We’ve now been living as LIPs for just over 3 months now. It’s been an interesting & exciting time. Apparently there was an article in the Sunday Times Lifestyle section last week about people who do something similar to what we’re doing, except they called them ’skypers’. It said their spiritual home was Ibiza…hmm, maybe they’re not the same as us or are a different breed of LIPs!!
However, now that we’ve been doing this for a bit and we’re about to move to our 4th location in as many months (not the way we originally planned it!), I thought it was time for a bit of a review…
Just what have we learned from the last 3 months as Location Independent Professionals?
1) An awful lot about ourselves, what’s important to us, what’s not and
what we’re looking for. Including that we’re definitely NOT “city”
people anymore – which was a bit of a shock having been one all my life.
2) Never try and change flights through Expedia. Always go directly to
the airline otherwise you risk them dropping & losing a whole leg
of your trip.
3) Be wary of committing to booking an apartment for too long too far
in advance – you’ll struggle to get out of the arrangement if you don’t
like the apartment when you arrive. The only time I’d advise doing this
is if accommodation seems scarce when you’re researching. Otherwise,
it’s better to book a hotel for a week first (or an apartment for a
week), make sure you can go see some when you arrive and then find one
you like.
4) One place is pretty much the same as another when you work from
‘home’. You have to make the effort to go out, meet people, make
friends, visit places otherwise you might as well just stay at home in
your own country.
5) Try and speak the language before you go – or at least budget for & organise intensive lessons when you arrive!!!
6) Don’t under-estimate the importance of being able to send & receive post/mail.
7) Photos on websites can be very misleading, as can other traveller’s reviews.
8) Take at least 3 travel adaptors with you.
9) If you don’t have a good medical kit on you, at the very least always have some painkillers available.
That’s all for now…will add more when we can think of them!
