Nomadic Income??

[otozier]

Hi all. Wanted to pick a few brains. What do you do for nomadic income while living in your Skoolie/traveling.

I will be jumping into the bus life hopefully within the year, and really have to figure this out in order to do so.

I have a background in law enforcement, and as a first responder... as well as doing freelance photography.

Any and all advice is appreciated! Thanks - Owen

[geminusprime]

Your LEO background could help with a private investigator license, although depending on your state you may be required to work for a company instead of a private individual. This pretty much locks you into the state with the exceptions of some allowances for investigations originating in other surrounding states.

Not too much in terms of income with first responders and a skoolie, I could see disaster relief efforts but these are usually charity. Not suggesting we need to make money to help people, but trying to stay with the topic.


Photography is a darn good skill to have when traveling a lot, be it a skoolie or a trucker or long distance contractor. How you go about publishing and making an income though, that's beyond me, but I know a few people I came upon during my skoolie research worked as graphic designers and photographers, although I'm not sure at what capacity.


Look for and consider any remote based jobs that don't require you to have any form of set office. Remote generally suggests this, but not always - in Colorado you had "remote" positions....in the middle of nowhere in a little building.


IT seems to be a good field, from personal experience both as a career and hobby. As long as you have cell signal and cellular modem, a remote tech or developer is a good fit for the travel lifestyle. This is the route I'm going to end up taking most likely.


My dad is thinking of building a skoolie as well, but using it as a mobile mechanic. Not in the skillset you suggested, but staying within the mobile theme, a mobile business is something I'd consider. Mobile photography studio, although this may eat up space.

[firebuild]

Have you read anything about Work Camping (some people spell it Workamping but that seems both cute and a remnant of Nazi Germany so I stick with the normal spelling)? I've never done it but lots of people have. These are jobs where you work at a campground, park, or facility either short term or for a full season in exchange for money and a free place to camp. I'm not sure how receptive these jobs are to skoolies, especially the "camp host" positions, because we seem to have a bad rap in comparison with "regular" RVs.

I write articles online, which of course can be done anywhere; I'm a writer by profession but lots of people who are not do this, mainly because they have a particular area of expertise and they seek out places to write about that topic.

I understand a lot of nomads spend the holiday season working for Amazon. They apparently have a program called Camperforce that actively recruits nomads for their fulfillment centers.

Nowadays, any job you could do from home, you can do on the road. I know people who worked from home doing customer service on the phone, even telephone psychics, before they hit the road, and they kept right on working once they were out there.

Myself, I've designed my bus so that once I go full time I will be able to continue my other current occupation - selling vintage and antique items - right out of the bus. It of course means having a lot of discipline; I used to have a 2000 square foot store and a warehouse, now I have a 75 square foot living space that doubles as a warehouse.

[Tango]

" I used to have a 2000 square foot store and a warehouse, now I have a 75 square foot living space that doubles as a warehouse."


"Smalls"for sure.

[firebuild]

Originally Posted by Tango

" I used to have a 2000 square foot store and a warehouse, now I have a 75 square foot living space that doubles as a warehouse."


"Smalls"for sure.

Yup. Moving toward ephemera and jewelry exclusively, but right now my overheads are full of tchotchkes of various types.

[Tango]

I had a couple of antique shops for years. Hard to get out of your blood ain't it? My place is still full of stuff I didn't want to part with but most have been better investments than the Stock Market...and a whole lot more fun!



And then there is always the thrill of the hunt for that next "big find"!


Best of luck in your travels.

[firebuild]

Originally Posted by Tango

And then there is always the thrill of the hunt for that next "big find"!

Lucky for me the hunt is the big high - I never was much for keeping things. I'd prefer to find them, find the person they're supposed to move on to, then use the money they pay me to fund the next hunt!

Thanks for your good wishes, I'm a while from being able to go full time but I am soooo ready.

[ashley]

I've worked as a freelance marketing consultant and web designer for the past five years. I'm able to work completely remotely which means there shouldn't be a change in income when I move into the bus. You could look into some sort of consulting business related to your background.

[EastCoastCB]

The folks who I know living nomadic lifestyles in buses all have IT businesses or something involving computers or the internet.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

The folks who I know living nomadic lifestyles in buses all have IT businesses or something involving computers or the internet.

There was also a goat owning couple that worked the sugar beet harvest and other types of seasonal labor jobs.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Drew Bru

There was also a goat owning couple that worked the sugar beet harvest and other types of seasonal labor jobs.

Yeah, there's Fred and Dan!
But by and large most folks full-timing in a converted school bus I know of are working in IT or telephone-based businesses.
There's not gonna be any magic answer, op. Its sorta your own path.

[Tango]

There is a fairly recent book by Jessica Bruder titled "Nomadland" that is all about people who have chosen to live on the road. She comes down pretty hard on the temp work at Amazon (who sell her book BTW). The workers there are known as "Amazombies" and it sounds like for pretty good reason. But overall it is a fair guide to work camping and other road life considerations.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by Tango

There is a fairly recent book by Jessica Bruder titled "Nomadland" that is all about people who have chosen to live on the road. She comes down pretty hard on the temp work at Amazon (who sell her book BTW). The workers there are known as "Amazombies" and it sounds like for pretty good reason. But overall it is a fair guide to work camping and other road life considerations.

[ermracing]

We have worked security at NASCAR and IndyCar events at our local track (NHMS) as well as corner marshals for smaller track events. If you hang around the southeast, there should be a fair number of events you could hit during the year. At least at NHMS they had a lot for worker RVs and some had power and water.

[DeanyOscar]

Craigslist often has good short term jobs available, I've made $100+ dollars off a days work.

[Dirtdoctor]

I know folks that host campgrounds, 10 hours of work a week gets you a site and the perks, I have met several travelers that write forMagazines and blogs- reporting about restaurants, RV parks, and believe me there’s a magizen for every topic out there. Sporting events too. I know a guy that gets fishing stuff to try out and report on it! He fishes all over the world and gets a good income. He said he’s been doing it for decades so he’s built a following. But find something you are good at and enjoy.

[whiskey runner]

this thread really interested me.. in the past year my life has changed drastically, both physically and financially. now all i want to do is get into my old bus and leave my past behind me.. i am afraid my small military retirement check will not afford me to do the traveling type of retirement i have always planned on.. so now i have to re-think what i will do. i have been reading about other ways of surviving on the road and just ordered the book tango mentioned. i will also like to hear of any others who are doing well (or not so well) living this sort of lifestyle.. so i will keep my eye on this thread..

[cadillackid]

while im not permanently Nomadic nor do I live in my bus, i do work alot from it and on the road in general.. im in the tech field.. software development and installing networks / VoIP in hotels.. the beauty of this is i can work anywhere there is internet.. I realize tech isnt for erveryone, however more and more companies are going to a teleworker based solution, esp for call centers and software developers.. with the collaboration tools available, I can hold meetings, conf calls , etc using the internet and my softphone.. I troubleshoot remotely, DEV software, and even have a mini server and hotel system .. i drive my bus to most of my sites and just park it in the hotel parking lots.. thus far in 3 years of bussing around not a single property has said "we hate your bus".. in fact oftentimes some of the staff want a ride.. now granted mine is a shortie.. and so is my DEV bus..


there are a lot of tech jobs open, thiough you have to go look for them, they wont fall into your hands.. and many are remote and not listed on LinkedIn or dice or careerboard


you dont evern have to give up your dual screens on the road.. while i was plugged into power in this pic, I run this often from a picnic table or starbucks patio seat.. and yes even the beach!!




-Christopher

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

while im not permanently Nomadic nor do I live in my bus, i do work alot from it and on the road in general.. im in the tech field.. software development and installing networks / VoIP in hotels.. the beauty of this is i can work anywhere there is internet.. I realize tech isnt for erveryone, however more and more companies are going to a teleworker based solution, esp for call centers and software developers.. with the collaboration tools available, I can hold meetings, conf calls , etc using the internet and my softphone.. I troubleshoot remotely, DEV software, and even have a mini server and hotel system .. i drive my bus to most of my sites and just park it in the hotel parking lots.. thus far in 3 years of bussing around not a single property has said "we hate your bus".. in fact oftentimes some of the staff want a ride.. now granted mine is a shortie.. and so is my DEV bus..


there are a lot of tech jobs open, thiough you have to go look for them, they wont fall into your hands.. and many are remote and not listed on LinkedIn or dice or careerboard


you dont evern have to give up your dual screens on the road.. while i was plugged into power in this pic, I run this often from a picnic table or starbucks patio seat.. and yes even the beach!!



Attachment 29907
-Christopher

You know, I've seen you refer to your "DEV bus" so often I was going to make a joke asking about your TEST bus and your PROD bus, but I assumed you wouldn't get what I was talking about.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

You know, I've seen you refer to your "DEV bus" so often I was going to make a joke asking about your TEST bus and your PROD bus, but I assumed you wouldn't get what I was talking about.

LOL that bus has been all of the above... ha! and dont forget its been the BetaBus too