Chasing your dreams. One year travelling and working

Chasing dreams!
Sunday 20 December 2009

Who?
Who?

Nomadz.nu


What?

Around the globe


Where?

Cape Town, Thailand, Buenos Aires


The idea


We’re all f* crazy

We’re all f* crazy, racing
the rat race, going faster,
wanting more.
Wake up, work, sleep.
On and on...


Trapped on a train

Sometimes its feels like
you’re trapped on that
ongoing train, without an
end.


Sometimes we need to stop

To take distance. See
things from a perspective.
Have a clear view on
things.


To dream...

How we want our life to be.
To choose our own track
rather that finding
ourselves suddenly on a
wrong track.


But...

Although we like vacation,
we don’t need a full year
being ‘off’ our grid.
Nor do we feel like giving
up what we’ve built.


Luckily.

There is connectivity
nowadays. And loads of
internet. And skype.
And countries full of those.


So we’ll be working


1 year in Belgium

A year in Belgium means:
365 days. 1 city trip. 1 week
away. 1 3-week vacation.
Many weekends with family
+friends. Loads of work.


1 year abroad

A year abroad means:
365 days. 1 city trip. 1 week
away. 1 3-week vacation.
Many weekends with family
+friends. Less work.


equals

More time to be busy with
what we like.

Like photography.


equals

More time to be busy with
thinking of what we want.


equals

More time...


equals

Money (time is money)


equals

We’ll be rich ( joking :) )


Steps to take


1/Decide

Really: the hardest one.


2/Prepare

Which is a lot of talking
and organizing. Start
reading. Make lists where
and what. Start dreaming...


3/Announce

Tell everybody, long time in
advance so they can prepare
and anticipate. So you can
meet before you go. Family
often needs time to adjust to
the idea


4/Sell out

Rent out the house (or sell)
Sell the car, and get rid of
all the overkill you have at
home


5/SaveSaveSave

Works well with n°4
Make an estimate what 1
year abroad will cost. Tell
friends/family that you want
cash instead of presents. The
money is for just in case


6/Don’t buy

Probably even harder than n°1
There is no use in buying
anything at all. You only have 2
suitcases to take. So don’t fill
them up with nonsense...


7/Decide where to go

Ha! Hard one...
There are 197 countries in the
world. And they are all as
fascinating...
We opted for slow travel. It’s
cheaper. We choose 3.
Check ticket prices. Get to know
someone at airstop/connections.

8/Practical stuff

Go to the dentist, to the doctor,
get those vaccinations. Talk to the
insurance guy. Take care of the
passports and visa. Go to the
bank and get that mastercard.
And cancel the internet, the
telephone. Make sure to have
time. Cause they’re not fast...

The budget


None

Really...


Ok. Just a tiny bit

We sold everything we
didn’t need any more. Like
books, old cameras, stuff
lying around. We asked for
money instead of presents.
Which earned us our
tickets.
(2*3*700 euro)

The house?

The house is rented. With
all furniture. Paying the
mortgage. Eliminating
costs


The car?

The car is sold. In fact
anything loosing value at
home has been sold.
Including old computers,
screens, cameras.


It doubles as a saving account

We might need it. But in
fact we don’t want to.


The plan


So how do we live?

How will we live when no
money?


We’ll work!

Not that hard. Isn’t it?


No waitressing, or field work

The same we’re doing
here. (webdesign)
For the same clients.
Because we can.


Side note: check with your accountant !

It is complicated! Its Belgium
I’ll save you the details...
But being independent means
paying taxes. Social security.
Etc. Go and talk to your
accountant to check it out.


The tools


Things we have at home

As a webdesigner I need:
a decent portable + a bigger screen (which is pretty cheap
these days) + pc to check IE6/7/8 + installed software,
internet, mobile number to be in touch with my clients,
backup disks to ensure all is saved when the harddisk fails
on me or the computer gets stolen, a place to set all this
stuff up (called office), an account to get paid on, an
accountant that takes care of the taxes, insurances, a
website to promote myself, networking opportunities to
sell my services


Things we need abroad

The same


The setup


Macbook Pro

+ Installed software
+ VMware for PC emulation


Wireless internet

via Telenet WorldHotSpots
= worldwide wifi access in
hotels, starbucks, etc.


Local number

via Nomado.eu
= a local Belgian number
= VOIP
= international calls at low cost
= on iPhone + computer
(SIPphone)


Backupping

online via BackBlaze +
Nomadesk.com
offline via Firewire HD &
Superduper


Internetbanking

Any bank will do...
Just make sure to have
more than one.
Have 2 creditcards and
check beforehand if they’ll
work

PDF Invoicing

So you can mail your
clients + accountant
instead of snailmail.


International insurance

Also for your material.
And if possible pay by Visa
Business Silver / Mastercard
Gold. They offer theft + loss
insurance on stuff bought
with the card


Each other :)

Well..


Nice tips

Best way to get networking
opportunities abroad.
-Contact the embassy
-Check Twitter on
#cityevents
-Talk on Facebook and
meet friends of friends...

The nomadz
www.nomadz.nu
on facebook: nomadznu
www.twitter.com/nomadznu
www.www.flickr.com/nomadznu

Catherine Ine
catherine@nomadz.nu ine@nomadz.nu
www.emoy.be www.monuments.nu
www.flickr.com/photos/emoy www.matuvu.nu
www.flickr.com/matuvu
www.linkedin.com/in/matuvu


The nomadz

Foto’s by Ine
Behalve die van geld via Flickr


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