Stunner Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 This is something that has been bouncing around in my mind lately, so any pointers, ideas, encouragement (discouragement if I'm being a twat) and so on is hugely appreciated. Â Truth is, I'm 25 and I've done nothing with my life, apart from university where I slacked my way to a 2:1 anyway. I've always thought my problem was intense laziness, although it didn't always compute that I happily worked away at anything until it was something I "had" to do - once there was an iota of responsibility involved, I was only capable of lounging around and sleeping. It has only dawned in me these last few months that maybe the severe lack of self-worth and the anxiety that followed me in my teen years never left; in essence, I've had depression for an awful lot longer than I thought I had, and it sneaked up on me so insidiously that I never even noticed that I was too scared to grow up and start taking responsibility for myself, that I was incapable of trusting myself do anything to an acceptable degree. Â It has also dawned on me that something drastic needs to be undertaken so I can finally get somewhere. The obvious thing is to move away and start again. My current work is semi-freelance SEO articles - the pay isn't great at all, but the advantage is I can do it from home whenever I fancy. So, theoretically, I can do it anywhere in the world, right? Â So, for possibly the first time in my life, I have an objective and a plan to get it. I'll work at it solidly with a target of three articles a day, and an aim of five when I'm on a roll, and save up enough to fly out of here and start living. Â The issue is that, as I say, the money isn't a lot. It wouldn't be enough for a flat in my hometown, for sure, so what would be the first step when I get to my eventual destination? What's the cheapest way to find a bed abroad? Am I chatting shit? Â Anyway, yeah, anything you can think of would be great... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator HarmonicGenerator Posted November 28, 2015 Awards Moderator Share Posted November 28, 2015 Good luck to you! Â Airbnb seems to be a pretty good way to stay places for cheap, I've never used it but it seems quite popular, and you'd presumably have wifi available to you. As for where to start - where d'you want to go? Â I wouldn't say you're chatting shit - sounds like you've given it some thought and there's nothing tying you down so you may as well give it ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Undefeated Steak Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 You've got two options, really. Get a full-time job and do your SEO work on an evening for the next 12 months. Use your job's salary to live on and save your SEO money. A year from now, you'll have a few grand in the bank and you'll be in a better situation to starting living the dream as a digital nomad. Â Or fuck off in January. Head through Europe, stay at hostels, camping sites and, as Harmonic says, use Airbnb. All you need is the stuff in your backpack, your passport, laptop and phone. You might be skint by the end of it but you'll have had the time of your life. Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Kaz Hayashi Posted November 28, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted November 28, 2015 Well done for recognising that something needs to change, for working out a potential solution and for being willing to give it a go. I'd personally ask myself the following questions:  - If i continue in this line of work, staying in the flat and limiting daily social interaction with peers, will this continue to impact on my wellbeing? I think you need to be 100% honest with yourself with this top question. It will be easy to convince yourself that the job is not the problem because its flexible and you can avoid people. However, you may find that staying in your flat/house daily is partly why you feel shit. No human interaction, no one to tell you that you have done a good job, no one to provide any positive reinforcement whatsoever. Based on the above, you don't have to jump in full throttle either, you could look into part time, 1 or 2 days a week work, in an environment that you feel comfortable and be able to interact with others. You could then carry on your other work for the remainder.  - If you are happy to stay in this line of work and would prefer to tackle the home life elements, then how much do you want to push yourself? - Do you want to move somewhere in which the population will happily accommodate your English? Or are you happy to push the boat out, literally, and travel to areas where English isn't hugely spoken?- Bare in mind, if its the latter, you tend to get more for your money. A friend of mine was teaching English out in Indonesia for 2 years and then Cambodia for 2 years, and i was astonished to find out how he was able to live based on his relatively modest wage. I remember him explaining to me that for approx. £400 per month, you could rent what can only be described as a luxury apartment with a private swimming pool... so thats what he did. Not his, but this would cheer me up for a month: http://www.longtermlettings.com/r/rent/fpk869926/ As Harmonic stated, start off with Airbnb and also look at longtermlettings. com. Keep in mind WiFi availability before you become set on an area. Also check out these for guides about living abroad: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/top-10-tips-for-moving-abroad and http://www.expertsforexpats.com/relocation/moving-abroad-checklist/  - Don't let 'sorting it out' put you off 'sorting yourself out'. After realising what it will take to pack up and leave (not simple chucking pants and a laptop in a back pack) it will be easy to say 'fuck that'. Don't let yourself do that, but at the same time be honest with yourself about what it is that you want to achieve and if its achievable. Moving abroad is very achievable, especially due to your line of work. It just takes unfamiliar effort to start with,  I've probably chatted more shit there than you did, haha. The above is purely just stuff that I would personally think about, i'm not saying its the way things should be done, but it will hopefully get you started. Well done for recognising that something needs to change, for working out a potential solution and for being willing to give it a go. I'd personally ask myself the following questions:  - If i continue in this line of work, staying in the flat and limiting daily social interaction with peers, will this continue to impact on my wellbeing? I think you need to be 100% honest with yourself with this top question. It will be easy to convince yourself that the job is not the problem because its flexible and you can avoid people. However, you may find that staying in your flat/house daily is partly why you feel shit. No human interaction, no one to tell you that you have done a good job, no one to provide any positive reinforcement whatsoever. Based on the above, you don't have to jump in full throttle either, you could look into part time, 1 or 2 days a week work, in an environment that you feel comfortable and be able to interact with others. You could then carry on your other work for the remainder.  - If you are happy to stay in this line of work and would prefer to tackle the home life elements, then how much do you want to push yourself? - Do you want to move somewhere in which the population will happily accommodate your English? Or are you happy to push the boat out, literally, and travel to areas where English isn't hugely spoken?- Bare in mind, if its the latter, you tend to get more for your money. A friend of mine was teaching English out in Indonesia for 2 years and then Cambodia for 2 years, and i was astonished to find out how he was able to live based on his relatively modest wage. I remember him explaining to me that for approx. £400 per month, you could rent what can only be described as a luxury apartment with a private swimming pool... so thats what he did. Not his, but this would cheer me up for a month: http://www.longtermlettings.com/r/rent/fpk869926/ As Harmonic stated, start off with Airbnb and also look at longtermlettings. com. Keep in mind WiFi availability before you become set on an area. Also check out these for guides about living abroad: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/top-10-tips-for-moving-abroad and http://www.expertsforexpats.com/relocation/moving-abroad-checklist/  - Don't let 'sorting it out' put you off 'sorting yourself out'. After realising what it will take to pack up and leave (not simple chucking pants and a laptop in a back pack) it will be easy to say 'fuck that'. Don't let yourself do that, but at the same time be honest with yourself about what it is that you want to achieve and if its achievable. Moving abroad is very achievable, especially due to your line of work. It just takes unfamiliar effort to start with,  I've probably chatted more shit there than you did, haha. The above is purely just stuff that I would personally think about, i'm not saying its the way things should be done, but it will hopefully get you started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stunner Posted December 8, 2015 Author Share Posted December 8, 2015 Cheers for the advice guys.  It was (is) a little pie in the sky and I did write this post on something of a high, but it has ignited a spark in me now. After years of worsening depression, a light has gone off in my head and something seems achievable now. The seed in my head seems to consist of getting a Working Holiday Visa for a year in Australia - though I wouldn't be using it for a working holiday per se, but just to dock in Melbourne for a year and start from scratch, though as I say that's just the "idea" in my head and is absolutely subject to change. The thinking is that it can easily go wrong, but nothing much is going right as it is anyway so the risks aren't too risky at all.  Anyway... the job front hasn't been particularly kind - I still haven't found employment - but I have been getting (unpaid!) work for various music outlets so I'm hoping paid work isn't too far away. I am now thinking, however, that instead of my original plan - using the £100 a month I get in odd jobs and saving up all of my SEO work - I'd perhaps be better off saving the £100 instead and doing the SEO stuff whenever there's something I fancy buying or doing...  Kaz, you got it square on when you say it takes "unfamiliar effort" at first, though! It's taking a little longer to adjust to "I'm working in my own room on my own laptop with Football Manager on it" than I initially thought, but I'm getting there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members mim731 Posted December 9, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted December 9, 2015 Good for you Stunner, keep us updated on how you get on. Best of luck with it all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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