“I want your life.” I hear this all the time.
Laptop lifestyle. Mornings in Bali. Remote work freedom. Yeah, it looks like a dream. And honestly? It is. But it’s not the dream most people imagine, and no one handed it to me.
So here’s the honest version.
Where it started
I’m from Razlog, a small town in Bulgaria. I moved to Germany to study and paid my way through university by waitressing. From 16 to 25 I worked in gastronomy: waitress, barkeeper, back to waitress. Late shifts, sore feet, sticky floors.
It took me years to see it, but those nine years taught me most of what I use today. Reading a person in three seconds (that’s “knowing your audience”). Recommending the special without being pushy (that’s sales). Smiling at the rude table and winning them over (that’s client management).
Your “random” job isn’t a detour. It’s training.
Going remote, then the world stopped
I went fully remote just before Covid, in 2019 and 2020, consulting B2B clients in marketing. Then the world shut down, and something in me got louder every single day: this wasn’t the life I wanted.
After my Erasmus semester in Paris in 2021, I knew I couldn’t go back. Not to Germany. Not to the version of me that everyone expected.
In 2022 I landed in Bali for the first time, and I officially quit “normal” life. That same year I met my partner. We spent the next two and a half years travelling the world together, working from wherever our hearts pulled us. Since 2025, Bali is home again. It’s where I built my podcast studio from scratch.
What remote work permanently changed for me
- Freedom to move. I can pack my bag any day of the month and head somewhere I’ve never been. I used to dream about this. Now it’s just normal.
- Time that’s actually mine. The hours I used to lose in traffic go into rest, self-care and building my podcast.
- Outcome over office hours. My value doesn’t live in an office chair. It lives in what I create.
- I choose my people. Want to be social? Coworking space. Want a quiet day? I stay home. My energy, my rules.
- Family. Years ago I moved away to chase my career. Today I have the career and I still get to be near the people who matter most.
And now, the part nobody posts
Freedom has a price. I just decided it’s worth paying.
While a lot of people clock off at 6pm, I’m working weekends. Nights. Sick days. Holidays. I’ve worked through illness, put relationships on pause, skipped holidays with people I love and missed family moments I’ll never get back.
- Time zones are my toxic ex.
- My workout routine suffers when I’m on the move.
- Some days I forget what “home” means.
- I wear every single hat, in a foreign language, across time zones.
I’m not saying this for sympathy. I’m saying it because the highlight reel lies. Freedom is earned, and re-earned every day.
Freedom is expensive. Not in money. In courage.
What it really takes
Location independence isn’t about running away. It’s about building something portable: skills, self-trust, and a reputation that opens doors wherever you land.
If I had to start again tomorrow, this is what I’d focus on:
- Get clear on your profitable skills. What do people already come to you for?
- Replace your income before you quit. Freedom built on panic doesn’t last.
- Build in public, even if you’re scared. Your story is your best marketing.
- Find clients without waiting for a big following. Start with the people who already know you.
- Ignore advice from people who haven’t lived the life you want.
Would I do it again?
Every single time.
I don’t have a house, a fancy car or a designer wardrobe. By some people’s standards I might not be successful. By mine, I’m beyond rich. I’ve skydived in New Zealand, bungee jumped in Nepal, climbed volcanoes in Indonesia and built a life that actually feels like mine.
Don’t work your entire life to afford a life you never actually get to live. Build YOUR dream life. And then go live it. 🧡
Where are you reading this from right now?
