Unhappy? Then pack your damn bags and move...

[ZackerySprague]

How about these big hail storms (not as bas as tornadoes)? I know a guy in Granbury and he's all excited that I might move near him. I am thinking of moving closer to the Fort Worth side, but I'm not necessarily a cowboy and I worry that even this might be too extreme of a culture for me (though I lean more conservative).

Ideally, I'd like to live in a suburban or rural area that is somewhat a close drive to the metro area. The contract work I do will be mainly in the DFW metro area, just as it is in Los Angeles. Are there any cons about living in the area that I've missed?

I am used to the heat, I like guns, I like lower cost of living (compared to what I pay now), I like nature and history, and less people. I think DFW is like 2/3-1/2 the size of LA in terms of population.

You've got nothing to worry about I promise. We have tons of sunshine here, not much of any rain or tornadoes. We barely get any snow as it is. Hail storms come and go, but are not frequent.

The cowboy culture is yes prominent here, but we don't judge others who are not.

South Fort Worth is pretty cheap in terms of rent.

Texas's weather is bipolar hahaha! It could rain one second and be sunny the next. It could be 40 degrees one morning, then 80 degrees in the afternoon.

I don't really care for the cowboy look, just not my style. I don't wear hats or boots. Dallas is very business like with suits, but these are more like uptown folk loaded up on credit with the nice cars houses. They can be very friendly at times, sometimes not.

IMO, we are the best state in the US.

 

[ZackerySprague]

How about these big hail storms (not as bas as tornadoes)? I know a guy in Granbury and he's all excited that I might move near him. I am thinking of moving closer to the Fort Worth side, but I'm not necessarily a cowboy and I worry that even this might be too extreme of a culture for me (though I lean more conservative).

Ideally, I'd like to live in a suburban or rural area that is somewhat a close drive to the metro area. The contract work I do will be mainly in the DFW metro area, just as it is in Los Angeles. Are there any cons about living in the area that I've missed?

I am used to the heat, I like guns, I like lower cost of living (compared to what I pay now), I like nature and history, and less people. I think DFW is like 2/3-1/2 the size of LA in terms of population.

My best advice, book a hotel. Visit the city for 3 days. Then make your decision.

 

[fridge]

MJ, being that your from the Chicago area, what places around the country do you recommend looking into to move? I plan to move in the next 2 or so years, but need to do some travelling and see what city I like best.

 

[Simon Angel]

MJ didn't have any fun as a kid lol he kept getting cheated on and beat up

I drive around and think "There's the parking lot I smashed the ASU cheerleader" and "there's the guys house me and my teammates fired mortar fireworks at" and "There's that high school where I bullied all those nerds".

Pretty much everyone goes through these experiences in high school.

 

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[Djo]

Such a great topic you brought MJ !
However I still Don't understand how moving to another place will contribute to succeeding my fastlane journey especially when being young and having no income sources.

 

[Djo]

Moving to a different country is the single best decision I have ever made

I could have done nothing business wise after making that choice and still been way better off in terms of income and quality of life due to the opportunities, people, weather and incomes where I moved

I could have stayed where I was and done everything right business wise and I’d probably still be broke and my life would still suck

Even if I somehow made a more successful business there than I have here my life still wouldn’t be as good due to the people and the weather and the general poverty of the country

Also if you are going to move, you may as well move somewhere where it’s warm year round, there’s a whole thread about that already though

And if you’re moving city or state, you may as well just move country if you think it’s going to work out better for you

You’ll still go back home just as much, or as little, as you would if you were closer

Don’t pick a place that’s close, pick the best place for you

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply
Would you mind if I talk to you privately for more details if you have time please ?

 

[Albert KOUADJA]

I've done that too. Antibiotics aren't too expensive though.

I don't know you but I can say that you would be more famous if you did comedy (lol).

 

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[ZackerySprague]

Damn! I will read this again!
It's scary to move to a new location but it's worthy of a chance/shot as ONCE in a Lifetime!
Thanks Demarco! You are the best!

I think it will be the most invoirating, yet exciting adventure one person could ever go one. We have been so conditioned to stay/stick in our current environment that one person never thinks about behind the means of their area.

There's so much to explore, so much to do, so much to see, so much to experience. I find it very exciting actually. To see other cultures, different people.

I love meeting new people, I get to see the world from a different perspective.

 

[Albert KOUADJA]

.

Ici, cela signifie changer de pays et avec cela vient beaucoup plus d'obstacles à franchir, comme les visas, les barrières linguistiques, etc.

Yes, it is everywhere.

 

[MTF]

I wouldn’t move anywhere else in U.K. Yes it’s slightly warmer down south but not by much. It wouldn’t make much difference to our lifestyle plus we’d be moving away from our family and friends without a real upside.

Yeah that's a fair point, I get it.

Yes there are some good schools in Spain, and I know footballers children move a lot as do other families but I’ve done some research and a lot of people say it’s not ideal to move with teenagers. Plus International schools are like private ones here in U.K. where we’d have to pay for it.

What do your children think about it? Have you ever asked them if they'd like to live in a sunny, warm climate?

My sister and her husband wanted to live in the countryside. Despite having four kids, they moved to the countryside from the city and the kids are super happy about it. Obviously not the same as moving to another country but just shows that happy parents = happy kids.

 

[Jadus]

Argentina: I have a love-hate relationship with Argentina. Buenos Aires is such a beautiful and relatively safe city, and certainly my favorite city in LatAm. Great historic architecture. However, I am not a fan of the people.. at all. They have been the least personable people I've met in Latin America. And probably in the world.

I'm surprised to see you didn't like the people there. I used to work with an Argentinian. He was one of the nicest, friendliest guys I've known. It's good to hear another perspective though.

 

[Arrived2015]

Sure there is some of this involved, however the “yourself” is a product of environment. Change the environment to change you.

My view is the environment changes when your mindset changes.

Changes can be double edge sometimes, I think, because some changes occur within and radiate out. Then some changes occur from outside in ('change the environment to change you')

Either way, staying in one place that is not matching your mindset, keeps one stagnant.

So indeed:

' moving to a new city and a new culture on the other side of your country'

is the boost you may need to grow!

 

[JordanK]

Has anyone on the forum moved to Dubai, UAE? I had been considering moving to the US for the last number of years but the hurdles keep getting more and more annoying. Expensive and restrictive visas, visa processing delays, high COL in areas I would consider moving to, Biden not allowing foreigners into the country without a vaccine at the moment for example.

Also, my business is in real estate and I'm already invested in my city here in Ireland. With Dubai I could live there during the high season Sept-May and then live in Ireland during the summer months June-Aug (Ireland's high season). This would allow me to continue investing in both places.

Been doing a tonne of research and it looks like you can get 5-10 year visas within 14 days of purchasing a 250-550k property.

 

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[Zubz]

I pulled this quote out from another thread on doing something that you wish you would have done sooner...

GOLD! - HOT! - What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

What do you think about that he might be happier, because you (as parent) are happier? Of course it has an effect on my kid that I am happy too, but in this case it was so obvious that he really needed the change too (but it has more to do with the Danish School system than it has to do with...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

If you haven’t yet considered it, I highly recommend moving to a new city and a new culture on the other side of your country. Or hell, even expating to a new country if that is an option.

If you live in a shit country where emigrating is difficult, make LEAVING your priority. Forget the business stuff. What do you need to do to leave? Do you need a skill?

Don’t let “sacred cows” keep you immobile and planted like a tree.

A “sacred cow” keeps you planted with lame excuses like, “oh I grew up here, I can’t move.” Or, “my family is here,” or “My favorite football club is here.”

While family is important, most families are dysfunctional and many of them simply aren’t supportive of an Unscripted existence.

Moving to Arizona from Chicago was one the best decisions in my life.

If you have negative or uninspired history in a particular city, it can add significant mental baggage to your progress. Living in a place where you have struggled, failed, and lived unhappily is a mental burden, no matter how you want to frame it.

...Oh there's my old high school where I was bullied...
...Oh there's the intersection where I got into an accident...
...Oh there's my old best friend's house before he cheated with my girlfriend...
...Oh this is the route to my old job that I hated...
…Oh there’s the McDonalds I used to work at…
…Oh here’s the shitty weather that I can’t stand…
…Oh there’s my old neighborhood where my parents were divorced…
...Oh I hate shopping at that grocery story where I always run into my X-girlfriend...
...Oh there's that local park where the neighborhood bully beat me up...

Folks, STOP KIDDING YOURSELF.

There is nothing stopping you from moving. I moved to Arizona with $900 in my bank account. I realize that those with family, things are more complicated, but it's not rocket science. It's a matter of importance and prioritization.

Do you want to own a business? Or do you want a safe and secure job that keeps you mildly entertained for 50 years?

Making big decisions like this is on par with the big decision to become an entrepreneur.

You only live once. Yes, happiness is largely a choice. However, you can make choices that make the choice to be happy, much easier.

Make happiness a priority. Make choices that make happiness more likely.

Another way of looking at it... if you grew up in a home with a lot of bad memories, what the hell would you choose to stay there? Why do you want to be reminded of bad times? And if your city/home does a good job at reminding you of unhappiness, PACK YOUR DAMN BAGS and MOVE.

I agree with you. I have family here and I use it as an excuse. Living in Canada i F*cking hate the winter! It pisses me off so much. I need to move a warmer climate.

 

[David Fitz]

The move was pretty easy because I had a competent contact person.
But I have also heard horror stories from people who were completely screwed by agencies where they had booked the visa process.

Advantages:
- 99.99% No income tax or corporate taxes on profits from abroad.
The remaining 0.01%
- Safety
- End of October to mid May Good weather
- Very good flight connections
- Lots of people interested in growing

Disadvantages:
- End of May to October ( especially June,July,August !!!!) very strong heat
- Artificially built city - I am impressed by trees when I return to Europe in summer
- Consumer capital, which unfortunately makes many people very superficial.
- The advantage of meritocracy, can also be a disadvantage to. On social level (without business interests) you should not expect much here.
- The advantage of no tax can also be a disadvantage for some: High telecommunication costs (monopolies), toll costs increased, school with high costs, hospitals are a business here (incl. upsells and crossells), visa costs have recently been increased significantly indirectly, banks can make unpleasant demands such as $50,000 deposit (Heard about $100,000 too).
- The Middle East is not like Europe, here things like good construction quality or that there are rules for everything are not a given.

Tips and Tricks:
UNCONDITIONALLY find a suitable partner for the visa/company/bank process, otherwise you will be mercilessly fleeced.

Always be skeptical, Dubai is safe as far as your physical security is concerned but scams abound here MILLIONS.

I would do the same thing again but honestly I was a bit lucky to get the right people to have a pleasant process.
I can't write all the stories here publicly but I've seen everything from travel bans to tens of thousands of dollars burned.


Dubai is a tax free tool, if you want to extract the maximum benefit act like the smart people and use the best of each region.
Use Dubai as a travel/business 0% tax hub and spend 3 or 6 months for tax certificate here and the rest in Europe or on vacation.
But be sure to completely cut ties with your home country, the UAE is at the top of the list for every tax investigation in the world.

This place sounds like hell

 

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[David Fitz]

Very interesting. What information do you have on those type visas, if you don’t mind sharing!



Thanks! I’d be super interested in hearing about how your moving journey unfolded. Pro’s/cons, tips & tricks. Would you make the same decisions again if you went back in time.

Freelancer visa is pretty straight forward I think. You need to pay about €2000 for the year which is what I've been seeing online so far.

 

[mbilal]

This place sounds like hell

I actually don't like to talk too negatively but I want to save you from negative experiences.

Freelancer visa is pretty straight forward I think. You need to pay about €2000 for the year which is what I've been seeing online so far.

As said please work with competent partners, there are many pitfalls here.

1. freelancer visa = from the middle of 2023 9% tax above the tax-free amount + accounting etc.

2. very difficult to get a business account and with personal account the banks nag you to stop doing business activities on a private account.

 

[David Fitz]

I actually don't like to talk too negatively but I want to save you from negative experiences.



As said please work with competent partners, there are many pitfalls here.

1. freelancer visa = from the middle of 2023 9% tax above the tax-free amount + accounting etc.

2. very difficult to get a business account and with personal account the banks nag you to stop doing business activities on a private account.

Thanks. What visa do you recommend for me to get and who do you recommend as a competent partner?

 

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[mbilal]

Thanks. What visa do you recommend for me to get and who do you recommend as a competent partner?

It depends on what you need.

If you just need a simple way for ONLY visas, you can book a visa on your own at the cheapest free trade zone.

Otherwise feel free to send me a message, if it is not too complicated I can refer you to the right authorities without you having to pay an agency, otherwise I will refer you to a friend who has a well-known agency in Marina.

 

[EL_00]

U see I feel like crying whenever something bad happened at home and I read this thread. One time, two times.

I really genuinely want to move, but I have an old mother, a sister that soon graduate, and a high school brother.

Mom begging me to stay to feed for the family, she promise after my sis graduate I soon let go. I'm not gonna lie, I sometimes crying at night on how hard to feed family of 4 working alone. I realized it is hard too for mother but I dream to move to a completely different country.

Now each time I bring that up, she assumed I will bring her along and pay for my brother until college. I just don't know, I fight for scholarship and how come my siblings just expect I pay for them. With Current situation I just feel empty reading mj books and this forum, I don't want to run away but stay is marking me dumb

 

[ZackerySprague]

If anyone's open to it. I see a lot of people from different states coming to the lone star state:

1. California
2. Florida
3. Minnesota
4. Washington
5. Indiana

Texas is exploding.

The southern border though is out of control at the moment.

I love Texas, but I hope that the culture isn't changed from everyone else moving here. We are nice, we are kind, will open doors for another, we don't tolerate people who do bad things to others. From disasters we help each other. Don't ruin our state with other policies from other states.

 

[ZackerySprague]

Of course you can. It just depends on what you think is best for your family. If the kids staying at the same school is more important than you moving, then you stay.

Said something similar to a friend I use to work with.

 

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[NewManRising]

If anyone's open to it. I see a lot of people from different states coming to the lone star state:

1. California
2. Florida
3. Minnesota
4. Washington
5. Indiana

Texas is exploding.

The southern border though is out of control at the moment.

I love Texas, but I hope that the culture isn't changed from everyone else moving here. We are nice, we are kind, will open doors for another, we don't tolerate people who do bad things to others. From disasters we help each other. Don't ruin our state with other policies from other states.

Any particular cities you could recommend in Texas?

 

[NewManRising]

I really want to move but I don't want to take a giant leap like moving out of state. It's a long term plan but I want to build my skills and income a little bit.

I am pretty angry at the moment and it has been going on for about 9 months now. Long story short, I come from an extremely dysfunctional family. My brother also married a woman who brought her extreme selfishness, greed, and recklessness into out family.

There is a long history of multiple family members basically ripping my mother off for 10s of thousands of dollars over 25 years. My mom passed away in 2019. Since then everyone has been on my back trying to basically put me in the position my mother was in.

I moved out of state to get away from one family member. My brother basically conned/convinced me to move back to Los Angeles and said they had a vacancy at his apartment complex. Aside from it being expensive ($1650 for a 575 sq ft 1 bedroom), my brother problems from his marriage are finding their way to me.

There is no fixing their marriage, his wife is too psychotic and her pride and ego is through the roof. She has to live like she's rich and pretty soon, they are going to run out of money. They have a pattern and no matter how much money they have, they always wind up broke due to his wife's over spending.

I can just feel the pressure and stress because they are implying, signaling and even acting in ways where they think they are going to start draining my finances.

Most of my life I've been an outsider to my family. There were multiple families within my family that really divided people and it was all about money. I spent most of my life surviving with zero help. I've had to deal with so much bullshit and struggle.

But through the years I got educated, and then even Fastlane educated. When I first came to LA, I was organized, high energy, had somewhat of a good network and now all that is gone. My personality now is changed and I am nothing like who I am. I am having performance issues at my jobs. This is a problem because if I can't do this work I cannot survive in Los Angeles. Nothing pays what I need to make in order to sustain myself. There's also a lot of discrimination due to identity politics.

I know I need to disappear and leave my family for good. I am pretty sure my brother's wife is going to eventually put him and then the rest of their family on the street. This is a real reality. I don't want to be around for it and feel extremely sad for him. He just doesn't have the balls to say no or stand up to his wife. And now they have the oldest daughter basically living as a clone of his wife. Like I say, it is about her pride and ego.

I was planning to move somewhere away from them but still local and not share my location with them. Problem is, to live anywhere a little better than the city I am in, the rent starts at at least $2000 a month for a 1 bedroom.

I can't even concentrate and make any consistent money. I was doing contract IT work and basically learned everything hands-on. This type of work requires extreme professionalism, organization, good attitude, critical thinking, etc and I have lost this. I am even having days where I'd rather isolate and not even go out in the world. I am having road rage and impatience with people and people are noticing.

I'd move anywhere but my thoughts are that you need to be able to make money. I am just not quite where I need to be. This is the one barrier that holds me back from taking these big leaps. I feel that if I do not have a solid plan and the ability to make money locally, I could put myself in a trap.

The thought of staying local makes me think that once the stress and problems go down I can concentrate and build something. This goes back to my history over my lifetime. My family has always made sure to sabotage or prevent me from ever really building anything. Their problems, their burdens, their greed of having to come first has always had an effect on me. It's something I could never escape no matter where I went.

I thought when my mom passed away this all ended and I could finally live my life. But, all that has happened is the snakes in my family have pivoted over to me and have been relentless for the last 4 years.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

And gas/rent is cheaper than other places, and no state income tax.

It's also hot as shit for 3 months out of the year.

Yeah the summers can be terrible.

 

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[JophMax]

I pulled this quote out from another thread on doing something that you wish you would have done sooner...

GOLD! - HOT! - What improved your life so much that you wish you did it sooner?

What do you think about that he might be happier, because you (as parent) are happier? Of course it has an effect on my kid that I am happy too, but in this case it was so obvious that he really needed the change too (but it has more to do with the Danish School system than it has to do with...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

If you haven’t yet considered it, I highly recommend moving to a new city and a new culture on the other side of your country. Or hell, even expating to a new country if that is an option.

If you live in a shit country where emigrating is difficult, make LEAVING your priority. Forget the business stuff. What do you need to do to leave? Do you need a skill?

Don’t let “sacred cows” keep you immobile and planted like a tree.

A “sacred cow” keeps you planted with lame excuses like, “oh I grew up here, I can’t move.” Or, “my family is here,” or “My favorite football club is here.”

While family is important, most families are dysfunctional and many of them simply aren’t supportive of an Unscripted existence.

Moving to Arizona from Chicago was one the best decisions in my life.

If you have negative or uninspired history in a particular city, it can add significant mental baggage to your progress. Living in a place where you have struggled, failed, and lived unhappily is a mental burden, no matter how you want to frame it.

...Oh there's my old high school where I was bullied...
...Oh there's the intersection where I got into an accident...
...Oh there's my old best friend's house before he cheated with my girlfriend...
...Oh this is the route to my old job that I hated...
…Oh there’s the McDonalds I used to work at…
…Oh here’s the shitty weather that I can’t stand…
…Oh there’s my old neighborhood where my parents were divorced…
...Oh I hate shopping at that grocery story where I always run into my X-girlfriend...
...Oh there's that local park where the neighborhood bully beat me up...

Folks, STOP KIDDING YOURSELF.

There is nothing stopping you from moving. I moved to Arizona with $900 in my bank account. I realize that those with family, things are more complicated, but it's not rocket science. It's a matter of importance and prioritization.

Do you want to own a business? Or do you want a safe and secure job that keeps you mildly entertained for 50 years?

Making big decisions like this is on par with the big decision to become an entrepreneur.

You only live once. Yes, happiness is largely a choice. However, you can make choices that make the choice to be happy, much easier.

Make happiness a priority. Make choices that make happiness more likely.

Another way of looking at it... if you grew up in a home with a lot of bad memories, what the hell would you choose to stay there? Why do you want to be reminded of bad times? And if your city/home does a good job at reminding you of unhappiness, PACK YOUR DAMN BAGS and MOVE.

This is precisely why I decided to move to another country. I'm a student and I still haven't had my first job, but I know that If I'd stay in my country, I'd be perpetually drowned by mediocre comfort and familiarity.

Apart from this, my native country is a corrupt wasteland where doing business is basically dealing with the devil (The government) on a regular basis.

Thank you for this great post MJ.

 

[ZackerySprague]

It feels like that Dallas-Fort Worth is becoming a major Hotspot. Just got a newsletter from someone I follow, one of their retreats is that they are coming here.

Food for thought.

 

[Xavier X]

What advice would you give to someone looking to learn specific online skills in order to start a business , work remotely, or explore new opportunities in that field?

My background is in hospitality, real estate, and sales, so I have no prior experience in online-related areas.

Thanks in advance.

How can you help businesses in hospitality and real estate get more clients or leads online?
What products/services did you need while working in hospitality and real estate, and how can you offer that online to the industry?

Nothing says you have to stick to your industry, but it helps to have domain knowledge. When you've thought about the questions above, and arrived at something.. anything, decide what your next little step (achievable in 1 day) could be, toward making that a reality.

 

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[Sirrom]

Yo

Thanks.

We're still sussing out Portugal and deciding between here or Spain. Taxes in Portugal are high if you don't get the NHR scheme here and it's only for 10 years.

Property is dear here too compared to places in Spain like Alicante.

Lifestyle has changed a lot. We are very active which we wanted. The sun shines about 300 days a year compared to about 100 back in Ireland.

We seem to be meeting a lot more people than we did back home which is surprising. It's like when you meet expats you have something in common and a lot of people have moved here too who work or a have a business online.

You can still get an NHR status. I can hook you up if you want? I’m getting mine now as well.

I’m still in Asia currently, but from april I will move to Porto.

Spain is much cheaper to live though. Beckham law is also good for taxes, but it’s not 100% safe in my situation I believe. I don’t know if thats the case with you as well.

 

[bc0510]

I love and hate the place where I have been living for the last 9 years. This country has 300 days of sunlight, cool breeze, blue water, and nice people. However, I have had some good and bad experiences while living here for a decade. If it is my decision, I would move from here the next moment but I have lots of reasons not to move at this point. My daughter is 10 years old and she enjoys this place, my wife does a good job and she does not have enough expectations from life or business as me, so she is okay here, so it's just me who wants to move. I have a few offline/physical businesses and a few online - this is another part that I have to fix and bring these few to just "one" soon. I am working on that to move myself to Fastlane. This is the reason I wanted a new place, a new environment, different people, a different house, a different locality and all. Dont know how to take this decision while my family does not want it. Please suggest.