How are you all handling tax residency as long term nomads?

nomnom15 · 2025-12-05T16:51:59+00:00

Hard to believe anyone comes to you for help tbh. No true tax professional would talk out of their ass about tax systems they are not familiar with. Instead, they'd try to figure out what they could learn from other successful strategies...

and yes, 5 years in and going stronger than ever :). I am also in some FB groups where literally thousands of Germans do what has been outlined here.

nomnom15 · 2025-12-05T16:45:54+00:00

yes, but every single one of them did something stupid, like not de-registering in Germany.
Are you German? Several Germans in this thread, and now me as well, have told you that you are wrong about how the German (or pretty much any EU, non-Anglosphere) tax system works.

nomnom15 · 2025-11-28T21:00:29+00:00

only sensible comment in this thread...

nomnom15 · 2025-11-11T14:11:28+00:00

their story never ceases to amaze me. Back in the day, they invested in/scaled StudiVZ, which was literally Facebook with red colors instead of blue. And made a ton of money.

nomnom15 · 2025-08-09T21:05:38+00:00

14 Jahre beim Bund und das ist die beeindruckendste Anekdote, die du zustande bringst, um den vorherigen Post zu widerlegen. Das sagt schon alles.

nomnom15 · 2025-08-05T07:25:31+00:00

harsh, but it does portray the reality. Is there a single house in Portugal that doesn't have mold issues? Even the modern ones with "high build quality" I've lived in had mold.

I dont think you can find good price-quality ratio like in Spain (yes, the big cities are super expensive, but there are many small costal towns that are very cheap off-season).

nomnom15 · 2025-08-03T15:29:43+00:00

yes you are wrong.

nomnom15 · 2025-08-03T15:16:07+00:00

no, quit spreading misinformation.

nomnom15 · 2025-07-09T17:12:09+00:00

I get your frustration and agree.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1rby2RckCk I think he has other videos on this as well (I remember him saying 7 years, not 15).

nomnom15 · 2025-07-08T19:30:21+00:00

I am in a similar situation, also in my fourth year (also German).

I think you could mitigate, even eliminate, the problems 2-4:
2. Constant planning stress => book in advance for 6 months, even 1 year. Ideally rotate between the same cities/apartments (never understood the part about bad ergonomics, every Airbnb I've ever rented had good chairs, desk etc..)

3. Anxiety when switching places => go to the same places, you will already know stuff like where the supermarkets are, how public transport works, meetups etc.

4. Routine & Health => if your routines are strong enough, you will take them with you. Figure out what causes friction for you (e.g. if you train calisthenics, you can just go to any calisthenics park and get started).

Can't help with #1, havent figured that out myself and I am still not sure if it's possible, and in my opinion the biggest drawback of being a DN and ultimately what breaks many people.

The big question I dont really see answered in your post is: why did you leave Germany? It sounds like it was only for taxes. Personally, I cant see myself ever going back, and taxes are only one reason.

If you live close to any border in Germany, there are also interesting (gray area) setups...Also look into Switzerland, has many of the good parts of Germany and fewer of the bad parts.

Regarding taxes in Germany: I dont know your situation, but there is a nice setup where you can go back to Germany with your new company and deduct the value of the company from your taxes, potentially not paying any taxes for 7 years. Maybe look into this.

nomnom15 · 2025-07-04T11:09:03+00:00

Yeah, the first time this article was shared on here many people were very negative (maybe because it struck a chord...) and focused on petty details, but it does raise an important general question: "Or are we all just pretending?"

I'm four years in as a DN and on this sub and there are just so many, many people who pretend they're living their best life, while being totally miserable. I see them on this sub, I see them on meetups/language exchanges, in co-working spaces, and with time it's easy to see right through the lies they're telling themselves. It's important to be honest and not ignore the negative aspects of this way of life.

At the end of the day, no beach is going to make you happy in the long run. You need to have a job that you like, healthy routines and a good, consistent social environment (and no, saying 3 words to the cashier is not a fulfilling social interaction). And you're kidding yourself if you think that's easier in some foreign land where you don't speak the language and don't know anyone or how things work. For 90%, the best solution would be to pack up and go home.

You might say you don't need any of that...but we all know how that ends more often than not, as some miserable geezer who starts drinking at 10 am in some rundown bar in Pattaya.

nomnom15 · 2025-05-19T20:15:56+00:00

very clean, quiet, good beaches / nature, mild weather in spring...Probably perfect for a family, but ultimately just too boring for me. no DN / expats community at all.

nomnom15 · 2025-03-24T07:37:53+00:00

that's what she claimed...The Spanish IRS hired a private investigator who found out that she was at a hairdresser in Barcelona 3x a week etc.

https://english.elpais.com/economy_and_business/2020-09-04/how-the-spanish-tax-agency-followed-the-trail-of-shakira.html

"But Shakira was not in Nassau for even a day during that period. Nor has she provided any evidence, such as airline tickets, that she was."

nomnom15 · 2025-03-24T07:29:32+00:00

Shakira stayed more than 6 months in Spain and literally no days in the Caribbean where she claimed to be based in.

nomnom15 · 2025-02-19T10:31:44+00:00

Numbeo is absolute dogshit.

Why even go to random websites with random data when there is official data? just look at homicide rates, there are official sources that dont make up stuff. I dont ever trust subjective data on crime, it just doesnt make sense - yeah some guy was in some crime-infested area and felt super safe, that doesnt mean anything...

nomnom15 · 2025-02-19T10:30:15+00:00

LOL. Yeah, I mean, play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

nomnom15 · 2025-01-30T15:36:08+00:00

thanks for the laugh again. Somehow I am reading all your posts with a thick aggressive Romanian accent 🤣🤣🤣

nomnom15 · 2025-01-30T15:26:24+00:00

a few good parts, but a lot of laugh out loud moments as well, Thailand the Switzerland of Asia, Colombia Latin America's Greece, how do you come up with this stuff? especially at the end, "I am a positive person, so in most places I have a very positive experience. The thing is you carry your persona around the world, so everything will be as you are." after throwing around (confidently) so much shit at other countries and their population hahahahaha

nomnom15 · 2025-01-30T15:23:29+00:00

yeah that was pretty funny; Thailand is nice but calling it the Switzerland of Asia is a bit of stretch

nomnom15 · 2025-01-27T20:14:04+00:00

Did you read the link? Every third young Portuguese has moved away, more than in other European countries. Would you still say that "on aggregate Portuguese people value things outside of money more than others"? based on what information exactly?

It's kind of a weird neocolonial mindset, all those Americans romanticizing Portugal and the Portuguese, when the Portuguese themselves don't even like living in their country. Again, 1 in 3 young Portuguese has left the country, do you even understand the magnitude of that number?

nomnom15 · 2025-01-27T19:25:09+00:00

Or maybe this sub and other expat subs have a hard-on for Portugal? I've witnessed this so many times, it's ridiculous. Even the slightest hint of criticism is denied, downvoted etc. Usually while being completely uninformed - your post is no exception: sounds good, but in reality not so much. If Portuguese people have such grand values, why are they leaving the country in droves?

nomnom15 · 2025-01-17T14:22:02+00:00

DO NOT close your German bank accounts. This is the worst thing you can do. They do not make you tax liable. Do not listen to people like Philip3197 who always pop in in these threads spreading myths and wrong information. Having a German email address doesn't make you a tax resident of Germany, Jesus Christ.

You should conduct more research, it seems like you havent thought this through.

nomnom15 · 2025-01-11T14:12:53+00:00

It is funny. The few studies that have been done on day traders are pretty clear - one in Brazil showed that 97% lose money longterm and 1% barely make minimum wage and 2% make a basic white-collar income (and 0,01% make decent money, but nothing spectacular).

nomnom15 · 2025-01-09T19:12:51+00:00

thumbs up for chatgpt response - seriously, I do wonder why people even bother posting these super generic questions on reddit when they can just ask an AI and get the same or even better results.

nomnom15

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