After the recent tax proposals, plenty of people were half joking about packing up and taking their money overseas. Enough of them were half serious that Dave and Hayden decided to make an episode out of it. This one is the broad overview of geoarbitrage (or \"geo-FIRE\"): why people do it, who it actually suits, where they tend to go, and what it does to your FI number. The technical side, tax residency, visas, and how to structure it properly, is coming in the next episode with a guest who does this for a living.
In this episode we'll discuss:
💸 The $800 a month apartment in Chiang Mai, modern build, lagoon pool, walking distance to shops, that would cost roughly $800 a week in Australia (one of Dave's readers is testing it right now)
💸 Purchasing power vs exchange rates: why \"the exchange rate is great over there\" means nothing, and what the Big Mac index actually tells you
💸 The real numbers: singles living well on $15k to $25k a year in Southeast Asia, a recently retired couple budgeting $100 a day, and what that does when you multiply it by 25
💸 What a decade off looks like: a 15 year FI journey turning into 7, or half a million to a million dollars less in the portfolio you need
💸 The bit nobody budgets for: consumer guarantees, the ombudsman, banks that have to make it right, police body cams (Hayden on why it all feels academic until the day it isn't)
💸 Never quite being a local: the guy born in Japan, fluent, schooled there, who says he is \"from Japan\" but not Japanese, and why two white kids from regional Australia have never had to think about belonging
💸 Selling the Sydney house: a million in cash, invested, could fund a very good life overseas forever, so why do the alarm bells go off, and is the fear of not being able to buy back in a reasonable one?
💸 What actually moves the needle: housing, childcare and schooling, not $4 Grab rides and $6 chicken skewers (a fun novelty, not a financial plan)
💸 Why you have to live somewhere, not holiday there: three months of grocery runs, bank accounts and boring admin beats a year of nice trips, plus visiting in the bad season before you commit
💸 Your portfolio probably needs to change: if you won't be spending Aussie dollars, a big home bias stops making sense
💸 Geoarbitrage as a backup plan rather than a goal: why the people it works best for are somewhere in the middle, not the ones who can already comfortably buy a house here
We're not pro or anti this idea. If you come away googling what life is actually like somewhere you'd never considered, that's a win.
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Disclaimer
Any advice is general and does not consider your financial situation needs, or objectives, so consider whether it's appropriate for you. You should also consider seeking professional advice before making any financial decision.
Pearler is an Authorised Representative #1281540 of Sanlam Private Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL #337927. Read the FSG available from https://pearler.com/financial-services-guide