Be a digital nomad? Pay $27,000 please

[YeahSiam]

1 minute ago, seancbk said:

 

Ouch!  You have my sympathy.   I was somewhat luckier. I've never done any work that would qualify as back breaking, although I have had some tough meetings in the past.

 

Like you, I was only joking.

 

[seancbk]

Just now, YeahSiam said:

4 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

Ouch!  You have my sympathy.   I was somewhat luckier. I've never done any work that would qualify as back breaking, although I have had some tough meetings in the past.

 

Like you, I was only joking.

 

Haha!  I was a bit confused based on your earlier posts, but post from you had such an air of truth about it I thought perhaps it was true!

 

[Shiver]

4 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

My brother in law refuses to accept that in the not too distant future vast numbers of people will be no longer needed for work because of AI, Robotics and Automation System and Self Driving Vehicles (which includes ships).

He is a Civil Engineer at the very top of his game but he's really pretty clueless about IT. 

 

 

I recall Bill Gates commented one time "You'll never be out of work if you know how to fix computers".  I guess that might be even more true if using Microsoft products, but so far there is still a market.  It's getting more competitive by the day though, and the days of having a couple of screwdrivers and an Assembly compiler on a floppy disk are well behind us.  You need to be able to wear multiple hats now.

[SimpleChap]

27 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

Ouch!  You have my sympathy.   I was somewhat luckier. I've never done any work that would qualify as back breaking, although I have had some tough meetings in the past.

I've worked in (not in order) Hotels, Food Manufacturing (family business), Retail (family business), Investment Banking, HK Police, Import/Export, F&B, Sex Toy manufacturing and Web Development.

I've co-owned 2 night clubs in HK, had a network of porn sites (big money) and I've taken periods of time off to just enjoy myself.

The hardest thing I've had to do relating to work was letting 50% of my staff go during the Asian financial crises around 1998 when was Managing Director of the top boutique web design agency in Hong Kong.   At the time we wouldn't have survived had I not cut back significantly on our costs.

 

Wow so many successful jobs and business vetures in such a short lifetime, actually sounds more like some mothers do 'ave 'em, and still need to work.

Edited November 11, 2016 by SimpleChap

[seancbk]

5 minutes ago, SimpleChap said:

 

Wow so many successful jobs and business vetures in such a short lifetime, actually sounds more like some mothers do 'ave 'em, and still need to work.

Considering I've been 'working' for more than 25 years it is not that surprising I've done a lot of different things.  

 

I cannot fathom people who work in one basic job for 10 years or more....  Then again I don't understand people who just want a salary and won't risk everything to get rich.
 

[SimpleChap]

1 minute ago, seancbk said:

Considering I've been 'working' for more than 25 years it is not that surprising I've done a lot of different things.  

 

I cannot fathom people who work in one basic job for 10 years or more....  Then again I don't understand people who just want a salary and won't risk everything to get rich.
 

 

 

My point was actually, with so many successful jobs and business ventures as you summed up, I would be rich already.So need anymore to take risks.

 

 

[seancbk]

12 minutes ago, SimpleChap said:

14 minutes ago, seancbk said:

Considering I've been 'working' for more than 25 years it is not that surprising I've done a lot of different things.  

 

I cannot fathom people who work in one basic job for 10 years or more....  Then again I don't understand people who just want a salary and won't risk everything to get rich.
 

 

 

My point was actually, with so many successful jobs and business ventures as you summed up, I would be rich already.So need anymore to take risks.

Who says I'm not ;-)

My latest venture has been in the planning stage for about 18 months.   It will be ready to fully launch in about May/June 2017. 

A very large factory to produce the product is being built at the moment.    


 

[akirasan]

5 hours ago, johng said:

When I where a lad we had to be up before dawn and work down coal mine 18 hours a day for 1pint of beer and slice oh bread and dripping.

Luxury.  I used to have to get up at twelve o'clock every night to lick the road clean with my tongue.  I had half a handful of freezing cold gravel to eat, worked twenty-four hours a day down the mine for fourpence every six years, and when I got home, my Dad would slice me in two with a bread knife.   

[SimpleChap]

3 hours ago, seancbk said:

Who says I'm not ;-)

My latest venture has been in the planning stage for about 18 months.   It will be ready to fully launch in about May/June 2017. 

A very large factory to produce the product is being built at the moment.    


 

 

 

Let me guess..................Tesla

[seancbk]

2 hours ago, SimpleChap said:

 

 

Let me guess..................Tesla

 

I wish.

No, although I've been in Tech for a long time I am going back into the FMCG business.   

[JLCrab]

Well I was a math guy and did my first work (probability calculations) for a company while still in high school. I tell the PhD types today that, while I'm not on top of their game, they are still using Fourier transforms, and LaPlace and Poisson distributions that were devised about 200 years ago.

[Briggsy]

The itinerary on the particular scheme discussed includes Koh Phangan.

 

Wait till the TV work permit brigade hear about this.

[timendres]

On 11/10/2016 at 10:25 AM, Nam Mae Khong said:

Why the Hell would anyone pay USD $2,900 per year to live in a developing country where you have no rights whatsoever it just beggars belief?

 

To each his own. I like living here. The property taxes on the average home in the US can be more than $2,900, so what's the difference? As for developing country, Bangkok far surpasses some places I have lived in the US in terms of a standard of living. "No rights whatsoever"? That is a bit overstated, but, of course, I have nowhere near the rights here that I have in the US. On the other hand, I am really enjoying living here. I am far happier than I was in the US. We should be grateful for our choices.

 

[Bulldozer Dawn]

On 11/11/2016 at 3:05 AM, F4UCorsair said:

 

And all along, they were w*****s!!

 

You guys are morons.  One friend of mine works here from home as a programmer for SAP he makes over 300,000 USD per year.

[SimpleChap]

6 minutes ago, Bulldozer Dawn said:

 

You guys are morons.  One friend of mine works here from home as a programmer for SAP he makes over 300,000 USD per year.

 

 

LOL.  ONE friend of yours?

 

I have ONE friend that is a billionaire in Thai Baht, but most of my friends are far from that.

[Wilted Flower of Scotland]

On 11/11/2016 at 8:54 AM, seancbk said:

Who says I'm not ;-)

My latest venture has been in the planning stage for about 18 months.   It will be ready to fully launch in about May/June 2017. 

A very large factory to produce the product is being built at the moment.    


 

This time next year Rodney,this time next year...

[metisdead]

A Pattaya bashing post has been removed. 

[Ace of Pop]

Luxury.  I used to have to get up at twelve o'clock every night to lick the road clean with my tongue.  I had half a handful of freezing cold gravel to eat, worked twenty-four hours a day down the mine for fourpence every six years, and when I got home, my Dad would slice me in two with a bread knife.   

Grossly Overpaid


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[joeyg]

Retirement visa problems can be solved by getting American citizenship.  Americans are the only ones that don't have to deposit 800,000 bhat in the bank.  I think it's 1900 or 2000 bhat per year to renew the Retirement visa.  I forget.  Only done it twice.

 

Also whats very nice is the US Embassy comes down to the Amari on Beach Road three times a year so I can just walk down from Naklua and make my Financial Affidavit, $50.00 or renew a passport.  Sure beats going to BKK.  This unique status is granted via the Amity Treaty with Thailand.  There are other benefits in business and land ownership offered only to US Citizens.  Very nice.

 

As far as "digital nomad" stuff goes.  I'm certainly not an IT guy but pretty good around computers.  I was lucky to land a gig doing Medical Technical Writing, that is working out extremely well.  

 

NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Edited November 14, 2016 by joeyg
spelling

[seancbk]

59 minutes ago, joeyg said:

Retirement visa problems can be solved by getting American citizenship.  Americans are the only ones that don't have to deposit 800,000 bhat in the bank.  I think it's 1900 or 2000 bhat per year to renew the Retirement visa.  I forget.  Only done it twice.

 

Also whats very nice is the US Embassy comes down to the Amari on Beach Road three times a year so I can just walk down from Naklua and make my Financial Affidavit, $50.00 or renew a passport.  Sure beats going to BKK.  This unique status is granted via the Amity Treaty with Thailand.  There are other benefits in business and land ownership offered only to US Citizens.  Very nice.

 

As far as "digital nomad" stuff goes.  I'm certainly not an IT guy but pretty good around computers.  I was lucky to land a gig doing Medical Technical Writing, that is working out extremely well.  

 

NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Getting US citizenship isn't exactly easy. 

[Rob13]

11 minutes ago, seancbk said:

Getting US citizenship isn't exactly easy. 

 

 

Was for me.

[joeyg]

1 hour ago, seancbk said:

Getting US citizenship isn't exactly easy. 

Yeah I know.   It's great when ya have it though... 

[Penefattore]

On 11/10/2016 at 3:44 PM, mokwit said:

When I first came here pre-internet they were all [unpublished] authorsworking on their book, then with the internet they became internet entrepreneurs, after 2000 they became FX traders, now they are 'digital nomads'

I have yet to understand what the frack (Battlestar Galactica style) a digital nomad does , apart e-mailing his parents to put the usual 1,000 $ on his/her bank account

Edited November 14, 2016 by Penefattore

[Penefattore]

On 11/11/2016 at 2:38 PM, seancbk said:

 

 had a network of porn sites (big money) 

is anybody still paying for porn out there ? 

[Penefattore]

5 hours ago, seancbk said:

Getting US citizenship isn't exactly easy. 

and it's not exactly wise , as you become an IRS slave for life.

[seancbk]

19 minutes ago, Penefattore said:

is anybody still paying for porn out there ? 

I closed or sold my adult sites in around 2005.  

 

I still get the occasional affiliate payment from some of the programs I used to promote.

 

[seancbk]

46 minutes ago, Penefattore said:

I have yet to understand what the frack (Battlestar Galactica style) a digital nomad does , apart e-mailing his parents to put the usual 1,000 $ on his/her bank account

 

They may do a number of things.

Work remotely for companies around the world doing IT support, which can range from small businesses who don't want to bother learning how to manage a website or setup email accounts etc, to very large enterprises that outsource their entire server management.  This could be for fees ranging from 100's of baht a week to 10's of thousand of baht a week.

They may have their own websites - Travel sites and food sites are quite popular.   Travel and write about the places you go, the things you eat etc.
Earn money from affiliate programs, selling articles to other sites etc.   Income depends on how much traffic you have but if you work on the site every day (or every other day) for a year or so and produce good content then you should be able to start generating US$1000 a month fairly easily. 
It does require quite a few skills which can take years to acquire.

They may have an ecommerce site - buying things in the foreign country they reside in and selling them online.   Or even better doing drop shipping where they promote products and have the manufacturer (often China based) actually send out the products to the customers.   Incomes of 100's a day to 10's of thousand of Baht a day are very possible.    

 

The guys who poo poo the concept of people making a living online are either jealous or just have no idea how large the market is for content and products.  

 

It is by no means easy to make money online however.  

 

To be successful in any of the above examples (and there are many more ways to work online), you need to have a whole host of skills and be very good at them.  

 

We live in a very different world to the one the old boys on this forum grew up in.  


Incidentally, nothing wrong with having your family put money into your account if they are rich.  That is what families that have money do, they look after each other.   

 

 

Edited November 14, 2016 by seancbk

[geronimo]

The future certainly will be virtuality, and anyone who isn't knowledgeable will get left behind. The next 3 years will see the end of printed media, paper and coin money, and all humans will be chipped.

[seancbk]

3 hours ago, geronimo said:

The future certainly will be virtuality, and anyone who isn't knowledgeable will get left behind. The next 3 years will see the end of printed media, paper and coin money, and all humans will be chipped.

 

3 years is a bit soon, but I expect this in between 5 - 10 years.

I would also add, all vehicular driving will be done by AI within 10-15 years.   That will mean cars, trucks, boats and some planes (cargo only most likely). 

 

Within 3-5 years VR will allow anyone to 'be' anywhere, so people will no longer need to travel to meetings (business or social).   You will be able to have your meeting anywhere (on a beach, in a field high in the Swiss Alps, on another planet even), all without leaving the climate controlled comfort of your own home.   

Starting already and could happen in 3 years or less.....  or 5 years..... AI will open up the automation of lots of things.   Tasks which a person might delegate to a junior staffer will be doable by AI with flawless speech recognition and response. 

My only big hope is that we figure out how to fully interface the human brain to a computer and finally find out if a human consciousness can be copied over and still 'work'.   

I believe we will achieve that and when we do the whole soul / god issue can be put to bed.   End religions and move humanity towards immortality.    

 

I just hope it happens in my lifetime.   Would hate to think I might 'die' before we figure out how to lose the shackles of the human body. 

I figure with a bit of luck I may have 30 more years to live, so it's looking good for me to become immortal.
 

 

[starky]

On 11/11/2016 at 3:04 PM, johng said:

When I where a lad we had to be up before dawn and work down coal mine 18 hours a day for 1pint of beer and slice oh bread and dripping.

You were LUCKY