Immigration and Charges

dasun-nirmitha · ‎07-25-2021

I'm a full-time freelancer residing in Sri Lanka & freelancing as a Technical Writer on Upwork. I currently charge $25/hr and basically manage all my finances through my earnings through fixed/hourly contracts on Upwork (which is doable given the living costs in SL)

I have plans on immigrating to Australia & surely I'd have to face spikes in my living costs. And, Australian Tech Writers on Upwork currently seem to charge around $70-$80/hr.

So, once I'm at Aussie can I simply raise my hourly rates to match that as well? Or would the sudden rise from $25 to $70 have adverse effects?

I'd be changing my Upwork location to Australia once I'm there so I'd be shown as an 'Australian freelancer' to any potential Upwork client and be competing with other Australian freelance writers.

colettelewis · ‎07-25-2021

Dasun N wrote:
I'm a full-time freelancer residing in Sri Lanka & freelancing as a Technical Writer on Upwork. I currently charge $25/hr and basically manage all my finances through my earnings through fixed/hourly contracts on Upwork (which is doable given the living costs in SL)

I have plans on immigrating to Australia & surely I'd have to face spikes in my living costs. And, Australian Tech Writers on Upwork currently seem to charge around $70-$80/hr.
So, once I'm at Aussie can I simply raise my hourly rates to match that as well? Or would the sudden rise from $25 to $70 have adverse effects?

I'd be changing my Upwork location to Australia once I'm there so I'd be shown as an 'Australian freelancer' to any potential Upwork client and be competing with other Australian freelance writers.

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You can change your fee structure whenever you like and wherever you live. Just be careful to charge what the market will bear. You seem to be in a good niche, so the amount seems reasonable. But perhaps you should start now and gradually increase your rates rather than suddenly jumping suddenly to three times what you normally charge.

jr-translation · ‎07-26-2021

You should gradually increase your rates. It should not depend on your location but on your qualification and the quality of your work. Instead of working more jobs at a lower rate just because you can afford oit where you are living, increase your rate and save money for later or take a break in between.

prestonhunter · ‎07-26-2021

I hire many artists and designers. I can assure you that I don't hire freelancers based on where they live.

I don't care about your "living expenses." I don't care if you live in Australia or some other place. What does that have to do with me?

I look at an artist's portfolio. And I look at rates.