NuNomad

What the F*** Are You Doing in a Cubicle?

by Carmen
Today as I was listening to the radio I caught a story on Marketplace (a popular public radio news show) about the latest reports on U.S. worker productivity. Here's an excerpt from it that I pulled from the story text on the Marketplace site:

DAN GRECH: Since 2000, workers have increased their productivity by nearly 20 percent, but during that same period, average hourly wages increased by only 3 percent.

JARED BERNSTEIN: The American work force is working harder, smarter and longer. Essentially they're baking a bigger pie, but they're taking home smaller slices.

That's Jared Bernstein with the Economic Policy Institute. He says the gap between productivity growth and wages is at a historic high. The reason, more money is ending up in the pockets of the wealthy.

The story then mentions that some economists do not believe the gap between productivity and wages is as large as reported although they agree that there is a gap.

And get this - the way productivity is measured is in units of "widgets per hour". I don't know about you - but I have one life to spend on this earth and it's damn sure not going to be spent in a cubicle pumping out more widgets for less money so someone else can live like a Rockefeller.

And I ask you - if you're reading this from your cubicle in the 12th hour of your work day "What the F*** are you doing it for?!" Is this really what you dreamed your life would be? If not - go out and live it.

I suppose you're on this blog because traveling is one of your dreams. Make it happen. We've got tons of information here for you and more coming. In addition, there's a whole community of like minded people here on the forum, ready to help and an e-book to give you a step by step. Sorry - you don't have any excuse for being a widget pumper. Believe me. I'm a coach and I've heard every story under the sun. If you want it - go out and take it.

The Environmental Effects of Nu Nomading

by Carmen Bolanos
Most of us are thinking about our impact on the environment these days (at least I hope we are) and we are hearing more and more about pollution emitted by air flight. I have been concerned because of my love for travel and for the environment that I could be encouraging people toward an activity that has a negative impact on our world. The question has been churning in my mind for several months, "What's more polluting - a long distance air flight or daily car commuting?"

So - here is my attempt to answer this question for myself. I'm not an expert on these issues so I welcome any comments or corrections from folks who may be.

In order to answer this question I am creating a sample human being who is a mix of myself and my NuNomad partner Ricardo and adding some data about the average American. This sample human lives in the Los Angeles area, drives a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan (not a Prius, but not a Hummer either). This person commutes 32 miles each day, the national average for an American as reported by an ABC News Poll analyzed by Gary Langer in 2005.

According to TerraPass.com the Grand Caravan emits about 2000 less carbon dioxide pounds per year than the average American car. That said, it is emitting 10,207 CO2 pounds per year if driven the national average of 12,000 miles per year. This is 1.17 miles per CO2 pound.

If our nomad-to-be is commuting 32 miles per day this is 8,000 miles per year with a 50 week year. This means our nomad-to-be is emitting about 6803 CO2 pounds per year simply by his/her commute (or just over 566 CO2 pounds per month).

Now, let's say our nomad-to-be has decided to take the leap into Nu Nomadic living and has chosen a destination that requires a long flight but where s/he will be able to live without a vehicle on a daily basis and not have to commute (as my partner Ricardo has done). Let's say the destination is Bangkok.

According to TerraPass.com, a round trip (assuming at some point our nomad will have to return home) flight from Los Angeles to Bangkok emits 6,432 CO2 pounds per passenger. This means our Nu Nomad emits approximately a year's commute worth of CO2 pounds just in the round trip flight to their destination.

Wow! That is a lot. However, let's consider the fact that the average American uses their car for more than just the daily commute. As I stated before, the average American drives 12,000 miles per year and emits 12,000 CO2 pounds per year with their car (the 2006 Grand Caravan is below the national average). If the Nu Nomad is staying in a location that will not require car travel for their year, they are saving 3,568 CO2 pounds per year that would have gone into the environment just through their car. I won't even try to compare other factors that would influence impact in the U.S. vs Thailand (use of air conditioning, heating, number of miles food is transported, trash sent to landfills, etc.) but I have a pretty strong hunch that the U.S. lifestyle is the bigger environmental culprit since we are fairly abysmal on many environmental measures.

What does this mean? Well, several things. If you are a nu nomad or nu nomad wannabe you can lessen the environmental impact of your travels in several ways. Here are some suggestions:

1) Choose a destination that will not require a daily commute once you have arrived.
2) Choose a lifestyle at your destination that will not require a car.
3) Consider the emissions factor when choosing how far you will go (could a small town in Mexico satisfy your wanderlust just as well as one in far off Asia?).
4) Stay in your destination long enough to offset the impact of getting there.
5) Eat local foods during your stay.
6) Educate yourself about the environmental impact of your travel and your daily life. TerraPass.com is a great resource to find out the emissions of your current vehicle and any flight you plan.
7) Contribute to the health of the environment by doing an act that offsets your impact. TerraPass offers a program through which money can be contributed to environmental causes in amounts that offset your specific activities.

Book Review - "Tales of a Female Nomad"

I suppose it's proper to review books when they are hot off the press but this Christmas I was given an older book that is so great for nu nomads that I had to write about it. Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman, is a personal account of a woman's nomadic life over the course of nearly 20 years. Her marriage on the rocks and her children grown, Rita decides to escape to Mexico for a time to learn Spanish when her husband asks for time apart. She returns from this trip only to find that her husband wants a divorce but the nomadic spirit has been born within her and she sets off on an adventure of many years that takes her to numerous destinations including New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, Canada and Bali.

While away, Rita keeps her income generating through writing children's books. This is a career she had developed before hitting the road. As a writer she was able to keep contact with her editors and publishers from afar. The account depicts her transition from doing this work by snail mail to the advent of traveling with a laptop computer.

I found two things particularly inspiring about this book. First, as a woman and mother myself it was inspiring to see another woman who was in the midstream of life be able to make her traveling dreams happen. So many of us feel that we can't get away because of children, personal ties, or personal belongings. Rita shows that all those worries are just that - worries! Secondly, it was beautiful to read how Rita was able to enter a culture and create personal relationships on a very intimate level with local people without imposing her own western ways upon them. She returns home rich with the love she shared along her journey.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to get a sense of one nomad's life on a personal level. Rita's writing is very candid and you will put it down feeling that she has given you the details of her story in a very generous way.

Meet the Nomads - Daniel Lloyd a Phunky Norwegian in Mexico

by Carmen Bolanos
November 30, 2007

Let me introduce you to Daniel Lloyd, a Norwegian who sold his belongings, paid off his debt and took off for the sunny shores and mountains of Mexico. Daniel is a bit different from past interviewees in that he is currently living off his savings and trying to get his income source going from his blogs. I chose to interview Daniel because I believe he reflects that adventurous travel spirit that just had to get on the road whether or not every detail was in place. A lot of nomads start out like Daniel and make it happen by sheer determination not to go home. I think Daniel is going to make it happen too!

Daniel, tell us a little bit about your background, who you are and what you were doing in Norway before you left?

Well, where do I start? I had worked the last 5 years as a front desk receptionist, checking people in and out of hotels, making bookings, answering questions and being service-minded.

I had been working around in different hotels in Kristiansand, Norway. The last couple of years I was working in the Rica Dyeparken Hotel, a big hotel located just next to the Zoo in Kristiansand. And even though the hotel was a huge family hotel, and the kids loud and whiny, I liked it there.
Working with people always puts me in a good mood, and there are always weird things happening in hotels.

Other than working as a receptionist, I worked as a decorator for EA games, working with advertisement for new games. Great job, but a lot of driving.

From reading your blog it looks like you were really ready to get out of your home country. What was going on that made you so itchy to travel?

There were a lot of things going on, but the feeling of restlessness was always over me, I think it must have been all my travels to different parts of the world that has made me have the feeling there is always something new to discover out there, and I want to see as much as possible!
I have been on Interrail trips throughout Europe three times and each time was incredible!
For now, my vacations have taken me to Morocco, Egypt, Spain, Portugal, France, Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy, Thailand, Switzerland, Austria, and now Mexico.

But also the conditions in Norway at the moment were bothering me.
Norway is a great place to live, but very expensive! The salary I earned would just about get me through the month, with paying my apartment, insurances, and the amounts you have to pay every year just to be able to use your car are extreme. When I traveled, I saw how much further that money took me than at home.
So, after a while I kept thinking about spending more time in a country than just a few weeks or a month. I wanted to experience how it really was to live in a different country with a different culture.
I asked my boss if it was possible to get a year off, but sadly got a no. So I quit! It's a great feeling not knowing what waits for me if I go back to Norway. All options are open!

How long did you spend in preparation to leave and how did you choose where you wanted to go?

As I was on a sick leave from work pending my operation I had a lot of time to think about what I really wanted to do, what I wanted to experience and how much it would cost. I primarily wanted to go to Spain, as I had been there several times before, even lived there for half a year when I was a kid. But the prices there were very similar to Norwegian, especially after the Euro arrived all prices have gone up terribly!
Then a friend of mine recommended Mexico, as she had studied there for a while, and really loved the place.
I checked out a lot online about Mexico, especially how things were politically there after the dispute with the USA and the strict borders they had. But it checked out fine, and just to experience something so different from Norway, and Europe was a thing that really made me choose.

How did you fund your trip?

The trip is funded by selling my apartment in Norway, as I grew more and more aware of the unstable market that's on it's way to Europe it was a better idea than to rent it out, as that would not cover all costs of owning. My apartment was bought for a much lower price than what it was sold for, so I settled all outstanding debt, left no strings left that would give me grief if I left the country.

Freedom!

What has it been like for you so far to have sold your things and be living abroad?

The feeling of starting new in another country is great!
There are many differences, so just not to be able to drink the tap water as we can in Norway was a huge deal. Having to buy new water every week and small things like that are the little things that make it special.
The Mexican people are generally very friendly, and it does not take much for them to let you into their families.
And it's incredibly easy to make new friends, both at the university where I am studying and being out socially and meeting new people there, bonds are tied, emails and phone numbers are shared and friends from all around the world are being made.
It's nice only to have to pay for the apartment and food, and not having to worry of bills arriving in the mail that you have to pay every month!

Why study Spanish?

Spanish has always been a language I have loved! Just the flow of the language is beautiful!
It is also a great thing to be able to actually understand what everybody is saying when you are in a new country, it makes me feel more included, and I don't have to rely on them understanding English.
There are also a heap of countries that are Spanish speaking, so I can use it when I travel around.

And as I am going to travel around in Mexico, not just stay in Guanajuato it will be very important to know some to get around and ask people questions.

Viva Español!

Where would you like to go next?

The 11. December I am leaving for Cancun and Isla Mujeres where I will stay a couple of months and celebrate x-mas with some friends that are coming to visit from Norway. I have booked a room at Pocna Hostel for the first part, and I will see if it is possible to find some place to rent for a few months there. I will probably travel around in the area around Cancun to catch some sights and dive in some caves, as many have told me how wonderful it is in this part of Mexico.

After that the plan is to go to Cuba for a little while, and then travel on to Jamaica.. But this is still in the planning, and I will have to see if the money stretches enough.

Any advice about Mexico?

Mexico is a country of huge differences! As I only have been to 3-4 towns I have not seen the extremes yet, but you can really tell when people are struggling to get enough food for their families. But going to local restaurants and shops opposed to the "brand name" stores and shopping centers help the local economy a lot.
My advice would be to come prepared as some people experience problems with the heat, their stomachs (different bacteria culture) and to take care of your valuables.
Even though I have been told horror stories about buses being robbed, people kidnapped and stuff like that I have never seen it myself, and I hope I am not going to! Also, there are a lot of places with "tourist" prices so you should always take a little tour of different places to find out the value of things. I have met people that have gotten ripped off when buying local "art" for much more than their neighbors were charging.

You say you’d like to continue funding your trip by working over the web. Have you started this process? How is it going?

My travel blog, Phunky Phreak, where I post info about my trips was my first step towards earning some money, but as this is only the beginning, I still need to get more people interested, and I am moving on to try to make the content more "user friendly" as it is a little personal right now, but that's what blogs are for, right?
I have 3 more blogs that I am working on, Phunky Vids where I post my findings of humorous video clips discovered by me, Wonderfully Boring where I have some great stories that will get you through a boring workday in a jiffy, and Pimp My Corsa where I have my car project. This blog is on a break as the car is in Norway, and I am in Mexico!

I have advertisements on my blogs to try to build up some clicks, but I wish there was an easier way to make money, as this is for the moment not giving me much to work with. If anyone have any good advice I am all ears!

What will you do if you run out money?

As the salaries in Mexico are not good enough to support my expenses I would have trouble working too much. I am skilled with computers, and have patience with people, so I may charge for helping people with computer problems. Other than that, I have some backup money saved up in Norway, and if that runs out too, I will have to go back to Norway, find a cheap apartment, and just work hard for 5-6 months so I can go out and travel another year.

Do you have any advice for others who might like to travel and work as a nomad? What have you learned?

My best advice would be to always get to know the locals, get to know the city you are in, and what it has to offer.
Don't be too picky, if you really want to experience different things, then be prepared, because it's not like home. It's not supposed to be! That's why you left, right?
To work in a different country never seems to be a big problem, even though if you want a work permit, things may get harder. But I've met people working in gyms, bars, shops, and as teachers for money "under the table" so they don't have to worry about getting work permits. So if you really want to make it, you can!

Meet the Nomads - FB Fabulously Broke in the City!

by Carmen Bolanos
November 9, 2007

Meet FB, a consultant, nomad and blogger who maintains her anonymity for her blog, Fabulously Broke in the City. A recent college grad, FB is passionate about paying off $50,000 in student loans before 2009. In fact, that's a lot of what her blog is about - how to save money. A big part of FB's answer for how to do this is to have a 100% nomadic lifestyle. Interested? Read on....

A lot of people aspire to a nomadic lifestyle because they are drawn to the romance of traveling. You seem to have adopted this life to pay off your debts and start some savings. Can you tell us how you got into being a nomad?

It was really more out of chance than anything.

I graduated almost 2 years ago, and just happened to accept an offer and a career that meant 100% travel. At the time, I didn’t really understand what 100% travel meant, but after the first year of paying $1600 for an apartment that I only stayed in and saw 2 months out of the 12, I realized it was A) stupid to keep paying for such an expensive storage unit and B) it was an opportunity to get rid of one of the biggest living expenses in most people’s lives – shelter.

So one day, I looked at my husband and said: “Oh my god, we could be modern nomads”. He laughed at first, but he slowly came around to the idea, and now has full embraced it in the name of paying off debt. Modern because we are very into technology and this is a new way of living for us, and nomads because.. well, we don’t have a home.

So, less than a year later, we finally made the decision to give up the apartment early 2007, and have only been doing this for a short amount of time, but so far it’s worked out quite nicely for me. I’m hoping to be on a client project 100% of the time next year so I don’t have to worry about paying month-by-month rent, and /or any of that other stuff. I’d willingly give up all of my vacation weeks for that opportunity to be working 100% of the year. How strange is it to be saying that?!

What kind of education or experience does someone need to do the kind of work you do?

Well as a consultant, they generally hire from big name colleges (not all do, mind you), and I got an undergraduate honors degree in business administration, with a specialized concentration in management information systems.

I think anyone could be a consultant. You just have to be given the chance to get your foot in the door. All it takes is the right frame of mind, and perspective, and whether or not you have an affinity for what a consultant does on a day-to-day basis, which can range anywhere from being a project manager of sorts, to having a specialized knowledge in your field – be it strategy and change, human resources, airlines and their tax schedules and laws, supply chain management, finance, information systems, etc., and to be dealing and treading lightly with client members you are not familiar with yet and/or executives who will question your decisions on a daily basis because you have to constantly prove and sell yourself every time you go to a new client, as they don’t know you and what you can do yet. So if you are a person who doesn’t like a challenge, or constantly having to prove themselves, this may not be for you.

But in general, there are many types of consultants in the world, with different skills and specializations, you just have to find the right combination that resonates with your skills and strengths.

As you say in your blog, you have put your personal belongings into storage and you really don’t return to your home base. How does this work?

I put all of my furniture and all the sorts of things associated with an apartment (decoration, towel racks, furniture, etc) all into a storage location in another more rural city because it’s cheaper and you get more space than if you rent a storage location in an urban city. My clothes, shoes and day-to-day things that I need to access on a regular basis but cannot really travel with all the time, are kept in my home city’s storage location, where if I go back, I basically go to the storage location, pick up what I need, and rent an apartment month-by-month when I need to be in the office. Then when I’m on another project that isn’t in my home city, I put everything back into that urban storage location, and leave.

What do you bring with you when you travel?

Generally… clothes (work outfits and a pair of jeans with a sweater – I tend to wear work tops with jeans anyway, so everything I own is multi-purpose for work and play), a frying pan, a kettle, a gaming system (like a Nintendo Wii), 4 pairs of shoes (winter boots, running shoes, ballet flats and a pair of heels), my toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, facial lotion, razor, etc), makeup, perfume, an umbrella, jewelery, a wireless router, 2 laptops (one work, one play), laptop bag, iPod, 2 RJ45 LAN cables, a cellphone, a PDA, etc etc. Basically everything I need.. IMMEDIATELY. I don’t bring things like furniture, a special pillow, décor, none of that. I only bring technology, clothes/shoes and toiletries.

How often have you had to rent month to month in between consulting gigs?

Usually once in between every gig. I usually beg for projects right away, or try and be staffed on a project immediately after leaving my last one, but sometimes that isn’t feasible. I’ve been lucky so far, and if it’s only a week or less in between projects, I crash at my friends’ places, or my parents’ house.

Your husband travels with you. What are the pros and cons about this? Do you have any advice for people making a decision about traveling alone or traveling with others?

PROS: He cooks sometimes, sort-of cleans (tidies up), organizes the travel arrangements and logistics of all that, and drives me everywhere. Plus, he’s fantastic company and he is my best friend – I can always relate to him, tell him how my day is going and basically have my own support at home when I’ve had a tough day.

CONS: You always have to consider his feelings and needs when you’re accepting offers to go out to company dinners, or outings, and whether or not he can come along. I sometimes feel restrained and guilty because he doesn’t know ANYONE in the city, whereas I have work colleagues on the client site, and my own company colleagues. It gets to be pretty guilt-inducing. Oh, I guess to reduce debt further, he could be working part-time here and there, but… to be honest, I couldn’t care less if he did or not.

As for advice about traveling alone or having others with you.. I’d totally recommend that if you are someone who NEEDS a familiar support and network , then bring someone along. But they have to also be in the same mindset and love to travel and/or deal with challenges, and they have to also be OK with being alone for very long periods of time. But if you are someone who is more independent, and can adjust being by yourself for a long period of time, then you don’t need anyone to go with you, you just need to be sure that you really are a self-entertaining, self-sufficient sort of type.

You must know hotels better than 90% of us. What makes a hotel better or worse for a nomad? What do you do to make the room your home?

I basically treat interviewing hotels like I’m looking for a permanent apartment.

MUST-HAVES for Nomad Hotels
- Have a full-sized kitchen (stove, sink, microwave, fridge, and an optional dishwasher)
- Has laundry facilities on-site (the coin operated machines as well as dry cleaning)
- Have a rewards program, because you’ll be there for 5-7 months, and racking up the points at ONE hotel is better than having lots of points across different hotels
- Has security and front-desk staff 24/7 with a keycard lockdown, MANDATORY for entry after midnight (i.e. you have to swipe in your hotel room card before even entering the hotel after midnight)
- Has a clean bed with fluffy pillows preferably in a separate room, very apartment-like
- Has a couch and a TV
- Has a decently sized bathroom that you can fit into
- Has storage – dressers, cabinets, drawers, closets. Some hotels really lack this
- Has cleaning staff that come in every day, not once every 2 weeks – the reason being that having the option to have them come in and clean whenever you want to fit YOUR schedule, is better than not being able to let them in on that ONE day, and missing your chance for 2 weeks
- Looking at who stays there on a regular basis – business people, families, no shady characters and party-animal college students who just want to trash a hotel room for a weekend
- Location is important: near a grocery store, near a pharmacy, near a post office, near a Starbucks (*grin*) and near a couple of restaurants is nice because you can just walk to get a meal if you are too tired to cook
- Has indoor parking if you’re driving
- Has a voicemail system so people can dial your room directly and leave you voicemail messages instead of always going through the front desk
- Has internet/high speed connections in the room
- Is close to my client site – close as in 5 km or less away, so I can walk in the mornings
- Has a list of fees and different charges for things like telephone calls up front

OPTIONAL for Nomad Hotels
- Has a gym or a swimming pool
- Has a complimentary HOT breakfast in the morning (no Continental Breakfasts, thanks. They end up being cold fruit, cold cereal, cheap trans-fat-saturated muffins and coffee and tea)

Have you been traveling only within Canada or internationally?
I have only been in North America, but I’m still hoping.

Any thoughts on what makes a city more or less accommodating for you as a nomad?

If it’s more urban, I’ll be fine. Most companies are located near urban centers, and I tend to “live” and stay downtown, so everything is within walking distance for me. I’m happy if I just have a hotel, pharmacy, grocery store, a couple of restaurants and some form of entertainment or a park, or SOMETHING to walk around and look at.

But it’s when you don’t get a company that’s urban, and is in a more rural setting, that you run into problems like finding a hotel that you normally patronize for the points, restaurants, and entertainment. I haven’t encountered that yet, but…. there’s a first time for everything. I hope I don’t have to ever deal with that but.. 

Oh and if one of the languages is English, I’m set. I’m not against learning another language or picking up a couple of phrases here and there, but it’s going to be a hard road ahead if they only speak another language and I’m supposed to do my job on time and under budget.

Any advice for other people who might want try this lifestyle?

Be prepared to be very lonely and frustrated. Sometimes not knowing the language, the local culture and customs, the slang, and constantly being in a new company environment without any support networks like your friends and family – it can be daunting for those who hate constant change and take a long time to process/learn and absorb new things (like learning new business processes, systems, taxes, ways of thinking). Because once you know and learn everything, you’re off the project and on a new one, where you have to learn everything all over again.

You have to be quite social and outgoing as well, because if you’re an introvert who likes to keep to themselves, and only opens up after knowing people for a while and finally feeling comfortable with them, you’re going to run into problems making friends at work or at least getting on their good side and making going to a new work environment more bearable. You also have to be prepared to put up with company politics, budgets, and financial constraints – meaning they may ask you to do things you don’t want to do, like stay in a bad hotel, carpool with 5 other consultants, spend as little as possible, and deal with the headache of waiting for them to reimburse you for plane tickets, meals, laundry, taxis, etc. The bean counters will (almost always) fight you every step of the way. And then you have to be careful when you do your taxes at the end of the year to claim everything properly and by the book, and to make sure they haven’t messed up on anything on their end or on yours for that matter.

You’re already over half way through with paying off your student loans. Congrats! When do you expect to be done and what will you do when it’s all paid off?

Actually I’m only at 38%. I messed up on my calculations when I re-ran the numbers last night. *embarrassed* I expect to be cleared my loans by December 2008 (all $53,000 will be done! DONE! DONE!). But I’m realistically aiming for the end of December 2009, assuming unforeseen circumstances.

When it’s paid off, I’m taking a 2-week vacation or a cruise (on the cheap, fun and frugal of course), and paying it in full with cash instead of on credit card which is going to feel very cool.

Then, I’ll buckle down, and start saving for a down payment on a home. I’ll be 25 or 26 by the time my debt is paid off, so I have 4 to 5 years to aggressively save every penny I can, before I turn 30, which is my deadline age to buy a home.

I have to note that it’s quite easy to get into the mindset of saying: “Oh look, I don’t have a $1600 gorilla on my back (rent), and I get a lot of the comforts of life paid for (food for example), so I can relax and start spending more than I did before because there’s more leeway”.

In fact, we were in that mindset for the first month or so of our modern nomadic lifestyle. It wasn’t until I started tracking my expenses that I realized we were A) wasting a lot of money and B) buying items that we’d have to carry on a regular basis on every project and/or end up putting it in storage. So essentially, we were spending our money on JUNK and STUFF that we’d have to just put and store away in our already bulging, overstuffed storage locations. We were spending money now, to enjoy the items later, which makes no sense logically, financially or economically.

Now, it’s more of a game for me (my husband is reluctant to see it as an enjoyable experience) to see how low I can get our personal expenses (clothing, overages on food, entertainment), and currently we’re trying to stick to a budget of $500 a month, not including our personal “fun” money, debt repayments, retirement savings, or emergency fund savings.

I think it’s a great lesson for us to learn now and to KNOW that we can spend less than $500 a month in basic, personal expenses. So when we go to finally settle down, I have a good idea of what we can spend as the bare minimum then tack on the cost of the apartment, utilities, food and transportation. Which makes estimating our future living costs a lot easier.

Connecting to the Internet When There's No Cafe in Sight - GPRS

by Carmen Bolanos
October 15, 2007

This is the first in a series of blogs on alternative ways to connect to the internet. This blog covers GPRS is and how it works. Please visit back for the continuing series.

As nu nomads, we are often looking for ways to connect to the internet to communicate with clients, collaborate with colleagues, or simply to get information. Usually this is as simple as finding a dwelling with internet capability or walking down to the local internet café. But for those of us who like the more remote parts of the globe or the quaint life of a smaller town, connecting to the internet can be a real challenge. However, there is still hope for the determined individual. It takes a basic knowledge of the options and some pre-planning on the home-front to be sure you have the right equipment.

The fundamental need is getting a signal that will transfer data. Many mobile phones have internet capability and options such as Blackberries include a keyboard for sending those short emails.
But if you have more extensive internet use requirements the micro-mini screens and keyboards become unbearable over time. You need to use your laptop. Hence, getting a signal to transfer data — for the laptop. You do this with a mobile phone and GPRS.

Living Life in 3G (or 2G or 4G)

Mobile phone/internet technology is evolving so rapidly that it would be nearly impossible to produce a piece that was completely up-to-date. The evolution of this technology is actually quite a bit ahead of what is readily available to the common user. So, while I write to you about GPRS, this is a technology that is already somewhat outdated even though it is still new enough not to have been adopted by many countries.

Mobile phones are categorized by generations. Older mobile phones that were made primarily for voice and sometimes photo transfer were considered to be “2nd Generation (2G)”. GPRS was a technology that evolved to allow 2G users to access the internet and also to increase interest among users in gaining more use of this option for the future. However, third generation mobile phones have now evolved, allowing for internet access at much higher speeds than their predecessors. In fact, 4G phones are already in existence. So is GPRS obsolete? No – not yet. At the moment, because of expense and licensing issues, many countries have not built 3G networks and for many that have begun to build, the coverage is still quite limited. Therefore, the international traveler should not expect to be able to access 3G features (internet) while away making GPRS a continued necessity.

What is GPRS ?

GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service. GPRS service is billed on a “per kilobyte of data transferred” scale rather than per-second. This makes GPRS an affordable way to use the internet via your mobile phone. To access GPRS you will need a GPRS capable mobile phone and a GPRS enabled SIM card for the country in which you are traveling. (SIM cards are inserted into GSM phones to allow access to networks within various countries. These can be purchased in convenience stores, gas stations, etc. at your destination or before your departure at Telestial)

In a nutshell, when you use your mobile phone to speak, every minute that you are chatting is a minute that you are requiring space on your provider’s network system. Therefore, mobile phone charges are based on a per-second scale. However with “packet switching” that is used in GPRS, the network is only used for the few seconds that data is being transferred and in the meantime while you are working on your document or reading the web page that was just transferred to you, you are not using the network space.

What Kind of GPRS Phone?

If you read our article on Cell Phone Basics for Travelers, you will already know the importance of getting a GSM phone. This is no different when wanting GPRS capability. GSM systems are the only systems where GPRS is currently in use.

There are 3 classes of capability you may find when searching GSM/GPRS phones:

Class C phones cannot transfer voice (GSM) and data (GPRS) at the same time. With a class C device the user must use only one service at a time and switch the phone manually to change over.

Class B phones connect to both GSM and GPRS simultaneously but only one service at a time can be used. The phone automatically resets after the call or connection is finished and there is no need for the user to switch the phone manually.

Class A phones can use both GSM and GPRS simultaneously allowing the user to speak and transfer data all at the same time.

Most phones on the market right now are Class B phones.

And Now for Service

In addition to having a GPRS capable phone you will need to find a phone service provider or country SIM card that supports GPRS service. Read carefully when choosing your service or SIM card about whether GPRS is supported and what rates are charged. Here are some sample results I found through Telestial:

Spain Vodafone SIM Card – 2 Euros per megabyte ($2.80 US)
Thailand Happy SIM Card - .10 Bhat per kilobyte ($.003 US)
Jordan Cardcom SIM Card – GPRS not available
Canada Rogers SIM Card – GPRS not available but email is retrievable
France Orange SIM Card – GPRS not available

Don’t assume that GPRS will always be readily available anywhere you go. You may expect most extensive GPRS coverage in Asia and the U.S. but you may not find it in every European country. Do your homework before you leave home!

Making it Work

So you have your GPRS enabled phone and a GPRS enabled SIM card. The next step will be to learn how to use the service. There are 3 methods for connecting your mobile phone to your laptop.

1) Data-cable – yes, the good old fashioned wire method. This is reliable and not too inconvenient when traveling.

2) Infrared – requires the alignment of the IR port on the laptop with the IR port on the phone. However, if you are on a jostling train or in a limited space this might be difficult. For instance, some laptops have their IR port in front of the keyboard making typing impractical. You also need a phone that includes IR connecting.

3) Bluetooth – this can be an ideal option as it allows connection just through proximity but will require configuration of a Bluetooth enabled phone and laptop with Bluetooth or Bluetooth card. In addition, this option may slow your connection and run your phone battery down fast.

Once the phone and laptop are communicating, you will need to access the GPRS network. Accessing GPRS networks usually involves dialing in access codes and passwords. These codes and passwords will vary depending on your service provider and country in which you are traveling. Instructions for accessing the network should be provided by this service.

And, voila! You’re in business, nomad.

Sources:
http://www.telecomspace
http://pcworld.about.com/news/Sep292005id122411.htm
http://www.esato.com/archive/t.php/t-122341,1.html
http://www.fodors.com/wire/archives/002757.cfm
http://www.gprshelp.co.uk/html/GPRSArchitecture.html
http://en.wikipedia.org

Special thanks to Jeff Van West of Van West Company for his input on this article

Meet the Nomads - Matt Harding - Paid to Dance Around the World

July 24, 2007
by Carmen Bolanos

If I've ever been jealous of someone, it's probably Matt Harding. In 2005, Matt Harding took off on a trip around the world. On a whim, he decided to do a little dance while his friends videotaped. The friends thought this was so hilarious that Matt started doing his little jig at all their stops. Matt was posting his video jigging for friends and family to follow his trip when word spread over the internet and soon thousands of people were on the site watching his clips.

Lo and behold, the candy maker, Cadbury Adams, found the videos and decided Matt's little dance would make for a great marketing campaign. Now Matt is sponsored to continue traveling the world dancing in front of every and any imaginable monument, rain forest, and exotic location. You can follow his travels and read his thoughts at Where the Hell is Matt?. What a way to make a living while you see the world!

As the Australians say, good on ya Matt! And Matt - if you're out there - I'd still love to interview you! In the meantime, for my readers, enjoy this video interview with Matt below. (Stride Gum is a division of Cadbury Adams)

If you are making your living while you travel the world or know someone who is, email us at carmen at nunomad.com or post a comment on this blog. We'd love to feature you in our next interview

Meet the Nomads - Irina Patterson The Russian Queen of Balloons

by Carmen Bolanos

This week we were contacted by the Russian Queen of Balloons who was willing to share with you how her profession can be used to support a nomadic lifestyle. Irina Patterson is not a run of the mill balloon artist that you might find at any fair. I encourage you to visit her blog to see some pictures of the truly remarkable balloon sculptures, crowns and other creations she has made (including a 7 foot tall Michael Jordan). What excites me about this interview is that balloon art seems to be something that anyone with creativity and some artistic talent could use to support their income in any setting worldwide - for what could be more universal - art and children!

I read on your blog that you were an emergency room physician in Russia before coming to the United States and getting into balloon art. Can you tell me how this transition happened?

I met my future husband, an American poet
(Past the Galaxies of Stars) and
psychologist, Wes Patterson, in 1992 through a correspondence magazine. In his letters he claimed that his being a psychologist and Johns Hopkins graduate qualified him to see that we were a perfect match.
The nomad that I am, I hopped on a plane and came to Miami in July of 1992. We did get married shortly thereafter. 15 years later we are still married. My husband was right; we were and still are a
perfect match.

What drew you to balloon art and how did you learn to do it?

It happened by accident. First, let me say, growing up in Soviet Russia in the seventies, I've never seen a balloon animal. There was no such thing in my childhood. Blame it on the Cold War or the Iron Curtain, but there were no balloon animals in my childhood. Maybe Apparatchiks kids or Kremlin kids or other privileged kids in Moscow were exposed to balloon animals and other corrupting influences of the West. But poor little me growing-up in the Ural Mountains of Russia, in the city of Izhevsk , the hometown of Michail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, I didn't see any. Nor did I see any balloon animals while I was living in Miami for the first 13 years. I don't have kids. I didn't go to kids parties. I didn’t go to the malls.

But back to that fateful day when I did see my first balloon animal at a private party. It was about 3 years ago. As I remember, it was a simple balloon dog, nothing fancy. But I was ecstatic. I saw something that awakened the dormant artist in me. I later went to a local balloon wholesale store and discovered that balloons come in all kinds of twisty shapes and colors. That was the day the Russian Queen of Balloons was born.

How long have you been doing this now?

For about 3 years.

Do you travel with your work? If so, where have your travels taken you?

I traveled all over South Florida, New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Is this a profession that one could travel with extensively?

Absolutely! One wonderful thing about being a balloon artist is that one can take this job on the road at any time. Every time I have a balloon sculpture in my hands when I am on the street, people ask me to sell it to them, or at least give them my business card.

Balloons and balloon sculptures just naturally draw attention. Especially, balloon sculptures, particularly if you make them in front of a live audience.

Many times, I would stand on a street corner and start making balloon sculptures. Almost immediately a crowd would gather around me and people start asking me, “ Do you sell? How much?” I just laugh, “Whatever… Whatever you feel like..”

And let me tell you from my experience, if you tell people “Whatever.. you.. feel like..” you’ll get more money than if you actually price your work, providing that you strive to always do the best you can.

What equipment is needed to do balloon art?

Obviously, you need twisty balloons. The industry standard is Qualatex balloons. (www.qualatex.com). They come in all sizes, colors and even different shapes. Start with the balloon model called Q260, the most common. They usually are sold in bags of 100. I also suggest a hand-held Qualatex pump. The Qualatex balloons and pumps are sold all over the Internet. One bag of mixed color Q260 balloons and a pump should cost you about $ 15. And most big cities have actual stores where they sell balloons and pumps.

How could a person learn to do the type of balloon art you do?

There are books and video tapes on how to make balloon art. You can find them in your favorite book store, on the Internet and even in your public library. But the best way to start is to find a local balloon artist and tag along for a while. Most clowns nowadays do balloon art, so if you can’t locate a balloon artist, find a clown.

I noticed you are not just selling balloon art in a park, but are paid sometimes thousands of dollars to appear at events. How do you find your clients?

It is one thing to do balloon art in a park and another to get booked at events. That will take you some practice. But it is doable. Start at a park, you have nothing to fear. If you can’t make the “giraffe” that they ask you for, you’ll be easily forgiven. Remember to laugh with everyone if they laugh at you.

If you feel you enjoy this, make yourself business cards.

Start carrying balloon animals when you do your grocery shopping. Better yet, wear a balloon crown when you run your errands at public places. Practice, practice every chance you get. Do free charity events at your church and for your family and you will see that people start asking for your business cards.

You have a web presence and blog . You have also been written about many times in other press. Is this a big part of your marketing?

PR and blogging are nice business tools. Both aided somewhat to my business growth. But if we didn’t have the Internet, I still would do just fine. I get more leads from people who see me entertaining in person, than I get from the Internet. There is no substitute for live performances and real face-to-face contact.

Do you have any advice for those people wanting to set up their own balloon art mobile business?

It is not for everyone. Being a mobile balloon artist and making a living at that, in essence you need to be an actor (an entertainer), a craftsman and a manager all in one.

But for people who qualify, it is a wonderful opportunity. It will allow you to travel and make money in any part of the world… Not only will you earn a living, but you will be treated with regard and reverence in most places. People around the world understand and appreciate art and usually have high regard for artists.

Think about it. You are completely free to work any time and anywhere you feel like it. (Note: There might be some local regulations regarding street performances.) There is no age discrimination. You can be ten years of age or 80 years old. You are the boss. Start when you want, quit when you want. Balloon art can be learned by kids and you can work as a family. In addition, if someone has art in their blood, like me, they can get tremendous emotional satisfaction from just creating.

For more about my balloon art work visit my blog at My Life and Art and you can reach me at goahead_33167@yahoo.com

If you are a Nu Nomad or know someone who is and would like to be interviewed for our blog, please contact us! You may leave a comment on this blog or email me directly at carmen at nunomad.com!

Get Inspired - Host a Nomad!

One of the best ways to get inspired about nomadic living and also meet some very cool people is to consider hosting a nomad in your home. For the last couple of weeks our family has been hosting 3 nomads in our home. (yes, the house sitting has overlapped some and we've been moving between 2 households for a few days but don't even let me get into the complications of my life at the moment!)

For the second year now we've been the lucky host family for Trapeze Experience as they've held trapeze camps at my children's school. Last year we had four guests and their dog, Gia. This year there were only three. I have to say their stay with us has been one of the highlights of the year.

It's a pleasure to meet a group of people who are living their passion. Doing what they love and seeing the world while doing it. In addition, they had wonderful stories to share about their travels and their work, which for them included gigs like Club Med, Cirque du Soleil, O, Ringling Brothers, and touring with Paul McCartney. We shared many meals together, many glasses of wine, and lots of laughs.

One of the greatest parts of the whole experience was for my children to get to know these people. It's a chance for the kids to see that there are a lot more options for life than getting a 9-5 job in a cubicle somewhere.

If you ever have the chance to host a nomad in your home, I highly recommend that you give it a try. If you don't have connections to people coming through town, you might try Couch Surfing or the Hospitality Club. Both are sites that match up hosts with nomads.

Stay tuned later this week, I'll post my interview with J., Randy, and Russell of Trapeze Experience in my next installment of the Meet the Nomads series!

Wanna Be a Nomad and Don't Know Where to Start? Try Housesitting!

by Carmen Bolanos

At Nu Nomad we often get emails from people who want to live a nomadic lifestyle but aren't sure how to make it happen. There are many issues to think about: finding an income source, preparing your home-front, planning your trip, etc. For a lot of people finances are a sticking point.

One way to save a ton of money as a nomad is to house sit instead of paying rent on an apartment or hotel room. Believe it or not, there are people all over the world who are looking for folks to guard their homes, walk their dogs or read stories to their cats while they go tour the globe themselves. House sitting opportunities can range from a few days to months or years duration. Duties required can range from as little as putting out food for a cat to exercising 26 sled dogs, shooting at bears, and clearing forests in Alaska.

Where do you find out about these opportunities? I belong to a house sitting website called House Carers. For a membership fee of $30.00 US per year, I can choose a variety of preferred destinations and I receive an email anytime a house sit becomes available in these destinations. It's a bit like a Match.com for house sitting. If a house sit opportunity looks attractive I can email anonymously to the owner. After a few exchanges, if we feel comfortable we can begin exchanging personal information and making plans for the sit to occur.

One thing to be aware of if you want to do this, however, is that you will have a lot of competition. Often I respond to house sitting opportunities, only to receive a canned response email that reads something like "We've had so many great responses....". So - if you want to raise your chances of being picked as a house sitter treat the situation as you would any job you were applying for. Here are a few things you can do:

* Get some house sitting experience from friends/relatives/co-workers when they travel that you can list for potential hires.

* The more variety of situations you can accumulate (types of pets cared for, types of property cared for) the better.

* Do a great job! Keep the animals like they were your precious children and keep the home clean and cared for.

* When the house sit is over ask for a letter of reference from the owner.

* Think about putting up a web page for your house sitting endeavor. Describe yourself, what makes you a great house sitter. List your experience and post your letters of reference.

At the moment I'm writing this I am actually house sitting for a friend. Our duties are to care for 2 puppies, a cat and a tank of fish in addition to bringing in the mail and keeping the home clean and safe. In exchange our family is enjoying a great pool (picture above) trampoline and all sorts of games and stuff we don't have in our own home. It's a bit like a vacation in our home town and will be a great house sitter resume builder.