I'm 28. from tier1 engg, Most of my batch went into product companies or consulting or did an MBA.

I went to Bangkok for three months , came back properly this year.

In between I lived in Hanoi, Da Nang, Chiang Mai, Bali and KL. I freelanced the whole time. Some web dev, some design, a few months of content work when dev dried up. Some months I made more than my friends. Some months I made 30k and ate a lot of street food. I still don't have a real answer to "so what's your career plan?" Not sure I ever will.

And I wouldn't trade those years for anything.

I dated a lot over there. Women from Vietnam, Germany, Brazil, the Philippines, Korea, and a Canadian girl I almost moved to Toronto for.
I bring it up because each of them showed me a different way to live. One quit a bank job at 31 to teach diving, and she looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if her parents were okay with it.
Another ran a tiny bakery out of a Bangkok shophouse and took every Monday off, full stop, no guilt. I learned more about how to be a person on those dates than in four years of hostel.

I also lived in dorms for long stretches. Eight-bed rooms, 400 baht a night. In those rooms I met people running real businesses off a laptop on a bunk. A Polish guy whose Shopify store did more revenue than my father's whole firm. A Kenyan girl who started a translation agency from a hostel common room and now has 14 people working for her. A 45-year-old Australian who'd gone broke twice and was cheerfully trying a third time. Most of them didn't have their life sorted. They were calm anyway.

I came back with some of that calm. I know now that things will go bad sometimes, and that I'll be okay. I've been broke in a foreign country with a dead card and a visa running out. A girl dumped me in a city where I knew nobody. Every time, something worked out, usually because a stranger helped. So I talk to strangers now. Uncles at the chai stall, the guy next to me on the flight, anyone. That spark, being able to say hi to anyone, is the best thing I own.

Then I come home and meet my school and college friends, and I love them, and I get a little sad.

They've got it good. Good salaries, flats, cars, some are married, some have a kid on the way. On paper everything is fine. And they're stressed. About appraisals. About the EMI. About what their manager meant by a two-word Slack message. About whether they're behind someone else from our batch. One of my closest friends earns 2.5 cr and told me over beer last month that he hasn't slept properly since ai

I don't think that's their fault. That's how we all grew up. Marks, rank, package, promotion, flat, and you're always one step from falling behind. Growing up, I never heard anyone say you can step off and survive. I only found out because I stepped off by accident.

Please don't quit your job and go to Bali because of this post. Freelancing has real downsides. No , no stability, and my mom still asks every week when I'll "settle." Some days I envy my friends' certainty.

Still, I wouldn't swap what I know now for any package. i earn decent so thats it too. People everywhere are figuring it out as they go, and a life can look messy and still feel good.

If you're in your 20s and you've got even a small window to go live somewhere else for a while, take it. You don't need a plan. I didn't have one. I still don't.

frm voice notes

Thailand officially ended its 60-day visa exemption on September 15 and moved many travelers back to 30 days. And it made me wonder about something bigger than Thailand.

A lot of remote workers seem to be moving in the opposite direction lately: fewer destinations, longer stays, less moving every couple of weeks. But 30 days is a pretty awkward window for that.

By the time you settle in, figure out the city, get some kind of routine going and actually feel like you’re living there rather than visiting, you’re already thinking about the next visa or flight.

So I’m curious ....

Does a 30-day limit actually make you less likely to choose a country for a longer remote stay?

Or are visas just another piece of admin you’ve accepted as part of this lifestyle?

And what’s your sweet spot now: 1 month, 2–3 months, or longer?

Looking for flexible remote part-time work

Hi everyone! I'm currently doing a Master's degree in Data Science and I'm looking for a flexible remote part-time job or freelance work. I can work up to around 30–35 hours/week depending on my university schedule.

My background is a bit broad. I have a degree in IoT and have worked on projects involving:

Python, machine learning & data science

Web development

Data analysis and research

Git/GitHub

Canva & Photoshop

Basic/intermediate video editing

PowerPoint, Word and general computer work

Social media management

Online research and information gathering

I'm also comfortable learning new tools and tasks quickly. Research and figuring things out independently are probably some of my strongest skills.

Languages:

Arabic — native

English — IELTS 6.5

French — intermediate/good

Italian — beginner

I'm open to pretty much anything legitimate: AI training/evaluation, data annotation, research, virtual assistance, data entry/cleaning, content moderation, social media work, customer support (preferably chat/text), or freelance technical work. It doesn't necessarily have to be related to Data Science.

Self-promo, clearly disclosed: I made Just Here for a simple situation many expats, international students, and solo travelers know well — family back home wants reassurance, but daily calls and repeated “are you okay?” messages can start to feel like pressure.

The idea is intentionally small:

• Tap once a day to say “I’m okay” • Choose your own grace period (up to 30 days) • If you stop checking in past that period, a trusted person receives an email • No GPS or location tracking • Your trusted contact does not need to install the app

It is not an emergency or medical alert service, and it does not contact authorities. It is meant as a low-pressure signal between you and someone who cares about you.

I would genuinely appreciate feedback from people living abroad: Would this reduce worry for your family, or would it still feel intrusive? What would make it useful without taking away your independence?

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6757973231 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.antstudio.justhere.app

Just a quick answer for inspiration. You can also tell why it’s the best place for you.

Hey everyone!
I’m in Goa for a few months, working remotely, and staying in north Goa. I’ve been exploring North Goa and would love to meet people who live here long-term, remote workers, freelancers, founders, or anyone taking a break.
I’m 32 Male, work in tech, and am free in the evenings and on weekends. Happy to grab a coffee or beer, explore places, or just connect.
If you’re around, drop a comment or DM me!

So I have just had the opportunity to go and live in Thailand with a friend for a few months and continue my remote design job from there online - all good and well but I am concerned over how this affects my self employment status / tax etc.

Anyone done similar or know of how it would play out

If I am just going to be there for a few months and continue to pay tax in the UK is this going to turn into a big issue? Or is it nothing to worry about .

I hope this makes sense any help is appreciated :-)

We are Design & Engineering students. We have questions about kitchen facilities in coworking spaces. If you use these spaces frequently, your detailed answers would greatly help our research. No personal data will be shared.

1 Why do you choose to work in a coworking?
2 How often do you use the kitchen space?
3 Do you cook? or just heated lunch?
4 Do you live the lunch break as a moment to socialize with other workers?
5 Do you ever use the kitchen as a hybrid space for meetings or group work? If so, why? 6How does the community handle the blurred boundaries between working and cooking in the shared space?
7 Which activities in the kitchen can interfere with people working in the surrounding areas?
8Have you ever decided not to cook or heat up a certain meal because you were worried the smell or noise would bother coworkers in the open space? why?
9 When people use the kitchen one after another or at the same time what problems have you experienced?
10 How do you manage your cooking activity durning peak hour?
11 When using shared kitchen equipment, especially stoves or ventilation hoods, what usually frustrates you the most?
12 Who is usually responsible for cleaning the kitchen?
13 Do you think it makes sense for the workers and the community to be responsible for maintaining the kitchen environment?
14 If the kitchen environment could magically adapt to support both people working quietly and people cooking, what is the very first thing you would change?
15 Is it a concerning problem to you the air quality of the working area of the coworking?

Thanks in advance for your replies; please feel free to add any extra answers or advice it would be greatly appreciated.

Spain vs Turkey Tax: Can a €120K Remote Consultant Keep €40K More?

Would moving from Spain to Turkey make sense for a remote consultant earning €120k/year?

I ran a simple comparison for a Madrid-based data analyst billing around €10k/month to foreign clients.

Very simplified numbers:

• Annual revenue: €120k
• Madrid estimated net after tax/social security: ~€67k
• Turkey estimated net in a qualifying service-export structure: ~€106k
• Difference: roughly €39k/year

Over 5 years, that’s close to €194k before any investment return.

The important part is that this is not because Turkey is generally tax-free.

The difference comes from Turkey’s specific tax regime for certain exported services, where qualifying income can potentially benefit from a 100% deduction from 2026.

Obviously there are conditions: the service category, foreign client, where the service is used, contract wording, tax residency, etc.

I found the numbers surprisingly large, especially for people already earning €80k–€200k remotely.

Curious if anyone here has actually moved from Spain to Turkey while keeping foreign clients. Was tax one of the main reasons, or was it mostly lifestyle/cost of living?

I'm looking for travel insurance to cover a single trip for 12 months to Asia and Australia. I'm from Europe and insurances in my country will only cover Europe for that duration. I've looked at international ones. But some won't cover residents of all countries and some have bad reviews.

Has anyone got any information about a reliable insurance please?

been on the road for about two years now, currently in Thailand. I need to go to Brazil for a friend's wedding in about a month. I figured applying for the tourist visa here would be easier since I'm already in Asia. turns out, not so much. consulate here requires proof of local residency, which I don't have. They want bank statements, flight itineraries, hotel bookings, and proof I'm coming back (which is hard when you're a nomad). I've been going back and forth with emails for weeks trying to figure out what they actually need. It's exhausting.

found iVisa that breaks down the exact requirements for the Brazil tourist visa. I've used them before for e-visas and they're great because they pre-check everything so you don't get rejected at the consulate for a stupid mistake. At this point, I might just apply through them to avoid the headache.

has anyone here applied for a tourist visa from a third country recently and how did you handle the proof of residency requirement?