An Introduction to Location Independence

What could be better than traveling the world, sampling the best this planet has to offer, all while earning an income online?
Ummm… nothing?

Traditionally, if you wanted a job that would allow travel then you would probably look to become a pilot, air hostess or traveling salesperson. There’s nothing wrong with these careers, but you’re not really your own boss and you have to work to other people’s schedules. Your level of freedom is limited.

For the past 15 months I’ve been living in my home town of Christchurch, New Zealand, spending time with family, working on my relationship and building up my work to the point I can leave and earn a good salary no matter where I am.

This is an introduction to location independence:

This is the essence of location independence; being able to be anywhere, while still earning an income.

The Internet has been a big game changer with entire companies based solely online and individuals being able to freelance their skills online.

In the past, the only real way you could obtain location independence is by having some assets that earn an amazing income stream. Even if you saved a small fortune for travel, there probably would be a point in time when it ran out.

On the 30th of July I’m leaving to travel indefinitely.

Wanna know something surprising? Traveling, or living overseas, actually costs me less money than living in New Zealand? Food, petrol, even accommodation is really expensive in this country. I spend less money when I’m overseas (granted I choose “cheap” places) and enjoy it way more – it might have something to do with the $7 hourly massages…

How is Location Independence Different to Long Term Travel?

The main thing is that  I’ll be working. So each week I’ll need to pencil in some time to sit down and work on new projects, organise my virtual assistants and writers and make sure everything’s running smoothly. On top of that, I’ll get back into managing my social media for The Wrong Way Home. I’ve been a little bit slack!

One of the key differences between location independence and long term travel is that with location independence you don’t have to be moving around, but you have the option to. I’ve found, naturally, now that I am working while I travel I don’t like moving around so much because I need to settle a bit before I can get into work mode.

What Do I Like About Being Location Independent/ An Online Entrepreneur ?

Well, I can work in my pajamas… that’s a pretty cool bonus. I like that I’m my own boss. That all I need to make money is a laptop and an internet connection. I can schedule my day or week however I want, to maximise time with friends or family or just doing activities I love.

A huge bonus is that I can leverage the lower costs of other countries and live more comfortably than I do in New Zealand for a lesser price, saving more money. There’s also the fact I can travel… as much as I want, which is pretty cool. I’m no way near done traveling there’s still so many places I want to go and plenty I want to re-visit.

Basically, I can do whatever I want. My partner wants to go surf, so we’re planning to spend some time in Bali, visit Hawaii next year, maybe basing ourselves in Central America. I want to learn Spanish and volunteer, so I’ll be hoping to spend a fair bit of time in Spanish-speaking countries.

Many people set their eyes on retirement – it’ll be a chance for them to do what they want, finally. I’d rather work a little (10 hours a week) and get to do whatever I want now while saving a decent amount of money.

Where Are We Going to Go?

Wherever the wind takes us.

It might sound a little silly, but I really don’t know. We have a few loose plans and a few things set in stone. For example, we’re definitely flying to Denpasar on the 30th of July, so we’ll probably visit some of my favourite places around Bali and might even venture to Lombok. After then, we’ll head to Singapore for a few days so I can show my partner around and he can catch up with a friend. Then we’ll be off to Dubai to set up our banking there, and then making our way to France for a couple of weeks to spend some time with my partner’s family.

After then, who knows? Anywhere with a decent beach, warm weather and that is relatively inexpensive, compared to New Zealand, appeals to me.

I am personally drawn to Asia and would like to base myself there for a few months, probably either in Thailand or Bali. We have been looking at Central America a lot. Next year I want to go back to Coachella festival and we want to see Hawaii and stay in one of the Hawaiian beach rentals, so we might save Central America until after then.  We don’t really know! We can just do whatever feels right at the time, which feels pretty cool.

How Do You Work on the Road?

All I need is the Internet and my laptop… so I can work almost anywhere. I tend to spend a couple of hours in a cafe in the morning getting my work done and then I’m out for the day. A big thing I’m working on before we leave is outsourcing, so most of my work can be done without me so I can focus more on travel.

I often buy a local sim with credit and an Internet allowance and tether it to my laptop. That’s allowed me to work on trains and buses throughout South East Asia.

I quite enjoy my work so look I don’t find it hard to self-motivate, even when traveling.

Long trips on buses, trains and planes are excellent opportunities to get some posts written.

I can’t wait to jet off and try this new lifestyle out. I’ve had a bit of experience working online and traveling, but nothing with this much freedom.

Would you ever consider being location independent? Or do you prefer to work in one place and take holidays throughout the year? I’d love to hear your feedback.