Transitioning from a renter/homeowner to a location independent lifestyle is a large leap and carries with it a lot of challenges. The key is to think these through and to be prepared to get ahead of those challenges.
Forgive me if I’m being repetitive, but primary to your decision should be your budget. Can you afford to go? We went from paying rent after the month to paying the rent via AirBnB before-hand. If the countries you’re visiting have Visas, they may require you to purchase your exit flight & lodging before applying for the Visa. Purchasing our flights three countries ahead was a large up-front cost. We also went from paying insurance monthly, to prepaying for 6 months for both of us to have international travel insurance (World Nomads, although I’ve heard good things about Allianz).
All of these expenses have taken a bite out of our savings, but it also put us 5 months ahead on our rent/travel budget and will allow us to just maintain that buffer as we go.
Some other budget considerations are:
How does your phone plan work and are there better options? We chose Google Fi because of cost, coverage and international calling costs.
Which banks will allow you the best and least costly access to your money when you need it wherever you’re travelling? We chose Charles Schwab because they refund any ATM fees internationally.
How will you backup your data to ensure if your equipment breaks or gets stolen that you still have access to restore your critical information? We chose Google Drive $100/TB/year.
When does your passport expire? In order to qualify for a travel Visa in some countries they require that your Passport be 2 years from expiration for you to be accepted.
Another thing you’ll need to deal in preparation to hit the road is doubters. I know from experience that it can be irritating when people express their criticisms of your intentions. To most people, location independence is an unfamiliar & risky concept and until they witness somebody who’s succeeded, they will have questions. Often, these people are just expressing their concern and you should seriously consider the questions they’re asking. If you have a sound plan, you should be able to explain it to them. This can often inspire change of attitude and it can also help boost your own confidence in the plan.
When we were developing our plan, we still had some questions we couldn’t answer ourselves. I was hoping to find a job that I could do from anywhere, but I didn’t know what that would be. And when you propose to leave the country to travel with that large gap in the reasoning – the HOW – you can understand why people might question your approach. But once we were able to fill in those blanks, almost every response I get is “I don’t think I could do it, but it sounds awesome” and a lot of envy. And of course, the more I discuss it, the more excited I get too.
Lastly, for preparation, there’s a lot of downsizing. The next article will be about downsizing and moving from a static home full of possessions to a portable existence.
Some tips:
- Be sure to budget. You will likely need some savings to start out.
- Listen to the doubters, consider their concerns and develop your response to build confidence in your plan.
- This adventure you’re planning is interesting to other people and you may get some worthwhile advice by sharing.
- Read our next blog about Downsizing. We’ll be finished next week and we’ve got some experience that might help you if you’re trying to become travel-size.