Being Location Independent Isn’t Just a Luxury

Work from anywhere, live anywhere, travel freely.

Digital nomad, location independent, or freed from the tyranny of geography.

Whatever you call it, it’s definitely a fantastic asset for your lifestyle.

Now that more people are experiencing remote work, more people see the possibilities. Maybe you’ve gotten your feet wet with a flexcation, where you travel to somewhere cool for a while to redefine “working from home.”

I’ve been location independent for 15 years, although far from what you would call a nomad. But as we discussed a couple weeks ago, my plan is to live in different parts of the world on a more-or-less permanent basis when my kids are out of high school.

While I like to keep things on the positive tip, being unconstrained by geography has another aspect to it. I see it as a necessity at this point that my family and I are not tied to any one country — the United States in particular.

For years you’ve heard about the decline of the U.S., especially on the global leadership front. But the more pragmatic concern is that the quality of life has dropped in America over the last decade, even as it has risen almost everywhere else.

Once the pandemic hit, many trends already in motion accelerated — including the sentiment that things are going south in the States. This led Americans who can work virtually to leave the country in record numbers:

The exodus has been led by parents looking for countries with open and safe schools and by members of marginalized groups fed up with institutionalized racism, shaken by the visibility of white supremacists, and worried about what a Supreme Court swing to the right will mean for their civil liberties.

Given that these people are often entrepreneurs and other creative professionals, this only leaves the country in a more precarious position:

With its high housing costs, poor infrastructure and transit, endemic gun violence, police brutality and bitter political and racial divisions, the U.S. will be a less appealing place for high-skilled workers to live.

The domino effect then begins:

That in turn will exacerbate some of the worst trends of U.S. decline — less tax money means even more urban decay as infrastructure, education, and social-welfare programs are forced to make big cuts.

With the national deficit at a staggering $27 trillion, one wonders how the incredible amount of work that needs to be done can be accomplished and paid for. And that’s before you factor in that the nation hasn’t been this politically divided since the Civil War.

I can personally understand the desire to stay and turn things around. But when those who study such things are talking in terms of not only decline, but potential collapse, well … there comes a time when the decision to put your family and yourself first becomes a no-brainer.

Peter Turchin is a scientist and professor specializing in cultural evolution and cliodynamics — the mathematical modeling and statistical analysis of the dynamics of historical societies. He’s been warning for a decade that social and political trends point to an “age of discord,” with unrest and chaos worse than most Americans have ever experienced:

In 2010, he predicted that the unrest would get serious around 2020, and that it wouldn’t let up until those social and political trends reversed. Havoc at the level of the late 1960s and early ’70s is the best-case scenario; all-out civil war is the worst.

According to Turchin, American society is going to get ugly for the rest of the decade (at minimum). “It’s too late,” he contends, to head off major disruption. It’s going to happen, the only question is to what degree.

The problems are deep and structural — not the type that the tedious process of demo­cratic change can fix in time to forestall mayhem. Turchin likens America to a huge ship headed directly for an iceberg.

If you find this concerning, you should. If your first impulse is to blow it off as fanciful, you do so at your own peril. Turchin is far from alone in this assessment.

And we haven’t even factored in the effect of massive job losses and disruption due to the pandemic-accelerated adoption of AI, automation, and robotics. We’re not on the cusp of the proverbial perfect storm, we’re already in it.

Look, maybe America survives and comes out of the turmoil better and stronger. Maybe not. That’s not really the issue.

The issue is, what happens in the meantime? Is this the time of life to ride something like this out?

What happens if your income is tied to a job in the United States, and you can’t leave? What if your primary asset is real estate on American soil, and your money is all in U.S. dollars in American banks?

Some people are under the incredibly incorrect impression that the U.S is safe and secure while the rest of the world is scary and unstable. If you’re willing to set aside that fairy tale, I think you’ll realize it’s time to rewrite your story when it comes to both freedom and security.

Do your own research. Take a long hard look at reality. I think you’ll find that becoming a citizen of the rest of the world looks like a damn good alternative going forward.

Maybe you think being location independent seems like a really cool dream that perhaps you’ll pursue. I’d say it’s a much more pragmatic goal to strive for than that. It might just turn out to be absolutely crucial.

In other words, it’s time to start coming up with your personal plan for future freedom. It can be both the fulfillment of a dream and the prudent thing to do at the same time.

The Next Decade Could Be Even Worse (The Atlantic)

Wind of Change

“Career changes are some of the biggest moves we will ever make, but they don’t have to be daunting. Using mental models to make decisions, we determine where we want to go and how to get there. The result is a change that aligns with the person we are, as well as the person we want to be.”

Mental Models for Career Changes (Farnam Street)

This is Your Brain on Drugs

An amazing development in the war against cognitive decline: “The data suggest that the aged brain has not permanently lost essential cognitive capacities, as was commonly assumed, but rather that these cognitive resources are still there but have been somehow blocked, trapped by a vicious cycle of cellular stress.”

Drug Reverses Age-Related Mental Decline Within Days (UCSF)

Constructing Your Reality

This is a fantastic interview that summarizes key points from the new book Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain: “The actions and the experiences that your brain makes today become your brain’s predictions for tomorrow. So making an effort to cultivate new experiences and learn new things today is an investment in who you will be tomorrow.”

Your Brain Doesn’t Work the Way You Think It Does (GQ)

Down below, Trudi encourages you to make your own mental-health playlist (with a whopping 18 musical references in the article … we even list them out for you).

And adding in one more tune, the Flashback features an 80s supergroup that brought the power and the heat.

Keep going-

Brian Clark

P.S. Share this issue of Further with friends, and earn cool Further gear. It’s easy … just use these links that contain your unique referral code:

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Make the Ultimate Mental-Health Playlist

By Trudi Roth

Back in the day, a mixtape was the best way to capture what kids today call #mood. Today we could all use some auditory uplift, as COVID-related mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, are skyrocketing.

Of course, data-driven Spotify knows this, reporting in October for World Mental Health Day that there’s been a 50% increase in demand for mental-health-themed playlists, with 57% more searches for “mindfulness,” “self-care,” and “calm.” And its year-end “Wrapped” revealed a 180% jump in listening for health- and wellness-related podcasts.

Still, the joy of the mixtape lies in making it yourself. With all due respect, Spotify’s algorithm put the ear-slicing anthem “Stuck in the Middle With You” from Reservoir Dogs and Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” on my “Daily Wellness” playlist, so I gotta say dōmo arigatō to Mr. Roboto.

All the more reason to play DJ and spin your own mental health playlist. And now, no finicky cassette tapes needed!

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

The mental health benefits of music are clear: research shows it can help reduce anxiety, pain, insomnia, and blood pressure and boost mental acuity and memory.

But don’t stop with songs in the key of life. As Psychology Today points out:

A helpful mental health playlist does not need to be refined to just music. Consider exploring other sounds (e.g., nature, binaural beats, singing bowls) that have a positive influence on your state of being.

Studies show that listening to two tones, one in each ear, can help you better regulate stress, focus, and blood pressure. (See: Brian Eno’s ambient classic, “Music for Airports.”) And nature sounds can soothe the fight-flight-freeze response.

Also, don’t forget about mental-health-related podcasts. Not only do they give you insight and information, but research shows they support improved critical thinking.

Get Off the Crazy Train

When putting together your mental-wellness playlist, there are a few things to consider and prioritize:

• Sweet emotion: Check your favorite songs at the door — if they don’t conjure positive sentiments, leave them off the list.
• Anger is an energy: No aggressive tunes in the mix, either. Studies show violent music elicits aggressive thoughts and behavior.
• Got to choose: Curate your playlist according to your needs, including grounding influences when you’re anxious or mood-boosters when you’re down.
• Spirit of radio: Get your pod on with top-rated mental health-related shows, including The Happiness Lab, The Mental Illness Happy Hour, Insane in the Men Brain, and Therapy for Black Girls.

And don’t be afraid to dance this mess around. After all, it only feels like it’s the end of the world as we know it, and times like these can drain you. Stop feeling all mixed up by creating a playlist filled with good vibrations for a lovely day.

5 Steps to Help You Make a Mental Health Playlist (Psychology Today)

And here’s all 18 musical references:

• Stuck in the Middle With You (Stealers Wheel)
• Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)
• Mr. Roboto (Styx)
• Don’t Worry Be Happy (Bobby McFerrin)
• Songs in the Key of Life (Album by Stevie Wonder)
• Music for Airports, 1/1 (Brian Eno)
• Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne)
• Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith)
• Rise (Public Image LTD)
• Got to Choose (Kiss)
• Spirit of Radio (Rush)
• Dance This Mess Around (The B-52s)
• It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) (REM)
• Times Like These (Foo Fighters)
• Drain You (Nirvana)
• All Mixed Up (The Cars)
• Good Vibrations (Beach Boys)
• Lovely Day (Bill Withers)