Last week I met up with a young British journalist who was in Dubai after just giving up a good editorial job for the freelance life. She was looking for advice on working in the region, and where to be based. I have to say that it did give me a new enthusiasm for my options in the future, and in particular a more concrete sense of how I could perhaps live in Abidjan and cover the West African region as a freelance reporter. Such a life would have enviable freedom in terms of reporting on what I wanted, in the form I’d want (e.g. photos / video) and with time to follow my nose/curiosity, and do other stuff in the working week. Abidjan has good connections to the region, and hopefully within the next few years low-cost airlines will have arrived. With my Ivorian passport, there’d be no visa trouble, and unless things change dramatically, West Africa is one of the most unreported regions in the world, so there’d be little in the way of competition.

My beef with the freelance life is that I tend to stress about income. But my dream is that in 5-10 years’ time the mortgage will be paid off, I’ll have a pension secured, live in my own house, and ideally have some guaranteed income (e.g. from renting out a house or two). That way, I’ll be a bit more secure and can get a little income security and a lot of adventure. I could also run businesses, private projects, farms, blogging, teaching, write books, etc. One can but dream.