What I expected
“Working and traveling is the way to go” I was told. “You are so lucky to be able to do freelance work!” “I wish I could work and travel!” were some of the responses I got to telling people I was working while travelling.

I don’t really know what I expected originally, just I suppose that it would be fun to work while travelling and that it would extend my travel time, while also letting me absorb more of the local culture.

In a way it was true. But as with most things in life, you don’t get shown the downsides(you just see the beach and blue skies) and freelance working while travelling is defiantly one of them. The amount of people saying its the best thing since sliced bread is staggering, do a quick google and you’ll find them everywhere. Oh and they might tell you exactly how you can be exactly as happy as they are by buying their ebook for 25 dollars.

As with any thing in life there are pros and cons. I’ll list some of them out as best I can and sum up my experience to let you best judge for yourself.

The Good.
You get to live in a different country and experience all it has to offer, from the weather, the food, the sites and sounds, making friends with locals, so much is there to be taken in and enjoyed. This bit for me was really great. I’ll just give a few examples of what I enjoyed to give a flavour of what I was living.

In mid November I was able to go swimming in warm water, the air temperature a meer 25 degrees on a beautiful beach, and spend the afternoon playing soccer on the beach with friends I made after my swim. If I’d been at home none of that would have happened and I’d have been in a gale force storm not able to leave the house after doing home from a day of working a 9 to 5 job.

Another evening, I was having drinks on the roof top bar of my accommodation in shorts and t-shirt(again in November) where I made some new friends who then invited me to a private gig on another Sevillian roof top with about 150 people. The drink was sold at cost price and the music and atmosphere, electric. Everyone having the time of their lives.

Add to that, going on walking tours of beautiful cities where the history is brought to life in amazing stories, while you view amazing ancient architecture from decades ago. Meeting people from countries all across the world, chatting to them, learning from them and occasionally parting the nights away with them. Eating amazing delicacies, outside in the warm air on the cobble stone streets for next to nothing, while listening to the sounds of the crowds as they make their way to their dining location of choice. As you can see, it does all sound absolutely amazing, and it was, but there was also a hidden side which I’ve rarely heard people talk about.

The Bad
Human beings are social animals. Interacting and forming relationships with others makes us happy and improves our quality of life. Most people who are in a hostel are only staying there for a few days and are mystified when you try and explain that you have to work instead of touring a beautiful city with them. Bonds between people staying at hostels usually form really quickly (especially when travelling alone) due to the fact that you spend so much time together and you tend to be a lot more open, as there is a good chance you may never see these people again. So, if you decline one or two invites to go touring with prospective friends for a day, chances are they will be less inclined to ask you the next time. That’s not to say that you can’t ask to join them at a later stage.

Its always nice to have some sort of stability when working. As we live most of our lives through our habits, its essential to have them in place to get the most out of our selves. If you get out of the habit of getting up and doing work every day its hard to get up and work. If you get into the habit of going out and socialising every night your not going to be performing very well the next day.

Add in the problems you can face when sleeping in large dorm rooms, where you can be kept awake for half the night with people snoring, and the other half of the night you can have people packing/unpacking bags, drunkly stumbling around and being as noisy as possible, if you have a meeting the next morning, good luck. I’m a person who needs my 8 hours a night and if I don’t get them I am usually next to useless. If I wasn’t working and just partying/socialising/exploring everyday it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest as I could just nap half the day away or stay in bed till I feel suitably rested.

OK, so lets say you got a good nights sleep and resisted the urge to go out on a pub crawl with the rest of the hostel. The next problem your going to face is finding somewhere to work where you won’t be distracted. That is next to impossible. In a communal location such as a hostel or even a local cafe. People are ambling about, talking loudly (especially in Spain) and don’t give a crap that your working.

Another thing which annoys me is the fact that I’m only travelling for a finite period of time (a few months) I feel that if I’m working I’m missing out on the amazing weather, the beaches, the culture. So its a constant battle to remind yourself that you need to get a project done when everyone else is off to the beach.

Conclusion
All in all I’m really lucky to have been able to work on my laptop while traveling and I’m sure in some cases the freelance work/travel lifestyle would work. Perhaps, if there were no deadlines and the work could get done at its own pace, then it would be fine to grab a few hours here and there to get some work done. Also, maybe I just don’t have what it takes to lock myself off in a room or cafe and get work done, while sacrificing amazing experiences with great people.

I’d love to speak to some other people who worked on their laptops and travelled, and see how/if they managed to do it while also integrating a social life, exploring a country, and immersing themselves in a culture. Seeing is believing, there is often more than meets the eye!