Five Flags
UPDATED February 15, 2023
I’ve changed the terminology from “Flags” to “Bases” because it makes more sense to me.
Once you’ve escaped the West and are settled in another, hopefully more promising nation, things are looking up for you.
Instead of being at risk of getting dragged down when the West collapses, you are in an ideal position to profit from the nearly inevitable rise of other nations and you can thrive abroad..
However, just moving to a single other country and putting all your eggs in that particular basket is not the best thing to do – no matter how perfect it seems.
You would end up trading one country that you fully rely on for another – albeit a non-collapsing one.
After all, no matter how well you’ve researched the country you’re planning to move to, there could always be factors you did not take into account that cause that country to turn into a less than pleasant place to live down the road.
They might increase their previously low taxes, curtail the rights foreigners or non-native citizens have, experience a coup, get invaded, and so on. All of these things have happened before, and will almost certainly happen again in the future, regardless of how great any country may be right now.
The solution?
Never rely on any single country.
Instead of having one country that dominates every aspect of your life, spread important aspects of your life across multiple locations, such as your legal residence, investments, banking and businesses.
This comes down to internationalizing and diversifying your lifestyle: becoming a Citizen of the World.
If you want to be truly free, it is therefore imperative you set up Bases in multiple countries across the world.
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Get the bookWhat are bases?
A “Base” (previously known as “Flag”) in this context refers to an important aspect of your life.
The title of this article is “Five Flags”, which is the most common term people use when referring to this principle, but I think Bases are a more appropriate way to look at this concept, so I’ll use that terminology moving forward.
It’s also the one I used in my book (check it out on Amazon) and on my YouTube channel.
If you want to be truly free, it is therefore imperative you set up Bases in multiple countries across the world.
I’ve mentioned this concept sporadically throughout the site, and now it’s finally time to explore this in more detail.
There are a number of specific Bases people talk about in this context, and usually they mean five, but in my opinion, the most important ones are:
As you can tell, there are six, according to my standards. You can place more, or less, depending on how safe you want to make your lifestyle.
Apart from these, you could also consider things like your Family a “Base”, as in they could be located in a country you visit frequently, but not necessarily live in all the time.
The same goes for having sexual partners across the world in different countries, if you’re leading a sexually open lifestyle.
Having all your Bases in the same country is very dangerous, and you are virtually guaranteed to run into issues because of it.
I would strongly recommend you set up Bases in as many countries as is applicable and practical for you.
Why set up Bases?
If you rely 100% on any one country, no matter how perfect it may seem, you cannot be truly independent, because something could happen to that country (and thus to all of the Bases which you rely upon in that country), and in that scenario you’d be nearly completely helpless and could run into serious, life-disturbing events.
While setting up Bases was only optional (yet highly recommended) in the past, at the moment I would say it is mandatory for every man or woman who wants to be free to lead an international lifestyle, with multiple Bases planted all over the world.
The need for having international Bases wasn’t a huge issue many years ago, when Western countries were actually good and stable places to live, with a thriving economy and relatively more personal freedom.
Keeping all your Bases in a Western nation right now is madness because not only are you relying on only one nation for your well-being; it’s a collapsing nation as well.
This particular issue once again emphasizes the importance of escaping the West.
Moving to a better country is a great first step, and it will improve your life in so many ways, but if you set up every one of your Bases in the same country (any country, it doesn’t matter which one), that place can and will dominate your life.
You are at the mercy and whims of that nation, and by extension of what other people do, want, and how they vote.
Others determine the course of your life, what you can and cannot do. Obviously, this could be disastrous for your personal freedom and happiness.
Never be dependent on any single country for multiple Bases.
If you do, that country has control over you.
That particular government knows exactly how much you are worth, how much you earn, where the money goes, and they can tax you to the fullest extent.
They can choose to limit your freedom to travel in or out of that country, take away your citizenship, freeze your banking accounts, shut down your businesses, confiscate your assets (for whatever reason they deem fit), and so on.
If you think any of this sounds unrealistic, you haven’t been following the news lately.
COVID-19 might not be the leading cause of the collapse of the West, but it most certainly has expedited it.
More and more civil liberties are being taken away, and people who have only one (Western) nation for their Bases are starting to experience just how detrimental this can be.
And do you think your particular nation will become freer in the next few years, or will there be more and more restrictions on what you can do?
Benefits of having Bases
The benefits of having multiple Bases across the world are legion, but they can be boiled down to two simple but oh-so-important factors:
- More personal freedom
- Lower and fewer taxes
More freedom is by far the most important aspect here, and that is exactly what having multiple Bases can give you.
No single nation will be able to control you anymore, be it logistically (where you can go and live), financially (how much money they can legally steal from you) or psychologically (you will never feel restricted anymore, like a caged animal).
If you have your assets, businesses and sources of income, bank accounts, citizenship and passports spread across a variety of countries, no single nation can ever shut you down (unless you break the law and get imprisoned of course).
You are a citizen of the world, free to travel around, make plenty of money, and live a happy life.
Lower and fewer taxes is another aspect that has a huge impact on your life.
The average Westerner pays over 50% of his or her income in some form of taxes.
This is by far the biggest expense over the course of your life, more so than cars, a house, sending multiple kids through school, food, health care, and so on.
Imagine how much more money you’d have if you could reduce your taxes to 20%, 10%, single digits, or even mostly eliminate them (by moving to a country such as Dubai or Paraguay).
A net income of $50,000 a year suddenly goes up to $65,000 or $75,000, without having to work more.
And what’s more, because of the lower cost of living in most countries you can move to, your money is worth even more, giving you the option of either severely increasing your quality of life, reducing the amount of time you need to work to maintain your desired lifestyle, or being able to save and invest a lot more.
If you choose wisely, you put each Base in a country that is most advantageous to it.
And as I’ll tackle in articles about each specific Base, there are plenty of options.
Should you set up Bases?
The concept of having multiple Bases all across the world probably looks very intimidating by now.
It doesn’t have to be, because you are in no way obligated to do all of this to the extent which is recommended.
You can customize this method, and only create the Bases that are relevant to you.
Or none, but that definitely comes with some risk.
Yes, going all-in with multiple Bases all over the world will take a lot of time, involve plenty of paperwork and money, but in the end it will definitely be worth it.
Ask yourself what you want to do, what is important in your life?
Do you want to be able to travel across the world whenever you want, knowing you have guaranteed access to several nations, and that your money is safe because you’re highly diversified across the globe?
Or do you just want to move to another country and get Residence or Citizenship there, and not worry about any of the other Bases?
Both options are fine, as is everything in between.
The best way to handle this, if you aren’t sure yet what you want, is to just take it one Base at a time.
Don’t rush it, just start with two Bases, before you even move out of the West.
Set up a location independent business, think about which country you could potentially move to, and where you can get Residence and/or Citizenship.
Once you’ve moved to your nation of choice, get started on attaining either Residence and/or Citizenship. If it’s the latter, you’ll probably not want to stay there forever, as mentioned earlier.
At this point, you’re doing very well already.
Now it’s just a matter of methodically adding Bases as you work on your international lifestyle.
Do more research, travel to potentially interesting locations. Open some bank accounts, do some investments, get started on another Residence.
It’s 100% up to you. Decide what you want in life, and then pursue the Bases you need to make it a reality.
If you want to learn more about this, check out the following articles:
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