Working as a freelance expat can be fun, especially when you’re in a country that generally makes life easy. As a freelance expat, you’re not limited by location, as you can be in Canada while working different jobs for different clients in the US or any other part of the world.
Searching for jobs that can lead you to a successful freelance life as an expat? This article discusses all you need to know about living a freelance life as an expat.
Who is an Expat?
An expatriate (expat) is a citizen of a country living and working in another country. They are usually professionals or skilled workers who traveled independently or were sent to work abroad by their companies.
However, just like every other immigrant, an expat has to meet the immigration requirements of the host country. So, before you start the application process for moving to any country of your choice as an expat, make sure you’ve done your homework.
Is Expat Life Worth it?
It can be challenging to leave your comfort zone (home country) to travel and live in a different country. The reality of starting over to make friends out of total strangers, learn new cultures, get used to new foods, and even learn a new language can be demoralizing.
However, it’s as rewarding as it is challenging to live as an expat. You’ll have the opportunity to learn new things, become a citizen of another country, build global connections, and even gauge your perspectives on different things with what’s obtainable in your host countries. The memories, skills, and experiences gathered from such life journeys shape your view of life.
Therefore, you can’t deny the fact that living abroad has the tendency to change everything you grew up knowing. However, you can take solace in the fact that you’ll end up more exposed, educated, and experienced than the majority.
In the end, living an expat life is for those courageous enough to leave their comfort zones and take on unknown challenges. In your journey as an expat, however, you’ll need jobs to take care of your needs.
What Jobs Can Lead You to a Successful Freelance Expat Life?
As an expat, you can do freelance or onsite jobs in your host country. However, you’d need the necessary permissions to do so.
These are five freelance jobs you can do successfully while living your best life as an expat in any country of your choice:
1. Become a Freelance Writer
Writers are perhaps among the most traveled expats in the world. As a freelance writer, you have many options for working and earning money from anywhere. Businesses, bloggers, individuals, students, aspiring immigrants, and lots more are in constant demand for writers.
As long as you have the skills and experience, there’s no limit to how much you can earn as a writer. And the good thing is, all you need is your laptop and an internet connection to deliver any level of writing job you’re tasked with.
However, sourcing for jobs is one challenge that comes with this skill, especially as there are many people offering writing services in the world. Interestingly, freelance sites like Upwork, Fiverr, Guru, etc. have simplified this process for you.
2. Work as a Remote Web Developer
Skilled and experienced web developers are in high demand worldwide. Provided you can build and design a functional website, businesses, individuals, and governments would be glad to pay good money for your services.
And the good thing is, you’re not limited by location at all. So, as an expat web developer, you can do freelance jobs for companies or individuals from different parts of the world while enjoying life in your host country.
In the absence of jobs, you can also bring your ideas to life by building and designing websites or applications you think people would need. This you can later sell to fund your needs or even further develop into something the world will remember you for.
Read:
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3. Social Media Management or Influencing
If you understand how the social media space functions, and you have the skills to build a high level of followership within a short period of time, you might consider social media management and influencing.
Many businesses and prominent figures are out there looking for professionals who can manage their social media accounts and communicate with their audience in a way that’s peculiar to them. Though this can be a daunting task, you’d need to remind yourself every moment that you’re representing your client and not yourself. Therefore, in such instances, your personal views or opinions don’t matter unless they’re in the best interest of your client.
Also, if you’re into social media influencing, your tasks would be centered on winning the trust and support of your followers for a particular brand or individual. In this job, you only need a sound smartphone and an internet connection to function effectively. A laptop would be a plus.
4. Become a Travel or Lifestyle Blogger
Travel and lifestyle blogging is one of the top jobs that can lead you to a successful freelance expat life. You’d enjoy this more if you love traveling, taking photos, and documenting your activities, because that is basically all you will be doing.
Running a blog isn’t easy, but if you’re passionate about it, you’ll definitely build something out of it. Your passion will obviously drive you to source for new and exciting things to teach your subscribers every day. And the more consistency and dedication you put into it, the more results you see.
The good thing about blogging is that there are many ways you can monetize it. You can sell ad spaces, offer affiliate marketing services, sell your own physical or digital products, or even get paid to review places, events, or properties.
Just like other freelance jobs, you only need a laptop and an internet connection to do this job. However, a good knowledge of marketing, graphic design, photography, and, of course, communication would be of immense importance to you.
5. Work as a Freelance Marketer or Copywriter
Marketers and copywriters are the heart of most businesses. I mean, they’re the reasons these businesses are still in business, regardless of the quality of the products or services they offer.
As a copywriter or marketer, you’ll be in charge of generating quality leads and converting them into your company’s loyal customers. Your job description revolves around creating advertising campaigns, writing sales copies, and working with the design team to ensure the products or services meet what the market demands. To do this, you need good knowledge of communication and human psychology.
Freelance platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, and Guru update openings for copywriters and freelance marketers on a daily basis. However, you can also source clients through cold calling and emailing.
What are the Best Countries to Live in as an Expat?
Expats are always in search of countries where they can enjoy a low cost of living, make important connections, and still earn profitably.
According to CNBC, these are some of the best countries in the world to live and work as an expat:
- Taiwan
- Mexico
- Costa Rica
- Malaysia
- Portugal
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Ecuador
- Canada
- Vietnam
Wrapping it up on Jobs that can Lead to a Successful Freelance Expat Life
You can live a successful freelance expat life if you know the right jobs to do to earn a comfortable income. The right job will not just give you income; it will also give you freedom and a load of beautiful experiences and memories that can last you a lifetime. Typical examples are the various job opportunities in Canada.
Hopefully, this article has given you some ideas about the types of jobs to look for if you want to live a successful freelance expat life.
