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Comment by 1letterunixname | Hacker News Reader

I did the following for ~9 years.

0. Find someplace warmer and milder. CA coast between Los Angeles and San Diego.

1. Waterproof dry bags for electronics with desiccants. Beware taking cold electronics into warm rooms because that equals condensation, shorts, and/or corrosion.

2. Live in a vehicle, preferably a small RV and somewhere not adverse to vehicle dwelling.

3. Focus on what clients want specifically, not all possible technologies. Sign contracts charging by the project milestone rather than an hourly rate. Deliver without delay. Get an LLC (corporation) because it's cheap and allows large clients to pay you. Don't work for peanuts. $3k/week as an example.

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Canadian citizens need a green card or other visa to work in the USA. Living on the street in southern California, already overflowing with homeless people, seems worse than what Alberta might offer, except for a better climate. Especially for someone who has mental health issues.

I agree with the contracting advice, but without a decent network of contacts, a track history and reputation, anyone will find it tough to get contract/freelance work. Especially now with so many Americans laid off from tech jobs trying to do the same thing.

There's nothing about an LLC that make it easier for large clients to pay you. Freelancers can work as sole proprietors and get a business bank account. I've freelanced for a long time and never had a problem getting paid, or had to form an LLC or corporation to look more real or get paid. The big problem with getting paid in this case is not having an American Social Security Number for tax reporting (1099). An LLC will allow hiding that problem for a while, but then you can add tax evasion or fraud to the immigration violations.

Thanks for the advice! I'm not sure how feasible it would be for me to make it out to BC with next to no money + the cost of living out there is somewhat insane but I'll keep that in mind. I hope you're doing well :)

Does Vancouver lack a vehicle dwelling ban? They seem to be fairly liberal and have a relatively nice climate.

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