Image by Paul Cook

** This post was written by Andy Hayes. Find out more about Andy at the bottom. **

Welcome to another regular feature on the Location Independent blog: Inspirational Destinations – an interview with a LIP on location.

These are to remind us about all about inspiration: don’t do all that hard work to build yourself a nomadic lifestyle and then fail to take advantage of it fully. We’ve given you the tools to build a lifestyle the way you want it – and now we can help you decide where to spend it.

Last time we spoke with Leigh-Anne Russell who is location independent in Shanghai. This month’s volunteer interviewee is Sharon Hurley Hall.  Many of you will know Sharon already as she’s a huge contributor to the community here and a friendly face that seems to pop up everywhere…

First, could you briefly introduce yourself and your business?

I’m an all-around freelance writer.  You can find examples of my work at my popular writing site, Get Paid to Write Online.  Currently, I write articles, prepare news and features for online magazines and write for three blogs, plus my own. I’ve been in the writing business for more than 20 years and have been freelancing full time for about four.

You’re based in Barbados. What made you decide to relocate there? Purely for sunshine, umbrella drinks, and glistening beaches?

I had a couple of reasons for relocating to this area. I wanted to be closer to a couple of members of my family. Also, I like the lifestyle. Being in a place with lots of sea breezes and where you can be outside all year round really appealed to all of us, so it was an easy decision to make. Of course, it took a few years to actually achieve it, but we’re pretty happy. The fact that it’s out of the hurricane belt (the last serious one was in 1955) also makes it a better choice than some of the other islands.

As a business owner, how has your experience been living in Barbados so far?

One of the great things about Barbados is that everything works, most of the time, anyway. The telecoms infrastructure is good and although my ADSL is slower than the cable connection I would have had if I’d stayed in the UK, it’s not too shabby. Of course, on the odd occasions when I have to resort to dialup, I don’t feel quite as sanguine, but that’s only happened a couple of times. My favorite coffee shop has free wifi and there are plenty of internet cafes dotted around the island.

The office environment in Barbados is a bit more formal than in the UK, but a lot of the time I meet with other solopreneurs, so we chat at someone’s house or over a coffee. Skype is my best friend for connecting with my clients, most of whom are in the US and UK.

There are days when I don’t feel like working because it is just so beautiful, but I force myself to do so anyway. And the good thing about setting my own schedule is that I can plan to have lunch on the beach any time I want.

As a tourist, what’s been your best experience so far?

It’s hard to pick just one experience. I love the outdoors, so my favorite Barbados experiences all include spending some time at Brownes Beach or Oistins and coffee at Coffee Italia opposite Accra Beach. Two experiences I really enjoyed were seeing underwater Barbados on the Atlantis submarine and seeing turtles and corals on the Cool Runnings catamaran cruise.

Accra Beach by cmakin

Any other insider tips for things to do while in Barbados?

Oooh – where should I start? There are a lot of great places to visit. If I had only one day in Barbados, here’s what I would do:

Get up early (at about 5am when it’s still dark) and drive down to Enterprise Beach and watch the sun rise over the ocean. Head down the coast towards Carlisle Bay, stopping to look at the red brick buildings in the Garrison area. Go to Brownes beach and chat with the locals while enjoying a refreshing dip.

Head into Bridgetown to see the Parliament Buildings (which includes the National Heroes museum), and the statue of Nelson. Head out of the city towards the West Coast and drive right past the splendid Sandy Lane and similar hotels to visit Speightstown, an old fishing village which has been refurbished and features the Fish Hook Grill, a great place for lunch.

Head to the northern-most point of the island and watch the waves crashing against the rocks.Go cross country to St Andrew and walk through the sand dunes on the Atlantic Coast before heading inland to the Barbados Wildlife Reserve (small, but an oasis on a hot day).

Head back to the south coast for a refreshing dip at Oistins and then enjoy the ambience at the Oistins Fish Fry in early evening. Barbados is a great place for fresh fish, including mahi-mahi, marlin, tuna and occasionally swordfish. If you can stand the pace, visit a nightclub in St Lawrence Gap.

The View from Speightstown by hodgers

For other LIP’s considering a move to Barbados, any words of wisdom or advice?

Barbados is a great place, but don’t expect it to be cheap because a lot of items are imported – and dutiable. We did a scouting trip before moving to see which things we should bring with us from the UK – it was well worth it – and we had a great holiday at the same time.

Thanks Sharon for all those tips and insights. It’s easy to consider sandy beaches and sunny skies the ideal stop for a Location Independent business, but there are a few more things to worry about than sand in your laptop it seems!

Andy Hayes is professional travel writer & photographer. For more Location Independent locations, head over to his blog, Sharing Experiences

We’re always looking for community members who want to be featured on the blog. Please do get in touch if you’d like to share your story or have a suggestion for an inspiring location independent destination.