Anyone ever take a US job and work remotely from another country?
I have been working as a freelancer / contractor from the Philippines. Most of my work comes from N. America but I also get work from Australia and Europe. The difference between self employment and a job is the tax forms involved. I have been offered a lot of full time positions, but all of them have been as a contractor. In other words, I give them a W-9, they pay me for my time and I worry about my own taxes.
How this works out depends on how well you jive with the client. Most clients won't work out, so you should be saying "no" a lot. The good clients make freelancing (almost) easy and enjoyable. Bad clients turn freelancing into a stressful grind. A bad relationship can be devastating for both sides and run your business into the ground. It takes time, practice and a lot of networking to create relationships with good clients and prevent relationships with bad clients.
Dealing with different time zones may be an issue. Every client has different preferences. Some prefer that you are available during U.S. business hours and others don't have a preference as long as you get the job done. I try to give myself some overlap in availability for at least a couple of U.S. business hours.
Your visa will likely be the most important issue. Many "nomadic developers" work on a tourist visa. You could argue the rights and wrongs on doing this, but you are unlikely to attract attention. However, you will have to do visa runs while on a tourist visa, and depending on your situation, this may play a big role in your decision. In other words, once the PITA factor of dealing with a tourist visa reaches a certain level, then you will likely be looking for another place to live.
Otherwise it's not much different than doing the same thing from within the U.S. If you have never worked remotely or done freelance, then the country you are working from will be the least of your logistical problems (assuming you aren't living in a third world country with terrible infrastructure.)
Work on client stuff starting 2 AM Manila time until around 6 AM. Do it again around 5 PM to 9 PM and then hit the sack. The time in between I have been working on side projects, but I think I need to take a break and live a little. ;)
I moved here almost as a random choice. I had never been here before I moved here and I have no ties here either. I had planned on living in many other countries but I sort of stopped here and got content. ;) Maybe after I get to where I want to be with my side projects I will try some other places.
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Anyone ever take a US job and work remotely from another country?
I have been working as a freelancer / contractor from the Philippines. Most of my work comes from N. America but I also get work from Australia and Europe. The difference between self employment and a job is the tax forms involved. I have been offered a lot of full time positions, but all of them have been as a contractor. In other words, I give them a W-9, they pay me for my time and I worry about my own taxes.
How this works out depends on how well you jive with the client. Most clients won't work out, so you should be saying "no" a lot. The good clients make freelancing (almost) easy and enjoyable. Bad clients turn freelancing into a stressful grind. A bad relationship can be devastating for both sides and run your business into the ground. It takes time, practice and a lot of networking to create relationships with good clients and prevent relationships with bad clients.
Dealing with different time zones may be an issue. Every client has different preferences. Some prefer that you are available during U.S. business hours and others don't have a preference as long as you get the job done. I try to give myself some overlap in availability for at least a couple of U.S. business hours.
Your visa will likely be the most important issue. Many "nomadic developers" work on a tourist visa. You could argue the rights and wrongs on doing this, but you are unlikely to attract attention. However, you will have to do visa runs while on a tourist visa, and depending on your situation, this may play a big role in your decision. In other words, once the PITA factor of dealing with a tourist visa reaches a certain level, then you will likely be looking for another place to live.
Otherwise it's not much different than doing the same thing from within the U.S. If you have never worked remotely or done freelance, then the country you are working from will be the least of your logistical problems (assuming you aren't living in a third world country with terrible infrastructure.)
Sounds pretty cool. Mind sharing what your typical day as a freelancer is like?
By the way, are you from the Philippines or do you just live there?
Work on client stuff starting 2 AM Manila time until around 6 AM. Do it again around 5 PM to 9 PM and then hit the sack. The time in between I have been working on side projects, but I think I need to take a break and live a little. ;)
I moved here almost as a random choice. I had never been here before I moved here and I have no ties here either. I had planned on living in many other countries but I sort of stopped here and got content. ;) Maybe after I get to where I want to be with my side projects I will try some other places.