66 countries, skype & laptop

What a fantastic story, thanks for sharing it John.

Cheers,
James

wjwoodward wrote:

What a fantastic story, thanks for sharing it John.

Cheers,
James

Yes, it's possible if you look for it ...
The protagonist is what I now call 'rapid fire nomad expat'. 

Ther world's most travelled man, and impersonation of the eternal vagabond or global nomad, is Heinz Stücke, who has been travelling the world by bicycle since 1962. He has no permanent home, no regular job or income, avoids publicity (he doesn't even have an email address!) and has been to all 257 countries and independent territories in the world.
Anyone to top that?

beppi wrote:

Ther world's most travelled man, and impersonation of the eternal vagabond or global nomad, is Heinz Stücke, who has been travelling the world by bicycle since 1962. He has no permanent home, no regular job or income, avoids publicity (he doesn't even have an email address!) and has been to all 257 countries and independent territories in the world.
Anyone to top that?

  Haa, ha, Heinz is an artist: he elevated regular vagrancy to an art.  Why beg at street corners with other drunkards when the world waits to be explored by bicycle?   
Internet searches show a web site with his name and other articles about him.

I met a young German waiter in St. Lucia three years ago who built his own bicycle and rode it in several countries of the world supporting himself working menial jobs whenever he could get one.
I asked him why he does not affiliate himself with a bicycle manufacturer and why he does not keep a blog, which are standard routines with several world roamers already. He said he never thought like that.
It took him three days to ride his bicycle around St. Lucia, something which by the way no local cyclist has done before … 

These guys are adventurers for their own reasons.

Nowadays the lady who is the main character of this thread is somebody who succeeded to use Internet (blog, Skype, e-mail) for self-employment which seems to work well for her.
A nomad expat, she is a good example for people who still look for jobs or expats who failed to inspire other persons through originality and unusual success to imitate.
If it worked for her, so it should work for other folks.

The next step higher would be sailing internationally while making a living through private investments.

I often wonder if there is any really successful expat on this forum and whether he / she cares to tell us his / her story. 

John C. wrote:

I often wonder if there is any really successful expat on this forum and whether he / she cares to tell us his / her story. 

Define, "success".

Despite an often bumpy road, I achieved most of my goals while living internationally. I consider that successful.
If, however, you define successfull as earning millions - that has never been my goal! I only want slightly more than I spend.

beppi wrote:

Despite an often bumpy road, I achieved most of my goals while living internationally. I consider that successful.
If, however, you define successfull as earning millions - that has never been my goal! I only want slightly more than I spend.

I would define it as being happy.
Not a lot else really matters.

No ruddy good having a fat bank account but being sad.

the bit she says at the end is what keeps me from yearning for this lifestyle. I did a partially nomadic thing for a year or two and it was nice but I got so sick of packing my suitcase. I'm working from home for an IT company and used it for a while to visit friends and spend time in other countries.

however, being constantly on a laptop's tiny screen when you're doing computer stuff gets tiring, and I don't like living out of a suitcase all the time. I've gotten good at packing but sometimes I want to just have the really big bottle of shampoo, more than one kind of body lotion, and not having to wear the same three shirts all the time.

it's nice to have tried it though, and be able to say, "yup, fun, but not the life I want to have permanently"

mas fred wrote:

John C. wrote:

I often wonder if there is any really successful expat on this forum and whether he / she cares to tell us his / her story. 

Define, "success".

If I have to define 'success', I'd better don't.
However I give it a chance so here it goes:
Success is only when somebody succeeded in getting people interested in his work.
Finding a better job in a foreign country and finding a new inner balance is not relevant to anybody else.  With the social dynamics, that job may be gone and the inner balance may dissolve into bitter disappointment.

Rising above the rest on your own thinking and perseverance is more satisfying and rewarding than just hiding at home congratulating yourself for getting a new job while watching TV.

In a nutshell, I define success as being able to invite somebody out for dinner instead of wondering why nobody invites you for dinner.
Success is about fulfilling people's expectations before fulfilling yours.

beppi wrote:

Despite an often bumpy road, I achieved most of my goals while living internationally. I consider that successful.
If, however, you define successfull as earning millions - that has never been my goal! I only want slightly more than I spend.

Do you believe that if you set your goal to be that of earning millions you will achieve it as easily as traveling from country to country? 

ECS wrote:

the bit she says at the end is what keeps me from yearning for this lifestyle. I did a partially nomadic thing for a year or two and it was nice but I got so sick of packing my suitcase. I'm working from home for an IT company and used it for a while to visit friends and spend time in other countries.

however, being constantly on a laptop's tiny screen when you're doing computer stuff gets tiring, and I don't like living out of a suitcase all the time. I've gotten good at packing but sometimes I want to just have the really big bottle of shampoo, more than one kind of body lotion, and not having to wear the same three shirts all the time.

it's nice to have tried it though, and be able to say, "yup, fun, but not the life I want to have permanently"

Hi ECS,
1). Nobody has to have a tiny laptop.
There are many laptop models with ‘oversized' screens, not to mention that, a successful traveling person like her can also have a miniature projector in her carrying bag which can be plugged into the laptop for viewing (and working) images on the wall of her hotel room.

2). The author of the article is NOT my role model.
I posted the link to the article just for people looking for jobs or potential expats who waste so much time on planning their move to see that they have a better choice and imitate (or borrow from) the interesting way of working of the article's author.
There is hope but one must know where to look for it.

The end result is that she managed to be in the news, while those who think they are comfortable are in fact in for a rude surprise just around the corner.  Jog hunters and expats (potential or established ones) have not been in the news, so they don't know what is like or what advantages being in the news brings.

3). Better than visiting 66 countries with a tiny laptop is to live in your 60ft catamaran, trade stocks via the Internet and be in circles with other yacht owners.
I wonder if the author of the article has this goal in mind or not.  Something tells me that if she has such goal and if she makes it come true, she won't be in the news anymore … 

My definition doesn't require an invitation for dinner; just enjoying the dinner.

mas fred wrote:

My definition doesn't require an invitation for dinner; just enjoying the dinner.

  I know, that's what Tigers do ... 

John C. wrote:

Do you believe that if you set your goal to be that of earning millions you will achieve it as easily as traveling from country to country? 

You are obsessed with money and status, aren't you?
All your posts revolve around it!

Earning millions requires hard work (or incredible luck).
I don't like hard work (and neither have incredible luck).
As soon as something is used for vanity, I lose interest in it.
No yacht, Ferrari or Swiss chalet for me, please!
My values do not need to be known, understood or followed by others.
I don't want to be in the news either.

beppi wrote:

John C. wrote:

Do you believe that if you set your goal to be that of earning millions you will achieve it as easily as traveling from country to country? 

You are obsessed with money and status, aren't you?
All your posts revolve around it!

Earning millions requires hard work (or incredible luck).
I don't like hard work (and neither have incredible luck).
As soon as something is used for vanity, I lose interest in it.
No yacht, Ferrari or Swiss chalet for me, please!
My values do not need to be known, understood or followed by others.
I don't want to be in the news either.

1). No, I am not obsessed with money at all, nor status.  Why would I be?
It's about helping others.  See my comments at https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 5#p1708105

2). Millions which come by luck become pennies.  Easy come, easy go.
See the USA Jackpot winners who are destitute after 1-2 years.

3). Unknown, not understood and not followed values by others?
Hmmmm, what zodiac could that be? See the topic at https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 18#1708168

I call it vanity.
But I am wasting my time!

wjwoodward wrote:

What a fantastic story, thanks for sharing it John.

Cheers,
James

beppi wrote:

I call it vanity.
But I am wasting my time!

Hi Beppi,

1). Feel free to think the best you can.
Feel free to do the best it suits you under the circumstances, and, if possible others.
Feel free to post your ideas here or anywhere anytime you want.
It's your choice.  People will like it or dislike it.

To me, the fact that James cared to thank me for this thread is reassuring.  It's my success, vanity or not vanity.
I sincerely wish job hunters find something for which they could be as successful as to be "blamed" of vanity.

2). You wasting time? I am worried about that especially because on the other thread which has been deleted a day or two ago you said the same thing.

3). You said above that 'Despite an often bumpy road, I achieved most of my goals while living internationally. I consider that successful.'
OK, will you now move onto a new step, new success?
I ask this because if somebody does not move higher he risks moving back lower.
Success is purely unidirectional: only on the up and up.
Failure is unidirectional too: only down and down.

The frog which jumps when thrown into hot water likes it when it stays in cold water but does not know that cold water is for boiling and now it slowly turns hot. 

John C. wrote:

1). No, I am not obsessed with money at all, nor status.  Why would I be?

Come on, dude, get real.
You quote Yahoo finance as if there were no other news outlets and rant on about suck cess (as in pit) all the time.

Personally, I have zero interest in having millions I can't be bothered to spend because I have zero interest in having things because other people have things, so I must have them to keep up with the Joneses.
Unless it's of direct interest or use, such as my cameras or computers, I really don't care.
I don't have a hifi, I listen to music via headphones on my Samsung note.
I have several TVs but the big one is for my daughter (and my wife when she gets the chance), one 19 inch for my laptop and another for the bedroom. Again, I rarely bother with it but my wife likes to watch sometimes.
I have no car, not even a Porshe; pointless, expensive traffic jam fodder and far less efficient than my little Honda step through 110cc motorcycle. Taxis serve when we require a car and they're far less hassle than owning a car of any sort.
$2 dollars per week in fuel and way faster than a Porshe in traffic jams; and there are a lot of traffic jams here.
My house is rented. What advantage is there in buying when we move around so much?
My daughter will change schools soon so we'll move house to make things easy for her and it'll make no difference to me. All I need is an internet connection so it hardly matters where I am.
The new house is a simple 2 bedroom place. I could have easily spent double the money and rented a far bigger place but why do we need anything bigger?
I have no interest in a villa in Bali or a massive apartment in Jakarta's business district.

Success has a lot less to do with cash and a lot more to do with enjoying life, smiling and making other people smile.
Of course, having money helps to keep unhappy situations away but it doesn't make you happy.
Personally, I smile a lot and have no interest in being massively rich.

That smile is a product of an easy life where I don't waste cash so I don't need to earn a load.
That lack of pressure to earn allows me a lot of freedom.
I have one credit card but I've never used it and no loans of any sort. I owe no one a cracker, nothing, not a sausage.
I have no worries and no pressure.

Than, in my opinion, is the difference between suck cess and success.

Oh, almost forgot.
One reason I live in Indonesia is the exchange rate.
A small to medium income in England is big money out here. That saves me a pile of hassle and all that messing around doing real work.

Suck cess or success?

mas fred wrote:

John C. wrote:

I often wonder if there is any really successful expat on this forum and whether he / she cares to tell us his / her story. 

Define, "success".

Sucess is scarcity of failure....or you can say when there is no Failure...

Depends on how you measure success.
Money, possessions, position, and other criteria can be used.

I figure that I am successful in that I have survived wars, lived in places where a pigsty is a palace, been divorced, am married again to a lovely lady and we are raising 3 beautiful kids.

How would you assess your success. ???

You are right Stumpy.

aryavrat wrote:

mas fred wrote:

John C. wrote:

I often wonder if there is any really successful expat on this forum and whether he / she cares to tell us his / her story. 

Define, "success".

Sucess is scarcity of failure....or you can say when there is no Failure...

Anil, you are very close to a clear definition of success.
A Chinese philosopher said this:

Think about the future of other people, and you will secure a future for yourself.

I have better definition of success but I let everybody live with their impressions. 

stumpy wrote:

Depends on how you measure success.
Money, possessions, position, and other criteria can be used.

I figure that I am successful in that I have survived wars, lived in places where a pigsty is a palace, been divorced, am married again to a lovely lady and we are raising 3 beautiful kids.

How would you assess your success. ???

Hello Stumpy,

You surely are a survivor.
You surely visited / worked in many countries.
You surely use skype and / or laptop and / or PCs.

It's high time to write your autobiography and stress why do you think you have been chosen by the Almighty to live when many of those you knew have been selected for death and oblivion. 

Success isn't always what you see.

mas fred wrote:

Success isn't always what you see.

http://www.dubeme.com/37482/wp-content/ … 00x369.jpg

How about the 66 countries, skype & laptop: is it a success or not?

John C. wrote:

mas fred wrote:

Success isn't always what you see.

http://www.dubeme.com/37482/wp-content/ … 00x369.jpg

How about the 66 countries, skype & laptop: is it a success or not?

Is she happy?
If so, it's success,

Life is wasted if you can't smile.

Perhaps rich in the knowledge gained from insightful posts ??   

HaileyinHongKong wrote:

beppi wrote:

You are obsessed with money and status, aren't you?
All your posts revolve around it!

I think it's more status than money - especially post count.  Some people think post count is a status symbol.  No one ever got rich coming to this site every day.

Richness cannot be counted in terms of money and wealth....i became rich with knowledge and experiences from this site....

HaileyinHongKong wrote:

..... I think it's more status than money - especially post count.  Some people think post count is a status symbol.  No one ever got rich coming to this site every day.

Nobody got rich coming to this forum every day?
Does it mean the forum is a dry watering-hole?

Anyway, there are two exceptions of two guys who got rich. 

It's official.

WhatsApp's founder goes from food stamps to billionaire
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/whatsapp- … 29070.html

Yes, there are winners, but for every winner there must be an ever increasing numbers of losers.


Expats beware, when you run make sure you are running towards success, not away from it. 

Get ready to work in the cloud
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ti … 46886.html

These are times of great changes.
Do you remember the ads some years ago trying to scare Microsoft's dominance off with ‘cloud technology'?
Well, Microsoft stays on top of them all and even above the ‘clouds'. 

Expats, jump on the band wagon while it still moves slowly and while you can. Later on, there will be no dollar left for you to pick up anymore and then your coins will start going to somebody else. 

How we made $1 million (and more)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/made-1-mi … 00901.html

In other news, Expat-Blog.com gets flooded with locals who want to become expats and who want jobs, making everybody wonder what else exactly they want ... 

More news on talented minds

Your font is showing: Student comes up with plan to save U.S. big bucks
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/yo … 31144.html

People like this guy are needed all the time.

John C. wrote:

HaileyinHongKong wrote:

..... I think it's more status than money - especially post count.  Some people think post count is a status symbol.  No one ever got rich coming to this site every day.

Nobody got rich coming to this forum every day?
Does it mean the forum is a dry watering-hole?

Anyway, there are two exceptions of two guys who got rich. 

1). Both guys have names starting with 'J' and ending with 'N'.   

2) And how about if somebody is already rich, well-off, well-heeled?  Is it OK for him to come to this site everyday? 

Some make it, most fake it.

How we made $1 million (and more)
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/made-1-mi … 00901.html

It's always about making your dreams come true.

Not every dream is bound to for become real.  Most dreams are ten a penny and no matter how hard you work, they do not and cannot come true.

Check your dreams before starting to dream! ...