Our move to Spain is now a mere seven months away. I expect that we’ll book our one-way plane tickets and temporary accommodations this month. Next month at the latest.
I'm sure feeling you on that degraded quality of life. I just need to figure out how to sell my kids on moving abroad. Hopefully our November trip to Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia will show them that it's worth considering.
I think never letting currency fears stop you from moving abroad is the right way to think about it.
My filipina wife and I have invested and moved quite a lot of money to and from (well mostly to) the Philippines over the past few years. We do occasionally think about currency risk, and we do look for income opportunities in local currency, and we don't worry much at all about the minor fluctuations.
I also use Wise for both Phillipines and Euro transfers. I also tend to preload 1-2 months of planned expenses in the Wise interest account. That tends to avoid unexpected delays in transfers which I have run into at the most inconvenient times. I have hit unexpected delays and additional verification processes with pretty much all of the remittance services that I have tried at one time or other. I definitely sleep a lot better now when I stage up planned movements ahead of time and avoid having to make last minute moves.
That said the last few times that I sent USD-EUR were seamless and almost instantaneous.
The idea of doing it in line with expenses resonates with me.
I'm looking forward to hearing about the trip. I think November is probably a good time to go and that's definitely a great circuit to do. Happy to give you a few recommendations.
I was paying one of my software developers in EUR via Wise until a couple months ago. He works on a project basis and we don't have anything for him right now :( Hopefully I'll be able to pull him back in before too long.
I'm really looking forward to our trip in November. The itinerary is driven in part by the fact that I found a really sweet deal for an open jaw itinerary. We are flying AUS-BCN, MAD-AUS. I figured I would take a train or rental car from Barcelona to Valencia and then on to Madrid. I thought about trying to squeeze in Bilbao too, but our trip is only 11 days so that would probably be too tight.
Can you share a little (a few specifics) about what isn't good in Los Angeles right now? I'm monitoring different cities all over the country to understand the difference between what's being reported in the media and what's really happening with those who on the ground. For you to say things aren't great, that means something to me personally, because I trust you to tell the truth.
With this election day coming in less than 150 days I believe the stuff will hit the fan no matter who is voted in. Another reason I'm eager to keep moving forward with relocating out of the country. (Carl is now asking questions for different locations, it's getting real, not as real as yours, but still marked improvement on my end. Finally.
This is probably the best answer to your question. It's not all bad, but you really have to be selective about where you go. Not really for actual safety, but perception of it and to avoid depressing blight and such.
This picture was taken one block from my middle class suburban house in Austin TX about 6 miles south of downtown. https://imgur.com/a/8rPAbbJ. This is a vacant lot between a convenience store and our local post office. On any given day we will have two to four beggars working the center median of the nearest arterial intersection.
I see no immediate hope for improvement. The financialization of housing and NIMBY efforts against increasing housing density have made a terrible mess of this area as they have in many other areas in the US.
My youngest wants to finish high school here so I will see if I can hold out for those two more years. But after that I'm out. Booked a trip to Spain in November to scout things out. As I mentioned in my other comment I'm hoping that I can show my kids that there are better places to live than where we are now.
I expect to be living in Spain, Mexico, Philippines, or Malaysia within the next three years. BTW I highly recommend Malaysia as a second choice if Spain doesn't vibe with you. I lived there for two years and ended up loving it. I probably would have never left if wife had not wanted kids to attend school in the US.
Thank you so much for sharing this chain of events and image with me. Moving to another country is a difficult task for some, especially if having lived in the same area of the country and little traveled until.later in life. I feel staying here as our "final place" is no longer an option for many reasons. At 66 it's a big deal (for anyone, really) to have to pack up and move and learn a new way to live. I simply see no other way in preventing possible homelessness, political turmoil (and I know it is everywhere, but it won't be so in my face in other parts of the world, language and history being two reasons), and this consumerism mindset that has engulfed us for our entire lives. Simple. That's what I crave: simplicity, calmness, and a geographical environment that will agree with me physically and mentally.
As the immigration laws are loosening a bit for me recently, I have hit it hard with the Czech Republic and Germany (again). -Which would both give me an EU passport and opening the door to being able to live and work anywhere in the EU -without time restrictions or reapplying for visas. It will cost about $9k when all said and done, but that is a dime in the bucket for what I will get in return.
This election has everyone wound up. I have no pony in the race and will not participate in the madness. Keeping focus on surviving it unscathed.
your challenge is to maintain purchasing power parity wherever you are on the planet with whatever currency. with the view the single asset that has outperformed everything over the past 10 years is bitcoin. i know lot of people talk crap about it not being real, isnt something u can touch , feel etc etc... its a new paradigm. just like how your friends might ridicule you for deciding to move to spain and give up on the great USA , so too is bitcoin, which is jarring to the old establishment money folks.
Case in point is that everybody called bitcoin a fraud, now that an ETF has been approved blackrock , fidelity , everyone is talking of how bitcoin has to be part of a diversified portfolio.
there is so much debt in the world that no fiat currency is worth the paper that its printed on and every fiat currency is just holding on due to the "confidence" that the population has...once the confidence is shaken, poof goes the currency.
there is over 19 trillion of wealth that is waiting to be transferred over the course of the coming decade from baby boomers to their heirs...do u really think that the millineals and gen Xers will go about putting that money into bank account with 2% returns, no way..this is a generation that grew up seeing iphones and trading on their phones..they dont sit in CDs or gold like their grandparents and for that generation digital currency makes perfect sense....
move 5-10% of your portfolio into btc and just sit back and let it work for you.
This is not financial advice :) What follows is one way of thinking, not the only way.
So, we need to start by separating day-to-day cash management and investing.
For the former, start with the idea that in general you want to align the currency in which you have assets with the currency in which you have liabilities.
So, Rocco might legitimately say: “I am 95% sure I will be in Spain/ Euro-land for at least 6 months, so if there is a chance to get a good rate now, then I will likely do that trade and buy those Euros”
Before pulling the trigger, you then need to look at where you then hold those Euros. In general, if you have small to modest cash balances with a bank, you are protected by “deposit insurance” (FDIC in US). And, are you getting any interest on those Euro balances vs whatever you might get in USD.
It would take too long to explain forward FX markets here but broadly forward rates will reflect any interest differences.
To compare, my wife and I intend to head to South Africa next year for 8 months of the year. But we are not yet 100% certain, or even 95% certain. So, we are not yet buying ZAR aka South African Rand
Which gets me to: buy foreign today if you are 95% sure you will spend that foreign currency.
Buy as much as you are likely to spend in 6 months.
Who knows? I have definitely considered it, but it's so hard to predict.
The dollar shot up on the wins by the far right in Europe. So there's that.
Trump favors a weak dollar and could do things to crash it. On the other hand, he really stands for nothing and will do whatever he feels he needs to do in the moment. Ultimately i think Biden is better if you want a strong dollar, but want do I know? Which is part of why I'm writing this.
One of the big reasons to move is the political state of the country, no matter who wins.
I do remember getting like 1.60 Canadian for a USD!
I'm sure feeling you on that degraded quality of life. I just need to figure out how to sell my kids on moving abroad. Hopefully our November trip to Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia will show them that it's worth considering.
I think never letting currency fears stop you from moving abroad is the right way to think about it.
My filipina wife and I have invested and moved quite a lot of money to and from (well mostly to) the Philippines over the past few years. We do occasionally think about currency risk, and we do look for income opportunities in local currency, and we don't worry much at all about the minor fluctuations.
I also use Wise for both Phillipines and Euro transfers. I also tend to preload 1-2 months of planned expenses in the Wise interest account. That tends to avoid unexpected delays in transfers which I have run into at the most inconvenient times. I have hit unexpected delays and additional verification processes with pretty much all of the remittance services that I have tried at one time or other. I definitely sleep a lot better now when I stage up planned movements ahead of time and avoid having to make last minute moves.
That said the last few times that I sent USD-EUR were seamless and almost instantaneous.
Very helpful.
So you're regularly converting USD to euros?
The idea of doing it in line with expenses resonates with me.
I'm looking forward to hearing about the trip. I think November is probably a good time to go and that's definitely a great circuit to do. Happy to give you a few recommendations.
I was paying one of my software developers in EUR via Wise until a couple months ago. He works on a project basis and we don't have anything for him right now :( Hopefully I'll be able to pull him back in before too long.
I'm really looking forward to our trip in November. The itinerary is driven in part by the fact that I found a really sweet deal for an open jaw itinerary. We are flying AUS-BCN, MAD-AUS. I figured I would take a train or rental car from Barcelona to Valencia and then on to Madrid. I thought about trying to squeeze in Bilbao too, but our trip is only 11 days so that would probably be too tight.
Can you share a little (a few specifics) about what isn't good in Los Angeles right now? I'm monitoring different cities all over the country to understand the difference between what's being reported in the media and what's really happening with those who on the ground. For you to say things aren't great, that means something to me personally, because I trust you to tell the truth.
With this election day coming in less than 150 days I believe the stuff will hit the fan no matter who is voted in. Another reason I'm eager to keep moving forward with relocating out of the country. (Carl is now asking questions for different locations, it's getting real, not as real as yours, but still marked improvement on my end. Finally.
https://medium.com/city-life/high-anxiety-even-i-feel-unsafe-walking-the-streets-these-days-73c679528ded
This is probably the best answer to your question. It's not all bad, but you really have to be selective about where you go. Not really for actual safety, but perception of it and to avoid depressing blight and such.
Excellent follow-up article on Medium to my question. You nailed it.
This picture was taken one block from my middle class suburban house in Austin TX about 6 miles south of downtown. https://imgur.com/a/8rPAbbJ. This is a vacant lot between a convenience store and our local post office. On any given day we will have two to four beggars working the center median of the nearest arterial intersection.
I see no immediate hope for improvement. The financialization of housing and NIMBY efforts against increasing housing density have made a terrible mess of this area as they have in many other areas in the US.
The City of Austin went through a huge multi-year effort to come up with a comprehensive new zoning strategy to improve density and reduce cost only to have it blown up by political opposition from current homeowners https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/9/19/austins-bad-party-the-failure-of-codenext
My youngest wants to finish high school here so I will see if I can hold out for those two more years. But after that I'm out. Booked a trip to Spain in November to scout things out. As I mentioned in my other comment I'm hoping that I can show my kids that there are better places to live than where we are now.
I expect to be living in Spain, Mexico, Philippines, or Malaysia within the next three years. BTW I highly recommend Malaysia as a second choice if Spain doesn't vibe with you. I lived there for two years and ended up loving it. I probably would have never left if wife had not wanted kids to attend school in the US.
Thank you so much for sharing this chain of events and image with me. Moving to another country is a difficult task for some, especially if having lived in the same area of the country and little traveled until.later in life. I feel staying here as our "final place" is no longer an option for many reasons. At 66 it's a big deal (for anyone, really) to have to pack up and move and learn a new way to live. I simply see no other way in preventing possible homelessness, political turmoil (and I know it is everywhere, but it won't be so in my face in other parts of the world, language and history being two reasons), and this consumerism mindset that has engulfed us for our entire lives. Simple. That's what I crave: simplicity, calmness, and a geographical environment that will agree with me physically and mentally.
As the immigration laws are loosening a bit for me recently, I have hit it hard with the Czech Republic and Germany (again). -Which would both give me an EU passport and opening the door to being able to live and work anywhere in the EU -without time restrictions or reapplying for visas. It will cost about $9k when all said and done, but that is a dime in the bucket for what I will get in return.
This election has everyone wound up. I have no pony in the race and will not participate in the madness. Keeping focus on surviving it unscathed.
Wish me luck! Wünsch mir Glück!
your challenge is to maintain purchasing power parity wherever you are on the planet with whatever currency. with the view the single asset that has outperformed everything over the past 10 years is bitcoin. i know lot of people talk crap about it not being real, isnt something u can touch , feel etc etc... its a new paradigm. just like how your friends might ridicule you for deciding to move to spain and give up on the great USA , so too is bitcoin, which is jarring to the old establishment money folks.
Case in point is that everybody called bitcoin a fraud, now that an ETF has been approved blackrock , fidelity , everyone is talking of how bitcoin has to be part of a diversified portfolio.
there is so much debt in the world that no fiat currency is worth the paper that its printed on and every fiat currency is just holding on due to the "confidence" that the population has...once the confidence is shaken, poof goes the currency.
there is over 19 trillion of wealth that is waiting to be transferred over the course of the coming decade from baby boomers to their heirs...do u really think that the millineals and gen Xers will go about putting that money into bank account with 2% returns, no way..this is a generation that grew up seeing iphones and trading on their phones..they dont sit in CDs or gold like their grandparents and for that generation digital currency makes perfect sense....
move 5-10% of your portfolio into btc and just sit back and let it work for you.
On the issue of foreign currencies.
This is not financial advice :) What follows is one way of thinking, not the only way.
So, we need to start by separating day-to-day cash management and investing.
For the former, start with the idea that in general you want to align the currency in which you have assets with the currency in which you have liabilities.
So, Rocco might legitimately say: “I am 95% sure I will be in Spain/ Euro-land for at least 6 months, so if there is a chance to get a good rate now, then I will likely do that trade and buy those Euros”
Before pulling the trigger, you then need to look at where you then hold those Euros. In general, if you have small to modest cash balances with a bank, you are protected by “deposit insurance” (FDIC in US). And, are you getting any interest on those Euro balances vs whatever you might get in USD.
It would take too long to explain forward FX markets here but broadly forward rates will reflect any interest differences.
To compare, my wife and I intend to head to South Africa next year for 8 months of the year. But we are not yet 100% certain, or even 95% certain. So, we are not yet buying ZAR aka South African Rand
Which gets me to: buy foreign today if you are 95% sure you will spend that foreign currency.
Buy as much as you are likely to spend in 6 months.
Have you considered how the US election results might impact your currency? Maybe it would be wise to convert at least some money prior to that?
Who knows? I have definitely considered it, but it's so hard to predict.
The dollar shot up on the wins by the far right in Europe. So there's that.
Trump favors a weak dollar and could do things to crash it. On the other hand, he really stands for nothing and will do whatever he feels he needs to do in the moment. Ultimately i think Biden is better if you want a strong dollar, but want do I know? Which is part of why I'm writing this.
One of the big reasons to move is the political state of the country, no matter who wins.
I do remember getting like 1.60 Canadian for a USD!