I am so glad you are enjoying seeing the world. The Internet has really changed the lifestyle of many. Back in the 1980s and 90s I could not imagine that I could write a book or become a journalist, which were the only writing routes available. Now, anyone with a computer can write and post their work, so that their writing is seen by many people. You can build up confidence and expertise over time. Every time I see my ‘published’ work I get a thrill.
In everything there needs to be a balance. As a mother I would have loved more flexibility. But many people like the office, seeing people and sharing ideas. Some people live alone, or in not great circumstances, so going to the office is good for them. In London, the knock-on effect of ‘working from home’ has been a disaster for the restaurants and shops around the office locations. And the government offices standard of work has decreased significantly, so they have been ordered to spend 60% of their week in the office.
There's definitely not a one-size-fits all solution. But I'm so glad that more options are opening up to us. I think it'll be very interesting to see how that evolves from here!
Well this is a lovely development! I didn’t realize remote work had ballooned into such gains for the digital nomad community. This is definitely a direction I would love my life to go.
I also like how you took some time to explore how remote work could be extended to other fields we don’t usually think of as having that possibility. I think about precedents like traveling doctors or librarians on horseback, and it’s a fascinating thread to trace.
Now that's a problem I haven't puzzled over in much detail yet... but yes, I'm sure allowing more permeability in our borders (in lieu of abolishing them entirely) can only help.
I love your out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to lifestyle. I traveled through most of my twenties, but tended to just get jobs wherever I was to get by. I love that there are more options now, and not just for those with no responsibilities who are willing to throw caution to the wind. We only get one life, after all, gotta live it to the full!
I know! I thought for sure I would have to be a waitress everywhere I went or something, but remote work has really opened things up! I'm very glad about the direction we're going....
On the other hand, finding local work can help nomads integrate with society where they are, which has enormous value. Of course, this can be gained with activities (join a gym or club, take dance lessons) or volunteering (I taught literacy at a home for boys in Dakar and made meaningful connections that way for eg).
Very good point. My husband and I are looking at making a move and we very much want to immerse ourselves in the community, not just work from their coffee shops. But you're right, there are a lot of ways to do that!
There are currently many more jobs than we think that could go fully remote and hybrid. If companies were not so invested in the real estate, they could reduce a lot of overhead with remote work and meeting spaces. It’s entirely possible.
As someone in healthcare, I see its application because especially in older buildings, we’re fighting for room and if half a department need not be there, space can be reclaimed for other uses. For certain duties that require you to be present, then a hybrid option would work. If we are committed to reimagining our workforce and culture, we can see the opportunities. For now, the image of an imposing factory with a long line of employees clocking in is at the back of people’s minds.
Obviously, to make that work, you need three things (1) a job that allows that flexibility, (2) good job security and/or confidence in the ability to find a new remote job if you have to leave the current job and (3) a job that doesn't gradually creep into requiring greater and greater time commitments.
I'm fairly well off in terms of work/life balance, but I have so much less freedom to schedule my work hours than I did 10-15 years ago just because, over time, I've accumulated more responsibilities, each of which adds to the range of circumstances for which I need to be available on someone else's schedule rather than my own.
That's understandable, and it's certainly not the lifestyle for everyone. But we also don't have to accumulate more responsibilities. Presumably those responsibilities were a choice to take on?
Yes and no . . . I work for a small business (high single-digit number of employees) so when things need to be done, somebody needs to do them, and I like my co-workers and don't want to just shift the burden from me to them.
I think everybody would be happier if we could reduce the total amount of work, but, again, we don't have complete freedom of choice. Most of our clients are much larger businesses (large, multi-national industrial companies) so we accommodate their needs in a lot of cases.
We were all remote for March 2020-July 2021 and it mostly worked, but there were definitely more things that fell through the cracks, and it's hard to know if that was more due to remote work or due to stress/distraction from the pandemic.
But, for me right now, I'd have more to gain from increased schedule flexibility and reduced workload than I would from being remote.
Yes and no . . . I have some flexibility but that does mean shifting work to co-workers unless we can collectively figure out ways to reduce the total amount of work. It doesn't seem impossible, but for the last several years progress on that has been very slow.
That makes sense. I do think there should be greater schedule flexibility overall. And I will admit that I have often sacrificed my career and my earning potential for jobs that had more flexibility.
For twenty-five years, my professional writing life was about constant travel from college to college and bookstore to bookstore. That's not my life anymore. So I reached about your working life with a mixture of jealousy and relief.
I am so glad you are enjoying seeing the world. The Internet has really changed the lifestyle of many. Back in the 1980s and 90s I could not imagine that I could write a book or become a journalist, which were the only writing routes available. Now, anyone with a computer can write and post their work, so that their writing is seen by many people. You can build up confidence and expertise over time. Every time I see my ‘published’ work I get a thrill.
In everything there needs to be a balance. As a mother I would have loved more flexibility. But many people like the office, seeing people and sharing ideas. Some people live alone, or in not great circumstances, so going to the office is good for them. In London, the knock-on effect of ‘working from home’ has been a disaster for the restaurants and shops around the office locations. And the government offices standard of work has decreased significantly, so they have been ordered to spend 60% of their week in the office.
There's definitely not a one-size-fits all solution. But I'm so glad that more options are opening up to us. I think it'll be very interesting to see how that evolves from here!
Well this is a lovely development! I didn’t realize remote work had ballooned into such gains for the digital nomad community. This is definitely a direction I would love my life to go.
I also like how you took some time to explore how remote work could be extended to other fields we don’t usually think of as having that possibility. I think about precedents like traveling doctors or librarians on horseback, and it’s a fascinating thread to trace.
I think that's fascinating too. Just imagine if we could allow doctors into the US to help with our severe doctor shortage?
Now that's a problem I haven't puzzled over in much detail yet... but yes, I'm sure allowing more permeability in our borders (in lieu of abolishing them entirely) can only help.
I love your out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to lifestyle. I traveled through most of my twenties, but tended to just get jobs wherever I was to get by. I love that there are more options now, and not just for those with no responsibilities who are willing to throw caution to the wind. We only get one life, after all, gotta live it to the full!
I know! I thought for sure I would have to be a waitress everywhere I went or something, but remote work has really opened things up! I'm very glad about the direction we're going....
On the other hand, finding local work can help nomads integrate with society where they are, which has enormous value. Of course, this can be gained with activities (join a gym or club, take dance lessons) or volunteering (I taught literacy at a home for boys in Dakar and made meaningful connections that way for eg).
Very good point. My husband and I are looking at making a move and we very much want to immerse ourselves in the community, not just work from their coffee shops. But you're right, there are a lot of ways to do that!
Sign me up. 🤓
What about health insurance? Do countries with universal care cover digital nomads?
It's different for every country. Spain requires you to have private international health insurance (but that is usually cheap!)
There are currently many more jobs than we think that could go fully remote and hybrid. If companies were not so invested in the real estate, they could reduce a lot of overhead with remote work and meeting spaces. It’s entirely possible.
As someone in healthcare, I see its application because especially in older buildings, we’re fighting for room and if half a department need not be there, space can be reclaimed for other uses. For certain duties that require you to be present, then a hybrid option would work. If we are committed to reimagining our workforce and culture, we can see the opportunities. For now, the image of an imposing factory with a long line of employees clocking in is at the back of people’s minds.
You are so right, and I definitely think we can get this to be a more mainstream idea if corporations can realize the office space savings....
And realize that productivity doesn’t suffer. Everyone still gets their work done.
Exactly.
Gosh that sounds like a great freedom to have.
Obviously, to make that work, you need three things (1) a job that allows that flexibility, (2) good job security and/or confidence in the ability to find a new remote job if you have to leave the current job and (3) a job that doesn't gradually creep into requiring greater and greater time commitments.
I'm fairly well off in terms of work/life balance, but I have so much less freedom to schedule my work hours than I did 10-15 years ago just because, over time, I've accumulated more responsibilities, each of which adds to the range of circumstances for which I need to be available on someone else's schedule rather than my own.
That's understandable, and it's certainly not the lifestyle for everyone. But we also don't have to accumulate more responsibilities. Presumably those responsibilities were a choice to take on?
Yes and no . . . I work for a small business (high single-digit number of employees) so when things need to be done, somebody needs to do them, and I like my co-workers and don't want to just shift the burden from me to them.
I think everybody would be happier if we could reduce the total amount of work, but, again, we don't have complete freedom of choice. Most of our clients are much larger businesses (large, multi-national industrial companies) so we accommodate their needs in a lot of cases.
Yes, and I'm certainly not suggesting offloading your work to your co-workers. But could that work be done more remotely? (If you even want it to be?)
We were all remote for March 2020-July 2021 and it mostly worked, but there were definitely more things that fell through the cracks, and it's hard to know if that was more due to remote work or due to stress/distraction from the pandemic.
But, for me right now, I'd have more to gain from increased schedule flexibility and reduced workload than I would from being remote.
Are you in the position to ask for it?
Yes and no . . . I have some flexibility but that does mean shifting work to co-workers unless we can collectively figure out ways to reduce the total amount of work. It doesn't seem impossible, but for the last several years progress on that has been very slow.
That makes sense. I do think there should be greater schedule flexibility overall. And I will admit that I have often sacrificed my career and my earning potential for jobs that had more flexibility.
For twenty-five years, my professional writing life was about constant travel from college to college and bookstore to bookstore. That's not my life anymore. So I reached about your working life with a mixture of jealousy and relief.
The whole point is that we can all enjoy the lifestyles we want. Whether that is more travel or less!
Yes!
Spain is high on my list! My husband and I have big plans to visit (and potentially take advantage of that digital nomad visa!)
Thanks for all the book recs!!! (And P.S. the later scheduling is suuuuuper helpful already!)