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Quitting your job isn’t brave. Foolhardy, maybe. Impetuous, yes. But certainly not courageous.

I left my job in the UK, a job I loved, to work freelance while I travel the world. Some people who do this call themselves ‘digital nomads’. I prefer ‘international man of bullshistery’. So now I work anywhere I like – subject to cost of living and visa laws. This month it’s Bali, Indonesia. Next month, maybe Kuala Lumpur. It’s a nice way to be.

Part of leaving one life behind is it makes you focus on the parts of yourself you want to keep, while you can let all the other bits fall away, like so many petals from a dying flower.

In London I rode bikes. That was my thing. So now I try to ride bikes as much as I can, whether that be in Bali, Vietnam or Angkor Wat in Cambodia (pictured). In London I also spent way too much on beer, rent and food. So now I try to limit those costs as much as I can. It’s much easier to live thriftily when a meal for two with drinks cost less than a Pret sandwich, let me tell you.

Life as an IMOB is not without its drawbacks though. There’s always the Fear.

Freelancing anywhere is risky. Through no fault of your own it’s easy to find yourself without any work next month, staring down the barrel of a lean few weeks eating instant noodles and drinking supermarket cola. This is scary enough if you’re living in your home country. There are support systems there: your ever-loving ma and pa, ready to take you back into the family home at a moment’s notice; the state, perpetually prepared, grudgingly, to support you through times of unemployment; your mates, who’ll probably shout you a pint or two until things pick up.

Out here though there is no one. If you get sick and can’t work, you don’t get paid. If there’s no work booked in the diary, you can’t pop round your nan’s for a free Sunday dinner. It’s all on you.

But with all these risks involved, why isn’t the decision to go it alone a brave one? Because bravery implies a choice. Something you weigh up, and decide to do despite the risks. For me there was no choice. I had the opportunity, I had the means and I had the motive – I had only one option. And now that I’m on this great big, terrifying adventure, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tom

Owner of Tom Owen Cycling Content