global-goose

When I first started I wasn't making a good wage. It took about a year to build up my freelance reputation and gain clients until I was able to make a full time income from my writing. I had a full time job while building up this career, which allowed me to save a bit of a "buffer".

My rates reflect a decent (but not huge) wage in the Western World, which goes a lot further in many other countries.

We travel on tourist visas and just don't mention the fact that we work remotely. The visa regulations haven't really caught up with the new generation of online workers, so there isn't even a category for me - it's easier just to class myself as a tourist.

Well, it was a dark and stormy night in September 2009...

I was a 22 year old Canadian dork on a Working Holiday in New Zealand and I had managed to score a job as a tour guide working at Napier Prison, a historic prison from the 1860s perched high on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The job was a work-for-accommodation arrangement and the accommodations were in the creepy old prison cells.

I arrived on a Saturday night and stepped off the bus in quiet and deserted downtown Napier. After a few minutes, a big white van screeched to a halt and two blonde German dudes in prison jumpsuits and full zombie makeup jumped out.

"Are you Kelly?"

"uhhhh... yes..." I stammered.

"Come wiz us."

"oookay..."

So I did what any sane person would do and jumped in the van. It drove up a dark and winding street to the prison, which looked dark and foreboding with thick brick walls and barbed wire. I could hear terrified screams coming from inside, but Jan and Hendrich, my new German Zombie friends, explained that these were coming from the tourists on the "Haunted Hill" scary night tours.

They snuck me into the staff room, where a six foot tall Northern Englishman also dressed as a dead prisoner was sitting on a table and drinking a beer. That was the first moment I saw him... I'm not sure love at first sight is the correct term...

Actually, they were doing scary tours all weekend so for the first few days I knew him he looked like a zombie. How incredibly romantic.

Over the next few weeks we got to know each other while living in the prison cells. I guess prison brings people closer?

In prison in New Zealand... it's a strange story...

Check out websites like Elance, PeopleperHour and Odesk. They are platforms designed to connect freelancers with the people who need work done. Create a profile with your CV and your writing samples and then you can bid on the jobs available.

I started out with a few small jobs here and there and now I make a decent wage. There's lots of work out there if you can write! Establishing yourself in a niche will help you to earn more, so think about what you can write about with knowledge and authority.

Good luck with it.

I had the idea while on a Working Holiday Visa in New Zealand. I started doing some freelance writing work on the side to fund my travels. I realised I could turn it into a full time income, then I would not have to be based in any particular location. I have always wanted to travel, so that made perfect sense.

I see us settling down somewhere at one point, but not necessarily "for good". I think we will always want to travel.