[bombcar]

The "quiet part" you don't say out loud is you don't get work visas - you pretend you're a tourist and survive on those.

However, an American could spend years just traveling the United States, and that doesn't even cover the possibility of the territories, etc.

[failTide]

> an American could spend years just traveling the United States

Yup. I actually imagine a Californian could probably spend a LIFETIME roaming California and still not see everything that's worth seeing. The late Huell Howser did just that, but he only scratched the surface of the amazing places to visit in CA.

[metacritic12]

Also it's an open secret that enforcement is poor to nil on the above setup.

The major checkpoint is at custom control, where choosing your words carefully will be important. I'm sure Google offers some good advice on this.

[patrec]

> Also it's an open secret that enforcement is poor to nil on the above setup.

OK, but what happens if you have a medical emergency? Googling suggests there are dedicated "digital nomad" insurance plans, but does a sizable fraction of digital nomads actually have insurance that provides cover for people who are doing illegal remote work?

[metacritic12]

Most developed countries (especially EU, but even USA) require that hospital take care of actual medical emergencies regardless of ability to pay or immigration status.

This is different than getting a doctor checkup or a scheduled surgery. For that you need to go home. But if you get into a car accident in the UK while a digital nomad, the process is probably the same as if you were a tourist.

E.g. NHS would take care of you, and sort the billing out later. And tourist insurance would probably even take care of you. For insurance underwriting purposes, being a nomad is a plus (other than customs law), because you spend all day in a library or WeWork, not bungee jumping or safari riding.

Of course, your point is correct that being on a tourist visa vs (say in the USA) a green card does cause a lot of headaches. Landlords will not rent long term to you. You cannot get a local job in case your main employer fires you (and you fall in love with the place). You'll have a hard time getting utilities, a bank account, etc.

[bombcar]

I would assume you either are young and gambling you don't have an emergency, or you accept that you'll be treated by whatever is available, hopefully stabilized, and return to your country of origin.

You may be able to survive on "tourist insurance" or whatever, if you keep your working down-low (if it's all laptop work, maybe nobody will know or care enough to investigate).

[yardstick]

What about the tax aspect of it? Or do you simply pay tax as resident of the place you last properly lived?

Maybe this is a more relevant question for non-Americans, since most other countries don’t tax their citizens on their worldwide income. Eg UK definitely doesn’t. But often it requires the employer to be comfortable with the HR situation you put them in. Often easier to contract via a company (intermediary HR entity or your own).

[bombcar]

Many people just keep "working" for wherever they "officially" live and stay on the down-low. You get a lot of cash/barter happening also, and try to stay out of the attention of the authorities.

[bonestamp2]

Many places have tax treaties that allow you to pay taxes to your "home" nation (and/or state/province) as long as you don't stay there/away more than a certain number of days each year. That also assumes you have the right visa to work there legally, and I don't mean work for a local company... I mean do any work that you get paid for such as remote work.

[patrec]

There are a couple of countries that let you do it above-board:

https://www.investopedia.com/countries-offering-digital-noma...

[hombre_fatal]

Traveling the US misses out on different cultural experiences though which are the most interesting parts of traveling I think, esp making friends and dating.

[iso1631]

So you're an illegal immigration bouncing from country to country?

[scarface74]

Just like “illegal immigration” in the US, you probably add more to the country economically than you cost. If you’re working remotely, it’s not like you’re taking a job away from the locals.