Location Independence – Travel Far, Live Well, Work Hard

The internet has ushered in a new era of independence in thought, speech and the expression of both. Lifestyles have changed and we can do things previously thought of as impossible. Of the many new grounds internet has broken, location independence is a particularly freeing one. People no longer have to work 9-to-5 in a cramped cubicle, reporting to a boss or a quota that gets more and more draconian. The internet allows people to set up businesses that live entirely online while offering them tangible benefits. These entrepreneurs have now become something else, something new – digital nomads. These two terms, and a few more that crop up in any study of location independence, are interlinked and will be explained further.

Digital nomads

Digital nomads are people that harness the power of the internet to both works and travel extensively. The near-worldwide presence of the internet means that if you set up a successful business online, you can run it from anywhere – and you get there by being a traveler. A lot of factors are in favor of digital nomadism: two of the most important ones are location independence and arbitrage.

Location independence

Location independence is the practice of using the internet and other technology to live and work from wherever one wants. Some professions may have more location independence than others. For example, freelance writers can trot the globe writing online or for anyone willing to buy their writing. However, with a little creativity, a lot of other professions can also enjoy location independence. If you set up an internet business, you can run it from anywhere.

Arbitrage

Arbitrage is the practice of using disparities in markets to one’s advantage. In simple terms, this means that you reap benefits from an inequality that exists in the system. One of the best examples of this is exploiting exchange rates. Digital nomads from the first world live lavishly in countries where the exchange rate is in their favor. Steve, an entrepreneur, writes in his article about location independence about living large in Thailand at a fraction of the cost of the same lifestyle in the US.

So what does this have to do with you?

It is by no means advisable to quit one’s day job in the hopes of living the life of a digital nomad. It still takes a lot of guts and hard work to be one. Apart from prerequisites to making money (such as having a successful blog or business), there are also the questions of long-distance relationships, work visas, international insurance, sending children to school, etc. Traveling frequently and living from a suitcase may not be all that appealing when you

Traveling frequently and living from a suitcase may not be all that appealing when you realize the downsides of it.

The lure of living free and traveling at will is certainly worth the effort, but one must not underestimate the legwork that goes into it. However, you can certainly implement location independence in your professional life at least to a certain extent – who wouldn’t want to go on fabulous vacations and forget about work for a while?