Selçuk

Designer, digital nomad since 2020. Maker of Nomad Budget, the expense tracker for life across borders.

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

Most of the time I plan and hold my travel budget in US dollars.

If you live in the West and aren't used to inflation, that may sound strange.

For people used to living with high inflation, it's a kind of insurance.

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

Same country, same life. The only thing that changed is the rate.
https://t.co/vHd59CQUrS

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

As a nomad you live with three currencies, often without noticing. 🧵

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

Currency risk is these three not moving together.

Round example, in the currency of the country you live in: income 1,000, life 800, you save 200. The currency you earn in falls 20%: savings 0. If half your income is in it: 100.

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

In 2021, the Turkish lira lost 44% of its value against the dollar.

For someone earning in Turkey and living abroad, the same life cost about 1.8 times as much in lira within a year.

Same rent. Same groceries. Same café.

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

Did you spend too much this month, or did the exchange rate move?

In some months when I thought "a bit much this month", I hadn't spent more at all. The rate had moved.

Now I check the rate before I say "I spent too much".

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

A café isn't a coworking space. It's someone's business.

A table you sit at for three hours is a table that doesn't turn over.

In very small places, if it gets busy, I leave. Or I pick bigger, quieter places in the first place.

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

The first country where I worked from cafés for long stretches was Ukraine.

Back then, some cafés found it odd to see someone working on a laptop.

Today some set aside spaces just for people working.

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

How I find that café in a new city:
https://t.co/9UTETByKcy

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

What I look for in a good work café. 🧵

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

Noise? It doesn't really bother me. A headset with a mic and noise cancelling get me ready for any room.

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

Where did you work today?

For most people the answer is simple: an office, or home.

For me it's usually a café. Working from home all the time kills my motivation. No office means no reason to go out, so I create one.

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

First cash included, every line of the first week:
https://t.co/d2B62l2F4o

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

My first week in a new country always goes in the same order. 🧵

[Selçuk @SelcukBuilds]

Then I walk, around the flat, in every direction.

To find the centre I have one simple rule: follow the crowd.