I am Canadian, but have recently gained American Residency as I married an American Girl. We both work online and our nomadic lifestyle takes us all over the globe. We are constantly looking for places to visit and work out of every year. However due to my residency, I need to be in America at least 6 months out of every year to honor the rules on my green card status.
With prices soaring over the past year, furnished short term apartments are becoming somewhat unaffordable and scarce. AirBnb and other sites have now made what we use to scour the internet for, accessible to all. This new online service of short term rentals has opened up a huge new market, and prices have went way up!
We usually decide where to go next by staring at a map of the USA, and starting to search for the cities that we would want to live. (Securing our 6 months in the USA first and then planning our 6 months abroad later) We then cross reference our top cities with the best districts in those cities for what we like. Then plug those into our house rental sites and see what the options are. Sometimes if we are feeling risky we will even resort to craigslist and negotiate… funny enough we scored our best place ever in south beach on Craigslist. This process usually takes 1 – 2 days with a new place booked and a random adventure awaiting.
Last year I came across an article of an accountant who decided to up and quit and move his services online out of Puerto Rico. His reasons were all the tax implications and financial, as he knew them inside and out as it is his profession. I always remembered this article and it is amazing how I never though of Puerto Rico as an option even though it is an American territory.
Well doing yet another search for a new home and place to explore, after arriving in Denver from Asia a few weeks ago. We had the most trouble we ever had as no place was calling out to us. We were thinking Manhattan, or San Diego but for one reason or another neither seemed to feel right. The prices from when we last looked as well are extremely higher and suitable rentals are quite scarce.
I remembered the article that I had previously read and the possibility of the lower tax bracket and the fact that Puerto Rico is an American territory, and it will count towards my 6 months in the USA. With a lower cost of living and an amazing opportunity to meet other digital nomads and live in a tropical paradise it seems like a great option.
We have secured an apartment in the Old Sand Juan area. It is the oldest settlement in Puerto Rico and very colonial looking and colorful. The co-working space I am joining is a few blocks away as well as many coffee shops and restaurants. The flights are booked for March 1st so here we go off to another adventure!
If we love it we may stay and become residents as if we live there for at least 6 months out of the year we can claim residency. This will mean lower taxes and for myself a heavy cryptocurrency investor a very favorable capital gains tax… This could mean a HUGE savings in my investments and in our personal taxes paid as once a resident.
Stay up to date on my future posts, as I will be updating the transition and my experience. I will also be meeting with local accountants and businesses, to see what the climate is like for crypto and life in general. If we do decide to become residents I will lay out some structure for anyone else to follow if they choose.
Here we go again! Off to Old San Juan Puerto Rico March 1st!
