Bruce Eric Anderson recently mentioned that he’s no longer a jet-set nomad who circumnavigates the world in first class. Bruce Eric has happily become a zip-code nomad who stays pretty close to home.
But if there are jet-setters, zip-coders, and fraggers, then what kind of nomad am I? I’m a rural nomad.
My husband and I live on a small Canadian island. We run our Web consulting company from our century-old farm-house, which is surrounded by acres of agricultural land. But we haven’t always been rural nomads who live in farm-country.
While some people choose to launch a business and then become nomads, we did it the other way around. We dramatically changed our lives and then launched our company from our new, rural home.
Transition
A few years ago, we were living a nine-to-five existence in an urban city on the west coast of North America, but my husband and I were fixated on an irresistible idea: quitting our jobs, selling our house, releasing the tethers of our mortgage, and moving somewhere new. If we made the move, then we’d have the financial freedom to launch a consulting company and run a network of our own websites.
Soon enough, we were inspired to make the move and become digital nomads.
Location
When choosing to move to a new location, some of you might dream of moving to an urban mecca like Hong Kong or an equatorial hot-spot like Fiji. But we didn’t.
We wanted to move to a rural Canadian island where life was simple, where the neighbors were friendly, and where we’d have space to roam.
Location choice was dictated by a few factors:
- Cost: Housing costs and cost of living were the primary factors. When you reduce your cost of living, you can afford to start new projects and take bigger risks.
- Lifestyle: Consider your ideal lifestyle. Do you crave urban style? Do you fantasize about feeling sand between your toes? Or would you prefer a quiet existence in the countryside?
- Security and immigration: What about health-care coverage? Immigration issues?
- Heart-pull: Ask yourself where you’d like to go. Do research, and trust your instincts.
Becoming a Rural Nomad
Although we had rising careers in government and software, we were educated, entrepreneurial-minded, and we both had a yen for country living.
Eventually we quit our jobs, sold ninety percent of our possessions, and left urban life behind. We moved 5,000 miles across the country and bought an old farm-house on 60 acres of land. Soon after, we launched Brightflock Consulting.
Our lifestyle is a curious combination of old and new technology. We heat our house with firewood, which we cut from our own property.
But, at the same time, we’re as technologically inclined as any other nomad; we use top-of-the-line gadgets while still remaining minimalists at heart.
Future
Many people transition into nomadic lifestyles from existing careers, but launching a nomad-friendly career while working full-time for someone else and living in an expensive city wasn’t feasible in our case. To make our nomadic dreams a reality, we first had to make drastic life changes, and then create our own nomad-friendly company.
We have adventuresome spirits. In a few years, we may give up being rural nomads in favor of a jet-setting nomadic lifestyle. The beauty of being a digital nomad is that you can take on new adventures without giving up or restarting your career. Aah, the power of nomadness!
To find out more about another rural nomader, check out Big Think’s interview with Jessamyn West.
Do you have a story to tell about your transition to Digital Nomadism? Tell us about it.
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Nomad Contributors
I too made the ‘drastic life changes’, before launching myself into making them economically viable.
It’s not a bad way to do it: rather than planning forever, and running the risk of falling into the trap of substituting planning for action, make the move as soon as you can, so that you know viscerally what you are working for. I bought a small place in Bali, and every sunset walk on the beach is an affirmation that I must keep working to never ‘go back’! I’m getting there!
Thanks for sharing your story. I completely agree.
It’s too easy to plan, plan, plan forever. Making the *decision* to *do it* can be the hardest part. Of course, you have to have some financial buffer and not be totally crazy about it, but at some point you just have to take the leap and have faith.
Sounds like it’s working well for you. I do think that the key is moving somewhere where the cost of living is lower. Bali seems like a great option (from what I know about it anyway). I always like to read about how others are making it work. I’ll check out your blog, http://www.wagefreedom.com.
Thanks for your feedback!