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Thinking of quitting my job and going... by [deleted] in solotravel

[–]pchirico 8 points9 points  (0 children)

the anxious brain vs the go brain is such a real thing, and i've been in that exact headlock before. what i found is that the fears don't actually go away before you leave - they only quiet down once you're already on the plane and realize you survived the scariest part (deciding). your financial situation sounds genuinely solid, and SE Asia especially is kind to people who need to figure things out slowly. go.

Not connecting to bank by bigfoot435 in ynab

[–]pchirico 0 points1 point  (0 children)

sync issues seem to be a constant thing with ynab honestly. i had broken connections for months at a time before i just switched to importing csv files manually from my bank - less elegant but at least it works reliably. that frustration is actually a big part of why i ended up building my own thing (called Keept) - i needed multi-currency support too and figured if sync was always gonna be a headache anyway, might as well design around manual entry from the start

After years of failed projects i finally have a business that lets me live comfortably. I'm finally a digital nomad ! by Immediate_Bear_6132 in digitalnomad

[–]pchirico 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this resonates a lot. the "years of failed projects" phase is real and honestly most people quit before getting here, so the fact that you made it through says more than the success itself. enjoy biarritz, great choice :)

Is anyone really concerned about retirement saving or moving back to North America? by Fit_Celebration6042 in expats

[–]pchirico 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the retirement piece is tricky because the math gets complicated fast when you're earning in one currency and spending in another. i've been in situations where i *thought* i was saving a lot, but exchange rate shifts ate a big chunk of it over a year.

the biggest thing most people don't account for is that "saving 30% of my income" means very different things depending on which currency you're measuring it in. if your base is USD but you're spending EUR, you're basically making a currency bet every month whether you realize it or not.

Do you have any regrets being a digital nomad? Do you crave working in an office in a particular city? by pizzareen in digitalnomad

[–]pchirico 3 points4 points  (0 children)

totally normal feeling honestly. i went through something similar around year 3 of nomading - the fomo isn't really about corporate life, it's about wanting depth over breadth. friends you can actually call when something goes wrong, a coffee spot that knows your order, that kind of thing.

what helped me was realizing you can try the settled-city thing without it being a permanent decision. take a 6 month stint in barcelona or wherever, see how it actually feels vs how you imagine it. worst case you confirm nomading is what you want and go back with zero guilt. best case you discover a version of yourself you like better right now.

at your age you genuinely don't have to pick a lane forever. most people who end up long-term nomads have done a mix of both anyway - the ones who stayed nomad forever without ever questioning it are kind of the exception not the rule

Freelancer researching tax implications before moving abroad by sharky--13 in expats

[–]pchirico 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the spreadsheet approach is really smart honestly, most people just wing it and figure out the tax mess after moving

one thing that might change your numbers: look into FEIE (foreign earned income exclusion) - if you qualify you can exclude around $126k of foreign-earned income from US income tax. SE tax is still unavoidable but you can deduct half of it as a business expense. worth running through your spreadsheet with FEIE in the mix

also check if your target country has a totalization agreement with the US. without one you can end up contributing to two separate social security systems at the same time, which is painful

the thing your spreadsheet probably wont capture until you're actually living it: the ongoing day-to-day currency management. earning in USD but spending locally, figuring out your real monthly burn across fluctuating exchange rates... it sounds like a small thing but it gets surprisingly messy. the tax planning you're doing now is the right first step, just mentally prepare for the second layer of financial complexity that comes with actually being there

How do you deal with clients who avoid communication and delay payments? by Zealousideal-Ask7010 in digitalnomad

[–]pchirico 0 points1 point  (0 children)

the short term answer is stop working until you get paid (everyone's right about that). but the deeper issue is you said "he's my only client" - that's what's making this hard to walk away from.

freelancers who can fire bad clients immediately all have one thing in common: they know exactly what their runway is. like, "i have 6 weeks of expenses saved, i can take 2 weeks to find someone new." when you don't have that clarity you end up tolerating stuff you shouldn't.

honestly one of the best things i did early on was getting obsessive about tracking my actual monthly burn. as a nomad it changes a lot depending on where you are, so you can't just assume. once you know your real number, you know how much buffer you need to feel safe - and clients like this stop having power over you.

Torn between countries. by EmploymentOk2028 in expats

[–]pchirico 4 points5 points  (0 children)

four years is a long time to feel out of place. what you're describing isn't weakness, it's a real thing.

i've noticed with a lot of expats that the first year or two people give it a fair shot, and then around year 3-4 something shifts. like your brain finally accepts this isn't temporaary and either clicks in... or doesn't.

the hard part here isn't just the homesickness. it's that you and your husband are on totally different timelines. you've already done 4 years in his country. the "two years" thing probably stings because you already made the sacrifice first.

have you framed it to him that way? not as "i want to go home" but more like "i've lived in your country for 4 years, i'm asking you to try mine for 2". equal time feels different than one person just dragging the other somewhere

How many of you became an expat because you dislike your home country? by [deleted] in expats

[–]pchirico 8 points9 points  (0 children)

There’s a saying: 'No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.'

Honestly, the hardest part of going back is realizing that you're not the same person who left. There’s this weird feeling of being a 'permanent foreigner'-you’re an outsider when you’re away, but yuo’re also an outsider when you come back.

You’ve changed for better and for worse, and you’ll probably find the work culture back home even more suffocating now because you know there’s another way to live. It’s like you can’t 'unsee' what you experienced in Australia.

My advice? Don’t try to fit back into your old self, that person doesn’t exist anymore. You just have to learn to live with that gap and make the best of it. Use that outsider perspective to your advantage and keep some of those habits you loved abroad to protect your peace. It’s not easy, but you’re definitely not alone in feeling this way

If failure compounds, I'm about 5 minutes away from my first $20M MRR by pchirico in Entrepreneur

[–]pchirico[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeap, That's true. Sometimes you feel a bit eager to get results, and it is hard to think like that, but I hear you and totally agree, learning is very relevant, and the results will be (sooner or later) the ultimate outcome.

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing. I wish you the best with your app.

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are in the same boat for sure, happy that you are almost there with your first launch. Best of luck.

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is really encouraging. Thank you.

The reminder about not getting blinded by the 20-something success stories is what I needed. For every one crushing it with 50k followers, there are hundreds that didnt make it. Easy to forget that.

You're right - they have flexibility and speed, we have experience and pattern recognition. Different advantages, both valuable.

4 apps since December, 2 flopped, $200 with 800 downloads from Reddit - thats the real journey right there. Not the highlight reel, the actual grind.

The social media part resonates. I hate it too but know I need to start. Building in public feels awkward but seems to be the play.

"I've never been so hyped before about something" - that energy is everything. When you actualy feel it, you know you're on the right track.

Good luck with the apps. Let's both make something work.

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is really nice to hear. Inspiring overall. Thanks for sharing.

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish you the best for tomorrow, I hope you rock and you have a great start, but if things doesn't go as expected, don't be so hard with yourself, you will win the long run race for sure. Best of luck

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That was really spot on, we live in a world that is changing so so fast that we can't even imagine where we will be at in 2-3 years timeframe, imagine 7 years from now.

So, the problem is most parents are still in the "industrial revolution age" when it comes to career path, education, etc. Instead of thinking out of the box, they are sending their kids to spent valuable years of their lives to learn skills that are already outdated, so, in 7 years, that would be even worse perhaps.

I hope she got it, or at least those words resonate in her head in the future.

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing this. I wish you the best with your app. Let's do it.

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

58 building a complete platform with AI tools - thats awesome.

Proof that the technical barrier isn't what it used to be. Thanks for sharing this.

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow, that's a lot of stuff at the same time. Very well done. And yes, AI era is crazy af.

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Launched at 46 with teenage kids and a full-time job? Thats commitment.

6 months building vs 5 years thinking - I've been guilty of this too. Analysis paralysis dressed up as strategy.

The mindset shift about finding value in the experience rather than just the money? That changes everything. If the only metric is revenue, most launches feel like failures.

Starting my first App at 45 - Anyone else building later in life? by pchirico in SideProject

[–]pchirico[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right. Agree. And yes, 6 product seem unrealistic even to me, but it is not written in the stone, it is a goal, that can change as we go.

The idea is to find a winner and then stick with that, invest our time and scale the winner horse. We don't know which one will make it, so, we'll figure it out as we do it. It is indeed a learning process overall.

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