Hi fellow Mustachians,
I'm been following this blog for about two years, finally I decided to post something :)
I'm Portuguese, currently living in Switzerland. I'm 24 and I have been developing my FI plan since I'm 20. So far I think I'm doing pretty good and the final goal is getting closer.
As I'm getting close to the point where I won't need to keep working in order cover my expenses, it has been quite challenging to explain to my friends and family what I'm doing in order to achieve my goal, even not going into investment details just the idea of being FI seems very complicated to understand. Some don't understand how's that mathematical possible, others judge and think it's social irresponsible ("what if everyone decided to do the same!!??" - You probably are already familiar with this question), others don't give much importance to what I'm saying because they think I will never do it simply because in their minds no one can be retired at 24-25.
So, being faced with so many questions that I couldn't answer that easily, I felt that I needed to structure the logic behind this in my head and develop straight and clear answers. I spent a lot of time developing a logical line where I present facts and paradoxes about the world we live in and the change that I would like to see happening, if lucky, after the brainwash, I might find some empty space in others brains to inject some new information and perspective.
I have been dropping a few lines about my thoughts on the subject around the web and people seems interested and give me feedback, so based on that I thought it would be interesting to start a blog where I would have the opportunity to write about this things and organize all the information accumulated on my brain. This would be positive essentially for me for keeping track of my progress as an extreme early retiree, but eventually for other readers too. By having a small community around and exchanging ideas and other perspectives is certain to create a positive feedback loop, commonly known as "motivation".
So here it comes my question: In which language should I write my blog?
My mother tongue is Portuguese, my second language is English, far from perfect but I think is good enough to let others grasp something from my text. In Switzerland I speak French but forget about that!!
If I write in Portuguese I might strike a small niche since there are very few blogs on the subject. However the target is very reduced, since the population in Portugal is about 10 millions and having in mind the economical problems that the country is experiencing probably 90% of them are more worried about not starving than in saving money. Also, frugality is on our blood... for lack of choice of course... So there wouldn't be left much to say about this. Still, I know the reality there and some information could be of some use for readers. Then I have to consider Brazil, they speak Portuguese-Brazilian, when written the differences are as minimal as English-American English. The target is much larger, the population is around 200 millions but I have no idea of how the idea of FI is spread there. There are a few other ex-Portuguese colonies that speak Portuguese so the total target is around 250 millions.
If I write in English the competition is high and I'm not sure yet if I can keep the writing interesting enough since I'm not 100% comfortable with the language. However I think some things I have to say might be worth sharing and be accessible to all Europeans interested in FI, mainly when it comes to find opportunities and live abroad, a very common reality for many Europeans, unfortunately a decision taken for need and not for choice. Choosing the best investment vehicles and taxation is another subject that I can cover, while in US it seems to be very straight forward, in Europe the industry orientated to personal investors isn't so developed as in US, resulting in very high costs in commissions and fees if one isn't careful.
Basically a blog written in Portuguese won't have much competition in Portugal, which is good, but a small target since the country is so small. I'm not sure if what I have to share can be useful for non-Europeans, I think I had to try and see. A blog written in English would be better addressed for those who would look for information like what I have to share, however the competition is high and I'm not very confident about my English.
Honestly, I think while writing this post I found the answer for my own question... not so surprising, happens a lot when I decide to put ideas or thoughts on paper.
Since it's already written, I will post it anyway. And of course I always have some room for adjustment, so your input still being welcome :)