- Quick facts
- Total days on the road: 586
- Currently in: USA
- Miles Driven: 36821
- Countries Visited: 17
- Days Camping: 389
- Days Indoors: 202
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The Basics of Setting up your Mobile Office
{jcomments lock}A mobile office is a essential to being able to work on the road. A laptop computer, accessories, phone and Internet connection are the core components of a mobile office. Although your choice of gear maybe be deeply personal, you should build your mobile office based on reliability, redundancy and restraint.
Software is another important part of your mobile office. Make sure you have what you need to do your work and stay connected. Test everything before you leave! Dealing with software problems on the road is frustrating, especially in a foreign country. Know how to back up your important files and how to restore them in an emergency. Also consider online software storage solutions that may reduce risk and make life easier.
Plan Your Finances before Becoming Location Independent
{jcomments lock}Financial planning is an important aspect of being a digital nomad. It is a skill that is often overlooked, especially in today’s society. Many live on credit or paycheck to paycheck and rely on social programs to assist when hard times come. For a digital nomad these are rarely options.
Financial planning is as much about peace of mind as it is about keeping a roof over your head. It is difficult to enjoy a life of freedom if you second guess choices because you’re worried about money. A little budgeting will allow you to live flexibly and respond without fear to the ever-changing situations a nomadic lifestyle presents you.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Becoming Location Independent
{jcomments lock}It is important to a bit of soul searching before you start planning your location independent lifestyle. Figure out what you want to do and define short and long term goals to achieve it. For us this process was a long time in the making.
We’ve always preferred to work remotely and keep our own schedule. We made the most of this and traveled as much as possible. Unfortunately it took us several years to realize that we needed a new lifestyle instead of different ways to live the same.
Adapt your Profession so you can Work Anywhere
Digital nomads are successful because we use technology to maintain first world jobs remotely. We often live in less developed regions and enjoy a life that is cheaper than the location of our employer. This allows us to work less, if we choose, and spend more time doing what we like.{jcomments lock}
Having a source of income that can be earned from anywhere is the key to becoming a digital nomad. Your choice is to adapt your existing career or start a new profession that can be done remotely. Depending on where you start this can be easy or life-alteringly difficult. The good news is that once you’ve got work figured out, the rest will fall into place without much trouble.
The World’s Best Resource for Getting a Job on a Cruise Ship
Overview
{jcomments lock}If you’re serious about getting a job on a cruise ship, here’s the one resource you need: a 175-page ebook written, researched and recently updated by cruise employee veterans Earl Baron and Liz Aceves, How to Work on a Cruise Ship.
We bought it, reviewed it and scrutinized it. And we think it’s pretty damn good.
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Subcategories
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Online Tools
Online Tools
As internet services continue to grow, online tools are becoming a great asset for location independent professionals. Here you'll find information about the various software tools we use while working and traveling. From managing documents and sharing files to ensuring your precious work stays safe while you're far from home.
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Managing a Business
Managing a Business
The life of a digital nomad presents unique challenges. Whether you are a freelancer, telecommuter, or an entrepreneur, working and traveling forces you to change how your business is managed. You have to maintain the books, pay taxes, write checks, pay bills, collect money and find customers, all without a permanent address. Below you’ll find our advice for dealing with these issues, and articles about how to balance work and a location independent lifestyle.
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Freelancing
Freelancing
This section addresses how to transform an existing freelance business into one that can be done remotely from around the world. How do you manage clients, get paid, work with time zone differences and not get fired when you are potentially thousands of miles away?
The Life Remotely team consists of a graphic designer, web developer and a software developer. We have such a huge variety of clients that we’re confident this advice will apply most all freelancers.
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Getting Started
Getting Started
Becoming a full-time digital nomad is a daunting task, there is much to consider and plenty of mistakes to be made. You should be willing to accept a few risks and plan for flexibility. Getting started as a location independent professional is not much different than starting a long-term travel adventure. Your goal is to combine and simplify many aspects of your life and to plan for the additional burden of working remotely while you travel.
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Cruise Ships
Cruise Ships
What is it like to live and work aboard a cruise ship? This question we have heard over and over again. In this category we hope to demystify some of these questions.
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The Lifestyle
The Lifestyle
Want to know what being a digital nomad is really like? In this section we delve into the nitty-gritty details of day-to-day life. Learn how both your work and travel habits will change. As well as logistical details like how to schedule work, maintain a work/life balance and what challenges to expect.
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Telecommuting
Telecommuting
The rise of the internet age has allowed many professionals to work remotely. Telecommuting continues to be a growing trend for a variety of careers. If you spend your day on the phone and behind a monitor, chances are your job can just as easily be done from home, or while traveling.
The articles in this section outline the types of jobs that can be done remotely, and provide helpful resources for professionals who wish to transition their jobs to telecommuting positions. We’ll also give you some advice for being a successful telecommuter and what you can do to keep your boss happy with your new lifestyle.
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Staying Connected
Staying Connected
Staying connected with your clients, friends and family is one of the most logistically challenging aspects of becoming a digital nomad. At the same time, you don’t want to be tethered to technology, whether you need to check emails, manage a project, upload files or just make a phone call. Here is some advice for maintaining your availability while keeping cost and stress to a minimum.