03 The Freeist ~ The best place on earth for you in 2025
The world changed. Now is the time to rethink where you want to be. Go.
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I prefer to start it sober. There’s no one best place on the earth - and that hasn’t changed since 2021 when I wrote about that.
Now let’s distinguish two things - locations and their potential vs. your internal problems.
You’ll bring your emotional baggage with you no matter where you go. Yet, some locations may be safer for you to start off; or make safer. That may fulfill some fundamental base from which you can move on. However, the only way to work on that is to face your issues, not try to hide them under the rug, trying to run away from yourself by moving from one place to another every few days, or hustling in another way. That be your work. I anyway had to mention it, because the quest of the locations isn’t to solve your problems, but they may upgrade your life. Maybe more on that some other time. Now let’s move on to the places.
World in 2025 ~ staying informed
One of the pillars of The Freeist is to stay informed. Not overmake it by checking the news every day, but just being in check a bit about what’s going on, where you can get from your location, what’s the safety level in different places, visa options, and such. I am writing this from Indonesia and I traveled a bit in the last few years to tell that the world has shifted - for the better and the worse. That’s how things are, not to fight it, but to take it and act based on it for your own benefit.
Let’s take a look at where things are headed. I’m not a god who can predict the future, nor do I want to drive forward by staring into the rearview mirror, but that’s the way the world seems to be right now:
EU / Canada / Norway etc.
The EU accelerates not the growth, but the regulations. It’s not even funny anymore. As I wrote in the previous newsletter about banking, it just makes it harder for you to make money, keep money, and use your money. The problem is that when you’re in that environment, you may not notice it anymore. You just waste an enormous amount of resources on trying to understand how to exist within the law, somehow, instead of spending that resource on yourself, or on just living. As I like Taoism, I’d prefer not to fight the status quo, but rather create where it makes sense. Additionally why I wouldn’t go with the EU / Canada / Australia / Norway etc. is the potential for retrospective taxation. So even if you may want to stay for a year, they may try to get to you in a few years. I find that an unnecessary potential risk. Once I will have a chance to get a non-EU passport, I’ll go for it, too; as I can imagine them squeezing people over their citizenship soon, too.
I’d love to mention I used to look at Canada or Western countries with admiration in the past. Now I see these places kill entrepreneurship. Dream of a work in a corporation? Go for it. If you aim to take ownership of your own life, though, and become The Freeist, broaden your optionality and such, I’d avoid those. Or you may ultimately use those places to your benefit - create some tokens for sustainability vouchers or some other money from thin air; get free money for an equality organization or something. I prefer practicing self-integrity and self-responsibility though.
Swiss and alike
I would consider Switzerland, Liechtenstein, or Monaco, though, if your capital allows it. My friend’s heuristics is that many awesome people are based there; makes sense.
Georgia
No matter how much I love Georgia, it’s also extra political, especially these months. It can get tiring, no matter how much you don’t have to get involved in politics as a foreigner. It’s good to use though for optimized (cheap) hires remotely [you may text me], or premium banking. Disregarding the media noise, Georgia still is super low-tax and low-bureaucratic. After the initial post-war higher immigration, most people left and the real estate market started somewhat normalizing again. I see rather Westerners are finding out about Georgia's existence and moving in. Still, it feels rather like a hidden gem for many. For some reason, it attracts rather contractors/freelancers, but not many entrepreneurs and founders.
Latin America
The area has become more and more attractive for many foreigners. The crime level is getting lower, yet, to me, it still feels like a too big potential risk. I cannot imagine someone accidentally shooting me in Mexico because of ‘bad luck’. I also don’t want to wonder much about being in the ‘right district’. I’ll give the area a try someday though certainly because of the direction it’s headed. Many places are making it highly attractive with Uruguay's 10-year tax holidays or other low-tax options [that’s a fresh video with updated options]. Argentinian citizenship by birth of a child makes it very attractive, too, to me. Some day, maybe :)
Africa
I understood Africa is moving forward by far back at expo2020. Not attractive to me yet for security reasons and their way of limiting money transactions and such. Yet, for proper opportunists, I can imagine there may be some good market options. However, as one of my friends said - ‘you may try to market something, but locals just really don’t have money, yet’. However, I believe, if you do something very niche for the rich-rich, then you may find low competition. Let’s see. I can imagine refreshing my French in some 5-10 years.
Asia
While the West feels like pushing the narrative there’s no better place anywhere around, you can enjoy your 24/7 delivery popcorn in a premium apartment in a modern skyscraper in your favorite so-called developing country and wonder about the Western countries’ insecurities. Enough said? I enjoy seeing new visa options in Indonesia, prolonged visas in Thailand or Malaysia various lower tax options. Somehow each place attracts different people and what you may need differs from what I seek. I am now after attractive intellectual options and I found that in the western area of Bali and Dubai. But if you seek a spiritual vibe and meditations, you may go to Ubud. And you’ll find fellow drop shippers in Chiang Mai if that’s your thing. Despite Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia feeling safe and okay, I haven’t found much intellectual stimulation over there.
Middle East
The Middle East opens up and attracts minds. I love it. Low tax, safety. If you don’t mind you’re not involved in the voting rituals or other nationalist sense of identity, but you prefer to choose your identity yourself outside of the nation-state propaganda, you may like that too. Totally not for everyone, but it feels like the area wants you to win. It’s a great area to accidentally run into some great people, innovators, cutting-edge and daring entrepreneurs. You can tell I enjoy it. I find it amusing how Westerners find places like Dubai cheap, simply because the long-term rental is half of the price than say in Toronto. The number of events makes it very tempting to hustle though, but with enough self-awareness, you may avoid the rush and enjoy even the slower vibe. There are still many places for me to visit in the area, however, the direction of the region seems very pleasing and opportunistic.
Alternative societies
What I find joy in seeing are cutting-edge - innovative villages popping up around the world. You may find them under the ‘popup cities’ and you can see sola.day for the upcoming events around the world. I question to what degree life in the popup cities is just another form of hustle, however, I find the idea of the places where great minds connect, and work together for a month or more, simply awesome. I initiated such a popup city too - and it comes to Serbia to our Liberland Ark village in April. To me joining such a popup became the ultimate bucket list thing and if you have an entrepreneurial mind, you may consider joining some too.
So where to have a home?
The more I travel the more it all feels like… nowhere. The nature of a sober and realistic state is to see that everyone and every place has its pros and cons. There’s no one place that’d be perfect. For the ultimate opportunistic mindset, you want to have such a degree of freedom to be in the best places at the best time - if you like winter, then enjoy it in the colder countries all year round; and vice versa - if you’re the all-year-summer person, then no need to suffer in cold. All-year-summer may be your 2025 goal as it’s very realistic.
To me, Georgia remains my home and my tax place. It’s a place of my Vespa and where I keep my things now, where are my friends. I’ll decide on the home location in the next months - and it feels great I can choose. I wish you could choose, too. So, become The Freeist and broaden your perception of the world, broaden your opportunities, and see that you always have a choice.
No need to choose what doesn’t serve you anymore. That’s actually why I wrote the newsletter today in this way - there are many places around the world. And what may be your plan B a few years ago, might not work right for you anymore. I’d love to invite you to reflect for a bit now and look around: are you choosing what you have or do you have what you got? Maybe your current place doesn’t serve you anymore, and despite the moving around requires additional resources, it can play into your cards.
One note on the surroundings
I have a high tolerance towards aloneness, so I do not really mind to hide myself somewhere in the mountains, drinking tea on my own, and being incognito there. I’d say part of me even seeks it. On the other hand, I see how uplifting to me it is to be among great minds - while not talking to them about work, but just having similar perspective on the world [lack of limits in the world, ownership of own life, self-responsibility, having some objectives, drive, direction]. Man, when I have this around myself, I shine. Thankfully I’m connected with many such friends online, but obviously, I seek places for me to be in, that’d upgrade that. Most of my such friends travel the world all year round, though, so we cannot really be in one place all the time together unless traveling together.
If I started over and wanted to lower the cost of living, I’d go to Asia, definitely. It’s great when you can live well while not paying too much, and not minding about safety issues. I assume Latin America makes sense too.
In seeking intellectual stimulation and a higher % of mature people, I feel well in Dubai and Canggu (Bali). However, island life isn’t really my vibe, and Dubai is too demanding for me (my objective for the year is to be more resourceful). So, again, I do not really see those to be the best places for me. That’s why I seek to pick what I feel like at the best time for myself - I am considering visiting China to train taichi for a few weeks, fulfill my dream of horseriding at the beach in Bali, see blooming cherry blossoms in South Korea at the beginning of April, and such.
What may get you to the ‘right’ place for yourself will be sufficient introspection, self-understanding of yourself, your needs and wants, and enough time on Google Maps. You will have to do the homework yourself and seek not just economic optimization, but also taking the desired lifestyle into account. I am sure that will help you to find what works for you. And places usually attract similar people with similar values, so you get it all, eventually. Or you’ll keep searching, reflecting, so the world will keep changing. Travel yourself a bit, that will help a lot. And enjoy, have some fun, too.
Favorite quote from a book
‘There is absolutely no collective norm that could replace an individual solution without loss.’
Jung - The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche [good reads]
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Where can we meet next:
27 March - Wiki Finance Expo in Hong Kong + VIP after-event
11-13 April - Liberland 10th anniversary in Ark Village, Serbia [close to Apatin]
14 April - 11 May - Liberland deSpace & deSci Popup City in Ark Village, Serbia
28-29 April - Blockchain Disrupt, Dubai UAE
With love,
Samuela Davidova
The Freeist
Broadening individual freedom
Ownership of own life
Global lifestyle
