The World is Your Oyster: Part Six

It's been a couple of months since I've written one of my "World is Your Oyster" posts, and I figured it was time to dive back into it.

Recently I have been discussing the topic of digital media and the Location Independent Lifestyle with a lot of different people. The Internet has changed the face of the world not only on a communication level, but also on a business level. As I've discussed in previous posts on the topic, you (the person working in the digital age in digital media, regardless of its form) are no longer simply competing with people in your same town/city, state, or even country. College degrees exist in nearly every country in the world, and as long as someone has the relevant qualifications it doesn't matter if they live in the US, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, some coastal town in Scotland, a hut in the middle of some unheard-of South Pacific island, or kicked back on the beach in Milan or somewhere in Montenegro.

Digital media has opened the doors for people on a world-wide basis. You are no longer locked into the concept of "I have to live in X to take advantage of Y". As I've expanded my base of operations over the past couple of years, and through my travels as well, I have come across a wider and broader range of people who are taking advantage of working in digital media by living and working in countries far removed from their country of origin.

And contrary to popular belief, it doesn't always have to deal with the tax benefits of living and working abroad. Quite possibly the best part about the LIP lifestyle is the fact that you can live anywhere, as long as their is an Internet connection, and take advantage of the same wage you made back in your home country, but such a drastically reduced cost of living that you can literally spend your hard-earned money on things that you can appreciate now...not in 30/40/50 years when your house is paid off and you can finally retire.

I regularly meet people now who are from the UK, America, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and otherwise, who work from countries where the cost of living is a fraction of what it is back in their homeland. People who make 60k+ a year, but in their home country, 55k of that goes towards living conditions and taxes. Now they live outside of their home country and their hard-earned paychecks go towards what they want, because their cost of living is negligible.

I talk about our own situation quite frequently because it's proof of how this works. Our living expenses are less than 1,000 USD per month. In fact...they are about half of that, INCLUDING entertainment. And yet we have the *same* amenities we had back in the US and were costing us 4500+ a month while living in Colorado in a 40+ year old apartment.

One of my favorite websites on the topic, Location Independent talk about this regularly on their website and blog. They chronicle their journey since they first started the lifestyle back in 2007, about a year before Evy and I started doing similar. I actually wasn't even aware of their website until a few months back, but since then I've become an avid fan and I promote the concept to everyone I talk to, and I regularly meet people who are involved.

If you are lucky enough to work in digital media, it's worth looking into. Don't be fooled into thinking that you have to live in a country where your cost of living is 50k+ a year for as a couple, or 25-30k as an individual. You can live quite comfortably in another country for literally a fraction of what it costs to do so in a Western country, and you can enjoy the benefits of frequent travel, a paid-for home LONG before you are 60, and plenty of time/money to enjoy your life now, while you are still young and in your prime.

I highly suggest you read the aforementioned website/blog, because it is extremely informative on how the world really is your oyster.