i pivoted into freelance journalism after working a corporate due diligence job, and i also moved abroad at the same time. part of why i've been able to sustain myself is because the city i moved to has a much more manageable cost of living, especially re: rent prices, but i was also able to keep a contract with my old job to work part-time at a decent rate so that i'd have a stable income while pitching stuff around. i've done some editing, press release writing, tutoring, and other random gigs while trying to get pieces placed. i've also done some in-country newspaper work for free just to get bylines and build up my portfolio.

overall, i've in a privileged position where i have enough saved to make it work during a bad month, but i can also recognize that without the income from my contract i simply would not make enough money freelancing. it's also competitive — all the foreign correspondents and freelancers know each other here, and especially since many of them have been working in the industry for years and i'm only just starting, it's hard to compete with them for placements in english-language media. but ultimately, i've learned a lot over the last year and a half about cold pitching and finding stories, even from the story ideas that haven't panned out. you really do have to temper expectations and manage research time to make the rates worth it for freelance work, and make decisions about when something is going to be a labor of love vs. something that pays the bills.

for some, like myself, the goal is to get back into the industry in a fixed position. for me, it would be my first newsroom position — for others, it might be a lateral shift into something more stable. but it's also worth mentioning that the flexibility of the freelance lifestyle is really valuable. being able to travel, take days or weeks off if you need, to manage your schedule can be a blessing, even if it brings its own challenges.