randominfo
22 Jan 2011
Life / $3,000-$4,000 a month - would we have enough money to live in Poland? [273]
Hi Shawn,
A couple of things you might not be aware of...
Since you mention that you are calculating your income "after taxes", are you aware that US citizens overseas that are exempt from paying US taxes on the first $91,500 per year. In addition, you are able to claim some housing and relocation expenses.
In order to claim these exemptions, you must declare your residence as outside of the US and demonstrate proof of spending at least 330 days outside of the US during the tax year.
As you are self-employed, you will simply need to state that you are sending yourself overseas to explore possible business expansion opportunities, etc.
irs.gov/faqs/content/0,,id=199926,00.html
Regarding shipping a car, it really isn't that expensive as you are able to waive import tariffs/VAT for ONE vehicle. Within 3 years, you must either ship the car back or pay the import tariffs/VAT. If you transfer the title or sell the car at any time during this period, you will be obligated to pay import tarriffs/VAT.
I do suggest that you explore opportunities for business in Europe. This will be a considerably different sort of opportunity than in the US, but nevertheless, it seems you have some experience that may prove valuable.
For example, as you have experience with brokering and managing commercial cleaning projects, it seems there would be some similar opportunities to be found. As you are working with venues and subcontractors, there could likely be a model roughly similar.
I suggest you consider the idea of exploring opportunities for brokering commercial cleaning contracts in the UK (since it would be easiest because of language) that would be fulfilled by Polish contractors (since you are there, you can focus on developing relationships with reliable subcontractors that would send workers to Poland).
I think you will find that while some details will be a bit different (you will definitely need to spend some time digging into various differences in law), the general concepts are the same.
Regarding continuing your business using an international cell phone, I would suggest to make it much more simple... you can transfer that existing number to an account with various providers, such as Google Voice, Phone.com or Skype, and receive the calls in Europe through a broadband connection.
While you're at it, get a Netflix account and a VPN account from strongVPN, and you're able to connect a Netflix box to your TV... makes the transition a bit smoother.
Anyway, I've been living outside of the US for about 10 years now. It was a bit rough at first, but now can't imagine going back.
Hope it was helpful.
Hi Shawn,
A couple of things you might not be aware of...
Since you mention that you are calculating your income "after taxes", are you aware that US citizens overseas that are exempt from paying US taxes on the first $91,500 per year. In addition, you are able to claim some housing and relocation expenses.
In order to claim these exemptions, you must declare your residence as outside of the US and demonstrate proof of spending at least 330 days outside of the US during the tax year.
As you are self-employed, you will simply need to state that you are sending yourself overseas to explore possible business expansion opportunities, etc.
irs.gov/faqs/content/0,,id=199926,00.html
Regarding shipping a car, it really isn't that expensive as you are able to waive import tariffs/VAT for ONE vehicle. Within 3 years, you must either ship the car back or pay the import tariffs/VAT. If you transfer the title or sell the car at any time during this period, you will be obligated to pay import tarriffs/VAT.
I do suggest that you explore opportunities for business in Europe. This will be a considerably different sort of opportunity than in the US, but nevertheless, it seems you have some experience that may prove valuable.
For example, as you have experience with brokering and managing commercial cleaning projects, it seems there would be some similar opportunities to be found. As you are working with venues and subcontractors, there could likely be a model roughly similar.
I suggest you consider the idea of exploring opportunities for brokering commercial cleaning contracts in the UK (since it would be easiest because of language) that would be fulfilled by Polish contractors (since you are there, you can focus on developing relationships with reliable subcontractors that would send workers to Poland).
I think you will find that while some details will be a bit different (you will definitely need to spend some time digging into various differences in law), the general concepts are the same.
Regarding continuing your business using an international cell phone, I would suggest to make it much more simple... you can transfer that existing number to an account with various providers, such as Google Voice, Phone.com or Skype, and receive the calls in Europe through a broadband connection.
While you're at it, get a Netflix account and a VPN account from strongVPN, and you're able to connect a Netflix box to your TV... makes the transition a bit smoother.
Anyway, I've been living outside of the US for about 10 years now. It was a bit rough at first, but now can't imagine going back.
Hope it was helpful.