Read Time: 3 min

How I made the decision to become a digital nomad and things I wish I knew before.

The best tax residency for nomads gave me the freedom I always sought.

I wrote my master's thesis at a large corporation in Germany.

I had to come to the office daily to work on my thesis.

I could have done that work from a laptop anywhere in the world.

We students had a small room in the basement to do our work.

On my way to the student workroom, I passed an office every day.

In this office sat a man in his 50s from 9-5 in front of a black screen.

I was baffled seeing him sit there every day doing nothing.

He looked so empty inside.

I told myself this is what it will look like when I don't control my 5Ws in life.

I heard later that this man was 2 or 3 years away from retirement.

They didn't have any work for him anymore.

But his pension would get lowered significantly if he'd retire early.

So, he sat there every day without purpose or vision.

I decided never to end up like this old guy in the basement on that day.

It was clear to me that I would never work for a big corporation again.

Neither would I rely on governments to secure my future.

I want to live in freedom.

To live free, I need to control the 5W in life.

Who do I spend my time with?
What do I spend my time on?
Where do I spend my time?
When will I do it?
Why will I do it?

I doubled down on the startup I was building back then.

Because running my own business lets me control all my 5Ws.

This decision made me a digital nomad.

I wish I had known a few things before becoming a digital nomad though.

It could have saved my company 2 million Euros.

It cost me personally nearly 300k Euros.

If this story sounds familiar to you, let's talk.

If you want to get to the next level but don't know where to start, I can help you.

Ready for your business to run itself?

>>> Get on a call with me.

Three Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Digital Nomad

1. You Need a Tax Residency

I had the dream of not paying taxes anywhere.

Theoretically, living without a residency and not being tax-liable anywhere is possible.

In reality, the cons of having no tax residence outweigh its benefits.

Without tax residency, I would not be able to:

Open bank accounts in Europe, North America, and most places in Asia and South America.
Open and run companies in any of the parts of the world mentioned above.
Get insurance or even use the healthcare system in many countries.
Buy property in a large amount of countries.
Travel freely through many countries on a tourist visa.

All these activities need permanent residency somewhere in the world.

I looked into 71 countries to find the best country to reside in.

Most lawyers from big consultancy firms try to make you believe it is Malta.

My research shows that Malta is a terrible choice for digital nomads.

The clear winner for me is Estonia.

Located inside the EU.
Low personal taxes of 20%.
Forward thinking and high-tech government.
Great foreign and residency policies.

Dubai is also great, but outside of the EU.

Being located inside the EU makes a big difference when it comes to amenities.

The best banks are accessible only from inside the EU.

And bank accounts limit or enable how we interact with the world.

2. Pick the Right Country for Your Company

I am not a freelancer, and I assume neither of you are reading this.

I own companies, and many regulations exist on who can open and operate a company.

I should have thought about that before jumping to become a digital nomad.

I knew about Estonia back then, and still, we opened our first company in Germany.

A hastily made decision due to bad legal advice.

The high and unfair taxes made running our business there infeasible.

We could have saved 1.5 million Euros in tax money.

And another 200-300k EUR in legal advisors.

This cut our runway by nearly two years.

Legal research can be expensive and time intense.

But it can save you even more significant losses in the future.

I found a great website with a lot of credible information about most countries in the world.

This page gives an excellent overview of company and personal tax regulations.

Start your research there and narrow down the countries you decide to look deeper into.

3. The Exit Tax Trap

I would have never thought that a concept like exit taxes existed.

I regret not looking into Exit Taxes before opening my last company in Germany.

And our legal consultants missed this tiny detail, knowing I wanted to live as a nomad.

What is Exit Tax?

An Exit Tax is applied to an individual's or entity's wealth when they permanently leave a country.

Germany, Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Cyprus are all examples of countries that have them, to name a few.

They are a primary factor preventing business owners from living as digital nomads.

Be smarter than me and look into this before opening your company.

Or figure out ways to get around it when you're already incorporated.

Become a Digital Nomad Anyways

I became a digital nomad anyway and learned so much.

It cost me a lot of learning money to do so.

But it was one of the best decisions in my life.

You can learn from my mistakes.

I'm happy to share my knowledge freely.

I want as many people as possible to live as free as I do.

Shoot me a message on LinkedIn if you want to know more about how to become a digital nomad entrepreneur.

WANT TO LEVEL UP YOUR BUSINESS GAME?

Read all articles one week early.

Get my newsletter

Three Things to Look Out For When Becoming a Digital Nomad, as European