location, location, location

A little while back I was searching for a new house even though my living conditions were quite good. I live in a studio in the centre of Utrecht which is a great location to live. Shops, bars, restaurants and public transport are all in walking distance and my rent is (very) low. The only problem I have is that it's a small space to live in and I'm sharing it with my girlfriend. I hate the fact that the bed is in the 'living room' and often I crave for some more living space. I hardly have any space to entertain guests which puts a strain on my social life.

So,  in 2016 I stepped into the house-hunting game to see if I could get anything better. I could not have chosen a worse time to look for a new house. Houses were in high demand and super-expensive. After several failed attempts and many disappointments I decided to quit the game a look for nicer and more affordable alternatives.

For the last 10 years I've not been very happy living in The Netherlands. There are certain aspects about Dutch culture I don't agree with. There seems to be an increase in anti-social behaviour and (probably because of that) right-wing populists are now popular political parties. There's more I don't like about The Netherlands, but I'm not going to bother you with that. I want to write fun and positive articles people enjoy to read!

My current goal is to become (nearly) financial independent fast and partially live in another country. Preferably a country with a tropical climate and a pleasant community. Thailand has a strong appeal to me, because it has the weather I'm looking for and the Buddhist culture makes it a very friendly an safe place to live. Of course, it's not a perfect country and it may have it's problems, but for now at least it seems to be a lot better than The Netherlands.

I'm also looking at the Caribbean. There are so many beautiful islands in the Caribbean with a laid back culture, but I haven't yet figured out which one I like best and whether it's a safe (and affordable) place or not. That's partly because I've never been there. Travelling to the Caribbean can be a gruelling task, since there are not many direct flights to this area from Amsterdam.

You may have noticed I was talking about partially living in another country, which basically means I want to live in another country for several months a year and use Utrecht as my home-base for the remaining months until I find the perfect place where my girlfriend and I can be happy forever.

Since, I really don't want to wait too long with the realization of this dream I'm looking for (legal) ways to make some money while living abroad. I need to find location independent work, so I can make money from anywhere in the world. All I would be needing is a laptop and a high speed internet connection. I already have some ideas brewing, but I lack the time to give it a shape. Perhaps, things will start to take off when I don't have to go to the office every day. That will free up some time and energy. The most important thing for me is to find a way to attract clients, because I cannot make money with a business without any clients. There's quite a bit of uncertainty in all of this, but I know from experience that you can always succeed if you're fully committed to it.

Any suggestions and tips are always welcome!