The Manual #45 - I'm leaving the UK

My first vacation

2016 I went on my first vacation ever to San Diego. I was 23 at the time. And it was a vacation that was partly paid for by my work at the time, when I was a founding designer for Plasso. I did one week of vacation and one week of work.

That trip completely opened me up to the idea of moving abroad because I could do my job from whenever. I didn’t need to stay in the UK. Ever since then I actually fully intended to move to San Diego. It’s one of the best places I’ve ever been to.

I visited a number of different countries in between 2016-2023. I still loved the idea of moving to San Diego but realised it’s more of a place you go to retire. I’ve actually visited San Diego three different times now, and have loved it every time.

I first visited Dubai in 2018. And the idea of moving there had been festering quite a bit since early 2023. I’d seen more and more people moving there, both friends and business people.

Then in the later half of 2023 I thought it’s now or never. If I’m going to move somewhere, now is the time. I am in a perfect position where I have no children or dependants, but I’m still young, healthy and make a good income. I may as well try living somewhere else, experience a different way of life.

In November 2023 I put my plan in motion, had a consulting company handle the whole process of creating a business for me and getting me a work visa. By the end of January 2024, I am now a Dubai resident.

It’s cost me around $17k to set up my company and get the visas. A small price to pay for the amount of tax I’m going to pay.

Why Dubai?

• 0% income tax and 0% capital gains tax. I will essentially by doubling my take home income by moving there

• Higher quality of life due to the amount of money saved in tax.

• Advanced level of healthcare even though you pay for it.

• Ridiculously safe, one of the safest places on earth. Never have to worry about being robbed or mugged. You can wear a nice watch, drive a nice car and no one will be bothered. Unfortunately same can’t be said in London where it feels like you’re constantly looking over your shoulder.

• Excellent weather for most of the year, apart from the summer months where it’s too hot, however I intend to travel for the summer months.

• Excellent connections to the eastern part of the world which I want to visit more. Top of my list is Japan and Australia.

• Still relatively close to the UK so I can come back and see family and friends whenever I need to with ease.

If you’re interested in moving, you can apply here. It will put you in touch with the same consultancy company that handled everything for me. They were seriously amazing and handled everything for me. The only thing I had to do was turn up to Dubai for a medical test and biometrics (fingerprints and stuff). I was super impressed by how quickly and efficiently everything was done.

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Link Lowdown

A collection of links to stuff I think are worth sharing.

Texts — An awesome app that integrates all messages into one place.

Investoptic — A satire based merch company. I’m tempted to buy a few pieces lol.

Free Design Stuff — Lots of links to free design resources.

The Downfall of Modern Podcasts — Great video from James Smith sharing how podcasts aren’t as truthful as they come across. Shame podcasts are becoming like this, as they used to be seen as a place for sharing useful information, but now a significant portion is becoming misinformation. Make sure to leave a comment saying “Oliur brought me here”.

21 Brutally Honest Lessons About Life — Fantastic podcast from Chris Williamson and Alex Hormozi. There’s so many good lessons that I feel like have completely opened my eyes.

Once by Campfire — A self hosted Slack.

Reflex — It annoys me that the media controls on Mac control whatever is playing, whether that’s a YouTube video or Spotify. When I only want them to control Spotify. This app fixes that.