Things to consider in living and working remotely

The opportunity to work more flexibly is becoming more common, where we no longer need to commute to an office in order to make a living.  

The idea of a remote working lifestyle is certainly something many people crave, as long as we have a decent internet connection and a device on which we can work on. You can practically earn money anywhere in the world, either from the comfort of your own home or some beach paradise in the middle of nowhere.  

The truth is most people are valuing the ever-depleting commodity of time over money, and they want to squeeze as much as life as possible. For example, you may have huge travel plans or at least aspirations to travel the world, but you need the flexibility and financial grounding to make it possible to work remotely.

Indeed, “living the dream” is less about having a fancy car and a corner office, but rather having the freedom to do what you want, when you want, with who you want. You would rather not be chained to a job with colleagues you may or may not get along with, being stuck in congested commutes and arriving home constantly worn out to the point of doing nothing except flop-and-drop in front of the TV with your family — and still have to catch up on work via your laptop or tablet computer.

The freedom of the remote working lifestyle means, in a literal sense, that the world is your oyster. In these exciting times, many of us are looking for ways to tap into this remote working lifestyle and the freelance economy.

Many people wanting to learn new skills are looking at ways of doing things that work around their life, rather than having to work their life around their studies. This is particularly pertinent for mature students who may have existing work commitments or family commitments and therefore can’t access the full-time courses offered by many universities that require regular attendance.  

This means that you could, hypothetically, have your cake and eat it too — as many students finishing their undergraduate studies have the desire to travel the world and take a gap year; but studying online in this way means you can literally have the best of  both worlds.

The remote working lifestyle is clearly an attractive option, as it enables the time freedom to enjoy life and ensure you are living your life for yourself and your family, rather than having to try to squeeze your life in around the office.  

Many companies are offering people more flexible working hours and the ability to work remotely. In order to stay competitive within the job market, they need to offer the flexibility people have been craving for decades.

Here are some things to consider:

Income

You will need to establish some income in order to enable your remote lifestyle, which often results in setting up a side hustle or getting freelance work.

Most of these side hustles — like Uber, Lyft, Instacart, DoorDash and others — often involve the utilization of your vehicle, but you are not in a physical work environment for the usual nine-to-five. You are able to set your work hours. (Editor note: The above links are affiliate links for these side hustles.)

Other jobs, such as medical transcription and data entry, mostly involves working from home, depending on the company.

Challenges may arise as you travel the world if you do not have a steady income. That leads to a lack of freedom and the despair of being stuck in a state of financial fear, especially in low-wage nations like India. Sorting out your finances will be integral to leading a remote life promoting more freedom.

Home

Should you end up living abroad, while backpacking from location to location may sound attractive at first, you will likely want some sense of home, meaning you will likely want to rent an apartment or house to serve as a “home base”, whether temporary or long-term.

There are some good deals to be had in many parts of the world. For example, on a new launch property in Kuala Lumpur, though cities do tend to be a little more expensive than rural regions, and if you’re looking for the freedom lifestyle you might benefit from being somewhere a little more natural.

You will want somewhere to call your home, even if from that hub you go off and explore other regions.

Destinations

No doubt, if you’re wanting to live more remotely, then travel will have crossed your mind. In that sense, destination is everything, because you want to go somewhere you can create a stable life and relax yet at the same time remain productive. Within that vein here are three places you might to consider checking out:

THAILAND

Thailand is a huge country that’s very popular with those seeking a more remote lifestyle, with good infrastructure with regards to key aspects such as WiFi, very cheap internal flights, cheap food and a good standard of living — where you can go from being on the beach one minute to up in the jungle the next.  This is many people’s dream lifestyle location.

CANARY ISLANDS

The Canary Islands in Spain, just off the coast of Morocco are a chilled out haven for many locals that love good food and good wine, and a slower pace of life, yet the slower pace doesn’t mean that people aren’t ambitious.  Indeed, the Canary Islands are home to some fantastic artists and entrepreneurs. It’s a great place to go if you like wonderful climates, for the sun, sea, earth and fire all merge to create a very harmonious natural vibe.

UKRAINE

This one might sound like somewhat of a curve ball, yet the Ukraine is one of the cheapest countries in Europe, meaning you can live like a king (or queen) for less.  You can find a very nice apartment, and eat out each night at the finest restaurants, for much much less than you could in places like the US or other parts of Europe.

In summary, when it comes to destinations, what you’re really looking for is somewhere that can provide stability whilst at the same time, give you a great experience on the basis of cost for living and the natural environment.