Why I've lived in 5 countries

Moving countries can cut taxes and lower everyday expenses enough to boost net worth—even when salaries rise only modestly. Nicole van der Hoeven frames international relocation as “geographical arbitrage”: instead of focusing solely on earning more, she targets the other half of personal finance—where money goes—by choosing countries with more favorable tax treatment and generally cheaper living costs.

Her personal path runs from the Philippines to the US, then Australia (where she met her husband), followed by the Netherlands, and most recently Portugal. She argues that the biggest financial lifts come from two mechanisms. First, tax systems differ sharply across countries, affecting take-home pay not just through income tax rates but also through how dividends, investment income, rental income, capital gains, and pensions are taxed. Using a hypothetical €100,000 annual income, she compares take-home pay across five countries: about €70,000 in both the Philippines and the US, roughly €72,000 in Australia, and notably lower in Europe—around €60,000 in the Netherlands and €54,000 in Portugal. That gap between Australia and Portugal is about €18,000 per year, or roughly €1,500 per month, purely from where the person lives.

The Netherlands and Portugal might look worse on taxes at first glance, but she points to “tax arrangements” that can make relocation financially feasible. These are preferential agreements that reward certain categories of incoming residents—often high-value professionals such as software engineers—or encourage investment and other income-generating activity. In the Netherlands, she used a “30% ruling,” which raises the hypothetical take-home figure from €60,000 to about €76,000. Portugal’s equivalent program is referenced as the “NHR” (Non Habitual Residency), though she avoids quoting a specific number because she hasn’t finalized options with tax accountants.

Second, she emphasizes cost of living. After only a couple of months in Portugal, she already sees lower expenses across categories like rent, eating out, and utilities compared with the Netherlands. The financial logic is straightforward: even if income tax is higher in one place, a lower baseline for housing and daily life can still improve overall quality of life.

She then outlines practical routes for moving abroad: student visas (studying first, then seeking work), professional work transfers or work-and-study programs (including working holiday schemes in places like Australia and Canada), family-based eligibility through citizenship by descent, and residency/citizenship by investment—buying property or citizenship to gain long-term status. She also addresses the ethics of tax planning, saying she doesn’t aim for zero-tax schemes; instead, she prefers legal minimization while she’s in a life stage where she may not yet be ready to settle permanently.

Finally, she insists money isn’t the only driver. Her primary reason for relocating is long-term travel and cultural immersion—living like a local rather than staying a tourist—while using passports and residency pathways as tools to make that lifestyle possible.