Image by Smaku
** This post was written by Christine Cantera. Find out more about Christine below. **
Surprisingly, one of the hardest things about making the leap to becoming location independent can be choosing where to live next. It’s one thing to visit a place, even for longer lengths of time; it’s another entirely to pack up and move without any base to go back to if it doesn’t work out.
If it’s at all possible, the best thing to do is to perform a trial run & road test your next destination. More than a vacation, it’s like giving yourself a self-taught crash course in living there.
After all, no matter where you are, there are some things about your daily life that will never change and it’s nice to know you can do these with ease before you take the plunge and move somewhere unknown…
Do one major grocery shopping scouting trip
My town in the South of France is full of delightful shops from which I procure what is needed for the day’s meal. But, it also took me three months to find a small trashcan for the kitchen that wasn’t chrome plated and wouldn’t set me back 150 euros.
Even when you’re renting a furnished apartment for a good chunk of time, your daily shopping tends to lean toward the products and places that made you fall in love with the location to begin with.
Make a list of everything you would need in a new place that might not be provided – from brooms to spices and even your favorite foods from back home – and spend a day finding everything on your list and noting prices. Even if you won’t need these things, it’s a good way to familiarize yourself with the places you’ll need as a resident.
Visit during the worst times
…both tourist-wise and weather-wise. Obviously this might be a luxury for some given the potential cost of doing this, but it can be well worth the cost to learn as much as you can about how the seasons, and the people they bring or keep away, affect your daily life.
Venice, Italy is a good example. People complain about the tourists; but if you live in a neighborhood far from Piazza San Marco, you might not see a tourist for days on end – even in high season. And while some travelers have amusing tales of braving the acqua alta, for residents it can be an absolute nightmare that disrupts their lives on a daily basis for months on end.
Mail a letter and a package internationally
In many places around the world, a community’s post office serves not only those wanting to mail something; it’s also a bank, bill paying center and sometimes even where people come to get their news. Also, it most likely is not going to be as well organized and full of the amenities you’re used to.
You never know when sending (and receiving) things by mail may be called for whilst you’re on location – so check out the reliability, speed & ease of sending mail in advance, if you can.
Do your laundry and dry cleaning
Whether you take your clothes to a Laundromat, drop them off at a service or do them yourself at home, try it out. Can you find laundry products you like? How inconvenienced do you feel by not having a dryer? How efficient is your local dry cleaner?
It sounds mundane but testing out how easy or hard it is to do your laundry in a potential destination can save you a whole heap of hassle if you do decide to live there but then find you don’t have your own machine & it’s a three-hour trek to the nearest Laundromat.
Go to a rally or protest before, during & after an election
Obviously what’s happening in Tehran right now is an extreme situation that will have repercussions for years to come. But while not every election worldwide sparks a revolution, neither are elections for a majority of the world a peaceful expression of citizenship. Even where I live in the sunny South of France, protests often culminate in police beatings and tear gas – and witnessing this has shaped my opinion of the country as a whole.
While this is not a recommendation to put yourself in harm’s way, seeing a passionate protest first hand is a very different experience than seeing it on TV. If you are thinking of moving to a country where elections or other hot-button issues often spark an active public reaction, you might want to see how that affects you. It’s not to be underestimated.
Speak to older generations & teenagers
Older people will tell you stories of how much better it used to be; teenagers will tell you how much better it could be. Either way, you can learn a lot from these two groups of local society – and if anything, you might find yourself defending your opinion of the place and even realizing you definitely want to move there!
Ask about typical living space complaints
Asking what people’s biggest complaints are about the living spaces typically available in the area will give you an idea of what you’ll really be in for should you decide to live there for a while – valuable insights which simply can’t be gained via a search on the internet & a property’s website.
Does the electricity blink out every so often? Is it impossible to find a plumber at odd hours? Are the gorgeous old buildings you love actually crumbling from within? Is humidity a problem? Or perhaps a recent influx of unwelcome neighbors?
Watch the news and read the paper
Did you know that a majority of Italians have no idea about all of Berlusconi’s scandals? The media mogul owns or controls almost all of the country’s newspapers and television stations – and he decides what they can and cannot say about him.
More so than reading news about your destination online, it’s important to see what the people “on the street” are receiving in terms of news. What are the local issues they care about? How censored or “rose-coloured” is the news?
You might live in a connected world, but not everyone does – and it can change the way you view a certain place.
Great work Christine! This is a fantastic methodology to really testing out a new destination! I’ve been in Bangkok for 8 months so I’ve definitely had the chance to do all of the above, but especially being present for the protests! Some spots have more than others, but my first DAY on this trip I got caught up in the closure of the international airport–Southeast Asia’s biggest hub! Then there were skirmishes in MY neighborhood between the army & protesters. Even with all that, I still love it here too much to leave, so if you can tolerate that stuff, it must be a good sign. :)
Great post Christine, my girlfriend and I are moving to Thailand in October to teach. While not strictly conforming to the Location Independent mantra, its suggestions like this that will help us to decide on a particular area quickly.
Great advice there. I reckon Cody is right too in that a little bit of tolerance for some of the less desirable things can make it less stressful when it does happen.
Hi,
A very handy post. I would elaborate on the point concerning weather: make sure you test-go in a period that you are most afraid of and see how you take it. I personally hate heat and for me a place is livable if I can survive the peak of summer. cheers!
These seem like really sensible things to check out about a place to see if it is suitable for the lifestyle you want before settling down there.
As we explore our location independent lifestyle by physically moving our little home on wheels to our new destinations, we don’t have to put as much thought into choosing where we’ll be next. We usually determine that by people we want to visit, places we want to see and events going on. And if we find we don’t like the area, we just drive on somewhere else.
Great tips! As a more nomadic location LIP, I find that the biggest issue is internet speed and availability, particularly in Central America. I’ve been on the verge of asking hostel staff to run a speedtest.net test and report back with the results before I make a reservation. :)
I’m in Buenos Aires now, and it seems to be an excellent LIP city.
Great tips — although I had to laugh about the trash can incident. I live and work full-time from my RV and I had the same problem in Springfield, MO. All I found were really expensive chrome-plated trash cans. What I wanted was a plastic pail with a snap-on lid and a good handle to put outside the door of my RV to use to haul trash to the trashbin! Never did find exactly what I wanted.
And what I miss most — Trader Joe’s! Having lived all over the world my best advise is be adaptable and live in the moment! Enjoy what each place has to offer and when the time comes, move on down the road.