Trevor,
I occasionally work in France, Belgium and Germany and though it pays very well, I often wonder if it is worth the effort.
When you already have a full calendar the disruption of sleep paterns alone has an impact on the following week.
A few weeks ago I did a job in Germany. I left home 4am on Sunday morning and arrived back at 3.30am Monday morning. Though I was in bed by 4am, I found sleep difficult because I was still 'pumped up' from the long drive, so when I started my next job at noon on the Monday I was already feeling quite tired.
The four-figure fee for four hours cleaning was the only reason I contemplated the job in the first place but the only reason the fee was so high is the value of the antique that I was cleaning.
If you put yourself in the clients position, how much would you be prepared to pay for the cleaning of relatively low-value items?
The only way the sort of work you are talking of could be made to work is if you travel over for a worthwhile period of time with sufficient work to keep you busy for the entire period.
What would be the effect on your regular customers back home if you dissapeared for a few weeks? A client who goes elsewhere in your absence is likely to be a permanently lost client.
On the other hand, if you take short trip to your chosen destination and drum up enough work for a week or so, you will be able to evaluate the value of the work against what you would earn on home turf and come to your own decision.
John.
