Passive Income – Leaving Australia – the Practicalities
OK I have confession – although I love travelling I bloody hate packing – and leaving a country is like the worst packing in the world because everything has to go or be shipped. We have only been here two years – why we have so much crap is beyond me! Oh and its Christmas so we are into the usual social round of Christmas – Australia style. i.e. lots of drinking and eating really. Oh and the weather has suddenly come good so I would rather be swimming to be honest!
Rottnest Island, Perth, WA
Does this have anything to earning passive income – well it seems that working from home is a bit like being the stay-at-home mum/wife – you get to do all the running around. Partner went to work today I spent 3 hours selling the car – successfully but still. And then I came home and cancelled the insurance and arranged the rental car – which I will pick up tomorrow. Over the last few weeks I have found us a sub-let for the first two months home – our house is still rented to tenants – arranged for the New Zealand car to go to the garage, though it did apparently get started after two years of sitting – impressive! Cancelled the power, cancelled the phone/Internet and generally run around.
So if you think you have this online business sorted out and want to get out to see the world, with your new independence I seriously suggest the follow strategy:
- sell everything;
- if you think you can’t bare to part with it see point above;
- if you need it rent it: car, house, whatever.
If you are planning on travelling with your business: don’t plan on getting any work done a week both sides of the move – if you do it will be a nice bonus. The month before you move plan on losing at least a few days with the annoying admin details I’ve mentioned above.
Must Haves for Moving Country Easily and Keeping Your Business Going
- Think about where your Paypal account is linked to. You can’t move a paypal account to another country- you have to close it and re-open it. There is however nothing stopping you retaining an Australian bank account with an overseas address – so this is a loophole – which at least means that you take your time moving the account.
- Have a location independent email address – NEVER get caught up with using your ISP’s email address – use your own domain or a free yahoo or gmail account.
- I’ve now done the same thing with my phone number – I have a SkypeIn number which looks like a local New Zealand number, costs around Euro40/year and I can answer anywhere in the world, without the caller realising I am not in the country!
- Have your important files backed up – just in case the laptop doesn’t survive the airline!
- Think about leaving a bank account behind – its the easy way to receive refunds for bonds and car insurance after you have gone – you can always electronically transfer the balance out after you leave. If you are using this bank account for payments from affiliates such as Adsense – remember to change them BEFORE you close the account be aware you will have to do this several months in advance.
- Let your online contacts know that you are heading off and might fall of the great Interweb for a little while – that’s from around the 20 Dec for about 10 days if I get unlucky re connections being promised just before Xmas in New Zealand.
Leaving Australia Count Down
- Give notice to the phone company and power company. In Perth the power company , Synergy, will send you final bill overseas, the Phone company has always billed us electronically so the email stays the same.
- Cancel any subscriptions you might have picked up along the way.
- Start advertising what may be saleable, decide where you are going to give it to if you don’t sell: we took cents in the dollar for a lot of books rather than spend time selling them individually – we took the lot to the second hand shop. We will do
- The rental agent is some sort of clean demon – I have never cleaned the tops of doors I own never mind those of a rental – apparently it has to be done, ditto the carpet cleaning – I’m hiring someone to do both – too hard for me!
- Selling a car varies dramatically state by state – in Western Australia – its buyer beware there is no requirement for a mechanical check before sale – the paperwork is available online and you then just mail the sellers portion back with the buyers details included. Gumtree is the local equivalent of Craig’s List and worked for the car!
- The airlines have got tough on overweight luggage – instead we will ship our overweight bags via air freight a day or two before we fly and even with $80 worth of fixed charges the $3.50/kg is a lot more attractive that $10/kg Qantas charges! You do need to collect the stuff from the receiving airport.
Some link love – must be Christmas or something:
Todd has restyled his blog to being all about Home Business Tips – nice new look Todd and solid advice about not changing domains every 5 minutes – you can get ANY url to rank for a term with enough backlinks – this blog being a case in point.
My Prague friend – Hospitalera – is after one of the most obscure anchored links I’ve ever come across Oes tsetnoc – I thought it was some weird Czeck term – even I know enough it wasn’t German – but I was wrong, check her link to find out what its all about.
Similar Posts:
- Digital Nomads, Passive Income Online – the Reality
- Move to New Zealand – Australia Compared
- Passive Income Online – Where Has Lis Been?
- Why Another Make Money Online Blog?
- On-Line Income Cash Flow is King
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>> Think about where your Paypal account is linked to. You can’t move a paypal account to another country- you have to close it and re-open it.
>> If you are using this bank account for payments from affiliates such as Adsense – remember to change them BEFORE you close the account be aware you will have to do this several months in advance.
I tried to move to Malaysia last year, where the cost of living is quite low (house rental in the sub-urbs for under RM 500, above average quality 3 square meals a day for RM 15 – convert to your local currency yourself). Unfortunately the affiliate account problems you mentioned above stopped me. At that time my main earner was Clickbank, and they didn’t serve Malaysia. AFAIK, Malaysian affiliates got their checks sent to their friends or family members in Singapore, then drove up every month to pick up and cash those checks. This, sadly, was not possible for me.
I’m actually keen to learn the details of what you needed to do to change all your affiliate payment accounts – Adsense, PayPal, Amazon, etc. In your case, that would be from Australia to NZ, but maybe some of your other readers could also share their experiences for other countries.
Actually I quite like the thought of Malaysia as well Calvin, US$150/month rate sound very appealing. To me the answer is obvious – but maybe I’m missing something- just leave your affiliates going to your “first world” home. Clickbank pays me by US$ check – my mailing address may or may not be in the same country as my residential address surely?
Adsense – from memory required me to confirm my bank account and my address – which I did while back – before I left NZ – and I left my bank account working there just fine. Paypal- you link the PP a/c to a bank a/c, you can also have 2 PP a/c one personal one business. I hit a limit with PP and had to provide evidence of my residential address for money laundering purposes, probably an Australia regulation, – but the bank a/c is genuine – as is the fact that I have addresses in two countries – to be honest I don’t even find it that unusual anymore
Amazon -the buggers are yet to pay me out – but again I think its just a check you get? eBay pays direct to my PP a/c with not a murmour and I know Malaysians can have Paypal accounts.
It costs me A$25 a time to transfer funds to an overseas bank a/c from my Australian bank a/c, alternatively I retain a debit card as well for Australia – though there are fees associated with using that overseas – credit cards are better for the fees, but slightly harder to acquire if you are new to a country. BTW anyone who arrives in Australia can setup a bank account with just showing a passport (within about 1 month of arrival from memory) – after that you have to provide a residential address as well. In reality Australian and NZ has free movement of labour back and forth – so I am fairly sure that at some point I will be spending money in Australia again, in the meantime the Australian interest rates are some of the highest in the Western world. Its my variation of Forex trading -different bank accounts in the local currency in places I may live/travel in again. These days with electronic banking – its just so easy!
Update – just changed my address at the bank – they are fine with that but they won’t send the card’s replacement overseas. Mental note to self find Australian friend in May 2012 to take delivery of my replacement card LOL
FYI, Clickbank has included Malaysia into their program last year. Cost of living is low and if you can make about $1500 per month online, a small family without too many commitments can live quite happily without being extravagant.
HOWEVER, internet connections sucks big time! US checks takes about 2 to 3 months to clear. LOL. Thus, I stayed away from all programs that pays by check like clickbank. Affiliate Networks have limited opportunities and don’t dream of getting a EPN account with a Malaysian Address. I went in via a Singapore address, but sad to say, EPN is no more as good these days. LOL
On the other hand, things have improved somewhat for those making money online.
Paypal has also included Malaysian Banks for unlimited direct withdrawal as of last month. So I get my moolah within 5 working days. Adsense pays via Western Union and I can get instant withdrawal.
Goog luck to the big move Lis. If you ever consider Malaysia, let me know!
Merry Christmas!! (in case you don’t update till then!)
.-= Costa´s wrote recently ..Using WordPress Blogs For Affiliate Marketing =-.
Thanks for keeping us up yo date and best of luck with the move, Lis. I’ve noticed here and with my own readers how many don’t seem to have a concept of mobile living … especially with the Internet .
When I moved from the US to the Philippines more thna three years ago, I already had basically every bill already on line. I of course kept my US bak accounts, a US address (my son is kind enough to do this for me, but there are plenty of reliable commercial mail receiving services who will take care of this for a small fee). Almost all my online activities go to PayPal or direct deposit to my US bank … for the holdouts, or onesy-twosey ones who haven’t yet figured out the Internet I have my checks mailed and deposit them in my Philippine USD account … no fee to d3eposuit, 25 banking days to clear. Same with getting the money from the US to the Philippines .. just write myself a check from my US bank and deposit it here.
My rent is about $140 USD per month for a decent (unspectacular) three bedroom house, and life is good. English is one of the official languages of the Philippines (ex, the laws are all published in English),so language doesn’t pose a big problem. My children are grown, but I know a number of expat families who live here with young children becuase they can afford much better schools for them than the mess that passes for public education in the US. This is still a country where children grow up calling their elders sir or ma’am … works well for me.
In short, if you are making any sort of a living online, you truly can live where you chose. We just celebrated Thanksgiving and writing this makes me realize again how much I have to be thankful for.
.-= Dave Starr´s wrote recently ..Reacquire Philippines Citizenship in the US or in the Philippines? =-.
Hi Lissie,
Great tips. Lol, I’d love to be a “mobile entrepreneur” one day … but I fear that I have entirely too many kids for that.
Good luck with the move, hope you get settled in quickly.
.-= Todd @home business tips´s wrote recently ..Don’t Be An INVISIBLE Reader =-.
Nice to-do list, I will need it next year, only I am moving from east coast
Btw, if you need to transfer money between account in different countries check xe.com. They have better exchange rates then banks, fees are smaller or waived at all when it is transferred bigger amount.
.-= Vi@Travel Tips´s wrote recently ..Extra leg room for short (long) haul flights =-.
Hi Vi – my bank doesn’t give me a choice on the exchange rate – I get what they are offering on the day! But I use xe all the time to check exchange rates it has a nice interface
Lis, so XE does the same – you can’t choose rate, but if you compare the same day’s bank and xe rate, xe will have better rate.
.-= Vi@Travel Tips´s wrote recently ..Whale watching Sydney: 2009 season whale sightings update =-.
Btw, Lis, didn’t you forget arrange mail forward to your new or friends address just in case?
Good spot – its on the list – put the mail forward form a week before we leave – oh and they won’t forward parcels – fortunately no one is sending me large boxes of stuff!
Lis, are not forgetting something? Christmas is lurking around the corner
Better make sure that you tell your friends / family to where to send those Christmas pressies 
SY
LOL Sy – no I didn’t forget – I only get pressies from my brother (who has been instructed to send an electronic gift cert from the local NZ version of Walmart ) and my partner’s family – with whom we will be with. Getting old def. has its advantages!
Rofl Lis,
SY
“don’t plan on getting any work done a week both sides of the move” We moved end of 2008 from the UK to the Czech Republic (only!) And I can tell you that whilst I got a bit done the last week before the move, I took me almost a month to get all up and running to the other end. At least you have the advantage of moving to a country were you speak the language! As for packing I most say Spot on Tips! especially this one: “# sell everything;
# if you think you can’t bare to part with it see point above;”
So true, we had to downsize from a four bedroom house to a three bedroom flat and are happy that we resisted the temptation of putting anything in storage! So all the best, enjoy Christmas and New Year, and prove me wrong and need less then a week both sites of the move
PS Thanks a lot for the linky love! It is really incredible the support one gets when asking friends and btw, I am now on place 6!
.-= hospitalera@oes tsetnoc´s wrote recently ..Time is money, don’t waste it! =-.
Hopefully you get back online without a glitch. That’s much better than ordering new service and then having to wait 2+ months for it to start
(btdt).
Hey, thanks for the link and mention!
I actually do get good beers here, including one from Australia that I will be reviewing soon.
Anyway, I never thought about PayPal accounts like that. It would be impossible to give it a new country as a new address.
I guess moving your online passive income business is not as simple as you’d think.
AL
.-= Allyn´s wrote recently ..Sam Adams Lager Review: Your Gateway To Craft Beer Enjoyment =-.
Because Paypal doesn’t let you change the country I am now the proud owner of 2 paypal accounts, SY
.-= hospitalera@oes tsetnoc´s wrote recently ..Time is money, don’t waste it! =-.
Very interesting points. I think in future I’d like to be more mobile and this certainly gives a lot to think about. Hope everything goes well for you!
Just a note of good luck on the move Lis. You have helped me a lot in this business and I can’t thank you enough.
Also, your posts are always a joy to read (even if they don’t deal with passive income sometimes) I can’t wait to hear about your adventures on changing countries.
Keep smiling, we can live through a lot if we laugh.
I understand you perfectly. I recently moved into a new apartment and it meant hell for my online business, and I didn’t even have to change the city, let alone the country.
I’m with Dave Starr. There is absolutely no reason to give up accounts in your home country. I have wandered or worked outside the US for at least fifteen years, off and on. I have the same bank/brokerage account that I opened in 1987 in the US, and I haven’t lived in that state since 1989. Even when I move in the US, I don’t change much of anything. I maintain a box at a UPS store. I call periodically to see what is there. If some Neanderthal actually sends me a physical check, I have the UPS person open the envelope, write ‘for deposit only’ and the bank account number I give them on the back of the check, put it in an envelope and mail it. It happens once a year, about. It costs a little, but it works.
I run everything as if I were back in the US. There are people who have lived in Mexico for years and don’t have a Mexican bank account. Just like travelers, they use their American ATM card to get cash, carry American credit cards, and generally handle their finances as if they were on vacation from the US. In some countries you will need local accounts, but don’t give up your accounts back home.
Also, while Lis can move to Australia and work legally because New Zealnad and Australia have a treaty that says workers can move freely between the two countries. Generally, even if you are self-employed and not taking jobs away from workers, actually moving to a country and getting the legal right to work there is much more complicated.
For instance, in general, if you are from one of the countries that gets an automatice 90 day stay on entering Malaysia, you can only get one more 90-day entry. Then you must leave the country for, I believe, 180 days. In some countries getting a residence visa is easy, especially if you have a pension or some other dependable source of income. So, oranizing the move is really the second step. First you have to get the right to move in the first place.
Thanks for commenting Cindy – I think one of the interesting things about making a living online is that you don’t really fit into either the tourist or the working holiday maker categories. Getting old has its benefits – for example Malaysia the retire to Malaysia program has very low captial or income requirements so long as you are over 50! But I agree you do need to think about your rights to stay long-term in a country before deciding to move there!
Well, this information really helps especially if you are planning to leave the country and you have some businesses here. But if you still wanting to have the business, you have few options for it!
Good read. I’ll mark this and come back later.
I wish I had time to ravel more often, but my business keeps me here in the States.
i think the tips are really useful but so far i don’t need that and i wish that i never make use of it. so all the best with your move. keep it up