For the first time since the dawn of the internet, people are realizing en masse that they can lead their working lives almost completely online.

Those who want to work from home--or from a different country--now have the connectivity, the devices, and the software to enable them to do so without being restricted by their physical location.

So how exactly do you go about moving into the cloud? Here are a few of the things that have become essential for many people when it comes to living an altogether more nebulous existence.

Choose Your Weapon

Up until now we have been restricted to bulky computers that lived on our desks. Now we have Ultrabooks, tablets, smartphones even, all of which can remain connected to the internet 24/7.

You only need one, but you might want two or three. The whole point of moving into the cloud is ensuring that you always maintain that connection to the cyber world, and a cell phone can go with you where a notebook cannot.

But the device is just the starting point. A device should not be essential to your survival in the cloud, but just a tool that you can make use of and, if necessary, replace when needed with the minimal of hassle. This means that if you lose your notebook whilst living overseas, you should be able to buy a new one the next day and carry on working without any difficulty.

Essential Software

Over the last few years there has been a rise in the number of tools that allow you to live your life from any location where you can find an internet connection. I personally rely on a number of these tools every day, and without them I simply would not be able to live the type of life I do, unrestricted by physically boundaries.

So what are the essentials?

Skype

Skype is a dream application for people like me. It has had such a momentous effect on my career that it simply has to go right here at the top of the list.

Free video calls are just one of the many features of Skype. You can also use it to:

- set up an online number, which is just like a normal telephone number but allows clients to call you up as if they are calling a standard phone number
- forward your calls to a telephone of your choice
- receive voicemails
- call people abroad from your own standard phone using Skype’s cheap prices
- speak with multiple people at the same time
- collaborate on files by sharing them as you speak

Skype is an all-in-one communications solution which you can access from anywhere in the world. And there was eBay thinking that we’d all be using it to discuss our online auctions…

Google Docs

For a writer like myself, the beauty of the job is that you need very little in the way of equipment in order to make a living. Word processing software is one of the few essentials, so when Google Docs came along with its free software that was stored in the cloud I was one of the first to sign up.

With Google Docs you can:

- access all of your files from anywhere
- collaborate on projects with clients in real time
- have a number of people all editing the same document
- never lose another document again

With spreadsheets, presentations, and word-processing, it’s got it all. This was designed for wannabe globetrotters, and although it may lack some of the features of Microsoft Office, it is perfect for most standard tasks.

Dropbox & Evernote

As the number of internet-connected devices that people own has increased over recent years, so too has the need to keep everything in sync.

Enter the two most useful, easy-to-use, and all-round essential syncing tools of recent times: Dropbox and Evernote.

My life is divided into ‘Before Dropbox’ and ‘After Dropbox’. ‘Before Dropbox’ consisted of backing everything up to multiple DVDs, living in constant fear of hard-drive meltdown, and having to lug my notebook with me everywhere to access my files.

‘After Dropbox’ consists of copying my files over to a folder on my notebook and letting it do its magic. I can send video explanations to people in minutes. I can share large files over the internet with people who don’t even use Dropbox. And I never have to worry about losing my essential documents ever again.

I won’t go into details here about the ins and outs, but just take my word for it: You need Dropbox.

Evernote was a more recent discovery. At first I did not think I needed another syncing tool, but I have since come to rely on it. Evernote is ideal for grouping things together, such as written notes, images, scans, emails, tickets, screengrabs, voice memos, and keeping them all organized and ready to access whenever and wherever you need them.

I mostly use it to capture those ephemeral flashes of inspiration that come and go in a second. Now I just have to decide what to do with all of those old notebooks sitting on my shelf…

Online Banking

There once was a time when you had to actually go down to your local bank branch to arrange a transfer of funds. Now it’s all done with the click of a mouse from wherever you are in the world.

Online banking has freed people up to access all of their financial transactions from anywhere. This is incredibly liberating, more so than many of us truly appreciate. Now I can work from one country for clients in another country and still accept payments as normal.

The other must-have is a PayPal account.

It seems we have good old eBay to thank for this as well, but I’m almost certain that more people now use it for receiving client transactions and paying suppliers than for buying and selling on online auctions.

With PayPal you can have a private and business account, you can gain access to your accounts from anywhere, you can spend money on a credit card, and you can even accept credit card payments through your smartphone.

If that is not liberating for the traveling worker, I don’t know what is.

Email From Anywhere

The invention of web-based email access revolutionized travel. Suddenly you did not have to be stuck at your desktop to access all of your emails, and instead you could travel around the world and read and reply from anywhere.

However, too many people still rely on accessing their emails from their desktop clients, and when you are living a location-independent lifestyle that comes with a few risks.

A quick trick is to link up your email address to your web-based email. I use Gmail myself, and all I do is forward any mails that I receive direct to my Gmail account, then set it up to use my standard email address as the default. That way all of my emails are backed up online, Gmail filters out the SPAM, and I can still send and receive emails from my normal address rather than a Gmail one.

Get Into the Cloud

If you like the idea of working in the cloud, the above information can help you to set yourself up within it. Although certain jobs will always require that you are physically in one place to carry them out, for some jobs like freelance writing you really don’t need much more than the above software and tools to become location independent.

Times are changing, technology is improving, and if you like the idea of packing your bags and working from anywhere in the world that takes your fancy, now could be the time to start thinking about it seriously.

For more tips on living the dream life from anywhere in the world, head to http://aspirationsabroad.com. Connor Davies has also written an ebook on different jobs you could do to get you started, and it’s available for free at the website.