Years ago I got a holiday work visa for Australia. I was working for start-up at the time. I worked remotely for them for a few months, which with my savings, help me get situated in Melbourne. The start-up started struggling. They let go of several critical researchers. Eventually I was let go as well, but I had already found other contracts in Australia.

Years later I had a break in and decided to take off on a year sabbatical. It was the most amazing year of my adult life:

http://khanism.org/perspective/minimalism/

I've lucked into working remotely a few days a week for my current company. I actually find I'm more productive working away from open workspaces.

Still, I'm not satisfied with working as a developer. I've considered saving up for a year and then attempting to find grants or use crowfunding sites so I can take a break and work on my own projects for another year.