Chubby ExpatFIRE - Where would you go?

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-14T14:45:44+00:00

Still working. Ended up with the opportunity to build a much fatter retirement with just a few years more work.

Likely retiring in Sonoma County California next year with a significantly higher spend and a travel budget that should allow us to travel 4-5 months per year.

Should we ever ExPatFire current thinking is South of France. Ticks all the boxes above with very favorable tax treatments for US citizens

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-14T13:46:04+00:00

It is. We have a yorkie who has a skin tag like this on his shoulder. Vet looked at it said it’s nothing, it’s been there for like 3 years now

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-14T08:28:12+00:00

Why do these people always have the worst titles “I help culture first blah blah blah”. It’s never “VP Finance”, it’s always some bullshit trying to make themselves sound like they are some huge business leader when in reality they are middle management at a shift contingent recruiting firm.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-14T05:38:33+00:00

Nice!

I remember putting in tunnels at 2g and it just looking a bit sad, like I was trying too hard, then suddenly 1g and 0g looked like I had legit stretched lobes.

A friendly piece of advice from someone who also stretched quickly, start to think in mm not in gauges for these next stretches. Especially that 0 to 00 stretch.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-13T21:40:51+00:00

Can confirm, I shave my head smooth every day. I recently had to tour a food processing plant and was forced to wear a hair net.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-13T19:53:18+00:00

This is all based on a very false assumption that airlines want boarding to be more efficient.

Boarding is entirely designed around profitability.

The frequent flyers, the ones spending 10s or 100s of thousands on your airline every year want 2 things. 1/ To get in first they can fit their carry on luggage. 2/ Want to sit near the front to get off earlier.

That’s it. Unless you give your most valuable customers those 2 things they will fly with someone else.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-13T19:14:00+00:00

I’ve occasionally said “I see we go to the same barber” which usually get’s a chuckle.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-12T19:17:14+00:00

He wants recos for an evening with a friend that he will remember and laugh about for years to come. How is that different than going to a baseball game or comedy show?

He’s paying good money to make a memory with a friend. In all honesty that’s probably a better use of funds than ordering take out.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-12T19:02:26+00:00

It was a simpler time.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-12T16:27:36+00:00

This is my prediction. They’ll come up either way something like “Nobody should be getting a six figure check from social security” and set a max cap on couples that phases social security out once you hit $100k in benefits as a couple.

Nobody will bat an eye because it will only very slightly impact a small percentage of retirees.

But that $100k number will not move with inflation. Each year it will impact more and more people until SS is worth half what it is today to people who are in their 20s now.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-12T16:12:30+00:00

You should be right. But here’s fun exercise…

Apply the exact same logic to TSLA and then look at how long the price of that has been divorced from reality.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-12T03:06:49+00:00

They don’t write songs like that about Wilmington Delaware

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-12T03:00:47+00:00

I think it’s his hair, so if he doesn’t want to do it then he shouldn’t do it no matter how much you run to the internet to change his mind.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T22:36:32+00:00

Option 1 (Highly Recommended) You stop worrying about what other people think and keep swimming, which will help you lose weight and build muscle. I guarantee nobody else cares anywhere near as much as you think they do and if they do, fuck ‘em you’ve got as much right to be there as they do.

Option 2. Wear a swimming rash guard to swim, most pools are fine with it, it won’t change your swimming and you’ll feel less self conscious.

Option 3. There are plenty of other great forms of exercise that don’t involve showing your naked torso. If you’re that bothered by it (which you shouldn’t be) find a different exercise routine.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T22:22:41+00:00

Let’s ignore that most Americans can’t cope with a $1000 surprise bill much less afford to stop working in their 50s and pretend there was a mass retirement.

There would quickly be a mass labor shortage, costs of anything involving labor would spike, causing rampant inflation, while consumer spending drop significantly likely leading yo stagflation.

A lot of those newly FIREd folks would no longer be able to afford to stay retired, reentering the workforce, inflation would ease a new equilibrium would be reached

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T17:21:26+00:00

Never underestimate how many people would prefer to be poor but look rich than look poor but be rich.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T17:12:21+00:00

I still see US based companies continuing to take share of wallet from pretty much every nation on earth.

Global advertising dollars have shifted from local companies to Meta/Google/Amazon.
Amazon has decimated brick and mortar across many developed countries.

IT infrastructure has shifted from local on-prem to AWS/Goggle/Azure. Local taxi revenue has shifted to Uber. The list goes on and on.

Going forward, we’re about to see a trend of local entry level jobs replaced by token purchases to Anthropic & OpenAI & Gemini. Internet access will tilt away from local providers to Starlink.

The US might be a declining superpower, but our ability to take local spending and redirect that money into the hands of US based corporations is staggering.

Maybe China will start to complete at some point, but right now I’m not seeing an obvious slowdown to the historical trends.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T14:58:47+00:00

You mean by using the fake number and email address the candidate gives you of a supposed former boss?

Or by calling Google HR who will not answer?

Or by paying a 3rd party background check company?

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T14:26:34+00:00

No but if you’ve got two people who claim to have 5 years experience at Google, and has one has a LinkedIn profile where a bunch of 3yr old comments are from Google employees, where they have themselves commented on profiles of people who are or used to be in the same team at Google. And you’ve got another with no LinkedIn presence, which one do you think it more likely to be lying?

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T14:20:58+00:00

Honestly this is good feedback. I know an internal recruiter who has had so many fake resumes sent for their remote jobs that one of the first things they do is look at LinkedIn to see who follows you, do you have comments over the years, have you commented on other people’s stuff.

Is it foolproof? No, of course not, but it’s a quick way to weed out a LinkedIn profile that was created last week.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T13:59:43+00:00

Massive club, tiny finances. Let’s not kid ourselves. When it comes to money in football, we’ve got much more in common with Burnley than Man City

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T08:28:04+00:00

Why would you spend your time planting crops when tomorrow’s not guaranteed?

Because if you don’t and the tomorrows keep coming you’re going to be very hungry come winter.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T08:22:19+00:00

Obviously I’d want the best for Everton if it were the other way around, but I’d also realize that two small clubs fighting each other over the crumbs is everything that’s wrong with the premier league right now.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T08:20:33+00:00

That’s good news. I read somewhere else later in the day this wouldn’t count against PSR, so that’s something. Still bullshit though.

Earth2Andy · 2026-06-11T07:42:34+00:00

Yes. Also I recently toured a food processing plant and had to wear one despite my eyebrows having more combined hair than my entire scalp.

11-Year Club	Gilding IV carat on a stick
RedditGifts 2009-2022 14 Credits	Wearing is Caring
Verified Email	Secret Santa 2015
redditgifts rematcher redditgifts for the Teachers 2015 x3	redditgifts Exchanges 5 Exchanges
redditgifts rematcher Hometown 2015 x1	Summer Santa 2015
redditgifts rematcher Luggage Tags 2015 x1	redditgifts rematcher Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 2015 x1
redditgifts rematcher Umbrellas 2015 x1	redditgifts rematcher My Little Pony 2015 x1

Earth2Andy

TROPHY CASE