I remember the day I decided to move to Mexico, it was cold and rainy in the Pacific North West, which was no surprise. People that live in the most beautiful place in the world have to have some drawbacks – it’s the rain.
I moved to Vancouver from Alberta about 10 years ago and it has taken me 8 of those years to overcome SAD (seasonal affective disorder) I had to order a “happy lamp” that stimulates the sun’s rays. When the sun does shine, my surroundings are exquisite.
A week without liquid sunshine was what I needed, so I went to visit a friend of mine in Cabo: The weather was incredible, rain-free for the whole week, and then I went home to rain, and it rained for days and days before I got to see the sun again.
In those days I made the decision to move.
Now first off I am an average Canadian, I have no money. I worked at a job for 5 years and then poof, recession time came and my number was up. Laid off like so many of my friends before me. I never really thought I would be next in line for the chopping block. At first I was devastated, “Oh no I have to go out job hunting.” The worst thing about being laid off has to be competing for jobs with hundreds of individuals that all think, that they are perfect for that position. I didn’t like my odds so I decided, that I would start working from home. Easy enough I think, how hard can it be? Freelancing was something I could do from Mexico on a beach with a laptop, WIFI connection and a headset. I asked myself “Hey, why not?” The timing was perfect. No job to go to, my daughter is living on her own in another city and I am single.
What do I need to do first, I ask myself? Well, I can’t possibly take everything I have to Mexico, I would have to sell most of my stuff. Well being, like the average Canadian consumer, I liked and bought stuff! Electronic stuff, furniture, appliances, and all on credit. Not hard to believe when I read an article from CTV News that the Average Canadian Family is $100,000 in debt we make more then we earn! So with that in mind, I had to make sure I could pay off as much as my debt as possible before leaving on my extended journey.
I listed all my worldly possessions on Craigslist for the Vancouver area. Now what I have come to know is that I thought my belongings were worth much more then they were actually worth. I then realized how attached I had become to “things”! (that is a whole other article)
I started to think about my attachment to those “things” and what they meant to me. This became ever so clear when I decided to host a yard sale of the things I did not sell via the internet. I talked to a friend and we decided that she would also participate in this yard sale. And again I tell ya, I had grandiose ideas of what my stuff was worth. So the day came for the yard sale and I like I always am was thoroughly unprepared. Well, not necessarily , unprepared so much as hung over. We had posted the yard sale to start at 9am on a Saturday. Well that was a might early but it sure sounded good when we decided on a date and time, “Don’t people start yard sales and garage sales early? Early bird gets the worm and all that jazz. So here I am with 2 friends, whom were as equally as hung over as I was at 7am putting out all our attainments in life out on display for everyone to see. Believe me, I had a little melt down later that afternoon. I looked around at my yard and thought “this is what my life is”, mostly knick knacks that I had gotten over the years, mostly sentimental stuff really. I realized in my cleaning out closets and drawers that I was keeper of cards. You know birthday cards, get well cards, any kind of card. I always thought “If someone takes the time to go to the store, pick out a card and write a nice message inside the card, then I was going to keep it”. Besides some of those cards are expensive! Oh my thriftiness is showing.
There are a few things that really bothered me about yard sale shoppers. The first is that no matter what the price is or how new the item is, everyone is looking for that “steal of a deal”. For an example I had something listed at .25c and a lady walked up, picked up the item and said “ is this the lowest you will go”. I mean come on, how lower can I go? I thought. “ You actually want to negotiate over a .25c item?” In my mind, I grabbed the item and threw it on the ground, watching it smash to little pieces, then I thought I would rather burn or destroy this then give it to you! Some people! I declined the nice lady’s offer.
During all these going’s on I needed to find work. I needed to make money. I went back to a website that I had signed up for years ago but never really did anything with it. I guess deep down, I always knew I was not cut out for a 9-5 job but never had the courage to really do it. So I subscribed to a membership and started bidding on jobs. This is harder then I thought. So many others were doing the same thing I wanted to do. The competition is going to be hard, since I had not done any work for anyone. I really didn’t have a clue as to what I was doing.
Then a client sent me an invitation to bid on a job. I viewed the job and thought “I don’t know how to do any of this.” I mean, of course I had my own social networking sites that I used and updated on a regular basis, but what the heck is SEO work? Even though I knew I was smart, quick at learning , I was skeptical that I would win the award. I sent in my bid and resume. Soon I was having a conversation via email with this potential client and he is asking if I can do this or that and I am basically telling him “no I don’t have any of these skills but I am a hard worker and I learn quickly” I learned a long time ago that most employers have instruction and job training and what I didn’t know I can look up on the internet. I’m thinking to myself, there is no way I am being awarded this job. I deleted his email. A couple days go by and I continue to think of ways to market myself. I had a job offer already in Cabo, teaching Discover Scuba Diving. It paid $300 month plus commission. Working 6 days a week and very long hours.
A few days later I received an email and this person decided to take a chance and hire me. He taught me all about social media and I learned quite a few things from him. I could now move to Cabo with one online job secure. Soon I will be Baja bound!
