What’s Up with the Blog? – Part 2

In part 1, I talked about what’s going on with me, and how Ben and I are quickly becoming tired of living in LA, but not seeing a lot of solutions from where we are right now. We know we love what we do, but we also realize that if we want to live the way we want to in Los Angeles, we’re going to need a lot higher incomes than we have. However, all the money in the world isn’t going to make up for the traffic and the pollution.

Through talking, we’ve decided (well, I’ve decided, Ben was always on board with leaving LA) that we’re probably going to be leaving Los Angeles at some point in the future. My phrasing is that “it’s in our five year plan.” Because that sounds like a thing that mature adults would say. In reality, we have no plans nor any intent to make them at the moment.

We both have great jobs that we like, we are surrounded by good friends. We make enough money to enjoy our lives and to not worry about finances, even though we don’t make so much money that we can take vacations or live in a house. LA isn’t treating us badly at all, which is probably why our plans are somewhat amorphous.

So far what we’ve come up with is that we want to live in a smaller community, where we can walk or ride our bikes safely to work, to the store or for an evening out. We want lower prices on better houses. We want to be able to make our own hours, and have more control over which projects we work on. I heard somewhere that working for yourself means that you get to choose which of 12 hours of the day you work, and we’re both okay with that idea. I like hard work, I find personal fulfillment in it. But it is difficult to balance that principal with the modern workplace as it is.

I constantly find myself having to de-invest in my projects at work. Even though work makes me feel fulfilled, I can’t rely on work to fulfill all my needs, that’s why I have a real life. I frequently break my back for, lets be honest, a product that will never carry my name, and an employer that, while great, can replace me in an instant. Not putting livelihood in front of life is a lesson every worker should learn, no matter who their employer is. And I can’t emphasis enough how much I like my job, but I can’t be a cog forever. Eventually I’m going to need something else. When and what that is, I do not know.

Which is basically what’s up with the blog. After our talk about being able to do what we love from anywhere we want to go, Ben and I started putting more effort into developing our marketable skillets. One thing I don’t do at work is write. And one thing I could really benefit from in the future is a website with some Google-ability. Whatever I end up selling, I’m going to need visibility to make sure someone out there is buying.

So, now you know as much about my plans as I do. Have you ever done anything like this? Do you have any advice? I’m reading different things online, and I’m starting to get a feeling for a few things I want to avoid, but I’m not sure what’s in store for us.

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