This must be the place — Breaking up with my 9–5 job to work remotely.
Break ups are hard, especially when you’re breaking up with the job you love, but this one has been 100% worth it.
I’m Mariella, I’m 34 years old, and I’m a Flylancer that spends half of her week in Barcelona and the other half in Milan. I call both of them home.
I was born in Guatemala City, but grew up in a little town in the south of Italy and studied at the University of Perugia, just two hours from Rome. For the last ten years, I’ve been working as an account manager for digital marketing agencies based in Milan and London.
Not being tied to one city in particular, I really consider myself a mixture of all the places I’ve lived and the people I’ve met.
There’s no one single place I’d call home.
Living in London gave me the opportunity to work for some truly innovative digital agencies and work with international colleagues. It was here that I discovered freelancing and the joy of flexible working — revolutionary compared to the Italian job market, with its underpaid contracts, strict office rules and late hours.
When I returned to Milan In 2015, I joined a digital agency with an exciting new business model. But after a year and a half of Monday-Friday, 9–6pm (or sometimes later), I wasn’t happy. I was shocked by my change of heart. I had loved this job for a long time, but suddenly, something was wrong.
The Break-Up
Just like the break-up of any other love affair, you have to take a long, hard look at the reasons why.
So I spent a long time thinking: analysing the agency and my role there, exploring my feelings, thinking about my boss, my colleagues and clients, my achievements and long-term objectives.
It took a while to reach a conclusion: that I was missing my independence.
I was still in love with my job and with the agency, but not with terms and conditions.
The goal? To be location independent, working to my own timetable, creating a dynamic lifestyle, owning as little as possible, and getting the most out of my professional and personal life both abroad and in my home country. To sum up: I wanted experiences, and time with the people I love.
The enemy? The typical Italian mentality: getting a permanent contract for “security”, buying a house, achieving a successful career, but all in exchange for most of your personal time, interests and passions.
It was a sunny day in spring when I decided to quit my job. I didn’t expect my boss to understand my reasons, but surprisingly, I was wrong. I explained to him my desire to embrace the location independent lifestyle, and he gave me the chance to try it.
New horizons
Now I am living between Milan and Barcelona, experimenting with remote working. I have to travel quite often between the two cities, but am happy and excited about my life and my job.
I’m trying something new which, if it works, could set an example for anyone thinking about changing the way they work, rebelling against what’s expected of them, and giving themselves more time: time for travelling, for family, for passions and for being independent.
I joined the Flylancer community as soon as I moved to Barcelona. I’ve met so many people who were in the same position as me (so I wasn’t the only one!).
Now we are exploring the alternative together.
I know that helping establish a Flylancer community of remote workers, digital nomads and freelancers in Milan will encourage people out there, like me, to make their dream job come true.
If you’re already working independently, or are thinking about making the change please join me for our first ever Flylancer community meetup at Talent Garden Milan on 28th February. You are not alone!
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Mari will be heading up the launch of a Flylancer community in Milan on the 28th February. Flylancer is a global community for location independent professionals to meet, share and have fun together. Find out more here.
