Wowzers!
I can’t believe it’s been like nearly 6 whole months since I’ve posted here. First of all, I do apologize for the lack of content in that time.
If the truth is known, I’ve been very busy with a few online projects(more on that in another post) during that time and getting ready for moving to Thailand in July!
Moving to Thailand
Yes that’s right – we are moving to Thailand in July(Florence and I)!
Where did this idea/move come about you may be thinking to yourself. Well it’s a long story in so much as it’s something that both of us have wanted to do for a few years.
We have always had this dream of having a location independent lifestyle. This means that we can in theory make money working from anywhere in the world, so long as we have an internet connection and a laptop!
Plenty of people all around the world have made this lifestyle possible.
The dream is an ambitious one to say the least,and I’m the first one to agree with you on that score.
But having that dream and taking steps towards making that dream a reality is something that I’ve spend the best part of the previous 6 months doing.
The end result is that we’ve booked a one way flight to Bangkok, and we leave on the 15th July.
Madness you may be thinking! And some would agree with you. However, this is something that we both know we have to try and do for ourselves and at least give it a go.
We are in a very lucky position right now – we don’t have kids and we don’t have any mortgage hanging over us. We realise that we are in a prime position for this adventure.
So how exactly are we going to sustain ourselves while living abroad?
Well as I said at the start of the post, I will give you more detailed specifics nearer July – as I don’t want to give away too much yet. I’m still working on a few projects online and I already have one small business up and running.
So we have two ideas in which we hope will work out for us.
1. The online thing
2. Teaching English
The teaching English idea first came about last May. We were looking for potential ideas to enable us to work and live in foreign countries, and this was the obvious choice. We did loads upon loads of research and decided that the CELTA qualification was the top of the pile.
We also decided to apply to take this month long intensive course in Thailand as it was significantly cheaper(for the exact same level of qualification as you’d get here in Ireland), and it was also in the general direction we were looking to move in.
We applied to the college directly in Chiang Mai, which is located in Northern Thailand, and we both got accepted after we passed our skype interview and initial grammar test.
So we have up to a year in order to take our place on the course. As of now, teaching English has been put on the back boiler as we explore the working from a laptop business model first 🙂
Feeling the Fear..
Like a lot of big decisions in life – there comes a certain element of fear associated with it. Usually it’s the fear of failure.
For me personally, there’s definitely a feeling of fear with jumping ship to Asia.
But the fear of failure is nothing compared to the fear of regret I may have later in life if I didn’t pursue my dreams.
There’s a very powerful quote by an American writer called Mark Twain that states:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover”!
For me this really hits home what I want to achieve in life. Ever since I graduated from college in 2001, I’ve lived my life the way I wanted to and not the way other people think I should.
What happens if things go Pete Tong?
If they do, then we RESET! We will have tried to make it happen, and if things don’t work out, then there’s some peace to be had knowing that you gave it your best shot.
Returning home unsuccessful and unable to survive working remotely doesn’t necessarily mean that it can’t happen some day. Life is there to be challenged, and nothing comes easy. If it did then there would be a lot more people working from a beach in Thailand!
2013 will hopefully be the year that I get to tick a lot of items off my Bucket List!
So we’ve thirteen weeks until we depart. In the weeks leading up to it, I’ll be getting back into providing plenty of content here.
Hey Carlo,
Thrilled for your move to Thailand! I know how you’re feeling right about now. I’ve been in Thailand for 7 months now and the time leading up to it was intense. Let me know if you have any questions about the process.
I’m sure you’ll do great with your online business! Literally thousands of other people have made it happen – you will, too!
-Travis
Hey Travis,
Great to hear from you. I actually found your blog a few months ago through Niall Doherty.
Yeah, we’re really looking forward to heading away. I’m actually building up a freelance writing business the past few months, so it’s all coming together quite well thankfully. The plan is to scale things once I hit Thailand, as there will be myself and my girlfriend working on it.
Love reading your blogs and I’ve gained a lot of value from it.
We definitely plan on hitting Chiang Mai again at some stage, as we loved it there.
Hey Carlo,
We wish you all the best on your new adventure in Thailand. We are also heading to Thailand. However, we haven’t set a date as yet due to a family commitment. At the moment we hope to make the move before Christmas if not it will be May 2014. Look forward to reading about your new journey. We also have similar ideas on how we are going to live in Thailand 🙂
Hi Martin,
Love the concept for your blog name! Very cool. Just signed up for the updates!
Yeah, we are in the final stages of sorting our things out over here in Ireland and also building up the online business. Things are going nice and smoothly. Have you been to S.E Asia before?
Hi Carlo,
Glad you like the name! thanks.
Good to hear that you’re making progress on the move and your business, well done!
I fell in love with South East Asia and actually worked in Hong Kong and Bangkok, and have traveled to Myanmar (Burma),Cambodia and Laos.
I find the lifestyle and cultures so amazing and interesting, it’s not like your living in a different country; it’s more like your living on another planet!
Totally agree with you on the different planet feeling Martin. It’s just a lovely part of the world. I’m looking forward to seeing how your site comes along. It looks interesting.