I can still remember in my twenties and early thirties speaking ill of "those rural losers", being pre-occupied with nightlife, variety, urban excitement, being at "the centre of it all"....and so I clung to my city life.

But as work exposed me to life outside of the big city, and to life outside Canada, and as I matured, my point of view changed. What I once thought was 'cool' increasingly seemed to me to be nothing more than cheap distractions designed to fill the void for those with no real life and to fill the pockets of those who provide the distractions. The boringness of suburban and rural life increasingly seemed to offer the peace, the space, the contact with nature, for true personal and spiritual development. The homogeneity of the population of small towns that, as a good well-indoctrinated son of the "diversity God", I had once spat upon as throw-backs to badder times, increasingly appeared to offer a place where I too could finally belong to a community of "my kind" just like the immigrants who huddle in their enclaves in the big cities, having grown tired of a lifetime of apology for my non-ethnic heritage. It was a difficult thing to let go the feeling of being where the action is. But when I finally moved to the country 7 years ago, it felt like coming home even though I had never lived there. And I don't miss the city one second.

On the contrary, I find myself developing the same disdain for things urban that I once had for things rural. In other words, know yourself and find what suits who you are at this period in your life.

That needs to be interpreted two ways: it's also important not to get into a situation that doesn't suit you. Life in the country, life in the suburbs, life in another country - they are very very different. I've lived and/or worked in a bunch of places and countries, many overseas, and I learned that life is made up of the little daily things. It's one thing to "appreciate" someone else's ways for a while, but another to imagine you're pretty much destined to adopt them as your ways if you're going to stay in a place and get along. It's hard to remain a trendy metrosexual in coaltown USA; it's hard to develop empathy and complicity with people in mainstream society in a socialist country if you're a die-hard capitalist; it's hard to take anyone or anything seriously in San Francisco if you're a true Okie from Muskokie. And there's nothing worse than real "city folk" moving to the country and then complaining about exactly what makes it the country. Just remember, the nice scenery also comes with farmers spreading manure, a more relaxed attitude to application of 'silly city laws' like gun control and traffic laws, a more fervent respect for the region's heritage and roots and traditional values ....you should be comfortable with these things or plan to find yoursleves very alone.

On the practical level, I think few companies hire directly into telecommuting jobs. Generally it's an apple they give employees who have proven themselves in the office. I solved that problem by working freelance. It's not for everyone - you have to like your work, not mind working completely alone, be able to keep your focus, be comfortable with a high degree of revenue insecurity, have back-up plans for retirement and benefits, and not mind doing sales to new clients. You pretty much have to have some form of security, personal wealth, or a rock-solid client list from a previous professional activity first. But for those suited to it (there's that word again), it can offer incredible freedom to work when, where and how you like. Me, I work about 30-hours per week and use the rest of the time for other income or capital generating pursuits - I might rebuild a car and sell it one month, then take on a landscaping project in the summer, I do plumbing and drywall sometimes...it makes for a very varied life that never gets stale, is 100% of my own making, and provides immense personal satisfaction. All that comes of course with a price - I don't have stock options. I'll never be CIO of a large corporation. But I'm pretty confident I'm a damn sight happier on a daily basis than most CIO wannabees.