If you’ve read Tim Ferriss’ best-seller Four Hour Work Week, you know he is a proponent of living really well for not a lot of money.

The idea behind it is that for the cost of “average” expenditures for housing in the United States or UK, you can live like royalty abroad — in luxury accommodations. The philosophy, though, is based upon being more of an adventurous vagabond, taking advantage of lower cost of living expenses in certain countries, rather than being an American homesteader paying as much as 80% of your 9-5 income on a home mortgage (as most residents of California do).

Giving up what most people consider “home” to be — a single residence that encapsulates who you are, defined by what type of nick-knacks and other items that have been picked up along the way — allows you to embrace a different type of lifestyle and develop a new definition of “home.”

A new definition of “home” and what it really means to YOU.

“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.”

Very wise insight by Matsuo Basho, the most famous poet during the Edo period of Japan.

Fantastic. As long as you don’t mind moving to Argentina or Thailand, right?

Well, not exactly. Tim mentioned in his book locales such as Berlin, Tokyo and even San Francisco as places he likes to frequent — but these places aren’t typically considered to be “cheap,” especially not for luxury accommodations. There was a thread on the 4HWW message board, commenting that living in Berlin (in a specific neighborhood mentioned in Four Hour Work Week) was far more expensive than the reasonable cost quoted by Tim. A response from Tim stated that, indeed, the cost he paid was accurate and was based upon some savvy negotiating skills on his part. This point was further discussed by a world-trekking family at Familyhack.com.

In a nutshell, it is often difficult for people to fathom there are incredible opportunities to actually live in luxury accommodations for a bottom-dollar price — even in what some consider to be the most expensive places to live. The reason it hard to comprehend is due to the fact that every opportune living situation is very different and sometimes unique in nature. Your skills in negotiation and critical thinking come quickly into play as soon as you happen upon a such an opportunity.

Acquiring luxury accommodations, whether domestically or abroad, will often vary in cost dramatically — proportionate to where exactly you are looking to live. Of course, Argentina or Thailand will cost you a great deal less to live like royalty — yet, you can apply many of the same ideas and principals for negotiations in more expensive locales, and realize a great discount.

To reinforce what I am saying here and to support the notion that Tim Ferriss is not just out of his mind, I am a perfect example of how you can utilize this type of thinking anywhere in the world.

That’s the view of San Francisco I’m looking at while typing this post. It isn’t a scene from a hotel room or outside on a hilltop vista — it is from a luxury residence that costs between $4,500 and $5,000 per month.

I pay approximately half that amount each month. Keep in mind that I know this amount may far exceed what you currently consider to be “cheap” for luxury living — but it really does come down to where exactly you are attempting to live. This residence, in a town named Tiburon, is located in Marin County — one of the most expensive & affluent counties in the US.

Thing is, many of my neighbors work a non-stop grind at jobs they hate to enjoy the same amenities that I do for half the cost. In fact, I probably have more time to take in the view and enjoy the lovely town of Tiburon than half the neighborhood block!

Zooming in, you see the Tiburon Ferry on its way through the bay. It shuttles people just like you and me, back and forth to work at a job — and many of them don’t have to. They don’t even have to leave everything behind to go live in Argentina or Thailand, either. It actually comes down to recognizing opportunities when they present themselves, as well as seeking out an effective way to do everyday things. It is about utilizing others’ knowledge and harmonizing it into your own life. Reading Tim’s book is probably a great way to start for many people.

Don’t let it end there, though! Use what you learn as a springboard into taking action and taking full control of your life. Start your path towards freedom from the 9-5 grind, as well as financial freedom, and you’ll soon realize:

– the journey itself is your home.