A Guide to Freedom of Choice in South America.
Freedom of choice is something everyone should aim for. I’m 3 years in, with still a long way to go. Here are 6 steps I’ve taken to make it a sustainable path so far, along with recommendations.
It’s a strange range of topics I cover on Geólogo Trader - from leaning on my background in mining in Australia to reach out and consult through this platform, to posting Argentina/Buenos Aires/travel content, to writing about men’s topics and the reasons why I decided to leave Australia.
At the end of the day, what I’m trying to achieve and the most important thing for me (and it should be for everyone) is freedom of choice.
What do I mean by this? I will discuss it in this article.
*Apologies for the lack of articles, sense for adventure has been overtaking me lately and I’ve been on a big mission in another South America country - more to come on all this shortly.*
Now, I won’t shy away from calling out the parts of modern-day Australia that, as a proud Australian, I find deeply frustrating. We seem to have a knack for importing woke, sabotaging our own energy system, inflating the housing market to absurd levels, making it near impossible for people my age to buy in. On top of that, we’re happily importing record numbers just to prop up an economy that essentially revolves around selling mortgages and shipping dirt off to Asia. Meanwhile, the Aussie dollar is circling the drain.
In saying that – Australia is still the lucky country, and I wouldn’t trade being from there for anything. Especially when I watched my younger brother hit the winning runs on debut for the Australian Test cricket team in Sydney. Dead set proud moment!
I tell everyone I meet – how great it is to be from Oz. But here’s the thing… I don’t live there anymore.
For now, I’ve got different priorities.
For me, recently turned 34, it boiled down to a few simple priorities:
Optimising tax – I’d rather not lose 30-50% of what I earn. That cash? It can cover cost of living or be spent as I see fit. Paying tax to the Australian government just doesn’t feel right since I don’t live there.
New experiences – Assimilating into a new culture, dating, living life differently from what I grew up around.
Freedom from rigid repetitive schedules – I’m not flying to a mine site on a ridiculous roster or traveling to an office everyday.
Exploring opportunities in Argentina and South America using my professional background (mining/exploration) - The economy is shifting in Argentina, and with Javier Milei in charge, foreign investment is eager to back the world’s only libertarian movement in power. That’s an incredibly rare scenario, and I want to be here to witness and participate in it. Just as I write this, Argentina’s closely watched country risk has dropped to its lowest level since 2018—a signal that the tides are turning.
Beyond Argentina, I’m noticing emerging opportunities in mining and exploration across other South American countries in the coming 12-18 months. While these shifts may not be on the same libertarian scale as Milei’s, they show signs of moving in a different direction—more business-friendly and therefore opportunity.
It’s an exciting time to be in the region, leveraging my professional background and social media network to explore and capitalise on these opportunities as they unfold.
The reality check of my current situation:
Life is great, but there’s still more I want to achieve and it isn’t all sunshine, rainbows and smooth sailing!
I’m navigating all this in my early 30s—not my 50s or 60s. While I’ve been fortunate enough to build some paper wealth, it’s not at the level of a retiree who has fewer years to plan for. That means I’m still very much in the thick of it, with plenty left to figure out.
I’ve watched countless people retreat to safety because they couldn’t handle the uncertainty. And that’s okay—not everyone is wired for this kind of lifestyle. But for those who are, here’s what I’ve learned since leaving Australia ~3 years go, as a single, quite introverted, early 30s, to explore what South America has to offer.
Below is a list of 6 steps to follow and implement after quitting your job and heading off to somewhere like South America, drawn from my experiences and the mistakes I’ve made along the way.
*This article is admittedly written from a heavily biased single male perspective.*