I'm sure there's greener grass over there.

October 14, 2009 10:47 AM

On hiatus from the rat race. What now?

My spouse and I find ourselves unemployed and unencumbered with no kids (well, a cat) and some savings in the bank. To us, this is a blessing. We've lived on the East Coast for many years in a high cost-of-living area and want to relocate somewhere new, exciting and less expensive (like, $800/mo vs $2500/mo). We both are software/qa geeks so we want to work together on ongoing contracting, iPhone apps, and other entrepreneurial activities. We also want to see a new part of the country and get a bit more healthy (we hate the gym, love the outdoors).

We of course are very lucky to have so many options at this time in our lives, but I don't think we've ever had this open of a slate -- frankly, it's blind-siding. We don't want to go on a crazy world tour and burn our savings. Rather, we want to tweak our lifestyle to be happy with a lower burn rate while developing some independence from the 9-5. Would like to know if other Mefi-ates have been faced with the same situation, how you made your decision, and what the results were a few years down the road.

posted by RobotVoodooPower to work & money (6 comments total)

You mention that you and your spouse would like to do some contracting together. You also have some other ideas and these might also turn into streams of income. One element that you can sort out immediately is a business vehicle that is flexible enough to accommodate your needs and which does the right thing from a legal and taxation point of view (perhaps a partnership, perhaps something else). In the UK there are local business enterprise centres which will give you a lot of free and useful advice on this if you go to them and say "We are looking to start up a business". Perhaps you have access to something similar? The key point is that you can start taking action on this now - before you know exactly what your final mix of incomes and activities will be.

One other advantage of this approach is that you will probably be forced to turn your outline ideas into some kind of more detailed business plan. That can be a very useful exercise in sorting out those ideas which are financially practicable from those which are not: a bit less of a blank slate.
posted by rongorongo at 11:26 AM on October 14

If you're interested in smaller cities/towns, you might check out The 100 Best Art Towns in America. I used it to create a shortlist of smaller, cheaper places that have interesting culture. I visited some of the places in the book and ended up moving well south of my city to a warmer college town, where I have an online business.

You might also consider moving to a state that has low or non-existent income tax and incorporating your business there.

One thing I wish I had considered more seriously is locating closer to an international airport. Once your income is independent and 100% online, you might find yourselves wanting to travel, possibly a lot.
posted by PatoPata at 11:42 AM on October 14

As a former North Carolinian, I can't help but to recommend the Raleigh-Durham area. Thriving tech scene, with plenty of options for the outdoorsy type. The cost of living is much lower, though its a very car-centric environment, which I never enjoyed.
posted by Vhanudux at 1:57 PM on October 14

Asheville is another NC option. The weather is not as Southern (in that it's in the mountains), lots of beautiful outdoorsy stuff, lower cost of living, perfect if you bring a job along. Come down and help turn our state blue(r).
posted by rikschell at 7:36 PM on October 14

Would like to know if other Mefi-ates have been faced with the same situation, how you made your decision, and what the results were a few years down the road.

I'm not too clear on what you are asking, it sounds like you already have a plan to make some money and want advice on a new place to live, a place where you can get outdoors, have a cat, and your rent will be <>
Pick a specific thing you like about the outdoors (snow? oceans? warm and sunny?) and go where they have that. Road trip around until you find a town you like, get a month-to-month or week-to-week rental, and stay there until you want to check out somewhere else.
posted by yohko at 10:01 PM on October 14

Oops.
where your rent will be less than $800 per month.
posted by yohko at 8:34 AM on October 15