How much do the Selling Sunset houses cost? And other important real estate questions
Is it good for us to aggressively Google what it would cost to live in a luxury mansion in Beverly Hills? Probably not, but we’re going to do it anyway.
Living abroad comes with its own challenges but in that, its rewards and opportunities — whether they are professional, personal, or financial. We spoke to three British customers who are successfully building lives abroad and simplifying their international finances by using Wise.
I left London about 10 years ago. Moving from Europe to Asia was a big leap for me. It was quite scary because I had just formed some networks of collectors and people who had supported my work in London.
When you're working in a foreign country, one of the first things you realize is that you need a team around you. From a local sourcing person, a project manager to contractors and suppliers. To get that team of professionals, you have to pay people. It was quite a challenge to use my bank and open accounts in various countries. That’s when I looked into Wise.
Thanks to Wise, I’m able to get payments over to my suppliers in a timely manner, and there’s no need to stress about being from a different country, bad exchange rates or hidden fees.
I remember when I did my first project in the US. I made the artwork, but then I needed installers to help set it up. They were all local people and needed to get paid. I ended up using a bank account from Singapore and was charged a lot.
It’s so important for businesses because I set my own prices and rates and I need to know how much of that will get lost in bank fees. I calculated all the fees from this project, and over a year, I was spending more than $1000 in fees. It can be frustrating because it's hard-earned money that just gets lost.
Now, I’m spending a lot less with Wise and it’s more transparent. I know exactly what’s in my account and what’s not. This is something that’s definitely worked, especially for a small business like mine, but maybe for everyone else too.
I left the military in 2013 after 17 years. I went to Thailand for 6 months to go diving and was offered a job teaching people how to dive. I spent 4 years working in Thailand then moved to Papua New Guinea to head dive operations at a resort. My next step was to throw all of my energy into growing a business and start my own dive agency.
I spent a couple of years looking for the right payment structure for my company. I've used bank transfers, PayPal, Square, Stripe, Alipay. Then I looked into Wise and since then, everything's moved forward exponentially. There are so many currencies and it’s the easiest platform to use. About 99% of my regular customers are on Wise now and pay me through there. Most of them have taken advantage of the Wise debit card too so they’re not paying a fortune on trips.
I use the Wise card for my business as I travel all the time. I also like that we can set up accounts in different currencies and receive almost instantaneous deposits from all over the world. Within the app, I can convert the money to Australian dollars and it’s done at a minimal fee. Now when it comes to purchasing equipment, I know exactly how much I've got to spend. I use my Wise account because I know my money will be safe and I avoid costly bank fees.
I moved to San Francisco from London when I was younger. It was so different. Everyone had a go-getter attitude, which really inspired me to take my work to the next level. The US gave me an ambitiousness that has driven my career.
However, it was when I went to work in Japan that I started to learn how to develop a business and manage money. The people there were so meticulous — it forced me to focus and learn how to run the company financially.
Using my bank to pay freelancers was very expensive and a rip-off. That’s why I turned to Wise. I actually got a call recently from my bank trying to sell me on their foreign exchange, but I told them I use Wise. They said, “well you can’t beat them on price”. Wise is the only provider where I know I’m getting a fair price, and it’s been so easy to use. I’m an artist, I don’t want to spend a lot of time making payments.
Having a diverse professional background has allowed me to create a diverse network. It enables me to tap into different cultures and also gives me a 24-hour workforce. I work with freelancers from around the world — from Japan to the United States and Europe. We’ve worked with 70 artists in 16 countries and had projects in 26 countries. Having a global payment system we can rely on has been so vital.
Wise is proud to help people manage their finances all over the world - for less money and with less stress. We're here to make living a borderless life easy. Join our 11 million customers at Wise.com, or through our Android or iOS app. |
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As told by Natalia Romero. Edited by Sandy Choephel. Photography kindly provided by Nicola, Matt and Ben - and edited by Stephanie Stoddard Cortés.
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