Lucera, and trying to change my life

I started a new blog (http://lucera-soft.blogspot.com/) for an open-source product I'm trying to create. I originally posted this on that blog, then decided it was too personal so I moved it here

I love being a software developer. My idea of a good time is still just sitting down and writing some code that works and solves a problem. But after 20+ years of doing this, I'm very tired of working for other people in the constraints of some corporate environment (and that includes the start-ups that I've been part of). I want to start working for me, doing what I really want to do, and doing it in a way that suits me. I want my work to improve my life, not diminish it.

A common, even cliched complaint, no?

But I've reached a point where I'm willing to do whatever it takes to reach this goal. Here's what I really want:

• Work for myself or with/for friends who I respect.
• Work at home whenever I want. Ideally, this is the main place I work. Any other place I work has to allow dogs.
• Have the freedom to work anywhere else in the world where I can get an internet connection.
• Work hard, but when I want. I want a _lot_ more vacation.

I want all that not just for work, but because it ties to a lot of personal goals I have:

• I want to simplify my life. There's a lot of things that I don't want or need anymore.
• I want to be a lot closer to my family, especially my parents as they get older.
• I want to travel a lot more and see a lot more.
• I don't want to spend summers in Texas any more, and I'd like to go back to my Minnesota-Wisconsin roots (at least for part of the year).

I'm perfectly happy to trade salary for freedom. Obviously, I need to pay all my bills, and I'm not willing to take any financial risks that jeopardize my future or my relationships with the people that I care about. But I think I can achieve my goals without taking unnecessary risks and be perfectly happy with less money and more freedom.

Lucera may or may not be one way to achieve this. I'm open to any other path that takes me to where I want to be.