tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41948481327786075502024-03-18T01:09:11.526-07:00JohnnyFD.com - Follow the Journey of a Location Independent EntrepreneurAdventures of a Location Independent Entrepreneur, Accidental Digital Nomad and Former Dropshipping based eCommerce business owner now turned full time traveler.Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.comBlogger505125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-82772674953208461262023-04-25T20:03:00.004-07:002023-04-26T20:18:55.543-07:00This is my Final Post about Russia and Ukraine. <p> I've said this before, but I'll say it again for those who still don't understand...</p><p><br /></p><p>Before February 24th, 2022 I liked Russia and Russians, I liked Russian food, language, culture, movies, music, etc. </p><p><br /></p><p>There was no reason legitimate for Russia to actually invade Ukraine and there was a lot for Putin to lose if he attempted. </p><p><br /></p><p>For those who don't live in Ukraine and don't understand the complicated history, please don't parrot Russian talking points or excuses on why they invaded, it's all bullshit. The truth is, Russia only invaded because they thought it would be easy and that no one would stop them. </p><p><br /></p><p>Russia got away with it in Georgia, and in Crimea, and thought they could do it again. The problem with imperialism in 2022 is that it triggers other countries to think they can do the same. If Russia took Ukraine without repercussions, China would had invaded Taiwan next, and so on. </p><p><br /></p><p>It gets a lot more complicated than that, and I honestly don't have the energy to argue or explain to everyone every little "but what about Iraq, NATO, Donbas, Biolabs, Birds, UFOs, Obama" bs. Russian excuse, it's all misinformation. </p><p><br /></p><p>The truth is, the only thing that matters is action, and as much as we hate to admit that we still live in this type of world, strength matters. Russia didn't invade Finland even though they were looking to join NATO, but they used that as an excuse on why they invaded Ukraine. </p><p><br /></p><p>Everything that has happened since 2014 and 2022 is a result of Russian aggression. Russia started this war and they can end it today if they wanted to. They can leave Ukraine anytime they want. Putin has chosen to stay because he still has majority Russian support.</p><p><br /></p><p>There hasn't been a single significant protest (100,000+ people) by Russians in or outside of Russia. If even 10% of people in Moscow got together and protested, that would be 1 Million of them in the Red Square, ending this war. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnnV_RHyijrcRwy6MDxOCHKymMryAJfnzdmp2FXCdJ0fUtMKfbwP-bADAUGozXwIXb4iKFHXxFNefimeS6t9F4IAdiyzPkh1npLJSMx4iZqWXHRrJvS9aSzrpF0xxa8YdQ0SJFUbUyucJTs1qMPS8a1egh4ltErPZq9mWE2jlOjVVotkXVEk_5QyG/s4032/IMG_3257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnnnV_RHyijrcRwy6MDxOCHKymMryAJfnzdmp2FXCdJ0fUtMKfbwP-bADAUGozXwIXb4iKFHXxFNefimeS6t9F4IAdiyzPkh1npLJSMx4iZqWXHRrJvS9aSzrpF0xxa8YdQ0SJFUbUyucJTs1qMPS8a1egh4ltErPZq9mWE2jlOjVVotkXVEk_5QyG/w514-h386/IMG_3257.JPG" width="514" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>If 10% of Russians aboard protested, that would be 100,000 of them. </p><p><br /></p><p>The truth is, most of them believe the Russian propaganda on why they needed to invade Ukraine. And it's sad that even with all of the information out there such as <a href="https://youtu.be/bJczLlwp-d8" target="_blank">Timothy Snyder's free Yale course about Ukraine</a>, or<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@JakeBroe" target="_blank"> Jake Broe's YouTube channel</a>, that people still parrot the bullshit Russian propaganda about why Russia is somehow the good guy for invading Ukraine. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bJczLlwp-d8" width="414" youtube-src-id="bJczLlwp-d8"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>It saddens me how little empathy people have for Ukrainians who have lost so much during this past year. </p><p><br /></p><p>Yes, I understand others in the world have suffered as well, but saying "What about..." isn't helpful, it's dodging the topic and making their suffering seem less important while in reality most other problems in the world are small compared to the problems that Russia caused and can stop tomorrow. </p><p><br /></p><p>We can't prevent earthquakes and other natural disasters, and accidents happen, it sucks when it does, but there's nothing anyone but God can do to stop it. </p><p><br /></p><p>But we can stop Putin from playing God and invading their neighbors, and rocking the entire balance of power and peace we have in the world. </p><p><br /></p><p>Remember this. Russia started this war and is the only one who can end it. Everything else is a byproduct of Russian invading Ukraine. </p><p><br /></p><p>I won't waste what's left of my mental and emotional strength explaining this anymore or arguing with people on details, history, misinformation or what ifs. </p><p><br /></p><p>I have empathy for many people in this world, including the Russian citizens who want nothing to do with this war, but that amount is nothing compared to the Ukrainians who I've personally met who have had their homes destroyed, and the lives of their friends, neighbors and families taken from them because of this invasion. </p><p><br /></p><p>It is not a special operation, it's not even a war, it's an invasion. </p><p><br /></p><p>Slava Ukraine.</p><p><br /></p><p>-Johnny FD<br /><br /></p>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-52309744967526421532023-04-05T21:18:00.004-07:002023-04-05T21:33:22.705-07:00Why Russia Really Invaded Ukraine.<p>Every day I get messages from people who write me or comment on my posts and videos saying "XYZ" is the reason why Russia invaded Ukraine. The majority of these people have never even been to Ukraine and definitely haven't lived there for as long as I have. </p><p><br /></p><p>Normally I just ignore these comments, or even block them if they are an obvious Russian bot or Paid Propaganda Troll, but the problem is when I look at their profile and realize they might be just a normal person who has fallen for the Russian propaganda and is now re-spreading bullshit information. If you are serious about knowing why Russia invaded Ukraine, watch this interview with Timothy Snyder, it's long, but informative and goes more in depth than I can here. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="511" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/um-SEQDQidM" width="615" youtube-src-id="um-SEQDQidM"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>A lot of people don't realize this, but propaganda campaigns are real, bot farms are real, and they actually work. Russia is losing the war on the battlefield, and know that their only way to win is for world wide and western support for Ukraine to diminish. Sure there's always been misinformation out there on all topics, especially politics, but normally I wouldn't waste my time trying to educate people as it really didn't matter that much. </p><p><br /></p><p>I didn't waste my time arguing about covid with anti-vaxxers, or about how many pronouns there should be for gender equality. But with Ukraine, people are dying, having their homes destroyed, and since I'm in a unique position of having a large English speaking audience, while having unique insights into Ukraine, I feel like it's my duty to help how I can.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM93LLMg_xMl2NPm_mSJJwLbXrI3DdUnP0YI7mHAhwkqZCoJOMVPb_wkgbCRqD_CCVX47bD5-W69QbDMnHtj1lkKF881jYNyrmWHgiwV_wlzwYI8uOF5OWAj9-eF0WQ00UozNhyA8BOs4upLo1rsYx817ZDqL-IMf5WOeRhTYCp-fAXzVwtPW2LGMX/s4032/IMG_7760.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM93LLMg_xMl2NPm_mSJJwLbXrI3DdUnP0YI7mHAhwkqZCoJOMVPb_wkgbCRqD_CCVX47bD5-W69QbDMnHtj1lkKF881jYNyrmWHgiwV_wlzwYI8uOF5OWAj9-eF0WQ00UozNhyA8BOs4upLo1rsYx817ZDqL-IMf5WOeRhTYCp-fAXzVwtPW2LGMX/w640-h480/IMG_7760.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>So why did Russia really invade Ukraine?</b></h2><p><br /></p><p><b>NATO Expansion</b>: This one made sense as who would want another big military on their doorsteps? The USA definitely didn't want CUBA to have nuclear weapons. However, what people don't realize is that NATO is a defensive pact designed specifically to deter countries like Russia from gobbling up smaller, weak, defensive countries. If Georgia was part of NATO, they would still have all their territory today. The same with Ukraine. </p><p>However, either way, all this breaks down as before the Russian invasion on February 24th, 2022, there was almost zero chance Ukraine ever would had been accepted into NATO. Russia could had easily asked any of the 30 members to block it, and without an immediate threat, they would had happily of done it for continued gas deals, especially with countries like Hungary. <br /><br />But since AFTER the Russian invasion, NATO has naturally expanded as countries like Finland, Sweden, and Moldova are worried that they will be next. Even though there was zero talk on Finland even considering joining NATO prior to 2022, now on April 4th, 2023, Finland officially became the 31st NATO member, bringing the border right up next to Russia. Yet so far Russia has said nothing and has acted like it wasn't a big deal. So then, why was Russia so scared of Ukraine joining and not Finland? </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-40xWXnDZfG6CnKO1ikIhc-JjJs6-GB47fOTlBZUhxGKYW41hGx6jVauQp3JFlVC_gOIhOo3HuF3jU7z9KcJj7-2qfcV8Lza_GXlLPkNKLCTgUT7jPgpmtdQd_an8YbBzXinWlU32ZKvcLdKHRXlTnr2VmBUx6eHwwJMdAUuS62qmwODhtHFYwdqe/s2000/642c9187d335200018dda786.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Finland NATO Russia Border" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="2000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-40xWXnDZfG6CnKO1ikIhc-JjJs6-GB47fOTlBZUhxGKYW41hGx6jVauQp3JFlVC_gOIhOo3HuF3jU7z9KcJj7-2qfcV8Lza_GXlLPkNKLCTgUT7jPgpmtdQd_an8YbBzXinWlU32ZKvcLdKHRXlTnr2VmBUx6eHwwJMdAUuS62qmwODhtHFYwdqe/w640-h320/642c9187d335200018dda786.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Was this always a plan by Obama since 2014?</h2><p><br /></p><p>Another crazy Pro-Russian War talking point is that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is an American Puppet instilled in office after the CIA overthrew the old Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. This is complete BS, as anyone who has actually lived in Ukraine knows that Yanukovych was elected for promising to make Ukraine more Pro-West and to make an agreement with the EU to provide Ukraine with political and financial support, access to research and knowledge, and preferential access to EU markets. That's what the majority of people wanted </p><p><br /></p><p>But instead, Yanukovych made a deal with Russia to get essentially a $15 Billion dollar bribe not to sign the agreement and to be make a deal with Russia instead. Not to mention Yanukovych was already corrupt and wasted billions of tax payer dollars <a href="https://youtu.be/KXK0Hqqe_t4" target="_blank">building a palace in Ukraine</a>. Ukrainian citizens overthrew him because he was a terrible president, not because the CIA had any control. Does that mean that the US wasn't rooting for a Pro-West President? The US can't even control our own people, you are calling Ukrainians stupid if you think the CIA can install a president that they didn't want. People don't even realize that Zelensky wasn't even the next President in Ukraine after 2014, it was Petro Poroshenko for 5 years. The only reason why Zelensky won was because he was a popular TV star and campaigned to be Pro-West and Anti-Corruption. It'd be similar to if Oprah or Jimmy Kimmel ran for President, or in our case, reality star Donald Trump. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="478" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RibAQHeDia8" width="574" youtube-src-id="RibAQHeDia8"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Conclusion: </h2><div><br /></div><div>I feel like I wasted 45 minutes writing this as most people who write comments on why it was okay for Russia to invade Ukraine either aren't real people in the first place, or are too stupid and ignorant to read a long form blog post and understand the truth. </div><div><br /></div><div>The reality is, Ukraine isn't and has never been perfect, and has struggled for centuries. Being under USSR rule for so long hasn't helped either. But if you think for even one second that Ukraine deserved to be invaded, and that people deserved to have their lives destroyed, homes ruined, and family members stolen, then you have no empathy and no brain cells. I genuinely feel bad that you can be that stupid to think it's okay for a country in 2022-2023 to invade another. It's not 1849 anymore, we're supposed to be in a civilized world now. </div><div><br /></div><div>Russia was wrong for invading Ukraine and only did it because they thought it would be easy. It wasn't, and the US and other countries decided to help Ukraine, and punish Russia for doing it. Punishing Russia deters them and other countries from invading their neighbors in the future. If the West allowed Russia to win and take Ukraine, China would had taken Taiwan next, and so on. </div><div><br /></div><div>At the end of the day, Russia caused all these problems by invading Ukraine on February 24th, 2022 and to continue to fight a losing war. They can and could had left any day, and peace can only be obtained when Russia leaves all of Ukraine and measures are put in place so they don't do it again. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="478" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KXK0Hqqe_t4" width="576" youtube-src-id="KXK0Hqqe_t4"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With Love and Compassion,</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Johnny FD<br /><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-89427297647870882722022-12-11T23:40:00.006-08:002022-12-13T07:55:10.448-08:00I'm Officially a Ukrainian Permanent Resident. <p> It's been a long journey, but as of a few days ago, I am now a green card holder of Ukraine, which makes me a Permanent Resident. The process technically started in March 2021, but in reality, it's been something on the back of my mind for a lot longer than that. </p><p><br /></p><p>In 2008 I left my life in California to travel and live aboard. I was perfectly happy living in endless summers, on beautiful beaches, and without a responsibility or care in the world over the next 10 years. I had traveled through 50 different countries, while spending months in Thailand, Malaysia, the Caribbeans, Spain, Mexico, and Sri Lanka not to mention the test runs of 30 days in Portugal, Greece Bulgaria to see if I wanted to live there. </p><p><br /></p><p>Ultimately I chose to settle down in Ukraine. It's a difficult question to answer on why I chose Kyiv out of all the capital cities in the world, but for me personally, I had a bond, a calling, and a kinship to this place. I knew it was somewhere I wanted to live at least half the year from now on, but during the covid lockdowns, I realized that floating around on tourist visas would no longer be an option. That's when I decided to make an investment and apply for permanent residency in Ukraine.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaHKpQPg2sPvRnVMW3WABRPmmdP8D_sYLbM9-deEV3dYpjtphf6LTYAQXSkb5Q0tfy5JQGQHuKKPPj4RvdxPZ2HMP9cJ3v91vcrKreOGYYjXEMAGlmGVLAzpTjiRGPCRTAK51zHt1he97eNEyLybmofPp3v9b3DAmlAomXpXE5iBYT2IT2zAlxjmgp/s3088/IMG_8442.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaHKpQPg2sPvRnVMW3WABRPmmdP8D_sYLbM9-deEV3dYpjtphf6LTYAQXSkb5Q0tfy5JQGQHuKKPPj4RvdxPZ2HMP9cJ3v91vcrKreOGYYjXEMAGlmGVLAzpTjiRGPCRTAK51zHt1he97eNEyLybmofPp3v9b3DAmlAomXpXE5iBYT2IT2zAlxjmgp/w318-h424/IMG_8442.JPG" width="318" /></a></div><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Why Ukraine? </h2><div><br /></div><div>This is the most common question I get as an American living in Kyiv, and also the most difficult question for me to answer. Was it for beautiful Women? Yes. But there are beautiful Women everywhere in the world including Thailand, Colombia, Brazil, Russia, and all over Eastern Europe.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So was it because of the cheap costs of living? Yes. I love the relative affordability and good deals in Ukraine. But Kyiv isn't actually cheap, and it's much cheaper to live in Thailand or Tbilisi for an example. A 1-hour massage in Kyiv would cost 3x as much as in Bangkok, and an apartment to rent would be double the price in Kyiv than in Tbilisi. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, then it must be the food. And yes, I love Ukrainian food. But to be honest I love Thai food and Mexican food even more sometimes. And what about the people, culture, live music, walkability, fast wifi, things to do? Yes, yes and yes. I love all of it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So what was it then? Why do I live in Ukraine? Why did I chose to make this my permanent home? The answer is "it's all of the above, a whole lot more." </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>For me Ukraine has the perfect balance of everything I like about food, culture, people, costs of living, and is a perfect blend of everything I like about the East (Asia, etc) and the West (US, Europe). Even geographically it's directly in the middle, and at least before the airports closed, it was really easy to fly to anywhere in Europe, but also to places like Egypt, Turkey, Georgia, and the East.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEs7_VaSWdF6pKn49x_rhd8qb4nIQbEQjYxT0pn7TUjxU0m_cVGDrru0saHdoTq35-g_wnsDK58ZKPSAXQGDMoP9bTGUNl-NzK7rEwjU3Z8rHRWpbm5C-VqAzuKkOR2j5MrxDt4TGAAa9XidfjQWGnYKc5b5NjxJ7wY39NRMSutsO8uNqGpa7OJKY/s4032/IMG_5602.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidEs7_VaSWdF6pKn49x_rhd8qb4nIQbEQjYxT0pn7TUjxU0m_cVGDrru0saHdoTq35-g_wnsDK58ZKPSAXQGDMoP9bTGUNl-NzK7rEwjU3Z8rHRWpbm5C-VqAzuKkOR2j5MrxDt4TGAAa9XidfjQWGnYKc5b5NjxJ7wY39NRMSutsO8uNqGpa7OJKY/w443-h332/IMG_5602.jpeg" width="443" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">How I got Permanent Residency?</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It was a long, expensive and complicated process and I wouldn't wish it on anyone if you value your sanity. But basically, I went through the "Ukraine permanent residence by investment program" which is done through a minimum of a $100,000 USD investment into a business in Ukraine. Technically the process takes 1 year and $100k, but it ended up costing me close to $200,000 all in and 18 months of headaches. However, the saving grace was that I had a great lawyer walk me through the process and hold my hand as without her, I never would had completed the process successfully on my own. </div><div><br /></div><div>Below are two videos that I made walking through the 18 month process and my mindset on why I chose to go this route of getting permanent residency and why I chose Ukraine to do so. The lawyer I used is Tetiana from <a href="https://www.contactukraine.com/" target="_blank">ContactUkraine</a> whom I highly recommend. But if you end up actually going through with me, I would suggest you <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2014/03/phone-coaching-now-avaliable.html" target="_blank">get on the phone</a> with someone like me or someone who's actually done it before to walk you through what we would had done differently and the mistakes we made, as it'll end up saving you a lot of time and money. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="394" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BvHaHsnLOLo" width="473" youtube-src-id="BvHaHsnLOLo"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">What Now?</h2><div><br /></div><div>To be honest, it would had been easier, and cheaper if I had just given up on Ukraine after the war started. I could had easily sold my apartment in Kyiv for the same amount I invested it in, as believe it or not real estate prices haven't actually fallen in the city center of Kyiv since the war, mainly due to lack of supply in other regions, and the influx of people moving to the capital. The same with my car. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I could had just forgotten about Ukraine, and moved to a sunny beach in Thailand, to South America, or even back to the USA with no real financial loss for me. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But I couldn't imagine just turning my back to this country during it's time of need. I decided to stay and go through with finalizing my permanent residency status and continuing to live here during the war, even though it means I have suffered through power, water, and internet blackouts on a daily basis. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I believe in a bright future for Ukraine and want to be a part of it. I've stated to learn Ukrainian and in 5 years hope to apply to be a Ukrainian citizen assuming the rules change before then and I'm allowed to keep my American passport along with it. Until then, Slava Ukraine, Glory to Ukraine and to all those who support our freedom and independence. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="395" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iTBz4bqQSqA" width="475" youtube-src-id="iTBz4bqQSqA"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With love from Kyiv,</div><div><br /></div><div>Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-33996492263250594852022-10-29T00:03:00.012-07:002023-09-09T00:04:41.394-07:00Ukraine FAQ: Donbas 2014-2022 (Russian War)<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">"For those who argue that some people in Eastern Ukraine wanted to be part of Russia.<br /></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">Some people in New York wanted the USA to be an Islamic state. That doesn't mean we should welcome 9/11 bombings." </div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"></div><p></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>I'm so tired of people online asking “WhaT aBouT UkRainiAns BomGIng DonBaSSS since 2014 CiVilINs” as a reason for Russia murdering hundreds and raping of thousands of civilians in Ukraine in 2022-2023. <br /><br /></p><p>The fact that I even need to waste my time writing this shows that Russian propaganda has already won. If you've ever spread this misinformation ask yourself these questions first: (thread)</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZo8I9OUCFU1KI87tUco4py_xOL0D9xA4bDIFWQ3fFvp4Mk22sdHHEW_887TV6B_2wnf9hs6EtO57QubcFtvtXYL7MfcCKt-NAp6u2xvYkaNjuTmfYRZ2hZj_ED0fJCUhRsoE90AGzW-dzWdkec60OVjyhkodGNEoT7J3rOiQZ92HsRLPjbNdFsZ7g/s1023/04870000-0aff-0242-c535-08da33fd0d42_cx0_cy6_cw0_w1023_r1_s.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="1023" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZo8I9OUCFU1KI87tUco4py_xOL0D9xA4bDIFWQ3fFvp4Mk22sdHHEW_887TV6B_2wnf9hs6EtO57QubcFtvtXYL7MfcCKt-NAp6u2xvYkaNjuTmfYRZ2hZj_ED0fJCUhRsoE90AGzW-dzWdkec60OVjyhkodGNEoT7J3rOiQZ92HsRLPjbNdFsZ7g/w640-h360/04870000-0aff-0242-c535-08da33fd0d42_cx0_cy6_cw0_w1023_r1_s.webp" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>1. Have you ever been to Donbas or personally know any people anyone from there? (In person, not online) or are you just repeating Russian propaganda you saw online/tv?</b></h3><p><br /></p><p>Having lived in Ukraine and spending time there since 2016 I personally know a lot of Ukrainians who are from Donbas and had to leave because of the Russia-backed separatists causing an armed conflict there. These are friends that I have been to my home, people I've worked with, and every one I've asked, they said it's complicated, but all 100% agree that if Russia wasn't involved, it wouldn't had been a war. </p><p><br /></p><p>Yes there was a small Pro-Russian group that formed by themselves, most likely because they were watching Channel 1 Russian TV while is fueled by propaganda. (see #2) <br /><br /><br />But if it wasn't for the "little green men" masked soldiers of the Russian Federation in unmarked green army uniforms and carrying modern Russian military coming to Donbas and giving training and weapons to the separatists, nothing would had escalated. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGGVw7A6VmiTiZEG6RMwe8K_2Ym6fRrfMGqHHfz1Ogt-WOHmJodEpD75NQpQESmAI_00NVjWqPVUHrZPAh-qSF7c6JyIIq64AJ2ZNAs2W52i9DO0nrw98p5DkJPNsFynLtPkOtO8yNQYf5tvox1FCNOFohbNhfq7AQmzl6j2qxiF4GqAzQwPaDuEi/s960/Donestk.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGGVw7A6VmiTiZEG6RMwe8K_2Ym6fRrfMGqHHfz1Ogt-WOHmJodEpD75NQpQESmAI_00NVjWqPVUHrZPAh-qSF7c6JyIIq64AJ2ZNAs2W52i9DO0nrw98p5DkJPNsFynLtPkOtO8yNQYf5tvox1FCNOFohbNhfq7AQmzl6j2qxiF4GqAzQwPaDuEi/w640-h640/Donestk.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>2. Have the Pro-Russian people actually been to Kyiv or Lviv since 2014, or did they just fall for fear mongering Russian Propaganda online/tv?</b></h3></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Even before the war, I've personally met and spoken to Russian speaking Ukrainians living in the East who were afraid of going to Lviv or Kyiv because they had heard rumors that they would be beaten on the streets for speaking Russian and not served in restaurants. This was 100% Russian fear mongering propaganda and not the least bit true.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I personally spoke Russian in Lviv and Kyiv for 5 years as I didn't learn Ukrainian yet, and there was zero animosity. There is even a meme restaurant called Kryivka which jokingly puts you in a "prison" for speaking Russian in the restaurant, but (before 2022) it was all just fun and games and a joke with plastic handcuffs. I spoke Russian in this restaurants with a Ukrainian family next to me. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The handful of fearful pro-russians watched too much Channel 1 Russian propaganda TV and fell for Russias promises for cheap gas, and higher pensions if they joined Russia. It's the same reasons why those in Transnistria stay part of Russia (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>3. If someone living in Ukraine really wanted to live under Russian rule, why wouldn’t they just move to Russia? The borders were open.</b></h3></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>For<b> </b>those claiming how dangerous it was to be a Russian speaking Ukrainian in Donbas from 2014, it's ridiculous as if you really feared for your life or really wanted to be part of Russia, you could had easily just moved to actual Russia. There were buses running everyday and borders were open. </div><div><br /></div><div>If Russia actually cared about Russian-Speaking Ukrainians, instead of spending $82 billion on destroying their homes in Eastern Ukraine, Russia could had easily built and gave away free apartments in Russia to anyone who wanted to "escape" Ukraine and move there. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>4. Why would Ukraine bomb and kill their own civilians and cities? What benefit would they have if any? Isn’t it more likely it was a false flag attack by Russia?</b></h3></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The first bombs in Donbas were all set off by Russian backed separatists. Ukraine's military had zero reason to destroy their own cities and harm their own civilians. </div><div><br /></div><div>Friends who were living in Donbas at the time said that they saw and the first bombs and they clearly all came from the Russian Separatists side. Some of them were thrown backwards towards the East to try and make it look like it was coming from the Ukrainian military on the West. It was a false flag attack by Russian based separatists to escalate the conflict. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>5. If Russia didn’t secretly send in their military and weapons to army and train Russian backed separatists in Donbas, and didn’t continue to supply them since 2014, would there be any fighting or civilian casualties in Ukraine?</b></h3></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The answer is it would had been a short conflict with less than 100 casualties. But since Russia secretly got involved and armed the separatists, it was dragged on from 2014-2022 and caused thousands of civilian causalities and destruction of properties. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>6. If Russia didn’t come “save’ Ukraine in 2022, would there be destroyed cities (mostly which are ironically Russian-speaking)</b></h3></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The answer is simple, Irpin, Bucha, Mariupol, Hostemel, Kharkiv, Kherson, and many more would had been just fine if Russia never entered Ukraine on Feb 24th, 2022. In fact, these cities were all growing and improving day by day. Irpin/Bucha had a ton of new construction and beautiful new buildings, Kharkiv was so great that I chose to buy an apartment there, friends from Mariupol said their new Mayor was making a lot of great infrastructure improvements and they got all new city buses.<br /><br />None of them needed saving, and definitely no one there needed Russia to come occupy and destroy their cities. Watch this BBC documentary to see what life was like before and after the Russians came. </div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="362" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BJSzVW6ZYOA" width="436" youtube-src-id="BJSzVW6ZYOA"></iframe></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>7. Are you getting paid by Russia for spreading propaganda, or are you really that ignorant and stupid to have fallen for their tricks? Even if Ukraine isn’t perfect, they’re not the ones who attacked a neighboring country.</b></h3></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The bots and paid trolls are annoying. But what really drives me crazy is when it's a actual person living in the West who fell for this bullshit and thinks that just because Ukraine isn't perfect and so and so incident or money thing happened that they somehow deserved to be attacked and murdered. </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't know if these people are just that stupid or have zero empathy for those living their homes, and lives, or if they think they are special because they know there is corruption in the world or whatever "secret" fact that makes them more woke than others. <br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>8. What about the Minsk Agreements? Russia had no choice to attack Ukraine because the Minsk Agreements weren't upheld. </b></h3><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Firstly and most importantly, there wouldn't be a need for Minsk agreements of ceasefire in Donbas if Russia wasn't in Donbas. The agreements didn't work and weren't upheld because Russia didn't pull out their troops as agreed upon. Russia continued to send in military and arms even after the agreements. </div><div><br /></div><div>Russia continues to lie and you cannot trust what they say or agree to. </div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>9. By you bringing up the “WhaT aBouT DonBaSSS since 2014 CiVilINs” "NaTo tHIS" or “What aBouT ZenLiSky being A ComeDian JeW” "AzOV NaZIII" </b>or whatever other argument in 2022, does that cause this war to go longer and more Ukrainians dying, or less?</h3></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The truth is, before February 23rd, 2022 I took spoke out publicly against many things in the west, Nato expansion, and was happy to talk about fixing corruption and other things that Ukraine could improve on. I even went on many news outlets, including RT America to talk about how things in Ukraine were peaceful and that no one hated Russians here and that there would be no reason for Ukraine and Russia to go to War. </div><div><br /></div><div>But after Russia actually invaded Ukraine. None of that mattered anymore. And even by discussing it, it just fuels Russia to attack more and the war to continue longer. I'm not an idiot, I know that no country is perfect. The reason why I don't discuss those things now is because it fuels the war to go on longer. </div><div><br /></div><div>Right now things need to be black or white. Russia needs to leave Ukraine and stop the war, period. That's it. Nothing else needs to be discussed until then. Once there is actual peace and Russia leaves Ukraine and stops their attacks, then yes, lets sit down to a cup of coffee and talk for hours about nationalism, language, corruption, the west, whatever you want. But until then, fuck you and fuck Russia if you're making this war last longer.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQ7c12Ko2Gtt5Qt_T3Y1mll_VVWDtw8jes_kq4yOtVhNw3Jw6dS_sLVp2XFxJURJRZt8KldIPNJpdYUGr4zgArsxWBVzkMIVanmuAS3FXvjlkwviA3bW_3z_3TNqsWFsgTkAUWoIsCVbxXmaezXNZo46ySHWMmV0XGbZFCHxn8JhV4UDKoUt9zw6H/s4032/IMG_5313.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifQ7c12Ko2Gtt5Qt_T3Y1mll_VVWDtw8jes_kq4yOtVhNw3Jw6dS_sLVp2XFxJURJRZt8KldIPNJpdYUGr4zgArsxWBVzkMIVanmuAS3FXvjlkwviA3bW_3z_3TNqsWFsgTkAUWoIsCVbxXmaezXNZo46ySHWMmV0XGbZFCHxn8JhV4UDKoUt9zw6H/w400-h300/IMG_5313.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With love,</div><div><br />Johnny FD</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-77398207955166831012022-03-30T00:57:00.004-07:002022-04-02T12:12:14.052-07:00$1,000 Donation: UKRAINIAN SCHOOL FOR REFUGEES IN BUCHAREST<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigmOKN2NOkoKP-vCMD5rpYJNmwSGhEfuc0d88hgxLf4gS2fROGMWOvaN2KElETAtf-sLwZehxUpqsdCw2BpbOkd8HOJ5IfY9RPWPYKc6bWKMwnSIF4gQtFHaVs1xvgEiYO6LAABJWQUd6efNLlP2JhdMm0zdgECViRgg_y0_Yfp-aDSX0u1RjyGpUU/s2048/277220178_4813407945425152_1782540939482845173_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigmOKN2NOkoKP-vCMD5rpYJNmwSGhEfuc0d88hgxLf4gS2fROGMWOvaN2KElETAtf-sLwZehxUpqsdCw2BpbOkd8HOJ5IfY9RPWPYKc6bWKMwnSIF4gQtFHaVs1xvgEiYO6LAABJWQUd6efNLlP2JhdMm0zdgECViRgg_y0_Yfp-aDSX0u1RjyGpUU/w496-h372/277220178_4813407945425152_1782540939482845173_n.jpeg" width="496" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>If you've been following my social media and YouTube videos these past few weeks, you'll know that we hit the goal of raising $10,000 through the <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-money-directly-to-ukrainians-for-food" target="_blank">GoFundMe</a> that I set up with Dan Leal. Over the next few weeks the goal is to send all of that money, directly to help Ukrainians who need it quickly and the most. </p><p><br /></p><p>I believe that if we all extend our own personal networks to help people we personally have met and trust, we can do a lot of good. So if anyone wants to chip in and donate directly to any of these people or causes I'll be listing over the next few weeks, know that they were vetted by me and can be trusted. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_cpCVfsF_AYuhimuHqqSrzmL9-MokYev5yaya2QnHlbNc_UV_QoNdUbBt2MIadP0RQ_rLcZQ7UIBrIY1fM8y3wo-FNGE1UAB2-dSD3p60HHImqHZyibq3IZ4uXgwzFdSkDE5ob1LlsR3UeHug2yCTq4dBDUOfgbLYdebazBIN1yS_BYWkuu8wIh1/s1448/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-30%20at%2010.32.36%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="1358" height="533" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_cpCVfsF_AYuhimuHqqSrzmL9-MokYev5yaya2QnHlbNc_UV_QoNdUbBt2MIadP0RQ_rLcZQ7UIBrIY1fM8y3wo-FNGE1UAB2-dSD3p60HHImqHZyibq3IZ4uXgwzFdSkDE5ob1LlsR3UeHug2yCTq4dBDUOfgbLYdebazBIN1yS_BYWkuu8wIh1/w500-h533/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-30%20at%2010.32.36%20AM.png" width="500" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Who, Where, and How Much</h2><p><br /></p><p>I honestly don't remember too much about how we met, but I think it was 4 years ago in at a language exchange meet up in Odessa, Ukraine. Anastasiia Konovalova (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/anastasiia.konovalova" target="_blank">her facebook</a>) is now teaching Ukrainian refugee students who have escaped the war and are now in Bucharest, Romania. Many of the 227 middle school students have fled their homes in Mariupol, Ukraine where the attacks by Russian forces were devastating and brutal.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks to the money collected from <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-money-directly-to-ukrainians-for-food" target="_blank">GoFundMe</a>, I've been able to send her $1,000 (29995 uah) to her bank card which will help pay for the teacher's salaries and supplies for the students. The kids are taught in Ukrainian, English and Romanian and all attend for free. So if you want to help support, the details are below and they are looking for teachers who can help as well! </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFwNbv83ILsxsmTruEUMKzqD3rhFi2KEy-7uoya6kimzcyC0LfZAup6NiWNudGhTRC7cg1r3d6IACPXtcB8AY3lJJwX8moB7rCVH7mSoLyosnNsE1Z7r7pai67Mkwq_u_KPneTHtrzzTTQ-50u8-gZBcDc88iM16EtNq4fHUEucxOWNjs_47MVCaH/s1506/ukraine%20school.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1506" data-original-width="1506" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFwNbv83ILsxsmTruEUMKzqD3rhFi2KEy-7uoya6kimzcyC0LfZAup6NiWNudGhTRC7cg1r3d6IACPXtcB8AY3lJJwX8moB7rCVH7mSoLyosnNsE1Z7r7pai67Mkwq_u_KPneTHtrzzTTQ-50u8-gZBcDc88iM16EtNq4fHUEucxOWNjs_47MVCaH/w478-h478/ukraine%20school.jpg" width="478" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b>HELP UKRAINIAN SCHOOL FOR REFUGEES IN BUCHAREST</b></p><p>Dear friends. Everyone who knows me personally, and everyone who is just feeling the pain of what my nation is going through, knows how desperate things are for Ukraine and her people. </p><p>A team of amazing teachers from the school I run in Odessa fled the war to Bucharest. We have started a free school for refugee Ukrainian children. They desperately need education in their native language right now. Children have been through too much pain and chaos. They need stability, they need safety, they need school. They need a normal childhood.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Government of Bucharest has generously provided us with 8 classrooms in one of the best schools in the city. But there are more children arriving here everyday who need help.</p><p>We are currently teaching 227 kids, and there are 342 more on the waiting list! </p><p>We have teachers who can teach. We have classrooms to teach in. But the school needs money: for minimal salaries, resources, supplies, printers, projectors. Having fled the war and left their lives and livelihoods behind, the parents of our Ukrainian students cannot currently pay anything.</p><p><br /></p><p>We are asking for donations for our Ukrainian school, Островок Cambridge Primary School & Preschool. This would enable us:</p><p>1) To provide our children a competitive, high quality education in their mother-language. </p><p>2) Give our children a chance of a normal childhood again. </p><p>3)To save the jobs of our wonderful Ukrainian teachers.</p><p>4) To pay taxes and provide support to our country's economy; as the war is killing it every day. </p><p>Every donation will make a huge difference. Ukraine will keep on fighting. Please, help us take care of our children.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Every share of the post will make a huge difference too! </b></p><p>PAYPAL: anastasiia_konovalova@yahoo.com</p><p>My Personal card: 4149499310258650, ПРИВАТБАНК, Anastasia Konovalova </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><b>For receiving SWIFT in UAH</b></p><p>Початкова школа «Острівець»</p><p>OSTROVOK Primary School</p><p>ЄДРПОУ одержувача: 41864789</p><p>For receiving SWIFT in USD</p><p>BENEFICIARY: OSTROVOK Primary School</p><p>IBAN: UA083052990000026007024921741</p><p>Beneficiary bank: PRIVATBANK, 1D HRUSHEVSKOGO STR., KYIV, 01001, UKRAIN </p><p>SWIFT CODE: PBANUA2X </p><p>Correspondent bank: P MORGAN CHASE BANK SWIFT CODE: CHASUS33 </p><p>Beneficiary bank’s account with Correspondent bank: 0011000080</p><p>=========================================================</p><p><br /></p><p>For receiving SWIFT in GBP</p><p>BENEFICIARY: OSTROVOK Primary School</p><p>IBAN: UA313052990000026007014919075</p><p>Beneficiary bank: JSC CB "PRIVATBANK", 1D HRUSHEVSKOHO STR., KYIV, 01001, UKRAINE</p><p>SWIFT CODE: PBANUA2X </p><p>Correspondent bank: J P Morgan Chase Bank, Bournemouth, UK SWIFT CODE: CHASGB2L</p><p>Beneficiary bank’s account with Correspondent bank: 24549501 SORT CODE 609242</p><p>Source: <a href="http://facebook.com/anastasiia.konovalova">facebook.com/anastasiia.konovalova</a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7zT1Hn0JM9IVV6GoYW1SNVFM-wl2-pjMtw7VY4IEHULpaCIlSFYDkEJmgs0CalON_C3o-YJefRCMMGthLjXoStu-F3C4AosDfsI4deUuBxzG-R-wK4_LqkZTZgvkXtcT7xeIZiWvTcCu4PzI3RcKmtamn1jjdkdlR4B2BIjc_r6BUmBIjS4pofla/s1568/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-30%20at%2010.44.00%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1568" data-original-width="1378" height="571" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje7zT1Hn0JM9IVV6GoYW1SNVFM-wl2-pjMtw7VY4IEHULpaCIlSFYDkEJmgs0CalON_C3o-YJefRCMMGthLjXoStu-F3C4AosDfsI4deUuBxzG-R-wK4_LqkZTZgvkXtcT7xeIZiWvTcCu4PzI3RcKmtamn1jjdkdlR4B2BIjc_r6BUmBIjS4pofla/w501-h571/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-30%20at%2010.44.00%20AM.png" width="501" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>If you want to help, please share this blog post or the facebook post above to encourage others to donate whether it's through the gofundme for other projects like this, or directly to her school with the info above. </p><p>This is actually the 4th project we've funded through the <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-money-directly-to-ukrainians-for-food" target="_blank">GoFundMe</a> money, details on those will be shared later this week, but I was so excited for this one that I wanted to share it first and help raise support and hopefully find some more teachers willing and able to work, as well as raise some more funds for the school.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EDUlHD4o0uuztWAKJDIbYTN2GbXCWB5AU47wMlazJzbo-ihngaKL_rZBuEQq9PpMuvNkI9p80DSY6LiMGic4BNeemyQSfYDozCyx2pVgiIYovICklRjRQRHTexlmg9JZOFo4FsrSw7GLxPpadFIVHQMa_u5zpOgagNYNGDcK4-JtiS-e_NCxMIll/s1498/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-02%20at%209.49.25%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="johnny fd donation ukraine" border="0" data-original-height="1498" data-original-width="1348" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3EDUlHD4o0uuztWAKJDIbYTN2GbXCWB5AU47wMlazJzbo-ihngaKL_rZBuEQq9PpMuvNkI9p80DSY6LiMGic4BNeemyQSfYDozCyx2pVgiIYovICklRjRQRHTexlmg9JZOFo4FsrSw7GLxPpadFIVHQMa_u5zpOgagNYNGDcK4-JtiS-e_NCxMIll/w576-h640/Screen%20Shot%202022-04-02%20at%209.49.25%20PM.png" width="576" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>With Love,</p><p><br /></p><p>Johnny FD</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-7264513230608010222022-03-27T02:04:00.002-07:002022-03-28T02:32:56.834-07:00Ukraine Before Russia's War: How it Looked<p>I never thought that my travel videos on YouTube would be of any significant use besides a bit of entertainment and fun. I especially didn't think small cities in Ukraine like Irpin, or even the large but relatively unknown city of Kharkiv would be on the minds of millions of people world wide. <br /><br /></p><p>To be honest, my videos didn't and couldn't even capture how much beauty, joy, and happiness there was in Ukraine for Russia's invasion. I tried showing my day to day life as much as I could, what the city and apartments looked like, but honestly, Ukraine has always been a country that was deeper than first impressions. Take a look at the before and after videos, and try to see for yourself. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="403" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N4WtJ7LaynE" width="484" youtube-src-id="N4WtJ7LaynE"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Irpin, Ukraine: Before Russia's Attack</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As you'll see in this video, the only real fault Irpin ever had was being too peaceful, too much of a nice quiet place for families to live. The tongue in cheek titles were chosen because my friend Ben (Bald and Bankrupt) actually considered moving there as it was such a nice little city nearby Kyiv. </div><div><br /></div><div>I had even said in the video that I could see myself happily living there in the future when I'm married with kids and a dog. Watch the video and try to get a sense of what Irpin was like before Russia's brutal attack on the city. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="399" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kE4UAB1Vh8k" width="479" youtube-src-id="kE4UAB1Vh8k"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="398" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/woYlJbZaYxw" width="479" youtube-src-id="woYlJbZaYxw"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Irpin, Ukraine: After Russia's Attack</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's crazy to watch and see the exact same streets, apartment buildings, the central park, roads and bridge that we had driven through completely destroyed. </div><div><br /></div><div>The people who moved to Irpin were mostly families, or hardworking older Ukrainians who for moved there for the lower costs of living completed to Kyiv. Many had fled the war in Donetsk and Luhansk in 2014 to start a new life near the capital. Now Putin has brought the way back to them. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="401" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KOao41OlzaU" width="481" youtube-src-id="KOao41OlzaU"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Kharkiv, Ukraine: Before Russia's Attack</h2><p><br /></p><p>The student city of Kharkiv was another place where the only fault was that it was too peaceful and quiet for some. This was a beautiful city with parks that ran through the city center, children's playgrounds, cafes, restaurants, and Universities. </p><p>I liked Kharkiv so much that I ended up buying a small apartment there. Not only was Kharkiv an up and coming city, it was already there, just undiscovered by most people. It's funny that the joke within Ukraine was anyone who didn't love Kharkiv, had never actually been there before.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="391" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xSvqjZDBbsY" width="470" youtube-src-id="xSvqjZDBbsY"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="401" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I3-4Z9TqUhw" width="483" youtube-src-id="I3-4Z9TqUhw"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Kharkiv, Ukraine: After Russia's Attack</h2><div><br /></div><div>It's crazy watching this as even though I know exactly which streets they are on, as I lived there, I can ofter barely recognize the city as it was so heavily destroyed by Russian bombs and missile attacks. </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't even know if my condo there exists anymore, and there's no way for me to know until this war is over and it's safe enough to go back. There's no such thing as war insurance, so everyone there who has lost their homes are screwed. The strangest thing is that Kharkiv was primarily Russian speaking and was much more "pro-russia" than most other cities in Ukraine, yet Putin decided to destroy it first. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="399" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VAsf6dsq3rQ" width="479" youtube-src-id="VAsf6dsq3rQ"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Kyiv, Ukraine: Before Russia's Attack</h2><div><br /></div><div>The capital city of Kyiv (formally known as Kiev) was the city I fell in love. At first it had to do with a girl, but that's not why I stayed and bought a home there. I fell in love with the people, the culture, the food, the coffee shops, restaurants, and the pace of life there. It was like I finally found a place that I felt at peace, and at home.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's why I decided to spend my life savings to buy and renovate a home there. It was in the most amazing location possible, just two blocks away from Khreshchatyk, the main street in Kyiv. But then Russia attacked...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="394" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fe52XzBrEY8" width="475" youtube-src-id="fe52XzBrEY8"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="391" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KwvVRAz5660" width="470" youtube-src-id="KwvVRAz5660"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Kyiv, Ukraine: After Russia's Attack</h2></div><div><br /></div><div>We're lucky that as of March 27th, 2022 the capital city of Kyiv is mostly still damaged by Russia's war. However, that may.change if Putin doesn't stock his attack soon. Over half of Kyiv's residents, including myself and most of my friends have fled the capital to safer cities or countries. </div><div><br /></div><div>The saddest news is that out of the millions of Ukrainians who have already left, many of them will never return even after the war. With long term visas issued by countries in the EU, Canada, and even Asylum in the USA, many Ukrainians will start a new life is those countries, find jobs and homes. Putin has already destroyed this beautiful city. </div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="398" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dt6mtHEy444" width="478" youtube-src-id="dt6mtHEy444"></iframe></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Final thoughts: Hoping this War Ends</h2><div><br /></div><div>I loved my life in Ukraine and would trade everything to go back to it right now. It haunts me everyday knowing what is happening and that this war has now continued for over a month. I often wonder if I could had helped if I had stayed, or if I should go back and help now. But the honest truth is, I would had been more of a liability than a help there. I'm not a trained solider, and don't speak the language well enough to even be able to properly communicate. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am extremely grateful and appreciative to everyone who is physically in Ukraine fighting the war, and helping on the ground. But I know that I barely would had made a dent in helping in that way. What I do have though that most others don't is a massive online reach and the ability to create and share content online so inform the world of what is happening in Ukraine. In the past month I've leveraged that and have collected and raise funds to help support the cause.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm proud to announce that in the past month I've helped raise somewhere between $20,000-$40,000 in donations directly to Ukraine. It's hard to know the exact amount, as I mostly encouraged people to donate directly to the <a href="https://how-to-help-ukraine-now.super.site/donate" target="_blank">war and humanitarian efforts in Ukraine</a> directly, and have been relying on people messaging me screenshots of their donations to tell me what they sent. But in the past week I also started a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-money-directly-to-ukrainians-for-food?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer" target="_blank">GoFundMe</a>, turned on YouTube fundraising which has already raised over $3,500 to <a href="https://razomforukraine.org/" target="_blank">Razom for Ukraine</a> and a fundraiser within Instagram itself which has raised close to $1,000 for <a href="https://novaukraine.org/" target="_blank">Nova Ukraine</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-money-directly-to-ukrainians-for-food?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1522" data-original-width="2312" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhDh-oGJDN9Kyun-ePBny1NxfH13p88BRvrrn4HZ758k-akLBRQ5cPbnsIK8CeyKlTC0ueR8tsfiJWn6uhyMDngZenx6PMrh0D_3_mZsPOJTOrrfStqef0CKcje4xUYaW5FP9mLzVgpCVgCLlRxJ000y2EkfEZrxcPboRNcEHZbq27WFvz1b7fkPb/w472-h311/Screen%20Shot%202022-03-27%20at%2011.58.55%20AM.png" width="472" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>I hope and pray that Russia's war in Ukraine ends soon. But until that happens, lets all try and do our part in helping. You can go to anti-war rallies in your city, create content or share posts to raise awareness to the world, donate your time or your money, or simply share posts like this with your friends, family and through social media to spread the word. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am 100% confident and sure that Ukraine will win this war as I know the heart of Ukrainian people, they will never give up. But my fear and the question is, what will be left of Ukraine once the war finally finishes. Let us never forget what the cities of Irpin, Kharkiv, Mariupol and many others looked like before the war, so we can one day go back and rebuild them even better.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Slava Ukraine,</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p><br /></p>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-28217369136572869942021-12-15T01:47:00.003-08:002022-03-27T02:04:28.072-07:00Why I Live Like I'm Poor.<p>A big misunderstanding people have is the difference between being cheap and frugal. A lot of people often wonder why I "seem cheap" even though technically I have a lot of money. Some people think that if you have money you should spend it, and if you don't, you are either secretly poor, or that you're being cheap. In this blogpost, I'm going to share my financial mentality with you, and clear things up. </p><p>This infographic is really good, and explains a lot. It's a fine line between being cheap and frugal, and honestly I hate cheap people as they are bad for society and the world. But just as much, I dislike people who flaunt being Rich, especially when they are secretly broke, as it creates an expectation in society to act and look a certain way that is unsustainable. There's a huge difference between being or looking Rich, verses being Wealthy, and in this blog post, I'm going to explain why I choose to live like i'm broke, and why I spend money on the things I do.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvDuC5ZvV62O7oYrmDl77YAtGOcjjeQ_uEOr8maHHrPqqTSP9zl9POM6N12nwYEBeYVIumTBfopBc8dHlL_MSCle8YMY1XHa9yuEQd4T0DsWkL-dWOo7Az4fJjzJhSvsdZ9p6JfEQAi8/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1184" data-original-width="1314" height="577" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvDuC5ZvV62O7oYrmDl77YAtGOcjjeQ_uEOr8maHHrPqqTSP9zl9POM6N12nwYEBeYVIumTBfopBc8dHlL_MSCle8YMY1XHa9yuEQd4T0DsWkL-dWOo7Az4fJjzJhSvsdZ9p6JfEQAi8/w640-h577/Screen+Shot+2021-12-14+at+10.38.51+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Being Cheap: Why It's Bad</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Caring only about price often leads to a lower quality of life. Eating the cheapest food, and buying things that have the lowest price tag regardless of how good it is, may not seem like a big deal, but shouldn't be the only concern. Instead, I like looking at value. </div><div><br /></div><div>When I shop, I generally buy the lowest cost item that is the best value. For an example, instead of buying the iPhone 13 Pro, I get the base 13 as it uses the same processors and camera but is a better value. For my computer, I use the base model M1 Macbook Air, as it's half the price of the Macbook Pro but still does everything I need it to do. If I was going to buy an electric car, I would buy a model Model 3 as opposed to the S or X as neither are as good of a value. </div><div><br /></div><div>The same comes for food and restaurants. I like going to places that have good, tasty food, that is a good value and not overpriced just because it's fancy. I hate going to 5-star restaurants that serve tiny portions with high prices just because it looks unique or exclusive. The same with high end fashion brands, or paying just for a label or to be seen somewhere. I've wasted so much time and money trying to impress others in my 20's and early 30's that I wish I could have done it differently.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEju6-uHGcgroSwBjaeSJKr9NJkw_paFLkdHF6P2b_QE43szOJAXtZKNMcdQxDmiL4Y0odRc-jmAYAQtr6HYmMWwHMtYxsOyK3WXmmfR8gIN5ALadEudET-rwYG-oWZVVYNlNmYPW4LeZzpIc74H5z0us9SHdHOdhwncnbKRk0uauyGWKsDtyI2B9bB5=s800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEju6-uHGcgroSwBjaeSJKr9NJkw_paFLkdHF6P2b_QE43szOJAXtZKNMcdQxDmiL4Y0odRc-jmAYAQtr6HYmMWwHMtYxsOyK3WXmmfR8gIN5ALadEudET-rwYG-oWZVVYNlNmYPW4LeZzpIc74H5z0us9SHdHOdhwncnbKRk0uauyGWKsDtyI2B9bB5=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">How it Started<br /><br /></h2><p>I grew up in a poor immigrant family, and we never had a lot of money to waste. For a few years when I was young, my parent's started earning a lot of money through a business they started, that's when my Mother decided to start living rich.</p><p>She bought a cool sports car, a lot of clothes, and went shopping every weekend. My Father, wanted to save the money for the future just in case. That resulted in the two of them fighting a lot, and almost getting a divorce when I was a teenager. </p><p>My Dad turned out to be right, a few years later, that business went down hill, the company my Father had worked for 25 years suddenly went out of business. My parents were now both old but had to go back to work at barely over minimum wage; my mother as a waitress, and my Father worked two jobs as a warehouse worker and as a taxi driver.</p><p>If it wasn't for me <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2015/11/making-your-mother-cry-time-to-give.html" target="_blank">retiring my parents</a> a few years ago, they would still be working part time today in their 70's. I never want to be in that position, and want to save up and invest enough money for my retirement that I never have to work that hard when I get older, especially because I don't know if I'll physically be able to. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjNftvXD91rCurdpx4i0N1Fq2RjBGBAucYp-KWF216wFEMRCKeAZ57TdzvkaX4HPq8ss3LBp9fObmcGgV3sdKFV6cHHI0exNgkBr908cUeFdPOJDskFbIpztiutKdReaA6xtA4Ais9uT0FbfGUeywwa-lzjfJwosXMvhBuYftZvbe3dP0R0VnEHfH6=s1939" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="1939" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjNftvXD91rCurdpx4i0N1Fq2RjBGBAucYp-KWF216wFEMRCKeAZ57TdzvkaX4HPq8ss3LBp9fObmcGgV3sdKFV6cHHI0exNgkBr908cUeFdPOJDskFbIpztiutKdReaA6xtA4Ais9uT0FbfGUeywwa-lzjfJwosXMvhBuYftZvbe3dP0R0VnEHfH6=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Money Thoughts Today</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As of now I'm trying to find the balance of continuing to live frugally, while not saving money just for saving money's sake. Sometimes it's okay to splurge or buy the higher priced item if it's either a good value, or it'll improve your life and good benefit. </div><div><br /></div><div>This article will be continued as I need to go to Puzata Hata in the next 13 minutes before the breakfast special ends at 12:00pm...</div><div><br /></div><div>-Johnny</div><p><br /></p>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-66461735318558657662021-11-10T01:29:00.005-08:002022-03-27T02:05:09.225-07:00Coaching, Pick My Brain?<p>I've been getting a lot of requests to meet with me in Kyiv (Kiev) lately and have felt bad ignoring so many people's requests. The problem is that for every cool person that I would genuinely enjoy having a meal or drinks with, there are 3 or 4 people who will bombard me with questions and it becomes very one sided conversation about investing, real estate, YouTube, Bald and Bankrupt, online business, or how to get permanent residency. And to be perfectly honest, I have enough friends here in Kyiv and only enough time in the week to meet with existing friends so meeting new people isn't a priority for me now. <br /><br /></p><p>So even though you may be a super cool person with lots to offer, chances are I've ignored your request to meet up and I'm sorry for that. But I also understand that for those who are serious about spending a lot of time here in Kyiv, buying property, or going through the long stay residency program, there are a ton of mistakes I can help you avoid and a lot I have learned in the process. If I had someone guide me when I first came here, I would have avoided a lot of headache, wasted time, a steep learning curve and a couple thousand dollars. That being said, instead of just ignoring everyone's request and pretending I didn't read it, I've figured out a win/win situation for everyone. Keep reading for all of the details. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGQdRApgviDmYtUOxiQn1CoJTT44br2Ou2RygMZatoz2Hsf7fTwRCmK1eyDZAjf3Iqdf9_IxufEXg4QrUyIlpvRWy8UTP29SA-MZlsKSizmtD6wOEDYpaQRosETqhZIhk2485FGsCbCo/s2048/Meet+with+Johnny+FD.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGQdRApgviDmYtUOxiQn1CoJTT44br2Ou2RygMZatoz2Hsf7fTwRCmK1eyDZAjf3Iqdf9_IxufEXg4QrUyIlpvRWy8UTP29SA-MZlsKSizmtD6wOEDYpaQRosETqhZIhk2485FGsCbCo/w640-h360/Meet+with+Johnny+FD.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Info about Kyiv</h2><p><br /></p><p>If you just want information about how to come to Ukraine, is it safe, how not to get scammed, the costs of living, where to cowork, etc, luckily I've already written and recorded a ton of info here on my blog and on <a href="http://youtube.com/johnnyfd" target="_blank">my YouTube channel</a> for you to go through, and it's all 100% for free.</p><p>Here are links to some common asked questions with links to the info. <br /><br /></p><p><b>Ukraine First Impressions:</b> <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2016/08/johnnys-guide-to-ukraine-kiev-odessa.html" target="_blank">Kiev, Odessa, Lviv, and Chernobyl</a><br /><br /></p><p><b>Kyiv Guide and Info:</b> <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2019/07/kiev-ukraine-for-digital-nomads-expats.html" target="_blank">Kiev (Kyiv) Ukraine for Digital Nomads, Expats and Long Term Travel</a><br /><br /></p><div><b>Odessa Guide and Info:</b> <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2018/08/odessa-ukraine-for-digital-nomads-long.html" target="_blank">Odessa, Ukraine for Digital Nomads, Long Term Travelers, and Expats</a><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Kharkiv Guide and Info</b>: <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2019/06/kharkiv-ukraine-for-digital-nomads.html" target="_blank">Kharkiv, Ukraine for Digital Nomads, Expats</a><br /><br /></div><p><b>Deeper Info on Ukraine: </b><a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2017/09/my-thoughts-on-ukraine-life-economy.html" target="_blank">Thoughts on Ukraine: Life, Economy, and Dating</a><br /><br /></p><p><b>Kyiv Property Guide and Info</b>: <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2021/04/why-i-bought-property-in-ukraine.html" target="_blank">Why I Bought Property in Kiev, Ukraine</a><br /><br /></p><div><b>My Lawyer in Kyiv</b>: <a href="https://www.contactukraine.com/" target="_blank">Contact Ukraine</a><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Real Estate Agent in Ukraine</b>: None can be 100% recommended at the moment unfortunately.</div><div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BvHaHsnLOLo" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Meet Me in Person</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If after reading and watching all of the above, you still want to either meet with me in person, or talk to me on the phone, I've made it possible. I know that even though I've put hundreds of hours of information out there on YouTube and through this blog, you may still have questions, have a unique situation, or just simply want to meet or talk to me personally anyways. <br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So for those who are actually serious and respect my time, I've found a solution to make it possible. Since 2014 I've offered <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2014/03/phone-coaching-now-avaliable.html" target="_blank">1 on 1 coaching sessions</a> which dozens of people have paid for and have benefited from. Usually those are online over Skype, zoom, or phone calls, but I sometimes extend those to in person meetings if we're in the same city and it's convenient. That being said, if you sign up for a coaching session and want to meet in person instead of online I'm happy to do that as long as you're buying lunch. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Simply sign up through the link above for a session, then we can schedule a time and place for us to meet. Over the years I've had about a hundred people sign up for sessions and 99% of them have gotten a positive ROI, saved a ton of time, headache and money. So it's a win/win for both of us, as you'll pay for my time, earn back or save that money from the advice and experience I'll share with you, and this way I don't waste my time meeting or talking with people who aren't' serious. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2014/03/phone-coaching-now-avaliable.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijhLAMqp_v_OUIj9dGqg9cAnarOn4RS6zdI7P61MeIAeZDBFCl6LvWykj_kM7fN3hTOMnEsaICNvFIEQ-uaCHRiy1A_y_iu8mUU85f59FlV-jlIz3PkkWiOTrav-Z9jWa5lYGIjy-40Y/s0/download.jpeg" width="259" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Warm Regards,</div><div><br /></div><div>Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-86649699627254522932021-10-27T01:04:00.001-07:002021-10-27T01:04:10.063-07:00100,000 Subscribers on YouTube! <p>If it seems like I haven't been posting much on my blog, or recording many episodes of the podcast Travel Like a Boss, it's because I've focused my time and energy exclusively on my Youtube channel. Even though it seems like diversifying into 14 streams of income with all of my various businesses was a great idea, in reality, it was my greatest failure. Doing a dozen things decently well is no where as good as doing a few things with all of your focus and intention. </p><p>I initially did it out of both passion and curiosity, but also fear, the fear that one of the streams would dry out, and also that I would be missing out. Even today, with shiny new attention grabbers such as TikTok or even YouTube shorts trying to fight for our attention, I've stuck to my core focus and have stuck to creating 20-30 minute long videos. I personally know TikToker's with over 1 Million Subscribers that make less than $200 a month as their audience is there just for short entertainment, a quick dopamine hit, and nothing more. It's why I'm glad I'm sticking to long form, as it's the content that I personally enjoy watching myself, and as Youtube replaces cable TV and even Netflix, I think it'll continue to grow. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL1Wilokfx8lYhO3TpNC40OLa00hBlUy4b2gs5sCJE0WtlSKe-JWmdFpMSw0neWZEEJ-7-Bl-jil2tTG8O5c9sApetLu1S_4cuVBQf0cMFb6ukoIZCPRCqdB7nzGD9wHDSTPbBHUfq_Y/s2048/YT+Silver+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL1Wilokfx8lYhO3TpNC40OLa00hBlUy4b2gs5sCJE0WtlSKe-JWmdFpMSw0neWZEEJ-7-Bl-jil2tTG8O5c9sApetLu1S_4cuVBQf0cMFb6ukoIZCPRCqdB7nzGD9wHDSTPbBHUfq_Y/w640-h360/YT+Silver+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">12 Year Journey</h2><div><br /></div><div>It's been a longgggg journey as I started my channel back in 2008 when I first started traveling. It was mostly a place for me to upload my Scuba Diving and Muay Thai Fight videos to share with family and friends. If I had just stuck to one topic, maybe I would have been more successful sooner. But either way, it's better late than never.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then from 2013-2019 it was there I talked mostly about digital nomad lifestyle, online business, dropshipping, investing, and building various streams of passive income. It was my passion during that time and I shared everything I was doing in my monthly income and expensive reports, as well as my year end reviews. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwMTuX_ZOqik7vfgrFlGOKexL3FyhbE8PJCqqhZW3uktN16F8Nv7b35lQNwF5VZ50DIK_UpryQp-MIt8FNWAOsHB7bJgg3Vje_SQTRTJcruyKP5FHnuNsJtStIac_xnFgpSSVTYDdnJA/s2048/IMG_5227+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTwMTuX_ZOqik7vfgrFlGOKexL3FyhbE8PJCqqhZW3uktN16F8Nv7b35lQNwF5VZ50DIK_UpryQp-MIt8FNWAOsHB7bJgg3Vje_SQTRTJcruyKP5FHnuNsJtStIac_xnFgpSSVTYDdnJA/w480-h640/IMG_5227+3.jpg" title="Johnny FD Jen Youtube Silver Play Button" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Pivot</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>One of the best things I did was freeing up my mental and physical time by ending that phase in my life. It was no longer my passion, and it felt like a chore. And although I've helped a lot of people along the way, it was time for me to move into what I wanted to do instead, which is travel and real estate investing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Making good friends along the way, and having a ton of support add fire to the foundation I've already built, I've managed to surpass 100,000 subscribers and get the Silver Play Button Award directly from Youtube. I've called my friends and fellow Youtubers to celebrate, and here's how it went!<br /><br /> </div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N7wc1FaHEjQ" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Thanks so much for watching, subscribing and following my journey all of these years! Here's to the journey of 1 Million! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With love from Kyiv,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-23753501381911385102021-08-08T03:00:00.007-07:002021-09-11T23:20:48.534-07:00I Love Outdoor Gyms.<p>I know this sounds trival, but I promise that it sums up a lot in one little thing. One of the things I hated about living in America is how few public pull up bars there are in the country. This one seemingly little thing sums up why I hate living in the USA, and is just a host of reasons why I moved out of the country. </p><p> </p><p><b>The mindset of why they don't exist are as follows:</b></p><p><br /></p><p>1. They are dangerous, since you can potentially hurt yourself on a pull up bar (which only idiots do), they don't want the liability, so they rather just not build it. </p><p> </p><p>2. Very few people, maybe 5% of the population in America can actually do a pull up, so lets not exclude them, and make them feel bad. Instead of building them and encouraging people to become stronger. In Ukraine, I've seen people in their 60's still doing it and taking their grand children, both girls and boys to the park to get fit. </p><p><br /></p><p>3. They don't want "thugs" hanging out in parks. So instead they push them to the streets our out of public view. Not realizing that when people workout together, they aren't drinking alcohol, doing drugs, or committing crimes. They may look like "thugs" but in fact are too tired and focused on their goals to do anything illegal. </p><p><br /></p><p>In Ukraine, these pull up bars are everywhere. In every park, in every apartment building's courtyard, and people are fit, in shape, and they don't blame society or others on how unfair their lives are. This is why I love Ukriane.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here's a video of my favorite outdoor gym in the world, the only one that actually works, unlike the millions of wasted dollars I've seen in Thailand, Turkey, Spain, Canada, USA, and other countries in the EU where the designs are so terrible that no one ever uses them.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A-UsIOD0U1A" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe>
<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p>By the way, there's even an ice bath that's a constant 5-7C (44F) year round that helps build your immune system, gets rid of bitchassness and is great for muscle recovery. </p><p><br /></p><p>Where else in the world have you seen this? I've been to 50 countries and this is the only place in the world I've seen this exist, especially for free. </p><p> </p><p>Watch the video here and comment on the video.</p>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-64293565248134819902021-07-16T01:49:00.007-07:002021-07-17T21:47:12.366-07:00My 40th Birthday: Thoughts and Lessons Learned<p>Every year I spend a few hours on my birthday or the day afterwards to sit down and reflect on not only what I learned that year, but also how I grew, what I did well, what didn't work out, and what my goals are for the upcoming year. This year was a big one. Turning 40 in America marks officially being old. When you're in your late 30's, you can still kind of get by and fit in without being the old guy in the club, or look out of place in society. But here's the thing, I've since realized how much of a waste of time trying to be part of the social ladder is, going to nightclubs, or even trying to be cool.</p><p><br /></p><p>A big reason I like living in Ukraine is that people here base your worth not on arbitrary things like your age but instead on your accomplishments. In the US, the 28 year old guy who is an aspiring musician or DJ that lives like a college student with roommates and has zero dollars in the bank is somehow seen to be attractive and socially creditable. Here in Ukraine, it's the opposite. They have a term that in American English sounds like a bit of an insult, and definitely not a compliment, but in Russian when a man is said to be "Adequate" it's actually a good thing, a very good thing. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqqB9k6VC7msyZWM2fKoYibPglv2YSzSmgW-9J6SSwN1BiAFQO9vwDw4NQ0QhXsSW0Q1l8P_FrxRoMCZb_8UFcf7HeQblBkoiZzpEneXsrwIdx_WDCPTCYjI__T6P6MEpCuAup-_kv-cg/s2048/40th+birthday.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqqB9k6VC7msyZWM2fKoYibPglv2YSzSmgW-9J6SSwN1BiAFQO9vwDw4NQ0QhXsSW0Q1l8P_FrxRoMCZb_8UFcf7HeQblBkoiZzpEneXsrwIdx_WDCPTCYjI__T6P6MEpCuAup-_kv-cg/w640-h480/40th+birthday.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">How it Feels</h2><p><br /></p><p>To be honest, it doesn't feel any different. People say age is just a number, or that it's a mindset, and it's partially true. But for me, it didn't happen on July 11th when the clock hit midnight. I started changing my mindset a few years ago now, and my priorities started to change. I no longer enjoyed loud music or going to late night parties. I said no to festivals or crazy parties, concerts, and heavy drinking. I used to think I would never be that guy, or that old guys were somehow missing out. I honestly thought they were sad. </p><p><br />But here's what I realize now. It's sad if you are the old guy in the club because you have no other options, or if you are unhappy with life at home. It's sad if they guy is 40, broke, hates his job, is unhappy in his relationships and has nothing going for him. It's sad to know that if I had never had the courage to quit my job in California 12 years ago, there's a very good chance I would be stuck in a sexless marriage, dead end job, and have a pile of debt like many people have. </p><p><br /></p><p>It feels good to have made sacrifices, took chances, delayed gratification, built businesses, invested and to be where I am today. The only thing that honestly doesn't feel good is being 15kg/30lbs overweight. It's the one part of my life that I've not prioritized and I know it's keeping me from enjoying life. The good news is that 10 years ago, I had no idea how to get in shape, what to eat, and how to work out. Now I have the opposite problem. I know exactly what to do, I just need to prioritize doing it, which has been difficult as the bread here in Ukraine is just too good to say no to. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gnCjomq--nY" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Financial Goals</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>One of my big goals was to become a $US Dollar Millionaire by the time I was 40. My original plan was to make a big announcement, and even write the 3rd book to complete the trilogy after <a href="https://amzn.to/2TcUvDK" target="_blank">12 Weeks in Thailand</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/2VPMqG8" target="_blank">Life Changes Quick</a>. I even wanted to contact the local news channel to burn my University of California Diploma live on TV as a way to demonstrate how useless going to college was and how little that piece of paper has helped my life. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I graduated University with honors and a B.A. in Social Science, but was $50,000 in debt, and had zero skills or life experience. I luckily prioritized paying off the student loans in 5 years instead of letting it pile up over 30 or hoping for someone to give me a handout and magically forgive it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A lot of people don't understand my financial situation or how I've made money, and honestly I don't care to explain it. Being public and sharing everything that I was doing, things I learned, and the contacts I made for the past decade has created at least a dozen people who have reached out to me since and how me they've become millionaires based on what I shared with them. Hundreds of others have reached out and thanked me for showing them a way to be able to quit their normal jobs to build a business that is now making over $100,000 a year. Even this week alone one guy flew all the way from Missouri to Kyiv just to hang out as he's now making over $250,000 a year from a business that I helped introduce him to. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>For me personally. Part of me wishes I would have just kept everything quiet to myself, and just ran my own businesses instead of spending so much time and energy helping others become even more financially successful than me. I wish I would have spent 4 months building my last <a href="https://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/webinar/?afmc=fd" target="_blank">dropshipping store</a> by myself, instead of with those two partners who are now trying to screw me by cutting me out of a store doing over $10,000 a month profit. But even then, with all of that going on, I'm still happy with all of the decisions I've made and where I am today. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GZ604MvMBzM" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Friends and Relationships</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br />Most people in the world choose their friends and relationships based on who just happens to live near them, go to their school, or work nearby. Sometimes it works out as you naturally have a lot in common, but other times you realize you're only friends or dating someone because of proximity and not because of choice. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With being location independent, we get the paradox of choice. We can live anywhere in the world, have friends or even relationships from different countries, we can seemly have it all. But the truth is, we only have so much time and energy to have 5-10 close relationships or friendships at any given time. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There are friends who I get along with splendidly, but only talk to or see once a year just because they live so far, or are based in different countries. Part of the reason why I've chosen to settle down in Ukraine is so I can develop a small, close group of friends again who are mostly in one place. Spending 1/3 of my time in Kharkiv, 1/3 of my time in Kiev, and 1/3 of my time traveling may seem like splitting myself too thin still, but since all the places I now go are within a few hours of each other, it's actually a good balance between changing up my environment so I don't get bored, while still seeing my friends at least once a month, instead of once a year. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CPZFrnPFdvY" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Goals and Plans</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I can safely say that I am enjoying this new chapter of my life. It's refreshing to get to a point in my life where I no longer care what other people think. I don't know of this comes naturally with age, or if it just takes this much time to figure it out, go through the bs, and finally accept yourself for who you are, but either way, i'm glad it's finally happened. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My goal now is to balance not letting others judgement or the need to try to impress others dictate my life, while still improving myself, and being the best version of myself for me. It's easy to stop caring, become lazy, sloppy and bitter as you get older. I don't want to ever be that guy. Instead, I want to do things for me and not for what others think or to impress others, gain their approval, or even their business. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It feels good to have turned 40, and just the fact that I'm okay with saying my age out loud, feels great. I think the worst thing in the world is trying to act like something you are or trying to hold onto the past. It feels crazy to think about it as I always thought turning forty signified the end of the good years in life, but now I see that it's exactly the halfway point and if anything, i'm at my peak. I'm on top of the mountain. I've done the hard work to get to where I am today, and now I can finally see the horizon clearly, and enjoy the walk back down. I hope everyone reading this finds your joy and happiness as well.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0R7QFU5cea5kxDe8UYgNcMBORxJEd2WVF8ZHqbcGo9C0b_FdBzit6IkpGo6qkP_CWUn2vYL3P2TthakTWyZh1y_9qXqkiElrANf7DCB-ckI0BwYdKN24Wpvdy0wahNcQ7EF1C-ZqA9w/s1024/404988b6-6d39-4a86-8ff3-8063b6846dc5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM0R7QFU5cea5kxDe8UYgNcMBORxJEd2WVF8ZHqbcGo9C0b_FdBzit6IkpGo6qkP_CWUn2vYL3P2TthakTWyZh1y_9qXqkiElrANf7DCB-ckI0BwYdKN24Wpvdy0wahNcQ7EF1C-ZqA9w/w480-h640/404988b6-6d39-4a86-8ff3-8063b6846dc5.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br />With Love,</div><div><br /></div><div>Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-3650610248457912002021-07-01T01:24:00.002-07:002021-07-01T01:24:46.708-07:00Back in Ukraine (Kyiv, Kiev, Kharkiv) - June/July 2021<p>It's been so nice to be back in Ukraine, especially since I've finally gotten the keys to the apartments that I bought and have finally been able to move in...sort of at least. The last time I sat down to write a blog post, I was traveling in Turkey which is an experience I still think about today. My life, goals, and priorities have changed a lot in the recent months and years, and hopefully in this blog post, I'll be able to clarify both to all of you reading, but also to myself what my plans and ambitions are going forward, at least in the short term.</p><p><br /></p><p>The biggest change has been my shift from completely minimalism and being a digital nomad who travels full time to wanting to settle down and own things again. For the first time in over a decade of being a full time traveler, I own more than a few few carry on pieces of luggage. It's honestly both a blessing and a curse, as I truly believe that our possessions end up owning us and buying more things doesn't always lead to more happiness. But at the same time there is a sense of fulfillment that you can't get any other way. Home ownership is both a blessing and a curse, and the costs and responsibilities are always way more than people realize, and already I'm falling for the comfort trap. But maybe, just maybe, it's exactly what I want and need right now in my life. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucpCrbofeevcZ4arxSZDWAamecNvEHj1_JdCCGWn3mjtIQxqgJfBOiebQ4d7yrarQYlAxrYV6DtfkSO0-7Xp8iJ6CPFCxIHzCudV_5wZZzNp1_uXfo-QfuwcQ6GZPOhDps2zMzqNFIXM/s2048/June+2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucpCrbofeevcZ4arxSZDWAamecNvEHj1_JdCCGWn3mjtIQxqgJfBOiebQ4d7yrarQYlAxrYV6DtfkSO0-7Xp8iJ6CPFCxIHzCudV_5wZZzNp1_uXfo-QfuwcQ6GZPOhDps2zMzqNFIXM/w640-h480/June+2021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Home Ownership Update</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So the great news is that after months of paperwork, bureaucracy, escrow, bank transfers and other holdups, I've finally closed the deal on both apartments that I bought and now have the keys to the units. It was a strange feeling sleeping in my own home for the first time, and honestly, it still hasn't really kicked in yet. The place I have in Kyiv is still empty expect for a mattress on the floor. But luckily the apartment in Kharkiv came completely furnished and ready to move into. The previous owner was nice enough to even leave all of the utilities and internet active until I can switch it over to my name. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The actual process of buying the Kharkiv unit was much easier as well, both because it was a simpler transaction since I bought it in cash direct from the owner, but also because I already had a lot of the tax id numbers, bank accounts open, and other paperwork completed from the first transaction. Not to mention it was about the cost of a new Toyota Avalon or 2021 Kia Telluride which made it an easy mental transaction on my part. This was the apartment that I had spent less time inside than I would have on a test drive of used car, which I know was a bit of a gamble, but I had a good feeling, and enough basic experience to know what I was getting into and the risks involved. Thankfully however, everything worked as expected, nothing was broken or needed replacing, and the condo was a dream to move into and sleep in for the past couple of nights. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So far I've spent just around $150 buying bedding, pillows, towels, cups, plates, silverware, and other kitchen necessities such as a knife, cutting board, and a kettle. It could have easily been 2-3x that price, but luckily I've kept it in mind that this place will eventually be a rental unit and that everything I buy will get destroyed and will need to be replaced sooner than later. Luckily my friend Elena who's from Kharkiv told me about a place called POCT that sold everything I needed for an amazing price. I even ended up buying backups of things like 2 frying pans and 2 spatulas, extra glasses as I know they'll get broken or damaged by guests. I just wish there was an IKEA outside of Kiev as it's literally the only place in the country that sells fitted sheets aside the ones made from t-shirt jerseys. Here's the video of how I found this apartment and how I decided to buy it within 10 minutes of seeing the place. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-iNPveFzNOw" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs8L_Xe9Q5-6CcTCdXPR3no8UlmUPHd3ss0XSs1XIFJzBVXZndu07S9faBNu_EVD4JXY-dbukGiPGH5lHal4WBfeuEnBg-Jk8JjBT7N92zll_xuHuCSbQK_0ngZjEVphrttBRHQ3W8Sw/s4032/IMG_8486.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs8L_Xe9Q5-6CcTCdXPR3no8UlmUPHd3ss0XSs1XIFJzBVXZndu07S9faBNu_EVD4JXY-dbukGiPGH5lHal4WBfeuEnBg-Jk8JjBT7N92zll_xuHuCSbQK_0ngZjEVphrttBRHQ3W8Sw/w640-h480/IMG_8486.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB33MkZ-9ZQ4wiAZ_BVqy6bD5WjQKSJymm_Hu0VWruF7_ka_CYeuVd-v4hZnvTloJRJDuGIQHahNx_H8TJ6dIh4jmWf5JSPGP-_PNh9qz9ezrW21nP-XrK1BxxJtea7Kae1JutwuO9oQ0/s4032/IMG_8473.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB33MkZ-9ZQ4wiAZ_BVqy6bD5WjQKSJymm_Hu0VWruF7_ka_CYeuVd-v4hZnvTloJRJDuGIQHahNx_H8TJ6dIh4jmWf5JSPGP-_PNh9qz9ezrW21nP-XrK1BxxJtea7Kae1JutwuO9oQ0/w640-h480/IMG_8473.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Income Updates</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In general, I've been spending way more money than I've been earning these past couple of months. Even though the dropshipping stores that I helped start an am a partial owner of have been making over $90,000 in sales a month lately, my partners have decided to cut me out and not pay me my share. It's a shame as I know that if I had spent the same amount of time and energy starting my own new stores instead of helping the group start theirs, I would be 100% owner of that store today. I'm sure from their side they feel like they've done all of the grunt work, as they have, but I hope they don't forget how little they knew about the business before we spent 3 months together and how I valuable my experience was getting them from $0 in sales and no suppliers, to having a solid foundation to grow off of in addition to what they learned inside <a href="https://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/webinar/?afmc=fd" target="_blank">Anton's course</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But luckily even though I haven't been getting paid from my ecommerce businesses, the investments I've made in the past 7 years have been paying off as the market has been on a bull run this past year. My biggest source of active income however, has been my Youtube Channel, and luckily the income for the month has picked up again. I've realized that my audience doesn't really care about daily life or even travel videos from Ukraine, so my plan is now to simply go somewhere every 2-3 months, film a bunch of content, then come back "home" and take my time to slowly edit and publish them. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I would love to grow my Youtube income to be enough to pay for all of my bills but also have enough left over to invest and grow, but for now, if I can keep it around the $2k a month range, I'd be more than happy as a I genuinely enjoy making videos as both a creative outlet, hobby, and also as a way to create lasting memories and share them with the world. If it wasn't for the $1,000 I've still been sending my parents each month, that $2k would have been enough to live off of here in Ukraine, especially since I now own my own apartment. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1htNbtzzj8Xbe8U8r-BlwlLYlINiXujAi7lYt9E_4fqIlNuzFj9BWNXIIrldpayw2CNPlzUblMc87-e7IQI4W8KB708TqmdekUbPU1jP2j7P9hIe_lFaaygOoJgDdOUDcXg-0-t_p3o/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-07-01+at+10.27.00+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1htNbtzzj8Xbe8U8r-BlwlLYlINiXujAi7lYt9E_4fqIlNuzFj9BWNXIIrldpayw2CNPlzUblMc87-e7IQI4W8KB708TqmdekUbPU1jP2j7P9hIe_lFaaygOoJgDdOUDcXg-0-t_p3o/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-07-01+at+10.27.00+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Online Business Success</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I know this is a lot shorter than my usual month end blog posts and reports, but as you've probably noticed, my priorities have laid elsewhere these past few months. If I was still driven and motivated to start and run businesses, network with other digital nomads and travel full time, I'd probably be in Lisbon or Bansko right now instead of Kharkiv. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But even then, I'm so glad and grateful for the 7 years of knowledge and experience that I've helped share through my blog, podcasts, and live events as it's helped so many others succeed as much or even more than I have. It's crazy to think about this, but just this past month, I had two people contact me telling me that they've sold their business for over $1 Million dollars each. The first guy even paid for a <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2014/03/phone-coaching-now-avaliable.html" target="_blank">coaching call</a> just to get me on the phone to tell me the news. The second girl emailed me telling me that she also sold her ecommerce business for a similar amount. It's amazing to know that what I've shared and helped create has made these two digital nomads US Dollar millionaires with their online business. It's also nice to hear that both an Amazon FBA business as well as a <a href="https://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/webinar/?afmc=fd" target="_blank">Dropshipping Hybird</a> business sold for that much money in 2021. So for everyone who keeps asking if it's too late, it's definitely not. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Below is the email from Elaine who wrote in telling me about her success, and below that is the aftermovie video from the event that the first guy was at where he got inspired to get into ecommerce. I don't know if it was one of these two or someone else that has been anonymously depositing Bitcoin into the my account, but whoever it is, thank you and keep it coming! </div><div>BTC Address: 3Q33TfnjDG82LbhWhBkTQA6yyM1uG3Dv7U</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqohYOyfTaHVnIfXsSpzotq5sKKG6jMV1kx2pbMM453c9zjLSXswwCOMDNtYWFMyBiOoDetu8aP0Prdkp7XS81bTYwDcSEcmoG-aTdxqqfEeS5M4E6uxSsMRhmF-400Tg4AMdiaBp-DU0/s959/Elaine.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="959" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqohYOyfTaHVnIfXsSpzotq5sKKG6jMV1kx2pbMM453c9zjLSXswwCOMDNtYWFMyBiOoDetu8aP0Prdkp7XS81bTYwDcSEcmoG-aTdxqqfEeS5M4E6uxSsMRhmF-400Tg4AMdiaBp-DU0/w640-h408/Elaine.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_jILx4VxJGY" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Final Thoughts and Future Plans</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Even though I've always been an open book and have shared my thoughts, experiences and successes publicly these past 10+ years, I've decided that it's about time that I stopped, or at least cut back significantly and only share the non personal parts of my life. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's a shame as my drive to openly share what I've learned, messed up on, or am currently excited about has helped maybe even thousands of people. But at the same time, it's hurt me personally in my private life. This fact is why none of the truly successful people I know ever publicly share anything, as it's just not worth it to help strangers. I'm fortunate that they privately tell me what they've doing and how things are working, but I also know that I wish I had access to this type of information when I was just getting started. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's a hard decision to come to, but as I'm turning 40 in just over a week on July 11th, it's time for a new chapter in my life and at least for now, I've decided for it to be a more private one. I sincerely wish everyone well and hope you've picked up something useful these past 10 years of my sharing. Luckily everything has been documents in the books, podcast, blog and videos, so feel free to go back through those for information and inspiration, but for now, it's a soft goodbye and farewell. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ekld6kee5w4R9SLX9zFEP1efwpVz_CjGBuDi9QFgLlmljMHPpqswAVt5f4R-rmxzzfXyzenXDwjkvkiORcIK0NKTakjTiIkAgQ1gWM_1df1DyotzkFBcgNdDbR5S9n5qX9jE46TEFrE/s4032/IMG_8267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ekld6kee5w4R9SLX9zFEP1efwpVz_CjGBuDi9QFgLlmljMHPpqswAVt5f4R-rmxzzfXyzenXDwjkvkiORcIK0NKTakjTiIkAgQ1gWM_1df1DyotzkFBcgNdDbR5S9n5qX9jE46TEFrE/w640-h480/IMG_8267.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With Love,</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-20249259737763798502021-06-06T04:04:00.004-07:002021-06-22T01:14:21.402-07:00Republic of Turkey: Traveling Oludeniz, Fethiye to Alanya, Antalya 🇹🇷<p>I never considered Turkey to be a country to travel to, mainly because growing up in America, we never heard anything good about it. All we knew was that it was a Muslim country somewhere in the middle east and that it was most likely dangerous and in the middle of a desert somewhere. The funny thing is, now that I've been living off and on in Ukraine, going to Turkey is almost as easy and common as Americans going to Miami or Las Vegas for a holiday. It's also a lot cheaper, with the Turkish Lira going from $1 = 3 a few years ago to now being around 8.50 lira for every US Dollar.<br /><br /><br /></p><p>Direct flights are less than $100 from anywhere in Ukraine and Turkey's Mediterranean to the south, the Aegean to the west, the Sea of Marmara between the European and Asian land masses, and the Black Sea to the north spanning over 5,000 miles of coast line, make it a beautiful travel destination. With warm summer temperatures from April - November, it's an easy place to escape the winter back home. To make things even easier, there are package tours and all inclusive hotels. But as a lot of us independent travelers and digital nomads like to do, we created our own itinerary as i'll show you in this blog post. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpJdduGdKmRNpBbYwgQ2Eq2NpI9Yh_KCSvHP11Ab2eqFwhOoXlJJNRVSOzcACgT5rbGtJt2lujkPOp24lrlbZ7cId3XJvP6jpuEhNiO9abvVl6RjOxrmx2x-AUsxMovheT8i5hpmNDrI/s2048/Travel+Turkey.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwpJdduGdKmRNpBbYwgQ2Eq2NpI9Yh_KCSvHP11Ab2eqFwhOoXlJJNRVSOzcACgT5rbGtJt2lujkPOp24lrlbZ7cId3XJvP6jpuEhNiO9abvVl6RjOxrmx2x-AUsxMovheT8i5hpmNDrI/w640-h480/Travel+Turkey.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Visas, Tests, and Info</h2><p><br /></p><p>For Ukrainians it couldn't be easier, as they can travel to Turkey with just their ID card, (no passport or visa needed) and no covid tests required right now either. However as Americans we need to get an e-visa online before going. To check if your passport country needs a visa to enter Turkey, go to <a href="http://mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa">mfa.gov.tr</a> and scroll down to see your country's requirements. </p><p><br /></p><p>Just be careful not to get scammed by visiting an official looking Turkey Visa website that turns out to be an agent that charges 3x the price and collects your information to sell elsewhere. I almost fell for it, but luckily my credit card declined. The official site to get visa for Turkey <a href="http://evisa.gov.tr">evisa.gov.tr</a></p><p><br /></p><p>As for COVID test requirements, it changes all of the time, and unfortunately there's no government sponsored website like Visit Ukraine that make it easy. The best source of information is through <a href="https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-us/announcements/coronavirus-outbreak/travel-restrictions/" target="_blank">Turkish Airlines travel updates</a> page. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mwb2MG7FyAY" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div>
<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Travel Plans</h2><p><br /></p><p>My original plan was to start 1 week later and go straight from Kiev, Ukraine to Antalya to spend a week on the beach, then a week in the cultural and historic city of Istanbul. But as fate would have it, my friend Veronica was also planning her trip to Turkey, and was going exactly one week before me and asked if I wanted to join. My initial response was no, as I still had a week's worth of Airbnb rental paid in Kyiv, as well as my apartment closing escrow that week, but when she told me about her plans, I figured, why not and made it happen. </p><p><br /></p><p>It turned my 2 week trip into a possible 3, and I had to give power of attorney to my lawyer to close the deal on my apartment, as well as pay $500 more to hold the 2nd apartment I wanted to buy in Kharkiv so all in all it costed me quite a bit more, but it was well worth it. </p><p><br /></p><p>I'm glad I went as first off, for whatever reason there are a lot more direct flights to Fethiye's airport (DLM - Dalaman) than to AYT - Antayla or close by GZP - Gazipasa Alanya for whatever reason. Secondly, I never would have had seen how amazingly beautiful the Fethiye side of the country was if it wasn't for hoping on her itinerary. I would have came to see just one side of the country and wouldn't have appreciated it nearly as much.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1xrvyY9RRP0" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Oludeniz, Fethiye </h2><div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Having seen both now, I can say that Fethiye feels much more like European beaches with it's boardwalk of restaurants and shops, while Antayla and Alanya look and feel more like the city beaches we have in California. But the real magic is when you go out of the main city beach and explore a bit outside to harder to get to destinations. Ölüdeniz is a smaller, less visited part of the Fethiye region, but is much more beautiful, interesting, and paradise like. A few must dos here are visiting the Blue Lagoon and Paragliding as it's one of the Top 10 places in the world. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Also from that area, I would 100% recommend driving down the coast to Kaputaş Beach to spend the day as it's one of the most beautiful places I've seen anywhere in the world. You can then drive a bit further and spend the evening walking around the cute little town of Kaş and spend the night there so you don't need to drive back so late at night along the cliff road. The other option would be to continue further and spend a few days in Olympos which is somewhere I would have loved to had time to visit. We had rented a car from <a href="https://www.dlmcarrental.com/en/" target="_blank">DLM Rental car</a> at the airport for around $30 a day, which gave us the freedom to explore. There is also the option to take day trips with organized tours, but it's a different experience being on a bus with 50 others and flooding a beach for 45 minutes verses driving there on your own and taking your time.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The one thing we didn't have time to do was visit the Ancient roman spa city of Pamukkale and soak in the thermal waters. It would have been close to a 4 hour drive each way and we didn't want to do it as a part of a bus tour as rushing a spot with 50+ others for the same 2-hours isn't my idea of relaxing and enjoying the experience. If we were to do it, I'd want to spend the night there and soak in the thermals during sunset and maybe again in early morning before all of the tourists arrive. We did so some really cool day trips like party on a pirate ship, take a mud bath in Dalaman, and Paraglide over the blue lagoon. All videos that will be coming soon on my <a href="http://youtube.com/johnnyfd" target="_blank">Youtube channel/JohnnyFD</a> so make sure you subscribe so you don't miss it. For now, watch me jumping off a cliff in Ölüdeniz to get an idea of how beautiful these beaches are in Turkey and what else is coming up soon.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aQvaG041oTs" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Antalya, Turkey</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Even though my original plan was to stay in Antalya, I realized that it was only because it was the more famous seaside city and was kind of like the Fethiye of the south. It's where most of the all-inclusive, mega resorts and hotels are, and it's also where the airport is, which explains the popularity. But when I asked around a bit more, I found out that like many places, bigger and more popular isn't always better. Going to Antalya would be akin to going to Phuket or Koh Samui in Thailand as they both have airports and are popular with tourists. But insiders and long term travelers know that just by going an extra hour can take you to lesser known, but even more beautiful and charming locations such as Koh Lanta, or Koh Phangan. </div><div><br /></div><div>But since it is a big city, we found ourselves there multiple times over our trip regardless if we wanted to go there or not. The first was a short stop on our drive from Oludeniz/Fethiye to Alanya as we passed straight through the city. The 3 hour of the drive from Ölüdeniz to Antalya even on the highway was absolutely beautiful as we passed through nature and mountains the entire trip and even saw a bit of the sea from afar. If we didn't already do the coast drive from Oludeniz to Kaş a few days earlier, we would have loved to do the entire drive from Oludeniz to Antalya along the coast spending the night in Kas and then a few days chilling out in Olympos before heading to Antalya. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, most people won't go this option, even though it would be incredible. So instead, go ahead and fly straight into AYT airport and check into your all inclusive hotel for the week. Just make sure you at least take a day trip to Side for the Greco-Roman ruins or to Alanya for a trip. As for us, we stayed at a standard hotel called Privado Hotel which was a short walk from the old city and had an amazing Turkish breakfast and a very comfortable restaurant area that I used as my own coworking space during the day. We also ate at some really tasty restaurants there including 7 Mehmet (call ahead and reserve an outside table with a sea view). It had amazing food but terrible service. Get the Lamb in Tandoori rice that's baked with roasted natural almonds and raisins, it's one of the tastiest dishes I've had anywhere in the world. Old Town KALEİÇİ restaurant was very good with great service, and HACI USTA is a must visit place for a pistachio dessert including the baklava and the Turkish Irmik Helvasi (Semolina Halva) with ice cream.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0rf94XQ-JjRlBVXi33PSQ72BeG33Z0vKZ4QFuXoYDVsvBLbojPKjrcvaCmhmGBAmdowq9mxb69Gnfa6UXUugt8oLuMnKL6DteZWB9wQyyQKIZ9gkEtkhANdsp_Wwkx3GAxVXVVtlLcE/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-06-06+at+10.37.29+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Fethiye to Antalya" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA0rf94XQ-JjRlBVXi33PSQ72BeG33Z0vKZ4QFuXoYDVsvBLbojPKjrcvaCmhmGBAmdowq9mxb69Gnfa6UXUugt8oLuMnKL6DteZWB9wQyyQKIZ9gkEtkhANdsp_Wwkx3GAxVXVVtlLcE/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-06-06+at+10.37.29+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KD4BR_ev9RIpMtWtD6PM8ffM8Ea7fheahVR3h2aKaMC19rlIDc3ENBJqAveLRohHdQj8vbAJaMcav-GJoPRmMRbxuDMkgSsSxP31_HHpz3UXmo32PcZiPxp3rmKWaiJM58_STyeBhRU/s1440/7BA1FDDA-6671-4DE8-9AC6-564DF8BF2E90.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KD4BR_ev9RIpMtWtD6PM8ffM8Ea7fheahVR3h2aKaMC19rlIDc3ENBJqAveLRohHdQj8vbAJaMcav-GJoPRmMRbxuDMkgSsSxP31_HHpz3UXmo32PcZiPxp3rmKWaiJM58_STyeBhRU/w640-h640/7BA1FDDA-6671-4DE8-9AC6-564DF8BF2E90.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0ByhC0PC4AMVp7000-eI_x-B8ZSpqtiaKXFVChbj3tcIs4IZbEMXdTfYLD4ncigNqstN9RFhgQ_fplvwavDpdDS3is6z0sx2LUt4vk1hVjNr8gERlb2nnVIopaUPpVm3Fnnu0hcTym8/s2048/IMG_7305.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2010" data-original-width="2048" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0ByhC0PC4AMVp7000-eI_x-B8ZSpqtiaKXFVChbj3tcIs4IZbEMXdTfYLD4ncigNqstN9RFhgQ_fplvwavDpdDS3is6z0sx2LUt4vk1hVjNr8gERlb2nnVIopaUPpVm3Fnnu0hcTym8/w640-h628/IMG_7305.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Alanya, Turkey</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A two hour drive from the bigger city of Antalya is the sister city of Alanya which in everywhere is more charming and quaint in every way. Then there are even smaller neighborhood towns 20 minutes in each direction which I will later explore in my property hunting and apartment shopping videos coming up soon. But overall, Alanya is the city I would actually want live in and buy property if I wanted to stay longer. The peak tourist season is a few months longer in Alanya than in Fethiye making it better for year round rentals from what I've heard. Although the beach is cold and swimming pools are closed during the winter, it's still a possible place to escape to as the coldest it gets is 7℃ (44℉) and it never freezes or snows. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But in general, Alanya and it's neighborhoods just feel more like a livable town that isn't just for tourists. There are good local restaurants, beautiful views, low costs of living, and relatively cheap apartments to rent and buy. I have two videos coming out soon on my <a href="http://youtube.com/johnnyfd" target="_blank">Youtube channel</a> where I go look at what you can buy in Alanya for $40,000 - $50,000 and that price, you can get brand new units with a semi-sea view and a pool, or fully furnished used units near the beach. You'll probably want a car though, and you'll find yourself making the two hour drive to Antalya quite often to go shopping or get things done, so it's a pro and a con of living in the quieter town. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As a tourist I'd definitely spend one day going to the Red Tower and swimming in the secret beach there as well as having lunch as fresh juice grown inside the tower walls. Then another day during sunset, I'd take the cable car called the Alanya Teleferik up, go for a walk, then have a drink at one of the cliff side restaurants such as Gardenia. Just make sure you take the last cable car back down before 9pm when it closes, otherwise, you'll have a hard time getting off the mountain or even finding a taxi down.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/06Vuu0DQcTc" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Costs and Expenses</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's not so good for Turkish people making a local salary, but for tourists, it's a great time to visit the country Lira to Dollar wise. Even for Ukrainians who don't earn a lot, everything is relatively cheap and affordable even for them. You can take a package tour from any big city in Ukraine including flights, hotel transfer, all meals, drinks, and accommodation for as little as $330 a week for two people. Those are insanely good prices for a vacation. We paid quite bit more though as we wanted to stay at a nicer hotel right on the beach, and had other costs like renting a car, and eating out everyday, but still everything always felt like a good value, even though it ended up costing a lot at the end when added up. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I normally consider myself a traveler, and like to go to countries for 2-3 months, live like a local, and go to off the beaten path, non-touristy areas as it gives you the best sense of the country and culture. It's usually also a lot cheaper than staying in hotels and doing other things tourists do. However, for this trip, I had actually consciously decided to go as a tourist instead. Part of it was because my friends that I went with were on a 1-2 week vacation from their full time jobs in Ukraine and planned it this way, but also because I actually wanted to experience Turkey as a tourist to see what it would be like. My trip ended up being a bit of a hybrid as we had a car the entire time and didn't follow the normal package route, but honestly, I'd love to go back later this year and do one of these all inclusive trips as they are such a good deal, especially since my Turkish visa is still valid until November. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Sitting down to calculate how much I spent, I'm actually a bit surprised what it ended up costing me as everything on its own felt like such a good deal. But when I factor in that I was paying for two people, to paraglide, go on tours, and we ended up eating out at nice restaurants almost every day and often getting overcharged at tourist restaurants. I also spent around $300 buying souvenirs, snacks, and clothes, I can see why this total cost added up to be so high, but honestly I was really surprised to see how much the total was for a 2 week trip to somewhere that's known to be as cheap as Turkey. I don't have any regrets, but it would be fun to try going next time on one of the all inclusive package tours for $500 for two people to see if it's possible and how different of an experience it'll be. It looks like it can also be fun laying on the beach and eat and drink at the hotel everyday and not getting a big bill when you come back and see your credit card statement. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Here's a breakdown of the costs:</b></h3><div><br /></div><div>Flight Kyiv to Dalaman: $66.97 x 2<br /><div>Fight Antalya to Kiev: $55.21 x 2</div></div><div>Visa to Turkey: $51.50</div><div>SIM card in Turkey: $20.77 x 2</div><div>Rental Car: $30 a day x 13 days. </div><div>Taxi: $8.08</div><div>Gas/Petrol: $90</div><div><div>Kas Hotel: $33 (Ates Pension)</div></div><div>Oludeniz Hotel: $122.59 (Montebello Deluxe)<br />Alayana Hotel: $393.61 (Floria Beach)</div><div>Antalya Hotel: $28.36 (Privado)</div><div>Other Paid on Card: $708.54</div><div>Other Paid in Cash: $691.41</div><div>(Food, Drinks, Shopping, sightseeing, tours, etc.) </div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Total Spent: $2,545.49</h3><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqidHCsPLG_UbyBz7_DKIdyveE9lvvRGOGAKgv7kIlOC4g6cam6KdSdK6HsfpoDVWC3RHHIlKPJLF8bTho_v8lEhPzr0eUvw0LoqRXIQZqrOlJLtFCKpu5S3dJlq7zeF_Dp8W8TnEvvNU/s1280/costs.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1190" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqidHCsPLG_UbyBz7_DKIdyveE9lvvRGOGAKgv7kIlOC4g6cam6KdSdK6HsfpoDVWC3RHHIlKPJLF8bTho_v8lEhPzr0eUvw0LoqRXIQZqrOlJLtFCKpu5S3dJlq7zeF_Dp8W8TnEvvNU/w596-h640/costs.png" width="596" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8WPf9-btlFU" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div>
</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaU2HGxSN6gXVYHybyqOQ2yS-U7m1-JwrJEsTYtqUpoHWuWnlSwcEAR_-YNFTmxFtHzLdtC3dA6fD5hNaPIai4hk1HL_ATWylycX3lPdlZFNFIvp7RLFlDiI7IRtG514JE8-fiqg9zxfI/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-06-06+at+1.11.03+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="2048" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaU2HGxSN6gXVYHybyqOQ2yS-U7m1-JwrJEsTYtqUpoHWuWnlSwcEAR_-YNFTmxFtHzLdtC3dA6fD5hNaPIai4hk1HL_ATWylycX3lPdlZFNFIvp7RLFlDiI7IRtG514JE8-fiqg9zxfI/w640-h386/Screen+Shot+2021-06-06+at+1.11.03+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3VrYzXyurwOLB1s4TJiePcNHrkoFAFWiLzhfGTDZuky43KDGrOf1Hn0MCDFHpm7kacvJ6vakLT7V30AmzKbn0o8jP0Hb32_JRtxVnWerh1wSLrAdEUYZgfIK-8kibt172JXCMoLtfeA/s2358/Screen+Shot+2021-06-06+at+1.05.56+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1106" data-original-width="2358" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3VrYzXyurwOLB1s4TJiePcNHrkoFAFWiLzhfGTDZuky43KDGrOf1Hn0MCDFHpm7kacvJ6vakLT7V30AmzKbn0o8jP0Hb32_JRtxVnWerh1wSLrAdEUYZgfIK-8kibt172JXCMoLtfeA/w640-h300/Screen+Shot+2021-06-06+at+1.05.56+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<br /><br />
<center><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cq6Nzt7HBlA" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></center><br /><br />
<div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;">Would I Live in Turkey?</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Even before going to Turkey for the first time, I already started to look into it as a possible place to live half time. I knew that I wanted to spend 6 months a year in Ukraine, but I needed a place to go the other 6 and Turkey seemed like a good option. Decent weather, even during the winter, low costs of living, fantastic food, nice apartments, relatively easy long term visa options, and it's only a 2.5 hour flight away. To stay longer in Turkey, you can apply for a residence permit, which is popular with expats and seems pretty straight forward and easy. You can even convert your temporary residence permit into permanent residency after 8 years. I also like that there's an option to invest $250,000 into property and get Turkish citizenship which also gives you a 2nd passport. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However, after visiting Turkey for a few weeks and experiencing the country for myself, I've decided that it's not a place where I want to live long term. It's a beautiful place to go on vacation, but it lacks the infrastructure and WIFI speeds that I look for in an ideal country to live in. The 4G data is decent and unlimited WIFI is available in most places, however upload speeds are incredibly slow and unusable. It's fine is you only consume media as 99% of the world does, but for me, I need the ability to upload photos, videos, take live video calls, and have the speed and stability to do so. There's a chance that if you move into the right apartment and get the biggest package, you may be able to get decent speeds, but even then, the internet there is asymmetrical, so even if your WIFI is advertised as 100mpbs, the maximum upload speed you can possibly get is 10mbps, and everywhere I went it was closer or less than even 1mbps. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The biggest issue however, is the fact that most people don't understand or care why fast upload speeds are important. There isn't a digital nomad or entrepreneur scene there, and won't be until a minimum of 20down/20up speeds are common place for everyone, everywhere. As for living in Istanbul, it's not even a consideration for me as I generally don't like busy crowded cities and I would only want to live in Turkey if it was near a nice beach. I do really like the country, food, and it's people though, and there's a lot more of the country I want to explore, so even though I don't plan on moving there anytime soon, I'll definitely be back to visit and travel again soon.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBniXgwLKz_bBP-MAjv8a6MqBxoBC3Ng9zSq3JnMpke8V0JYJnfz2UtYCgOhElrx2QuXfOoWipOn2GrhJ4gqPhJL39Vt03MvdaMt99csr36OLRPEFigc9Q9zmmCxYgjZmG4RWchqfjiU/s4032/IMG_6935.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBniXgwLKz_bBP-MAjv8a6MqBxoBC3Ng9zSq3JnMpke8V0JYJnfz2UtYCgOhElrx2QuXfOoWipOn2GrhJ4gqPhJL39Vt03MvdaMt99csr36OLRPEFigc9Q9zmmCxYgjZmG4RWchqfjiU/w640-h480/IMG_6935.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With love from Turkey,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-76733577091491627512021-04-30T05:21:00.005-07:002021-11-16T10:58:55.566-08:00My FINAL Income and Expenses Report<p>Happy May everyone! Summer is officially here and I have never been so excited to see the sun again. It's crazy as one of the reasons I left Sri Lanka was because I got tired of the heat and endless summer and needed a change. Coming to Ukraine in March was a shock as I went from +37c to -7c which is the equivalent of 98f to 18f degrees. It was interesting to see a change of season, a bit of snow, and experience something drastically different. But two months of cold was enough and I don't know if I'll manage staying here during the winter again as my body and DNA just isn't built for the cold. </p><p><br /></p><p>Income wise, when people ask me how I earn money, it's hard to answer as as of now, I have very little active income, almost none. My in person events company has basically closed for the past year and has been operating at a loss, basically providing a small negative cashflow. Even though two of my dropshipping stores are doing extremely well, my partners haven't paid me in over a year as they've been doing all of the day to day work. So as of right now, I'm spending a lot more than I'm earning, but thankfully and luckily, the stock market has been rising, and I was smart enough to have invested 50% of everything I earned these past 7 years into it. That decision has been my only savior, as without it, I'd be broke today and living a drastically different life. Here's everything I did, earned and spent this last 30 days here in Ukraine. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1xnZzFVUAmP4FYln7ZiaVRjtaqXG4E4ha-e1BoD41dZjFle9t4sA4sflUVdYPgEccenS9u61Uorj0c8sGcMJPj7ZkOqO3ecu-t0NwdytyVeNFGorL0AMC-uk35CpC8Uvht_thb1P57Q/s2048/April+2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu1xnZzFVUAmP4FYln7ZiaVRjtaqXG4E4ha-e1BoD41dZjFle9t4sA4sflUVdYPgEccenS9u61Uorj0c8sGcMJPj7ZkOqO3ecu-t0NwdytyVeNFGorL0AMC-uk35CpC8Uvht_thb1P57Q/w640-h480/April+2021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Kiev vs. Kyiv vs. Kharkiv</h2><div><br /></div><p>I started the month in Kiev, Ukraine, which is actually now more accurately spelled Kyiv as the former is the Russian spelling and pronunciation while the latter is in Ukrainian. The problem however is no one outside of Ukrainians and a small handful of others know that, and spelling things out as Kyiv has been confusing. At first I though I'd do my part and try to help the cause by labeling my Youtube Videos and posts as "Kyiv, Ukraine" but very few people clicked or watched them as they had no idea where Kyiv was. By changing the titles to Kiev, Ukraine, my impression click though rates grew back to normal, and I decided that it's not my fight to fight. I do try to add both spellings in the videos, titles, covers and descriptions to help the cause, but it's not my job to try to educate the world on this topic.</p><p><br /></p><p>The other city I traveled to this month was the student city and old capital of Kharkiv which is actually close the Russian border. But for whatever reason, maybe since it wasn't a popular city anyways, the old Russian name of Kharkov actually never stuck, and they are both so similar anyways that either spelling is understood. I honestly never thought I would go back to Kharkiv as even though it was a fine place to live for a couple months back in 2019, it just isn't as appealing as Kiev as there's much less to do. I wrote a <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2019/06/kharkiv-ukraine-for-digital-nomads.html" target="_blank">blog post on Kharkiv, Ukraine</a> during my last trip here that is helpful if you want to know where in the city to stay, the neighborhoods, and costs of living here. </p><p><br /></p><p>I really wanted to love Kharkiv as the city itself is laid out better, is more walkable as it's mostly flat, and I love that there are parks everywhere that you naturally walk through during the day and don't have to go out of you way to visit. The metro is also easier to use and more functional, and prices for almost everything are much less, especially rent and housing. If I was a student, or on a tighter budget, I would 100% live in Kharkiv instead of Kiev as it's literally half the price for many things including rent. Restaurants, bars and food prices are also 25-30% lower in many cases, and since it's a flat, walkable city, you never actually have to take a taxi anywhere in the city center unless you chose to. But even then, since there's much less traffic compared to Kiev, it's also cheaper. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqm99yQEEIvwj12lWKFtVHwfBQSJy0kOobaGCzdFJTuK0ASmphsnvCAYxuv_sHfGRIvRcR1WCEaeLVpnLofSaMAyyx1KiPozgqlFWB4m7okEDgEfxVGPckbd-gPUdgnq94yztPCRIXXis/s4032/IMG_1270.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqm99yQEEIvwj12lWKFtVHwfBQSJy0kOobaGCzdFJTuK0ASmphsnvCAYxuv_sHfGRIvRcR1WCEaeLVpnLofSaMAyyx1KiPozgqlFWB4m7okEDgEfxVGPckbd-gPUdgnq94yztPCRIXXis/w640-h480/IMG_1270.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xSvqjZDBbsY" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Where I Traveled</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>On the way back from Kharkiv I decided to stop by the small city of Poltava for a few days to check it out and to visit a friend. It was actually my buddy Engin's idea, whom you may remember from Sri Lanka as we met there. His fiancé Elena is from Kharkiv originally so they went there to visit her family and friends. It was nice having old friends here in Ukraine as well as a fellow Youtuber to go on trips with, as otherwise I don't think I ever would have went to Poltava. Most Ukrainians have never even been there.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It was an easy trip though as it was on the train line ride back to Kiev, splitting up my journey into two. As we were just two guys, we decided to stay in a private room in a hostel, which added to the adventure. I felt a bit silly as I was still paying for my Airbnb in Kiev, had an apartment that I just bought sitting empty waiting for the paperwork to finish, and actually still had a night left at my Airbnb in Kharkiv. But luckily none of it was too expensive, and it was perfect timing as I was able to give my last night to Elena who actually moved into the Kharkiv Airbnb that I had found as she loved it so much.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Poltava itself was actually a super charming city with a beautiful old town. It's another place that i'm surprised how few people visit as it's definitely worth checking out for at least a night or two. I may even go back there again in the future now that lockdown is over restaurants are open for dining in. Here's the first two videos of my time in Poltava, the food tour will be on the channel tomorrow if you are subscribed. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bmjuzp99IP4" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r4VPdTwDEyw" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Costs of Living</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Ukraine is a tricky place as you can literally spend as much as you want, on the upper end of the budget, or you can live relatively cheaply. But honestly, anyone who is trying to bootstrap a business, on a budget, or wants to save money, don't come to Kiev. While technically you can survive in Kiev, just outside of the city center for around $700 a month as plenty of locals do it, but it won't be an ideal life. On that budget you'll be sitting on public transport, stuck in traffic, and eating at home most days. Or you can do what many young Ukrainians do and share a small apartment with 2 other people, similar to what people do in Manhattan. You won't have much privacy besides your bedroom, but at least you'll be in the center, and be able to eat out easily. A three room flat, which is technically a 2 bedroom plus a converted living room, can be as low as $600 a month, making your rent divided by 3 affordable. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But since I don't want to share a kitchen, bathroom, and not have a living room, I'm happy to pay more and live in my own private apartment. Honestly, if I was on a tight budget, I would either live in a smaller city like Kharkiv, or I would live in Asia full time in Thailand or elsewhere. Being poor in Ukraine isn't fun, and although there are some nice things to do here that aren't expensive, the real magic is if you can spend $3,000 - $4,000 a month here or more as that's when you can really enjoy life, take taxis everywhere, eat at nice restaurants, get massages, join a nice gym, go to the sauna, and be generous with friends. Also you need to budget for random things happening here in Ukraine like random hidden fees when you use your credit card or withdraw cash, getting scammed, or overcharged for things that you have no control over. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The first month I was here I spent way too much and felt like I was going to the ATM either third day to withdraw the maximum limit of $450. However in this past month, I've settled down, stopped going to fancy restaurants and bars as often, and have started to calm down a bit. I think it's a normal phenomenon whenever you're in a new place, which is another argument why slow travel and spending a minimum of 4-6 months in each location before moving countries is ideal. A lot of the expenses included picking up the check and treating friends to dinners or drinks, taking both guys friends and girls out to dinner, paying for their taxis sometimes, and other nice to dos that weren't actually required. I feel very fortunate to be able to be in a position where I can be generous without hurting myself financially too much, especially this month during lockdown where a lot of locals are having salary cuts, and spending more on transportation to get around as the Metro and other public transportation isn't working.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's what I spent for the month of April not including the $1,000 a month I spent my parents for their retirement, nor the business expenses and costs of buying the apartment, lawyer, and permeant residency fees which all added up to be another $5,000 or so for the month. Below are just the costs of living for April 1st-30th, 2021.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Rent, Airbnb Kiev: $700</div><div style="text-align: left;">Rent, Airbnb Kharkiv: $239.38</div><div style="text-align: left;">Hostel, Poltava: $18.83</div><div style="text-align: left;">Deposit on New Property: $4,000</div><div style="text-align: left;">Taxis, Uber, Bolt, Uklon: $160</div><div style="text-align: left;">Train, Intercity: $45</div><div style="text-align: left;">Gym, Pool: $30</div><div style="text-align: left;">Massages and Sauna: $140</div><div style="text-align: left;">Restaurants: $380</div><div style="text-align: left;">Bars, and Clubs: $220 </div><div style="text-align: left;">Supermarkets: $210</div><div style="text-align: left;">Random/Cash: $100</div><div style="text-align: left;">Debit Purchases: $1,036.03</div><div style="text-align: left;">Internet Data: $4.32 </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Expenses for April: $7,254.42</h3><div>*Total costs of living for April were $3,254.42 not including the apartment deposit. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpR5eHZwebWmoRAwQB3VY69jYssP4zoVlmENFISaqRm4SQXx7K_W7sMtteakF6Nk5eWKoCfX7WhrZ8JCCkJKVkZ5dhyphenhyphen8Vl-Y5G9N-lPbVFcfbYZO6R1QixIzAEyBAJ8EGBeJzxH5FVy0/s1266/IMG_2289.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1170" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpR5eHZwebWmoRAwQB3VY69jYssP4zoVlmENFISaqRm4SQXx7K_W7sMtteakF6Nk5eWKoCfX7WhrZ8JCCkJKVkZ5dhyphenhyphen8Vl-Y5G9N-lPbVFcfbYZO6R1QixIzAEyBAJ8EGBeJzxH5FVy0/w592-h640/IMG_2289.jpg" width="592" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVFj_N6E9FttvFzodsRGUBl74XHiZ8pKuZ91_UmOeJm3-D1_FIS5LRt2B6EgO_88SzdgTQXT_-Y3IDxeg0TktRC1gbmqkFe4UkbK2soyHv1P2n2HVAsSND8ZzPO6IL6WCLYapgl8YFag/s2048/expenses.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVFj_N6E9FttvFzodsRGUBl74XHiZ8pKuZ91_UmOeJm3-D1_FIS5LRt2B6EgO_88SzdgTQXT_-Y3IDxeg0TktRC1gbmqkFe4UkbK2soyHv1P2n2HVAsSND8ZzPO6IL6WCLYapgl8YFag/w640-h400/expenses.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">How Much I Earned</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This category is a bit tricky as I technically didn't earn anywhere close to $7,254 this month which would mean i'm cash flowing negative each month. Luckily I have enough in savings and investments to keep me afloat and going during these months. I've also managed to spend a tiny bit less than I did in March, but a lot of that has to do with the restaurants being closed and also me being in cheaper location for part of the month. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Unfortunately I also made a lot less than I did in my previous months. My main source of active income has been my Youtube channel, and this month since moving to Ukraine and making content here, my earnings have dropped in half to just $748.50 this month which basically only pays for my rent here in the city center. Luckily aside from that I still have a few sources of income including the <a href="https://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/webinar/?afmc=fd" target="_blank">dropshipping stores I built following Anton's method</a> which have continued to do extremely well this past year, even though I'm still battling with my partners to get paid out my share of the profits. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My other sources of passive income are still working, but have slowed down since I haven't paid attention to them lately. My biggest source of other income is all from investing and I'm lucky as right now the stock market has been on a bull run and increasing by $20,000 a month lately. The downside however is just as quickly it can swing $20k in the other direction, which is why I never count those earnings until I actually cash them out and sell, like I did with shares of MGM, HAL, SYF this month for a 300% gain during the 1 year and 1 day I held them. I had to free up some cash to buy the apartment here in Kiev, and it was perfect timing as I only bought them last year as a gamble and they have all paid off since. Learn more about it by listening to my quarterly updates on the Invest Like a Boss Podcast if you're curious to know more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGnINataRcfYQjrLd8pPaQnemzrReqhb8YanAzuwy-XALNRTENkM6-XHhUkcWr7PRopQZdhJ0SISVIZdVWI0xr-L832JTXeex6VMG5I88mTPlL95xYgHWjSNDQpBcSZCp9sU4HRs8zjg/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-04-30+at+2.27.12+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKGnINataRcfYQjrLd8pPaQnemzrReqhb8YanAzuwy-XALNRTENkM6-XHhUkcWr7PRopQZdhJ0SISVIZdVWI0xr-L832JTXeex6VMG5I88mTPlL95xYgHWjSNDQpBcSZCp9sU4HRs8zjg/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-04-30+at+2.27.12+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4YkerYN85c5huloTlj1ATgyctW3lJGwOSU4ETkiH3ZOaJG9LMyjsMvPw4SXSZpTQqyYUqQg8QEF1lU1chEE75In5IJ0hhL-XnQMhL_L7kzT1pfsyMGg49rxe6SBEMfpTIpikUjk7htM/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-04-30+at+2.41.06+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4YkerYN85c5huloTlj1ATgyctW3lJGwOSU4ETkiH3ZOaJG9LMyjsMvPw4SXSZpTQqyYUqQg8QEF1lU1chEE75In5IJ0hhL-XnQMhL_L7kzT1pfsyMGg49rxe6SBEMfpTIpikUjk7htM/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-04-30+at+2.41.06+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Goals, Thoughts, Plans</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This past month has been overall fantastic. It's funny to be able to say that as my income was extremely low, my expenses super high, and I was living under red zone lockdown the entire month. But even then, I really enjoyed my time and felt like i've made progress this month. My knowledge of the Russian language has been improving as I've been making it a habit to study a bit each day and speak it more often. I went on a few really incredible dates and although I'm planning to keep my personal life private, I can say that i'm looking forward to the month of May and being able to go for more walks in the city center and in the parks as the weather is improving. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Although it has been a huge headache and list of responsibilities to deal with buying the property while applying for permanent residency, it's nice to see the process moving along and making progress. And even though the earnings from my Youtube videos has cut in half since moving to Ukraine, I don't regret it one bit as I'm genuinely enjoying the change of pace and the process of making and editing videos here. It's something unique that is creatively fulfilling even though it's not yet financially as much so. You can check out and <a href="http://youtube.com/johnnyfd" target="_blank">subscribe to my Youtube channel</a> here if you haven't already.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My goals for May will be to finish closing on the property and finally get the keys so I can start planning and renovating the apartment before moving in. I'll also have to leave the country to activate the temporary residence permit, which is a bit annoying needing to fly again, but will make for an interesting trip somewhere. I'm also happy that as of next week my gym will be open again so I can get back to training, even though I'm actually still in decent shape as I've been doing pull ups and working out at home 4-5x a week regardless of the gym being open or not. My biggest goal for the month will be to spend more time practicing Russian and improving even more. Let's hope for another good month.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEciPnvJt6DfXw1jl8uzveknqkVcNELsvwUQP2V2sD9E7pjSPEcehI7iivOZdqP2507FhGBbUFE1BsSmgxTWfWe9mro0BvD5DXhPiNZXTK9MdQ4dY3-zqEcJlIiBpJR_VKHDrB1TKD9tA/s2048/IMG_1567.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Johnny FD" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEciPnvJt6DfXw1jl8uzveknqkVcNELsvwUQP2V2sD9E7pjSPEcehI7iivOZdqP2507FhGBbUFE1BsSmgxTWfWe9mro0BvD5DXhPiNZXTK9MdQ4dY3-zqEcJlIiBpJR_VKHDrB1TKD9tA/w480-h640/IMG_1567.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With love from Kyiv, Ukraine,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-23747823017888271612021-04-12T04:58:00.012-07:002022-11-16T22:40:13.562-08:00I Bought Property in Kyiv, Ukraine (Kiev) - Here's Why! <p>Yes I know it sounds crazy, but it's official, I bought my first ever piece of real estate. It's my first home, my first condo, whatever you want to call it, and I paid for it in cash. I still remember being inspired by my middle school friend David during a random lunch catch up when I was back visiting San Francisco. This was in 2012 and I was completely broke. He told me that he had bought a house in the city, and I was shocked on how he was able to afford it. We were the same age, and he wasn't a rich guy with a high paying job or anything. He was working at a box factory, and had just saved up 50% or more of his paycheck each month by living and eating at home, and not going out on weekends to spend money.</p><p><br /></p><p>That was a huge reality check for me as I was completely broke at the time with maybe $2,000 in savings, and nothing invested. The idea of saving up over $100,000 for a down payment sounded completely out of reach. But sometimes, that little seed of seeing someone else similar to you achieve something big, is all you need to get into gear. That's when I started working online, building businesses, and eventually, a few years later, I did it, I managed to save up enough for a down payment. But it was then that I realized how terrible of an investment buying a home is, and that my money would be better invested in the stock market or somewhere else while I continued to rent. This is the blog post where I share my thoughts on why I finally caved in and bought an apartment, (condo) and why I did it here in the capital city of Kyiv (Kiev) Ukraine. </p><p><br /></p><p>For those who haven't been following my journey for long, I left the US in 2008 and have lived aboard since. I was getting tired of the travel lifestyle and wanted to setup a home base that I could still easily travel from once a month. Kyiv had a great international airport, and was literally at the center of Europe and Asia which were the two places I would travel most. I also had easy direct flights then to Turkey, Georgia, Egypt and other countries I hadn't yet visited. In this blog post I'll talk about why I finally gave up my life as a minimalist, my thoughts on buying an apartment as an investment, and why I chose Kyiv specifically. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yJmdo1TGcMYtCv6U9Hh4XwwEiHyILuMsQXu6wjwl074N-zB3j-_Pcr1_w1U5Z454G0nTCiSBi8IxVbm8gh9txjNexwjvBI1riw7xpycvH9iWkFH9XVa_pKx6oKXgo5qLcyrXt6hbM90/s1280/Hoiuse+%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="kiev kyiv apartment" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yJmdo1TGcMYtCv6U9Hh4XwwEiHyILuMsQXu6wjwl074N-zB3j-_Pcr1_w1U5Z454G0nTCiSBi8IxVbm8gh9txjNexwjvBI1riw7xpycvH9iWkFH9XVa_pKx6oKXgo5qLcyrXt6hbM90/w640-h360/Hoiuse+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">Why I Bought an Apartment</h2><p><br /></p><p>The first big question I should answer is why I bought a piece of property at all when all of my research has shown that it's both cheaper and easier to rent your primary residence than to buy. If you've never sat down to do the math on why renting isn't throwing money down the drain, here's a quick summary. When you buy a house, you'll have other expenses besides rent including closing costs, property tax, maintenance, and repairs. Then you either have a mortgage in which you're paying interest, insurance, a downpayment, or you're paying for the house in cash, in then which case you have the lost opportunity cost of not investing that money elsewhere. </p><p><br /></p><p>The main benefit of owning your own home is having a forced savings account, which is the only way most people would ever save or invest money. The financial benefit of increased value is eligible as on average property only increases by the same rate as inflation, unless you just happen to get lucky, but then again you could have done that in the stock market as well. The secondary benefits of owning a home is knowing that you have fixed costs, and a place to put your things, call your own, and the stability of owning something. But for me, I don't mind changing cities if one place starts getting overpriced or crowded as I know that the world is constantly evolving, and the next San Francisco, Seattle, Chiang Mai or Portland is sprouting up somewhere else in the world. Fixed rent is only important to those who refuse to move or change locations. </p><p><br /></p><p>So why now is the question. The answer is, multiple things. One is that I've bored and house hunting and apartment shopping, looking at HGTV renovations, and IKEA shopping has been fun. I'm finally at a point in my life where not needing to work, or have any responsibilities is getting boring and I want a project to work on. I also believe that property prices in the center of Kyiv/Kiev are underpriced as even though it may seem expensive to some, compared to other capital cities in Russia or Europe, being able to find an apartment for under $2,000 per square meter/$186 per square foot in the center, is a great price. Even though I do plan on living here for 4-6 month a year, I also plan on renting it out as an income stream when I'm gone. Here are a couple videos that I filmed a while back during my initial research on where buying a house/apartment was financially worth it or not. By the way, in Europe buying an apartment or flat basically means buying a condo, it's the same terminology they use in New York.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/in99qhMXmN8" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FfqL7BxEF04" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Why Kyiv, Why Ukraine?</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The next big question is, okay, so you finally decided to buy a condo, good for you, but why Kyiv? (Kiev, Ukraine). The main reason is that I just like it here. It's my third trip here and I can imagine myself happily spending every summer here for the next 10 years or longer. Kiev is a very unique city that isn't easily replicated anywhere else in the world, so as prices here go up, I want to hedge against being priced out of the market. The only replacements for Kyiv would be either Moscow or St. Petersburg (before their invasion in 2022) in terms of culture, language, food, population, density, and things to do. And if you factor in costs of living then Moscow is out of the picture as prices are the same to New York or London. So if things in Kiev keep getting more expensive, I want my flat to be able to keep my costs of living the same. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Ukraine has the lowest annual property tax in the world at just $2 per sqm per year. Compared to 1-2% of the house value or cost per year on in the USA, that's a savings of $3,000 a year or more. My Home Owners Association (HOA Building Fee) is also around the same price or less, which means my total annual carrying cost will be $200-$300 a year. That to me is true home ownership, while "owning" a house or condo in North America means you still own $3,000-$5,000 a year which is akin to paying $400-$500 a month even for a place you bought. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Another reason why I chose to buy in Kyiv is finding short term apartments here are a pain in the ass and overpriced. Unlike Chiang Mai, Tbilisi Georgia, Bansko, or other cities where it's cheap and easy to find a nice place for monthly rent, here it's always been difficult or overpriced making it both mentally and time consuming, but also just annoying. So having a place I can come back to each year that I already know I like is a lifestyle benefit. If all goes well, I might even buy a second apartment here in Kiev to live in, while the other unit brings in rental income that I can use for spending cash while i'm in town. The other huge benefit of buying real estate here is being able to get Permanent Residency for investing just $100,000 usd into the economy. Ukraine doesn't allow dual citizenships though so a 2nd passport won't be an option. But still, having a Ukrainian Green Card will give me peace of mind, an a legal second country of residence in case there's another world wide travel ban. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But to sum it up, I like the freedom and personality responsibility of the Ukrainian culture. There's no such thing as playing the victim card, or expecting everyone to conform to your extreme beliefs regardless if you're left, right, vegan, carnivore, feminist, men's rights, socialist, or capitalist or anti-capitalist. People here are realists and have real problems, but even more than that, they respect and allow everyone to have their own beliefs and don't try to force others to believe in what they think is the only way. Personally I like the traditional family values that Ukrainians have with family being important, frequent visits to your grandparent's village, taking care of each other <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2015/11/making-your-mother-cry-time-to-give.html" target="_blank">like I do my Mom</a>, respect for elders, etc, which in the west is quickly disappearing. I can't respect anyone who calls their parents by their first names, or anyone who doesn't have the courtesy to take off their stores when entering a home.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But overall it's just an awesome city to live in if you earn more than $3,000 a month after tax. It's a hard place to live if you're struggling financially, earn less, or don't have any savings, but if you're financially well off. It's a great city with tons to do, unique architecture, tech, great wifi, amazing food, people, and relatively low costs of living for living in a capital city. As for the weather, I think it's the best place in the world from Mid April when Spring starts to around October when it starts to get cold. It's dry, sunny, and honestly an amazing place during those 6-7 months of the year. Kyiv is also a tech hub and has really smart innovative people, as well as just as many ride hailing apps, e-scooters, food delivery, and other convinces as Austin or other big tech hubs. Here's a blog post that goes deeper on why I like Ukraine and my <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2017/09/my-thoughts-on-ukraine-life-economy.html" target="_blank">thoughts on their Economy and Culture. </a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZQ5HSN4eYZM" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l2s02HkYSu0" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Apartment Shopping in Kyiv</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Finding a place to buy in Ukraine wasn't easy. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend it to most people. Buildings in the city center are old and prone to a lot of hidden problems. While new developments are often finished way behind schedule, poorly constructed, or sometimes never finished at all. Buildings from the outside as well as common areas often look dilapidated, soviet, or unwelcoming. Even finding places for sale are difficult as unlike the US where we have easy to use sites like Zillow, Redfin or Trulia, or the real estate agent's MLS, things here are difficult to navigate. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's why I ended up going through two different real estate agents, as the first one, although a really nice guy, just didn't have access to the inventory in the area I was looking at. Buying an apartment here is also dangerous as even your own Real Estate Agent, your so called Realtor isn't actually licensed by anyone or the state, so it's up to you to do your own due diligence. There's also no such thing as title insurance, so it's up to you to make sure you check that everything is clean before you make a purchase. That's why I ended up paying over $1,000 to hire a lawyer. Her name is Tetiana Yakovenko from Contact Ukraine if you're interested. My real estate agent unfortunately no longer works with clients so I can't recommend her. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's the apartment hunting series that I made, which was a total of three videos. The funny thing is, I actually put down two offers right away so it could have been just one video if things didn't fall through. Take a look to see what apartment shopping here in Kiev is like and what some of things to watch out for are. The locations of these flats are all in the city center which explains the relatively high pricing. Anyone who says they can find an apartment in Kyiv for $50,000 or less, either hasn't look around since 2015 or is talking about places outside of the city center. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yk_YUkAm7Sc" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cpzjnloGMUY" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BvHaHsnLOLo" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">Apartment Pricing in Kiev</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This a tricky subject as officially the average price per sq meter for apartments sold in Kiev are $1,000, exactly half of what I paid. However, that figure is skewed low as first off, a lot of people under report the amount of money they sold for so they can pay less tax on the transaction. It's similar to how in American people often buy a used card for $10,000 cash but report to the DMV that we paid $5,000 for it to save on sales tax. Secondly the price includes pricing for all of Kiev, and places outside of the city center are usually half the price or less. It's the same as why prices in Manhattan are so much more than the rest of New York City. The third factor is the discounted new construction, where it's been popular to buy property pre-construction which is delivered 1-3 years later as an empty shell unit with no kitchen, flooring, bathroom tiles and or paint. These places are sold at 50% discounts as you're taking the risk of financing the project in hopes they sell enough units to finish on time and under budget.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That being said, my budget was around $100-$120k ideally, but I knew that I would go up to a maximum of $150k if the place was large and a standout. Starting with places in the $80k range, they all required a ton of renovation and would easily be another $20k+ and 6 months+ of work. I thought I had found an amazing place for $95k but after my lawyer did the title checks, she found out that there had an outstanding mortgage from a now defunct bank in Crimea and a shady Notary document saying it was clear when in fact wasn't. These are just some of the common scams you'll find and have to be aware of when buying property in Ukraine. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That's when I decided to stop looking at the total price and to consider any place that was under $2,000 per sqm as that was my target price. When the Baseina st. apartment came up, I almost passed on even seeing it as the price was on the top of my price range and at first I thought it would be too busy or loud of a location. But luckily I went to see it as it turns out, it was perfect. It's right on the main central street, with great restaurants literally at my front door, and a supermarket across the street. But to make it even better, my unit faces the courtyard away and is completely silent and away from the traffic. That combined with 2m/6ft thick walls, and super high 12ft/3.8m ceilings, this old heritage Tsar era building made it a yes for me. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KwvVRAz5660" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">The Buying Process</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's different and a bit tricky here in Ukraine verses back home to buy a house or condo. In some ways, it can be simpler as there are less checks and balances, but it's also more dangerous and riskier as well. A lot of sellers would be happy if you literally gave them a suitcase of cash in USD preferably, but that' snot recommended for obvious reasons. Also your agent, who is basically a salesman, will try to get you to put down a non-refundable cash deposit to "secure" the apartment and take it off of the market ASAP, as soon as the very next day. In the US, it's not a big deal as you can just write, "subject to passing inspection" and you can get it refunded if things don't check out. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However in Ukraine it turns out that once you give the deposit, you'll have a very hard time getting it back even and will have to go to court to even try. That's why if you watch the video above, I ended up hiring a home inspector, lawyer, plumber, and electrician to come check everything before I put down the deposit of $4,000 to take the place off the market and start the transfer process. Also since it's in the historical city center, the owner also needs to get permission from the Cultural Heritage agency to sell the property, and for me to make any renovations or changes to the building which takes some time. </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Since I wanted to go through the Permanent Residency by Investment process, I needed to first transfer the money (over $100k) into a USD investment account here in Ukraine. Make sure you give yourself a few weeks to do this part as your US bank will 100% flag your transfer and you'll need to clear it with them. From there, I was able to then transfer it into a UAH account (paying the conversion fee). But the seller wanted USD as it's a more stable currency to hold, which meant I needed to pay another conversion fee to transfer it back into USD. There is no such thing as escrow here, which means, on the day of the transfer, we'll all meet at the bank, transfer the money, and sign over the paperwork.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Right now I've made the deposit and have started the bank transfers from the US to Ukraine, but am still in the process of finalizing the deal which will take a minimum of a few weeks to hopefully no more than a couple of months. In the meantime, I've been watching House and Home and HGTV to get design ideas. I'm excited to close the deal, get the keys do some light refinishing of the unit, and to finally move into my own flat. I'm not excited for dealing with the headaches of home ownership, signing up and paying for bills, utilities, and having to deal with maintenance and other potential responsibilities. But I think that at the end of the day it'll be worth it. It's reassuring to know that i'll own a place with low carrying costs where I can live in no matter what happens, and that international property is untouchable and non-taxable by the US Government. This is my safety net for in case everything in America somehow goes to crap in the future. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENpEe2FBcRppJLS9bDQQhz2hEJUcwmKnmQtl_CjJIJl9My7zqrGqr5ueUZa6Uv13Cwq1uEgLj7ZuQ_bnZIPfa3wMFbvad36cDngEL-pnElLHTZ2BYhAHfA-g8DHIfzLOmRztHl5997cA/s1740/Screen+Shot+2021-04-12+at+2.50.23+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1216" data-original-width="1740" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjENpEe2FBcRppJLS9bDQQhz2hEJUcwmKnmQtl_CjJIJl9My7zqrGqr5ueUZa6Uv13Cwq1uEgLj7ZuQ_bnZIPfa3wMFbvad36cDngEL-pnElLHTZ2BYhAHfA-g8DHIfzLOmRztHl5997cA/w640-h448/Screen+Shot+2021-04-12+at+2.50.23+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3la17PSVtVWUgnLQQj8AWia3SBp1eQfKHwKrMUM6l3aP0uB_efWfX0sWh-yLxXLjajaIaOpjcBhmkbIiNLLL-FWE9u8ABivYuzzLGDayPi7YlcB7ExtAvwq1zOxaqAz0iclMP9XWKQiM/s876/Screen+Shot+2021-04-12+at+2.50.58+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="876" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3la17PSVtVWUgnLQQj8AWia3SBp1eQfKHwKrMUM6l3aP0uB_efWfX0sWh-yLxXLjajaIaOpjcBhmkbIiNLLL-FWE9u8ABivYuzzLGDayPi7YlcB7ExtAvwq1zOxaqAz0iclMP9XWKQiM/w640-h512/Screen+Shot+2021-04-12+at+2.50.58+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"> </div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>One Year Later Update </b></h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A lot has changed since February 24th, 2022. We all knew that there was a risk being neighbors with Russia, but the vast majority of people living here didn't think Russia would be insane enough to actually start a full scale war. Yes there was still the <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2022/10/ukraine-faq-donbas-2014-2022-russian-war.html" target="_blank">ongoing conflict in Donbas</a>, but that was contained just to the one region and was already coming to a standstill and didn't affect daily life in the rest of Ukraine. Looking around the city, hundreds of millions of dollars was going into infrastructure building, and new cafes, restaurants, and office buildings, and it was easy to assume that these people knew more than I, or the others watching TV from home about whether it was safe or not to invest. </div><div><br /></div><div>It turns out that we, and most of the rational world was wrong. However, if you ask me if I regret buying and building my home in Ukraine in hindsight...it's a difficult question. But since I can't change the past, looking back, I still made the prudent decision, and if it wasn't for Putin the madman, my life would had been incredible today. Below is a tour of my finished apartment that I renovated even during the war as I wanted to be able to provide jobs for the craftsman and workers that otherwise would had been out of work. Also I know how busy they will be after the war ends to reconstruct damaged homes, so I wanted to finish mine while they had nothing else to do. Yes I know it was a risk as the war is still ongoing, but I'm doubling down as I'm already mostly all in at this point. So ask me again after the war finishes and Ukraine wins, but so far, no regrets. I love Ukraine, and I love my home in Kyiv. </div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<center><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DnkE3mc_epM" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></center>
<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With love from Kyiv,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Johnny FD</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h2>
</div></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-25940470697518169162021-04-01T07:34:00.007-07:002021-04-02T01:03:44.578-07:00March 2021: First Month in Kyiv, Ukraine! (Costs of Living, Income and Expenses)<p>Happy April everyone! It's officially the start of Spring, and it's been exactly 30 days since I arrived in Ukraine. I'm both excited and hesitant to calculate how much I spent this month as I have a feeling it'll be 2-4x what I've been spending in Sri Lanka all of last year. But it's also exciting as I've been able to live a European standard of life again, eat Western food, and do a lot of things that I've missed in the past year. Kyiv is the capital city of Ukraine, and is also known as Kiev from the Russian influenced times. It has a population of around 3 Million people officially, but in reality has a lot more as there are thousands of students, expats, tourists, and Ukrainians from other cities or small towns living here and working unofficially. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The average salary in Kyiv is $574 a month, which makes it seem like you'll be able to live comfortably off of anything more than that, but in reality, things here are a lot more expensive than you might imagine. More than half of the income in Ukraine isn't officially reported and all of the numbers you'll see are after tax, which means that people are actually earning closer to $1,000 a month after tax, which really only allows you to live outside of the center, and cook at home most meals. That would be equivalent to someone in the US earning $1,800 a month if you factor in taxes. In my experience, that's also the amount of money you'll need to spend each month to live comfortably in the city center, go out to restaurants, take taxis, etc. If you really want to live like a baller, take dates to high end restaurants, have cocktails at fancy bars, and live in a modern apartment, you'll actually need to budget $2,500 to $3,000 a month. Lets break down how much I spent this month and what I got for it, as well as my thoughts, plans, and goals for April 2021. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINjQtbji0P5HA1ExpfTscIXdRmp7EJKMzsfs-9qAfJL9xUerievEGWJEdhneZAPVAzOj375eDIxT-IZSM8wCYV4oljRgGXmJDM2awAwie1HUaIOh6W1ued3avvZM7um0QUm6hUluNWXc/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kyiv Costs of Living" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINjQtbji0P5HA1ExpfTscIXdRmp7EJKMzsfs-9qAfJL9xUerievEGWJEdhneZAPVAzOj375eDIxT-IZSM8wCYV4oljRgGXmJDM2awAwie1HUaIOh6W1ued3avvZM7um0QUm6hUluNWXc/w640-h480/IR+March+2021+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Costs of Living</h2><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>In Sri Lanka I was spending around $1,500 a month on average, going out to eat everyday, living directly on the beach. Everything was good, and life was cheap. I knew things were going to be more expensive here in Kyiv, as it's the capital city, and closer to USA or European prices, but I was actually shocked that I somehow ended up with a $10,000 credit card balance this month. </p><p><br /></p><p>Luckily not all of that was actual costs of living expenses, as a few thousand of it was me pulling out cash to put down a deposit on an apartment i'm looking to buy, a few thousand in lawyer fees to start the process for to get permeant residency in Ukraine, and some of it was other business expenses or one of costs, like my Airbnb for next month, or the gym for the next 6 months. One annoying thing though is the $100 in cash advanced fees I was charged by Capital One for using the local equivalent of Venmo or Cash App here called Monobank. I got hit with like 10 separate $10 charges and they won't reverse them, so i'm stuck with a lesson learned. </p><p><br /></p><p>So in short, deciding to come to Kyiv has been one of the most expensive decisions of my nomad life, as the $10,000 I spent on my card doesn't even include the $2,500 I pulled out of the ATM this month. The good news is that this was by far my most expensive month as things like plane tickets, gym memberships, lawyer fees, and my Airbnb is already paid for April as well. But then again, if I do end up buying this apartment, then i'm sure a lot more costs will be coming my way! Here's a breakdown of what I spent this month in Kyiv. </p><p><br /></p><p>Flight: CMB to Kyiv - $483.93 (fly Dubai) </p><p>AirBnb Apartment - $1,079.68 (center - 31 nights)</p><p>Taxi - $119.61 (uber 2-3x a day)</p><p>Mobile Data - $4.50 </p><p>Capital One Fees - $150 (for Monobank) </p><p>Restaurants & Groceries - $771.83</p><p>Coffee & Waters: $43.11</p><p>Bars and Going Out: $450</p><p>Events and Parties: $288</p><p>Clothes & Shoes - $106.43</p><p>Gym & Pool - $30.63</p><p>Saunas & Massages - $282</p><p>Dentist - $43.11</p><p>Snowboarding - $45</p><p>Other/Tips/Misc Cash - $300</p><p>Gift to Mom - $1,000</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Total Costs for March - $5,892.86</h3><p>*increased from $3,500 last month. +/-</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-slaJN5GOaaQrulAdIF8FuOsHSNt2AOBBCsk3kRbp6nPhT6NYCBtkrqlzwJ-3xYhF9bpAeJpkW5B5euLYmjFDXmUbv5wN8cYVxqb7fbt8cHCzQYRuYw-vn94Dho_l9oIGx4kuxoTgYOU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="2048" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-slaJN5GOaaQrulAdIF8FuOsHSNt2AOBBCsk3kRbp6nPhT6NYCBtkrqlzwJ-3xYhF9bpAeJpkW5B5euLYmjFDXmUbv5wN8cYVxqb7fbt8cHCzQYRuYw-vn94Dho_l9oIGx4kuxoTgYOU/w640-h366/Screen+Shot+2021-04-01+at+2.43.23+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZQ5HSN4eYZM" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></h2><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Income for March</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The funny thing about leaving Sri Lanka is the fact that even though my views on Youtube will drop significantly, there's a chance that I may end up earning more money through as the ad rates are higher outside of the country. While I appreciate all of my viewers from Sri Lanka, the fact is advertisers there don't pay very much, so the revenue per metric (RPM) I'd earn was actually quite low at around $2.30 per thousand views. My recent videos here in Ukraine have gotten slightly higher ad rates as there are more Americans and Europeans watching the videos. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>That combined with a few very popular videos, and the fact that I was leaving Sri Lanka and creating new fresh content, I've actually had my best month on Youtube this year so far. We'll see how that goes next month as April will be the first month with just content from Ukraine, and I'm sure a lot of my Sri Lankan audience won't continue following, but so far, we're off to a good start. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Earning $2,000 a month is a great income stream, especially for doing something that I really enjoy and am passionate about. But it's actually not my main stream of income, so whether it continues or doesn't isn't actually a huge life changer for me. My biggest revenue stream is the dropshipping stores that I am part owner of that was <a href="https://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/webinar/?afmc=fd" target="_blank">built following Anton's course</a>. This month we've had an incredible month with over $78k worth of sales. Most of that isn't profit though as product, shipping, advertising and fulfillment all costs money, but I am entitled to 30% of that store profit. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Aside from that, I have <a href="https://youtu.be/ZAIpGwaU9CU" target="_blank">13 other income streams</a> that I've built up over the years, including all of my investment income that has been doing extremely well this past year. Take a listen to both the Travel Like a Boss and Invest Like a Boss Podcasts that I host to learn more. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscOw-QItz0YR4Y-OZYAgw0jJ8nQz1EprZkA_IyOkLevNjXxVpWsf7fojRoCoztMK_wuqBhFABuBME1fMOYr8GSmF0kjW_92TCQRvp2D_W4DXbHVSlrBhIlFm0CJhOOrcYlLra-ijpRqE/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-04-01+at+5.13.36+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhscOw-QItz0YR4Y-OZYAgw0jJ8nQz1EprZkA_IyOkLevNjXxVpWsf7fojRoCoztMK_wuqBhFABuBME1fMOYr8GSmF0kjW_92TCQRvp2D_W4DXbHVSlrBhIlFm0CJhOOrcYlLra-ijpRqE/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-04-01+at+5.13.36+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqtNjOkpvl6qwjTS046CUC40iWKW1XlhRvX1TkJl4oRtfmd8gdlVR8NgCiVS1GgPIW6ldR3cVzbBo3fYYx8ZqXZzK6I7Dm6lUNhxZDV-0_gfZ2vDSlMcjyJ8_Ii_dC-F6rx1bsost6S3s/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-04-01+at+5.17.01+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqtNjOkpvl6qwjTS046CUC40iWKW1XlhRvX1TkJl4oRtfmd8gdlVR8NgCiVS1GgPIW6ldR3cVzbBo3fYYx8ZqXZzK6I7Dm6lUNhxZDV-0_gfZ2vDSlMcjyJ8_Ii_dC-F6rx1bsost6S3s/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-04-01+at+5.17.01+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </h2><div><br /></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What I Did in Kyiv</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A lot of my month was just settling in, buying groceries, going to the dentist, signing up for a gym, buying winter clothes, and other seemly mundane tasks. But somehow it was actually a really enjoyable month. Just being in a new bustling city was a nice change of pace, and it was fun meeting new people, hanging out with old friends again, and looking to buy an apartment in a new city. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I also did a few things like take a snowboarding lesson, go to a Russian Sauna, as well as some great restaurants and bars that were all fun but ended up adding to my monthly expenses as well. But my goal for moving to Kyiv wasn't to save money, it was to enjoy life and have fun. My budget that I was comfortable spending was actually $4,000 so I definitely I went over it this month, but that's normal for arriving to a new country and overpaying for things like a last minute Airbnb, and going out way more than I would normally. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My goal for April is to spend a bit less, travel a bit more within Kyiv or maybe around Ukraine itself as my friend Engin and his fiance Elena will be flying from Sri Lanka here in a just a few days. The city of Kyiv itself is actually under lock down right now and in the "red zone" which means all restaurants are take away only, gyms, bars and clubs are all officially closed, and on paper it's super strict. But what I can tell you is that life here goes on as normal as long as you have money, connections, and are willing to go outside of the box. Most of us have still be going to bars, parties and restaurants, and I even started working out again at the outdoor area of my gym even though it's officially still closed. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The lockdown does work however, as 90% of people end up staying home as most things really are closed and it's not as simple as just walking into a restaurant or around the mall. So even though a lot of people choose not to follow the protocols, it still ends up flattening the curve. What's nice about Ukraine though is that unlike the US or Western Europe, here you have the choice to follow the rules, or not. You can stay home, be safe and follow the rules, or you can go out and live your life, either way, it's a personal choice here and not a political, racial, gender, lgbt, or outrage of the month debate like it would be back in America or Western Europe. That's what I like about Ukraine, it's not overly politically correct and if you try to be, or worse, try to force others to be, people will just ignore you. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lo7nUH2_cSI" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R-A5HbyQJXQ" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Plans and Goals for April</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now that Spring is officially here, I'm excited to go out a lot more often, and enjoy the city more than I was able to during the winter. I don't regret coming here during the beginning of March, even though it was -3 degrees most days. But now I also know that it's not necessarily something I'd want to go through again. My plan is to get Permanent Residency through Investment which will allow me to stay in Ukraine for as long as I want, and to have the legal right to come back here even if travel shuts down again in the future and borders close. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It'll be a long process, but I've already started it by hiring an immigration lawyer, opening a Ukrainian Business, and starting the process of investing a minimum of $100,000 into the country. I'll be documenting the entire process of apartment shopping, and all of the legal stuff, on my channel <a href="http://Youtube.com/JohnnyFD">Youtube.com/JohnnyFD</a> so make sure you subscribe and follow me there if you're interested. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm also planning to get back into great shape before summer, so keep an eye out for me at the gym, eating healthier, and walking a lot more. I started dating again as well, but honestly, I don't see why I would settle down with someone seriously unless she was someone I wanted to have children with or brought as much to the relationship as I do. So unless I happen to meet an amazing girl who is worth settling down with, I'm happy living the semi-single life and just dating casually and having fun. Learning a bit more Russian would defiantly help though as 90% of the people I've met hardly speak any English at all, and it's definitely a requirement to speak the language if you're going to live in Kyiv. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LyjpU1i6Ghw" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With Love from Kyiv,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-20350336674466785612021-03-04T04:02:00.013-08:002021-10-13T01:17:36.004-07:00Why I Left Sri Lanka.<p>It's still hard to believe that I stayed in Sri Lanka for over a year, and honestly it would have been longer if it wasn't for a day with no WIFI that pushed me over the edge to book a flight to Ukraine. My original plan was to stay in Sri Lanka until summer or longer, maybe to visit Ukraine when the weather would improve in Europe by then. From my Youtube channel, I was traveling all around the island for the 13 months prior, earning a decent living, while staying in a beautiful beachfront villa on the south of the island. I had even considered staying longer for a second season on the east coast of Arugam Bay, the best surf stop in Sri Lanka, and maybe even the world. <br /><br /></p><p>On one hand, it was nice getting vip service, upgrades, and the occasional free trips through my videos. But things were so low cost in Sri Lanka anyways during these tourist free times, anyone with a bit of money could stay in 4 star beachfront hotels or shared villas that would normally cost 5-10x that amount. To be honest, I thought for sure I would stay a few months longer as it was too good of a value and deal to pass up. The surf lineups were also as empty as they've been in the past decade and there was a great group of other tourists and expats which all became friends. I had a great group of friends, nice housemates, and life was literally paradise. Rarely, but sometimes, there's such a thing, as too much paradise. But I was one of the last digital nomads left, one of the few remaining who actually needed solid WIFI to work and earn a living, and the internet connection in Sri Lanka would fail me one too many times to want to deal with the headaches of it all.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaqb9Ufhn4hs03yv-FAK-fFR_VNpNerzfF98a1kpFEgF7Oh6i20ESrIEve5qwkC0Fljc1hZalgBcQGjR8spip_w4SKJXxxkab_KXjEQce9HJcnfYNxUARQPY8QjLqs3c-PYf-vxsOW-M/s2048/Sri+Lanka+Magazine+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1744" data-original-width="2048" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaqb9Ufhn4hs03yv-FAK-fFR_VNpNerzfF98a1kpFEgF7Oh6i20ESrIEve5qwkC0Fljc1hZalgBcQGjR8spip_w4SKJXxxkab_KXjEQce9HJcnfYNxUARQPY8QjLqs3c-PYf-vxsOW-M/w640-h546/Sri+Lanka+Magazine+1.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9s6U4uPfTEi2JZCa-WKEnd6JnLtqcrp6XT1mSxOG_6l_Cddw6dQgqVkwoUEx09BXa4vnjt-UrWwseLfZDT86S_QRJDlaf0mbwucPRFZVobawaLS7TBZSUX_zazRRw9BYjoSanvZ9-1U/s2048/Sri+Lanka+Magazine+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1743" data-original-width="2048" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR9s6U4uPfTEi2JZCa-WKEnd6JnLtqcrp6XT1mSxOG_6l_Cddw6dQgqVkwoUEx09BXa4vnjt-UrWwseLfZDT86S_QRJDlaf0mbwucPRFZVobawaLS7TBZSUX_zazRRw9BYjoSanvZ9-1U/w640-h544/Sri+Lanka+Magazine+2.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Why I Left Sri Lanka</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p>Exactly 1 year ago at the start of the month of February, I arrived in Sri Lanka with the intention of staying for 2 months. Then the lockdowns started and I ended up <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2021/02/why-i-spent-entire-year-in-sri-lanka.html?showComment=1613789113174#c2168228574620530524" target="_blank">staying in Sri Lanka for more than one year.</a> Part of me knew that it was time to go, but things were just too good here. Costs of living were too cheap, the weather was too perfect, the surf lineups were too amazing and uncrowded. And I was earning decent money and my subscriber count was growing each and every month on Youtube thanks to my loyal Sri Lankan viewers both inside the country as well as aboard. </p><p><br /></p><p>I was also helping promote the country to those wanting to travel again in 2021 but showcasing what there is to do in Sri Lanka and what it's like as a tourist, long term digital nomad, or expat. Sri Lankans were appreciative of the work I did to promote the country during these tough times and really welcomed me with warm arms. I will always remember and appreciate their kindness, love and generosity. But at the end of the day, I'm a traveler and explorer at heart, which is why I haven't spent more than 3-6 months in any one country since 2008 when I left the USA. </p><p><br /></p><p>The fact is, as beautiful as the sunrises and sunsets were, I stopped appreciating them. I was living directly on the beach and saw them twice a day for 13 months now. During this past year I ate about 1,000 portions of rice and curry, chicken biryani and egg rotis, and don't get me wrong, I love the cuisine, spices, and dishes, but honestly, outside of Colombo, restaurants really aren't that great. But even worse than that is the WIFI which was recently ranked at the bottom of the list even behind Nigeria, Peru, Algeria and the Philippines. Holding that number up from being even worse on the very bottom of the list is that in Colombo itself, internet is decent and 4G signals are strong. But down south in the beach areas and in most of the rest of the country, it's often non-existant. </p><p><br /></p><p>The straw that broke the camel's back, me being the camel, was when my laptop stopped connecting one day to Mobitel's 4G, and my backup Dialog SIM had zero bars of service. The hotel I stayed at didn't have WIFI which is actually common as it's so expensive that they can't afford it when it's not peak tourist season, the nearby ones all had ran out of data as it was near the end of the month and there's no such thing as truly unlimited WIFI here even for businesses (regardless of what people say in the comments). </p><p><br /></p><p>I ended up driving over 4 miles/8km to EKHO Hotel which I had to leave because they Dialog WIFI they use had an annoying popup login system that didn't work. So then I drove again and finally found working WIFI at Hangtime, which was a surprise as they often run out near the end of the month as well. The worse part of the entire experience was almost getting killed by a crazy bus driver who was speeding and driving on the wrong side of the road while blinding everyone with his headlamps on high beam, all while blowing people's hearing by constantly honking his overly loud airhorn. Everyday, I knew that there was a significant chance of getting hit by a bus or truck while walking, driving, or even while in a tuk-tuk, and finally I had enough of it and decided to book a flight 1-2 months early to get out of there. It's a shame as there are so many positives about the country, but these two negatives sometimes outweighs everything else. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXMgmhNEYBb-oeu2DVQqrWsyzM_F8hzgI9t9fpE6DltI9TfM-miR2k5f9kazfbmLfGNdGmkpYBeG0BINjZQVovMDk98kqSW8uoc_IkFRkwOaxBT9NM7golw1pLy9I9U29kJN4ZT5qKMA/s2000/wifi2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2000" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXMgmhNEYBb-oeu2DVQqrWsyzM_F8hzgI9t9fpE6DltI9TfM-miR2k5f9kazfbmLfGNdGmkpYBeG0BINjZQVovMDk98kqSW8uoc_IkFRkwOaxBT9NM7golw1pLy9I9U29kJN4ZT5qKMA/w640-h404/wifi2.png" title="wifi" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">Income and Options</h2><p><br /></p><p>Here's the thing. I potentially gave up $1,000-$2,500 a month from YouTube earnings by leaving Sri Lanka as 40% of my audience was Sri Lanka, and maybe 80% or more were watching because I was making content about the country. A lot was overseas workers, expats, or those who grew up in Sri Lanka but are not living aboard in Canada, the USA, Australia or working in Europe and the Middle East. </p><p><br /></p><p>If I was smart, would have kept riding the rice and curry train until it either grew even bigger, or really started to slow down. But I've left at a weird spot where there was still a lot of potential, and I was on an upward trend. If I was reliant on YouTube income to live, I would have 100% stayed as me leaving now is taking a huge gamble that I'll lose 80% of my viewers and income. </p><p><br />However, I am really fortunate that although YouTube is currently the majority of my active income, prior to this I had created a bunch of sources of passive income and investments. A lot of my newer viewers don't realize this, but I never needed the income from my channel, it was just a side benefit as I really loved making videos anyways. The fact is, I still have a dozen other streams of income that pay me each month, and although some of them are dwindling now that I haven't been actively maintaining or updating them, I've made and invested enough of it these past 8 years to be able to <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2017/03/how-i-retired-at-35-and-in-just-4-years.html" target="_blank">live comfortably and never work again</a>, which is why I officially "retired" in 2017 and have since only been working on passion projects that I really love doing like hosting the Nomad Summit conference, hosting my podcasts, blogging, and now creating videos on Youtube. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZAIpGwaU9CU" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">How Much I Earned</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I started doing monthly income reports in 2014 and haven't missed a month since. Here's an <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/search/label/Income%20Report" target="_blank">archive to all of them</a> if you want to go back in time and see how I grew and got started. Since then I've been earning anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000 a month and have luckily been smart enough to save and invest 80% of it. That's the only reason why I don't need to work today if I chose not to as following the <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2018/12/fire-financial-independence-retire-early.html" target="_blank">4% rule and FIRE guidelines</a>, combined with my passive income, I can comfortably spent anywhere between $3,000-$5,000 a month and never go broke.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am also super lucky to have been a student of <a href="https://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/webinar/?afmc=fd" target="_blank">Anton's dropshipping course</a> ever since it first came out in 2013 as even today, the partner stores that I am a partial owner of are still doing over $47,000 a month in revenue and I hopefully will get a cut of that as agreed upon when we started the store together. </div><div><br /></div><div>So that being said, it's funny because this is going to be the first month where I won't be updating my accounting and logging into each individual account to add up the totals, as to be honest, I no longer really care how much my books earn me, or my courses on Udemy do. If you really want to case study everything I did to earn money these past 7 years, go through those videos on <a href="https://incomeboss.com/p/income-boss/?product_id=393896&coupon_code=BLOGJFD" target="_blank">Income Boss</a> and do it for yourself. This month I've officially retired once again, but this time, it's for real. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLT_YZOreF2A86I40xkNFsBEXO9txSlBNxB5OOMfA0Tt9c0iuGW4_KdXRc0OBuwquiftWvENVvl0MuXMmI3Xcg8IEyD2zdvoVkNhTxzIKkKEHrpvQPmpJ8WIt6Nsquvx95Td90KMzN2I/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-03-04+at+1.29.57+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOLT_YZOreF2A86I40xkNFsBEXO9txSlBNxB5OOMfA0Tt9c0iuGW4_KdXRc0OBuwquiftWvENVvl0MuXMmI3Xcg8IEyD2zdvoVkNhTxzIKkKEHrpvQPmpJ8WIt6Nsquvx95Td90KMzN2I/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-03-04+at+1.29.57+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySlVo8Kx5wI-SEic0tsIcDb37EgRnG5ECj1V9jtmUdNiHA7smg2RU7hPf4PRpv6RYKhB9mY4VaiP3Gj0YcyKaoWwfpD3pl1rc7w4nAHUYDzu2AcOovwIyvfZ7XTvz6VEVrZRb5XJTDAQ/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-03-04+at+1.30.56+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySlVo8Kx5wI-SEic0tsIcDb37EgRnG5ECj1V9jtmUdNiHA7smg2RU7hPf4PRpv6RYKhB9mY4VaiP3Gj0YcyKaoWwfpD3pl1rc7w4nAHUYDzu2AcOovwIyvfZ7XTvz6VEVrZRb5XJTDAQ/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-03-04+at+1.30.56+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">How Much I Spent</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Life in Sri Lanka can be really cheap, or really expensive depending on what you do, where you eat, what you drive, and how you live. This month was a mix of both as I was staying on the beach for just $230 a month, but also spent that much in a day treating out friends to dinner and high tea in Colombo, or drinks and dinner at the Marriott in Weligama. </div><div><br /></div><div>But my philosophy is what's the point of having money if you're not going to enjoy yourself and be generous with your friends? Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to start making it rain, or buy anything financially stupid like a new Bentley, but after hitting a gigantic milestone this month financially, I've decided that it was time to start spending a bit more of it and enjoying myself while I'm still relatively young, healthy, single and energetic. </div><div><br /></div><div>So for the final month in Sri Lanka, I spent maybe around $2,000 (400,000lkr) not including the flight to Ukraine where I am today which set me back another $500 or so. I also <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2015/11/making-your-mother-cry-time-to-give.html" target="_blank">gave my Mom $1,000</a> as I've been doing every month for the past 4 years or so. Honestly, I have no idea how much I spent last month as that's just a super rough estimate. I'm done counting rupees and living as frugally as possible. I'm still going to be smart with my money as I want it to last, but especially while i'm single and child free, I'm going to start enjoying myself a bit more. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Total Monthly Expenses: $3,500 +/-</h3><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1MEMAGU23b4" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Final Thoughts for the Month</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It was a great adventure and wrap up for the year long trip. But I can already tell you just 4 days in that it was the best decision I've made in a while to come to Kyiv sooner than later. The truth is, we all get too comfortable and scared to take risks even though the reward may be a life even greater than what we had. It's not that I had a bad life in Sri Lanka, in fact it was incredible by most standards and I was super fortunate to have had it. I appreciate all of the positive people I met, and all of the good experiences I had. In fact, I still have 2 weeks worth of videos from the country already edited, uploaded, and scheduled to be published on <a href="http://youtube.com/johnnyfd" target="_blank">My Youtube Channel</a> from Sri Lanka that contains some of the coolest experiences and trips yet. </div><div><br /></div><div>I almost thought about keeping silent on social media, my blog, and on <a href="http://instagram.com/johnnyfdk" target="_blank">my instagram</a> until the last video finishes from Sri Lanka, but then again, I honestly don't care anymore. If someone wants to stop watching or gets mad because they fast forwarded to the ending of the book or googled the ending of a series before watching the entire show, I can't stop them and can't help them either. I'm not going to left a handful of angry people in the comments spoil the 49,999 positive experiences that other people have that watch the videos and genuinely love them.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am grateful for them reminding me how much of a waste of time it is to try to explain to them the way production schedules work, and that not everything is filmed, edited and published within 24 hours even though I'm sure they would like it to be. I'm also thankful for the drunken expat who constantly tried to start a fight with me on the beach for reminding me why I never want to become that guy. I've met guys like him in almost every country including Thailand, and throughout my scuba diving career in the Caribbeans, and SE Asia. These are the guys usually in their 50's that were losers back home, moved aboard to try to be someone, but instead of being happy, they grew disgruntled at change, started drinking too much, and secretly want to leave, but are too invested in a country to do so, and don't have the money to go elsewhere. Here's to never becoming that old grumpy white guy who's names I honestly can't even remember right now as they matter so little. Here's to staying the masters of our own destiny and only being where we want to be, and moving on while you're still happy, and leaving as soon as you're not. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you to all of my Sri Lankan friends, followers, and to the country for being so amazing in so many ways. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNPPmMpjsB62MTA4PVx2uKDDnaKO7z2p6AtYVJYICX4WEhqk0b3oy9rrSwWrebXsT4Olz7GBht9scty-dEyAKWx824iMGTZloDBwxMDPBU0DQmEj2v1FjuPUSZw2iXdHP0-NBjOIVp0c/s1544/Johnny+Ukraine.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1544" data-original-width="1125" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNPPmMpjsB62MTA4PVx2uKDDnaKO7z2p6AtYVJYICX4WEhqk0b3oy9rrSwWrebXsT4Olz7GBht9scty-dEyAKWx824iMGTZloDBwxMDPBU0DQmEj2v1FjuPUSZw2iXdHP0-NBjOIVp0c/w466-h640/Johnny+Ukraine.JPG" width="466" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-like-a-boss/id727446851" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38KH_rCQdq9xFp6bYfd8ZRyHe84ddjh7LFbhvBQ-vBLC8OGuyXqr2mZYpXL1xhWkPNdyNbiD4PHcyVTS0YrmbUBvsuP3_PDoNKdnZuMS52PHJVQAOVNaej8E0p1ztq90hYi_Movy52Uo/s320/TLAB+266.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">P.S. Take a listen to Travel Like a Boss <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-like-a-boss/id727446851" target="_blank">Podcast Episode 266</a> where I go into a lot more detail about why I left Sri Lanka, what their WIFI and Traffic safety is like, as well as what things are like here in Kyiv, Ukraine. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With Love from Kyiv,</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-78579288053173207082021-02-18T20:03:00.014-08:002021-02-21T18:32:20.787-08:00Why I Say No to Most Interviews. (With Small Audiences) <p>I get a dozen emails or messages a week asking me for an interview, and I say no to 95% of them, mostly because of their lack of reach or audience. The tricky thing is, declining or saying no, is also a waste of time and actually ends up making that person more angry, upset, or annoyed than if I had just ignored and not responded in the first place. But here's the reason why most people worth interviewing ignore your emails or requests. It's not because we didn't see your message, or that we don't like you as a person, it's because it's simply not worth our time being interviewed for a small audience and our efforts can be better used elsewhere. </p><p><br /></p><p>If you don't think 5 minutes of our time is that much to ask for, either you don't value your own time, or your time isn't worth anything. </p><p><br /></p><p>The worse requests are ones from university students working on their masters thesis who want an interview or survey to be filled out. They somehow think it's a benefit that the responses will be anonymous. I feel bad ignoring their requests or saying no, as I too used to be that college student and would get annoyed with successful business people were so "greedy with their time" or hard to reach. But now I realize why they ignored me or said no, and why I was actually the greedy one for asking in the first place. Here's why I wish I knew earlier in life that would have helped me get to where I am today. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEize3_GyRE_z9s6Q7BhcetO9GAYh1IIXHRG7bn1dkbng1UqWr7mTkWnymq2VsoY7KiTUZ2IsQ-uaqMQ2l84vSzSYLupms-9iXfNcm9dVpAMPZfuVWU7SDd_MHEN_jNeZlWqq4giXinrxGo/s4032/IMG_9139.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEize3_GyRE_z9s6Q7BhcetO9GAYh1IIXHRG7bn1dkbng1UqWr7mTkWnymq2VsoY7KiTUZ2IsQ-uaqMQ2l84vSzSYLupms-9iXfNcm9dVpAMPZfuVWU7SDd_MHEN_jNeZlWqq4giXinrxGo/w640-h480/IMG_9139.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Real Life Lessons</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p>It's the professors fault for not teaching you real life skills, and instead, wasting your time and everyone else's time. The truth is, most college professors have never actually worked in the real world. They simply went from undergrad to grad school, got their PhD then started working at the University. They have no idea what time or value is. </p><p><br /></p><p>Simply put, as a successful person with knowledge to share, it's a complete waste of time to use it on a small audience, when I could just the same, share that information to a large audience. </p><p><br /></p><p>The biggest problem is, if we spend our time answering questions to your small platform, we won't want to repeat ourselves somewhere else, even if the second one will inspire and impact more people. No one likes to repeat themselves, and often once we've put something out in the world, that's it, we won't do it again.</p><p><br /></p><p>Why inspire and impact a few hundred people when your words can impact and thousands? This is why we spend thousands of dollars professionally recording and editing all the talks at the Nomad Summit. We know how valuable our speaker's time is worth, and even though they will inspire and reach 300+ people in person at the event, we want to also give them the potential to reach thousands later on by making it ever green, and linking back to their websites and info. </p><p><br /></p><p>If you have less than 1,000 subscribers or views per video, work on getting that number up first before you reach out to successful people. I'll explain more down below on how to build up an audience from zero. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zLkgtr5OZLg" width="640"></iframe></div>
<p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Am I Greedy?</h2><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>You're the greedy one for thinking anyone who's time is valuable will take the time to answer your survey or interview if it's not going to help a lot of people. This is true especially because a 5-minute interview or survey, never takes just 5 minutes, and a 30 minute interview usually ends up draining your entire morning or afternoon.</p><p><br /></p><p>It takes the same amount of time to email back and forth, set up a zoom call, test the equipment to make sure it works, to schedule a small interview that reaches 100 people, as it does a large one that reaches 10,000 or more.</p><p><br /></p><p>The other issue is that all research surveys are inherently skewed as no one who actually values their time takes them. So you're left with results from a handful of people who either aren't successful or otherwise aren't worth listening to in the first place, making it an even bigger waste of everyone's time.</p><p><br /></p><p>So instead of asking someone to do an anonymous survey for your research paper, tell them that it'll be emailed out to 3,000 university students and will be linked back to your website from the .edu blog which will give them credibility and some trust. </p><p><br /></p><p>If I was actually greedy with my time, I wouldn't have wasted 40 minutes writing this blog post to share this knowledge. I would have just ignored your email or message and left you in the dark. I'm writing this because hopefully it changes the way people reach out to those who have knowledge worth sharing. </p><p><br />Stop wasting our time, even reading your email, needing to decline, or delete your message is a waste of their mental and physical energy. Don't "follow up" a week later and definitely don't send a third email that's not answered as usually that goes to spam. We often feel bad for doing so as you may be a nice person or are doing it for a good cause, stop putting us in that position. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LaZVpHIGr_w" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">How to get Successful People to Say YES</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The easiest way is to promise (and actually deliver) a good use of their time. </div><div><br /></div><div>Grow your audience first by interviewing other people who have just started out, or better yet, do case studies on successful people by going through their past interviews, blog posts, or writings. </div><div><br /></div><div>Six years ago, when my audience was too small and I was still not big enough to get an interview from people like Charles Ngo on my podcast or blog, I decided to instead, write a blog post to share information he had already put out publicly.</div><div><br /></div><div>It helped him reach a bigger audience. I linked back to his website. And it added value to both my audience and his. You can <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2015/07/charles-ngo-on-how-to-be-millionaire-by.html" target="_blank">read that article here.</a> Best of all, I didn't need his permission to write it, and you don't need Warren Buffet's permission to summarize his books, posts, or interviews. If it creates value, you can rewrite it as a nice article, add some photos or video and repost it to your site as a piece of unique content. </div><div><br /></div><div>A few years later when my audience was big enough and I had earned his respect, I reached out to him and asked him to come on my podcast as guest. He happily said yes to the interview, and he said on it that he had googled him name, read the post and was happy with it as it was positive, accurate and linked back to his site. You can listen at <a href="https://www.travellikeabosspodcast.com/episodes/ep-258-charles-ngo-success-mindset-and-staying-productive" target="_blank">Travel Like a Boss Ep 258</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>If I had asked him a few years prior, before he knew who I was and that I had a large reach and delivered value, he would have ignored my email like he does most interviews.</div><div><br /></div><div>So next time you want to reach out to someone, ask yourself honestly first, "How Can I Make it Worth Their Time?" or "How can I provide value first, and show them i'm not a leecher." <br /><br /></div><div>If the answer is I can't yet, then instead, case study them and write a profile from the information they've already shared. Here's another one I did with <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2015/05/what-grant-cardone-taught-me-about.html" target="_blank">Grant Cardone</a> that he ended up retweeting and sharing to his audience. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope this helped and you didn't just skim though it with your mind already made up that I'm an asshole. Trust me, if I didn't care, I wouldn't have taken my time to write this or to share it with you.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/johnny-fd-earning-over-10000-a-month-online-2015-8" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIYyM8jOMgO8RT9B2H7ke69MAcAn1hgkOjwlu1hdIV6zZl5EhodzC4OtaYz6KFPt7uLt2aywo-0KtDVxOeQ5rQP9Y93LxjSVvEzRooZmq2uKyEDNP2vugJjjNe-QJyQd2B6Xer0XbvNM/w640-h400/entreprenuer+johnny+fd.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chynes/2016/07/19/why-digital-nomads-entrepreneurs-keep-choosing-chiang-mai/?sh=66c60ac538ed" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="640" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4lrkyErpnT8tODQouxUeNCHZUAmxFPyeK_lXBNr_Zmehym2l3FKLLVzrxMuv0Jog0fbqF2-bhaHXVf39nxnVE3OLV4B8uU3Q-VNm0IQZZi0TLMgtw5MKZa0M6kwv6LXwQG_WeCJOfSN0/w640-h396/Johnny+FD+Jen+Forbes.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Interviews and Features</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I've been interviewed and featured in big publications like Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fact Company, BBC, and a bunch others all in my <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/p/about.html" target="_blank">About Me</a> page. These big publications I happily say yes to, because they have large audiences and it's absolutely worth my time to spread my knowledge, experience and expertise. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, I've also said yes to many smaller publications, blogs, podcasts and youtube videos as well if you do a search for my name. But the reason why I said yes to those is because there was some other type of value, such as reaching an audience outside of the normal digital nomad community. A professional photoshoot, or videographer that comes along with it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sometimes I also say yes because it's a podcast that I see a lot of growth potential in, but even then, I tell people to ask me again after they've published 10 episodes and have gotten 10 reviews on iTunes. If they can't even do that, it's just not worth my time as 90% of interviews are never even published or heard by anyone, especially when they're from a new content producer. Even John Lee Dumas admitted that he almost though away 50 interviews when he first started Entrepreneur on Fire as he was too worried about getting started. I feel bad for those 50 people he almost wasted the time of by almost not publishing. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfg8APXYIjTYruexdPCv_NouFB_3IXxvJAj8ontB1xQw8WwBbOsNY-Yi_v6hnq8VqT6SpAkQP0cY454PtL6plzV15Sn9FoKemNM-WIk6n9v_mkvinYOPUirYXLDFBhS13KbDd_CFzETwA/s3088/IMG_9140.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2316" data-original-width="3088" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfg8APXYIjTYruexdPCv_NouFB_3IXxvJAj8ontB1xQw8WwBbOsNY-Yi_v6hnq8VqT6SpAkQP0cY454PtL6plzV15Sn9FoKemNM-WIk6n9v_mkvinYOPUirYXLDFBhS13KbDd_CFzETwA/w640-h480/IMG_9140.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Best Wishes and I hope it's a YES!</div><div><br /></div><div>Johnny FD</div><div><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-75501382660631277772021-02-13T01:05:00.003-08:002021-02-14T18:31:38.367-08:00Why I Spent AN ENTIRE YEAR in Sri Lanka 🇱🇰<p>It's crazy to think about it, but it's been over a year since I first landed here in Sri Lanka back on February 6th, 2020. Even crazier is that this is the longest I've spent in any single country since I first started traveling and living aboard full time in 2008. It's been on one hand one of the best years of my life, as well as one of the worst. Sri Lanka itself is like what Bali or Thailand was like 20 years ago. And even today, you see the juxtaposition of modern and old, good and bad, poor and rich, everywhere. </p><p><br /></p><p>These experiences may end up being an entire book one day, as in this past year I've seen and done more in this country than possibly anyone who has ever lived or traveled here. I've done it all from exploring ancient temples, living in local villages, safari camping, cooking, hiking, to scuba diving in the ocean, and even learning to fly a plane across the air. I've stayed in both homestays as well as 5-star luxury resorts all the way from the Capital of Colombo, throughout the South, and all the way up and down the East Coast then far north to Jaffna. It's been a crazy year, and I'll highlight my favorite places and what life has been like here with Covid19, the Visa process, and what it was like living here for so long. This is my one year in Sri Lanka mega blog post. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7D4mJlLJQlqPiKi04Fvcm-7iFjRsvko7WlJU3dq_azhHK5XY4ua9bs8SYnVwenPa7Odv5wFZ7Y8uKHYs8hbvsGskPok2_qdZcm7uYfpXH5adifz46ziYMOMnZngaGkRuatXF1CLDGrL4/s2048/Sri+Lanka+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7D4mJlLJQlqPiKi04Fvcm-7iFjRsvko7WlJU3dq_azhHK5XY4ua9bs8SYnVwenPa7Odv5wFZ7Y8uKHYs8hbvsGskPok2_qdZcm7uYfpXH5adifz46ziYMOMnZngaGkRuatXF1CLDGrL4/w640-h480/Sri+Lanka+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">1 Year Sri Lankan Visa</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Funny enough, I actually arrived in Sri Lanka on a 30 day tourist visa and have now been here for over a year without needing to leave the country or ever visiting the immigration office even once. Hopefully things will get even easier in the near future as the government has proposed it but currently the way tourist visas work is you apply for an <a href="https://www.eta.gov.lk/slvisa/visainfo/center.jsp" target="_blank">Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA)</a> online a few days before you are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka. It's basically an online visa that's actually quite simple to do and costs around $40 for most countries that can be paid online. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Once you get it, you can arrive in Sri Lanka on a 30 day tourist visa, which then you can extend either through an agent like <a href="immigrationlanka.com " target="_blank">Immigration Lanka</a> who i've used many times, or you can go to the immigration office in Colombo to extend for 3 months at a time. The only annoying and confusing thing is that pricing is all over the place depending on what passport you hold. Americans pay $100 while Germans pay $25. Even more confusing is that citizens from Nepal have to pay $30 while Pakistanis pay just 75 cents. The only good thing is that you can do it all online through an agent who will send a courier to pick up, then drop off your passport at your hotel and you can pay everything through <a href="https://transferwise.com/invite/u/johnnyj2" target="_blank">Transferwise</a> online. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I am extremely grateful that even though normally you can only extend your tourist visa up to 6 months total before leaving the country, that because of Covid19 and the travel bans, Sri Lanka has allowed us to extend up to 15 months total, which is a bit over a year. My visa now expires on May 7th, 2020. This has been a super welcoming blessing compared to other countries like Thailand, Indonesia, or Vietnam which have made it difficult, uncertain, expensive or complicated for foreigners to stay long term during this past crazy year. At times when the immigration office was officially closed for months at a time during the peak pandemic, Sri Lanka even issued everyone an automatic extension. Here are some of my friends who have all stayed in the country for over 1 year now! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-XAGHwaArEOxdh12bpQNxJXmlBpTp2O5NAbL5k1duCZV4hLw3MBwiIaQS3ki0l5ImbACNahu2ow_VLmskPKYGjxGmrORgDgZ5H3y24axwkdxNxBxHRxUL-Cjx3eXK_bwrxnGQ36kASI/s2048/IMG_8829.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-XAGHwaArEOxdh12bpQNxJXmlBpTp2O5NAbL5k1duCZV4hLw3MBwiIaQS3ki0l5ImbACNahu2ow_VLmskPKYGjxGmrORgDgZ5H3y24axwkdxNxBxHRxUL-Cjx3eXK_bwrxnGQ36kASI/w640-h480/IMG_8829.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Why I'm Still Here</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My original flight was booked for April 1st to fly from Colombo to Kyiv, Ukraine, but that got canceled due to the world being closed. Now that the airport is officially open again, and travel from Sri Lanka is unrestricted to Ukraine, I could technically hop on a plane tomorrow. The only issue is that it's the middle of winter and even though guys like Harald Baldr and Bald and Bankrupt are brave enough to weather the -18c/0 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, I'm definitely not. Maybe if I was born in Norway or the UK like those brave lads, but as a California kid, living in Thailand for the past 10 years, I really don't think I'd manage it. </div><div><br /><br />That combined with Sri Lanka being paradise right now with few tourists, perfect weather, empty beaches, great surfing, and 80% off accommodations, I'd feel stupid leaving. Life is so good and affordable right now, I left my beach front villa empty this weekend just to stay in another beachfront property half an hour away as it was only 3,000lkr ($15.50usd) a night. The sad thing is that most expats and travelers still here aren't earning much money and don't have savings or investments, so even these ultra good values are out of their budget. That means that luxury hotel rooms, and private villas that normally go for $100-$250 a night are sat empty, even if they are 80% off right now. Being one of the few tourists who can actually afford it, I feel like it'd be silly not to take advantage of the amazing deals, especially since as discounted as they are, the property owners are still grateful for someone to stay in them.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>During my time here I've also managed to grow a large Youtube audience <a href="https://youtube.com/johnnyfd" target="_blank">on my channel</a> that is interested in traveling Sri Lanka or coming back here once things are fully opened up again. While only 35% of my audience is viewing from within Sri Lanka itself, a lot of my viewers are expats or migrant workers living overseas with roots in the country. A big part of my viewers from the UK, UAE, and Canada are most likely Sri Lankans living and working overseas or those born here who have immigrated. I have no idea what'll happen to my Youtube revenue and views once I move to Ukraine or whatever the next country will be, as I'm sure there'll be a large drop off. And last but not least, I really love the people in the country, both the appreciation from the locals who are happy that I'm promoting and showing their country to the world, as well as the foreigners who are all unique as they've chosen to stay here for now over 1 year like myself instead of panic flying home during the pandemic. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aEGlrW963OA" width="640"></iframe></div>
</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Favorite Highlights</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There's been so much I've seen and done here in Sri Lanka in the past year, but my favorite places and things I've done, in no particular order off the top of my head would include:</div><div><br /><br /><br />Surfing in Arugam Bay (<a href="https://youtu.be/7Wbg2QT1kpI" target="_blank">Video</a>)</div><div>The Elephant Gathering in Minneriya (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O6b7Vm8ucs&ab_channel=JohnnyFD" target="_blank">Video</a>)</div><div>Sri Lankan Sunsets (<a href="https://youtu.be/ifSnY7dALI0" target="_blank">Video</a>)</div><div>Little England (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_xYqP3fZh4&ab_channel=JohnnyFD" target="_blank">Video</a>)</div><div>Ancient City of Polonnaruwa (<a href="https://youtu.be/1MNVL06c0po" target="_blank">Video</a>)</div><div>Yacht Life on Sail Lanka (<a href="https://youtu.be/NoHg0GO6uD0" target="_blank">Video</a>)</div><div>Snorkeling in Pigeon Island (scuba diving footage <a href="https://youtu.be/mnXnh6WFYao" target="_blank">Video</a>)<br />Pasikuda Beach (<a href="https://youtu.be/QxNbkTNB5TA" target="_blank">Video</a>)<br />Meeting Buddist Monks (<a href="https://youtu.be/qI3MeOX5Ixk" target="_blank">Video</a>)<br />Seeing a Hindu Temple (<a href="https://youtu.be/lwzlykqKYNs" target="_blank">Video</a>)<br />Restaurants in Colombo (<a href="https://youtu.be/pzCjfAVy6cE" target="_blank">Video</a>)<br />Beach Camping (<a href="https://youtu.be/huSkp0RMHuk" target="_blank">Video</a>)</div><div>Scooter Road Trip (<a href="https://youtu.be/xHCSy7MR1Uo" target="_blank">Video</a>)<br />Horton Plains (<a href="https://youtu.be/qeR3pOCgZxg" target="_blank">Video</a>)<br />King's Outdoor Bath (<a href="https://youtu.be/TIR1032JYrM" target="_blank">Video</a>)</div><div>Train Ride from Nuwara Eliya (<a href="https://youtu.be/ppeHHnYu7sA" target="_blank">Video</a>)</div><div>Motorbike Adventures (<a href="https://youtu.be/6RM2pVmPgPU" target="_blank">Video</a>)<br />Flying a Plane (Video coming soon)<br />Yala Safari (Video coming soon)<br /><br /><br />I'm sure there are tons of other amazing things I've done that didn't make it to the top 20 list, but those are some of the highlights. The only downsides to a lot of the amazing things I did this year was a lot of the positive experiences being ruined by things like crazy bus drivers almost killing us on the road, as in almost running us off a cliff and ending our lives, to getting overcharged for things or having to waste our energy bargaining just to get the true price. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's hard to explain, but little things like needing to waste energy bargaining with a tuk-tuk driver who is trying to charge us 3x the real price, or having the ticket seller to Pigeon Island try to pocket and extra 4,000lkr just because they didn't think we would count our charge or check the receipt really puts a sour taste in your mouth even after an otherwise fantastic day. But at the end of the day, that's Sri Lanka, as well as many other developing nations. The ruggedness is part of the charm, but it's also part of the annoyance and danger. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6RM2pVmPgPU" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Favorite Places in Sri Lanka</h2><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Colombo</b> - Skip it when you first arrive and instead, head straight down to the nicer beaches in the South or East Coast. You'll only want to visit Colombo if you'll be in the country for the while and want to experience some high end hotels, spas, or eat at great restaurants. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>South Sri Lanka</b> - From Hikkaduwa to Mirissa you'll find great beaches, a chilled vibe and lots going on during the months of November - April. Weligama is perhaps the easiest and safest place in the world to learn how to surf as you have warm waters, surf board rentals/instructors directly on the beach, and sandy bottoms without reef or rocks to worry about.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Arugam Bay (East)</b> - I absolutely LOVE this town. It's popular with surfers and travelers from around May/June to August depending on the weather and surf. By far the best surfing in Sri Lanka and some of the best in the world for intermediate to advanced surfers. If it's your first time, I'd recommend starting in Weligama as you'll have a hard time learning in Arugam. It's possible, but it won't be easy as there are big waves. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Trincomalee/Pasikuda/Nilaveli (East) </b>- Much more beautiful than the south and Pigeon island has the only great snorkeling in Sri Lanka. Worth the trip during the season. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Yala/Minneriya/Udawalawe (Safaris)</b> - Absolutely worth it. The Elephant Gathering in Minneriya by far the best to see lots of Elephants. Yala for the 5-10% chance of seeing a Leopard, but every safari has it's charms. Go to ones that are less popular. Skip Pinnawala.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa</b> (ancient cities) - Go to Polonnaruwa if you want to see beautiful ancient ruins and the Angkor Wat of Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura and the Temple of the Tooth is good for religious history, but can be skipped otherwise. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Sigiriya Fortress</b> - Research the history before going to truly appreciate it, otherwise the $30 ticket for foreigners may make you wonder why it's only 25 cents for locals. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Jaffna and the North</b> - Go there for culture and to see a different side of Sri Lanka. But you can skip it otherwise as there are no major attractions or must sees. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><b>Scuba Diving</b> - Sri Lanka is a fine place to learn and get Open Water certified (SSI is better than PADI) or a discovery dive, but for experienced divers, there isn't that much to see here. Go to nearby Maldives. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><b>Kalpitiya</b> - Go for kitesurfing from May to October or mid-December to mid-March.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Ella and Nuwara Eliya</b> - Both are great to go to after you've spent a month at the beach and want to change of pace. Ella is great for low budget travelers, while Nuwara Eliya is amazing if you have some money to spend. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Other Beaches</b> - The great thing about Sri Lanka is the fact that the entire coast is literally surrounded by beaches, many of them unexplored and not yet popular. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><center>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1MNVL06c0po" width="640"></iframe>
</center><center><br /><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-jReZhawePQ" width="640"></iframe></center><center><br /><br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6O6b7Vm8ucs" width="640"></iframe><br /><br />
</center>
<div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><h2 style="text-align: left;">Tips and Travel Suggestions</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>After being here for an entire year I can confidently suggest a few itineraries for anyone who wants to visit Sri Lanka either on vacation as a short term holiday, or to spend a few months here as a digital nomad, surfer, or long term tourist or expat. The first thing you'll want to do is make sure you come with all of the tech and Apple products you'll need while staying here as prices for things are 30% more than they would be back home. Make sure you come with 1-3 backup credit and ATM cards as some banks like Capital One have refused to ship me a replacement card to this country. The good news is that unlike Bali where ATM scams, robberies, break ins and theft against tourists are common, things are very safe here and not something you need to worry about.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As for WIFI, my advice is to completely forget about finding good WIFI in most places and default to using 4G on your phone and tethering to your laptop. The telcom companies here as of early 2021 still don't offer hotels or businesses unlimited WIFI so 99.9% of the time you're basically tethering off of their 4G modems anyways. Mobitel has the best 4G signal strength, reception, and is far cheaper. Activate the 3 unlimited packages: Social, Youtube, and Messenger deals each month. When you plan on doing a lot of work, or data use, use the Mobitel Selfcare app to activate the 3 hours unlimited option for 60lkr (34cents). I know it sounds like a big hassle, especially compared to WIFI, and I hope things change in the future, but for now, it's really not that big of a deal or hassle. I spend around 3,000lkr ($15usd) a month on Mobitel and tether 24/7 without running out of data using the system above. Dialog would would drain super quickly and run out regardless of how big of a package I bought which is why I switched. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you're planning to come for just 1-2 weeks, I'd honestly skip Sri Lanka unless you plan on flying through here to go to or from the Maldives. The best trips will be 1-2 months if you want to see everything. If you surf, want to escape the winter back home, or otherwise stay long term, I'd recommend staying 3-6 months and spending a few weeks or a month in each location. Sri Lanka is an amazing country filled with history, culture, and natural beauty. Feel free to ask me anything in the comments below about your trip, things to do, or any other FAQs I can add to the blog post or answer below. I hope you come and enjoy it as much as I have.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/06/6-months-in-sri-lanka-travel-surf-and.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-31Su-sOwLupokryPqirBuDnSnAby0WdURhqMT7eO7IaDBmu1cnBZAlHI-LR1XIPHkDMIOl_bXut9RZ_p0Y2wa0Dx19JFSS4OvPwrjPaV91EIl4jzjc9Pb_zaqQuOWMONro43wZatpmI/w640-h428/Travel+Sri+Lanka+.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Read next, my <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/06/6-months-in-sri-lanka-travel-surf-and.html" target="_blank">6 months guide to Sri Lanka</a> that has more info about what my first 6 months here was like.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With love from Unawatuna Beach, Sri Lanka,</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br />Johnny FD</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-85735675872779550812021-01-31T23:25:00.010-08:002021-01-31T23:25:59.156-08:00January 2021: Expenses, Income, Youtube Earnings, and Goals Recap.<p>Happy February everyone. I'm sure that this year so far has been just as strange for you as it's been for me. The funny thing is, for the past six months or so, people kept wishing for 2021 to arrive already and for Trump to leave office. But I knew that nothing would magically change or suddenly get better just because there's a different president sitting in the oval office, or there being a different date in the calendar. Both the good and bad things that happen to us are often more in our control, or out of our control than we think. Either way, the world will revolve around us, and both good and bad things will continue to happen, it's up to us how we navigate through them, react, and push forth regardless. </p><p><br /></p><p>This was the first month of me being single again in over half a year. Kristina and I first started dating June of 2020 and it's largely been wonderful and extremely comfortable. The biggest problem was that we both got too comfortable and I started to get lazy and a bit too content. Before we started dating I was surfing regularly, working out consistently, eating relatively healthy, spending money frugally, surfing, and in overall good financial, mental, and physical shape. I hadn't drank alcohol in almost 1 year, wasn't eating sweets, and that all slowly went downhill being in a comfortable relationship with someone who loved desserts, ice cream, cake, and comfort. This month being single again, I'm happy to report that I'm back to my normal self, have lost weight, started surfing again, and have cut down on all of the bad things including sugar, alcohol, and overspending. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpvc8fLFhxm9bBxV_zNdNZXHlrT3_eoxKgbO4QDrRCdAgG58z60LNV6sUu6VhDaxIt29xv5uhTrq0d8evKrzbULBMH1l-0-HjjyjkqZxdVe9BhSweaaFWLnsPWV92UzwJhOsShQcADGw/s2048/january+2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Johnny FD Income 2021" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpvc8fLFhxm9bBxV_zNdNZXHlrT3_eoxKgbO4QDrRCdAgG58z60LNV6sUu6VhDaxIt29xv5uhTrq0d8evKrzbULBMH1l-0-HjjyjkqZxdVe9BhSweaaFWLnsPWV92UzwJhOsShQcADGw/w640-h480/january+2021.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Where I Traveled</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>During the first few days of the month I went from celebrating New Years as a couple at the Marriott and living in a beautiful villa to moving into a small hotel room on the beach for $5 a night. I loved the location as it was right on my favorite beach here in Sri Lanka, and it was located in a very social hangout spot where it was easy to bump into friends on a daily basis. Being able to walk straight out of my bedroom door to the surf break directly in front of my hotel was a huge plus and to me was easily worth one million dollars. Yet since my place was only $160usd a month I was able to keep my things there and not feel bad about leaving my room empty even when I decided to go to Hikkaduwa for a week.</div><div><br /></div><div>As much as I loved moving to Kabalana, it was difficult as Kristina had moved into the hotel on the same beach and I'd accidentally bump into her on most days. It was awkward and hard to clear my head with her living so close by. So when the owner of <a href="https://www.ateasehotel.com/" target="_blank">At Ease Beach Hotel</a> in Hikkaduwa reached out inviting me to come for a stay, I happily said yes just so I could get away from everything and everyone for a while. </div><div><br /></div><div>The funny thing about Hikkaduwa is normally it's the most popular tourist beach in Sri Lanka and always crowded, however during this travel lockdown it has been almost completely empty. All of the tourists who are still living in Sri Lanka have all decided to move to the Ahangama area mainly because there are more villas here with kitchens to rent and since prices are currently so low. In the more popular tourist cities like Hikkaduwa, Mirissa and Unawatuna, most places are designed for short term tourists, which means, most of the accommodation are hotel rooms without kitchen access. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'll be posting a series of three videos on <a href="http://youtube.com/johnnyfd" target="_blank">my Youtube channel</a> in the next week or so about my time in Hikkaduwa, what I did, where I stayed and what I saw. Even though I normally like to have just 1-2 weeks worth of videos in the queue, to keep things relatively live and relevant, I am currently a bit behind schedule and videos are being published 3-4 weeks after they are filmed. If this was a movie production or TV series, that would be considered a super quick turn around, as normally it takes them 1-2 years to edit and publish, but for Youtube people have gotten used to videos being filmed within a few days of publishing.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1KADY42CnDROb6HsxJoSees48RiFQ6IhNLobwWiSNgdMaJp0ESTwM86NQ26egEpepX8xDmosBA7GN2JOjUEbMDHkanWTaamzF5YiX910kGy-7niAdyV7MX2PA57ACvbRfj75QGWxR7s/s2048/IMG_7045.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1KADY42CnDROb6HsxJoSees48RiFQ6IhNLobwWiSNgdMaJp0ESTwM86NQ26egEpepX8xDmosBA7GN2JOjUEbMDHkanWTaamzF5YiX910kGy-7niAdyV7MX2PA57ACvbRfj75QGWxR7s/w640-h480/IMG_7045.JPG" title="Dining alone in Hikkaduwa" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">How Much I Spent</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This month has been amazing for my budget. It's the least amount I've spent in the past 8 months and at this rate, I'll be able to save and invest enough to meet my financial goals before my birthday this July. My Mom just got off the phone with me after finding out that Kristina and I broke up and the first thing she said was that I spent too much money on her, buying gifts, staying in nice places and eating out. I don't regret anything I did or spent as I was always aware of what I was doing, and I'm glad I'm able to leave her with things that make her life better like the gift of vision through glasses that she needed, a better phone so she can create her own Youtube videos and take beautiful photos. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm also glad I got to stay in nice places, eat amazing food, and have these nice experiences that I otherwise wouldn't have done. Some people say that one of the jobs of a beautiful woman is to encourage men to spend money and enjoy life. I think this is partially true as if it wasn't for being in a relationship, I never would have rented that amazing villa or done many of the things that we did. But financially, as you can see from my expenses below, I'm much better off being single. This month I've reduced my living expenses by more than half, especially since being alone, I don't mind staying in cheap accommodations, eating at local restaurants, and living more simply. Also canceling my Dialog WIFI/Mobile subscription and switching to Mobitel has now saved me over $60 a month. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's crazy knowing that I only spent $777 this month which is less than 150,000lkr as I've been use to spending double or triple that amount recently. For most Sri Lankan's that is still a huge amount of money as it's often double or triple what their monthly salaries are, especially outside of Colombo, but for me, I'd be happy to be able to spend so little each month. My biggest expense was the <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2015/11/making-your-mother-cry-time-to-give.html" target="_blank">$1,000 I sent my parents</a> this and every month to help with their retirement. If it wasn't for that responsibility, I could stop working entirely and retire early. Here are all of my expenses for the month of January 2021 and how much I spent in each category, followed by the last video in the series where I'm still together with Kristina. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Beach Hotel: $157.32</div><div>Extra Wifi: $0</div><div>Grocery Stores: $40</div><div>Wine and Alcohol: $40</div><div>Restaurants and Cafes: $350</div><div><br /></div><div>Netflix (HD Plan): $14.06 </div><div>Cell Phone: $25 (Mobitel)</div><div>Surfing: $16</div><div>Scooter Rental: $78.66</div><div>Tire and Repairs: $28.84</div><div>Petrol/Gasoline: $7.87</div><div><br /></div><div>Taxi's and Trains: $15</div><div>Tips, Gifts and Other: $50</div><div>Parent's Retirement: $1,000 </div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Total Expenses for January: $1,777.34</h3></div><div>*huge decrease from $5,832.24 last month</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/owlGcDjjuU4" width="640"></iframe></div></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">My Youtube Earnings</h2><p><br /></p><p>For whatever reasons, my earnings on Youtube have actually decreased since I crossed the 50,000 subscribers mark last month. Part of it is uploading less videos in December and January than I did the months prior but also is the content of the videos itself. This past month, my videos have mainly been about what life has been like living in the South of Sri Lanka instead of what life is like traveling around the country to more popular destinations and topics like <a href="https://youtu.be/ry1MBTaTZik" target="_blank">Nuwara Eliya</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhMZh1kzFhU&ab_channel=JohnnyFD" target="_blank">Angampora</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/M36xE-WeXDA" target="_blank">Sri Lankan Village Life</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/pzCjfAVy6cE" target="_blank">Best Food in Colombo</a>. </p><p><br /></p><p>I went from an all time high of earning $2,623.12 in November 2020, down to $1,640.70 in December, and all the way down to just $1,052.16 this past month in January 2021. To make things worse, my sponsorships with Skillshare and Rosetta Stone have come to the end of the contract. We'll see what my Youtube income is like for February 2021 but as you can see from the charts below January has been the slowest month I've had in a while, and I hope this downward trend doesn't continue or drop below earning $1,000 a month. I've also decided to stop making my monthly income and expenses report videos as it was always such a long day to both write my report here as well as film, edit, and upload. That on top of those videos being unpopular expect for my limited digital nomad audience, it just wasn't worth doing anymore. </p><p><br /></p><p>The most popular video for this month was my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI3MeOX5Ixk&ab_channel=JohnnyFD" target="_blank">visit to the Meth Bo Sewana temple</a> where I asked Buddhist Monks a list of difficult questions like "What is the Meaning of Life" and "How can we be more present." This video went somewhat viral and has gotten over 70,000 views so far. Unfortunately the other videos this month weren't nearly as popular and two of them including the <a href="https://youtu.be/s5GDsRNpkzo" target="_blank">I Crashed my Drone</a> video and the <a href="https://youtu.be/nn8ZEzfCn08" target="_blank">Muay Thai Fitness</a> video didn't do very well as the topic didn't resonate with my audience. I've learned since then that my viewers mostly want to see cool places to visit in Sri Lanka and anything to do with Buddhism. The tough part is there are only so many new places to visit, and it's tough to keep traveling around to make content. Also as much as I appreciate the Buddhist culture and find it interesting, I don't want my channel to be just about that, as I want to explore all of the different sides of the country and not just religion. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlV9pOwI_p-Iu-KQXXthyArlg886qYd5KaVc6gM7jIzr5g6dfnXFo-MMDgT2OGUFuhJen708fo050CfwVdCuoFO8OnosYJEbcrg9mOauSR5oOOl8cjdg6tPQ0VjqTFr864sV9uJYGvRM8/s1940/Screen+Shot+2021-02-01+at+10.57.44+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1940" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlV9pOwI_p-Iu-KQXXthyArlg886qYd5KaVc6gM7jIzr5g6dfnXFo-MMDgT2OGUFuhJen708fo050CfwVdCuoFO8OnosYJEbcrg9mOauSR5oOOl8cjdg6tPQ0VjqTFr864sV9uJYGvRM8/w640-h256/Screen+Shot+2021-02-01+at+10.57.44+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qI3MeOX5Ixk" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Other Online Income</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Aside from Youtube, I am fortunate enough to have built multiple streams of online income over the past few years. I am earning a decent amount from them still, especially this month with my <a href="https://incomeboss.com/p/income-boss/?product_id=393896&coupon_code=BLOGJFD" target="_blank">Income Boss course</a> that had five new signups this month as people wanted to follow a proven roadmap to monetize their online presence, brand and traffic in 2021. </div><div><br /></div><div>I also made a few sales of my two books, <a href="https://amzn.to/3mD8ZXB" target="_blank">12 Weeks in Thailand</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/3ktu2tC" target="_blank">Life Changes Quick</a> this month as the start of the year a lot of people make resolutions to read more and watch less TV. Those two books are also really good at showing you what it took to go from being broke with less than $1,000 in total net worth and no online income to being where I am today. </div><div><br /></div><div>My dropshipping store that I'm a partner with had a slower than recent month, but at $18k in sales it was still considered a good month for January, which is traditionally a slow month after all of the expenses of Christmas and the holidays. If you have been thinking about starting a dropshipping business, I would highly recommend <a href="https://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/webinar/?afmc=fd" target="_blank">watching the free webinar by Anton Kraly</a> as the place to start. It's the course that both myself and my partners watched and followed to build this and the other stores that I've already sold for over $100,000 in profit so far. </div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Total Income: $3,645.86</h3></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9y1Porf7R1WjzjSa-Ew0Ymr0qc8Mte7JHYHRFDli8YBppAFONn7nBpsKnZr8MWlknGX6z2KWj0LHlggcfL7nlHcGewpQxV67N9xLBGlTn0Ac0w_t2ZLKCIvXZiEWl9IaxbSaw3q8rmk/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-02-01+at+12.39.37+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9y1Porf7R1WjzjSa-Ew0Ymr0qc8Mte7JHYHRFDli8YBppAFONn7nBpsKnZr8MWlknGX6z2KWj0LHlggcfL7nlHcGewpQxV67N9xLBGlTn0Ac0w_t2ZLKCIvXZiEWl9IaxbSaw3q8rmk/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-02-01+at+12.39.37+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Final Thoughts</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This really has been an interesting month for me. I started the month in a committed relationship where I was giving my all, but ended the month realizing I was giving it to someone who wasn't a good match for me long term. Here's the blog post where I explain <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2021/01/new-chapter-we-broke-up.html" target="_blank">why we broke up</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Since then, my comfort levels definitely went down. I canceled Netflix as I no longer have a couch or a TV. I stopped eating sweets, ice cream and desserts everyday. I started working out and surfing regularly again and have managed to already lose a few lbs/kilos. </div><div><br /></div><div>I spent less than half of what I normally spent in a month, while having a lot more freedom and free time to work on projects, study languages, and figure out what I want out of life. I don't regret being in a relationship for the past 6 months, but I can now confidently say that I made the right decision. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'l be moving yet again to a new, slightly nicer place for February and March which is also directly on the beach, and paying slightly more. But I think it'll be a good middle ground of what I had and had gotten used to. Follow my journey on <a href="http://instagram.com/johnnyfdk" target="_blank">Instagram @JohnnyFDK</a>, watch my videos on Youtube/JohnnyFD and lets see how this next month unfolds. </div><div><br /></div><div>P.S. Here's an unlisted video I published on my channel that shows what the surf is like right in front of my hotel here in Ahangama/Kabalana Beach. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZaH5_qnt4tc" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With love from Sri Lanka,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;">Johnny FD</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-11302859827989875322021-01-25T21:03:00.004-08:002021-01-26T19:04:32.453-08:00New Chapter: We Broke Up. <p>It's actually been a few weeks since it happened, but I didn't want to make it public just yet. Breakups are hard and they are personal. Also it takes some time to reflect and have it actually settle in for both people. Sometimes people fight and get back together, and other times they have time to reflect back and see that it was the right decision. Being very public on both my YouTube channel as well as on my blog and other social media outlets, people naturally want to know what's going on in my personal life, even though it's my private life. </p><p><br /></p><p>The truth is, all relationships are complicated and even though we think we see things clearly from the outside, at the end of the day, we might only see a tiny fraction of the entire picture. In fact, we often don't even see the whole picture ourselves when we're dating as it doesn't revel itself or the future until we step back and reflect after some time has passed. The important thing is that we learn from each relationship, heal, and be better for the next one. Here are my lessons learned and my future thoughts.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1haOLO3zdIHb1aJvhkzdQsADdwWEL7TYgWMsiQ5QxRo15sjMzfeiFTxawtzdz35gZq_SX-JE8JskahSI0VL6fidtbzwZK3uPC9IN898K1ycUqBhTPCJxZ3KvYAGIqJgIzstTj7vK6GZA/s2048/you.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1haOLO3zdIHb1aJvhkzdQsADdwWEL7TYgWMsiQ5QxRo15sjMzfeiFTxawtzdz35gZq_SX-JE8JskahSI0VL6fidtbzwZK3uPC9IN898K1ycUqBhTPCJxZ3KvYAGIqJgIzstTj7vK6GZA/w640-h480/you.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Why We Broke Up</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The best way to summarize it without getting too personal is that although we were amazing together for the time we met, we ultimately weren't going to be a great lifetime partnership. If you met us in person together, watched out videos, or seen our photos, you might think, wow they were amazing together...and we were, honestly. But being great together during the time, doesn't mean we're great for each other in the future.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We both ultimately have different wants and expectations out of a life partner, and different roles in a relationship. I knew that since we had gotten so close, the next step would be for us to meet each other's parent's and potentially get married. The six months living and traveling together was a great way to figure out if we were meant to be with each other long term, and at the end of the day, we're not.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Part of it is selfish from my part. I know that I'd be okay being single for the rest of my life and that my life would actually be pretty good. Sure it would be missing the love, companionship and support only a partner could bring, but with that also comes with sacrifices and compromises. For me I woke up after doing my <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2021/01/2020-year-in-review-travel-income-goals.html" target="_blank">2020 Year in Review</a> and realized that even though some parts of my life was better and much more comfortable, I was also going backwards away from my goals in other parts. </div><div><br /></div><div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HV3AXXAD7lY" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">The YouTube Channel</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Even though I have been uploading videos since 2009, my channel didn't really start taking off until just before I met Kristina. Aside from my online business and dropshipping videos, it was my "<a href="https://youtu.be/l-3Ug23mDj8" target="_blank">Journey to Arugambay</a>" video that really started taking off and today has close to 50,000 views. Also, the <a href="https://youtu.be/UzUTHLUe2_s" target="_blank">$300 a month Villa tour</a> was also super popular with almost 150,000 views, and both were filmed before Kristina and I met. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But that being said, having her as a big part of my videos these past 6 months has been a wonderful addition. Not only did she help film, hold the camera and co-host sometimes, but also she gave me the motivation to go do cool things as it wouldn't have been as fun doing it solo. I probably never would have done the big scooter trip to Ella by myself or many of the other activities. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The hard part is now there is a big segment of my viewers that will miss her, and my videos defiantly won't be the same without her. It would be like if Rachel or Monica had left the TV Show "Friends" after the 3rd season. Sure the show would go on, but she would for sure be missed. The other hard part is that like a TV show or Movie, these videos take time and effort to edit and upload, which means there is a queue or a buffer before you see them live on Youtube. The above embedded video is scheduled to air live on February 2nd, which is more than 3 weeks since we broke up and it was first filmed. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I normally try to keep the buffer at just 1-2 weeks as that allows me enough time to make sure there are videos in the queue ready, while still having the events be fresh and relevant, but right now things were just backed up, especially with the addition of the Colombo footage that I've been meaning to get out, but never made sense until we actually went back to the city again to release, continuity wise. The funny thing is, some viewers that follow me or her on Instagram or social media already knew that we split, but instead of keeping it to themselves, like they would the ending to a book, movie or TV series that they happened to watch before everyone else, they've been blabbing about it in the comment section of the vlogs and even getting mad that we hadn't disclosed it yet. Below is the last and final video that we filmed as a couple, it was our trip to Colombo together. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ao0my67swcw" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Lessons Learned</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I feel that with every relationship, we can leave it a better person and learn a lot about both what we want and don't want in a life partner, but also about ourselves. I have to thank Kristina for both being a great girlfriend for all of those six months together, being a good, honest and loving person, but especially for leaving me with the greatest gift someone could ever give me. She wrote this long message that describes our relationship and why we broke up better than I ever could have myself, or am able to share.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Normally I'm super open and upfront about my thoughts on things like money, finances, and what I want out of life, but for whatever reason i'm having a hard time sharing about this one. Part of it is that I don't want to say anything that could potentially hurt anyone as I still deeply care about Kristina as a person, but also, I honestly don't know what I want and don't want to commit to writing something down that may change in a few months or a few years. That's why I'm posting the best summery of our relationship, our breakup, and what we learned from each other in the text below. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1MNVL06c0po" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Message from Kristina</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Edit: These are her words, but I deleted some parts of it that were too personal. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;">"Johnny, I feel that the hardest period has passed since our breakup and now I can accept peacefully that “you and me together” from the box “now” is already in the box “the past”. I thought a lot about the fact that you really need another girl, and I need another man. To have family with kids is very important for me. I want to be with the person whom it’s also important for, and who mentally and emotionally is ready for the family and ready to fix not simple things which can be in relationships and then later in a family with kids. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And I want to be healthy in all the aspects including feminine health. Now I just look at our half year of life together as at a wonderful period of my life, for which I am very grateful. You gave me a lot in this relationship, and I wanted to write to you about it. It is difficult for me to keep this inside myself, I feel a strong need to express it. If I won’t do it, it just keeps sitting inside willing to go outside. So I want to let it go and feel free and light. Therefore, you have already received messages from me before and now got one more long message 😄🤪🙈 </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You most likely will not read my long message, because I know you, you are lazy to do it :) From my side it is important for me to say, but whether it will be accepted from the other side is not mine care. I want to say that you helped me a lot in many ways and gave me a lot of new useful information and life insights. For this I am incredibly grateful to you. It seems to me that this is your mission in this life - to change this world for the better and help people. It is in your blood, in the way you react to everything, in your emotionality, your "warrior's anger", in your sensitivity to people and kindness, in any small moment of your behavior: the way you pet a dog and always want to help it and pull out insects, that you want to hug a person, touch to get dopamine and at the same moment to do massage, to heal, to help. It seems to me that you were born for this mission, Mongolian warrior. It came to you through generations from your grandfather and grand-grandfathers. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This strong feeling is felt in you, and you were gifted with just such an emotional character, with great deep sensitivity and vulnerability, and at the same time with strong anger - in order to understand and feel people and to have a lot of angry energy, strength and great desire to help the world. Because changing something is never easy. This needs a lot of energy. And a whole hurricane of energy lives in you! You are gifted with a huge amount of energy! You are very strong, powerful, but at the same time vulnerable.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Therefore, you have another important feature - not to go where you feel that it will be too difficult. This is care of for your psyche so that you do not get something that hurts you too much. These features of yours are your superpower. But each superpower always has two sides - creative and destroying, and both sides can be used both for the good purpose and for the harm. Talking of our relationship, this is for the good. And I wanted to tell you which important lessons you gave me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> + To love and appreciate my personality - you asked me never change.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> + Not to overthinking, not to do things more complicated than they actually are.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> + To know that the way people behave to me in most cases has nothing to do with us. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And thanks to you, I traveled comfortably around the whole island, saw the biggest gathering of Asian elephants, incredibly beautiful old city Polonnaruwa, Sigiriya, we walked among the mountains in paddy fields, pulled off leeches bitches, ate gorgeous dishes in various luxurious places, lived in luxurious, incredibly beautiful places. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You opened to me the world of scuba diving and gave me my first lesson in it - you are the best instructor I could ever get! And then you organized a second dive for me in Unawatuna. You opened to me the techniques of Thai boxing and Brazilian jujitsu even before we went to these classes.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Because from the very beginning you forced me to be in your videos inspite of the fact that I was feeling so shy, you gave me a valuable possibility to learn to be more confident in front of the camera. And watching you how you do it I got a lot of useful information to be able to do videos for myself. You bought me glasses for eyesight, so I could see the beauty to the fullest and to watch movies. You cooked a lot of delicious food for me. You gave me half a year of life of incredibly warm relationship when we were together all the time doing what for both of us is a big passion - travelling!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And I wanted so much to get an experience of such a warm relationship. I dreamed about it for a very long time. I was incredibly happy, that you are so tactile.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">You gave me a relationship full of feelings and an incredibly huge amount of warmth. I just dreamt of such life experience. These memories of such a deep, warm, bright relationship will remain with me forever. Thank you that was in my life 💛"</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUq0y7Ox_9N8YlBAFhliw2dcNEet0-RQ0CtReEuCsUl1kmYAcQwVKz8zmAl5XVZ4HeDR1Nzpn9kjw6SF1cwyve5D5hh7bcZF6cmcW4YBvIpe4qnIlQakzJSTi2M1s8SsCPbWmWUgXjENQ/s4032/IMG_5577.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUq0y7Ox_9N8YlBAFhliw2dcNEet0-RQ0CtReEuCsUl1kmYAcQwVKz8zmAl5XVZ4HeDR1Nzpn9kjw6SF1cwyve5D5hh7bcZF6cmcW4YBvIpe4qnIlQakzJSTi2M1s8SsCPbWmWUgXjENQ/w640-h480/IMG_5577.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Thank you for loving me and understanding me better than anyone ever could have, including myself. I sincerely hope you all the happiness in the world and that we both learn, grow and become even better versions of ourselves for our future relationships, with whoever that may end up being with.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">P.S. If a guy ever hurts you or treats you badly, let me know, and I'll hurt him worse. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">With Love,</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Johnny FD</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-3607001625716131032021-01-13T00:20:00.015-08:002021-02-21T18:52:00.152-08:00Why I Deleted Clubhouse - Invite: Here's an Inside Look and Review.<p> I have two Clubhouse invites if anyone wants one. But before asking, here's why it's not worth your time joining. Here's how the app normally works. You beg for an invite, sign up for their wait list, or try to somehow buy on one ebay or online somewhere. Once you get in, you feel like you're special or part of the cool crowd. </p><p><br /></p><p>The biggest problem with Clubhouse is that it's designed in a way where even if someone with expertize or experience in a topic joins, they have no voice unless they first go through a sort of sorority like pledge week where they have to kiss ass for a while before being able to participate. That means anyone who values their time and isn't trying to be cool, brag or sell you something, will just leave without wasting their time going through the pledge process. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunAyS366VpzYUTH7LdsXEWjhufez_gUwxAE1FP3vQSUG7ZDdVVjGasGnrd3Yh697xwgnQHEdWZrh0Af_pCR9_h7ObvE8x75IHMeNdA3gFobknFqPogsKg4Fp6Jo7GjMjSECidMSnS_PA/s2048/clubhouse+invite.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunAyS366VpzYUTH7LdsXEWjhufez_gUwxAE1FP3vQSUG7ZDdVVjGasGnrd3Yh697xwgnQHEdWZrh0Af_pCR9_h7ObvE8x75IHMeNdA3gFobknFqPogsKg4Fp6Jo7GjMjSECidMSnS_PA/w640-h360/clubhouse+invite.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">So how does it work? </h2><div><br /></div><p>Well, once you get in, you should follow a bunch of people on there who are bragging about how smart or rich they are, while throwing in "I'm here to serve" at the end so they sound grateful. </p><p><br /></p><p>As an audience member, you need to "raise your hand" like you're in kindergarten and pray you get called on to have our 30 seconds to speak. In that time you'll try to sound as smart, accomplished and rich as you can so other's will follow you so you have social cred on your side. <br /><br /></p><p>Then try to get enough people to follow you back so you can then become a "speaker" or host your own clubhouse, so you can be on the mic to brag to everyone about how smart or rich you are (even if you're neither). </p><p><br /></p><p>The #1 biggest reason why I hate Clubhouse is because that 99% of the time the talks on there are a complete waste of time and a bragging show, but the once in a while guests that come on like Naval or Elon Musk waste their time by having their GREAT conversations by not being recorded. These conversations would have been much better put into a Podcast or a Youtube video for instead of a few thousand people to listen to and gain knowledge from, it would have been a few million and evergreen.</p><p>If this Naval episode on JRE took place on Clubhouse, it would be forever lost and not recorded. Luckily it was on BOTH a podcast and Youtube. You can watch and learn from it now.</p><p><br /></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3qHkcs3kG44" width="640"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Clubhouse App Review</h2><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Every time I log into Clubhouse i'm reminded why I left America, especially big cities like SF, LA, and NY. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">It's filled with pretentious people who spend more time making up fancy titles for themselves, and brag about who they know, the deals they're working on, etc. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Here's the biggest problem with Clubhouse. It's a platform where you get a bunch of fluff and BS motivation. Most "speakers" have the mic for 30 seconds or so before passing the mic, which means it's just enough time to pitch a quick few one liners and fluff pieces without ever having to get into anything deep.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">People are asking for advice on how to start an Ecommerce business, and even before asking them any of their background, what they're good at, how they can create or add real value, they just spit out a piece of generic advice that sounds good but won't help anyone.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">The biggest problem with Clubhouse is that it's not what you know, or what you've achieved, it's simply how many followers you can rack up and who else you know on the platform. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">To get followers you just simply start following a lot of other people and kiss a lot of ass. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Then once you get the mic, or create your profile, you want to exaggerate and make it sound like you're better than you are. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">Out of the 40 speakers in the "Ask a Millionaire a Question" chat as an example, the majority of them have nothing but debt and there's a big possibility that none of them are actually net worth millionaires. And even if a few of them are, their 30 second pitches aren't going to actually be of any good advice to you as it's just fluff and they don't have the time to actually get to know you or your situation. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdtk2dA_N8AQeEPtkyB9OPvTeH8ua3emUxQ1Bsf4I1TK5gJy2KNHJE1NB1tMdOVWhtzkt3ob-siD5auw_nrxhrh-ldWa6iKRtJbYhAMrSobAwM2dHSqr5AL93ICRlELUZ5dfhDL7Qzas/s2048/Clubhouse.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2026" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdtk2dA_N8AQeEPtkyB9OPvTeH8ua3emUxQ1Bsf4I1TK5gJy2KNHJE1NB1tMdOVWhtzkt3ob-siD5auw_nrxhrh-ldWa6iKRtJbYhAMrSobAwM2dHSqr5AL93ICRlELUZ5dfhDL7Qzas/w634-h640/Clubhouse.jpg" width="634" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">More Inside Intel</h2><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">A friend of mine was kind enough to DM me and explain in a bit more detail how I could use Clubhouse. It's filled with good information, so I want to share it. Here's how the conversation went and my response. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Hey Johnny! I’m going to shift to DM coz I really genuinely think you might have misunderstood how clubhouse works / don’t know all the features! </p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">Not trying to change your mind about it (i only use it once a week or so, so I’m not a superfan), but since the reasons you mention why you don’t like it seem to stem from using it sub-optimally I feel genuinely want to bring these points up in case they are helpful for you:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">1. You CAN create content for others to hear - I’m so confused why you think you can’t! Here’s where you set up your own event / room:</p><p style="text-align: left;">2. You can also set up your own Club (eg. Travel like a boss / Digital Nomads / whatever you want). The only one related to digital nomads right now is this one, so there’s tons of space for you to be the leader in this niche:</p><p style="text-align: left;">3. Your point about only being able to speak if someone calls on you to raise your hand is like complaining you can’t jump up on stage at a conference from the audience to join a panel 😂 The best way to be a speaker is to reach out to someone in advance to ask to be a cohost. You have a massive following off clubhouse so it’s an easy leverage point for you. Co-hosting is also the fastest way for you to build followers, and with your profile and experience you really could be a major influencer on clubhouse very quickly.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Anyway I’ll leave it there haha, like I said I’m not trying to convince you it’s a good platform (I don’t give a shit what social networks people use 😂) I just wanted to make sure you know how to use it properly coz it pains me to see people miss opportunities based on faulty intel!</p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: bold; text-align: left;"><b>My Response:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">1. No one will see or enter your room unless you already have followers/are following others, or promote it off the app. It's a waste of my time to sit around in an empty room hoping for people to come in. And i'm 100% not going to waste my time following 1,000 people in hopes they follow me back so I can have some social cred. </div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">2. I don't want to push my audience to an app that 99% of people can't even access to, I think it's elitist and rude. Also if I wanted to arrange a talk with my audience, I would just set up a Zoom call or a webinar. Why in the world would I push them to an open platform like Clubhouse where they can get lost to some shiny object. It's like ecommerce retailers who send their customers to an Amazon page filled with other cheaper knockoffs, or a hotel sending their customers to booking.com instead of having them checkout on their own site. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">3. Clubhouse positions itself as an app where everyone can be part of the conversation. But in reality, it's an elitist club where you need to know someone or kiss a lot of ass to be part of the conversation. I'm sure I could become a "major influencer" on Clubhouse, but it's a waste of my time. I don't see why anyone does it unless they are trying to push something like an MLM, Cyrpto ICO or drive up their ego on an exclusive invite only closed app.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">4. Even if someone goes on Clubhouse with good intentions and genuinely knows what they are talking about, the information they give on their talk is quickly lost to anyone who wasn't online and live at the time. Naval gave a great talk about why $USD is still the winner right now and what Crypto would need to ever surpass it, but that talk isn't recorded. Instead if Naval had simply used Youtube or a Podcast as the medium instead of Clubhouse, Millions of people today would have access to that information instead of just a few thousand lucky ones.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vB4Lvxen-uo_bCBslBRwP7Fg75F845AxqYsBxoylLUbJuaETunSoNnbE-_CdSMIkYNQv9Q9lPm8FioFZXTrZX6SALrsbAkKXgV4zgNNcuKXNZjZQylPmMC9dPWB73uFjukfC3gCzsyQ/s300/download.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vB4Lvxen-uo_bCBslBRwP7Fg75F845AxqYsBxoylLUbJuaETunSoNnbE-_CdSMIkYNQv9Q9lPm8FioFZXTrZX6SALrsbAkKXgV4zgNNcuKXNZjZQylPmMC9dPWB73uFjukfC3gCzsyQ/s0/download.jpeg" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p>
</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"></p><div style="text-align: left;">I love learning from <a href="https://twitter.com/naval?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@naval</a> but his lessons are now lost to those who weren't able to listen live and didn't have an invite to Clubhouse.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A recorded podcast like this is helps 1,000,000+ people verses a few thousand: <a href="https://t.co/am20DZcDkH">https://t.co/am20DZcDkH</a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">— Johnny FD (@JohnnyFDK) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnnyFDK/status/1353207644778065921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2021</a></div></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h2><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Final Thoughts on Clubhouse</h2><p style="text-align: left;"> </p><p style="text-align: left;">The majority of the rooms seem like they were made by kids who peaked in High School and still want to be part of the cool crowd. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">You don't need an invite to Clubhouse to be cool, or part of the "in crowd." Don't waste your time. I wish I never wasted my time with it.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">If you want to learn something, watch it on Youtube or listen to a long form podcast episode where the speakers didn't to jump though hoops to try to get a few seconds on a mic along side a bunch of broke idiots who have never actually completed anything in their lives besides adding "Founder" or "Bitcoin Investor" to their profiles.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">The #1 biggest reason why I hate Clubhouse is because that 99% of the time the talks on there are a complete waste of time and a bragging show, but the once in a while guests that come on like Naval or Elon Musk waste their time by having their GREAT conversations by not being recorded. These conversations would have been much better put into a Podcast or a Youtube video for instead of a few thousand people to listen to and gain knowledge from, it would have been a few million and evergreen.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Luckily, Clubhouse is only popular because large scale, live, in person events aren't possible right now due to travel and gathering restrictions. But people know that drop in audio is no substitute for being there in person, getting to meet and shake hands with the speakers, and meet follow attendees in person. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">How would you rather listen to your favorite band, singer or artist preform? <br /><br />The same should apply to interviews and talks. <br /><br />Live in Person is Conferences. <br />Streamed Live with Video is Youtube/Zoom. <br />Streamed Live Audio only is Clubhouse.<br />Recorded Pro Studio is Podcasts.</p>— Johnny FD (@JohnnyFDK) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnnyFDK/status/1363317159296782340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c-Ga4LL6f0c" width="640"></iframe>
<p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Follow Me: </h2><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Twitter@<a href="http://twitter.com/johnnyfdk" target="_blank">JohnnyFDK</a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Facebook: <a href="http://facebook.com/johnnyfdk" target="_blank">JohnnyFDK</a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Instagram: <a href="http://instagram.com/johnnyfdk" target="_blank">JohnnyFDK</a></p><p style="text-align: left;">Youtube: <a href="http://Youtube.com/johnnyfd" target="_blank">JohnnyFD</a></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">Travel Like a Boss Podcast</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Invest Like a Boss Podcast</div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><strike>Clubhouse</strike>: JohnnyFD</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">*I've deleted the Clubhouse App. You won't find me there.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Warm Regards,</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Johnny FD</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-43795967443500547002021-01-01T06:25:00.006-08:002021-01-02T18:26:12.429-08:002020 Year in Review! (Travel, Income, Goals, Expenses) <p>If you haven't taken the time to sit down and review your previous year, take this as inspiration to do so yourself. Tim Ferriss has said "Forget New Year's Resolutions and Conduct a 'Past Year Review' Instead" for good reason, it's much more effective. I'm a big believer that the number one reason why New Year Resolutions don't work is because it's easy to be optimistic for something you want in the future, before you actually have to do any of the work. That's the same reason why 90% of people who sign up for a gym membership on January 1st stop going by February. </p><p><br /></p><p>Instead, I like to look back, going through my calendar similar to the way Tim does it, and reflect back on what I've done, where I was each month, and what the positives and negatives were. For him, he focuses on looking on emotions and to eliminate the bad ones and add the 20% that triggered 80% of the best emotions. For me, I focus on where I was happiest, healthiest, and most productive. As with each year i'll look into if I was in better or worse shape, in better or worse relationships, friendships, and financially better or worse off. Lets see if 2020 has increased or decreased my total debt, networth, income, expenses, waistline, relationships, and overall happiness. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5lhPtdBWE9iJJc3CXWcQKkgqWrDtDMwb6PZQqUd911HMuDmLRDZvCOTyEaFdQPSF0gJ-mZmbZnW-7pcSh2WHegZIjGV9eRO-IcZJn6ySDci31rZp9lS3D23pnf088kODfm18o2Y1hnY/s1732/2020+Year+in+Review.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1155" data-original-width="1732" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5lhPtdBWE9iJJc3CXWcQKkgqWrDtDMwb6PZQqUd911HMuDmLRDZvCOTyEaFdQPSF0gJ-mZmbZnW-7pcSh2WHegZIjGV9eRO-IcZJn6ySDci31rZp9lS3D23pnf088kODfm18o2Y1hnY/w640-h426/2020+Year+in+Review.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">How Tim Ferriss Does It: </h2><div><br /></div><p>I’m often asked about how I approach New Year’s resolutions. The truth is that I no longer approach them at all, even though I did for decades. Why the change? I have found “past year reviews” (PYR) more informed, valuable, and actionable than half-blindly looking forward with broad resolutions. I did my first PYR after a mentor’s young daughter died of cancer on December 31st, roughly eight years ago, and I’ve done it every year since. It takes 30-60 minutes and looks like this:</p><p>Grab a notepad and create two columns: POSITIVE and NEGATIVE.</p><p>Go through your calendar from the last year, looking at every week.</p><p>For each week, jot down on the pad any people or activities or commitments that triggered peak positive or negative emotions for that month. Put them in their respective columns.</p><p>Once you’ve gone through the past year, look at your notepad list and ask, “What 20% of each column produced the most reliable or powerful peaks?”</p><p>Based on the answers, take your “positive” leaders and schedule more of them in the new year. Get them on the calendar now! Book things with friends and prepay for activities/events/commitments that you know work. It’s not real until it’s in the calendar. That’s step one. Step two is to take your “negative” leaders, put “NOT-TO-DO LIST” at the top, and put them somewhere you can see them each morning for the first few weeks of 2019. These are the people and things you *know* make you miserable, so don’t put them on your calendar out of obligation, guilt, FOMO, or other nonsense.</p><p>That’s it! If you try it, let me know how it goes.</p><p>And just remember: it’s not enough to remove the negative. That simply creates a void. Get the positive things on the calendar ASAP, lest they get crowded out by the bullshit and noise that will otherwise fill your days. Good luck and godspeed! (Source: <a href="https://tim.blog/2018/12/28/past-year-review/" target="_blank">Tim.blog</a>)</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2019/12/2019-year-in-review-11-countries-and.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSpGhFVa0HPM6Etl1mavjohlUukAGU192bTzY9PVVMnprmQafRmZ04LKHjiwIHZcFTtIo2EEGMBSQVJLBBERNOLEFvattBdmkRzhDF_THVmCrpctmh2BDKekRR0DI0Zt0y4S_Hof3pcuU/w640-h428/2019+Year+in+Review+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><h1 style="text-align: left;">Start of 2020</h1><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>At the beginning of the year I was excited to travel, see new countries, and was full of hope. I was in good shape from spending the previous month intermittent fasting, eating just one meal a day (OMAD) and lifting weights 6 days a week. I was living in a one room condo right in the city center of Chiang Mai and life was simple. I was directly across the parking lot from an amazing gym, and I'd walk to most places. </div><div><br /></div><div>I was single, and had been for a few months, but I was casually dating so romantically I was never lonely. I also had a ton of friends in town and had been traveling with a few buddies so my relationship life was fulfilling, but not complete. I started the year with a total net worth almost $100,000 less than what I am today. I shared openly in <a href="http://www.investlikeaboss.com/ilab-134-2020-new-years-investment-updates-with-johnny-fd-sam-marks/" target="_blank">Invest Like a Boss Episode 134</a> and will be updating it again in the <a href="https://www.patreon.com/investlikeaboss" target="_blank">Pateron</a> Only Q4 Update for 2020 coming out soon.</div><div><br /></div><div>Honestly my life in the beginning of 2020 was fantastic. I'd give it a 9 out of 10. I felt great, was in amazing shape, was earning good money, and had the entire year of travel to look forward to as I wrote here in my 2019 Year in Review + <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2019/12/2019-year-in-review-11-countries-and.html" target="_blank">2020 Travel Plans post</a> before everything started. This will be an interesting post as I'll be looking back through the year, month by month to see where everything went well, and when things started going wrong. But as you can see from my Jan 1st 2020 vs Jan 1st 2021 photos, health and fitness wise, this has been a disastrous year with me gaining more than 10kg/22lbs. </div><div><br /></div><div>Most of the weight gain was a combination of a carb heavy, rice, rotti, and bread diet here in Sri Lanka, as well as getting too comfortable traveling too much, eating at nice restaurants, then getting burnt out and staying at home to eat and watch Netflix while eating ice cream, all while being happy and content being in a relationship. More on that later. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPVVVuB7eicxZvzB6gESPsB2AD2jL-LLpRH14SPoUUhOkvrZWWfMgeLXLBza0oZXwU48fhVB04Tr8ikNTrPY1ekWN2r4hn5_3r48_TttJbgqsPzoGhXe8tynsoObDwhO4k05U3RE53NI/s2048/2019+to+2020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="2048" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPVVVuB7eicxZvzB6gESPsB2AD2jL-LLpRH14SPoUUhOkvrZWWfMgeLXLBza0oZXwU48fhVB04Tr8ikNTrPY1ekWN2r4hn5_3r48_TttJbgqsPzoGhXe8tynsoObDwhO4k05U3RE53NI/w640-h446/2019+to+2020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">January 2020 Recap:</h2><div><br /></div><div><div>This month I earned $12,795.99 and spent a total of $1,195.32 + gave my parents $1k giving me a net positive of around $10,000. This was a fantastic month for adding to my net worth and to my <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2018/12/fire-financial-independence-retire-early.html" target="_blank">Financial Independence</a> goals. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's my income and expenses report for <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2019/02/january-2019-monthly-report-travel.html" target="_blank">January 2020</a> if you want to go deeper, but basically, it was an awesome month living in Chiang Mai in a studio apartment as a single guy with very little expenses. </div><div><br /></div><div>It was also the month where my live event, the Nomad Summit was taking place, which explains why I had such a good month income wise as we had over 300 attendees buy tickets to come to the conference. It was months of planning and a ton of work, but it was well worth it both financially as well as socially as everyone had a great time, and without any of us knowing, it would also be the last time we were able to gather is such large events together in person. Here's the video recap of the event, it brings back fond memories. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Lesson Learned</b>: Chiang Mai, and hosting these large events really was my perfect paradise and my happy place. I'm glad I enjoyed the process and never took it for granted as I don't know when we'll have it again.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c-Ga4LL6f0c" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtvBGvOFKvZmzU7KZ89GcyXlfMR1UG3MO_T76C6ZiOtYb5pZjebf1a8dJFFel0FRbMWbjtm8TqqXDJSbO43r1TRc-R5C__dVAAS3j69npjqXKdxSQrfV2cA4xl6zpwBge1EqMR45jjC0/s1728/IMG_6570.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="1728" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKtvBGvOFKvZmzU7KZ89GcyXlfMR1UG3MO_T76C6ZiOtYb5pZjebf1a8dJFFel0FRbMWbjtm8TqqXDJSbO43r1TRc-R5C__dVAAS3j69npjqXKdxSQrfV2cA4xl6zpwBge1EqMR45jjC0/w640-h426/IMG_6570.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h1 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">February 2020 Recap</h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I started off the month with a few days in Bangkok was I enjoyed but really isn't a city I'd want to spend much time in. I flew with a group of friends that I had met in Thailand through the Nomad Summit and convinced them to come to Sri Lanka with me. We had a big crew of friends that we came with, and met up with while we were here as pictured in the photo below. It was a great time as it was just before COVID hit and everything was open, we were traveling, surfing, and having a great time. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It was my second year in a row coming to Sri Lanka and my plan was just to stay for two months to surf, see a bit more of the country, and to chill out before heading to Ukraine for the end of Winter and the start of Spring. Here's my <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/03/weligama-sri-lanka-travel-expenses-and.html" target="_blank">Monthly Report for Feb 2020</a> with all of the details. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My expenses that month were extremely low even though it was the start of high season in Sri Lanka, mostly because I was splitting the cost of the room and everything else 50/50 with the German girl I was dating at the time. In total I spent $871 that month. Income wise, it was a strange month as even though I wrote down that I earned $14,199.59 that month, most of that was from selling one of my investments that was still up, but I had technically lost $20,000 in the stock market that month as things were starting to fall. So at least on paper, my networth was negative $6k that month and about to fall even further.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Lessons Learned</b>: The number one reason why I keep my expenses so low while investing everything I make is because the future is uncertain. I grew up poor and my parent's always fought about not having enough money. Being able to withstand that -$20,000 month was a blessing that I created for myself by diversifying and having enough in my emergency fund not to have to sell off any of the losing stocks. <br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjbeA-nEC0kfpId6e0mCgt4VntQcS-R5-KEEVOE8l3iTFBm7Sadk7vxDdb02qjU10eOQrLg9M3HHLCKdP4gY0-O1X3qNPS-ac8zncev8gIQyTWhA82jo1ZLX5QIzsX_ZVr4-5miHW74o/s2048/IMG_8247.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjbeA-nEC0kfpId6e0mCgt4VntQcS-R5-KEEVOE8l3iTFBm7Sadk7vxDdb02qjU10eOQrLg9M3HHLCKdP4gY0-O1X3qNPS-ac8zncev8gIQyTWhA82jo1ZLX5QIzsX_ZVr4-5miHW74o/w640-h480/IMG_8247.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSP487sWXqwKkGNe9jjixJeC-qQQG0FG3ev2Jdm-edF-IXIl4FysCHd3Xgi_nOlTThG1rlpKpL4MGeuO0IkFfk9Z5IeQn3qn_JQfy0GTJn-RiPNSIQypcD5X8qTPLvlrA9AUboNN3rE1A/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-01-01+at+10.13.35+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="2048" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSP487sWXqwKkGNe9jjixJeC-qQQG0FG3ev2Jdm-edF-IXIl4FysCHd3Xgi_nOlTThG1rlpKpL4MGeuO0IkFfk9Z5IeQn3qn_JQfy0GTJn-RiPNSIQypcD5X8qTPLvlrA9AUboNN3rE1A/w640-h402/Screen+Shot+2021-01-01+at+10.13.35+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">March 2020 Recap</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first half of the month was completely normal, we were surfing, traveling and having a great time in Sri Lanka. But on March 20th, a complete island wide curfew was put into place. We were no longer able to go outside for days at a time. No one was allowed outside of their front door. That meant even though I lived across the street from the beach, we weren't allowed to go outside for exercise, a run, or to go to the stores. Everything was closed and we were only allowed to go to grocery stores twice a week to stock up and cook at home.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Luckily that was the month that Tiger King came out on Netflix, and honestly, all of us expected things to go back to normal with a few days or weeks. Little did we know this would continue for months after.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had started to see the writing on the wall for America and our economy, so I started to cash out on any and all investments I had that were still up and hadn't dropped yet. I put in requests to close and cash out of my real estate investments, and was able to free up $72,000 which I moved into Vanguard to set up buy orders as to buy more shares of VTI (Vanguard Total US Stock Market Fund) as the price dipped lower and lower. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I got lucky and timed it correctly as the very next month my account was up by $30,472 and continued to recover over the next few months until August. I got really lucky and bought $10k of shares at a super low price of $110 which is today worth $194.64. However, I also had most of the $72k still sitting in the account unexecuted as I was fearful and greedy and had most of my buy orders set for $95 which VTI never dropped to. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Lesson Learned</b>: I should have listened to my own advice on <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/03/how-to-invest-in-stocks-or-index-funds.html" target="_blank">How to Invest in Stocks</a> and dollar cost averaged in quicker as my net worth would be much higher today if I did. I got a bit fearful thinking that this time things were different and that the economy would surely collapse. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/anDTCiBWQxg" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">April 2020 Recap:</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the month that most people flew home. Out of the 20 something digital nomads and tourists I came to Sri Lanka with, one by one, they all flew home, or to other countries. Many went on special government organized emergency flights home, while others decided to leave Sri Lanka to travel to places where there was no curfew. </div><div><br /></div><div>Personally, it would have been easier for me to leave as there were still flights available for me to "escape." And honestly, being stuck in my hotel room for 3-4 days at a time then needing to rush out to buy a week's worth of groceries and battling crowds of people only to find out basics like pasta, peanut butter, or avocados were sold out wasn't fun. But I sat down and wrote this post about <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/03/coronavirus-thoughts-and-travel-plans.html" target="_blank">Traveling During Covid</a> where I stated that the best thing everyone could do is to stay in place and not risk spreading around a virus from country to country when we don't know what is going on yet. </div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, most other people didn't think that way. Sri Lanka started to repatriate workers from other countries back to the island and many of them skipped quarantine and went home to be with their families. The country went from having zero cases to having a huge spike and local transmission causing the lockdowns to extend further. </div><div><br /></div><div>To make things work, some uneducated or ignorant Sri Lankans started to become fearful and racist towards Westerners even though tourists weren't the source of bringing COVID19 to the island. As things started to get worse, the girl I was living with decided she wanted to go home to Germany. She felt bad for leaving me behind, but honestly, it was the best for both of us and I honestly just wanted to be alone. It turned out to be one of the most productive months of my life. Here's what my daily routine looked like.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/anDTCiBWQxg" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">May 2020 Recap</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This might sound strange, but May was one of the best months of my life. Maybe it's all relative but after being completely isolated for an entire month alone in my room, it was well needed. Most people don't realized this, but everything is a choice, and we ultimately control our own futures. That's not to say bad things don't happen to us for no reason, as none of us wanted this pandemic. But we all had the choice on how we would react to it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Some people got angry, and sat around watching Netflix while ordering overpriced UberEats and GrubHub all day even though they were unemployed and had no savings. Others used that time to start a side hustle, an online business, pivot their existing one, learn a new language, skill, or get in shape at home. Here's a video I made about the subject: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CtWiuoU9vsM" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For me personally, I took the chance and moved out of my comfortable prison cell with an ocean view and moved into a shared villa the town over. In normal circumstances it wouldn't have been a bit deal to move 20 minutes down the road, but honestly, I was fearful. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Things were comfortable and everything worked where I was. Moving there I'd give up the certainty of where I had been, in hopes for a change of scenery. Ultimately it paid off as instead of being completely isolated, I now had a small group of new friends to hang out and take turns cooking dinner with. I also now had an entire coworking space as an office to myself as I was the only one working at the time which allowed me to start working on new streams of income as my previous business, hosting live events and conferences had totally collapsed and was bleeding money each month not having any idea when the world would open back up again for travel.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I had decided to refund all ticket holders of the Nomad Summit scheduled for Tbilisi, Georgia this month and ended up negative -$8,600 in lost fees, marketing costs, software fees, ticketing, and salaries from needing to provide customer service and marketing for an event that would be postponed for at least a year. Even though it would have been financially better for me to just hold everyone's ticket for 2021, and refund only those who specifically asked for it, I wanted to free myself mentally of the daily communications and spend my time doing something more productive. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I ended up using that month to create a <a href="http://dropshiplab.com" target="_blank">100% free dropshipping course</a> that outlined everything I had learned from the 7 years I was in the business. I had normally just told people to sign up for Anton's DSL Course or to <a href="https://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/webinar/?afmc=fd" target="_blank">watch his free webinar</a> and to figure it out from there. But I knew that online business was the key for a lot of people to pivot and use this new unlimited time at home to do something productive. Those who put in the time and effort to create the business have been rewarded as member's of both Anton and even my free course have had record sales since people started ordering everything online from home instead of going to stores this past year. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Lessons Learned</b>: Although some of us are luckier than others, and sometimes we're just dealt a bad hand at life sometimes, we all have the choice to either blame others, the world around us, or just to make the most of what we can. This month truly separated those who always blamed not having enough time, verses those who did what needed to be done regardless. This is <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/07/freedom-and-independence-how-i-finally.html" target="_blank">how I created freedom</a> regardless of tough times and situations. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fR6QP4Jt9YQ" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">June 2020 Recap</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Even though I had just started getting a taste of semi-freedom being almost directly on the beach in the small beach town of Kabalana where even on curfew days, there were so few locals that no one blinked or cared if you went for a solo swim or walk on the beach. During those last few weeks everyone I knew, including all of my housemates started moving to the East coast of Sri Lanka, Arugam Bay. Although travel restrictions were still in place, the local Public Health Inspector (PHI) in almost every district was happy to write you a letter or issue a certificate to let you travel in exchange for 2,000lkr or a bottle of Arrack, which dozens of people I met had done successfully.</div><div><br /></div><div>Although I was tempted, I decided to wait until curfew and travel restrictions officially lifted and on June 3rd, I officially moved to Arugam Bay. The funny thing is, I had decided just prior to that trip that I would stop making as many business related videos and that I would focus more on just fun, travel content instead, even though it made a lot less money. The simple video I made, documenting the van ride from the South of Sri Lanka to the East Coast, titled "<a href="https://youtu.be/l-3Ug23mDj8" target="_blank">Journey to Arguam Bay</a>" ended up getting shared, as a lot of people were curious to see even a tiny bit of travel within the country again. </div><div><br /></div><div>Life is Sri Lanka reminds me of what things were like in Thailand back in 2008 when I first started traveling. There was little to no information about where to stay, how to get around, and if things like WIFI or internet was working or reliable. The only people who were traveling to Arugam Bay prior to this year were hardcore surfers, who mostly stay offline, and like to keep information hard to find, as their biggest fear is popularizing their favorite surf spots. That being said, moving to Arugam Bay was a huge risk as I knew next to nothing about the town before moving half way across the country to get there. I've since included a walking tour of the city along with more info in my <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/06/6-months-in-sri-lanka-travel-surf-and.html" target="_blank">6 Months in Sri Lanka</a> blog post. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Lesson Learned:</b> Even in 2020 there are still plenty of little known pieces of paradise that have great little communities of expats and travelers, but aren't overly touristed or popularized yet. You just have to travel a lot, meet the right people, and take a few risks to get there. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l-3Ug23mDj8" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QS7AEQBLGFw" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">July 2020 Recap</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This was the month that I started dating Kristina and also accidentally became a full time travel Youtuber. I remember making $883.70 that month from my videos and I was super excited as that was more than double what I used to earn from my channel. I wrote about it in more detail and shared screen shots of how it happened in my <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/08/july-2020-income-expenses-travel-recap.html" target="_blank">July 2020 Income Report</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>That month was also the last month that I would be in good shape, and live a healthy lifestyle. But wow was that an incredible month! You can see it in my "perfect day" video below, which happened to be filmed on my birthday, but everyday was similarly amazing. I would wake up and drive my scooter through the beautiful streets to my favorite surf spot in the world, rent a board for $2.50 an hour, paddle out just a few minutes to the perfect break. It was there that I started becoming a someone decent surfer, finally being able to stand up consistently, and riding a shorter and shorter hard board every week as a progressed.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the way back I would stop by the village town of Pottuvil for a chicken biriyani and some fresh fruit, become going back to our beautiful hotel for just $321 a month including A/C near the beach. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Lesson Learned</b>: I'm most happy when I'm healthy and exercising on a daily basis. Surfing has been the best sport and exercise in the world as it's a fun way to get out into nature, enjoy the sun, and the ocean all while working on a skill and your fitness. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Wbg2QT1kpI" width="640"></iframe>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x4_ViHRfDk4" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">August 2020 Recap</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This began an incredible month for me in terms of travel and growing my Youtube channel. It was the first month where I made over $1,000 from Youtube and it officially started opening doors and opportunities for me. The bike trip we did throughout Ella and Nuwara Eliya was fun, but too short. In retrospect we should have stayed an extra week just to enjoy the climate before heading back to Arugam Bay. <br /><br />As soon as we got back, Kristina started wilting again and basically stayed indoors for an entire two weeks in the air conditioning. I started to surf again, but little did I know, that would be the last time I would be consistently in the water for the rest of the year. We had decided that even though it would have been nice to stay the rest of the season in Arugam Bay and enjoy the surf, that since she was miserable in the heat, we had to leave and start slowly making our way towards the rest of the country.</div><div><br /></div><div>We started by first going up the East Coast north, where it was even hotter, but at least we had some really amazing experiences during the process.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Lesson Learned:</b> Never rush your trips, stay an extra week, or even a month wherever you go, there are so many benefits of slow travel. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GtAukiYJZ38" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">September 2020 Recap</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's official, we became social media influencers! Actually, I hate that title and would never call myself that. But it was the first month we started getting free trips in exchange for making a video to promote the hotel. It was also the first month where I earned just $80 shy of $2,000 from Youtube, making it almost pay for my entire costs of living for the month. </div><div><br /></div><div>The ironic thing is that even though we had exactly half of the month complimentary, I ended up spending more that month as we gave up the cheap long term apartment for weekly and nightly rates. Sure it was incredible to stay in 4 and 5 star luxury hotels on the beach, and even spend two days on an 84' Super Yacht and have all of our meals on board. So at the end of the day it was well worth it just for the experiences and especially since it all made really good Youtube content and videos that people loved. </div><div><br /></div><div>I think until this day the Yacht Life video has been my best or at least most cinematic edits. It took me over 3 days to cut and create so I hope you enjoy it! </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Lesson Learned:</b> It's always cheaper to travel slowly and stay in each place for monthly rates rather than move around and stay daily or even weekly. </div><div> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NoHg0GO6uD0" width="640"></iframe>
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QxNbkTNB5TA" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The strange thing about my months is around here I started mixing up dates as I started filming so many videos for Youtube that I had a 3-4 week buffer even though I was releasing videos every other day. That caused me to start living 3 weeks behind on both my blog and my Youtube channel so I wouldn't confuse people talking about something that they wouldn't see until next month. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So in reality most of the videos and photos you'll see for October actually happened the month before, where we officially become part of the Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau's influencer program and was taken around the country free of charge for two weeks to film and create content for the country. It was a bit strange timing as the country was initially set to reopen for tourism around then, but was postponed. Still they wanted us to release the content to keep Sri Lanka on people's minds for 2021. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">That being said, even though half of the month was completely paid for, the second half we ended up spending triple what we normally would have spent while living in Colombo. We were so exhausted from the press trip that we checked into a 4-star hotel and paid for an entire month. What's ironic is that we could have made a deal with almost any hotel at that time to get a free stay in exchange for a video promotion, but we were both so exhausted, and I had so many videos to edit and catch up on, that I happily paid the $1,500 for the room. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We did however get to see some really amazing places including the Elephant Gathering and going up to Jaffna that we previously would have skipped if it wasn't for the tourism board taking us there. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Lesson Learned:</b> Free is never really free. We're grateful for the opportunity to have been sponsored by the Tourism Board, but if we were to do it again in the future, we would have to require a few completely no travel days in between to rest, edit a few videos, and to recharge our mental and physical batteries. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TO9EcMRdQL4" width="640"></iframe></div><div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6O6b7Vm8ucs" width="640"></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><h2>October 2020 Recap</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This was the month were we decided to leave the Capital City of Colombo just in case of another curfew or travel lock down happening. After months of Sri Lanka being basically COVID-Free and everything being open again, there was another outbreak and over 1,000 employees of the Brandix Apparel factory being tested positive. Since it was near Colombo, and because of the population density, we had decided to cut our big city trip short and move to Nuwara Eliya to enjoy a bit of winter before heading down south to enjoy the high season by the beach.</div><div><br /></div><div>During those next three weeks we lived on a farm, in a little English cottage, and really enjoyed our time there. But by the end of it, we had enough and things started getting strict again, so we figured we should move down south before another potential travel lockdown would being. Things did get a bit strict there during the holidays, but no travel restriction ever came back into place for more than a few days. But we're still glad we made the move as life in the South has been fantastic and everything has felt back to normal again with friends, social life, and even a bit of surfing.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Lesson Learned</b>: It's never good to be scared and fearful for no reason, but sometimes you do things just in case that don't end up paying off, but it was still the right move to make at the time. Things sometimes actually turn out even better than you expected, as even though it would have been nice to stay there an extra week, we enjoyed our time. </div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y_xYqP3fZh4" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fbEw9iSZT9U" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">November 2020 Recap</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">For some strange reason, even though this was just two months ago, it feels like forever ago. This is the month that we moved into our villa down south in Ahangama and where we've been ever since. My original goal was to start surfing again everyday, but honestly, we've both been so comfortable staying at the nice villa, cooking at home and watching Netflix on the big screen TV that neither of us has wanted to leave the house on most days.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I regret not surfing more that month, or at least doing some yoga, or working out at home, but after months of traveling we needed a break. We're super fortunte to have been able to rent this incredible villa for just 103,000lkr a month which is $550usd a month as normally in the high season it can go for more than $300 a night. Remember earlier when I said that the choices we make end up affecting our futures? It was the choice I had made to stay in Sri Lanka while everyone else panic flew home, that has allowed us to be one of the remaining tourists on the island still. It was also the choice I made these past 7 years to focus all of my energy on building online businesses, then investing 80% of everything I earned that now allows me to even be able to afford the now top end of the market. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Most other tourists I know who are still in Sri Lanka have budgets of 25,000 - 40,000lkr a month which is $135-$215 and are either staying in cheaper houses or renting a single room in a hotel. Honestly if I wasn't in a relationship, I would probably be doing the same as there are plenty of deals going around, and many of those places are directly or near the beach and I'd in much better shape and a much better surfer today. But again, we all make choices in life, and these are the ones I've made, both for good and bad. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Lessons Learned</b>: Part of me wishes that I had spent the last 7 years surfing, enjoying life and not worrying about earning and investing money, while the other part is glad I did. Either way, it was a choice I had made, it wasn't easy, but it's the one I made and the results are what I live with today. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hhpyvKj1lrI" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BgeQX5JQbwc" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">December 2020 Recap</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After months of going back and forth deciding if I wanted to upgrade to an iPhone 12 or the new M1 Apple Laptops or not and actually deciding not to. I ended up spending over $3,000 this month upgrading all of my electronics and even buying a drone. At first I was annoyed at the 30% markups for all things Apple here in Sri Lanka, but after a bit of searching around and thinking, I told myself that as a full time content creator, it's okay to invest in my gear if it's going to produce better quality videos. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The decision has paid off as the new videos coming out these few weeks all have high quality drone and iPhone 12 shots, and are now edited on an M1 Macbook Air which has been a pleasure to work on. I've even just bought and installed Final Cut Pro for $325 and will learn how to edit on there to make even more beautiful videos. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We also did a few side trips from Ahangama like going to Unawatuna for the day to go scuba diving. It was Kristina's 2nd time ever doing it and seeing how much joy it brought her made my dive amazing as well. I'm glad she got to see it as a new diver as one of the problems with being too experienced is being spoiled and not being able to enjoy anything but the Maldives, Raja Ampat and Socorro anymore. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div><b>Lesson Learned:</b> It's usually a terrible financial move to buy things in hopes you'll need or use it often. It's much better to work with what you have, until you actually start making money from it, or use it to it's fullest potential, then and only then should you pay for the upgrade. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2WhkGtri8G8" width="640"></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3QePIVUl3MM" width="640"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Expenses for December</h2></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This month's expenses ended up being much higher than usual, mostly from the electronics I bought. If I was in the USA, Japan, Taiwan, or many other countries, the prices would have been 20-30% less, even after taxes, but these were the best options I could find in Sri Lanka and it's just the price to pay to want the latest tech from Apple here. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The M1 Macbook Air, even in it's base form with 8gb of ram has been incredible so far and easiest the best purchase I've ever made. It preforms better than a $6,000 laptop from any brand, including the Intel Macbook Pros or the best Windows Laptop out there. Being able to edit 45 minute videos, play games like Hearthstone, or other power hungry tasks in record times, all while being on battery power is mind blowing. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'll write and review the laptop more as things go on, but so far a week into having it, i've had zero issues, and nothing but great things to say about it. The iPhone 12 has also been a significant upgrade from the 11, especially the front facing camera and night time video. And the DJI Mavic Mini 2 has been perfect as well, I love this little thing and am glad I bought it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Lesson Learned:</b> It's good to save money and not spent foolishly, but sometimes, things are just worth the price, especially if it can help you create better products or content to make even more money.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div>Ahangama Villa: $551</div><div>Extra Wifi: $80</div><div>Grocery Stores: $380</div><div>Wine and Alcohol: $60</div><div>Restaurants and Cafes: $80</div><div><br /></div><div>iPhone 12 128gb: $1,139.29</div><div>Macbook Air M1 256gb: $1,297.73</div><div>DJI Mavic Mini 2: $511.25</div><div><br /></div><div>Netflix (HD Plan): $14.06</div><div>Cell Phone: $27</div><div>Scuba Diving: $60</div><div>Colombo Trip: $70</div><div>Gym, BJJ, Muay Thai: $30</div><div>Surfing: $20</div><div><br /></div><div>Taxi's and Trains: $60</div><div>Tips, Gifts and Other: $350</div><div>Parent's Retirement: $1,000 </div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Total Expenses for December: $5,832.24</h3><div><br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-nhIKfTq75I" width="640"></iframe></div>
</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Earnings for December </h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div>Ironically, this was the worse month I've had recently income wise. This month I actually made a $1,000 less than I did the past two months, meaning my Youtube earnings has dropped by 30%. Maybe the new better quality camera gear will win me more viewers and subscribers and pay for itself in January? </div><div><br /></div><div>Or maybe it won't and I'll be negative -$3,000 for no reason. Either way, it's a gamble I took and it's one that I have to live with, both good and bad. The upside is that this was the first month where I had sponsorships with brands for my Youtube channel. So even though my ad revenue was much lower than it has been since September, the money I got from the sponsored videos ended up just making up for it. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I go over the specifics on how much I earn from each of my various sources of income <a href="https://incomeboss.com/p/income-boss/?product_id=393896&coupon_code=BLOGJFD" target="_blank">inside my course Income Boss</a> which teaches everything I learned from years of online business, building up a following and monetizing through affiliate marketing, youtube and brand partnerships. </div><div><br /></div><div>As for my dropshipping store that I run with partners that we built following <a href="https://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/webinar/?afmc=fd" target="_blank">Anton's Method</a> had another good month totaling $59,000 in sales. They've been doing all the work and I'm now just a limited partner, so my payday will come when the store sells to a buyer, but I have asked to get my profit share for 2020, so hopefully I'll be able to add that to my 2020 numbers soon, but those earnings aren't included in my monthly income just yet. </div><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Total Income for Dec: $3,241.68</h3></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaeon8lCcvt-qnlxSL7kV2G3x3HWblGJRP8-bQ9eGtRT8LCmXcvKB4jWmdmOKmpLvzuTBTlFTYlA-Q2GeXtg8VlEFAi88AuPHbgdc_1_nZh9D4sY2s2nkHqJa2wgjj4pAUiJXGYAqKXNI/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-01-01+at+5.12.13+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1259" data-original-width="2048" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaeon8lCcvt-qnlxSL7kV2G3x3HWblGJRP8-bQ9eGtRT8LCmXcvKB4jWmdmOKmpLvzuTBTlFTYlA-Q2GeXtg8VlEFAi88AuPHbgdc_1_nZh9D4sY2s2nkHqJa2wgjj4pAUiJXGYAqKXNI/w640-h394/Screen+Shot+2021-01-01+at+5.12.13+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivouO7HEG6AZF-hBWksw2e5XLj2Sq6UPIpEoJFSqpZR6I2RCVxJkCKJYJjyZ3SBDIfAa99gXeYSY84arRlWggw_YDiENHna_Sm7nII_iwXNECdWs7IXcMxxhl0_uosxKlITvE6RfYGmc4/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-01-01+at+11.27.53+AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivouO7HEG6AZF-hBWksw2e5XLj2Sq6UPIpEoJFSqpZR6I2RCVxJkCKJYJjyZ3SBDIfAa99gXeYSY84arRlWggw_YDiENHna_Sm7nII_iwXNECdWs7IXcMxxhl0_uosxKlITvE6RfYGmc4/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-01-01+at+11.27.53+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Overall Thoughts for 2020</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This has been a strange year for everyone and a tough year as well. Even though some of us suffered more than others, and some people really unfairly got hurt, there are many others who opened their eyes and got a massive reality check. I genuinely feel bad for all of the small businesses, restaurants, and those who lost loved ones or suffered because of the pandemic. But at the same time, it's reminded me even more on how the choices we've made these past 10 years affect the out come of life today. </div><div><br /></div><div>If I never left California back in 2008, I'd be dealing with the BS happening there now, and most likely too scared and unsure of myself to even move out of the city. I would have no tech skills to work online, no passive income, and probably no savings or investments as the costs of living there was so high it was almost impossible to save. Even more so I would have been trapped in the cycle of buying clothes, home decor, and other things to try to fit in, or keep up with the neighbors. Maybe I'd even be married with someone I settled with and didn't necessarily choose as when you live in one place, your options are to those within a 20 minute radius from where you are. </div><div><br /></div><div>I never would have seen the world, become self dependent, learned minimalism, saved 80% of everything I earned these past 7 years and learned how to invest my money wisely. If I chose to run home when things got bad, I wouldn't be in Sri Lanka today enjoying the privileges of being one of the few tourists with money still here. Some of the choices I've made have backfired or have made my life worse, like choosing to be comfortable, travel and earn money instead of surfing all day and getting in great shape. But in 2020 I have learned that good or bad, we always have choice. I've learned this year that too many people blame others for the faults in their own lives, while expecting the government, or other handouts to improve their lives. I've learned that most people's excuse that they were too busy, was of their own doing and because of their own choices, and even when magically given 4 months of free time, instead of finally doing what they've always wanted, they've wasted it. </div><div><br /></div><div>We don't necessarily have the choice of where or how we are born, or what happens to us or the world, and some people really do have it much harder than others. But we do have the choice on how to use the cards we are dealt, both good and bad. I've met people born rich that died poor, and I've met people born poor that had opportunities to change the futures but don't. People say they want a chance, but when given, they often just want to take the easy way out. Most people have no idea what hard work, sacrifice or real struggle is, until it's too late and they really have no other choice. We tend to overestimate what we can do in a couple of months or in a year, while underestimating what we can do over the course of a decade if we continue to work towards it. I've shared everything I have learned over these past 7 years openly and free of cost here on my blog, youtube channel and podcasts, yet so few people actually took action. Instead they put it off, or found excuses on why they can't or shouldn't do it. In 2021 I'm done trying to help people who don't even want to help themselves. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's to making the next decade count, and good or bad, lets own it. Here's to 2030 being the best decade of our lives. Join me if you wish, or get left behind, the choice is yours and your new lease on life starts today.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ugfx8Q04vh6tJ2CcxqzD1hBj3xE54AsYe7HOqFWpXjX4ZwOvWT7J0KWDfdJF6vh-PfWsRL1QoKT_67-uFy8neasGcAUshIeKm28VgcxD7hmtrgtaHV2Z1pgH7D39JxQ4VPNRmRGrTlM/s4032/IMG_5958.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ugfx8Q04vh6tJ2CcxqzD1hBj3xE54AsYe7HOqFWpXjX4ZwOvWT7J0KWDfdJF6vh-PfWsRL1QoKT_67-uFy8neasGcAUshIeKm28VgcxD7hmtrgtaHV2Z1pgH7D39JxQ4VPNRmRGrTlM/w480-h640/IMG_5958.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>If you want to learn more about how I developed this mindset, built my businesses and set goals, check out my book <a href="https://amzn.to/3ktu2tC" target="_blank">Life Changes Quick</a> available on both Amazon Kindle and Paperback.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With love from Sri Lanka,</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear from you.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-31344687674226701132020-12-01T21:14:00.003-08:002020-12-02T04:28:45.727-08:00Nov 2020: Expenses and Income (Youtube, Dropshipping, Sponsorships)<p>It's an exciting month as this was the first month of getting paid sponsorships on my Youtube channel. First was Rosetta Stone who reached out, then just a week later I got a six video deal with SkillShare spread out over the next couple of months! My dilemma now is how often I should publish new videos as while it was great having them come out every two days, it's honestly been a bit too much to keep up with. This is the case both from an editing and uploading side, but even for my viewers who may sometimes have a hard time even keeping up with new episodes. Plus now with the sponsorships, it actually makes more financial sense to only publish once a week or whenever there's a paid ad attached to the episode. </p><p><br /></p><p>Being a full time Youtube creator has been super interesting and opportunities really started to open up once I crossed the 40k subscribers mark. I'm curious to see what'll happen next month as I should be crossing 50,000 by then. I'm also really lucky to be one of the few content creators in Sri Lanka right now and having the country still be open for travel within. Although if I was stuck back in the US, I would either buy a Van to drive around the country in or just go down to Mexico, either way, I'd still be creating content and enjoying life, rather than letting the lockdowns dictate my life. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-VFibCzO6IlUcTfDU0D319QXtGD_lKGQyhDFJt8-zrUPD77R_k9xqA4Vn5HpEJ9QiK-ls88Wm8OcTRpuLFHgWXadV0pyS_b-2cPx7EVIh9E0wLOnzhPIKsppkSHc-oAZmzhtxLZVXOM/s1280/YT+Nov+Income.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-VFibCzO6IlUcTfDU0D319QXtGD_lKGQyhDFJt8-zrUPD77R_k9xqA4Vn5HpEJ9QiK-ls88Wm8OcTRpuLFHgWXadV0pyS_b-2cPx7EVIh9E0wLOnzhPIKsppkSHc-oAZmzhtxLZVXOM/w640-h360/YT+Nov+Income.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Where I Traveled</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>At the start of the month we were still up in the hill town of Nuwara Eliya with plans to stay there for another week or two as the high season in the South of the country hadn't actually started yet. But times were uncertain then. Due to a second wave of covid near Colombo, there were travel restrictions and a curfew imposed in the capital city where the population is most dense. Luckily Kristina and I had left a few weeks prior as we saw the writing on the wall during the Brandix factory outbreak and saw that some businesses were closing including restaurants, cinemas, and massage spas. </div><div><br /></div><div>Things in Nuwara Eliya were actually fine, but just in case there was to be another inter-district lockdown, we decided to escape and move down South to Ahangama which seems to have become the hotspot for surfers and nomads for 2020. I've written in my <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2019/03/travel-sri-lanka-for-digital-nomads.html" target="_blank">previous posts about Sri Lanka</a>, I really liked living in Weligama as it's the biggest city in the south and was a great place to base out of to be close to restaurants, grocery stores and within walking distance of everything. However this year, since a lot of the cafes are closed anyways, everyone has moved 15 minutes away to the quiet beach town of Ahangama as the accommodation here is both more spacious and cheaper. </div><div><br /></div><div>The 6 hour drive from Nuwara Eliya down South was both long, tiring, and a bit nerve wracking as well we weren't 100% sure if we'd even be allowed to travel through districts at that time as things were all up in the air. But overall I'm glad we moved as everyone from Arugam Bay on the East Coast has also moved back here and it's almost like those Hippy Market days once again, but this time in the south and about half the size as a lot of people have left the country already. But still, the vibe, meetups and pizza nights are still happening and there's always something to do and people to grab a drink with which is nice to have again after being alone for the past few months. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Swai7ga25vU" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Where I Stayed</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">According to my Youtube publish/release dates, I was in Nuwara Eliya the entire month starting at a really nice house in the Little England Cottages community. We had a really nice week there enjoying a taste of winter with a wood burning fireplace and nightly meals roasted in the oven.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We then moved a bit less than an hour away to spend another week near Ambella at a Farm House where we got to pick fresh vegetables in the garden, and live amongst cows and a horse on a real working farm. It was our way of semi-self isolating and getting away from everyone for two weeks during the second spike in covid19 cases in Sri Lanka. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But after that we moved closer to Nuwara Eliya town itself so we could have access once again to restaurants, super markets, and be within an easy walking distance of everything. Here are some of those videos for you to see what life was like for us experiencing a few weeks of actual cold winter in Sri Lanka before we headed down to the hot beaches in the south.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y_xYqP3fZh4" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fbEw9iSZT9U" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fcl_Ej4P_bw" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Plans for December</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It's funny that even though it seems like we just moved down to the south, at least according to our Youtube release dates which has currently been around 3 weeks behind, we're actually planning on spending just the first two weeks of the month here in the south then going back up to Nuwara Eliya to experience a bit of winter again for Christmas. </div><div><br /></div><div>As much as I hate sitting in a car for 6 hours, we're lucky to have the option of being able to change climate zones from tropical sun at the beach to cold winters in the hills as quickly as a half day drive or train ride. We've been offered a collaboration this month with a hotel up in Matale, just north of Kandy. We've been to the area recently so initially I would going to refuse it, but since it includes transportation from the south, I figured that it would save us an $80 taxi ride to Nuwara Eliya and it would also give us a reason to stay a few days after to explore a bit more of Kandy aside from just the botanical garden we've been to prior. </div><div><br /></div><div>We had planned to visit Nuwara Eliya again to spend Christmas with our friends Chris and Tatyana as it'll be nice to enjoy a cold winter again, but honestly sitting in a car for 6 hours is just brutal to me. So instead, if we do go, we're thinking about taking the train instead as it's a beautiful ride, and can be broken up with a few nights in Colombo in between. We'll see what we end up actually doing for December as I'm honestly perfectly happy just hanging out in our villa here in the south and picking up surfing again. Let's see what this month unfolds.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BWCaCKPiub9kdIifwZz6BZQ_ZBEH0cxZuq78ZHpiCs-oDDQbI0jbtACgGpl2HY1hAVr_RlxYQCdFp4mRXS0q94fQCYPIrqlA61me-qpNUvVuX8z3cFNACah0_FFjqplnlCs0j8VVowk/s2048/IMG_3536.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3BWCaCKPiub9kdIifwZz6BZQ_ZBEH0cxZuq78ZHpiCs-oDDQbI0jbtACgGpl2HY1hAVr_RlxYQCdFp4mRXS0q94fQCYPIrqlA61me-qpNUvVuX8z3cFNACah0_FFjqplnlCs0j8VVowk/w640-h480/IMG_3536.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Expenses for November</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We started this month in Nuwara Eliya and depending if you're following my schedule on Youtube or in real life, we either stayed there the entire month, or we moved down south near the start of it. But either way, the month was spent mostly at home and ironically the vill with the private pool you may have seen in my Instagram stories if you've been following me at <a href="instagram.com/johnnyfdk" target="_blank">JohnnyFDK</a> actually costs much less than the houses we were renting in Nuwara Eliya. It's almost strange that pricing is like that, but I think it's because there is so much competition in the South that even though it's technically the start of high season here, places are still going for cheap </div><div><br /></div><div>But aside from having a few friends stay over when visiting, the other rooms have sat empty and my girlfriend Kristina and I have been able to enjoy the place entirely to ourselves. The only annoying things living in Sri Lanka is all tech related. Home and business WIFI in Sri Lanka isn't unlimited (due to the greed of the telecom companies) which means we're capped at 160gb a month before we have to start paying for data add ons. Also my original plan was to upgrade to an iPhone 12 and possibly to buy a new M1 Macbook Air, but this being Sri Lanka new Apple products are hard to get and cost around $300 more. Even though I can technically afford it, out of principle it's ridiculous to pay an extra $600 just to buy it here, which is why I'll hold off until I leave Sri Lanka to make any new purchases. </div><div><br /></div><div>We've mainly cooked at home, so aside from the expensive taxi to the south and hosting Thanksgiving at our place for a dozen friends, we didn't otherwise spend that much money. It's a strange feeling as my <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/03/coronavirus-thoughts-and-travel-plans.html" target="_blank">decision to stay where I was</a> during the covid outbreak instead of panic flying to another country like so many others did ended up really paying off. Never again will places like this be so affordable in the future when tourism opens back up again. But even though some people were upset that I spent so much last month, I think of it as keeping the local economy going and locals employed as if I wasn't renting this villa, it would most likely be sitting empty and the five caretakers of the property would be out of a job. That being said, here were my expenses for the month.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Taxi (Nuwara Eliya to Ahangama): $86.74</div><div>House in Nuwara Eliya: $978.94</div><div><div>Grocery Stores: $380</div><div>Wine and Alcohol: $60</div><div>Restaurants and Cafes: $80</div><div><br /></div><div>Netflix (HD Plan): $14.06</div><div>Cell Phone: $27</div><div><br /></div><div>Gifts and Other: $600 </div><div>Parent's Retirement: $1,000 </div><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Total Expenses for November: $3,224.65</h3><div style="text-align: left;">*decrease from $7,748.74 last month in <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/11/october-2020-income-expenses-and-travel.html" target="_blank">October 2020</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdIMXHYy4_buZLbmNcONyBSvwyeidHx6S-CVyl4-knuEzEIU3mX2FFuTN7R7UFogCKuw_pXois7bGcwNOFbAiRZAbBsIETORO3e0vO6H1MBnOeF-NOqZaNxp7IObV4100t8pI4H914zc/s4032/IMG_2436.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdIMXHYy4_buZLbmNcONyBSvwyeidHx6S-CVyl4-knuEzEIU3mX2FFuTN7R7UFogCKuw_pXois7bGcwNOFbAiRZAbBsIETORO3e0vO6H1MBnOeF-NOqZaNxp7IObV4100t8pI4H914zc/w640-h480/IMG_2436.JPG" width="640" /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrspsBhDbFr1vbFdB1aXpdtN3k1IGF9RyrCoG4oeFGXVU4IgjqHqfUpkn6oBYMLJ56ZH1-utMjITLa-IgyOq0ouT2ecXVDW0ONypFaizBVCDWifYrq29JeWiF5_J4JupMMpuziJOFwlKg/s4032/IMG_2557.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrspsBhDbFr1vbFdB1aXpdtN3k1IGF9RyrCoG4oeFGXVU4IgjqHqfUpkn6oBYMLJ56ZH1-utMjITLa-IgyOq0ouT2ecXVDW0ONypFaizBVCDWifYrq29JeWiF5_J4JupMMpuziJOFwlKg/w640-h480/IMG_2557.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">YouTube Earnings for November</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm super happy to see that my income has increased by another 10% or so from last month on <a href="youtube.com/johnnyfd" target="_blank">my Youtube Channel.</a> Of course I'd rather see the numbers grow even quicker, but the fact that it's making upwards progress by growing in all four categories including views, watch time, subscribers and revenue, means that it's all going in the right direction. </div><div><br /></div><div>As for income, it's also really nice that I've started getting video sponsors by companies like <a href="https://rosettastone.com/johnnyfdyt" target="_blank">Rosetta Stone</a> and <a href="https://skl.sh/johnnyfd11201" target="_blank">Skillshare</a> as if I can find sponsors for each video, that means that i'll be able to essential double my Youtube income each month. I can't talk publicly about how much the sponsors pay or what the terms are as I had to sign a contact, but I do go over the specifics inside <a href="https://incomeboss.com/p/income-boss/?product_id=393896&coupon_code=BLOGJFD" target="_blank">my private course</a> where I openly talk about all of my income streams and show you the secrets behind them all. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've even added two new videos explaining exactly what I've learned from my mentors about growing my Youtube channel these past few months and how I could have done it years sooner if I had the knowledge that I do now. I also breakdown specifically how I got the channel sponsors, how much they pay, and how to earn a full time income as a Youtube content creator even if you're just starting out.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35tRZlsPipVH5EUyxDhAkmKXIp_FtI46zx_HbDwH4Xigs6Lx8ooa3CTzTvvZgUeIgFVG4fFspbK0XC1-RabopotoLj5SCTgfSIefyE6jJeuP9BojmBzBNaJhHMhlM5ZfOj7U1ZF2_QSY/s2048/Screen+Shot+2020-12-01+at+5.50.41+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35tRZlsPipVH5EUyxDhAkmKXIp_FtI46zx_HbDwH4Xigs6Lx8ooa3CTzTvvZgUeIgFVG4fFspbK0XC1-RabopotoLj5SCTgfSIefyE6jJeuP9BojmBzBNaJhHMhlM5ZfOj7U1ZF2_QSY/w640-h400/Screen+Shot+2020-12-01+at+5.50.41+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Dropshipping Sales for November</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This has been another crazy good month for my dropshipping stores. It's insane to see that we're making more from our ecommerce store each month now for the past two months that we used to make in an entire year! All of the partners in this store are members of <a href="https://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/webinar/?afmc=fd" target="_blank">Anton's Dropshipping Course</a> and we literally just follow what he has taught us. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's been an incredible year and I can't wait to do my end of the year review of how it all went as well as the accounting itself. Dropshipping has been my full time income since I first got into online business in 2013, and now that I have partners running the stores, I get to focus on other things I love. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQw-7PIvPDvHiw5QvmlaoHZfn2vKi7IdJJlePwizTCm5BhFtOOUv95i2pzj8-QIG467LJSOIgJSVA3AxXOhtu8G_Tw90Ea_19543u5X7iL56SyjoH-L9dIK9cwDCeIkSJY3u0BGzLtH8/s2048/Shopify+Dash+Nov.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="2048" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQw-7PIvPDvHiw5QvmlaoHZfn2vKi7IdJJlePwizTCm5BhFtOOUv95i2pzj8-QIG467LJSOIgJSVA3AxXOhtu8G_Tw90Ea_19543u5X7iL56SyjoH-L9dIK9cwDCeIkSJY3u0BGzLtH8/w640-h376/Shopify+Dash+Nov.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Total Income for November</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>What's great about having multiple streams of online income is that they are all 100% location independent which means that even through most of my income actually comes from the USA and 100% of it is in US Dollars, I can earn that money regardless if I'm physically in Sri Lanka, Thailand, or anywhere else in the world. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have also aimed to invest as much of the extra income as possible each month to not only plan for my future retirement, but also so that money can continue earning me money even if I stop working. This month I invested $9,000 into <a href="https://worthybonds.com/?r=kaVpk" target="_blank">Worthy Bonds</a> which pays 5% interest while helping small businesses get funding to buy inventory and continue their business even during this world wide pandemic. If you use my link to sign up for an account, we both get a free bond valued at $10.</div><div><br /></div><div>Although I technically only spent $3,224.65 this month in living expenses, I didn't actually have $2,500 left over as there's a lot of businesses expenses I didn't include in my costs of living. These things include web hosting with <a href="http://www.siteground.com/index.htm?afcode=86c1557bda642faa4c4210e90f45e015" target="_blank">SiteGround</a>, VPN subscription with <a href="https://my.witopia.net/index.php?a=services&rc=yzWt3mEX" target="_blank">WiTopia</a>, email hosting with <a href="http://free30.aweber.com/" target="_blank">Aweber</a>, podcasting hosting and editing, and a whole bunch of other expenses that I don't count into my costs of living as it's doesn't usually apply to most people. </div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Total Earned for December: $5,747.49</h3><div>*decrease from $7,421.80 last month. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RY751S2QsYc" width="640"></iframe>
</div><br />
<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Overall Thoughts for November</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm very fortunate to be "stuck" in Sri Lanka during this world wide pandemic. Every once in a while I start day dreaming about where I would go next and countries that are open to travel, but ultimately I realize how lucky I am to be here where everything is 50-90% off, uncrowded and still open. Life is mostly normal here outside of the capital city where things are a bit more locked down. </div><div><br /></div><div>I had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner hosted at my villa with a dozen friends, and we're able to travel freely, go to restaurants, surf, and hang out without too many restrictions. But again, it wasn't luck, it was a <a href="https://www.johnnyfd.com/2020/03/coronavirus-thoughts-and-travel-plans.html" target="_blank">choice to have stayed in Sri Lanka</a> during the COVID outbreak while others flew home or to other countries. If it wasn't for choosing to get stuck here, I never would have had the time to sit down and develop my Youtube channel, and I never would have met my girlfriend Kristina.</div><div><br /></div><div>Honestly, I do miss having no responsibilities, not having to spend hours a day editing and uploading videos, or the expense of supporting two people, as life would be easier if I was living in a cheap guest house near the beach, eating out each meal instead of cooking, and surfing everyday. But it's definitely comfortable living in nice houses, traveling around, and having a girlfriend to watch Netflix with. My goal though is to get back in shape again as I've gotten a bit too comfortable. My original plan coming to the south was to start surfing again everyday, but so far I've only been 3 or 4 times which is honestly a bit embarrassing. But let's plan for December getting back on track and back in shape.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPv5qIZxO5eb_OjE8jM8HpFowgHj9a07SZrsvSzxIu56CPg8dFNlFKw2PrKfVsf5HBtoNwQM9Y7zqW-h_pzcVORp7Jq7kojJjruQjuGoe0lbDaZNyChj7zcacADHc0RctNANGSNO5wKe4/s2048/IMG_3643.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPv5qIZxO5eb_OjE8jM8HpFowgHj9a07SZrsvSzxIu56CPg8dFNlFKw2PrKfVsf5HBtoNwQM9Y7zqW-h_pzcVORp7Jq7kojJjruQjuGoe0lbDaZNyChj7zcacADHc0RctNANGSNO5wKe4/w640-h480/IMG_3643.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With Love from Sri Lanka,</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Johnny FD<br /><br /></div><div> </div><div><br /></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4194848132778607550.post-72257255075441813952020-11-10T22:53:00.011-08:002021-03-17T07:34:44.677-07:00Digital Nomad Tech: 2021 Macbook Air and iPhone 12 Pro Max + Best Headphones<p>As a digital nomad, someone who works online using tech, a good laptop and phone is pretty much my entire office, production studio and everything I use to built, create, and manage my online businesses and create videos for Youtube. As a full time content creator now, earning close to $2,000 a month from my channel, I've been filming and editing videos from my iPhone 11 and editing them on my 2020 Macbook Air.</p><p><br /></p><p>Just recently, Apple has announced the new iPhone 12 lineups. Also just announced are the new Apple Silicon MacBooks with the M1 chips. Unfortunately I just replaced my Macbook a month ago and feel silly if the new one came out this quickly. Big questions people have been asking me are about the two devices and here are my answers. This post has been updated with the new suggestions for 2021 and an update with now owning the new M1 Macbook and iPhone 12. </p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l2qgTyTVUgI" width="640"></iframe>
</p><p><br /></p><p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Best Phone for 2020</h2><div><br /></div><p></p><p>Why any iPhone and not a cheaper android? iPhone makes the best video cameras on any phone, period. Also things like Airdrop make it super easy to quickly and wirelessly transfer hours worth of video from my phone to my laptop, and send photos and videos to other people without using data.</p><p><br /></p><p>My iPhone 11 is still completely fine and I could easily keep it for another year and still make high quality videos for my channel. If I wasn't making Youtube videos from my phone full time, I would skip this update as none of us will be taking advantage of 5G this year and I don't need any other the other features.</p><p> </p><p>However, since this is my main camera for my business, I will most likely upgrade to the iPhone 12 Pro Max, even though I don't actually want the bigger screen. I would only do it for the best video cameras. The iPhone 12 normal is probably the best bang for the buck for most people. But for me since I'd get the 128gb version as I need the storage for video, the different will only be $220 before tax so it's worth getting the ProMax for me. I just hope I can find it here in Sri Lanka at a decent price before 2021 as unfortunately tech here comes out usually 1-2 months later and at a 20-30% higher price than in the USA.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Update</b>: I bought the base model 128gb iPhone 12 and love it. The photo and video quality, especially with the front camera has improved greatly I also like the new rectangular design. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Update</b>: I bought the base model M1 Macbook Air and LOVE it. It feels like I now own a $6,000 top of the line intel laptop for video editing even though mine is the lowest model with no fan and only 8GB of ram. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnjfHHBQbau5PoHUzku9jyjo9wmiveBC34Jy11qCxglfKiwpiOaTRsG_rO3IL2FncIYCBWfajk_2b67P6BAI4s6U4YnBRiHv-DrpiWMWtZpVr8VwGS6Fq7_Wt0CvIIYLMtxTJFNbTBXU/s2048/IMG_2699.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cnXapYkboRQ" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br /><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEnjfHHBQbau5PoHUzku9jyjo9wmiveBC34Jy11qCxglfKiwpiOaTRsG_rO3IL2FncIYCBWfajk_2b67P6BAI4s6U4YnBRiHv-DrpiWMWtZpVr8VwGS6Fq7_Wt0CvIIYLMtxTJFNbTBXU/w640-h360/IMG_2699.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macbook Air with 30W Charger</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;">Best Laptop for 2021</h2><br /><p></p><p>Why a MacBook and not a cheaper Windows, Linux, etc. It's 100% because of MacOS. Most people should just buy a <a href="https://amzn.to/2GZmUHf" target="_blank">$299 ChromeBook</a> as that's what I would recommend as the fastest, most user friendly OS for people who do everything on the web, which is 99% of people out there. Linux is for tech nerds and not the average user. I've tried Windows 10 on my girlfriend's computer and still hate it. I will wait until the new faster ARM Based Apple Silicon Processors come out on either the MacbookPro (ideally 14" if it comes out) or a new Macbook Air hopefully mid 2021. </p><p>At least for now the 2020 MacbookAir base model is actually fine for the 1080p videos I edit using iMovie for my Youtube Channel. My only regret is not upgrading to 16gb of Ram instead of the base 8gb, but the everything else actually works fine, even the base CPU as the higher core ones will just kick on the annoying fans earlier that don't actually cool the GPU or CPU as it's not connected properly like on the Macbook Pros and don't acutally make most things faster. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>Edit</b>: It's out! I would 100% get the new 2021 Macbook Air with the M1 chip if you need a new laptop, but only if you plan on using Apple based software such as Final Cut, iMovie, etc. as everything else including Photoshop and other 3rd party software won't take advantage of the speed until 2021. See more info on the paragraph below. </p><p><b>Update</b>: I bought it! This is the base model M1 Macbook Air (late 2020) with 8gb of ram and 256HD. It's perfect. I use it to video edit on iMovie and make all of the videos at <a href="http://Youtube.com/JohnnyFD">Youtube.com/JohnnyFD</a> with it and it's super fast, with no issues. <br /><br />I'll test it with Final Cut Pro which I just bought and with 4K soon, so keep an eye out for updates. But from all the testing i've done and seen, it'll handle it fine. It's perfect for photo editing. Battery life is amazing, and I even play games like Hearthstone at full resolution with zero issues.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLjz9p6IeT0U2-ZG4_sN68zszA_wQ-fmNf26lH3pjV9jcqLIw3KJJsTDSk8rAyDRMdKHiypoM1LVQLuWpdTipQUufEwkJZneK33-qkcLyM_vrizle-ot0Kbv6QoVSixv_ohmBJ3XsPFc/s4032/IMG_5431.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="m1 macbook air" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLjz9p6IeT0U2-ZG4_sN68zszA_wQ-fmNf26lH3pjV9jcqLIw3KJJsTDSk8rAyDRMdKHiypoM1LVQLuWpdTipQUufEwkJZneK33-qkcLyM_vrizle-ot0Kbv6QoVSixv_ohmBJ3XsPFc/w640-h480/IMG_5431.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2021 Macbook Air vs. Pro</h2><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The great news is that Apple has released the new ARM based Macbooks with the M1 chip. It's hard to explain how big of a game changer this is as it's not a minor leap, it's a quantum leap. The best way to describe it is imagine your car which was always powered by a gasoline engine suddenly becoming powered by a Tesla motor and becoming all electric. It suddenly becomes much faster, more efficient, completely silent, and has instant torque and startup time. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>For most digital nomads, those who travel with your laptops often, or have to carry it around in a backpack, I would recommend getting the 2021 Macbook Air over the 2021 Macbook Pro. Not only is it a tiny bit lighter, and $300 cheaper, but it's also better in a few ways. First is the wedge shaped keyboard actually makes it more comfortable to type on and hold. Another big difference is the size of the wall charger. The 60W power brick on the Macbook Pro is double the size and weight of the smaller 30W charger that comes with the Air. Sure it may charge a bit faster, but with 15+ hours of battery life anyways, I'd rather carry around a smaller brick. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Also a bit plus of the Macbook Air is that it's completely silent and fanless. The only downside is that even though they have the same M1 chip inside, the lack of the fan may throttle top end performance under heavy use. But you'll have to watch some of the real world testing and benchmarks on channels such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCptwuAv0XQHo1OQUSaO6NHw" target="_blank">MaxTech</a> whenever he releases them. But I can already tell you that for 99% of people, the base <a href="https://amzn.to/3kp8DkM" target="_blank">7-core Macbook Air at $999</a> is the best bet. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My favorite thing about having the base Macbook Air is that instead of buying insurance on it against theft or loss, I'm reassured that wherever I am in the world, I can quickly and easily replace it by buying a new one. Just make sure you keep a Time Machine backup either on the cloud or on a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0874YS2N7/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0874YS2N7&linkCode=as2&tag=buyllc-20&linkId=a32354947dd60ded417001d59324a656" target="_blank">USB-C portable SSD drive</a> to be able to quickly reload your backup onto another machine if needed.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/umoEDgl_xBo" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;">Best Drone for 2021</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">By far the <a href="https://amzn.to/3rJRojj" target="_blank">DJI Mavic Mini 2</a> is the best drone for Youtubers and Travelers. It's tiny, lightweight, powerful, 4K, and everything you'd want or need. Best of all, it's only $449 so if you lose or crash it, you can just buy another one. Also make sure you buy a high speed 32GB for 1080p or 64GB for 4k or larger microSD card with it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I'm 100% happy with my purchase as you can see from all of my new Youtube videos since Dec 20th, 2020 ever since I got it. <div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-nhIKfTq75I" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: right;"><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;">Best Headphones for 2021</h2><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Another great deal is the new <a href="https://amzn.to/3iWnpPw" target="_blank">Apple Airpod Pros for $199</a> as they have the built in noise cancelation. I use the Airpod Pro 2's everyday and love them, I wish I would have gotten them sooner. Never again will I use wired headphones and have the annoyance of untangling them every use. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The $599 Apple AirPod Pros are overpriced. Don't waste your money on them.</p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">And although I really love my noise canceling, <a href="https://amzn.to/2STpC3y" target="_blank">wireless Bose QC35 headphones</a> on flight, trains and other noisy places. It's much easier carrying around a pair of Airpods than big over the ear headphones. So unless you plan on flying a lot in the next year, full sized headphones may not be worth it. The only big benifit of the QC35's over the Airpod Pros is that you can also plug them into airplane TV sets to watch movies with your noise canceling headphones, which is something you can't do with your wireless only ones.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy-QRwhoVOHLMeQfRKrmCSOUEnY3-jTM2FrqWpn6Cf34POpjR5-vvV8oaj8RNWJ2HE0d-W4EZ8tpT0yL_j38ifwAdE2pm2bQzTBZOiTvX8B9NV7Oh-du2vD8vew2h2PoitaNwPJKnXjI/s2048/IMG_6253.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiy-QRwhoVOHLMeQfRKrmCSOUEnY3-jTM2FrqWpn6Cf34POpjR5-vvV8oaj8RNWJ2HE0d-W4EZ8tpT0yL_j38ifwAdE2pm2bQzTBZOiTvX8B9NV7Oh-du2vD8vew2h2PoitaNwPJKnXjI/w640-h480/IMG_6253.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: right;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Final Thoughts on Tech 2020</div></h2><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">That's it for this year and my thoughts on the new Apple iPhone 12 and the Macbook line up. The reason why so many digital nomads use Apple products isn't just a cool design thing, it's because they really are the best. And now that in 2020 Apple finally brought their prices down for things like the Macbook Air, and the iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 11 models, there's really no reason to save money with Android or Windows products. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">At the end of the day, yes there are faster bang for your buck devices out there with other brands, but with Apple, you always know you're getting a great product. I like that even their cheapest phones have great cameras, and even the base laptop is good enough to video edit and do everything you need without having to worry about viruses or annoying forced updates, and other things I hated about using Windows and android. Here's an old video about Macbooks vs. Chromebooks and why 5 years later I'm shocked that so many people are still using Windows. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>
<div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ti7Y7zGx6TA" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">2020 Tech Summary </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></h2><div style="text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">For 99% of people out there, the perfect setup would be an iPhone SE2 for $399 or a base iPhone 12 and either a $299 Chromebook or a $999 2021 Macbook Air base model. For me i'm going to stick to the 2020 Macbook Air and get the new iPhone 12 Pro Max as it's actually <a href="youtube.com/johnnyfd" target="_blank">my full time job to film and create videos.</a> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">But for most people, just get a Chromebook if you do everything on the web like 99% of people do. They're amazing, fast, and easy to use. But the Macbook Air's are a great alternative for other people who need to edit videos in 1080p or the occasional 4k.
P.S. The iPhone 12 Pro Max can make professional quality videos like this! This is insane!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IJvQbEpguq0" width="640"></iframe> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"> Ask me anything else in the comments below. </p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div><div style="text-align: left;">Hope all is well! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Johnny FD</div></div>Johnny FDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16606448957561483887noreply@blogger.com11