Making the decision to go portable.

I was a navy brat. I grew up moving from town to town, not living anywhere for more than a couple of years. I made friends, I left friends behind, I made new friends. I didn't choose that lifestyle, it was chosen for me.

Now, as an adult with a family of my own, I have discovered that I've got the bug. Having never lived in the same house longer than five to six years, and usually not longer than two or three, I find that I get restless if I stay in the same place too long. I long to roam.

As a young bachelor, this was easy. I hopped between full-time jobs for a few years until I discovered contracting. Being a contractor gave me a higher level of income, which I spent travelling. On a whim, I even relocated to the Republic of Panama and tried my hand at being an entrepreneur. I loved every minute of it, even though I didn't make enough money to keep it going. So I came up with the idea of living in Panama and working short term contracts in the US, making enough money to live the high life in between contracts.

That's when I met my wife. We very quickly fell in love, made plans for our life together, got married, and got pregnant. We quickly discovered that my plan to live in Panama and travel to the US for a few months at a time was not compatible with pregnancy and family life. So we applied for residency and moved back home to the good old USA. I took a full-time, W2 job with benefits. We bought a house, a car, and hatched the next generation.

Now skip ahead a few years. I've got the itch. I need to get moving again, but I've got a family now. What am I going to do? Well, I'm lucky. My wife has always wanted to see the world. That, and the fact that we're already living 4000 miles away from her childhood home and the vast majority of her family, means that she's got no particular desire to stay put. This is good. It makes my decision easier. It's time to get back into contracting and start living "The Portable Lifestyle".

This blog will follow my journey. I'll post about everything that happens to me and my family as we become a portable family. Life changing decisions, tax strategies, enabling technologies, insurance, travel tips, and being a contractor are all topics I'll cover. Hopefully, others who have the travel bug will be able to learn from my lessons how to make money and see the world at the same time. And hopefully, those who have gone through this before me will also throw their thoughts into the mix. Maybe I won't have to learn all my lessons the hard way.