Vacant Desk

No. I’m not moving to Amsterdam. But being one of my favorite cities in the world and also being sick and tired of seeing really fat Americans waddle past me in every major city I go to I sometimes like to think about moving out of country. I’ve been to Amsterdam a bunch of times and think it is possibly one of the most picturesque, culturally rich, hip cities in the world. And I don’t smoke pot or hire prostitutes! It’s just a cool city.

Whether it’s Amsterdam or Guadalajara a great place to dream about relocating (temporary or otherwise) is at the international section of Craiglist. By way of illustration check out this sweet place in Amsterdam.

Not exactly cheap at $1,850 Euros per month but it’s still cool.

Go here and look at the “europe” heading for the international cities. It’s fun and will give you an idea of what housing costs in the euro city of your choosing.

Norm Brodsky wrote his monthly editorial in Inc Magazine this month with a title, “Get lost: Taking more vacations increased the value of my company. How cool is that?”

…Now, I will admit that I haven’t always been as strong a believer in the importance of taking time off as I am today. For eight or nine years after starting my first business, I took breaks only when my wife, Elaine, forced me to. She would go to Florida, where we had a second home, and I would join her on the weekend — maybe. If the technology had been available, I would probably have been one of those poor souls sitting on the beach with a BlackBerry in one hand, a cell phone in the other, and a computer on my lap. Or I would have been doing deals while riding a ski lift up the side of a mountain. It took a long and painful trip through Chapter 11 to make me realize the dangers of becoming consumed by the business. Looking back, I could see that I had gotten in trouble in part because I had lost perspective. My business obsession had clouded my judgment and kept me from asking important questions about what I was doing and where I was going…

A couple of salient points from the article worth taking note of:

• He’s been more successful the more vacation he took
• It took a chapter 11 to help him realize the dangers or being consumed by his business
• The business ran just as smooth (or smoother) when he was gone
• Not taking vacations is dumb
• Your business needs to up and running, cash-flowing, and largely succeeding before you can start vacationing aggresively

Anyways, it’s an article worth checking out. Find it here…

Ok. I’m going to tip my hand here. Where am I personally headed with this whole Vacant Desk thing? Not just the blog but the pursuit of the location independent lifestyle? Well, I realize that it’s not just about the amount of money I make, it’s about the time I create. It’s also not just about being free from a particular location - a cubicle or whatever the equivalent may be.

It’s a combination of the above. But what’s, possibly, the best industry to be in? Here’s what I believe it is…you ready? It’s…

…Affiliate Marketing

(Bells, whistles, applause. Raucous noise making.) [Read more →]

I took a few minutes today to put up a Squidoo lens. It seems like a great way to leverage a great community and get some more eyeballs on what we do. We’ll try not to bastardize the use of it though. It seems like a lot of Squidoo lenses don’t do anything other than overtly promote and don’t have any decent additional content.

If anyone wants to school me on the proper (and highest) use of Squidoo please do so in the comment section.

Check out our Squidoo page here

Here’s a nod to one of the better nomadic lifestyle/work from anywhere/break free from the desk blogs out there. It’s called “Location Independent Living” and they’ve got some great content. The blog is edited by Lea & Jonathan Woodward and they’re, well, location independent.[ad]

[Read more →]

The Nerdy Nomad (Kirsty) is currently on a working hiatus. I’m not sure she’d describe it that way but she definitely far from home and she’s definitely making money. She earned over $2,500 in April from her internet based money making activities. [Read more →]

I’m pretty sure this story has been covered quite a bit already by blogs of this ilk but I couldn’t pass up the chance to include it in our content.

The Economist wrote an excellent post about how technology is enabling a new type of nomad. A 21st century nomad. We’re not hauling around all our possessions like the nomads of long ago. (and actually, the nomads in the Sahara of today with the notable exception that a lot of them have cell phones) Instead we’re toting along our Blackberrys and our iPhones with our laptops hanging from our shoulders and seeking out the nearest cafe, beach, or resort with wifi connectivity. [Read more →]

What is wealth? Excess money? Stuff? Perpetual vacation? The best definition I’ve heard is that true wealth is time. Yes, that’s right. Time.

American society (and, arguably, much of the world) is obsessed with gaining possessions: cars, homes, money…stuff. But what’s the point? To get more stuff? My dad always use to tell me, “Even if you own your stuff, it owns you.” You still have to care for it, maintain it, protect it. Right? [Read more →]

Steve Case (former AOL CEO) launched a new company called Revolution Money. I don’t want to go on and on. Here’s the point I want to make. A component of Revolution Money is Revolution Money Exchange. Basically this allows you to do the following…

• FREE to register for an account
• FREE to add money from your bank account
• FREE to send money
• FREE to receive money
• FREE to request money
• FREE to transfer money to your bank account

The only thing this company doesn’t have going for it is name recognition. But how can PayPal beat free?
These kind of tools are always helpful when traveling and making small payments quickly. Way better than Western Union.

Check it out here. You can refer a friend and make some moolah!

I stumbled across this post from the Newcomer’s Network which appears to be a resource for transplants to Melbourne, Australia. (I wouldn’t mind transplanting myself there come to think of it.) The article was written in the halcyon yesteryear of 2004.

It discusses the opportunity and mentality behind freelance work from anywhere. It also provides to resources for finding work. You know: Elance, ContractedWork.com, Guru.com (formerly Emoonlighter.com), Allfreelancework.com

The great thing about freelancing is that you can do it from home (where ever that may be) and you never have to darken the doorway of your employer’s office. As long as you have a computer and an internet connection you can “chat” in real time about the requirements of your job, create and send your work and most importantly accept payments online. The jobs are almost always varied, which helps to fend off boredom and if you feel that you’ve worked enough for the month, you can stop.

There are numerous freelance websites where you post your portfolio for others to peruse and then bid on projects. On many of these sites you, as the service provider, pay a small commission to the website based on the amount you actually earn for being connected to paying jobs. Most conduct business in United States Dollars but will deposit the money you earn to any account you specify which makes freelance work perfect for expatriates and people living a global lifestyle.

You are especially competitive and will probably win many a bidding war if you live in a country where the almighty dollar is mightier than the country’s own currency. In places like Thailand, the Philippines, Panama, India, and Nicaragua just to name a few, you can live like royalty on less than $2,000 a month which is easily doable as a freelancer.

The article was written by a site called Jetsetliving.com which no longer exists. Too bad. It’s sounds very exciting!

Check out the full article here