Should I work away if I can't get a contract near home?

Many of us will also have call forwarding and similar services configured so we can take the business on the road with minimal hardship.

The less-addressed question, however, is that when you work away from home... you lose much of your access to friends and family. It can be difficult, particularly for those of us with spouses and children, to spend much time away.

When interviewing for a contract job that will involve working away from home, it's usually a good idea to arrange a weekly commuting schedule that suits both you and the client. A late start on Monday coupled with an early end on Friday can provide sufficient time to make the trip back home each weekend, and many employers can be quite accommodating for the right candidate.

For those who work away, but are not necessarily bothered about returning home each week, there really can be an abundance of activities to fill your time with on a weekend. You may be single, living with room-mates, or perhaps you just want some time away from the usual routines. Whatever you situation, it can be beneficial to try and make new friends in the area and get yourself out there. It can be pretty lonely cooped up in some random house or flat, with nothing but the telly for company.

And what about the domestic issues? You certainly won't have access to your usual doctor or dentist when working away from home, so any routine appointments you may need to make should be handled before the contract begins. Similarly, anything that needs you to be home - such as repairs or deliveries - should be scheduled prior to the start of your contract.

Once the necessities are sorted, you may find that working away from home is actually not that bad at all. The money is good (you wouldn't do it if it wasn't right?), and at least you're not sat at home, moping around out of contract wondering where the next gig will come from. The recession is a bummer, but sometimes you need to bite the bullet and do whatever it takes to bring home the pennies and continue on your path to a successful and long term freelancing career.

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