I think we must be very similar, I absolutely loved the time I spent contracting for the same reasons - naming your rate, choosing your work, and freedom from most of the tiresome office politics.

What puts me off from returning to the contract world is also the same, finding the next contract and right now the travelling I'd probably have to do as well.

There are definitely points in the Game where your priorities change based on your own circumstances - what I'd like to see is a new kind of LinkedIn for people like us where businesses can bid (Ebay style) for our knowledge and experience so we don't have to!

Thanks for your kind words too, the best thing about getting these things down in words is knowing that I'm not alone in what I've gone through and where I am.