Here is the GoogleCast I made about this technique and experiment:

(I am sorry that the audio quality on this GoogleCast is so poor. I was recording this on speakerphone while driving and it seems like for some reason it was choppy)

The Idea:

A very inexpensive way to travel through or live in an area for a period of time without paying rent.
I mention using gyms and storage facilities to do this but these can be substituted by other facilities that offer similar services in other countries. (I mention some ways I know of to do this in Japan as well)

How & Why
I do a good amount of volunteer work and this is a very important part of my life. The area where I volunteer is about an hour north of where I live.
I found work near where I volunteer and am looking to move there.
But in the meantime I am sometimes staying up there using the method I want to talk about. I am writing this as an example of what could be done.

I work nights and can sleep at work. If I couldn’t I would try to sneak sleep in at a library or at the gym (if they have a couch somewhere).

I have a storage facility where I keep the clothes I will need during the week and anything else I might need.

I purchased a gym membership with a national chain. After work in the morning I go to the gym and workout. I can go to any chain gym in the country (USA) with this membership.

About my work out,
I do handwalking and handstand pushups (I used to breakdance). I can walk the length of the gym classroom without stopping
This is great exercise and online there is info on how to get the balance to do this.
I do pull-ups to work biceps.
I also do crunches on the crunch machine (my only weighted workout)
So mainly I do a weightless workout.

At the gym I shower and shave and change clothes.
Then I go back to my storage unit, store my things and go do my volunteer work.

Since chain gyms have facilities nationwide a person travelling could stop at a gym in the morning rather than booking a hotel room.

In Japan
In Japan there are public storage facilities. There are also many 24 hour places. These include restaurants, coffee shops, internet cafes, and karaoke booths (private booths). The last two have nightly packages at discounted rates.
If a person were to miss the last train home they could stay easily at one of these (I know from experience). In fact, many of the chain internet cafes even have showers; and they have all you can drink soda vending machines! yay

Creative ideas abound. Experimenting strengthens.
Even if one can well afford hotel/motel stays, being able to go another route is a good skill to pick up for rugged travelling and location-free living.

Best,
TaiyoJ

They had a quixotic enthusiasm about their adventure and when they came back to the student dormitory at Jochi U with flowing unshaved beards, worn out packs, and glowing faces we knew they had found their fix of excitement.

I don’t think I will ever forget that moment.

I remember too that their two month trip, full of feasts of exotic Indian foods, was cheaper (plane tickets included) than what they would have paid to stay in Tokyo in the dorm for those two months. I wish I had gone…

Well, it seems to me that a journey begins in the mind of the traveller. And I see no reason why I cannot make my own quixotic trek to India, even if at first it is only in my mind.

News stories of foreigners financing their stays in India through call center work are easy to find and take inspiration from. And expat forums like IndiaMike provide concrete details.

The prospect of working for a time for a stellar Indian firm, like Zoho, also appeals (even to a stubbornly entrepreneurial person like me).

Will I have my day in the Indian sun?

I hope to outsource myself to India

This build up of physical paper poses a major problem for my mobile lifestyle ambitions and I have been working on purging and digitalising them for awhile now.

As I was purging one of them today I came found a printout of the website pluginprofitsite.com and this interesting account of the owners online money making journey/motive:

Immediately, I loved the idea of making money on the Internet… There was just something extremely exciting to me about being able to work from anywhere in the world using nothing more than a computer and an Internet connection. I had no idea how to do it yet, but it sounded fantastic! So I began my journey.

Every night after work and after my wife and children went to sleep, I would get online and explore different ways of using the Internet to make money. There was definitely NO short supply of opportunities… Everywhere I turned, someone was offering me another “proven” way to get rich quick on the Internet

Multiple Streams of Internet Income by Robert Allen was also mentioned. I’ve skimmed through it before but haven’t read it. Looks like I have another book to read…

Walden, by Henry David Thoreau.

The conclusion of the book is quite amazing and has a passage that is oft quoted (see 1, 2, 3), I’ve included it here:

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,

and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined,

he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.

- Henry David Thoreau

I was deeply moved by Walden. (I read it during my “super-light travel experiment“)

Many probably have heard this quote but how many have read Walden?

Here is my GoogleCast about Walden:

Today I leave for a week long trip to the beautiful Virginia/West Virginia border. Yes, Blue Ridge mountains and Shenandoah river.

Although I am going for a full week I am taking no bag with me; only the clothing that I can carry on my person, a book and a notebook in my hand, a toothbrush in my pocket, and a usb stick around my neck.

When I went to Japan for my first year there in 2002 I took two suitcases. That is rather light for a year, but I definitely plan to take much less in my future relocation. And that is why I am experimenting.

Here is my “GoogleCast” (podcast) about the experiment. And below that an outline of what I am taking with me.

What I am taking:

• clothing (all worn on my person):
  • boots
  • 3 pairs of socks worn on my feet
  • 3 pairs of underwear
  • 3 or 4 shirts
  • swim shorts
  • blue jeans
  • travellers belt with cards, id, etc.
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau (carried)
• Another small book
• My notebook, which will also hold:
  • my jetblue flight info
  • a copy of my personal mission statement
  • other papers I want to look at on the plane
• travel toothbrush (in pocket)
• peanuts (in pocket)
• pen, for taking notes in notebook (in pocket)
• USB stick (on a band around neck)

I can take so little in part because of the power of SaaS (Software as a Service). Any papers I need and my business systems are all online. To learn more about using SaaS to power your business see my website BackSaaS.com.

Simplification is key.

Hope this experiment inspires me and inspires you.

The divisions man makes to limit his fellow man. I know that these things exist so that there is not complete chaos. But it is difficult to accept emotionally when you are the one being limited.