Working from the Road, Anyone Doing It?

[Teshka]

Now that I'm making a pretty good income from Adsense + AM, I'm wanting to do some traveling, maybe put my stuff in storage and disappear for months at a time. I'm in the US now and will probably start here but would like to visit other countries eventually, too.

Is anyone out there running their AM business from the road? Do you have any advice? Do you have family cash your checks while you're gone? I have a laptop and will get a T-Mobile Hot Spot account or some such, but what else do I need?

[rfung]

hey teshka,

Can't help ya there because I'm in the same boat - I'll be off to europe and travel the continent with my laptop and my cell phone (and digital camera(s)). You may consider a cable lock, and don't forget the different power adapters for each country if you go out there. Other than that, regular travelling rules apply :)

If you happen to skim over the pond to Europe let me know, and we can hook up somewhere, anywhere, anytime ;)

[zivkovicp]

What you need:

#1 - good laptop, with long battery life! (spare battery would be a huge plus)

#2 - Family or friend to cash the checks regularly
#3 - Don't bother with your cell phone in Europe unless it's tri-band. Europe's GSM networks operate @900Mhz i believe, so be prepared to buy a new one in Europe.

#4 - Bring your familiar software applications, backups of your website files and so on... so you don't waste your travel time writing code!

#5 - Visit Germany, it's very clean and the beer is GREAT!

#6 - Visit Belgrade (Serbia), it's one of the best places to party and the weather is usualy nice... I came here (Belgrade) in 2001 and somehow decided to stay! :)

Bring a camera and a walkman, travel by train, you'll have fun for sure!

[rfung]

oh, bring one of those external 2.5mm hard drives - image your laptop's current configuration so if you lose your laptop or your disk crash, you can just (buy the same model laptop),plug in your imaged drive and continue working without losing too much data or waisting time reinstalling every software. Since it's an external drive you can backup your new work into it every once in a while for minimal disruption in case anything happens.

[cyberair]

I have been in a similar situation, often travelling to South America, living in different places. and staying for prolonged times with no real return time. That's the benefit of being 23, single, and with no attachements.

For payment options, I get everything deposited to my account either by the company, or my parents receiving the checks. I keep a house in Florida, which I consider my home base where I leave all of my stuff.

For travel, I always take the same laptop where I have all of my valuable information (leave backup home). I created an instruction manual that I leave to a trusted family relative with clear details on how to run my online business. That manual is sealed in an envelope and should only be opened if there is a circumstance that impedes me from running my sites from another country.

In less developed countries, they have few wifi facilities, so the internet cafe's are the temp solution for daily checking of the sites. I never access highly sensitive information in these places.

South America seems to be my getaway place of preference because of buying power. Europe is pretty, but much more expensive. However, Europe is better for finding wifi.

There's a law that you get to keep the first $80k you make per year tax free if you have lived an x amount of months out of the USA, I think about 10 or 11 months.

If you guys are going to be around travelling, let me know, I'd like to join you for dinner some time.

[rfung]

let's say, dinner by the pisa tower, 7ish, sometime in May?:) Who's in?

[gmac17]

I am very jealous, if I didn't recently get married I'd meet you all for dinner....or I would be sitting on a beach in some 3rd world country or backpacking europe right now....still, can't complain though!

[freeflight2]

I sometimes travel for weeks at a time... on the technical site I have admins monitoring 20+ servers, also scripts sending me SMS once something breaks. I just did SSH work on a PDA while enjoying a ride on the Seine river/Paris a couple days ago ;)

[Teshka]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Rfung, let us know how the adventures in Europe go. I'm doing a 3 week tour with a friend over there in September, but that's going to be a total vacation--leave the laptop at home. The rest of my plans are still uhm being planned ;) I'm really glad Adsense is changing to EFT though; that should make things easier. Now if CJ would just jump on board...

[rfung]

Teshka,

CJ has been doing EFT for some time already.

[GuitarZan]

Hey,

By EFT I take it you mean Electronic Funds Tranfer?

Does this mean the money goes to your bank account automatically?

Rfung, you have been to Europe... How easy is it to withdraw money from a bank account in the states over there?

Thanks,

C.K.

[Teshka]

CJ has been doing EFT for some time already.

Ahem, I knew that. Really.

*runs off to CJ to adjust account settings...*

[rfung]

By EFT I take it you mean Electronic Funds Tranfer?

Does this mean the money goes to your bank account automatically?

Rfung, you have been to Europe... How easy is it to withdraw money from a bank account in the states over there?

yes, EFT means that.

As far as western europe - an ATM card will do fine and work most places you go.

I'm not sure about eastern europe, but I'll let you know when I find out :)

14 days and counting...

[GuitarZan]

Hey,

I'm not sure about eastern europe, but I'll let you know when I find out :)

14 days and counting...

Thanks man and good luck.

All the Best,

C.K.

[zivkovicp]

I suggest using VISA (or MasterCard) for withdrawing funds, especialy in Eastern Europe... First because (most) credit cards have anti-fraud protection so you'll be safe even if your card number gets scammed...

Bank cards do not have fraud protection, so if anything happens, you're scre*ed.

I have been mostly in eastern Europe since 2002 and I can tell you that it's a LOT better and safer than it was just a few years ago.

PS: Happy travels rfung! (and anyone else for that matter)

[cyberair]

I agree, try using a VISA better. For cash you can use the ATM with your VISA debit card.

Also, don't forget to see the Little Mermaid at Denmark and take the cruise that goes in the Baltic Sea to Finland (you get to meet very nice people ;)

[no1uno]

First of all, I just wanted to say Hi and let you know that I think you folks have put together a great online resource. Great information.
About living on the road?
I’m doing it and easier than you think. I don’t know about your needs or resources so I can only try and explain how I do it. My wife and I live most of the time in a 30 foot travel trailer, travel extensively and have been running our site(s) for close to 6 months this way. I’ll turn 50 next month and never dreamed that a person could live this way. There is a lot to be said about sitting on a beach working while drinking a cold one.
Without going into too much detail, I make the majority of my income from basic information transferring. That means I spend a lot of time writing, reading, forwarding emails and talking on the phone. Payment for this service is handled through PayPal. And in case the question comes up, I don’t run a spam generator. There are also Google ads (check is sent to a Son but signed up for direct deposit)) and a few CJ programs (direct deposit) on the pages. I use remote hosting and their WYSIWYG software to maintain the site.
For publishing new pages or updating existing ones I’ve grown very fond of Wi-Fi. Truck Stops sometimes charge for access to their network but most Library’s that supply Wi-Fi don’t. We have the obligatory AOL phone account though it’s seldom used anymore. We’ve also joined a couple hotel chains whatever clubs. This gives us Wi-Fi access at the hotels without the hastle of dealing with a desk clerk who won't give you the Wi-Fi access key because your not staying there. Joining these was free.
The most important internet access tool we now have is the verizon wireless card. It cost us $200 with a $200 rebate. The card may be free but the service will cost you close to $100 a month. Just about anyplace we can get a cell phone signal, we got the internet. Granted it’s not perfect. Most of the time it’s about as fast as one of the older 56k modems. But for reading and writing emails, checking stats or simple surfing, it’s great. There are places it becomes slower than an old 28k modem and places it’s as fast as a low cost DSL line. The only problem I have with it is it’s inability to upload anything faster than 3.1Kps. Plus the connection has a nasty habit of going “dormant” at the worst times if your trying to publish anything. But because I only update or publish new pages 2 or 3 times a week, I can just wait until I can get a Wi-Fi signal or find a phone line to plug into.
I know several people who live on the road and run successful sites. At least what I consider to be a successful site. Plus most of our travel expenses are deductible because they’re directly related to the site.
I can’t think of anything that would make me want to give up this lifestyle. Unless there was a way to get a good internet signal on a 42 foot sailboat out at sea.

[rfung]

no1uno:

just a quick heads up, I have (had, since I cancelled it now) unlimited internet access through my phone (which I can connect to my laptop through bluetooth) for $20/month through Cingular.

[cyberair]

Me too, I have Sprint PCS that I can connect from the cell to my laptop. Speeds are about 50-100k, but this only works in the US.

[shangrilasofa]

ATM in Eastern Europe works a same like everywhere, any banks in small cities are having windows. I'm talking about Poland, I never take cash with me, using only ATMs

[rfung]

yess, poland, that's one of my destinations!

thanks for the info.

[shangrilasofa]

rfung

just in case inform bank thats you will be taking money from Poland or other EE countries. US banks are very picky and may freeze your accout. It hapen to me twice with paypal

[cyberair]

If you are going to Poland, you should go to the club in the basement of the huge building Stalin constructed in Warsaw. They have excellent pary at night, and during the day you can see the whole city from the top of it.

[rfung]

cyber: if you're up for some drinks, I'm buying... :)

[cyberair]

Thanks rfung, I would love to!

I am too far from there at this point. I am in Florida now and leaving to Puerto Rico the 11th of April. Anyone in Orlando, or San Juan.. drinks on the house ;-)

[wsp9]

Anyone know of some good books/websites to research a trip to Europe? I'm thinking of doing a three or four week solo trip at some point in the next few months. Is it best to just wing it and be spontaneous or better to thoroughly plan everything out? Money's no object (just kidding).

[zivkovicp]

wing it... hang out with locals and they will tell you the best places to party.

If you want good photos just go on a city tour (most major cities have them).

and make an effort to go to at least one Formula 1 even... it's worth it trust me! (if you're into racing)

[wsp9]

Yeah, my 83 cents a day from fastclick should get me by nicely in some countries.

[ScadSense]

rfung, if you can swing by Krakow, it's worth the trip. A nice mid-sized college town, esp. nice in the center square in warm weaather (lots of 25 cent ice cream cone vendors to stay cool with). And good internet options.

Warsaw is nice too - reconstructed section is worth a long afternoon and evening exploring (with everything from Pizza Hut to local cuisine dining options). And ATM's work fine there.

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For people wanting to read up - years ago I bought an "Avant Guide" book for Prague (now they have almost a dozen cities, as a quick search for their site showed). It was a full-fledged guide book, but it had uber-cool off-the-beaten-path suggestions that would probably appeal to people here in the forums.

-

This thread has been inspiring... goes back to what a friend's dad (cardiologist) asked me a long time ago: What will people in the world do if they don't have to work every day for money?

[rfung]

What will people in the world do if they don't have to work every day for money?

I'm struggling with this every day :)

thanks for the heads up on Warsaw and Krakow. I plan on hitting Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Rep, and maybe a few others) around July/September, would that be a good time?