I just read an interesting post over at Untemplater by John from Jetset Citizen that got the cogs in my head turning for a post here on my site. John was questioning whether achieving the whole four hour work week, nomadic lifestyle is as easy as some people make it seem.

This is a topic that has been done to death online but he had a different angle to it. What really caught my attention was this part:

There are many successful long term travelers and lifestyle designers out there, so it definitely is not all hype. However, some of those success stories leave out details about how they got where they are.

And this part:

Most people hide those stories of essential assistance. It is important to acknowledge that we seldom do it alone.

His post got me thinking about my own path to where I am today and how many advantages I have had along the way that might not seem hugely obvious.

My parents aren’t rich and I don’t have a trust fund, but they are very supportive of my travels which, to me, is worth far more. Knowing that my parents will have my back if I ever get into financial or some other trouble abroad is huge. This became apparent to me years ago after a conversation with a friend of mine who has no family left except her sister. She loved the idea of world travel but she felt that, because she had no family to back her up, she had to create her own backup plan by becoming successful and putting money in the bank now and travelling later when she could better afford it. Knowing that I have a supportive family is something that makes taking risks and doing what I do a lot easier.

I didn’t have a computer at a young age, but I did do most of the early development of my very first website as a hobby while I was in university. This meant that spending hours learning HTML and tinkering with images and code were fun for me, rather than a chore. At this early stage I didn’t think that making money online was possible. My motivations were to learn HTML and to create a site that would help people travel around Europe and I wasn’t hung up on how many Adsense clicks I had gotten that day or how many followers I had on my RSS feed. I think establishing a website early on has been ridiculously important to my success, at least in the early stages.

Once my longer-term travels began, I arrived in the UK in 2002 with about $300 Australian dollars to my name. But I was able to go there knowing that I could stay with my aunt and uncle in Scotland for as long as I wanted. Having family or friends in a country you are hoping to move to is huge for helping you save money on rent, find a job, and to establish a group of friends. Six weeks later I went down to London where I had no family or friends but spending that time in Scotland allowed me to save a bit more money and even land a job in London before I moved down there which were both essential for starting out in such an expensive city.

My supportive parents, the early start I had building websites and my family connections in the UK are three things that have really helped me get to this point of being able to work online from anywhere. It has been a lot of work and a long road to get to this point, but I have had help along the way that has probably had more of an impact than I might have previously thought.

How about you? Are you a lone ranger in your quest to earn online and live from anywhere or can you look back to some key things that have helped or hindered you?

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I have spent a good amount of my time in New York City so far cruising around the city’s cafes. I’ve done this partly because I wanted to write a post about free wifi places in New York, but mostly because sitting in my friend’s apartment doing work for too long causes me to go a little loopy. I love working in cafes so my quest to find the best free wifi enabled work spots in the city has been pretty fun.

In total I’ve visited about 20 cafes and will write a bigger post later as I plan to add more once I come back here in September. But, for the moment, here are my top 10 cafes in New York with free wifi, starting with my favourites.

Phoebe’s Cafe - Williamsburg, Brooklyn

This was a place I just stumbled onto and it’s probably the best I’ve been to in the whole city. It is spacious, there’s a lot of table and bar stool seating, and there’s even a patio in the back. They have pretty big menu for a cafe (I ordered the hummus dish and it was gigantic and good), they sell beer (and cider!), they have lemonade, and it’s got a nice, relaxed feel about it. The staff are friendly, there are other laptop people around so I don’t feel like a huge geek, the wifi signal is fast and reliable and there are plenty of power sockets. I would come back here again for sure.

Cafescape - Woodside, Queens

Located accross from the 61st and Woodside subway station, this place is close to my friends house and was a great place to escape to if I wanted to work in a cafe but didn’t feel like going all the way into Manhattan. The air-conditioning is pumping so take a light jumper if you don’t want to freeze. There are lots of tables and some are tucked in between two big posts which gives a bit of an illusion of privacy. Small round tables make it hard to work with food on there at the same time but otherwise a great setup. It wasn’t too busy at 11am on a weekday and there were plenty of tables to choose from. It seems to get very busy at night though. I sat in various places in the cafe and always had a power point right beside my table.

88 Orchard - Lower East Side, Manhattan

This place was crowded when I was there are about 4pm on a Friday afternoon. The round tables are super close together and I didn’t like the idea of practically sitting on someone’s lap while attempting to get some work done. But I ordered anyways and then noticed a sign that they had seating downstairs. The staircase isn’t visible from the front area but it leads down into a cozy room with a few tables, bench seating and some pillows to pad your ass or your back. It’s like a little unfinished basement. I really like it down there as it was quiet. The only distraction was the stream of people headng down to use the toilets and people coming in and out of the kitchen but that was no more distracting than the usual hustle bustle of a cafe. So if you get there and it looks busy, pop downstairs and see if there is room to stretch out a bit. There were plenty of power sockets too.

South 4th Bar and Cafe - Williamsburg, Brooklyn

South 4th is more of a bar than a cafe and the back room felt like a completely separate work area. It was a strange place but I liked it. The bartender/cafe chick was nice, the music was good and not too loud, the temperature was fine and the back room I was in almost seemed to be there specifically for people who wanted to work on their laptops. Each table is big, they all have individual power outlets beside them, it’s set apart from the main bar so is nice and quiet, and the only people in there were me and three other solo laptop-toters. The wifi was fast and didn’t disconnect and the cider I had was tasty but at $7, expensive. Beers and other drinks are cheaper but I felt like a cider and that was the only option. There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of choice for food which is a bit of a downside if you want to plan a marathon session. They advertise that they have pastries but they only have a couple of things. So it’s great for atmosphere and if you would rather have a beer than a coffee, but if you want to eat as well, it’s probably not the place for you. I only spent about an hour there but I loved how the back room was set aside and, despite the lack of food, this place makes a great spot to come for a few hours, or until you get hungry.

Grizzi’s Coffee - Greenwich Village, Manhattan

(Sorry about the crappy photo) This place is located just north of Washington Park right near NYU and there were a bunch of young student types hard at work. I was here on a Saturday afternoon and there were plenty of seats available, including a bunch with plugs right beside them. The work spaces are good with wooden tables and chairs but there is also a couch if you prefer. The food is good and the iced mocha drink was pretty good. It’s a relaxed atmosphere with good lighting, lots of choice for food, a great wifi connection and I really enjoyed working here.

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe - SoHo, Manhattan

This is more of a bookstore than a cafe but it’s a fantastic place to go, if only because it’s a charity in aid of the homeless and is staffed entirely by friendly volunteers. The books are the main draw but there’s also a small cafe in the back with a small selection of bakery type things, coffee, tea and cold drinks. They didn’t have my usual frozen mocha drink (too fancy) but they served a nice lemonaide. It’s a bit of a distracting place to work unless you like a lot of people bustling around. The music was great… all nineties stuff (that’s pretty much where my musical tastes are stuck) and not too loud. I couldn’t find any plugs but I didn’t look too hard. Many of the tables were in the middle of the room though. It would be a great place to come if you need to do research at the same time since you’re surrounded by books. It has a great vibe and the fact that it’s for a good cause is just an added bonus.

Cafe Mocha - East Village, Manhattan

This is a great little place with a nice choice of pretty tempting looking, chocolate-covered desserts. I had an iced mocha and it was good and under $4 which, for Manhattan, seems about average. There are loads of tables crammed into a pretty small space but when I was there on a Thursday night it was pretty empty. The wifi is fast and reliable too. The only downside is the lack of powerpoints. I had a quick look around and didn’t find any. Overall I enjoyed working here although if it were full it would feel like people we sitting in my lap so maybe it’s best to avoid it when its packed.

Second Stop Cafe - Williamsburg, Brooklyn

I got to this place at 11am to find it packed. There are about ten tables of various sizes (some large enough to share) and people were at all of them, most with laptops and a couple with books spread out. Sharing tables seems to the be way to go though and five people were crammed onto one of the corner tables, all with laptops open. There are lots of power outlets and they’ve added power bars so that even more people can plug in. The wifi is fast and reliable, the iced mocha was tasty, the lemon cake I had was great, and the music is good and at a reasonable level. They didn’t have any air conditionig cranked and even though it was hot outside, inside it was a nice temperature. I get motivated for some reason when I’m surrounded by other people on laptops so I liked working here.

Supercore - Williamsburg, Brooklyn

It was a bit warm in here although that could have been due to the fact that I had been walking around in the hot sun for about 45 minutes before getting there. The lemonade is really good and hit the spot. There didn’t seem to be any plugs, at least none that I could see without having to get on all fours. They have a patio, a good selection of food and serve beer. A cool spot, I had a great table by the window and there was a plug near me but I would have had to climb inide the window display in order to use it and I wasn’t feeling particularely acrobatic at that moment.

Gotham Cafe - Upper East Side, Manhattan

I was in this place at 3:30pm on a Friday and it was pretty busy but there were plenty of tables so that was no problem. The music was barely audible over the chatting but I work well with a nice drone of conversation in the background. There was a powerpoint for every two tables that were against the wall. By this point I was incapable of having any more coffee or tea-related drinks so I opted for a water and a slice of key lime pie which was really great and cost $3.50. There seems to be a huge choice of the usual cafe type fare and lots of baked goods too including pretty decadent-looking cupcakes. There’s a toilet in the back and it is the sort of place I don’t mind leaving my laptop out at unattended. There were plenty of people around anyways if I wanted someone to watch my stuff. The circular tables were a bit small and it seemed like a place popular with moms and kids but overall I liked it.

I would love some recommendations for your favourite New York City cafes with free wifi so I can check them out next time I’m here.

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In my travels to date I’ve come across a handful of hostels that have been great places to work and after my post about what makes a good working environment, I thought following that up with a list of places I worked well in would make sense.

Here’s a list:

• Friendly’s Hostel, Manila, Philippines - This place has to be one of the best I’ve come across for working. There are plenty of tables on a balcony to get work done on with a great view to boot. Single rooms are cheap soI didn’t feel too guilty about treating myself and the net connection worked in my room which meant I could hide away and work if I wanted to. The hostel is very social but pretty quiet during the day which meant I always had options for socialising after a hard day’s work. Plus the guy who runs the place had me improve his website and I scored free accommodation out of it.
• Frendz Resort, Boracay, Philippines - This hostel is located down a path away from the beach in a quiet area. I had a massive cabin all to myself complete with a nice balcony where I would work from while sipping fresh juice from the small cafe. The hostel was pretty quiet when I was there but the owner is a friendly Aussie guy and there are loads of places to go out or activities to get up to. If you’re into kite surfing, this is a great place to come.
• Bingo Hostel, Fenghuang, China - This place doesn’t seem to be listed anywhere online but my Chinese travel buddy stumbled onto it and it was a great find. The net connection was pretty decent by Chinese standards and the signal reached up to the room which happened to have a huge table and a comfy chair. I spent five days here working most of the time because it was such a great setup. The hostel was pretty empty but the town is lively so if you want to you should be able to find things to do. I was only interested in working and I accomplished loads of stuff I had been putting off for ages.
• Matahari Lodge, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - This place was brand new when I was there in mid 2008 and you could tell. It was spotless and the owners were really attentive, helpful and friendly. The net connection was fast and it leaked down to my room where I did most of my work. In the main lobby though there were plenty of tables where I could have worked more comfortably including two on a balcony.
• Managua Backpackers Inn, Managua, Nicaragua - This place is spread across two houses on nearby streets. The main house is a bit small and crammed but the net connection is very good. The second house has huge amounts of space and great tables and chairs but the connection while I was there was down and I could only get online on some random signal I picked up. If they sort out the connection for the second house, this is a great place to get some serious amounts of work done. Most people hate Managua but the hostel is in an area with some good nightlife and the first house has a pool. Plus there are lots of hammocks. I love hammocks.

I’ve worked in plenty of cafes and resaurants in m travels as well with Starbucks usually providing a reliable, comfortable setting to work in. Mix, a smoothie chain in Hong Kong, was awesome work, drink and food wise. I also found a bunch of good places in Chiang Mai to get things done. I prefer working at my accommodation but having a good place to go as a change of scenery is good for productivity.

Can anyone suggest hostels or other cheap accommodation that have great setups for getting work done?

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Working on the road can be tough and it is made even more challenging when you can’t find a good environment to do your work in. I’ve been to a few places that have the whole package but, for the most part, I need to put up with at least a few inconveniences at each place I go.

Here is a list of the things that I look for in a hostel I plan to work in:

• Free and reliable wifi - This is obviously the most important thing. Working offline is possible but I find I get a lot more done when I am able to go online, especially when I need to do research for a site.
• Affordable - Finding a cheap place is important but I would be willing to pay a bit more if the cheapest place in town didn’t have a good working environment. Being able to afford a single room is another great advantage because it allows me to work hidden away to avoid distractions and so I don’t feel like a massive geek because everyone always sees me on the computer.
• Large tables at a comfortable height - Spending a lot of time hunched over low tables or trying to cram all of my stuff onto a tiny, circular table has made me appreciate the places that have nice, big tables at a height that doesn’t cause me to slouch.
• Comfortable chairs - Having spent the past two weeks working while sittle on a wooden stool, I have a new appreciation for seats with backs, arm rests and maybe even a little bit of padding to keep the ass happy.
• Quiet during the day - I like hostels that clear out during the day because it allows me to work in a quiet place and, more importantly, eliminates the distraction of talking to people.
• Lively but with limits - After working all day it’s nice to have people around to have a drink and a chat with but it’s important that the party doesn’t rage on until 3am.
• Other things to do - Working all days is ok, and sometimes I even work at night but when I want to get away from the computer, it’s nice to actually have things to do. This could mean a nearby beach or be as simple as the place having a pool table or bikes for rent.
• Friendly staff members - If my intention is to stay in a place for a while, it’s nice to have people around who don’t move on every couple of days.

When I find a place that has all or more of my important factors for working I usually get a lot of work done at the expense of doing travel stuff and I often stay for much longer than expected. I think, having been doing this for over a year now, I know how rare a great working hostel can be and I try to take advantage of them as much as possible when I stumble across them.

What sorts of things are important for you in your accommodation choices for getting some serious amounts of work done?

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It’s been a while since I did a post about my workspaces on the road and I’ve certainly worked in enough different places since China to justify another post, so here it is.

Bigfoot Hostel - Leon, Nicaragua

This place is a great example of a hostel that is easy to work in with the one fatal flaw of a crappy internet connection. It’s a lively place, but quiet during the day and after 11pm, the staff are friendly, the tables big and spacious and I am keeping myself occupied with Spanish classes and Leon’s pumping nightlife. The connection though is unreliable and when it does decide to work it cuts me off every 10 minutes.

Managua Backpackers Inn - Managua, Nicaragua

This is another example of an awesome work environment but a crappy connection. This hostel is in two houses located a street apart. The main house has a great wifi connection but not many good work spaces or powerpoints. The other house has loads of space but the internet wasn’t working while I was there and I had to sponge off of an unreliable, unsecured signal. If they can get the connection fixed then this is a great spot for getting stuff done.

St. Joseph’s - Port-au-Prince, Haiti

This photo doesn’t do justice to how beautiful this guesthouse is. It’s four stories tall and has three different levels of balconies, all with beautufl views. It’s a home for orphaned boys as well and the kids are always around which adds an interesting element to the place. The walls are covered in stunning Haitian artwork and musical instruments are everywhere. It’s easy to find a corner to yourself to work but if you want the net connection, you can’t wander too ar from the main floor.

Norm’s Place - Labadie, Haiti

This is another example of me taking a photo that doesn’t give you an idea of how amazing Norm’s Place is. It’s set right on a small beach only steps away from the rooms, there are hammocks in the amazing garden, paintings cover the walls and sculptures can be found all over the place. Norm is 83 and a character and always up for chatting. They have wifi but apparently it doesn’t work when it’s windy or raining and I never got it to work.

HODR Base - Gonavies, Haiti

When I volunteered with Hands On in Bangladesh I was surprised I was able to get online by using a cell phone. In Gonaives, Haiti, I was even more surprised to find a wifi signal had been set up. It wasn’t fast enough to upload videos to You Tube but it was ok for watching videos, uploading photos, downloading music and it was definitely good enough for me to do work. We had a small room where everyone would bust out their computers and it was fun to work and chat at the same time. The problem is that I might have done a bit more chatting than working.

My Friend’s House - Brisbane, Australia

I stayed with a friend in Brisbane who had to work a few days while I was there so I did the same. She had one of those big plastic ball things and I discovered that they’re great for sitting on, especially for a long time. I had to do my work on her computer because I couldn’t get mine online so I wasn’t as productive as I could have been but I still did ok. It’s always fun working with two computers at once.

Seaworld Hotel - Gold Coast, Australia

My Aussie friends had a wedding to go to one day but I joined them at the hotel which happened to be at Sea World. I had a great spot for working and, despite the reception person telling me otherwise, the wifi signal seeped all the way into the room. The only issue was buying wifi time. At first they told me they only sold wifi vouchers for 15 minutes at a time and I would have to reconnect each time and it would have been super expensive. Later on though they figured out that I could buy a 24 hour block for about AUD$25 which, while expensive, was much better than the other option. In one evening I got a crazy amount of work done and then got to go to Seaworld the next day as a bonus.

Pelican Restaurant - South Beach, Miami, USA

I tried Starbucks but they didn’t have wifi so I wandered on down the strip in South Beach in search of another option. I came across this restaurant overlooking the beach and found a table with a power point beside it which is always a good score. I had a yummy Greek salad, a lemonaide and tapped away at my keyboard while taking in the nice view.

My Parent’s House - St. Catharines, Canada

Ah home sweet home. That’s my dad. I spent three weeks in Canada between Asia and Haiti and went home with a huge ‘to do’ list and managed to get a lot of it done. I worked at the kitchen table, had my family around, a good net connection and really got lots done despite having a lot of distractions and things to do and people to see. It’s always really nice working in an environment you’re used to.

Royal Guesthouse - Mandalay, Myanmar

Myanmar isn’t really on the map as far as wifi access goes. You’re lucky if you can find an internet cafe that doesn’t take 45 minutes to open Gmail. I actually left my computer in Mandalay because there’s no point carrying it around to remote areas. I still got some work done here catching up on photos and writing a bit.

Some Guesthouse - Pai, Thailand

Working from the balcony of a beach hut is what a lot of people dream about when they think of working from anywhere. Well this place wasn’t on a beach, but it was still a pretty amazing place to work from. The paid internet connection wasn’t working so they gave me the passcode to their connection for free and I milked that for four days. I was sharing this place with a guy I met on the bus so it was cheap and good to have someone around to go out with at night. This is probably one of the most chilled out places I’ve worked.

Eagle House 2 - Chiang Mai, Thaland

Chang Mai is packed with places with wifi but … is not one of them. It wasn’t that big of a deal though since there are plenty of cafes nearby to upload any work I was able to do offline. For the first few nights I was with friends and didn’t do much work but on the last night I made an attempt at working from my bed.

MD House - Chiang Mai, Thailand

On my second trip to Chang Mai I decided that wifi was the way to go and I lucked out with this place. It was a bit more expensive than other places in the area but the wifi was super fast and I had a table and chairs directly under the air conditioning unit not to mention ensuite and a massive, comfy double bed. All of this added up to a very productive couple of days.

Some Hotel - Bangkok, Thailand

This place is a lot nicer and a bit more expensive than the other dives on Khao San Road but it didn’t have any wifi. It didn’t seem like many places had wifi though which I found pretty surprising given how much the area caters to tourists. But then again, the area is a bit of a super cheap ghetto so maybe extra perks like wifi are considered too posh. I was able to get lots of offlie stuff done in the comfort of my own room with a decent desk and chair and the air conditioning cranking.

I’ve worked in plenty of random places as well like airport waiting areas all over the world, night trains and I even once attempted a bus but that was just ridiculous. I wish I would have gotten a photo though! Hope you’ve enjoyed this post, I will try to do one every time I rack up a bunch of photos.

Where are the best/worst/most bizarre places you’ve ever worked?

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Haiti? For working online? Yep, Haiti! I spent over four months in Gonaives, Haiti with a surprisingly fast and only sometimes tempermental internet connection. Things seemed to disconnect when the wind blew but besides that, the connection was great. Skype was possible, I downloaded some songs, and we were able to stream You Tube and music without any problems. The problem with Gonaives, though, is that it isn’t a very nice place and probably not somewhere you want to spend an extended amount of time unless you like dust, garbage fires and coughing.

So where in Haiti is nice, I hear you asking? Labadie! It’s a small village an hour west of Cap Haitian down a bumpy, horrible road and once you reach the end of the road you need to take a small boat around the headland to get to the village. Labadie is a bizarre place because that’s where the cruise lines stop to let their passengers enjoy Haiti in a walled off area of beach that they call Labadee. In actuality, the beach they stop at is called Coco Beach by the locals and the real Labadie remains off-limits to cruise passengers. They are forbidden from going ashore under the guise of it being unsafe. The reality is that the cruise ships have a captive audience on their super strange walled off beach and why would they want their passengers spending money elsewhere? They have leased the beach for 99 years from the Haitian government and the real Labadie doesn’t see any of that money despite having to put up with massive cruise ships in the bay as an eyesore.

Ignoring the insulting beach fiasco, Labadie is a great little village set in a beautiful bay with leafy hills rising up behind it. It’s the only place it Haiti I’ve ever seen with trash cans (although that doesn’t mean they’r eever emptied) and it has a steady supply of hamburgers from the cruise ships that visit three times a week. The locals are friendly and happy to chat, drink or play chess with you and it’s just a chilled out escape from the chaos of the rest of the country.

I stayed with some friends at Norm’s Place. Norm is an 80-something year old guy who landed in Haiti over 30 years ago and built his hotel from scratch using old ruins as a base. He’s a character and always happy to talk your ear off about how he was the reason women started wearing pants. An odd story but fitting for the surroundings. There is a beach right out front of the hotel, the rooms are huge and beautiful, local art is all around you and, most importantly, there are hammocks.

Actually, I suppose the most important thing is internet and this is the only downfall of Labadie. Norm’s Place has wifi but it is pretty unreliable and I never got it to work while I was there. But if you have a connection through a mobile phone or you are able to work offline or only with an occasional connection then this place would make a great, peaceful stop.

At $25 per night it’s a bit pricey but that’s actually cheap for Haiti. The country is bizarrely expensive for accommodation and the cheapest places in the capital city Port-au-Prince are $40. So Labadie, for Haiti, is a bargain and it’s a stunning, friendly, remote and relaxing place and worth a look if you find yourself in the area.

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I flew with American Airlines this afternoon from LA to Miami and was surprised to see them offering wireless internet in the air. It’s called gogo and was only available on the flights between LA and NYC or Miami but that’s a start.

The annoying thing was that my laptop battery was nearly dead but I was willing to fork over the $13-ish fee even for an hour of net in the sky just for the sake of trying it out and writing a review. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t work! My wireless networks list told me I was connected but my browser wouldn’t bring up the sign-in page. Oh well.

I had three seats to myself today on the flight from Brisbane to LA and still couldn’t sleep a wink lying down so I think it’s confirmed that sleeping on planes is pretty much impossible for me. Having the internet would be a surefire way to keep me entertained and, hopefully, productive. In flight wifi would be something I would buy on every long haul flight if I’m travelling alone so I’m curious to see which other airlines will be offering this… and if I am actually able to get it to work.

Has anyone else encountered a wifi connection in the sky? Is this something you’d be interested in or do you prefer to veg out in the air and do your wireless working on the ground?

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Having the freedom to travel all around the world with your job in tow is almost too good to be true but choosing a place to call home for any extended period of time can become a bit overwhelming with all of the options out there. Before making a decision about where in the world you will be calling home next there are a few things you should take into consideration.

• Visas – Choosing a country with strict visa controls may lead to headaches down the road in the form of visa runs, complicated renewal requirements and the possibility of having to deal with strict immigration officials if you happen to overstay your visa. Choosing a country with relaxed visa rules and low or no visa fees will makes life easier when the time comes to renew.
• Internet Connection – Choosing a country where the internet is fast and reliable is something that is pretty important for me. Heading to the jungles of Papua New Guinea to live would be an adventure, but it probably wouldn’t make sense if you need the internet.
• Cost – One of the major advantages of working remotely is that the wages you earn in your home currency can be spent anywhere in the world you choose. So if you choose to live in a cheap country then you might have the potential to live it up on a wage that you might barely be able to scrape by on at home.
• Currency Rates – Have a look at the current exchange rates to decide where in the world is the best value for money. Argentina and, more recently, Iceland are good examples of countries that have become a lot more affordable due to problems with their economies and the devaluing of their currency. Taking advantage of shifting currency rates will allow you to get better bang for your buck and might open up new, previously expensive destinations to you.
• Language – Depending on your outlook, heading to a place where you don’t understand the language could be deemed a huge hassle or a great opportunity. If you want to arrive in a place and get settled in without too many headaches then choosing a place where you speak the language will help. But if you have the patience and want to challenge yourself then heading to a place to learn a new language might also be appealing.
• Safety and Security – Danger is something that appeals to some people but, for most of us, living in a safe place is a top priority. Places are rarely as bad as the media makes them seem but keeping out of war zones is probably a good idea.
• Health – Having the ability to go to a hospital if you get sick or injure yourself is a good thing so doing a bit of research on the healthcare in your potential new home would be wise. You might also want to avoid heading to places that are in the midst of an outbreak of some random disease.
• Festivals and Events – Major events like the World Cup or the Olympics are pretty good reasons to move to a city if you’re into that sort of thing and your friends and family will love you for letting them crash on your couch during the big events.
• Weather and Seasons – Being somewhere when the weather is miserable can have a huge impact on your experience in a city. Trying to hit a place during the season that works best for you will add to your overall enjoyment of your newly chosen home. It might also be a good idea to keep informed on when hurricane or cyclone season is in certain places to try to avoid getting caught up in any nasty storms.
• Activities and Hobbies – Take the time to research the places that will let you get the most out of your hobbies so you’re able to fill your down time with things you enjoy doing whether that be diving, skiing, surfing, dancing the tango or whatever.
• Culture and Customs – Choosing a place that is totally different in culture to what you’re used to is appealing from an adventure point of view but might present some challenges when it comes to more practical things. If you’re not the type that is willing to adapt then sticking to a country that has a similar culture to your own would be the safest bet.
• Travel Connections – If you plan to do a lot of travelling from your new home base then choosing a city that is well connected is a good idea so that trips away will be easy and affordable. Stranding yourself in the middle of nowhere might be more your thing but if you want to travel a lot you might find that it will become pretty expensive and time consuming.
• Friends – Having a couple of friends in your new home city is a great way to kick start your social life and adapt to your new surroundings quickly. Plus, getting to visit with old friends for a long period of time and to explore their home town can be pretty appealing.

As someone who can work from anywhere I’m pretty much free to choose to live anywhere I want and the world really is my oyster. This can almost be a little overwhelming and finding a city that is a perfect fit is a big challenge but not a bad problem to have!

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A couple of days ago there was a bit of a crisis at our home base here in Haiti. The town we’re in, Gonaives, had run out of gas and a car was sent to Port-au-Price to get some more. Unfortunately, we discovered that there was none to be had in Port-au-Prince either. Aaah Haiti.

We use gasoline to power our generator which, in turn, powers the internet, our electronics and the water pump, among other things. The lack of water would have made us all pretty gross but I’m sure we would have found a way to get water in buckets from nearby pumps. The idea of having no internet or power for a long period of time is what really scared me and it got me thinking about other hurdles that have led to unexpected periods of me being unproductive.

• Travel adaptor breaking in The Philippines - I found myself stranded in legaspi after a four hour flight delay. I had wanted to go to a nearby town called Donsol to be ready to swim with whale sharks the next day but, instead, was trapped in a super crappy hotel. I had brought my laptop with the intention of doing some offline work and was ready to sit down and get loads of stuff done when I realised that my travel adaptor had shat itself. At first I thought it was my power cord so I was releived that it was only the adaptor, but it meant that I couldn’t get a thing done that night because my laptop battery was dead.
• Ordering a meal in a place with broken wifi - This happens all the time but there was a spell in Chang Mai where I kept heading into cafes or restaurants supposedly with wifi, ordering a meal, and then opening my computer to find that the connection didn’t work and nobody knew how to fix it. I seem to get a lot done in cafes and restaurants and I’m always in the mood to work so it’s frustrating to not be able to get online and then have to eat a meal before heading on to another place to try again and order more stuff.
• Wifi but no powerpoints - Hong Kong airports is pretty much devoid of powerpoints except for one I found around a corner near the Ben and Jerry’s place after you go through security, I think. I had a dead battery and needed to get online to get instructions on how to get to my hostel and spent about 30 minutes wandering around the airport looking for a plug in vain.
• Power falures in Bangladesh - The town I was volunteering in in Bangladesh had pretty sporadic electricity and it would usually only be on from about 6pm until 9pm. Even then, it contstantly cut in and out. If my phone and computer were charged I could still do work in the dark but my computer screen would get dive bombed by bugs which made working pretty difficult and sort of gross.

So far these little mishaps are the worst hassles I’ve faced that have caused me not to be able to do the work I wanted to. All are out of my control and annoying, but none are realy that bad and I’m pretty thankful of that. It’s always frustrating when you’re ready to work and some silly thing stops you from reaching your desired results.

Have any of you been frustrated by a silly, small thing on the road that meant that you couldn’t get your work done?

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First up, happy New Year to everyone! I had a great night here in Gonaives, Haiti after a bit of a crazy day getting back here that you can read about on Wanderstruck if you like.

Sorry I haven’t written in a little while, I’ve been taking a break from the mud and have just returned from a week in the Dominican Republic in a small tourist town called Cabarete. The place is everything someone who has been in Haiti for two months could want – easy, organized, stocked with great food and drink options, and equipped with a beautiful sandy beach to relax our sore bones on.

I left the computer behind and enjoyed a week of doing nothing but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t considering it as a possible working destination. On the plus side you have the beauty of the place, cafes and hotels equipped with reasonably fast wifi, lots of people around and decent nightlife, plenty of activities to keep you busy when you want to escape the internet, and a large number of rental options from hotels to apartments to a surf camp hostel.

On the downside, Cabarete is very touristy and accommodation is expensive and food was a lot more than I expected. I attempted to find accommodation on the internet but couldn’t find much for less than $17 to $20 per night. Once we arrived in town we found a place smack in the middle of the action and across the road from the beach for $10 per person. Cheap by most standards but not the bargain that Asia can offer. Plus, to get this price we crammed four people into two double beds. Had I been travelling by myself, I think I would have been lucky to get a place for $10 per night unless I tried to wrangle a long term deal or stayed in the off season.

All up, I had a great time in this place and it was the perfect way to unwind from the craziness of Haiti. Cabarete is small enough of a place to feel like a town rather than a tourist resort similar to the ones that can be found all around the Dominican Republic. People seem friendly and I think a stop here would be worthwhile, especially for people who are into kite or wind surfing.

I’ll post my December earnings tomorrow and I hope 2009 will see a turnaround in my sliding earnings. All the best in 2009!

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