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There are a lot of skeptics out there when it comes to location independence. Let’s be frank: being location independent isn’t for everybody. But to me, location independent is a lifestyle, which explains why it means different things to different people. Like many things in life, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.
What Location Independence Isn’t
I think there are a lot of preconceived notions about the location independent lifestyle. I suspect many people envision cocktails, yachts, beaches, and briefly checking email on an iPhone in a breezy waterside café.
Others see backpackers (or is it flashpackers?) nursing their bronzing tan lines after a long day on their endless mountain hikes, making the brief phone call now and then to check on the blistering sales from their internet website.
Wrong. That isn’t location independent – that’s a pipe dream. It takes a lot more than a four hour workweek to make this lifestyle work for you!
This is not about being an endless nomadic; it’s about finding a working style that suits you. This is not about entrepreneurialism; while owning your own business makes it quite easier, you can still roam a bit more freely while working for someone else.
Making the Most of the Lifestyle
As one of the guides of the Location Independent Freedom Roundtable, I’m surprised at the diversity of the types of people working on location independent lifestyles:
* some have 9-to-5 jobs and are just wanting help negotiating arrangements and travel tips
* some have successful businesses and want to cut the ties and get those businesses on the road
* others are starting from scratch with a new business and a new lifestyle
The common feature of people working towards location independence is that they’re working on a life that works for them, not the other way around. Just because you are setup to work from the road doesn’t mean you travel 100%; I myself tend to alternate between periods on the road and then stints back at home base here in the UK. Yes – another myth – I have a home base, like many other location independent professionals do. You don’t have to live out of a suitcase if you don’t want to.
There are as many ways to be location independent as there are ways to be a 9-to-5’er (does anybody really work nine to five anyway?). Think about the characteristics or attributes of the life that you want, then find ways to make that happen. Don’t worry about what label is on the outside – it just isn’t important.
Andy is a professional writer, published author, and travel entrepreneur. He manages two businesses while on the road: Travel Online Partners, a travel & tourism consultancy, and Sharing Travel Experiences, a popular travel website.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/y_i/2330044065/
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Comments
01.18.10
This is so crucial to keep in mind Andy! If you decide that you don't want to work in the confines of traditional office culture, some people can and will take bigger steps than others, but any progress towards a healthy professional lifestyle that you feel suitable is great.
01.18.10
To me, location independence means if I want to pack up and move on a whim, I can. I know I'll be doing that quite often (practically in my blood), so it's something key for me to think about when it comes to my future. I still like offices, and one favorite thing for me to do is visit other offices and meet people face-to-face who I may have phone calls with every week. But other than timezones, sometimes I truly doesn't matter where you are...you could be like Carmen Sandiego, always on the move around the world, or just moving around your town. Of course, this includes knowing what works for the organization. Going into a situation expecting tons of flexibility when it's about as old skool as they get means you didn't do your research.
01.18.10
Important post Andy! There really are so many ways to do LI or be a digital nomad.
We've been doing it as a family since 2006 & we prefer the slow travel, deep immersion route, having been to 4 continents & 32 countries so far. We don't feel a need to have just one home, but have gotten the rewards of that by wintering luxuriously the last 4 winters in sunny Spain on a tiny budget while our child immersed deeply in her 2nd language at the local school & took flamenco lessons. Next 2 winters or so, it will be a warm beach in Asia while she immerses in Mandarin Chinese and we will continue non-stop slow travel for half the year. That's how LI works best for us!
SOME 4HWW folks actually DO just work 4 hours or less, but it's not the norm or for everyone. We're pleased to be a featured Case Study in the new edition of the 4HWW & that Tim used one of our Soultravelers3 viral Youtube videos in his recent Case Study post on his blog and Huffington Post.
What was great about that and also the LIP site, is showing what a variety there can be in this lifestyle and that it can work for families too.
One might not be thinking about that as a single, but the future of work, education, travel and more is going to look very different by the end of this decade!
01.28.10
Location Independence is about the ability to pack up and go when you please. It is about creating the lifestyle that allows you to work on the road. I am all for it.
As for the 4HWW it is about making it work for you This is a great case study on how to do just that. http://www.jasonclegg.com/2010/01/my-four-hour-work-week-story-part-4-ma...
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