I just wanted to share my success story as I’ve recently been hired in a 100% remote position. I found my job in a Facebook group that is dedicated to expats for the particular city I wanted to live in. I won’t name my specific city but for example the Facebook group is called “Lisbon Expats”. In this particular group there are at least 2 remote positions listed weekly and also there are members who post seeking remote work and have been hired.

I recommend you join expat groups as there are many people, small businesses looking for workers but want to avoid paying to list a job if they can. Alternatively, join these types of groups and ask if anyone is looking for help. Market yourself and your skills, you’ll be surprised what you can find. There was a member who posted a flyer in the group with her skills (VA, admin type skills) and she received a lot of comments from people interested in her help.

Also, networking is important. I arrived in my chosen city one week ago and went on a tinder date with a guy who owns a few e-commerce businesses. I asked him if he needed help. He said that actually yes he could use someone to run his chat support. We set up a meeting the following day and he trained me, so if I didn’t land my current job I would have worked for him instead. This guy was not looking to hire someone but when I approached him he realized that actually he could use someone to help him. Sometimes you have to create your own job.

I hope this can offer some encouragement. Going this route you will be competing with a lot less people. Of course use wisdom and be wary of scams like you would on any other platform. Good luck!