I guess you could call me a maverick English teacher. You see, for the last 10 years I’ve traveled and lived in many exotic destinations around the world, including Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, the Czech Republic, France and Spain. All this was achieved just by using the power of my words. You might be wondering what I’m talking about. How can it be possible to just use the power of your words to travel the world?
The early morning sky is cluttered with color. The large crowd that woke up as early as 5.00 a.m. to be here oohs and aahs in unison as yet another balloon inflates and calmly lifts off the ground. There must be nearly 30 of them up in the skies of north-central Mexico by now and many more to take off.
Most people have to work for a living. And only a fortunate few get out of bed each day excited to go to the office. It’s sad how many Americans are unhappy with their job. In fact, I used to be one of them. Then everything changed in one day. Thanks to America’s Great Recession, I was called into HR and terminated. Immediately. “Stop what you’re doing and pack your things,” I was told.
Almost every business now has—or wants to have—a lively and informative website. Making a website is much simpler now than it was in the early days of the Internet. The process has improved so much that, these days, just about any business can afford one… And that’s why there’s a great (and growing) opportunity for you if you’re good with words.
Shern Darcheville has a pretty nice deal. He splits his time between his Caribbean homes in tropical Jamaica and St. Lucia. But Shern isn’t some independently wealthy millionaire. He has a job just like the rest of us. It’s just that in Shern’s line of work, you’re not tied down to any one place. He can clock in from wherever he likes.
One business opportunity led to another, and today his success overseas means that Kevin enjoys the flexibility to live in a place he loves (the weather is spring-like year-round) and spend four months every year traveling. He is just one of many expats who has found that opportunity knocks loudest when your boots are on the ground abroad.
Many retirees fund their lives overseas through savings, Social Security, and pensions. But those aren’t your only options. In this golden age of the portable career, we know readers cashing in with freelance work from every corner of the planet. But earning from a laptop doesn’t suit everybody. And that’s just fine. Because many expats report that—once you have boots on the ground in a new place—it’s easy to spot money-making opportunities.
Nine years ago I threw in the towel on a 25-year business career and a six-figure income to go in search of adventure. My life changed forever on September 11, 2001. Friends and business associates died that day. They hadn’t needed more money—they needed more time. Suddenly the savings I was working to accumulate for retirement didn’t seem so important.
Last year, I made the decision to move from Thailand to the fast-growing beach town of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. I knew moving to Sihanoukville wouldn’t be a problem for me or my career. That’s because I’m a freelance copywriter…and when you’re a freelance copywriter, it makes no difference where you live or work.
The number of different ways you can work and earn overseas is expanding rapidly for one reason—the Internet. Online job opportunities are exploding and with the right know-how, anyone can plug into them and start earning money using the skills they already have. Unfortunately, many people, especially those of the “Baby Boomer” generation, will let this opportunity slip past them…
What’s the best job in the world for income-minded world travelers? In my opinion, there’s no doubt…it’s freelance copywriting. Copywriters can work from almost anywhere in the world. If you’ve got a laptop and an Internet connection you’re good to go. What’s more, you set your own hours.
The instant I saw the ad I knew I was set for a life of adventure. But I never imagined just how far my native language could take me: All the way from leafing through the classifieds section of The Globe & Mail, in Toronto, Canada, to a new life in exotic Hong Kong. In between I picked up teaching posts in Istanbul, Turkey and Seoul, Korea. Both were incredible experiences.
We live in an emerging, international economy…one based on knowledge, information, and skills. One where employers are no longer interested in giving you a nice air-conditioned office, administrative help, free coffee and lavish benefits. Here’s the silver lining: One segment of the workforce has seen an explosion in growth: Freelancing.
the best thing about being a copywriter is that it allows me to enjoy the type of lifestyle that I’ve always wanted. Right now, I’m living and working in Southeast Asia—in a sunny, laid-back little beach resort town called Sihanoukville in Cambodia.
Ever since my first extended trip overseas back when I was a student, I dreamed of landing the “perfect” overseas job. I craved new experiences in faraway lands. And I was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. At first, it didn’t matter what the job was. As long as it gave me a chance to support myself while living in a world-class overseas destination, I was in.
Carol Romano owns an online business and a store in Mexico’s San Miguel famed for its eclectic vibe and its unusual, one-of-a-kind merchandise. But the story of how she came to own her own business started a decade earlier…with a trip to Morocco.
Not everything is yet labeled “Made in China.” Throughout the world, artisans still produce handcrafted objects of desire that carry serious mark-ups when resold in North America and Europe. And if you like something, chances are other people will like it too.
What do a sushi chef in Memphis… a flower-petal merchant in Bali… and a Chilean goucho have in common? Nothing, really… except that each prompted an idea a traveler like you turned into a paycheck. And that happens all the time, as Steenie Harvey (a frequent IL contributor) and I just explained to a group of potential expats gathered to hear about fun, easy ways they can fund their lives overseas.
For me, with my own company doing project management for large Information Technology infrastructure deployments, my job was a means to an end. I worked to earn money to travel and take photos of interesting and exotic places. But I longed for a job I could do from anywhere, which would permit me to travel as I worked.
Howard earned a good salary as an I.T. engineer, but he knew deep down that this was never his calling. Howard wanted to be a photographer. His nine-to-five was so far removed from his dream job that he thought he would never be able to make the switch. Aged 32, he decided he needed a change.
I arrived on vacation to Buenos Aires, Argentina and was seduced into staying. You see, I figured out how to hemisphere-hop for free. This way I get two summers a year plus the snowy New England Christmas I couldn’t give up. I’m not a true expat. I’m a cheater. At first I lived off savings, and then pieced together an income from freelance writing and editing.
I’d always wanted to be a writer. It was something I yearned to do for a living. I had worked in banking all my life but in 2008, aged 47, I decided that it was now or never—I would take a chance. So, I quit my job, sold my house, gave away my two cats (to a woman who adored them) and moved lock, stock and barrel with my wife to Malaysia.
You can volunteer at an organic farm next to the Podacarpus National Park in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, or on an apple orchard and organic bakery in Mendoza, Argentina. Help make goat cheese on an Irish farm near Ballyvaughan, County Clare in Ireland, learn about wine making on a vineyard in Italy’s Piemonte district while staying in a village house with a view of the Alps…
You’ll often hear the phrase “Same Same… But Different” in places like Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. And that phrase sums up the freelance copywriter’s lifestyle in Southeast Asia almost perfectly. Here’s why.
Many of the jobs that most of us hard-working baby boomers did for all those years have moved online. As a result, there’s a pretty good demand for simple skills like proofreading, editing, writing, working with spreadsheets… and a host of other “simple, task-oriented work assignments.” Interestingly, the range of options doesn’t stop there…
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