Adventures of a nomad

Postponing the overseas trip

You know how there are times when you experience a major stumbling block towards a goal that you've been working towards, and you just know that it's a sign that, well, perhaps it's not the right timing? This is one of those times. It's a touch too personal to be going into detail about it, but suffice to say that my partner and I won't be able to move overseas this year for medical reasons. A holiday for a month or so, yes, but living somewhere else - especially south-east Asia - is out of the question.

So what now? Well, I still want to move, and there's still the rest of Australia - which is bloody huge! - to consider. I've lived in Sydney all my life, apart from a brief and ill-conceived seven-month stay in Canberra (graduate job, don't ask!), and I'd like to try living in another state. Brisbane is the first one that came to mind because Tim used to live there and rent is ridiculously cheap, and after checking out all of the places that are available for rent, I'm pretty psyched about the idea.

Anyway, this has to be a short post because it's 11.17AM on the rocket clock and I haven't done any work yet! I'll come back with an update as soon as I get some paying work done! :P

Another notch on the blogging belt

Score! I just locked in a paid blogging gig that's fully location-independent - actually, it encourages me to roam around while I work and discuss the tools and software that I use to make mobile working possible. I don't want to say anything until I've got the contract signed (in blood, mwuah ha ha!), but I should be able to make an announcement tomorrow.

It's all falling into place :)

To teach or not to teach?

If you recall my earlier post (but probably not if you've accidentally landed on this page from Google while looking up a recipe for Penang Curry or something), I mentioned that I'd applied for an English teaching position at a Thai language school. I'd sent off scanned copies of my degrees and passport, and was waiting to hear back from them.

But I'd subsequently decided that I didn't really want to take a teaching position after all, because then we'd be limited in our ability to roam around Thailand and the neighbouring countries like Cambodia and Vietnam.

Anyway, the Principal of the Akson Bundit Language Center just got back to me saying that he needs a few more documents, namely a criminal background check (which apparently you can request from your local police station?) and a 'biodata' form where I have to fill out details of my parents' background (relevant how?) and employment history.

Travel-friendly tech: what should I bring with me?

Something that's been weighing on my mind a lot (because I'm a geek) is what tech I should bring with me overseas. I've read lots of blogs on the matter with interest, such as Gina Trapiani's post on Getting Things Done While Travelling Through South-East Asia and the Zen Habits' 36 Great Tips for Keeping Travel as Simple as Possible.

Gina mentions that Wi-Fi is spotty but Internet cafes are in abundance, so bringing a laptop isn't advisable. Fair enough, but I don't know if I could handle not having my own computer. Plus, since we'll have our own place (I'm thinking a nice two-story, two bedroom), I'll most likely get Internet access happening.

The other question is: what phone do I bring? I don't think I can really justify bringing more than one, but it leaves me with a bit of a pickle. My current favourite is the iPhone, but it's not conducive for taking longs notes on the road, is limited in terms of software it can run (I'd like to load my phone with eBooks of guidebooks, phrasebooks and just general fiction to pass the time), and doesn't look like it would hack a traveller's lifestyle too well (although I suppose I could get a case for it?).

Things I'd like to get paid to do

I bought a truckload of magazines yesterday, and it reminded me of all the things that I'd like to get paid to do while living overseas. Writers' Forum is a UK magazine that features people and the different sorts of writing that they've had commercial success with. I've only written tech articles to date, but I'd love to write a fiction novel some day, or maybe a screenplay. So I've gone and signed up with a distance learning creative writing course. Do these things really work? I suppose I'll give it a go. They guarantee that if you don't earn back the money you paid for tuition in six months through writing, they'll refund your money.

Two other magazines I bought were Digital Video (another UK mag) and Better Photography (an Australian title). I have fantasies of being able to take beautiful pictures while I'm overseas of all the weird and wonderful things I encounter, but my photography skills aren't that great. Camera Craft 1 at the Australian Centre for Photography is a course that I've been wanting to do for awhile, and Tim's interested in it too (he's much better at photo composition than I am!). I had another thought: Tim could work as a photographer while we're overseas and we could work as a team - him taking photos, me writing the articles. Apparently there's a lot of demand in magazines for those that can do the whole package. There's also the option for selling photos online through sites like ShutterPoint and Fotolia.

Video editing is something that I'm just dabbling in, but it's lots of fun! Again, I'd like to take lots of travel videos, teach myself about editing, then upload a series of them to YouTube.

May is really too soon to be moving overseas

Now that I've been giving it some more thought, I've decided that May is way too early to be moving my (and my partner's) life to another country. Not only do we have zero savings, but we've got lots of other things to arrange beforehand. I have to rent my flat out and decide what needs to be sold (the rest will go and 'live' with my parents), and I have to find a home for my 2.5-year-old cat (I hate to leave him behind, but it would be difficult to bring him with us).

I've also decided that I don't really want to take up a teaching gig in Thailand - too restrictive. Part of the lure of moving overseas is the freedom to travel to different countries, and to do this I have to work on getting enough income to survive on through location-independent writing. Already, I think I'm making enough to be able to survive in Thailand, but I'd like to get a few more paid blogging and writing gigs lined up before we go. I have a theory that once we make it out of Australia, we'll end up doing a lot of globetrotting, and the flexibility of writing makes that a lot more plausible.

I've got the travel bug bad

I blame Mike Elgan. See, before I read his post 'Inside the secret of digital nomads', I was happy to float along in my non-nomadic apathy, yearning for the day when I'd be able to travel and work overseas yet never having enough impetus to actually start looking at my options.

That all changed when I started reading the 'nomad' blogs that Mike posted, such as Brave New Traveler, Vagabonding and Location Independent Living. From that point on, my eyes were opened. Lea Woodward's post in particular was great as it broke down the cost of living per month in different countries.

All of a sudden, I started thinking 'hey, I can actually do this!'. As a freelance writer, I've already got a source of income that I can start working on moving overseas.

After discussing it with my partner (who's equally keen to make the move), we've settled on Thailand as our destination. He mentioned that a friend of his is working there as an English teacher and that the only requirement you need is having a degree. Bingo - I've got two of those! I did a Google search and discovered that Seek runs a TESOL certification program for teaching English overseas... with guaranteed job placement. I left my details with them to contact me about it (it's the Easter long weekend right now, so I'll probably hear from them in a couple of days).