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Welcome to B4E.

 

My name is Emile Phaneuf (III), and I have been living and traveling the world for most of my adult life. I am from the United States originally, but my background is geographically diverse. I moved to Tokyo, Japan as a young adult and lived there for two years, studied abroad twice in Brazil as a university student thereafter, accepted an opportunity from a multinational to live and work in New Zealand, where I resided for over five years. For over a decade I conducted insane amounts of international business travel throughout six continents as I managed the international sales (Export) departments for manufacturers. I presently reside (again) in Brazil, and the adventure continues.

 

Among the things I have learned in my adult life that have been most rewarding is finding ways to travel the globe at little or no cost to me. It's true; I have rarely paid for my adventures because I was able to find a niche line of work that required my presence in distant lands. (I also learned the lucrative practice of maximizing credit card travel rewards, but that's another story).

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As a young adult living in Japan, I often asked expats: "What do you do for a living?" "What education is required to do that?" As the years went by, instead of directing my questions to random expats, I usually directed them to tax accountants, immigration lawyers, internet searches, and books. My questions also became more sophisticated: "How many days can I reside in that country before its government considers me a tax resident?" Or, "How long after obtaining a permanent residence visa in that country do I have to wait before I qualify to apply for citizenship?" But these days, I also find myself asking: "Which countries handled COVID-19 in the least authoritarian manner?" — especially after what my family and I went through in New Zealand (an experience we do not plan to repeat).

 

I have studied geopolitical issues for a number of years — both formally and informally. Along the way, I have developed a personal strategy for dealing with the turbulent and changing world order that works for me and my family. I don't follow the American tradition of stocking up on guns, waiting for Armageddon, willing to defend a plot of land against a foreign or domestic threat.

 

My own personal strategy is highly geared towards "exit." You can call this foot-voting. If things get bad wherever I am, I don't "stand and fight." I merely bring whatever highly-portable wealth I do have and go where I can live a quality life, in peace. My ballot-box votes will never flip an election. As such, if the goal is to live a better life, I consider trying to influence political systems through ballot-box voting entirely a waste of time. I also don't get completely married to one geography; I want diversification. My strategy is one of ensuring that most of what I own is portable, that my kids are always learning new languages, and that I always work towards increasing the probability that other (more welcoming) nation states will accept my family and me as residents or citizens. It just so happens that Brazil — despite its high corruption, high inflation, and global tax system — fits quite nicely into my strategy as described above. (Here's how).

 

As for a long-term strategy, high net worth individuals looking to reduce their global tax footprint may consider Brazil to be a place worth residing in for, say, 3-5 months per year rather than stay year around (due to the global tax issue; the Brazilian government considers you a tax resident after 183 days of a calendar year). But Brazil's trade-offs make it a country worth your attention for the reasons I detailed on the main page. I founded Brazil 4 Expats to help like-minded expats make Brazil a home for themselves.

 

Ready to make Brazil part of your global strategy? Reach out below! ⬇️