Tag: location independent

Our Year in Pictures: Pre-Location Independence

Inspired by Tanja Hester’s post of her first year of retirement adventures, I thought I’d create a similar post of the ThreeYears’ 2018. After all, it was a big year for our family. We became location independent, we bought a new house, we went on several big trips, and the kids started new schools. As I was putting the post together, I realized that we had a lot of pictures! So I decided to break our year up into our pre- and post-location independence, which happens to fall right in the middle of the year (so handy!).

Here are the ThreeYears’ adventures from January to June of last year.

January

We started off 2018 in Chile, in the last week of our three-week long trip to visit Mr. ThreeYear’s family in Santiago. We also took a side trip to northern Chile, to the San Pedro de Atacama desert. That trip took place in the final days of December, so I won’t include pictures here, but read all about it in this post.

We bought lots of fresh fruits and veggies (because it was summer in Chile!) at the feria, the local market two blocks from our apartment.

Continue reading “Our Year in Pictures: Pre-Location Independence”

Your Complete Guide to Location Independence for Families

Have you ever dreamed of having the freedom to live wherever you’d like? Have you thought about moving to a warmer/cheaper/bigger/smaller town or city? Have you dreamed of being able to travel for longer than two weeks a year with your entire family?

Our family is pursuing a dream to become location independent, in order to be able to be closer to our families who live on two different continents, enjoy warmer weather than we currently do in New Hampshire, and travel for longer stretches of time.

For the last year and a half, we’ve been exploring ways to make that dream come true. We’re investigating overseas employment options. We’re saving and investing in order to double our net worth. We’re looking into non-traditional work arrangements.

What is location independence?

Location independence is a term used to describe a lifestyle in which you’re not tied to one location. You are free to travel for long stretches of time, if you so desire. You’re not tied to a place because of your job. You don’t have work obligations that mean you need to report to an office each day. You may live in one city, but you’re free to choose that city. You’re able to practice geographical arbitrage, and live in a region of your country or the world that costs less.

It’s generally a term that’s used when people are still working, and haven’t yet reached financial independence, but because of the way they’ve structured their lives, they’re able to work from anywhere, or almost anywhere. Location independence for families is building a lifestyle where your entire family can come with you. Whether you’re a family of 2, 5, or 25, location independence can work for a family, but extra planning IS required.  Continue reading “Your Complete Guide to Location Independence for Families”

Location Independent, International Jobs: Andrew

Hello! Welcome to “Location Independent, International Jobs,” the Wednesday series where I showcase stories from people who have become location independent, work internationally, and/or continuously travel.

In today’s interview, you’ll hear the story of Andrew, who lives in Dubai with his wife, Jamie, and their two young sons. 
This interview will cover:
  • how to get an international job (hint: your network is important!)
  • the benefits of an MBA
  • how to become an international entrepreneur
  • some cultural shocks from Dubai
  • the financial benefits of fasting
For the complete story of how Andrew made a life in Dubai from Atlanta, Georgia, keep reading! 
Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

I am an American from a small town in north Georgia.  My wife and I have been living in Dubai since 2008.  We have two boys named Jack (who’s six) and Zain (who’s three), or as we call them, Thing One and Thing Two.  They were born in The Emirates.

Location Independent, International Jobs: Andrew--www.thethreeyearexperiment.com
The Waskey family all dressed up for Halloween, Dubai-style.

I graduated from Furman University with a degree in Spanish.  I earned an MBA at Georgia State University in Atlanta.  I attended part time for a few years while working for DHL (the delivery company).

How did you make the decision to move internationally?

My wife and met while in graduate school for international business. Both of us wanted to live overseas – mostly for the adventure [Laurie: Andrew has traveled to over 80 countries!] . As a part of our graduate school program we had to intern overseas. I worked in China and she worked in Argentina. After we graduated we got jobs in Atlanta and then when an opportunity to work overseas just before the Great Recession. We never planned on living in the Middle East and we thought we would just stay for a year.

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Let’s Move to: Singapore

My family is on a journey to become location independent in three years. We plan to leave New England and give our family the opportunity to travel together. I can teach English while we’re there, which would give us health insurance and free schooling for the kids, or we might find remote jobs. So today, let’s contemplate moving to Singapore!

The City-State

When my friend moved to Singapore a few years ago, I admit to not even knowing where it was, or that it was both a city and a country.

I had to do some quick Wiki research to figure out that Singapore is a young country (only just over 50 years old) and is on the tip of the Malay peninsula, just below Thailand and Malaysia.

Lee Kuan Yew became the country’s powerful prime minister, implementing strict rules to unite the country’s three distinct ethnic groups—Chinese, Malasians, and Indians from the Tamil region. It’s infamous for one of its rules—no chewing gum in public. According to our friends, these rules were necessary because Yew had inherited a country of people with little education and had to institutionalize polite behavior, so that he could successfully modernize the country. And he did. Singapore went from a third-world to a first-world country in a single generation.

Continue reading “Let’s Move to: Singapore”