Do you think working from anywhere as a mom is only a dream? Writer Sharon Hurley Hall says “As a location independent mom, I can tell you that it can be a reality. A few years ago, my husband and I, along with our three year old daughter, packed up our life in the UK and moved 4,000 miles to the Caribbean. Since then, I have run my freelance writing business from a range of locations, including London, New Jersey, Florida, Mexico and even Bahrain.”
So if this is what your goal is, it can be done, even with kids. However, there are some things you need to think about first.
Is Your Business Portable?
The first question to ask is whether your business can survive being transplanted to another location and whether it’s possible to earn money on the move? If you are a creative professional (blogger, writer, designer), online entrepreneur, dropshipper, consultant or run any freelance business where you don’t have to ship products or deliver services from a particular location, then you are already ahead of the game.
What about the Kids?
Your search for the location independent lifestyle also has implications for your kids’ education. The issues may be different depending on their age. Young kids, especially before it’s time to start school, are pretty portable. Even if you stayed in your home country, you would probably spend a lot of time playing alphabet, number and color games and helping them develop pre-reading skills. You can do that wherever you are, as long as you have the tools you need with you. In fact, since so many books and resources are accessible online, a good internet connection is your best friend.
Homeschooling or Not?
For older kids, your next big decision is whether to:
- homeschool
- put them in a local school wherever you are
- let them follow their own interests
Only you will know which option suits both you and your kids. This article by Amy Palko talks about these options in more detail.
That decision also has implications for the other big decision potential nomads have to make – whether to have a base or be permanently nomadic.
To Be a Nomad
When you dream about working from anywhere, you often envision a life of permanent travel. That works for some people, like Soultravelers3. That family of two adults and one child has been traveling the world for more than 6 years and are still going strong! They run their business on the move and their daughter Mozart is homeschooled but not just by them. Amazingly, though her parents are mostly monolingual, she has been able to learn fluent Spanish and Mandarin and to take violin lessons online.
Even that family, though, sets up a base in Spain during the winter months, so that Mozart can attend a local school and build relationships with friends there. That also addresses the issue of socialization, which some parents worry about. The advantage of traveling with your kids is that they get to meet more people and learn to adapt quickly to new situations, both of which build good life skills. Read Socialization and the Home Educated Child for more on this.
Other people take a different approach. Since I’m not inclined to homeschool, my daughter attends a local school. When we travel during the holidays, I run my business from wherever we are.
The Business End
There are a few more issues that nomads have to think about:
- are you allowed to do business in the country you are visiting? I’m not a lawyer, but if you are delivering services to people outside the country and getting paid outside the country you may be OK.
- have you checked out the tax implications?
- does the country you are going to have the right facilities (especially internet) to allow you to run your business?
- do you have medical and travel insurance that covers you no matter where you are?
Once you have reassured yourself on these points, then you can make your dream a reality. Like any dream, you have to plan it properly, but if you do, there’s no reason why you can’t work from anywhere. Check out the dozens of families in the ‘meet the nomads’ section of NuNomad.com for inspiration!
Summary
If you want to make your dream of working from anywhere a reality, think about:
- the portability of your business
- the education and socialization of your kids
- whether you plan to be permanently nomadic
- whether the countries you visit will have the right infrastructure for your business
- legal and tax issues
