Kel

Cash flow versus cost is the distinction I was missing. Everyone arguing for the car was arguing about the monthly number.

The go first part is underrated. People mirror the level you set. If you say something mildly personal they say something mildly personal back, and if you only ask logistics questions you get logistics answers forever.

If your income is irregular, use a percentage instead of a fixed amount. I move 15 percent of every payment the day it lands, which means good months build the fund and bad months do not break the habit. Fixed amounts are what made me give up twice.

The shared object of attention thing is real. It is why so many friendships come out of jobs and not out of parties.

Also visas. Three months is the shape most tourist entries are designed around, and a month at a time means you are constantly at the mercy of whatever the next country wants.

Two structural options nobody mentions. Price it: an inconvenient schedule is a service and it can carry a premium, especially at renewal. Or move your base rather than your body clock, because Europe gives you five or six hours of overlap with the east coast and you can work daylight hours in both. If this client is a big share of your income, a season in Lisbon or Tbilisi solves the problem permanently instead of nightly.