Enter custom title (optional)
This topic is locked
Last reply was
2.6k

I work from home and am considering taking to the road. On a recent holiday in Guatemala, I was pleasantly surprised to find that almost everywhere I stayed, as well as many cafes, had free wi-fi. This would be ideal for working from the road, but I'm nervous about arriving somewhere only to find that I'm unable to connect to the office.

Anyone have recommendations for cheap (relative to the US) places that are well-wired? I've had trouble finding general info about countries/cities (as opposed to "wi-fi finders" that give you exact locations)...

Report
1

There are tons of cheap places with good wifi. I also work from home (for a company in NYC). These days my wife and I live in Bucharest, which is cheaper than the US, but not as cheap as parts of S.America or Asia.

We spent 8 months traveling after getting married (4 months in SE Asia, and 4 Months around Romania, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus). With minimal planning, we were able to find wireless everywhere we went. (Besides a two week vacation, I was working regular 8 hour days) Naturally cities and touristy areas are easier. In our case we usually based ourselves in an urban area then used weekends to get away to more remote places.

--Greg

Report
2

Dude, there are almost 250 countries in the world. If you could be a bit more specific, perhaps we could help. Not to mention that you haven't done any work on this one.


In search of a more intelligent planet for my next life. If you have a recommendation, let me know.
Interested in teaching ESL in Mexico City? Check out my new book...www.teachingenglishmexicocity.weebly.com
Report
3

@watermelonnomads: Thank you! That's basically all I was looking for... some reassurance that this is doable. I was basically thinking of doing the same thing you did -- basing myself in a city or popular tourist area during the week and taking side trips on the weekend. I'd probably start by working my way south through Central and South America (less or no time difference - yay!).

Anything you wish you'd done or considered before you started?

Report
4

Two things come to mind: First, the time difference issue was tougher than I expected, especially in SE Asia, but it sounds like you're already a step ahead there. The second thing is pacing - if you're traveling while working it forces you to slow down a lot. It is tempting to get greedy and try to squeeze in too many things on weekdays, or to move around too much (one week here, one week there, etc.). Its harder still when the travelers you meet all have complete freedom (albeit for only two/three weeks).

A note on tech gear: Life is much easier if you have a laptop with great battery life. Its a huge pain in the ass if you first have to run around looking for a decent cafe, then have trouble finding a plug too. Also if you're staying longer in a single country a USB modem might be worthwhile.

Hope that helps,

--Greg

Report
5

I'll second Greg on this certainly being feasible, but I also agree with his comment that traveling and work slows you down a lot. It's hard to be mobile and put in the hours that most of us need to keep the clients happy. And much to my surprise I found myself missing a real office, all that stuff that offices accumulate turns out to be quite useful. In fact I've taken to working from within a friend's company just to be able to have easy access to copiers, desks, meeting rooms, etc. An atmosphere of other people trying to get a day's work done has its merits too. At a minimum I need to create a mini-office wherever I go, where all my work stuff can be laid out.

Settling down in one place doesn't seem to be your goal right now, and has visa complications as well. But I'd suggest you look to places that let you stay for a period of several months (though 'visa runs' probably being required). I tired of cafe's quickly. Maybe that's just me, and others are more flexible. But if you can stay for at least a few months it will make it possible for you to rent a place to live and set up a real office space for yourself at home. This will let you unhurriedly explore your new home and get some real work done.

As for time differences, that hasn't been much of a problem for me. The occasional 3AM conference call is annoying but rare in my circumstances. Often the time difference has meant that I get sent an email request for urgent work, sent at 6PM their time, with a request pleading if could get done by the next day. Since this arrives in my early morning mail I have the whole day to work on the project, they get the completed project back in their morning mail, and I'm the hero. But if you have to talk to clients a lot, I agree with Greg that a significant time difference would be very trying.

Report
6

Thanks for your insights, guys!

I'm actually not much of an office person anyway (I tend to work in my living room or kitchen, rather than at my desk), but it's definitely nice to have a dedicated workspace when you really need to concentrate.

I'm hoping to do a couple of "practice runs" by doing house swaps for a month or so at a time before going all the way and giving up my hard-won affordable NYC apartment. What did you do with your previous homes when you left? Rent/sublet? Put your stuff in storage or just get rid of everything?

Report
7

Think of Ukraine.

Very cheap country to live. Friendly people. No visa required for Americans and EU citizens.
Cheap broadband internet everywhere, including national 3g network etc. etc.

Report
8

I run a completely mobile business, all i need is an internet connection and my laptop.
I constantly travel and work at the same time and have done now for around 9 years.

In my experience, you need to consider the following:

  1. Think about how you work best, what is important to you in your surroundings?
    I have done both, working and travelling on the move constantly and staying put somewhere for a month or so.
    I can tell you the former is very hard, but do-able - managing work and travel schedules at the same time does take a lot of energy.
    I find i am committed to my work more when i find a nice place to base myself for 1 month, work, explore the area etc.

  2. The best i reccomend is renting an apartment for 1 month at a time.
    I find this works best because you can establish a routine for 1 month and you get the essential environment for work.

  3. When renting an apartment, ensure that the apartment has wifi.
    Also ask about the speed of the internet. I usually need at least 2mb to work well if i don't want to sit and twiddle my thumbs for 30 seconds
    everytime i send a large email. So, check the Wifi speed.

  4. Before you pay any money to a landlord actually hook up your laptop and test the wifi.
    Believe it or not, there are some landlords who will tell you they have wifi and they don't!

  5. Ensure the wifi is dsl, not a usb dongle.

  6. When you move in, get the wifi password changed to one that only YOU know.
    You can get a nice internet speed only to be zapped by other people who know the pasword and use it too.

  7. Think about how you are going to send email.
    Sometimes you may not be able to send email if you are outside of your email providers own country.
    I use http://www.smtp2go.com to send emails from my mulitple email addresses.
    This ensures that you can send the emails anywhere in the world without problems.

  8. Think about how you will use certain services.
    If you need to connect to your workplace server, or you need to use certain services then you should get a VPN.
    This offers complete privacy and security. I use http://www.strongvpn.com

  9. Leisure time.
    Are you gong to miss your favourite tv programs?
    The VPN will also allow you to connect to tv services in your home country to play catch up.
    A nice touch for those important leisure time rest periods when you want to veg out.

  10. Think about the actual environment.
    Does the apartment have work desk and nice chair?
    I can tell you this is so important to have a comfortable chair!
    If no work desk, a comfortable dining table and chair will do the trick.
    Don't consider working from the couch and coffee table, you'll need a good massage at the end of everyday if you do!

  11. Think about your laptops health.
    If you are traveling to a hot country, buy yourself a decent laptop cooler.
    The best i have used is the Belkin laptop cooler.
    Very essential if you want to keep your laptop in good health.

Hope that helps!

Report
9

Indonesia is rapidly becoming a great wi-fi destination. I live in BSD-Tangerang, which is a suburb of Jakarta. A wi-fi connection at home costs us about USD 20 per month, and there are loads of places that have free and reliable wi-fi.
Jakarta itself is equally well wired, as are all the major cities and tourist destinations in the country. The Indonesian government has placed a high priority on setting up good wireless networks in as much of the country as possible. It will probably take awhile to get some more remote areas covered, but the more populated spots should all be well wired very soon.

As well as wi-fi coverage, you mentioned the desire to be somewhere cheap by US standards. Indonesia certainly qualifies on that score. I'm a long term resident, and am able to save a large percentage of my salary while still living a very comfrtoable lifestyle.

I'd be happy to provide more details if you PM me.

Good luck!

Report
Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner