Burn the American Dream Down & Build Abroad with Vanessa Wachtmeister

She was one of the baddies who showed up on this show back in 2021 — and four years later, Vanessa Wachtmeister is back and she is NOT the same woman. She's paid off $130,000 in debt, earned her German passport, and is about to launch her second tech startup. And she did all of it from Europe, where blueberries cost a dollar and a minor surgery runs you 300 euro — total.In this episode, Vanessa and I are getting into ALL of it: what it actually looks like to build a career, a business, and a life abroad. How she navigated work visas, taxes, and even burning down a GmbH to the tune of $100K of her own money to rebuild her startup in the US. We're talking passport diversification as the new financial strategy, why the American dream was always a lie, and how her new job platform Go Onwards is coming for LinkedIn's neck.If you've been thinking about leaving, this is your sign to stop playing and start moving.WE GET INTO:00:00 - Intro: The Baddie Who Left America in 2013 and Never Looked Back02:51 - Why Vanessa Said "Bye, America" at 21 with $2,000 and a Dream04:20 - The World Tour: China, London, Syria & Germany05:42 - What Her Life Would Have Looked Like If She'd Stayed08:42 - How to Actually Get a Job Abroad: Visas, Work Permits & What Nobody Tells You10:22 - How to Choose Where to Move13:20 - Grocery Bills, Free Healthcare & Why She Can Never Come Back16:16 - From Masterclass Girlie to Tech Founder: Her Creator Evolution18:57 - The Gap in the Market That Built Go Onwards21:55 - Why LinkedIn Doesn't Give a F*ck About Job Hunters (and She Does)23:33 - Pricing, Features & What You Get with Go Onwards24:44 - The $100K Founder Mistake She Made in Germany28:36 - The Real Tea on European Taxes31:33 - Digital Nomads, Remote Work & What 100% Remote Actually Means Abroad32:03 - How She Made $310K and Paid $26 in Federal Tax35:22 - Passports Are the New Insurance Policy36:03 - The (Very Legal, Slightly Gray) Way She's Bringing Her Family to Europe38:08 - How to Financially Prepare to Move AbroadKEY TAKEAWAYS:Getting a job in Europe as a US passport holder is more doable than you think — but you need to understand how work permits and visa sponsorship actually workThe Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets you exclude up to $130K of foreign income from US federal taxes — stack it with tax credits and you'll be shocked at your billPassport diversification is the new financial strategy — multiple citizenships give you options that no investment account canGo Onwards filters out ghost posts, non-English jobs, and low-paying roles so you only see high-quality opportunities with visa sponsorship across all 30 EU economic areas + the UKYou don't need to fundraise to fund a startup — Vanessa liquidated part of her stock portfolio at peak to self-fund, treating it as diversification into a revenue-generating assetLiving abroad doesn't have to be expensive — Vanessa's all-in monthly budget in Berlin (including rent, health insurance, CrossFit, and Ubers home) is $2,500RESOURCES MENTIONED:Listen to Vanessa’s past episode of the podGo Onwards (Vanessa's job platform)CONNECT WITH VANESSA:InstagramWebsiteTAKE THE NEXT STEP:Yo Quiero Dinero Private MembershipRead my book, Financially Lit!Leave me a voicemailThis episode of Yo Quiero Dinero was produced by Heart Centered Podcasting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.