It’s been quiet around here, I got on a plane from Istanbul to Auckland and sort of took a vow of silence, or something.
Sorry about that…
I’ve been busy in the background trying to step a little closer to my dream: location independence.
You see, for the past two years I’ve had an adventure. I’ve learned lots of things, visited amazing places like Angkor Wat and Ha Long Bay, I went to Coachella and volunteered in Cambodia. It’s been really great, but along the way I’ve just funded my travels in the ways I thought were easiest: being an au pair and teaching English overseas. Don’t get me wrong, both experiences were great and I really enjoyed them, but I felt like I could do more. I needed to do more.
Part out of curiosity and part out of desperation (read: my money was running out well before my travels were due to end) I signed up to Elance. I figured I liked writing and it would be cool to get paid for it. I applied for some jobs, exited the window and forgot about it. A few weeks later, I had an accepted proposal, then another and then the ball just seemed to start rolling.
This week is the first week that I’ve got a full time amount of work and the best thing? My three key projects are ongoing. It feels really good to be working and challenging myself, but above that this work gives me freedom. My employers don’t care (or at least don’t know) if I’m sitting on the couch, in my pajamas eating popcorn while I type away. Nobody knows if I start work at 3pm and then decide to go out for coffee. As long as I get the work done, it doesn’t really matter when. I’m on my own schedule.
The other thing that’s great is I’m earning western money. I’m earning more than I would working full time in NZ, even if I was using my degree. But I don’t have to live in NZ – I could leverage this money and save to my heart’s content, for as long as this good fortune lasts.
So, I’ve been busy thinking, where’s cheap, warm, sunny and somewhere I could live for a little while?
Any suggestions? I’m open.
