c/freelancer-relocation

Moved to Chiang Mai for 3 months and my productivity tanked for the first 2 weeks

The time I tried to go fully remote from a beach town in Mexico and my internet went out for 4 days straight

I moved to Puerto Escondido thinking I'd work from hammocks and cafes, but a storm knocked out the fiber line to my whole neighborhood. I had to take a 45 minute bus to a coworking space in La Punta just to send two invoices and answer urgent emails. Turns out the backup Starlink I'd ordered hadn't shipped yet, so I lost a $500 retainer because I couldn't deliver a draft on time. Has anyone else found a reliable way to test internet reliability before committing to a lease in a smaller town?

Pro tip: I wasted 6 months picking apartments based on rent alone

I moved to Austin thinking cheap rent was king, but when I realized I was spending $150 extra a month on coworking spaces just to get decent internet, that's what finally tipped me off that location matters way more than the monthly cost.

Finally figured out the co-working trick in Medellin

I spent my first month here bouncing between cafes and paying $8 for a latte just to use wifi. Then I walked past a co-working spot that had a day pass for $12 with actual desks and quiet rooms. Nobody talks about how cafe wifi usually dies around 3 PM when all the remote workers show up. I switched to WeWork on Calle 35 and my output doubled just from having a real chair. Has anyone else found a better balance between cheap cafes and paying for workspace?

Wasted $300 on a mail forwarding service that never actually forwarded anything

Signed up for a mail scanning service in South Dakota before I moved to Spain. Thought it would be a solid way to keep my US address for banking and taxes. Paid for the yearly plan upfront. Three months in and I still haven't seen a single piece of mail scanned. Called them four times. They keep saying 'next week'. Has anyone found a reliable service for this kind of thing or am I better off just using a friend's address?

Noticed something weird in Medellin last month - almost every freelancer I met there works from the same three cafes in El Poblado

Is it just a coincidence or do people actually coordinate which spots to hit for good WiFi and power outlets, because I kept running into the same faces at different places depending on the day.

Crossed 10k in monthly revenue for the first time and felt nothing

I hit $10,200 last month freelancing from a hostel in Medellin and honestly it just felt like another Tuesday. Thought I'd feel some big shift but the milestone mattered more for proving I could make it work remotely than the money itself. Anyone else hit a number and just shrug?

How I used to hunt for leads by cold calling yellow pages numbers back in 2013

Now I just scroll through curated remote job boards over coffee and it still feels weird not hearing dial tones all morning, has anyone else made that switch and felt like they lost some weird skill?

The mistake people make when picking a town for freelancing

I keep seeing folks on here move to cheap small towns thinking it'll save them money. I tried that with a place outside Spokane last year. The cheap rent was nice but the internet was so slow I couldn't upload design files. I lost a $2,000 client because of it. Has anyone else found that you gotta check the actual fiber availability before signing a lease?

TIL coworking space memberships can be cheaper if you buy them in bulk.

I used to just pay month to month at a spot in Denver for $200 a pop. Then I found out you can buy a 10 pass bundle for $150 a month if you commit to 3 months upfront. I switched last October and saved $150 total so far. Has anyone else found a weird discount like this for their workspace?

Can we talk about how everyone thinks Thailand is the only cheap place to relocate?

I keep seeing posts about moving to Chiang Mai for the low cost of living, but have you actually looked at other spots? I spent 3 months in Da Nang, Vietnam last year and my rent was $250 for a furnished studio with a pool. Thailand has gotten way more tourist-priced lately, especially around the digital nomad hubs. Vietnam, on the other hand, has cheaper street food, cheaper coworking spaces, and way less competition for good wifi. Maybe it's just me but I feel like people sleep on places like Penang or Medellin too. Has anyone else tried a less obvious city and found it way better?

That one landlord in Lisbon who changed my whole approach

I was renting a room in Lisbon for 3 months while testing out remote work from Europe. The landlord, a guy named Marco, told me on day one: 'Don't sign a lease longer than a month until you've walked the neighborhood at night.' He was right. I switched to a shorter rental and saved myself from a noisy street that would have killed my focus for the whole trip. Has anyone else gotten good advice from a local that changed where they ended up settling?

Hit my first 5-figure month as a freelancer 3 years after moving to Denver

Last week I finally cracked $10k in a single month and it felt surreal considering I was barely making rent when I first relocated here in 2022.

Lost a $3,200 retainer from a client in Austin because of one stupid email typo

I was in a coffee shop in Nashville last Tuesday, firing off a contract renewal email to a client I'd worked with for 2 years. Typo in the dollar amount - wrote $3,200 instead of $3,300. They signed it, then when I asked about the difference, they said 'that's what you quoted, tough luck.' I spent 3 days going back and forth but had to eat the $100. Anyone else get burned by a small error like that?

My bank account got frozen for 5 days because of a 'suspicious' freelancer deposit

Last month a client in Japan wired me $4,200 for a big project and my bank locked my account within 2 hours. They flagged it as potential money laundering because the deposit came from overseas and was over $3,000. I had to call them 3 times, send them a copy of my contract, and wait for them to 'review' it. Meanwhile I couldn't pay my rent or buy groceries. Has anyone else had their bank freak out over international payments like this? What bank do you use that doesn't treat freelancer income like a crime?

Hit 100 coffee shop workdays in one city and it got weird

I've been freelancing in Chiang Mai for 6 months and just realized I've worked from over 40 different coffee shops here, mostly because I chase free WiFi and good outlets. Last week I walked into one and the barista handed me my usual order before I even said a word, which was both cool and a little creepy. Has anyone else hit a random milestone like this that made you stop and think about your routine?

Found a guy in Medellin who rents desks by the hour but says it's fine if I work from the rooftop

He told me 'just bring your laptop up here, nobody cares, but don't tell the other tenants' and now I'm sitting under a palm tree with better WiFi than most coworking spaces. Is this a freelancer paradise or a setup for getting my gear stolen while I'm in the bathroom?

Ran into a retired accountant at a coffee shop in Austin who said my whole pricing system was backwards

He told me I was charging by the hour when I should be charging by the value of the finished job, then scribbled his formula on a napkin. Has anyone else gotten unsolicited advice from a stranger that actually made you more money?

Moved to Portugal for 6 months and my productivity tanked for the first 2

I packed up and went to Lisbon back in March thinking a fresh city would boost my freelance work. Turns out dealing with a new timezone, finding reliable wifi, and getting a residency card took way more energy than I expected. I barely hit $1,800 my first month there which was half my usual. Anyone else deal with a big dip in income after relocating?

Warning: Don't trust the WiFi in that cheap co-living spot in Medellin

I moved into a place in Laureles for $450 a month, the photos were great. First week, my video calls kept dropping every 10 minutes. Turns out they had one consumer router for 20 people. I had to buy my own portable hotspot and eat the data cost for the whole month. Anyone else get burned by a 'high speed internet' claim in a coliving spot?

Talked to a guy in Lisbon who said his visa renewal got stuck for 8 months

I met him at a co-working space last week. He said he filed all his paperwork for a freelancer visa but missed one local tax form. The office put his file at the bottom of the pile and he couldn't leave the country. It hit me that moving isn't just about finding a place to live. You need to know the exact steps to keep your right to stay. Has anyone else had a small mistake cause a huge delay with their visa?

My bank froze my account the day I landed in Mexico City

Last month I moved to Mexico City for a six month contract. I called my bank a week before to tell them about the relocation. The day after I landed, my card got declined at a grocery store. They froze everything because of 'suspicious activity' and it took three days of calls to unlock it. Has anyone found a bank that actually handles international moves well?

My bank froze my account the day I landed in Mexico City

I moved there for six months and tried to pay my rent online. They thought it was fraud and blocked everything. How do you tell your bank you're moving without this happening?

My Lisbon apartment wifi went down for 3 days right after I moved in

I just relocated here last month to freelance, and my whole setup depends on a solid connection. The router the landlord gave me just stopped working on a Tuesday morning. No warning, just dead. I had a client call scheduled for that afternoon and a project due by Friday. I spent like 2 hours trying to reset it, then had to find a local electronics store to buy a new one, which cost me 90 euros. The real kicker was figuring out how to explain the situation to the Portuguese ISP customer service with my terrible language skills. I ended up working from a cafe for two days, which killed my focus. Has anyone else had their work totally derailed by a basic utility failing in a new city? What's your backup plan?

Spent $200 on a local SIM card setup service in Lisbon and it saved my whole week

I landed last Monday and my usual plan of just grabbing a SIM at the airport fell apart because the kiosk was closed. A freelancer I met online recommended a guy who sets everything up for you, including a local bank app for payments. He came to my Airbnb, got me a working number and data plan in under an hour, and even explained the tax number process. Has anyone else used a service like this in a new city, or did you tough it out on airport wifi?