Takeaways from Nomad Capitalist by Andrew Henderson

This is not a book with ready-to-use solutions. It is mostly about ideas and mindset. Many thoughts in the book are relevant and/or specific only for US citizens/residents. Some of the information is obviously outdated, but the author also often says this directly.

Andrew mentions russia and belorus as examples of emerging markets with huge potential. I don't know how close did he look at these countries, but this is absolutely insane. Both countries is a great example of failed states and thirany, not of emerging markets. If you don't know, russia is a world terrorist, and belorus is de-facto under full control of russia.

Similar issue is with Andrew's view on Georgia. I agree with the thought that the country had a chance to become a great example of a miraculous tranformation from a place where you would not want to keep your money into a leader in the region. Alas, in the last recent years they chose to go the 'russian way' and so Georgia is not a miracle anymore but a very risky country to deal with.

Other than that, I recommend this book to read to anyone who is interested in 'nomad capitalism'.

• Do not be a slave. Do not do what everyone else does. Focus on thriving, not on surviving. Work on the edges. Freedom to decide whether to stay or to go
• In a 'fight or flight' situation, 'to flight', probably, is the best solution. No reason to stay at your home country if you feel bad there
• Nomad is a lifestyle. Freedom to choose
• When it is get too cold at the north, many birds fly to the south. There is no duty to stay where you feel badly just because you were born there
• Walking in the right direction is more important than arriving somewhere
• You don't have to stay somewhere just because your parents are from there
• Go where you're treated best
• There are best places in the world to park your cash. Yet, few people use these places. The reason is a functional habit: we are conditioned to go where we are familiar, not where we are treated best
• Singapore may be a good place to keep your money, but not the best place to live
• Many people live by notion that being a patriot, loyal to their country, to the government, is the most noble purpose and must be defended at all costs
• Fight for yourself. Vote with your feet. Go where you're treated best
• Have a citizenship somewhere that does not tax income earned outside the country
• Have buinesses and investments in stable, low- or no-tax countries
• Live as a tourist in countries that support your valules, rather than society's
• Many countries reserve their best treatment for tourists: e.g. unlike a resident or a citizen, a tourist probably won't be chased by police for something minor (like jaywalking)
• Overcome irrelevant fear. Imagine the worst case scenario before taking an action. Yet, worst case scenarios are unlikely to occur. With diversifying and internationalization, the risks are actually lower
• If you can move to Vegas, you can move to Panama
• Run toward something, not from something
• One of the biggest mistakes, is to do somethign because of getting angry (on government, taxes, society, etc.)
• You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don't do too many things wrong
• Giving yourself opportunities is more important than your current physical location. Long-term mindset will pay off down the road
• One of the best things in nomad capitalist life style is low commitment to any one place. Being uncommited geographycally, does not mean you cannot commit to other things you care about
• All the things you enjoy at home (Uber, 24-hour convenient stoes, shopping) will probably be available wherever you choose to move
• With only one passport, there is only one country that "owns" you. You are very limited in protecting yourself in weird situations. With more than one passports you have more options
• Thailand and Malaysia are two of the best in health care. Many other countries are getting into medical tourism too. Singapore is known for excellent quality cancer care. Brazil is known for cosmetical procedures. India has two of the ten best hospitals on the planet. Asian Hearth Institute in Mumbai frequently performs among the most complicate cardiology procedures in the world and boasts the lowest hearth surgery mortality rate at just 0.26%. Romania and Serbia good in dental
• Top ten hospitals for medical tourism are in Malaysia, Germany, Lebanon, India, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Singapore
• It's not worth to keep your money in Panama, Belize, other small island countries. USA, easily can affect their policy via sanctions and regulations, and they won't be able to protect your assets
• Do not deal with banks in Cyprus or Ukraine. Old offshore world banks of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, for most individuals no longer offer the perfect panacea for offshore banking
• The worst offshore bank is HSBC
• Hong Kong banks are good to work with. But they have so many Chinese billioners among their clients, so they are not interested in your $100,000 anymore
• Hong Kong does not need you. Switzerland cannot take you. Tiny little islands are harrased (by the West) and unsafe (for banking). So, focus on the middle, on something Singapore and Hong Kong were 20 years ago
• Some countries do not want foreigner's money. Their banks might be happy to work with you, but their central banks make it just impossible
• It is not worth to deal with Carribean (and other distinctly offshore) banks. You easily might pay hundreds of dollars for every transaction
• Properly organized, Delawer can be a tax heaven. Just not for people living in USA
• Setup your company in one country where you earn money and then establish your personal tax residence in the territorial tax country. Teritorial tax countries include places as: Malaysia, Thailand, Georgia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Panama, Costa Rica, and others
• Uruguay and Portugal offer tax exemptions for certain types of income for new residents
• Gold and Silver are most widely traded. Usually come with the lowest spread if purchased correctly, this makes them better than Platinum and Palladium if your goal is preserving liquid wealth
• Buy gold bars, small enough that you can sell only a part of your lot if you need to. Hundred-gram bars are good. You should own them physically. Your goal is to obtain segregated, allocated storage of the metals you own, not just a piece of someone else's pie. Avoid bank safe deposit boxes, as these require form filling by the taxman and have little protection if your bank has a problem
• The best place to store your gold is in a private offshore vault. Singapore is among the best places to store gold, but it is not perfect and not for everyone
• Countries might have special regulations related to physical bars of metal. Double check if you are going to move physical gold bars via border between countries - there might be limitations, tax challenges, etc.
• Probably, the best place to store gold in Europe is Austria
• Owning a raw land is another way to diversify your wealth. It can be an excellent alternative to keeping money in a bank
• Cryptocurrencies is not the best choice. But it is better rather deversify (even using crypto) than trust everything to a government
• In the past several years, more than half of all existing Bitcoins were not used in a single transaction
• Many countries have special regulations and rules related to cryptocurrencies
• When it is no longer risky, it is too late
• Do not waste your time trying to convience the indoctrinated that there is a different way to do things. You are not going to change the world. You have a big enough job to change yourself.