let you have your say?
HI PHILLY I SENT YOU DETAILED REPLY ,FOR SOME REASON NEVER GOT PRINTED HOWEVER PENSIONS ARE APPROX $NZ 315 A WEEK
Thanks for that info, John. And the operative question is, how many years would a pension have to have lived in New Zealand before he could ‘export” that pension to the Philippines?
Sorry, John, nothing has been received here except the comments you see which are posted. Since you already have an approved comment on the site, anyhting you write should go directly to the comments section … I don’t have any moderators or third-party controls. I also waded through the several hundred spam comments received over the past few days and I see nothing from you that might have gotten caught in the spam filter by mistake. Sorry.
referance nz superanuation , this has changed recently ,and you can now move to the philippines and collect ,u must advise social welfare dep’t and show airline ticket ,with dates u intend to leave n.z , the amount u will be paid after you are 65 years old depends on the number of years you have lived and i assume paid tax in nz ,sounds fairly simple to me ,i am looking at moving permantly as soon as my partner has permant residency for 2 years, then she can move in and out of nz as often as she wishs ,same as a kiwi citizen
Thanks John, I appreciate the update.
So when you say, “seems simple to me” and say that the amount you get at age 65 depends on how long you lived in New Zealand, can you give me an example of how many years a person has to live in NZ before age 65 in order to draw their entire pension?
This whole thread got started when a New Zealander told me that he was going to get nearly nothing at age 65, if he tried to exercise his freedom of living abroad … becuase he had lived abroad … and paid NZ taxes for most of his working life. In other words, his pension was effectively locked away in the “home country”.
As a rule you won’t see me being an “Ugly American” and touting the wonders of the USA … we Yanks certainly have our problems too … but I certainly do value the fact that even though I lived outside the US for many of my working years, I don’t have to meet any age or residency gate in order to draw the annuity I have earned. Also, my wife became a naturalized US citizen, we left the country 30 days later … no “after naturalization” waiting period at all … there’s good and bad in all of them I suppose.
Hi Dave,
Interesting story about the New Zealand pensions. Here in Canada we have some similar rules as well. Canadians generally are entitiled to two basic government pensions.
1. Old Age Security
2. Canada Pension Plan
The amount of the second one is based on how much you contributed over the course of your working life and is deducted from your salary or paid at tax time if you’re self-employed. The Old Age Security is a fixed amount set by the government and based on reaching the age of 65.
I believe (but am not 100% sure) that the Old Age Security requires that you be in Canada for at least 6 months of the year. I think the Canada Pension has no such requirement since you’ve paid into it much like a private pension but I could be wrong.
I read yesterday that Canada’s government pensions are the most securely funded in the world but they are also the lowest paying in the western world.
BTW as far as I know the term ” superannuation ” here in Canada refers to an additional pension that is for federal government employees only, the cost of which comes from the additional payroll deductions they have to pay.
Thank You Randall.
I did not know there were two distinct Canadian plans like that … the US has essentially both systems rolled into one. There is a minimum you will get if you worked sa total of 10 years at minimum wage from birth until retirement age, and then the amount over and above the basic minimum is dependent on how much you contributed in taxes over the course of those working years. So it’s semi-effort based and semi-safety net based.
The sad thing about the US Social Security system which is nowadays shared by those who hate Roosevelt for starting it or hate Roosevelt for not making in bigger is, it was never, in anyone’s wildest dreams meant to be a 100% old age pension program …and yet today there are hundreds of thousand sof folks with nothing except social security. Sad. (by the way, growing up in a household more right-winged than George Bush and Rush Limbaugh rolled together, I never heard of a single person … including my parents .. turning _down_ their socialistic, pinko-commie-liberal social security check. Perhaps I will meet someone like that before I die, but in the meantime, I happily en cash mine
Perhaps one of our UK readers can clarify this but I am guessing the UK recently liberalized a ‘must live ijn the UK’ pension rule, becuase over the past year I must have seen a dozen features on the BBC as well as in newspapers here regarding UK retirees who suddenly discovered Philippine retirement .. both couples and single folks.
Philly, you probably have this link somewhere on your site, but for us retired military folks out there here is the link to Retired Activities Office in Subic Freeport, there is also another one in Angeles City.
http://www.raosubic.com/index.html
Jim Tyler is the director of the Subic office and his staff is very helpful in all matters concerning retired US military in the PI.
Sincerely,
Keith USN retired (Navy SEAL)
Yes I do have that URL around, Keith. Among other places, the web sites for all the “major” RAO’s are here: <a
Moving Plans — Mail | PhilFAQS
Not only do these guys do a very valauble service for us retired military folks, they provide alot of “living in the Philippines” related information on their web sites and a wealth of “been there, done that” true living in the Philippines expereince.
Although certain aspects of what they do are restricted, by law, to retired military and retired US civil service, many other support activities are _not_ restricted .. example, the Angles RAO is the only place I know of in the Philippines where on can get a US TIN for a Filipino spouse. Militray or not, they are a great resource. Thanks.