Location is Everything…And Nothing

My family and I recently returned from a brief sojourn to Seattle. We live just across the state, so it wasn’t a huge vacation by any stretch of the imagination (especially since I took my work with me), but we did all the stuff that makes two-year-olds wild: zoos, aquariums, and science museums.

We were only there for four days and we had fun, but at the end of the trip, I made my husband promise we would never consider moving to that city. It’s too darn big and the traffic is AWFUL.

Chances are, we’ll be able to keep that promise. Location is one of those delightful perks of being a freelancer. The vast majority of my clients don’t care that I work in Spokane, they wouldn’t care if I moved to Seattle, and they probably wouldn’t care if I decided to set up camp somewhere in the southern hemisphere, either. Honestly, as long as I have a fast Internet connection, an address, and a valid phone number, I am absolutely certain I could work from absolutely anywhere in the world. I love that about this job.

At the same time, I also believe that location can be an incredibly important aspect of being a freelancer.

Cost of Living

Where you live determines your cost of living, and therefore, your needed income. If I were to live in Seattle permanently, I would have to double my income just to get by. My mortgage would increase, my gas bill would increase, and I KNOW my coffee bill would increase. That would mean I’d either have to increase my rates or increase my workload. The former would take away some of the advantage I have in finding clients, and the latter would simply make me cranky.

The advantage of being able to lower prices because of a lower cost of living is huge. Though I’m always looking to make more money (who isn’t?), I know that I can undercut the competition simply by virtue of where I live and how I run my business. Most of the online calculators that are available to determine the viability of your freelancing prices – you know, the ones that ask you what you have to make to cover costs and then tell you how much you have to make to turn a profit – take into account what you need to get by. What I need to get by is less than a freelancer in, say, Boston. That means I can charge less without harming my own bottom line, because my bottom line is a little bit lower.

Resources

Where you live also determines the kind of access you have to resources. In this case, I am primarily thinking of child care. I am fortunate enough to live within easy driving distance of my brother, my parents, and my in-laws, all of whom have a hand in my daughter’s care. When I have a deadline and my husband has to work, I almost always have options (and free ones, to boot!). That kind of support is priceless; whenever I get hit with a bout of wanderlust, I just have to remind myself of the importance of having family nearby.

(Of course, resources in this case can also mean my business partner, our graphic designer, and a few local clients.)

Technology

There is also the issue of having the right technology. At some point, moving to smaller cities and rural areas starts to have a disadvantage. My parents, for example, live in the podunk-middle-of-nowhere panhandle of Idaho. Their “fast” Internet connection is substantially slower than I can tolerate and still comes with a hefty price tag. I have a super-fast connection and live only five minutes from my downtown’s free wi-fi, so I consider that a substantial bonus.

Stability

While I still love the fact that I can move almost anywhere in the world and still continue to have a successful freelancing career, I have no current plans to move. That, too, is a great perk of being a freelancer. I’ll never get transferred or promoted to a new location unless I make the executive decision.