Living The Dream
I’m sitting on our balcony with a coffee looking out over the rooftops at Granada’s Alhambra palace. There’s a piano riff playing off in the distance somewhere and the city feels perfectly still. It’s the middle of the siesta - which we’re still getting used to; it’s about 18 degrees, and I’m writing this whilst wondering how in the world we ended up here!
6 months ago it was unimaginable, I’d just been made redundant from a job I’d worked hard at for 6 years and Niall was doing well, if uninspired in a sales job. We were plodding along and saving up for a wedding, or a home of our own, or whatever it is you’re supposed to do when you reach this stage in life. I got a new job with a Destination Management Company, made some brilliant new friends and spent my days falling in love with other people’s travel plans and getting confused by spreadsheet formulae. But something was missing.
We decided we wanted to experience life at a different pace…our own pace, and not be tied down to one job and one location until it was time to retire. The more we spoke about it the more we both felt we could be doing so much more with our time, the question was how to start? Niall and I are similar in that we both love to experience authentic culture when we travel – we met while on holiday (that’s a totally different story!)
After many a wine-fuelled brainstorming session, and a few butterflies of doubt, we decided to throw caution to the wind. Niall quit his job in sales and I bid an emotional farewell to my new colleagues. We booked a month of accommodation and a one-way ticket to the south of Spain to start a new chapter; armed with laptops, a list of bloggers that inspire us and enough money to fund our adventure for around 6 months.
The internet is bursting with advice on location independent travel - some great, some we were very sceptical about, and none of it was all in one place. We quickly became tired of thinking we were getting somewhere, only to find we needed to pay to access it. This may work for some, but we were desperately clawing for great, relatable advice and inspiration all located in one place. Advice from real people like us, starting out from the very beginning, and, this is the most important bit - is free – so we have more money to spend on our own adventures!
We love incredible food, taste testing the best local wines and beers, and that feeling you get when you turn a corner and come across the most beautiful unexpected view and there’s no one else around. You don’t have to fall into tourist traps and you don't have to spend a fortune to travel and create fantastic memories, we’re here to dig around for you and share our secrets about the places we visit.
We’ve created Independent Atlas as a hub of travel inspiration to bring you concise advice and guides on living the good life on a budget. Our ambition is to connect aspiring location independents, digital nomads and travellers from around the world with the information they need to make taking the next step as simple as possible.
We all have the necessary skills to succeed, but so many of us simply don’t believe that our abilities will take us there. Independent Atlas is here to prove that it is possible! Our aim is to travel the world and work remotely, bringing you tried and tested advice on travel, culinary adventures and the hidden treasures we experience along the way, and we want to inspire as many people as possible to come along on this journey with us!
So, watch this space, and subscribe at the bottom of this page to receive our latest updates, posts, information and travel deals.
