Reality Check

Aug 2, 2026

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5 min read

Everybody Passes The First Month

Everyone tells you to go for a month and see if it suits you. Month one is a holiday with a laptop in it. The month that decides it is month 4.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Jul 31, 2026

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4 min read

It Took Me Months To Eat Dinner Alone

I spent a year eating standing up, at carts and on the edge of a bed. The problem was never being alone. It was the second set of chopsticks getting taken away.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

I Was Friendly For A Year And Stayed A Stranger

Jul 19, 2026

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3 min read

I Was Friendly For A Year And Stayed A Stranger

I spent a year being friendly and stayed a stranger. What finally let me in was a motorbike and a favor at 6 in the morning.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Jul 6, 2026

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3 min read

The Datacenter Is The New Factory

They told my father to learn a machine that was never his. Now they tell you to learn AI. Same advice, bigger building, colder room.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Jul 2, 2026

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3 min read

You Can't Work From A View

The wifi stopped being the hard part years ago. Quiet is the thing you can't carry in the bag, and it never shows up in the photo.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Your Passport Decides More Than Your Plan

Jun 30, 2026

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3 min read

Your Passport Decides More Than Your Plan

They sell it as a mindset. It's a document. You got handed yours at birth, and the brochure never mentions which one you need.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

They Sold You Smarter. Now They Sell You Cheaper.

Jun 29, 2026

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3 min read

They Sold You Smarter. Now They Sell You Cheaper.

The machine manufactured the spend. Now it's selling you the cure for it. Same room, new product, two invoices.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Jun 27, 2026

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3 min read

Work Was Never Supposed To Be The Dream

"Do what you love" was never permission. It was a quota. And the bar just went up to two million dollars.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

The Job Title Died And Nobody Held A Funeral

Jun 26, 2026

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3 min read

The Job Title Died And Nobody Held A Funeral

Digital nomad was a job description wearing a costume. The machine took the job. What's left is the part that was always yours.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Jun 23, 2026

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4 min read

They Call It A Phase Because They Left

It's not a law of nature. It's an exit report. The good part arrives later than the patience most people packed.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Jun 22, 2026

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4 min read

The Web Is Being Rebuilt. Not For You.

You didn't lose a client. You lost a reader. The web is being rebuilt for the thing that reads the page instead of you.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Kampot Is The Compromise. Most People Can't Handle That Word.

Jun 19, 2026

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5 min read

Kampot Is The Compromise. Most People Can't Handle That Word.

You pick what you're optimising for. Then you live with it.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Finding Clients Is The Job. Code Is The Receipt.

Jun 18, 2026

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5 min read

Finding Clients Is The Job. Code Is The Receipt.

You didn't leave employment to escape the commercial part of the work. You left to do it without anyone helping you.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

The Antenna. You Either Build It Or You Don't.

Jun 17, 2026

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4 min read

The Antenna. You Either Build It Or You Don't.

You either build the antenna or you don't, and the only way to build it is being out here long enough to get it wrong and live through it.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

The Wrong Degree Was Always The Right One.

Jun 16, 2026

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4 min read

The Wrong Degree Was Always The Right One.

She left a medical degree to learn digital marketing.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Retrain. It Takes Weeks Not Years. And You're Already Ahead.

Jun 9, 2026

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4 min read

Retrain. It Takes Weeks Not Years. And You're Already Ahead.

The market changed. The tools are cheap. The retraining is shorter than you think. Move.

Andrew No Refunds

Minimalism

If You Can Live Without It For Three Months, You Can Live Without It Forever

Jun 4, 2026

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4 min read

If You Can Live Without It For Three Months, You Can Live Without It Forever

The storage unit is not a logistics solution. It is an unanswered question, billed monthly.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Escaping And Chasing A Dream Are Not The Same Thing.

May 31, 2026

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5 min read

Escaping And Chasing A Dream Are Not The Same Thing.

The destination is identical. The architecture underneath is completely different.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

May 26, 2026

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5 min read

The Dark Side Of The Smile.

Thailand smiled at me for two years before I understood what the smile actually was.

Andrew No Refunds

Money

May 20, 2026

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4 min read

The Single Point of Failure.

The fintech worked perfectly until it didn't. This is not a Wise story.

Andrew No Refunds

Money

May 13, 2026

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4 min read

The Exit Strategy Nobody Built.

Plan the entry. Plan the exit. Know what happens in year five.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

The Productivity Stack Nobody Talks About.

May 11, 2026

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4 min read

The Productivity Stack Nobody Talks About.

Not the aspirational version. The actual one.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

80% Happy. The Most Honest Number In Remote Work.

May 9, 2026

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4 min read

80% Happy. The Most Honest Number In Remote Work.

Not the cheat code. Not the dream. 80%. And why that's enough.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

The Things Nobody Puts In The Cost Of Living Breakdown.

May 5, 2026

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4 min read

The Things Nobody Puts In The Cost Of Living Breakdown.

The spreadsheet shows you the number. It leaves out the costs that don't have a number yet.

Andrew No Refunds

Business

Build The Income Before You Buy The Ticket.

May 4, 2026

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4 min read

Build The Income Before You Buy The Ticket.

The business built under financial pressure in a foreign city is a worse business than the one built before you go.

Andrew No Refunds

Reality Check

Everybody Passes The First Month

It Took Me Months To Eat Dinner Alone

I Was Friendly For A Year And Stayed A Stranger

The Datacenter Is The New Factory

You Can't Work From A View

Your Passport Decides More Than Your Plan

They Sold You Smarter. Now They Sell You Cheaper.

Work Was Never Supposed To Be The Dream

The Job Title Died And Nobody Held A Funeral

They Call It A Phase Because They Left

The Web Is Being Rebuilt. Not For You.

Kampot Is The Compromise. Most People Can't Handle That Word.

Finding Clients Is The Job. Code Is The Receipt.

The Antenna. You Either Build It Or You Don't.

The Wrong Degree Was Always The Right One.

Retrain. It Takes Weeks Not Years. And You're Already Ahead.

If You Can Live Without It For Three Months, You Can Live Without It Forever

Escaping And Chasing A Dream Are Not The Same Thing.

The Dark Side Of The Smile.

The Single Point of Failure.

The Exit Strategy Nobody Built.

The Productivity Stack Nobody Talks About.

80% Happy. The Most Honest Number In Remote Work.

The Things Nobody Puts In The Cost Of Living Breakdown.

Build The Income Before You Buy The Ticket.

Andrew - No Refunds