So you’ve decided to leave on an extended trip as a digital nomad, or move to another country as an expat? There’s a lot to do before heading out, and you’ll quickly find out that rules and systems are not set up to handle people with foreign addresses and phone numbers, or no address and phone number at all.
This article attempts to capture all the useful tips and services that I’ve found helpful during my time as a digital nomad and now as an expat in France.
Note: I’ve used affiliate links here for some of the services. However, all of these are services I’ve used and personally recommend to friends. Signing up through the referral is optional and won’t cost you any extra, but does help support this blog.
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you choose to use them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend services we believe are genuinely useful.
Financial
Accounts to open
Checking account with international ATM withdrawal
This will serve as your primary means of getting cash in a foreign currency. Simply find an ATM when you arrive, and use your debit card to withdraw the cash you’ll need. Make sure to decline the optional conversion if offered, and let your bank handle the conversion for you. I’ve never noticed more than a 1% spread through the Visa network.
I use Schwab’s Investor Checking account. They reimburse the ATM fees that other banks charge you. I’ve encountered some ATMs in more touristy areas that charge $8 or more, just to take cash out. It’s always great to see those charges paid back at the end of the month.
Wise account
If you’re staying somewhere long-term or need to bank in multiple currencies, Wise has proven invaluable. It allows you to easily and cheaply convert between several different currencies and provides a local routing number for each currency too. We were able to pay all our utilities by bank transfer (they don’t take credit card) with our Euro account through Wise. We also use the debit card as a backup to our Schwab card.
Travel credit card
It’s absolutely essential to have a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. This will be your primary method of buying things while traveling, from accommodations to food and airline tickets. Ideally you choose a card that optimizes rewards based on your spending and offers good travel protections, but any card that doesn’t penalize you for spending money in a foreign currency is a good starting point. We use the Chase Sapphire Reserve and really love the airport lounge access, but there are plenty of other great choices out there too. Edit: Given the new changes to the Sapphire Reserve, we’ve switched to the Capital One Savor card.
Renew credit cards
Most credit and debit cards are only valid for three to five years. It’s much harder to get a replacement overseas than it is at home, so make sure to renew all your cards and sign up for any new ones before leaving.
Have a backup plan
Your wallet gets stolen. The ATM eats your debit card. Your bank’s compliance department thinks you’re living abroad and wants to close your account. Don’t simply rely on one optimized account for all your financials. Make sure you can access your money from different accounts and in different ways. Weigh the risks of keeping physical cash or Bitcoin on you for an emergency versus the risk they get lost or stolen.
Mailing Address
Where does your mail go after selling your home or ditching your apartment? It’s an issue many expats, RVers, and digital nomads face. There’s generally two different approaches: family members or a digital mail service.
If you have family with a regular address you can use, and they don’t mind helping receive your mail, then that’s the most straightforward solution. Just change your address to theirs and have them notify you when something important arrives.
If not, there are a huge number of virtual mailbox companies who will give you an address to use, and will open and scan your mail for you. This is the direction we chose to go, and it proved invaluable when the IRS decided to mail our tax refund check to us instead of depositing it electronically. We use iPostal1 but nothing about the service stands out from any of the other companies available. It costs us $10/month for the address and an additional fee for scanning mail or depositing checks. Make sure you select a location that supports international shipping.
Residential address
If you use a virtual mailbox company, many banks will detect the business address and require a real residential address be on file, even if no mail is sent there. You can either keep your old address on file or update it to a family member, but there’s usually no option to leave it blank, even if you don’t actually have an address.
Phone
Keep your old number with Google Voice
A great way to save money while traveling is to ditch your expensive phone plan, which will get even more expensive as you use data abroad, and switch to Google Voice. Other than a one-time $20 fee, you can still make and receive calls and texts through the Google Voice app with your old number. You’ll still need a local data plan to get cell service and likely a local phone number if you’re moving to a new country, but this is a great way to keep your old number active without paying monthly.
Get an eSIM before you arrive
Gone are the days of landing in a new country with no cell connection and having to navigate to your hotel with no data like it’s the 1800s. If your phone is unlocked and supports eSIMs (most modern phones do) then you can have your travel data plan setup before leaving and get data as soon as you land. The two main options that support multiple countries are Airalo and Maya. They both leverage the local cellular network, so the quality of service is based on the country’s infrastructure and the main differences between the two are the pricing and data amount.
Set up 2FA with apps
While you can continue to receive Two Factor Authorization texts over Google Voice, the most reliable method is to switch over to App based 2FA. As you go through your accounts in preparation for your trip, check which ones require an authentication code and see if they offer an app based solution instead, ideally before porting your number.
Set up contactless payment on your phone
A great way to minimize the number of things you need to carry around with you everyday is to add your main travel credit card to your Android or iPhone. Most of the world has switched to Tap to Pay and other than ATMs, I haven’t needed to physically insert my credit card chip anywhere in Europe. Paying with Apple or Google Pay also simplifies buying things online by bypassing the billing address portion of checkout, a major headache when trying to format your foreign address to match the local pattern.
I did have an issue adding one card to my iPhone’s wallet while abroad, so make sure you do this before leaving.
VPN
I don’t regularly use a VPN and never felt it was valuable to have one while traveling. Whenever I run into a website that won’t work based on the country I’m in, I just switch to the Opera browser. It includes a free VPN, which has been enough for everything I need. Some people have issues accessing certain streaming content while traveling, and a paid VPN can be one solution.
Conclusion
I skipped over some of the more obvious things like sell your car, cancel your insurance, and renew your passport. But if there’s any other questions you have, feel free to ask me in the comments or by email.
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