Image by Stuck in Customs

** This post was written by Andy Hayes. Find out more about Andy at the bottom. **

Welcome to one of the newest features on the Location Independent blog: Inspirational Destinations – a monthly interview with a LIP on location.

Up to now on the blog, we’ve focused on a lot of practical information and the nuts and bolts about location independent lifestyle; from the Ask The Coach Q&A to the book and business course. But the best part of being location independent is the ability to choose your home base – sometimes this can be the most difficult choice and the most emotional.

So at least once a month, I will be reaching out into the community and finding LIPs in vibrant, exciting (or perhaps tranquil and gorgeous – who knows) destinations who are willing to share their story.

These stories are all about all about inspiration: don’t do all that hard work to build yourself a nomadic lifestyle and then fail to take advantage of it fully. We’ve given you the tools to build a lifestyle the way you want it – and now we can help you decide where to spend it.

And with that I’d like to introduce our first victim interviewee, Leigh-Anne Russell. She’s based in Shanghai, China and has some interesting tips and trick so surviving personally and professionally in the People’s Republic…

First, could you briefly introduce your location independent business?

My business, Movashaka, produces live entertainment experiences to promote business and brands (this is the location dependent part). Movashaka also provides related services that are location independent e.g. booking agency, artist support services, such as showreel video editing, creation and management of promotional materials, eg. social media platforms, EPKs (electronic presskits).

You’re based in China. Whereabouts are you and what made you decide to relocate there?

I’m based in Shanghai. I first came to Shanghai in 1998 after a job hunt in Hong Kong resulted in an opportunity to move to Shanghai instead. I’ve been living in Shanghai almost ten years now, though I worked a two year stint in Macau (”Asia’s Las Vegas”) between ‘06 and ‘08.

As a business owner, how has your experience been living in China so far?

Now that there’s soft toilet paper and readily available fresh coffee, things are a lot more comfortable

From a location independent perspective, as far as internet access goes, Shanghai is really not a bad choice. In fact, an announcement from Shanghai Telecom made in 2008 revealed plans to make Shanghai a wifi city in 2010, in time for the Shanghai World Expo.

In the meantime, there are plenty of options around town to work where you’ll find free access to reasonably reliable wifi. Major international courier service operators can be found here, too, as well as Kinko for printing and copying, and Western Union for convenient wiring of funds.

As a tourist, what’s been your best experience so far?

Having been firmly entrenched in Shanghai for so long, the city feels like home and I take a lot of things for granted. So, it was fantastic when mum came to visit recently as reliving all the quintessential Shanghai “Wow!” experiences through her eyes was so much fun.

One of the highlights was this particular day which took in the major tourist sights…

We started off with an early morning stroll in one of the oldest parks in Shanghai, Fuxing Park, where you can find locals of all ages engaged in plenty of activity such as tai qi, kung fu, badminton, traditional fan dancing, singing and playing music. Wandering out of the park, we ambled along the tree lined streets in the old French Concession area and took in the historical architecture of that period.

We hopped in a taxi and headed to “M on the Bund” for lunch on their terrace. This restaurant is housed on the top floor of one of the heritage buildings on the famous Bund promenade and is one of the best places to take in the view over looking the Bund, Huangpu River and the über-modern skyline of Pudong on the east side of the river.

The Bund, Shanghai by Mat Booth

With full bellies, we then walked off lunch along the Bund promenade, watching the boats and sampling a local sweet treat of toffee-covered fruit skewers (not for the faint-hearted). At the end of the promenade, a left turn and a venture along Nanjing East Road to take in the art deco buildings and colourful sights and sounds of one of Shanghai oldest, busiest shopping streets.

After several blocks, we stopped and soaked up the sights at People’s Square, a favourite gathering place for locals on a sunny day. We watched all the kite flying, bought a kite shaped like a giant squid and joined in the fun!

As this particular day happened to be on the weekend, a quick side step into the lusciously landscaped People’s Park and we came across the unforgettable sight of hundreds of eager parents in the “Matchmakers Market”, all touting the virtues of their unmarried sons and daughters trying to pair them up with a suitable spouse!

After a short rest back at home, we treated ourselves to a delicious dinner and plenty of good wine at The Kitchen on the east side of the river in Pudong. The Kitchen is a Japanese owned Italian restaurant with incredible service and specialty wood-fired pizzas cooked in a gleaming copper oven in the open kitchen. It also has a captivating view of the buildings along the Bund which at night are all beautifully illuminated.

To top things off, we finished the day on a high, literally, 100 floors high, to be exact, with a mind-blowing 360° view of Shanghai from the viewing deck of the Shanghai World Financial Centre. For my mum, who lives in a rural Cotswold town in the West of England, this just blew her mind.

View from Shanghai World Financial Center observatory, 100th floor by Szymon Kochanski

Any other insider tips for things to do while in China?

If you base yourself in Shanghai, you’ll quickly see that there isn’t much in the way of green space. If you’re like me, and tend to go a bit stir-crazy in a concrete jungle after a while, there are luckily many options for day trips and long weekends where you can find yourself in rampant nature.

One of the most user-friendly day-trip options, if you don’t speak Chinese, is the garden city of Hangzhou which is just over an hour train ride away. There you can hike far from the madding crowd over the ridges of the tea plantation hilltops and bamboo forests.

Hangzhou tea plantation ridge hike

Another popular option is Moganshan, a village located in a mountainous area a few hours from Shanghai. Moganshan has an interesting history as it was the popular summer escape for the well-to-do foreigners living in Shanghai during the turn of last century.

Thanks to the likes of the expat run Naked Retreats and Moganshan Lodge, several of the old villas constructed as summer homes during that period have been restored and now serve as guesthouses and boutique hotels for those seeking a creative pause from the frenetic pace of Shanghai. Both Naked Retreats and Moganshan Lodge have wifi, too.

For other LIP’s considering a move to China any words of wisdom or advice?

It’s important to bear in mind that internet access in Mainland China can occasionally be temporarily disrupted which may prove prohibitive for some LIPs considering a move here. Certain sites are blocked by the Central Government, such as Youtube, Ning and Blogspot.

Hotmail, Twitter, Flickr are also all blocked during sensitive periods, most recently the 20th Anniversary of the Tian’anmen crackdown, though access to these sites has now been restored. There are certain ways around the firewall with proxy sites, of course. You can you this online test tool to check if your site or blog is blocked in China.

Procedures and documentation required when applying for a travel visa to China can change without notice. Recent changes to the procedure for a basic tourist visa require that you now present proof of a return trip flight ticket, namely to show you’ve already got your ticket out of China, as well as contact information for your China “host”. As these regulations are prone to change at a moment’s notice, checking with the Chinese embassy or consulate in the place where you intend to apply for your visa is paramount prior to committing to the China move.

Shanghai’s air quality, though improving, isn’t the best by any stretch of the imagination. If you intend to base yourself here for more than a few months at a time and have asthma or sinus issues, or are overly concerned about breathing in heavy metals-laden air, this might not be the place for you.

Andy Hayes is professional travel writer & photographer. For more Location Independent locations, head over to his blog, Sharing Experiences, where this month he’s featuring Phuket as an ideal LIP destination.

We’re always looking for community members who want to be featured on the blog. Please do get in touch if you’d like to share your story or have a suggestion for an inspiring location independent destination.

Related posts:

1. An Interview With Fellow LIPs: Cyan & Collis Ta’eed of Envato

Image by mikebaird

** This post was written by Leigh Haugseth. Find out more about Leigh below **

It’s not unusual to experience some backlash when telling your friends and family about your switch to a location independent lifestyle. Fortunately from my own personal experience, most people are very supportive and curious.

But there are also those who are unsure of and cynical about your choice. When you’re going through a major transition in your life, any sort of negativity can make you doubt yourself – and there is simply no room for doubt when taking the plunge and starting your own new business and location independent life.

Having a strategy to deal with the naysayers and doubters in your life is vital to keep you focused and on track. Here are three tactics that can help…

Have Your ‘Elevator Speech’ Ready

People are more accepting when you sound very confident in what you’re doing. Even if you’re not, act like you are. Don’t lie, just tell them your goal and how you plan to get there. Don’t worry if you don’t have all the details, they don’t need to know.

I’ve found it helpful to create a quick 20 second ‘elevator speech’. This comes from the idea that if you were stuck in an elevator with someone who wanted to know your plans, you could quickly give them a truthful, focused picture of what those look like.

When you’re giving your ‘elevator speech’, whatever you do, don’t be wishy washy. It’s better to just not bring it up at all rather than say something like: ‘Well, I’d really like to travel for a while and if I could somehow make money while doing this, well, that would be great too. I’ve got a couple of ideas and I’m going to see what happens.’ I said something similar when first considering the Location Independent lifestyle. It did not go over well.

Instead, be purposeful: ‘I will soon be transitioning into a location independent lifestyle. I’m currently working on a project(s) while still in my day job. When I leave, I will be doing XYZ full time. This will allow me to work from home or another location.’ This version is concrete and understandable. If you stay positive and speak with confidence, you’ll put others, as well as yourself, at ease. They may even offer to help you with your new venture.

Be Prepared For Negativity

Be prepared for some negativity, don’t take it personally and don’t hold it against the other person – they either can’t see outside their own box or they may be jealous and trying to drag you down.

Whatever the reason for their negativity, if after you tell them your ‘elevator speech’ and they’re still unsupportive, consider avoiding them altogether. Just be careful when doing this though as while some people are skeptical, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not supportive, they may just be looking out for your best interests. Consider educating them on the possibilities of your proposed lifestyle – but be careful not to preach.

Be equally prepared for these same, unsupportive cynics to be excitedly asking about your progress at a later date. In fact, count on it and try not be the least bit smug when it happens. Instead, talk with them about how they can do it too, if they’re interested. This will be infinitely more rewarding than saying I told you so.

Reassure Them

Help your friends and family understand that while you may not be in the same place for any extended amount of time, you will still be in touch just as much as you normally would – but maybe by different means. If you’re not able to visit as often, introduce them to Skype. It’s such a fun and easy way to stay in touch. Sometimes, I’m actually more in touch with friends and loved ones when I’m on the road because of the freedom I’m allowed.

Most importantly, remember that you are unique. You have the courage to step out of your cubicle/box/hum-drum life and venture off to travel or create your own ideal location independent dream and really LIVE.

You understand that this kind of life is possible and believe in yourself enough to make it happen. And if friends and family see that you’re happy in your new life, they are more likely to be supportive and happy for you.

About the Author: Leigh Haugseth’s passion for travel is propelling her transition from cubicle dweller to Location Independent Professional. You can find her at Fresh New Life.

Related posts:

1. 6 Things You Must Do Before You Leave The Rat Race, Set Up Your Own Business And Become Location Independent
2. How To Live Rent-Free While Becoming Location Independent
3. A LIP In The Making: How I Made the Mental Shift from Cubicle Slave to Location Independent Entrepreneur

The 2nd Edition Is Out!

Almost 18 months after I wrote and released my first ever book, the 2nd edition is now out! X Marks The Spot: An Indispensable Guide To Living & Working From Anywhere was written mainly on location in Grenada in 2007, as a way to gather everything in one place that we’d learned about becoming and being location independent.

The 2nd edition is basically a revised & updated version 18 months on with our greater experience & knowledge now included in the book. Whilst much of the core content remains similar (although I have read through every single page of the original 200+ pages paragraph by paragraph and updated & revised where necessary), there are some key differences. To find out more, head over here >>>

Note: If you’re quick and use the coupon code “priorityX2″, you’ll get 50% off the 2nd edition valid for today until midnight (BST) only.

If you’d like to be notified of similar offers & discounts in advance in the future, sign up to our Priority Updates mailing list in the sidebar here >>>

The Crowdsourcing Project

Hot on the heels of the above ebook, I’d like to announce a new project we’re launching…the Community Crowdsourced ebook!

This time round, we’re hoping you’ll help us write the ebook – which we’ll compile, edit & design and put on sale with 100% of the proceeds going to charity (very likely Kiva although we’ll probably take a vote on it nearer the release date – aiming for September 2009).

The book currently has a working title of “The 101 Best Tips On Being Location Independent”. If you’d like to get involved, you can find out more about the project here >>>

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And finally on a personal note, we are still waiting for the munchkin to make her grand entrance – she’s not actually due for another 4 days so we’re being a tad impatient but we’ve been hoping she’ll be a little early for a number of reasons, not least of all because I’m am so *very* uncomfortable these days!

Here’s hoping that next week, she’ll be here (I know, I know – I’ve now signed off with that hope for the past couple of weeks!!).

No related posts.

The Community News feature is another monthly feature we’re starting on the blog in our ongoing quest to open up and expand the Location Independent community.

Each month, we hope to highlight members of the Location Independent community who have exciting news and updates to share on their location independent life – or their quest to create one.

If you’d like to share your news with the rest of the community and be featured on this blog, please do get in touch with us – we can’t guarantee to feature everyone but we’ll do our best to highlight the most inspirational and relevant updates for the rest of the community. Please note: This feature will usually run on the last Friday of every month.

So without further ado, I’ll turn the spotlight over to you…

Spotlight On The Community…

Who: Hanna Iris Tolonen is a web designer from Helsinki.

What: Hanna officially became Location Independent on June 24th.

She says, “My first destination will be Helsinki, Finland which is about 165 km from where I am now (I’m from Turku, Finland) but hey, I gotta start somewhere! I’ll be staying there for 1.5 months and after that will go to Sweden and Israel. Later in the year I wish to visit Berlin, Germany and hopefully spend the December holidays in Taipei, Taiwan.

Location Independent Resources Used: I first learned about the Location Independent website and the whole concept behind it in fall 2008. I’ve always known that travel will be part of my adult life and funnily enough I’ve always worked from our home (I’m 23) but hadn’t looked at combining my work and personal life in that way before.

I began to follow the Location Independent blog on a regular basis and quickly realised that this would suit me more than just working from home. I was already doing the “basic steps” with my freelancing so I think the biggest thing for me was actually knowing there are people who do this and thus so could I – and that totally changed and shaped my viewpoint.

Even though I don’t yet have kids nor even a partner – that’s something that I’d like to have sooner than later. So it’s been interesting to follow Lea & Jonathan’s story and know that you can have children and still be location independent!

Who: Colin Wright is a sustainable designer who is currently based in Los Angeles.

What: Colin is well on the way to starting his nomadic location independent life. He says, “I’ve recently purchased my numerous plane tickets that will take me up to Seattle, down to Missouri, around through Florida and finally to Argentina, where I’ll be living for four months.

I’m in the process of selling off everything I own except what will fit in a carry-on bag and my day bag and I’ve turned the clients I won’t be able to work with from overseas over to colleagues, in the process optimizing my business for mobility.

I’ve also been working to get more involved in the LI scene, making a lot of friends internationally and interacting with fellow bloggers.”

Location Independent Resources Used: Colin says the the biggest support he’s got from LocationIndependent.com has been through the online Clubhouse.

He said: “Sometimes you can read and read and read, scouring the Internet from front to back and still not find the one bit of specific information you’re looking for. Then BAM! You join a forum and someone answers that exact question. I’ve had that experience more than once already, and the Clubhouse is still a young network!”

Congratulations to both Hanna and Colin who will hopefully provide inspiration and an example to others in the community that a life of location independent is achievable, realistic and more importantly, being created by more and more people every day.

Have you made progress in achieving your goals to become location independent? Would like to be considered for a spotlight feature in next month’s Community Update? Please submit your information here >>>

No related posts.

Image by italianjob17

After a few years of running my own business – with 2+ of those running it from various locations around the world such as Panama, Thailand and South Africa, we’ve learned a few things about how to run an efficient business without the usual paper entrails that are common in a typical office.

We’ve tried a number of different apps services over this time and have now got a set-up that works well for us, costs us far less than when we first started and keeps things as streamlined and efficient as possible.

I’ve written a few posts about this before but never one as comprehensive as this…which lists pretty much all the tools, gadgets & services we currently use (and the ones we’ve tried in the past) to run and manage our location independent business from the open road:

The Hardware

Both Jonathan and I use Apple Macbooks. He uses an older, Tiger-OS Mac and I have a black, Leopard-OS Mac.

The Mac vs PC Debate

I’ve been a Mac user for a little over a year now, having refused to move to Windows Vista when my old XP laptop died (if you’re interested, I wrote about the transition on my personal blog here).

I would probably be hard-pushed to go back to a PC now, especially since the Mac comes with a few nifty features & software built-in (like PDF creation from documents and software like Garageband & iMovie) that I use frequently. Having said that I have found my Mac to be less physically robust than I might like.

Anyway, I don’t want to turn this post into a Mac vs PC debate but if I were starting from scratch, I’d probably go the Mac route these days, especially if you’re a little less technically savy.

The Software

I use the following software frequently – of course, this will vary for you depending upon what your business is and what tasks you need to accomplish:

Pre-installed on a Mac:

• iTunes – for music & podcast management
• iPhoto – for storing & managing photos
• Garageband – for editing podcasts
• Spaces – to work across multiple desktops
• Time Machine – Apple’s built-in back up software
• Text Edit - for html & CSS editing
• Automator – to automate tasks I do regularly (e.g. image re-sizing & converting png’s to jpg’s etc.)
• Grab – to take quick screenshots

Additional software installed:

• Neo Office – open source office software with a very similar interface to Microsoft Office.
• Flock browser - based on Firefox but with a few built-in features which means you don’t need the add-ons.
• 1 Password – to securely manage password & log-in data.
• Adobe Creative Suite 3 – I’m not proficient in most of The CS3 programs (except Dreamweaver) but it’s useful to have so I can edit & fiddle with documents that Jonathan sets up for me.
• Google Notifier - puts a new email & events notifier in my taskbar.
• iShowU & Screenflow – iShowU for simple screencasts & screen recordings & Screenflow for more complex ones.
• Skype – with a couple of SkypeIn numbers and SkypeOut credit, this is our main phone solution.
• VMWare Fusion – to let me run Windows XP on the Mac.
• Activity Monitor - useful for monitoring bandwidth usage in countries where your internet usage is restricted.
• MAMP – to run a local version of Wordpress on my hard drive.

Core Online Platform

At the core of our business, we use Google Apps. This allows us to use all of Google’s services but with our own domain name so our email addresses don’t look like usual gmail addresses but instead use our domain name (e.g. instead of lea@gmail.com we can use lea@ourdomain.com).

Useful Resource:

• Google Apps Setup Guide

This provides email, calendar, docs (word processor, spreadsheet, presentations & forms) and sites. Some of the functionality provided by these tools also means we can use them for the following tasks:

• Scheduling & booking tool for coaching/consulting clients (Google Calendars)
• Online forms for gathering information from clients, customers & suppliers (Google Forms)
• Sharing & collaborating on documents with clients, customers & supplier (Google Docs)
• Sharing & collaborating project documents/files with clients, customers & suppliers (Google Sites)
• Managing & sharing resources across our business (Google Sites)

Useful Resources:

• Tech Tutorial: How To Manage Several Email Addresses Via One (Google) Inbox
• Tech Tutorial: How To Manage & Schedule Multiple Clients Using Google Calendars
• Tech Tutorial: Using Google Forms To Collect Data Online

Other Online Business Tools

We use a range of other online apps for managing and running our business. I’ve included the current service we use plus other services we’ve tried that we’ve been relatively happy. These include:

For domain registration: Mighty Domain Names – largely because this is what I started with and it’s cleaner & easier to manage your domains if they’re all in one place.

For hosting: Bluehost – because it lets you host unlimited domains on each hosting account. Other hosting services we’ve used include InMotion Hosting & AN Hosting.

For invoicing: Freshbooks – other services used include SimplyBill and Blinksale.

For faxing: eFax – we still maintain an eFax number for the rare occasion we need to fax official documents.

For large file-sharing & online backup: Dropbox – other services used include Mozy.

For more complex online forms with integrated payment collection: FormSpring – another service we sometimes use is Wufoo.

For online payments: Paypal with 2CO as backup

For mailing lists: iContact – previously used aweber & would currently consider moving back if it weren’t such a hassle to move.

For e-products delivery: eJunkie

For membership site software: Amember – also used VisionGate but prefer the one-off payment of Amember vs. a recurring subscription.

For affiliate management: eJunkie & Amember built-in modules – trialled iDevAffiliate & Post Affiliate Pro as more complete solutions but both are more complex than we currently need.

For online slides: SlideRocket & Google Presentations

For online photo storage/management/sharing: Flickr (Premium)

For eBook creation: Google Docs/Neo Office

For online video hosting/sharing: Vimeo

For online image editing: Picnik

For premium (but cheap) Wordpress themes: ThemeForest – also use Woothemes

For stock images: BigStockPhoto, GraphicRiver & iStockPhoto

Other Office Tools & Tech Gadgets

Canon Powershot SD700 IS – obviously for photos but also for “scanning” & storing digital versions of any documentation we need.

Flip Mino HD - a recent addition to our set up for more on-location videos.

External, Portable Hard Drives – we both use 120GB Freecom ones although there are plenty out there which will do the job.

3G USB Modem – usually purchased from a local phone provider to provide wireless internet access on location using local (and not international), no-contract data plans to minimise costs.

Portable Wireless Travel Router – to turn any LAN/ethernet connection into a wireless connection.

HTC Smartphone – with mobile Skype installed; I rarely use this but can check emails & skype from it, if needed.

Compact Office set - the one I use is one I’ve had for a few years now which I originally purchased from Muji. It contains a small stapler + spare staples, post-it notes, a mini-highlighter pen, a roll of tape, a pencil, a pencil sharperner and an eraser – all contained within a small plastic box.

A hard-back, spiral-bound notebook – I’d love to say I use a Moleskine for planning & note-making but my handwriting is far too messy to be worthy of a Moleskine and I’m prone to scribbling notes/to-do lists and then tearing them out when I’m done with them rather than keeping old notebooks & then storing/carrying them round (not particularly suitable for a mobile lifestyle).

Disclosure Notice: I am very happy to recommend all of the services listed since we use/have used them all personally, hence the use of some affiliate links – but if you’d rather not use those links, that’s cool too.

Related posts:

1. How Does A Location Independent Professional Create A Home?
2. Building Your Location Independent Online Business: Getting Your Website Online (Part 1)
3. 7 Tips To Get The Best Out Of Gmail For Freelancing Digital Nomads