Slow Travel, Geoarbitrage and Creative Frugality|Bob Lai - a podcast by Cody of Fly to FI and Justin aka Saving Sherpa
from 2020-08-11T07:00:25
Today's episode features Bob Lai from Tawcan.
Bob and his wife are both dual citizens living in Vancouver, Canada.He has a big passion for geo-arbitrage, slow travel, and dividend investing.
Hear how he's reaching FI while traveling and having three weddings! (spoiler alert, only one bride)
Listen, learn, and let us know what you think about this awesome episode!Episode Summary
Bob's Background
Bob’s family grew up in Taiwan with a farming backgroundMoney was never taboo and stuck with him
Frugality was a big point of emphasisHis dad retired in his early 40s
Bob had a cousin who retired at 42And then another cousin who hit FI and kept working
Bob talks about the influence that had on himGeo-arbitrage
Geoarbitrage is the act of moving somewhere to lower your cost of livingThink San Francisco resident moving to Montana
This can be within your own country or abroadIt’s important to consider your earnings also dropping
This typically works best if you’re not working or working remotelySome jobs like doctors actually get paid more in small cities
With the pandemic, this is possible for many more workers who’ve gone remoteExchange rates can also be your friend
Living 181+ days in another country can also help you avoid U.S. income taxesCitizenship is obviously a big hurdle in certain countries
Some countries give residency based on wealth or homeownershipGeo-arbitrage can save you 50% or more
Slow TravelOften we look at travel as short spurts (1 – 2 weeks at a time)
This leads to trying to pack in as much as possibleYou end up so tired, you need a vacation when you get back
Slow travel is the idea of spreading that over 3-6monthsThis allows you to spread out costs of flights
It also lets you book apartments vs hotel roomsBob goes over how much more enjoyable it is and affordable
He also talks about the benefits of having a home base when travelingThree weddings under $7000
Bob got married three times….Remember that his wife was from Denmark
This meant they both had families abroadHis first wedding was mostly his family
Bob’s wife made the cake and her dress!Of course, they used a coupon after the wedding to eat
A month later they had a wedding with friends and her familyThey hired a friend who would go on to go to culinary school
And their photographer was just starting outHis wife actually altered her own wedding dress for the second wedding
A year later they decided to do a wedding actually in DenmarkThis time it was at a small-town school and his picture did photographs
Bob even took some of the photosRounding out the Episode
Bob talks about how he could retire now if he wantedHe's happy with his job currently
Their home is also very valuable in the crazy Vancouver marketBut life is good and his kids have a friend group
Key TakeawaysSlow down: Bob breaks down the power of slow travel which this show is a big fan of
You have options: Don't think that just because you live or were born in a certain area that you have to stay there.
Call to ActionLook at your next planned vacation or one you've done in the past, compare those numbers with the slow travel version of it. How much per day does a six day vacation compare to a six month?
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