My review of Jakarta, Indonesia after two weeks of living and working remotely in the city.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
02:53 Arrival in Jakarta
08:39 Where to stay
12:50 General impressions
15:40 Covid restrictions
18:00 Where to get a sim card
18:57 Coworking and Cafes
21:05 Gyms and Fitness
23:04 Food
25:43 Transportation
28:23 Cons of Jakarta
31:55 Friendly locals and safety
33:40 Summary
36:53 Conclusion
Links mentioned
Grab (Ride-sharing App)
Gojek (Ride-sharing App)
My review of Manila, The Philippines after one month of living and working remotely in the city.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
01:09 How I ended up in Manila
02:37 Philippines entry requirements (covid and onward travel)
05:00 Arrival at the airport
06:15 Best areas to stay in Manila
10:31 First impressions of Manila
11:00 Masks
12:32 My impression of the people
13:34 Touristic attractions in Manila
16:10 Bumpy roads
16:40 Stupid levels of security
18:06 Language barrier
19:44 Covid situation in Manila (masks and vaccination)
21:42 Digital Nomad community in Manila
23:18 My overall thoughts on Manila
25:18 What’s coming up for me and the podcast
Links mentioned
------------------
My previous review of Istanbul
https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/y9tdAql1Etb
Grab (Ride-sharing App)
WeWork
My review of Istanbul, Turkey after one month of living and working remotely in Europe’s biggest city.
Timecodes:
00:00 Introduction
01:15 Why Istanbul?
03:25 Covid situation
06:04 Internet access
11:45 Gyms & Fitness
14:01 Transportation options
17:48 Accomodation
21:30 Where to stay
26:16 Being scammed
37:11 Weird things about Istanbul
44:13 Pros
45:55 Cons
48:50 Top tips
54:05 Audience questions
01:05:28 Conclusion
Links mentioned
Riley’s Video on Istanbul - https://youtu.be/uqDpSN5bMLA
The gym in the Green Park Hotel that I used - https://g.page/FiClubTaksim?share
NomadList - https://nomadlist.com/
Instanbul Digital Nomads (Facebook Group) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1160472153963742
In this episode I sit down with fellow nomads Sergio Sala and Ivan Kreimer to discuss the hype around Lisbon. How is it for digital nomads?
Timecodes
00:00 Introductions
00:49 How I ended up in Portugal
01:56 Chris and Sergio share their experience entering Portugal - Covid restrictions?
04:11 Face mask requirements in Portugal
09:05 Lisbon vs Gran Canaria (the top two destinations on NomadList currently)
15:18 Things that make Lisbon cool
18:07 The issue with Lisbon coffee shops
18:58 Our experience checking out Outsite coworking cafe and Selina coworking space
23:00 Ivan breaks down the coworking scene in Lisbon
24:17 Digital nomad community in Lisbon
30:16 My least favourite thing about Lisbon + Ivan’s recommended areas to stay
34:58 What sets Lisbon apart from other destinations
38:20 Cost of living in Lisbon
43:10 Good area to stay for a few days
46:10 Best coworking space with a view
48:00 Chiang Mai vs Lisbon
51:53 Addressing Max Rovensky’s twitter thread on Lisbon
58:29 Shoutout to Sergio’s Youtube channel
58:54 Lisbon 5 years ago compared to now
59:27 Best times of the year to visit Lisbon
01:01:17 Summary
Links mentioned
Heden Coworking Space
Avila Spaces Saldaha
https://www.getcroissant.com/discover/lisbon/saldanha/avila-spaces-1/
Max Rovensky’s Twitter thread about Lisbon
https://twitter.com/MaxRovensky/status/1530481185285095429
Sergio’s Youtube Channel
In this episode Chris and Riley discuss what it’s like in Thailand since covid hit from an expat/digital nomad perspective.
Timecodes:
[00:00] Introduction
[01:12] Riley shares his experience living in Thailand over the last 8 months
[02:11] Chris’s experience with masks in Koh Phangan
[04:02] The bright side of COVID restrictions for Riley in Thailand
[07:07] Current entry requirements for Thailand and Chris’s experience getting into Thailand in April 2022
[09:03] Riley’s experience getting into Thailand in September 2021 and what’s coming up from June 2022
[12:10] ‘Security Theatre’: Why Thais are required to wear masks
[13:05] What has changed in Chiang Mai
[15:46] Chris’s Bangkok experience with covid restrictions
[17:40] Audience Q&A
[50:20] Summary of Thailand in 2022 (post-covid)
Links mentioned
Riley’s video on Rawai, Phuket
The seat sleeper
https://www.instagram.com/seatsleeper/
Follow Riley on Instagram
In this episode, I share more about who I am and how I came to be location independent. In doing so, I hope to help you figure out your path to location independence and overall freedom.
Timecodes:
[00:00] Introduction
[02:09] My story
[07:30] Take takeaways from my story
[11:45] More resources
Links mentioned
My Skillshare channel: https://www.skillshare.com/user/chrisdodd
My Youtube channel (for learning web development): https://www.youtube.com/c/CodewithChristheFreelancer
‘The Shopify Theme Developer Mastermind’: http://shopifythemedeveloper.com/
The original Chris the Freelancer Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/christhefreelancer
Additional articles on how to get started working remotely: https://christhefreelancer.com/blog/remote-work/
Welcome to season 3 of the podcast! In this first episode I give an update on the ‘Chris the Freelancer’ project since closing out season 2 of the podcast in late 2017 and explain why I’m restarting the podcast in 2022.
Timecodes:
[00:00] Introduction. I’m back!
[00:50] What’s been going on since the last podcast
[05:00] Why I’m restarting the podcast
[13:10] My plan for season 3
[16:57] Closing remarks
Links mentioned:
Brisbane for Digital Nomads (video) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pgfSV0MZNg
Digital Nomad Life vs “Normal” Life (video) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kf29BjaINU
My Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/christhefreelancer/
Sydney for Digital Nomads (video) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_71wNCBy1g8
The 40 Hour Work Week in Bali (video) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_Nnjs32iHs
Around 2 years ago, Dylan Wolff made a decision to challenge himself and go after a completely new career as a remote web developer. An internal auditor for years, he decided that he wanted to learn a new skill and travel the world. Today, he works full-time as a location independent developer for distributed Ruby on Rails consultancy.
I've previously featured Dylan's story on my website in my inspiring nomads blog series and most recently on my YouTube channel where we answered viewers questions on becoming a remote web developer.
In this week's podcast, we go deep into Dylan's story, how he learned web development, how he scored his first job and how he now travels the world, working remotely.
[01:40] How Dylan came to the realisation that he wanted to work remotely and travel the world and the steps he took to make it happen
[5:38] Starting from Square one and becoming inspired by Pieter Levels
[11:16] Making the choice to pursue web development and finding a firm that supports remote workers
[14:12] The resources Dylan used starting out and his top tips for finding the time to code while working full-time
[23:49] Knowing when you’re ready to look for work and his first experiences entering the workforce
[34:49] The challenge of working solo
[36:49] How Dylan managed to score a job that allowed him to work remotely from the get-go and what he would have done if it hadn’t been that way.
[42:59] Travel experiences as a digital nomad and plans moving forward
[45:59] How Dylan balances work and travel and dealing with multiple time zones
[51:18] He favourite locations in the world to work from
While most entrepreneurs in Chiang Mai are chasing passive income, Raphael is on passionate mission to help young people with their gap year decisions. His startup, Années Sabbatiques (literally Gap Years in French) is an online portal for discovering gap year opportunities.
Despite his dedication to Années Sabbatiques, Raphael has achieved his lifestyle goal of location independence and regular vacation time. Listen as Raph and I discuss his path to location independence and the experience of building a startup on the road.
[2:32] A life-changing Gap year in Australia, catching the travel bug and making the choice to pursue travel after graduation
[6:22] Taking the first steps towards location independence
[7:52] How Raphael built his career and made it work within his ideal lifestyle
[12:26] The importance of having a mission and working with companies who share it
[17:16] How Raphael built the skills that allowed him to be location independent, his transition into working remotely and how he makes his work, work for him
[23:31] Doing work that fulfils while still making money
[24:46] Raphael’s Startup, Années Sabbatiques
[28:37] The challenges of building a startup on the road, how Raphael went about gaining client work and the one client ended up making all the difference
[35:31] The advantages of finding work before leave your home country
[37:42] Raphael’s travel journey so far and the transition from backpacker to digital nomad
[41:36] Raphael’s favourite places to work remotely
[43:14] Raphael’s top tips for those looking to become location independent
Adrian is a young guy from Melbourne, Australia who's completely replaced his income with Kindle Direct Publishing. Using the platform, he earns more than a few thousand every month without the need for much ongoing work.
I was lucky enough to meet Adrian through Johnny FD but it wasn't until he started his own Facebook group that we started hanging out.
In today's episode, we talk about Adrian's story, want lead him into KDP and how it's changed his lifestyle.
[1:45] Growing up in Australia, taking a gap year and deciding that university wasn’t for him
[2:35] How Adrian got his start in online business
[4:02] Adrian’s approach to selling on Amazon and his driving motivation to earn enough to leave his job
[6:17] The surprising results of his second kindle account after some time off and how fast you can expect to replace your income with kindle publishing
[12:28] Forex trading and his own course, Freedom Self Publishing
[17:31] The various ways that Chiang Mai Digital Nomads make money
[18:26] The origin story of the Facebook group, Chiang Mai Dropshippers
[20:22] Discovering the Digital Nomad community in Chiang Mai
[24:47] A discussion on other top Digital Nomad destinations
[29:22] How Adrian uses his time freedom to focus on health, fitness and looking into new business opportunities
[32:14] Adrian’s blog and YouTube channel, Driven Living with a discussion on ‘YouTubing’ in general
[38:54] Adrian’s advice for getting started in online business