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One bad month in Chiang Mai made me rethink everything
I moved to Chiang Mai in March thinking it would be the perfect spot for slow mornings and steady client calls. Instead, my laptop died on the 12th and the repair shop kept it for 9 days, which blew my whole deadline. On top of that, my Airbnb host doubled the rent mid-month and I had to scramble for a new place near Nimman. That stretch cost me about $600 extra and two lost contracts. I realized I had zero backup plan for hardware or housing, and that felt stupid for someone who brags about being location independent. Since then I carry a cheap backup Chromebook and always book places with a 30 day notice clause. Has anyone else had a month that made them completely change their setup?
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simon_wood721mo ago
honestly sounds like you got off easy. $600 and two contracts is nothing compared to what most people lose when they actually hit a real snag. you had a bad month, not a failed setup. i've been doing this for six years and my first year i lost a $4000 project because my laptop died and i thought carrying a spare was paranoid. now i look at people like you who panic over one bad stretch and think you're just not built for this lifestyle. the whole point of being location independent is that you can roll with chaos, not that you build a fortress against it. carrying a backup chromebook is fine but it wont save you when the power goes out for a week or the wifi drops during a call with a huge client. you changed your gear but not your mindset, and that's the real problem here.
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