UK and Europe Lockdowns + How to Move From England to Costa Rica

Sneak Peek:

Kristin:    00:00:00    I remember her telling me how much healthier she became after moving to Costa Rica. She actually lost like 30 pounds when she left the UK because her lifestyle went from going to happy hour at the pub every day after work, especially in the winter, you know, it's cold and rainy and dark. And instead of that she was just walking on the beach in Costa Rica after work or taking a yoga class or drinking tropical juices instead of a few pints. And you know, you do become a bit of a product of your environment depending on where you live. So she really adopted that lifestyle in Costa Rica and to this day, she still lives in the Nacoya Peninsula, which is known as a Blue zone, which is a place with more centenarians than other places in the world. 

Introduction: Welcome to Badass Digital Nomads, where we're pushing the boundaries of remote work and travel, all while staying grounded with a little bit of old school philosophy, self-development, and business advice from our guests.

Kristin:    00:01:17    Why, hello there, Kristin, from Traveling with Kristin here and welcome to episode 79 of Badass Digital Nomads podcast where we help you stay inspired and learn how to live life on your own terms or keep doing it. <laugh>. Today we actually had an interview planned with top medium writer Anthony Moore for you that was scheduled to go out, but then being that today is election day in the US and the fact that England, France, and Germany have just announced new lockdowns likely for the rest of the year, it seemed appropriate to address that today and reschedule that interview to come out next week. So in today's shorter episode, I have an update for you on the new travel bans and lockdowns in Europe. But first, a little check in with you all. I hope that you are doing well today, wherever you are in the world and wherever you're tuning into this episode.  

Kristin:    00:02:25    I am back in Miami after spending some time with family in St. Augustine, Florida last week from my niece's sixth birthday. So for her fifth birthday, I actually flew over to California from Norway, and this year I was lucky to be in the same state when my brother and my niece flew over to Florida. So that's one of those perks of remote work that is really one of the best parts about the lifestyle is just being able to see your family members more often than you typically would if you could only see them for the holidays. But of course things are a little bit different this year with the pandemic, but I'm still really grateful that I got to see them and I hope that you've been able to get some quality time with your family or friends as well, even if it's virtually. And side note, travel tip.  

Kristin:    00:03:25    I am from St. Augustine, Florida, which is where I went this week, and that's America's oldest, continually inhabited European settlement <laugh>. So a bit of a tongue twister there, but definitely give it a Google. If you haven't been there before, I'll link to a St. Augustine website in the show notes. But it's a really beautiful town that was founded more than 450 years ago and it's on the coast in northeast Florida. I shared a few pictures of the view and my Instagram stories, so definitely look that up and put it on your bucket list if you've never been there. And quick shout out to Aspiring Digital Nomad, EN2PT from the US who left a review on Apple Podcasts saying quote, love this podcast. Straight up advice and raw conversations. I came across this podcast randomly end quote <laugh>, that's an awesome review and thank you.  

Kristin:    00:04:25    But yeah, I tell it like it is friends, or at least how I see it. You may have also seen my posts on YouTube in the community tab over at Traveling with Kristin and in the Facebook group, Badass Digital Nomads a couple days ago, just saying basically how impressed and truly, genuinely humbled I am by the high caliber of people from all around the world who are participating in our community. I just wanted you to know that I get comments and messages on an almost daily basis from friends and strangers alike who are literally marveling how cool, kind, polite, and helpful everyone is. It's just so rare on the internet these days and I am so proud of us for keeping it real. As PT said, <laugh>, keep it real, keep it raw, but we also keep it positive, fun and productive and inspiring at the same time.  

Kristin:    00:05:30    And I get inspiration from everybody, each and every one of you who has messaged me or who's posting or commenting. And I just can't wait to see how much we all grow together on this remote work and travel journey. So getting a little emotional, but I really, it's so cool to see what this has grown into and all of the cool stuff that we are learning together along the way. Also, a quick follow up from last week's episode, which was a bit different about how us expats vote and why 95% of us don't vote. I explained my hypothesis there about why I think more Americans living abroad lean liberal and I wanted to let you know that I've since uncovered a bit more information that supports that premise, but I'm still doing some research to help close that loop for you and solve this experiment or hypothesis.  

Kristin:    00:06:33    So I'll let you know how things unfold there and what that means for you, whether you are currently an expat living outside of your home country, or if you are an aspiring digital nomad or remote worker in waiting who is planning to travel more in 2021 and beyond because there is going to be a critical mass of us or there is already. And regardless of which country you're from as a voting block we have a lot of power. So it's really important for us to understand what that power is and avoid any of the pitfalls that could keep us from using it. And finally, in case you missed it, I published a video with details about Dubai's new digital nomad visa over on youtube.com/TravelingwithKristin. So make sure to check that out because it's a really cool remote work program in a country that I've never been to, but that is world renowned for its high quality of life, no income tax and lots of other cool things, although there are some controversial issues around individual rights and things like that.  

Kristin:    00:07:51    But um, more details over in that video. As for our friends over in the UK, uh, as of Thursday, November 5th until at least December 2nd, English residents must stay home again with a few exceptions for medical care and a very limited amount of outdoor exercise. The UK has reported 25,000 new cases of COVID-19 per day as of November 1st with the US currently sur surpassing a hundred thousand new cases per day. So not that good. But the terms of the new lockdown are for essential shops to remain open according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But all pubs, gyms, salons and entertainment venues will have to close. Restaurants will only be able to offer takeaway and delivery. We are all familiar with that, but supermarkets and essential stores will remain open as well as schools and universities. They're also allowing contact with your quote support bubble, which I really like the idea of.  

Kristin:    00:09:08    I want a support bubble. I hope we all have one, but you can meet with members of your support bubble. So that's up to one additional household. However, large gatherings are not allowed for the time being and then people can go to work. But it's recommended that everyone work from home if they can. So if you're looking for a remote or work from home job and you need some help, you can check out my free remote jobs guide at digitalnomadbootcamp.com and I'll link to that in the show notes. But also notably with this UK lockdown is that there has been a ban on travel abroad from the UK. So only work related travel will be permitted as well as travel for education. So study abroad purposes and al-- also for healthcare or healthcare workers. Interestingly, foreigners can still fly to England. However, my British friend and fellow digital nomad/travel agent, Fiona Brander told me that once you get in, if you are going to England, expect for pretty much everything to be closed down with really not much to do.  

Kristin:    00:10:22    So if if you are going for tourism, then that is a bummer. And also I know many people who listen to the podcast are there. I have friends and family members over there, but stay strong everyone, this too shall pass if you did have some UK travel planned. However, most flights to and from the UK have been canceled and British Airways will only continue operating at up to 30% capacity. And this includes to far off places as well as nearby overseas British territories like Gibraltar for example. Most hotels are also closed and there are reportedly continued lockdowns across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as well with varying degrees of strictness and some regional differences. So if you're headed there or if you're there now, check with your local authorities. Um, I did kind of get a kick out of one video I saw on YouTube with the BBC with a British guy just saying that he was frustrated with the new lockdowns, but he was telling the reporter, yeah, you know, rules are rules and he was on a golf course at the the time of the interview.  

Kristin:    00:11:42    So I kind of thought that was funny. It was like a very British common sense lackadaisical but strict approach to the coronavirus of just like, yeah, it is what it is, we're gonna deal with it. So props to him. But on the other hand, not everyone is sharing that sentiment because police in Bristol, England allegedly broke up an illegal rave with about 700 people a few days ago. So there's that, you've got everything going on over there, but I hope that things um, get back to normal very soon. Another thing, you know, when you live abroad, even if it's just one time, like you end up with friends from every corner of the world. And when I lived in Costa Rica for eight years, that was definitely the case for me. I think almost all of my friends were from different countries, but I became really close friends with a lot of British expats who were living in Costa Rica working in the online gaming industry.  

Kristin:    00:12:48    But they expressed to me just how much they were surprised by how much they loved the climate and the lifestyle and just everything overall compared to their lives back in the UK. I'm just thinking of people suck at home during late fall, early winter in the UK and thinking of the video I did on Costa Rica reopening to people of all countries and all states and just to kind of plant that seed in case you are thinking about moving somewhere during or after the pandemic, my friend, one of my best friends in Costa Rica who was from England, she actually used to tell me stories about those illegal nineties raves <laugh> that she was part of growing up. So it's kind of funny to see that during the pandemic 20, 30 years later they're breaking up illegal raves for a different reason. But anyway, she used to work at a sports book in England and then she got I think a job opportunity in Antigua in the Caribbean and then ended up getting transferred to Costa Rica.  

Kristin:    00:13:59    So she went from England to the Caribbean to Central America and through her company she was able to apply for and get permanent residency status. And so when I met her, she had a really interesting situation because she was living in Costa Rica working for a European company and getting paid to a Panamanian bank account, which meant that she got to enjoy the whole climate and lifestyle and low cost of living in Costa Rica, but also she didn't have to pay any income taxes because Costa Rica doesn't tax income that is generated offshore and her earnings were paid offshore. So basically she had a tax free situation in Costa Rica where she had changed her tax base from the UK to Costa Rica and then earned money in Panama. So I thought that was a pretty interesting setup that a lot of people were doing at the time. Obviously this is not legal or accounting advice, but this is a pretty common practice.  

Kristin:    00:15:11    It's quite transparent in if you're from a country other than the US or Eritrea where you can change your tax domicile to another country and you move to a country where you work remotely or you work online and that country doesn't tax income that's earned abroad in other countries. So Costa Rica and Panama are two examples, but then if you have your bank account there and you're earning money somewhere else, you can actually set up a system that is legal, although get, you know, get a professional accountant for your tax advice, but you can set something like that up and um, basically not have to pay income tax. So on top of that, she got free public healthcare in Costa Rica because it was part of her residency status and her social security payments, which I think were around $250 per month at the time. And I remember she told me that she still had some benefits and access to some of the social services back in the UK.  

Kristin:    00:16:18    And I was just thinking about that because like looking at the news around England and the NHS, their national healthcare services, um, I was just wondering what the impact would be if British expats moved abroad but still wanted to use some of those services. So apparently my friend was kind of accessing both. She was paying into the social security in Costa Rica, but she had also paid a lot of taxes in the UK before she moved abroad. So she kind of had benefits from both. Um, and also I remember her telling me how much healthier she became after moving to Costa Rica. She actually lost like 30 pounds when she left the UK because her lifestyle went from going to happy hour at the pub every day after work, especially in the winter, you know, it's cold and rainy and dark. And instead of that she was just walking on the beach in Costa Rica after work or taking a yoga class or drinking tropical juices instead of a few pints.  

Kristin:    00:17:27    And you know, you do become a bit of a product of your environment depending on where you live. So she really adopted that lifestyle in Costa Rica and to this day she still lives in the Nacoya Peninsula, which is known as a blue zone, which is a place with more centenarians than other places in the world. So more people living in Costa Rica's Nacoya Peninsula live to be the age of a hundred compared to other areas. So there's actually a website, I think bluezones.com that you can check out to see where the other places are and I'll link to that in the show notes. But basically it's just locations that are known for higher longevity and a better quality of life. So again, just some food for thought if you are a British or other non-US citizen who works remotely and is considering relocating somewhere that has that better climate, better cost of living or better quality of life, or all three at some point during these lockdowns if you can get out or after the pandemic.  

Kristin:    00:18:36    So anyway, hopefully the citizens over in the UK will have something of a normal holiday for Christmas and New Year's this year. But that's all going to depend on how successful these lockdown measures are at suppressing the spread of the coronavirus and if it gets extended. So the infection rate in UK has doubled since October from one in 200 people to one in 100 people. And so if that R-rate or reproduction rate in England remains above this critical level of one, which means that the virus is still spreading, then that lockdown will likely get extended probably for another month, but hopefully it is less than that. But if you need help traveling to or from the UK urgently, I will link to Fiona's info in the show notes because I'm sure she can help you out. But unfortunately the UK isn't the only country in Europe that's locking down again right now.  

Kristin:    00:19:38    Germany's Angela Merkel announced a similar four week lockdown for Germany starting on November 2nd after the country's new case rate reached 15,000 per day. And over in France a renewed lockdown on October 30th resulted in a mass exodus out of Paris, at least with bumper to bumper traffic leaving the city. So it seems like people were not having that. And according to CNN, people in France will need a certificate to move around. Now, non-essential businesses will be closed, but schools and workplaces will remain open. However, uh, French president Emmanuel Macron said that locals will only be able to go outside to work, go to the doctor, care for a relative or to shop for essential goods or just get some fresh air. So I know that many of you over on my YouTube channel have been asking about me making a video about tourism or international travel to France, but it looks like unfortunately that won't be possible until sometime in 2021 unless you have a romantic partner who is French, in which case you should be able to get in as an exception.  

Kristin:    00:21:06    So if you have a partner who is in most countries in Europe, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Poland, there's quite a few countries, probably most of the countries in the EU except maybe Hungary and a couple other ones have a accept or have an exception for romantic partners to travel. So check that out if that means you. In other Europe news, Sweden is kind of on the other side of the spectrum with one of the lowest infection rates in the EU right now. However, I did see that in the last week of October. New cases jumped from 1000 to 4,000 per day. So hopefully those go back down. And overall, there's no word yet on whether the entire EU will change the current domestic or international restrictions, especially throughout the Schengen zone. But I'll keep you posted on that. And right now the only eight countries on the approved list are Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Uruguay. So that is for third party national travel into Europe. And you can find the most up to date info on travel there at www.reopen.europa.eu. And I'll link to that in the show notes. And I also have quite a few FAQ videos over on youtube.com/TravelingwithKristin. So this was your Europe travel update and random travel stories and tax info for November 3rd, 2020. Stay safe out there, especially if you're voting in the US today, and see you next week for a very inspiring interview with Medium's Anthony Moore.  

Kristin:    00:23:19    Thank you so much for listening. And remember to leave a review for the podcast wherever you listen and share this episode with someone you think it might help.  

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