Goodbye Cube World?
May 10, 2011 11:53 AM
Has anyone actually transitioned from the daily office job grind to a "work anywhere" nomadic lifestyle? Bonus: Have you accomplished this mid-career with a family?
It seems to me that technology has brought the possibility of the "work anywhere" life tantalizingly close. Has anyone made the leap? I've been teaching on-line classes part time for a couple of years now and I am wondering if this is the type of work that one could do full time, perhaps supplemented by other work, whether that be web design or consulting.
I picture doing this work while traveling with my family, settling down for short stints and picking up and moving on when the whim strikes us. My family loves the excitement of travel and seeing new places. We all seem to get bored with the day-to-day grind, stuck in our respective ruts. Travel seems to energize us all.
Given that I'm middle-aged, mid-career, and have a family, am I indulging in a fantasy world, or is this something that people have actually done?
It seems to me that technology has brought the possibility of the "work anywhere" life tantalizingly close. Has anyone made the leap? I've been teaching on-line classes part time for a couple of years now and I am wondering if this is the type of work that one could do full time, perhaps supplemented by other work, whether that be web design or consulting.
I picture doing this work while traveling with my family, settling down for short stints and picking up and moving on when the whim strikes us. My family loves the excitement of travel and seeing new places. We all seem to get bored with the day-to-day grind, stuck in our respective ruts. Travel seems to energize us all.
Given that I'm middle-aged, mid-career, and have a family, am I indulging in a fantasy world, or is this something that people have actually done?
I've been telecommuting for 10 years now. I definitely have a "work anywhere" job, and like you am middle-aged and mid-career. However, what is keeping me from living the nomadic lifestyle you describe is not my job, it's my kids, who benefit from going to a good school and building strong friendships with those in the neighborhood. We have tentative plans for trying to live abroad for a year or so, but I'm generally of the opinion that your kids are better off not bouncing around from here to there through their formative years. Case in point is kids of military people, who as adults I've noticed almost uniformly discuss the frequency of moving with disdain/sadness. I'm not trying to say there aren't some people that think growing up nomads was a great experience, but most I've encountered do not.
I find the prospect of picking up and moving around similarly romantic, and thought about it a lot. But at least for me, it's not reality even with a location-agnostic job.
posted by mcstayinskool at 12:01 PM on May 10, 2011
I find the prospect of picking up and moving around similarly romantic, and thought about it a lot. But at least for me, it's not reality even with a location-agnostic job.
posted by mcstayinskool at 12:01 PM on May 10, 2011
My husband did this (of course, he JUST went back to the office yesterday because of a fantastic offer.)
What he did was to cobble together little jobs. Transcription, recording, etc. He also teaches in a classroom setting twice a week.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:05 PM on May 10, 2011
What he did was to cobble together little jobs. Transcription, recording, etc. He also teaches in a classroom setting twice a week.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:05 PM on May 10, 2011
A good first step would be trying to work from home for a while. It's got its own challenges - lack of built-in facetime with grownups, constant temptations to slack/do housework/cope with family, communications challenges with coworkers. If you can do that - and I don't mean once or twice a week, I mean exclusively for 6+ months - then you will know if you want to take the next step and add in the complexity of travel.
Seriously, working from home sounds great but it's not for everyone or for every job. I have worked out how to do it and not go insane but it took a while and it took finding a different kind of job than I started out in. (Anything heavy on office politics will NOT work unless everyone is remote from everyone.)
posted by restless_nomad at 12:11 PM on May 10, 2011
Seriously, working from home sounds great but it's not for everyone or for every job. I have worked out how to do it and not go insane but it took a while and it took finding a different kind of job than I started out in. (Anything heavy on office politics will NOT work unless everyone is remote from everyone.)
posted by restless_nomad at 12:11 PM on May 10, 2011
I'm transitioned to work-at-home about ten years ago myself, and I do pack up and work when I'm at conferences or traveling for personal reasons. I'm a freelancer working mostly on writing and game design. Provided I have a phone and an internet connection, nobody much cares where I am. It's pretty great.
That said, I'm a military kid, here. I moved around enough that I went to 21 schools (including college.) I think I did OK out of it, and I'm pretty pleased with the person I am today. But it pretty much sucks as a child to have to come to terms with new teachers and different curricula a couple of times a year. Even if you home-school, it really sucks to have to build friendships (heck, your whole social structure) from scratch again and again and again.
You can preserve the same excitement by giving the family small doses of that kind of travel on school holidays and over the summer. Just make sure you aren't constantly uprooting your kids entirely. It's really hard to grow up like that.
posted by Andrhia at 12:12 PM on May 10, 2011
That said, I'm a military kid, here. I moved around enough that I went to 21 schools (including college.) I think I did OK out of it, and I'm pretty pleased with the person I am today. But it pretty much sucks as a child to have to come to terms with new teachers and different curricula a couple of times a year. Even if you home-school, it really sucks to have to build friendships (heck, your whole social structure) from scratch again and again and again.
You can preserve the same excitement by giving the family small doses of that kind of travel on school holidays and over the summer. Just make sure you aren't constantly uprooting your kids entirely. It's really hard to grow up like that.
posted by Andrhia at 12:12 PM on May 10, 2011
Case in point is kids of military people, who as adults I've noticed almost uniformly discuss the frequency of moving with disdain/sadness.
I am an actual military brat, and in fact the vast majority of other now adult military brats that I know say the exact opposite. I got live places growing up that I will likely never get back to.
Pulling the kids in and out of different schools would probably be disruptive, but if you and Mrs. Otis want to turn the world into their classroom by homeschooling, you could have one hell of an awesome adventure. Go to the same school everyday, or work on your Algebra in your temporary beach front home, or mountain home, or whatever. I don't think it's a contest.
posted by COD at 12:21 PM on May 10, 2011
I am an actual military brat, and in fact the vast majority of other now adult military brats that I know say the exact opposite. I got live places growing up that I will likely never get back to.
Pulling the kids in and out of different schools would probably be disruptive, but if you and Mrs. Otis want to turn the world into their classroom by homeschooling, you could have one hell of an awesome adventure. Go to the same school everyday, or work on your Algebra in your temporary beach front home, or mountain home, or whatever. I don't think it's a contest.
posted by COD at 12:21 PM on May 10, 2011
I'm what's known as a foreign service brat and I didn't even have the cultural consistency of going to American schools. It's very disruptive and unsettling. Yes, I'm good at learning languages and at making friends wherever I go, but I definitely did not want my kids to grow up the way I did- 15 different schools by the time I was 18, in 4 different countries, 6 different cities- so I raised them in one place. Take your kids on long summer trips or one-year sabbaticals.
posted by mareli at 12:59 PM on May 10, 2011
posted by mareli at 12:59 PM on May 10, 2011
Before you leap into moving the kids into an RV, I'd try out working at home. Not everyone can manage the lack of formal structure. I freelance, and have worked at home for about the last 10 years. I can work anywhere, but the downside to that is that I'm always at work. Always. I did a conference call while my family was taking the tour at Mt. Rushmore. I'm sometimes on the phone with London at 4 am, and with Sydney during dinner.
Can you manage your time, juggle clients and cash flow, build a client base from scratch, etc.?
My kids are older, so YMMV.
posted by Ideefixe at 1:24 PM on May 10, 2011
Can you manage your time, juggle clients and cash flow, build a client base from scratch, etc.?
My kids are older, so YMMV.
posted by Ideefixe at 1:24 PM on May 10, 2011
Really, think of your kids here. They need stable schooling and consistent friends.
posted by joannemullen at 3:33 PM on May 10, 2011
posted by joannemullen at 3:33 PM on May 10, 2011
How about giving the nomadic lifestyle an extended run during summer, when the kids are out of school? You could get a good idea of how the logistics would work out and if the lifestyle would be too difficult longterm. Start picking up freelance work, contact temp agencies with national branches, etc. if you aren't prepared to leave Cube World entirely.
posted by dragonplayer at 3:40 PM on May 10, 2011
posted by dragonplayer at 3:40 PM on May 10, 2011
I'm a computer programmer, age 30, with a spouse and child. Last year I started working from home as an employee of an organization (Mozilla) that has many remote workers. In this previous thread I talked a little about traveling while working. It's definitely possible if you can find the right employer or clients.
posted by mbrubeck at 5:16 PM on May 10, 2011
posted by mbrubeck at 5:16 PM on May 10, 2011
I work as a freelance writer and virtual assistant. The flexibility is good, although I wouldn't say I can just be nomadic. I still have to meet deadlines and plan ahead when I'm going to be away. Also, working from home takes a lot of self discipline, in my experience. That said, I think it's definitely possible to at least get a job with a lot more flexibility so you can travel and work all at the same time. I know because I've done it for the last 2 years.
posted by Rocket26 at 6:34 PM on May 10, 2011
posted by Rocket26 at 6:34 PM on May 10, 2011
Check out Location Independent. It's the brainchild of a couple who have done this exact thing.
posted by xenophile at 7:55 PM on May 10, 2011
posted by xenophile at 7:55 PM on May 10, 2011
Dissenting former kid here.
I loved moving around and would have enjoyed more of it. I've always been surprised that so many kids apparently hate moving.
It gave me a sense of perspective that I could never have achieved in the same old place year after year. It also taught me to be a good correspondent and to make the effort to keep the friends I valued, and that's served me in good stead my whole life.
I think that what made the difference is that my parents were so conversational and hands-on that I was almost homeschooled on top of regular school. I learned most of my fundamentals ahead and outside of official schooling, so school environments were environments of social and anthropological interest rather than intellectual universes.
I think it's fundamentally a matter of temperament, though. Even as an adult I still get antsy when the novelty index dips too low.
posted by tangerine at 2:14 PM on May 11, 2011
I loved moving around and would have enjoyed more of it. I've always been surprised that so many kids apparently hate moving.
It gave me a sense of perspective that I could never have achieved in the same old place year after year. It also taught me to be a good correspondent and to make the effort to keep the friends I valued, and that's served me in good stead my whole life.
I think that what made the difference is that my parents were so conversational and hands-on that I was almost homeschooled on top of regular school. I learned most of my fundamentals ahead and outside of official schooling, so school environments were environments of social and anthropological interest rather than intellectual universes.
I think it's fundamentally a matter of temperament, though. Even as an adult I still get antsy when the novelty index dips too low.
posted by tangerine at 2:14 PM on May 11, 2011
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posted by TedW at 11:59 AM on May 10, 2011