Life is too short to stay in one place!
With everything so connected anymore, it’s no wonder that location independence is drawing more nomadic spirits to its lifestyle ranks each year.
So what is ‘location independence’ and why is the location independent lifestyle so appealing to so many?
location independence: the freedom to live and work from anywhere
Sounds like a dream life, doesn’t it? Travel the world, no responsibilities, just you and your backpack (and laptop and chargers and hostels and wifi hotspots and…). Ok, so maybe that’s a bit of a simplistic stereotype.
So what is location independence?
Just as it sounds, location independence is having a lifestyle that doesn’t keep you tied to a specific geographic location, at least not for any real length of time. You’ve worked yourself into a position that allows you the freedom to roam.
As with other lifestyles, the location independent lifestyle looks different for everyone.
Location independence means that when you travel you don’t have to hurry. You take your work with you!
For many, location independence means you don’t have to use up (or even have) ‘vacation days’ to travel. The ability to travel freely is a huge bonus to the location independent lifestyle. Some have even built their location independence around the travel industry by writing, blogging, vlogging, or Instagramming all about their travels. Lucky dogs.
For others, it can simply mean not putting down deep roots every time they move. Traveling nurses and freelancers, for example, may get a contract for three to six months at a time in different cities. That’s three to six months of exploring a new area, new culture, new people, new foods, new scenery. This provides the variety that they crave.
Check out SV Delos. These guys have been living their location independent life of sailing around the world for the last ten years or so… I don’t know exactly how long, but it’s been awhile. They started out in the tech industry with a software company and some consulting to launch their travel lifestyle. Now they spend their days sailing the blue waters of the world and exploring whatever magical islands they can find.
Keep Your Daydream is a full-time RV family that started out as a six-month trip that still hasn’t ended. I believe they started out funding their adventure with a business that could be operated from the road.
Location independence provides the freedom to be mobile when you need to be.
Often times, this mobility means you can follow your heart’s desire.
Sometimes it’s going to mean that when family or friends need you (wherever they are) you can be there.
A friend is getting married, a grandbaby is due to be born, or maybe there’s a volunteer project that you really want to be part of. When you are location independent you don’t have to worry about how you will get the time off work. You can take your work with you.
Yes, there are logistics and scheduling (not to mention the self-discipline to keep on your work game), but with location independence at least you have the option. Whereas with a geographically tied job, getting the ‘time off’ may not be possible.
Work to Live! Don’t Live to Work.
Notice specifically the order I emphasize in the definition at the beginning of this post… location independence is the freedom to ‘live and work’ from anywhere. There’s a reason I don’t say ‘work and live’.
So many of us are done with being a slave to the grind. I have a hard time believing life is meant to be drudgery. Life is meant to be abundant and full!
For us, and many others, that means designing a lifestyle that allows you to follow your dreams and do what you love. It is so important that you love the work you are doing. And it is so much easier to do that when you are living your passion.
It takes work, and it isn’t easy, but anything worth doing takes effort.
Are you interested in building a location independent lifestyle?
That’s what we are all about. Location independence has been our goal and what we’ve been working toward… we are on our way.
For some, the transition to location independence can be made overnight. For others, it will take some preparation. Of course, it all depends on your starting point.
We’ve been living a rather nomadic life since we met. Mostly this happened just because we were willing to follow where opportunities led. The last several years though have been rather stationary as we established roots for a short time during our kids’ teen years. But now that they are grown and off living their own adventures, we are getting back to the nomadic life of adventure and service that we love.
Follow along
We are documenting our transition to location independence as we go and would like to invite you to come along for the ride! Follow along, subscribe by email to our once-a-month ‘On The Go’ Mail Drop. Or even better, here is our YouTube channel!
“Some of us are just born with a wanderer’s heart. The world is so big! And life is too short to stay in one place.”
Are you thinking of going after location independence? We would love to hear from you! Say hi in the comments below. What’s your story? What can we do to help?
Until next time… life is too short to stay in one place. Happy wanderings!
Jim + Tania
READ MORE:
Going Nomadic – 11 Strategies For Transitioning to Location Independence
