I chose this topic because many of you contact me about expatriation. I am an expat myself. I left France with my wife and child in 2015, with no regrets whatsoever. Even so, when you choose to move abroad, it is important to do it for the right reasons.
50% of the requests I receive on the subject ultimately have little, if anything, to do with the right reasons for moving abroad. What they really amount to is looking for a way to pay less tax than in France.
I do not know what made you want to become an entrepreneur, but what I do know is why I made this choice: I did it for freedom. Billion-dollar startup projects aside, if you decided to go into business for yourself, it was rarely for purely financial reasons. On the contrary, most people see leaving a salaried job as a risk, so something else drove you to make that choice.
If, like me, you made this choice for freedom, the freedom to live and to work better, and if you are now thinking of moving abroad, you must think hard about your reasons for considering that choice.
Mine were simple. I did not leave for financial reasons, but for societal ones. I no longer agreed with French society. I also needed to find a place where I really feel at home, because feeling comfortable at home matters even more when you work there. Where others just come home to eat and sleep, if you are a “home entrepreneur”, unless you have chosen a nomadic lifestyle, you are going to spend a lot of time at home.
To work well, I need to be in a setting where I feel good and that inspires me. I found that in the wilds of Ireland, with a house facing the sea, close enough to catch the spray full in the face on windy days…
Now let’s talk about you: why do you want to leave? Really ask yourself the question. When you are an entrepreneur, and even more so if you are a solopreneur, a freelancer or home entrepreneur, the place where you live is very important: choosing a country is like choosing an apartment or a house. As for tax obligations, you should see them simply as rent. You can choose to live in Paris’s 16th arrondissement or in the Larzac; the rent is not the same. It is the same thing for a country.
Expatriation is a fantastic experience, provided you choose it for the right reason: leaving for tax reasons, hoping to save a few pennies on your income, is a decision you always regret. Do not make this mistake. Weigh the pros and cons carefully. Make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of moving abroad, and choose with one thing in mind: what you want is a better life than you have today!
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Christophe Casalegno
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