I’m not sure when the realization actually hit me, but at some point in the last week, I couldn’t help but think to myself “holy crap, I’m actually moving to Thailand”. I don’t know if it was finalizing the visa, or getting my plane ticket purchased, but after over a year of trying to work towards a new lifestyle, it is finally happening. How awesome is that? I can now write in peace knowing that I am not, in fact, a hypocrite. I don’t have to read travel blog after travel blog, lusting after exotic locations that people like Nomadic Matt experience on a daily basis; now I’m one of those people! I realize that since announcing the move, I
Continue Reading > 20 Comments posted: December 10th, 2009
Disclaimer: There are affiliate links in this post. If you would like to check out the Rockstar Business Series without an affiliate link, please click here. It isn’t very often that I promote a product or a service on Location 180, but when I find something that I truly believe in, I will do whatever I can to support it. Since meeting Greg Rollett a few months ago, he has continued to impress me with both his writing (check out his guest post “A Recipe to a Life of Action“) and the quality of his content. Every time I head over to his blog, I find some little piece of wisdom that reminds me why he is such a good person to
Continue Reading > 4 Comments posted: December 8th, 2009
Ever since purchasing an iPod touch a couple of months back, I have been obsessed. While I still think that iTunes sucks, and is even worse than I thought it would be, the device itself is the best purchase I have made in years. Most of this is due to the sheer amount of quality applications that are out there for it. Since I have become a proud iPod owner, I have been constantly seeking out the best, most useful applications I could find. Whether they are time killing games, or productivity enhancers, I have now downloaded over 100 apps, some good, some bad. With that being said, I wanted to tell you about some of my favorites, as well
Continue Reading > 18 Comments posted: December 3rd, 2009
Well I did it. I joined the legions of car-less Portlandians, who despite their predisposition to motorless travel, still shun umbrellas during the dreariest months of the year. Sure, in the next 6 weeks I would have been trading in my car for a tuk tuk anyways, but it will certainly be a test for me to go this long with only my two feet for travel. If you have been following my journey, you know that I have been talking about and advocating for selling your car for months. The benefits of doing so are undeniable: Financial savings. In my case, I will be saving nearly $500 a month, now that I have rid myself of the payment, insurance,
Continue Reading > 22 Comments posted: November 30th, 2009
1) It is REALLY expensive to send a fax from Kinkos. It is like a buck a page, on top of the $1.50 charge just to send their cover page. The public library is a much better option. 2) People still send faxes. I know! It was shocking to me too! I couldn’t believe the unemployment office wouldn’t allow me to send a pdf of the documents they requested, doesn’t that seem easier and more secure? Apparently not. 3) You don’t have to wear a suit and tie to be productive. I was probably the first and last person to actually wear a suit and tie in Portland. I have been 10 times more productive since the extinction of my
Continue Reading > 30 Comments posted: November 23rd, 2009
Dear Reader, After months of putting up with my vague posts, theoretical questions, and general whining, let me give you something concrete: On January 5th, 2010 I will be moving to Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand you say? Thailand. Let me give you a little bit of background. For the last year or so my buddy Ryan has been planning his round the world trip (same guy that wrote the Quit your Job, Move to Hawaii series here). So for the last year, I have been thinking about joining him. I really hadn’t made any sort of commitment, after all I was still in my job, and he has way more money saved up than I do. If you had asked me
Continue Reading > 51 Comments posted: November 19th, 2009
For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, yesterday I had a guest post entitled “Budgeting for a Lifestyle Change” go up at Get Rich Slowly. As one of the most popular and respected personal finance blogs on the internet, I am honored to have had the chance to write for JD, and am overwhelmed with the response I have received. So if you have come over from GRS, thank you, and welcome! Have I been Successful? In that post, there were a lot of positive comments, and unsurprisingly, there were some criticisms as well. The most interesting of which seemed to revolve around whether or not my story constituted a “success” or not. There were some people who
Continue Reading > 25 Comments posted: November 16th, 2009
In the spirit of writing about some different things this week, I decided to go REALLY different today. Remember back in high school when you actually had to explore various different types of writing? Creative writing, business writing, resumes, and of course, poetry. Well it has probably been a good five years since I have even thought of the word Haiku, but I have always found them to be very intriguing in their simplicity. You can say a lot in 17 syllables. For the past week or so I have been writing random poems as they have come into my head, and today is the day I am going to share them with you. I would definitely appreciate some feedback
Continue Reading > 13 Comments posted: November 12th, 2009
For the past two weeks I’ve been living the dream. No longer have I needed to be anywhere at any specific time. I can work on my own schedule, and get a run in whenever I feel like it. To be honest, it has been great, and I have been more productive than ever. Well that was last week. This week has been a different story. The reality of life has set in a little bit, and all of those things that I just expected to work out, have become more problematic than anticipated. I had planned on collecting unemployment for a while I looked for other ways to pay the bills. Well the review process has turned out to
Continue Reading > 27 Comments posted: November 5th, 2009
photo by John and Keturah This guest post was written by Gen-Y Lifestyle Designer Greg Rollett. He teaches young people how to turn their visions into a business with the Rock Star Business Series. You can also chat with Greg on Twitter. I love talking to my peers these days. Young people are having the best of both worlds right now and many of them have no idea. They are faced with a really bad economy and a shady work pool, yet have more skills, know how and ambition than Tommy Callahan pushing brake pads in the heat of the moment. Just this weekend I was enjoying an amazing Sunday afternoon on a lake outside of New Smyrna Beach. Amidst the tree jumping,
Continue Reading > 10 Comments posted: November 2nd, 2009
What Defines Success?
For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, yesterday I had a guest post entitled “Budgeting for a Lifestyle Change” go up at Get Rich Slowly. As one of the most popular and respected personal finance blogs on the internet, I am honored to have had the chance to write for JD, and am overwhelmed with the response I have received. So if you have come over from GRS, thank you, and welcome! Have I been Successful? In that post, there were a lot of positive comments, and unsurprisingly, there were some criticisms as well. The most interesting of which seemed to revolve around whether or not my story constituted a “success” or not. There were some people who
Continue Reading > 25 Comments posted: November 16th, 2009