One of my favourite places on this planet is the south of France. More specifically a small village in the Gard department where I spent many holidays as a teenager.
And one of my favourite activities to do was to visit the local markets that always smelled phenomenal. Food, fresh produce, soaps, and more. Even just thinking about it makes me want to pack our bags and head off for a trip (just maybe not during this heatwave!).
Whenever I’m in France I think “I’d love to live here”, and a recent visit to a local charity shop here in England brought all those memories back, just with the smell of a bar of soap.
When Andy and I first set up our businesses, we wanted to work from anywhere and spend our winters in warmer places (in Europe, so we can take Maggie, our dog). Simple in principle: book travel, pack bags, lock up the house, set off.
But in practice it’s just not as straightforward:
- Accommodation costs would add up and the mortgage still needs to be paid, too. You have to generate the kind of revenue to justify this expense before booking any sort of accommodation.
- We wouldn’t have any childcare in said warm location, so wouldn’t be able to work as usual. While still paying for (unused) childcare at home.
- Traveling with a small child and spending extended periods of time away from our own home without her things, her familiar environment and the things we all love would probably stop being fun after a couple of weeks.
Starting our businesses and growing them came with lots of ideas and freedom. “We can do this now because we’re self-employed and don’t have to answer to anyone” sounds good in theory but the reality isn’t as simple.
That’s okay, because some things may simply take a bit more time than we initially thought.
I would still love to go to France, but maybe it’s not for several months, and instead just for a couple of weeks.
The freedom and opportunities of running your own business were so appealing and still are, but it would be negligent of me not to highlight the things that we don’t do or that are not possible yet.
On the other hand, let’s not forget about those dreams and plans, because eventually they should happen if they still feel right.
What’s a ‘someday’ list item you would love to achieve or do in the next few years?