Becoming Location Independent – What Jobs Can You Do While On The Road?

We have all been there. Laying on a deck chair on a beautiful white beach with glistening blue water two metres away. The cocktail you just bought was worth three whole dollars. At home it would have cost at least fifteen. Your small but very comfortable bungalow with everything you need is nestled between trees only twenty metres away from where you are laying. Your home is only twenty dollars a night, with breakfast. Lunch costs you maybe five dollars, dinner with a beer, ten dollars. You do some maths and work out it would cost you about three hundred a week to live like this. Indefinitely.

So how do you stay?

Well, at costs like the above, to live in a bungalow by the beach for a year you would need at least twenty thousand dollars saved up. Not much really when you think about it. Of course one way to take the edge of those expenses is to work while you live in paradise. Here are some examples of some jobs that you can do while on the road.

Virtual Assistant

As the name suggests, become an assistant that can sit anywhere. This type of job doesn't necessarily pay the best unless you can get in with a big company but you will get some work. The jobs you may find yourself doing range from doing manual data entry to being a private PA to a busy person going through their email for them. This can be an interesting and varied job to hold although it can also be extremely repetitive.

Website Owner

Owning your own website(s) can make you a little or a lot. People search for stuff in Google and come to your website to read the information you provide. You make money either through advertising, each visitor that clicks on an ad on your site puts a few cents in your pocket, or what's called affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing simply means offering your visitors products and services being sold by other people who pay you a commission. This is a big subject that we don't know a whole lot about so if you are interested in looking into it more read, read and read!

Writer

Not the most lucrative position you could have on the road but it can be interesting. There is no stopping you writing articles to send to various online newspapers or magazines. They may want to print your article and may pay you some money for it. Make sure you include some photos as well! An alternative way to use your writing skills is to write an e-book to sell online. This can be quite rewarding seeing people buy your work.

Become a Teacher

This isn't necessarily a job that you can do from anywhere, for example, on a bus, but it is a very transportable job. It can take you anywhere in the world. Teaching typically pays quite well and you get to mingle with the locals. Teaching jobs range from a couple hours a week at a language school teaching English to being a full time Teacher in a private or public school. It really is rewarding when a little child comes up to you yelling English words that you have taught them.

We have written a free guide to teaching English in Thailand.

Translator

If you are one of those lucky people who already know two to three languages, or can pick up the local language fast, become a translator! You can do this online through freelance sites, or put up flyers around the community or talk to local expats.

Computer Programmer

Some companies will allow computer programmers to work from home. Many programmers prefer to work nights so allowing them to work wherever and whenever they want makes a lot of sense. This also makes it easy to work location independently. If you are able to work from home when at home, who says you can't work from home whilst on a tropical island?

Photographer

Some travelers are able to fund their travel by selling their photos. It is possible to make quite a bit of money from companies like istockphoto or by selling photos directly to magazines and newspapers. I don't take very good photos so I can't really comment much further here!

There are many more location independent jobs available for those prepared to be a bit creative. These include exchanging cleaning at the hostel you are staying at for free accommodation, offering tutoring to local people, putting adverts up in the local expat pubs providing tax advice. It really depends on the local conditions and the skill set that you have.

It takes a little creativity and hard work but the world really is your oyster.