[yen223]

Don't forget the worse part: salaries are much much lower in third-world nations - at least here in Malaysia - especially after considering currency conversion.

To put this into perspective: median annual salary for software engineers in Malaysia is about RM45,000, which is $15,000 a year. A 'highly-paid' consultant might make about RM150,000 a year - all of $50,000 per annum.

[sneak]

So have US customers (who pay near-US rates) and outsource all your work to skilled local contractors. Added bonus: it scales way beyond your normal 168/hour week cap.

[seanmcdirmid]

And where do you find those "skilled local contractors"? And why should they work for you vs. a stable job?

You can take advantage of local labor sometimes, but its definitely not a given, and it never lasts very long.

[greg5green]

Don't forget that Americans working overseas still have to pay the IRS!

[seanmcdirmid]

We get a $90K blanket exemption + we can directly deduct whatever we pay for taxes in the country we are working in. So it usually works out to $0 + the expense of filing a tax form. Disclaimer: I am not a tax attorney and this shouldn't be taken as advice.