The Location Independent Lifestyle   by T.W. Anderson

in Business / Entrepreneurship    (submitted 2012-01-22)

The location independent lifestyle is a term that has grown up in the past few years along with advent of global Internet. As more and more people transition out of the traditional brick-and-mortar jobs into digital positions, the need for a physical location is significantly lessened. And while not everyone has jumped on the digital nomad bandwagon, there are a significant number of players who have, and to great success.

The phrase is a modern variation on the old international nomad, although these days they are referred to as digital nomads. They are the web-savvy, independent and enterprising elite of the 21st century, broadening their horizons by approaching the workplace not on a regional scale, but instead viewing the entire world as their potential working environment. When your paycheck can come from any source in any country, the need to be tied down to a single location becomes moot. There is no need for a single, location-specific life or lifestyle; instead, the eyes are turned to the horizon, where the entire world awaits.

Working abroad as a location independent entrepreneur has a number of advantages, ranging from a lowered cost of living (such as working in Mexico while utilizing a German salary on the Euro) to the opportunity for global networking, not merely regional. The most prominent digital nomads of the 21st century are the young, aggressive members of society who aren't tied down by a family unit, a mortgage and two car payments. Instead, they can graduate from high school or take their existing job on the road with them, living a debt-free lifestyle that doesn't require a mortgage, two cars and hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. So long as the clients can pay via PayPal or a bank transfer, the entire world is the platform for a digital nomad, which means you can go anywhere you want and take your work with you.

While the location independent lifestyle isn't necessarily anything new, it is certainly one that is on the rise as more and more people around the world shed their physical ties and move their enterprises onto the Internet. As long as there is an Internet connection available, a digital nomad can work from anywhere in the world, which means your home office can be Tokyo, Cairo, London, New York, the Cayman Islands, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago or anywhere you choose. The world is very much your oyster when you work via the Internet.

About the Author

T.W. Anderson is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience as a professional independent contractor. He has been traveling since 1999 and living abroad since January of 2008 and specializes in teaching people how to live like a local and pursue the location independent lifestyle as a digital nomad. For more information on how to become a digital nomad and live like a local in foreign destinations around the world you can visit http://www.marginalboundaries.com.