Patria ubi bene
This is my all favorite Latin quote. Your homeland is where you’re feeling good, whatever that means for each of us: prosperous, happy, challenged to outrun others, connected to one’s roots, among friends. I always thought I could live anywhere as long there was a reason to do it: a work opportunity, getting an education, trying something new. I believe I can adapt to any place, as long as there are people I can connect with. That is why I’ve always believed I am location independent.
And I really am! I’ve traveled enough to know I’d have no problem changing countries for a while. Actually, I’d love to move to a new country every six months. Hard to earn a living like that? Not really! I am a PR and Marketing strategist. My clients rarely need my physical presence; they just need my ideas, my written words, my advice. As long as I have an internet connection and my laptop, I can do my thing.
I will probably not move anytime soon. But I could. And that sense of freedom is most precious to me. Just like the sense I could just go out for a walk if I wanted to and postpone work a little. Running your own business gives you that freedom. Or a quick glance at it. Because let’s face it, maybe I’ve postponed work a few times since I’ve started managing my own company. It’s a rare event, but it’s a very real possibility.
The Internet has become my extended home. I have friends and family online. My homeland is slowly moving online. That’s where 50% of it is right now. The rest is the palpable world, which might be a city or another in Romania, the so-called suburbs (the nearby villages where new houses are built), a different country, an isolated island in the country of no one. It’s our relationships that give us the feeling of belonging, not the place where we live. And moving around will not make me less of what I am now, I won’t stop being Romanian just because I live abroad.
Patria ubi bene. The pragmatic approach. Your heart tells you where your home is. The sentimental approach. Your office is where you plug in and start working. The “someone needs to pay for all the fun” approach. But the main idea behind all these approaches is pretty much the same: if we’re happy, we can adapt to anything, new places, and new people. Just as long as we stay connected to all those who are important to us. And given today’s technology, it’s hard not to.
In this day and age, we’re all living a Location Independent Life. And if we’re not, we can easily start living it.
This is my contribution to the Location Independent Group Writing Project. If you want to join it, the deadline is May 27, so hurry up!
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It was quite a pleasure to join your project, thanks for hosting it!
Yes, it is, it’s something we all need to learn, otherwise we get too attached to things that really mean nothing. 
