How Remote Year Sets You Up For Success While Working Remotely
12. Nov. 2021
When you’re considering traveling the world while working remotely or taking a little workation, there are bound to be a few questions and concerns that are holding you back from taking the leap. If you’ve been working remotely for awhile, you may be worried about leaving behind your well-worn productivity zone and your current life structure to work from places that are distractingly beautiful. If you’re taking the leap into the remote work lifestyle for the first time, the thought of working efficiently from anywhere outside of your office, much less halfway around the world, may keep you up at night. Will your boss be able to reach you if she needs to? How will you collaborate with your current team members and clients? How will you find great WiFi? Could you use this opportunity to build your network, or will you only be able to meet the people within your program?
Well-established work and travel programs like Remote Year can help you alleviate some of those worries. They provide the curated experience and logistical assistance that you need in order to work remotely effectively from anywhere in the world. Because, let’s face it, the last thing that you want to be worried about when closing a huge client is whether the WiFi is going to cut out. Don’t worry, we’ve got that covered. Our connectivity team is vigilant and fast-acting to ensure that you have access to the best service when you need it most.
We know that you don’t just want to work as you travel around the world, you truly want to excel in your professional life and take advantage of global personal and professional development opportunities. You’re not just in it for the great photo ops (though you’ll have those too), you want to thrive.
With three years of experience under our belts, we have the tools and skills to make that happen. If you’re wondering how Remote Year can set you up for success, read on.
We will help you get your employer’s approval
If you would currently classify yourself as a full-time employee at a corporation that is interested in working remotely - you’re in luck. We’ve helped hundreds of people just like you climb this mountain and in the process we’ve developed a tried-and-true system, which we call the Employee Approval Process. Along with our proven EAP, we have a library filled with tips on how to ask to work remotely from members of the Remote Nation who‘ve done it successfully.
One key thing to note: work and travel programs are not a job providers. You’ll need to have a full-time job, freelance business, or entrepreneurial idea in hand before you can join a work and travel program. In today’s world of digital connectivity many roles can be done remotely, but, if you don’t believe that you would be able to do your current job remotely, there are many resources available for finding a new position.
We provide you with turnkey 24/7 access to workspaces
While on program, you will travel to a new city every month, getting to know the locals and making it your home. While you’re exploring and otherwise getting to know the landscape of your temporary residence, you won’t have time to scout out a workspace that fits your needs, navigate the terms of your use or negotiate contracts. We do all the work for you, before you even step foot in a new country.
Coworking spaces are the go-to spots for program members to get work done during the day - and even at night if they’re working on a different time zone. These spaces are inspiring and functional, blending together the necessities that you need for day-to-day efficiency like fast WiFi speeds that are conducive to video calls, browsing, email, and downloads and functional spaces like private call booths, meeting rooms and collaboration stations.
Over the past few years, Remote Year has opened three of its own coworking spaces around the world. In Split, Remotes flock to WIP, a bright and modern space across from the beach, in Lisbon, the place to be is WIP Lisbon, an aesthetically pleasing spot with an open rooftop area and in Kuala Lumpur, Remotes rely on the dynamic environment of KL Lifespace.
There’s no place like (a Remote Year) home
One of the most important aspects of your time working and traveling: where you live. Though you will spend a significant amount of time in the workspace and exploring your new surroundings, we know that your time “at home” is just as important. Even if you’re on the road, it’s essential that you feel at home in your accommodations. That’s why you’ll always have a private bedroom, access to a kitchen or kitchenette and a bathroom, fresh linens and towels, and an internet connection. Throughout the program you’ll have the opportunity to prioritize and express your comfort preferences to make your stays even more enjoyable.
As you might expect, accommodations vary from city-to-city. Different countries, and different continents for that matter, have very different ways of living in terms of personal and private space. Variables include your apartment’s size, the availability of common spaces, closets and storage space, desks, laundry or cleaning services, television and other electronics, building amenities, a safe for valuables, outdoor space, and a view. Some months you’ll be paired with flatmates, some months you’ll have the place to yourself, but when participants live together, everyone is guaranteed their own private room. Bathrooms, kitchens, and living spaces may be shared.
Program Leaders guide you through your journey
Program Leaders are integral parts of the work and travel experience. Each program has at least one Program Leader who is there to assist with any issues that may arise. Program Leaders make sure that the WiFi is always strong, that your accommodations are always in top condition, that your travel days go smoothly and that you always have a support system when you need it. Best of all? Program Leaders are masters of problem-solving. No matter the issue, from lost luggage to a medical mishap, you can bet that a Program Leader will be able to find a way to fix it.
Working remotely and traveling is not always easy. Some days, you may feel overwhelmed by the work that you have to get done to meet a deadline or you might experience a bit of FOMO when you realize that it’s simply not possible to experience everything in every city. Homesickness happens. We all have bad days every now and then. When moments like this settle in, Program Leaders have your back. They not only help you put things into perspective and work through your emotions, but they’ll help you stay focused on your work when you need to and coordinate the perfect events for when you need to let go.
City Teams know all of the best places + all of the best people
Remote Year employs local City Team members in each of the cities that it travels to. These team members are not just locals - they’re experts. City Teams can help you navigate the city, helping you find great grocery stores, restaurants, or the best place to exchange currency. To make your experience even better, City Teams have gathered all of their know-how into an easy-to-read City Guide curated specifically for location independent travelers - no tourist traps included. Think: cafés with good WiFi, reasonably priced (but delicious) restaurants and tips on how to use local transit to get around the city. Save yourself the extra time that you would have spent on TripAdvisor or Yelp (you won’t find the experiences that we offer with those resources anyway) and consider this your go-to guide.
In addition to having an insider knowledge of the best places to see when you’re in their city, City Team members know the exact people that you need to meet in order to experience the local culture in a deeply impactful way. The City Team makes it possible for you to do everything from meet locals who are willing to share their incredible stories to the host of the hottest restaurant in town. You’ll make connections on program with people that you would have never met if it weren’t for the City Team.
We provide a SIM card service
No matter where you are in the world, you need to stay connected. Your clients, managers and coworkers rely on you to be available, even if you’re working from a café in Bogotá. Though WiFi is readily available in most major cities today, you may not always be near a connection point. That’s where your data , and the SIM card, comes in.
Unfortunately, there aren’t always affordable options for attaining international data with your current cell phone provider. Even those that claim to be travel-friendly can find a way to sneak in extra fees, and you don’t always want to have to deal with negotiating a phone contract every time you travel to a new country.
We take away that guess work by offering a SIM card service for $30 USD/month. If you decide to take advantage of the service, you’ll receive an activated SIM card specific to your unlocked device upon your arrival in each new city. You have the flexibility to opt in or out of Remote Year-procured SIM cards on a month-to-month basis if, for example, your service provider covers some countries on the itinerary but not others.
We coordinate opportunities for professional development
Speaking of meeting the best people around the world, work and travel programs provide prime opportunities for networking. In addition to the incredible, diverse people that you will meet on your own program, you will be able to connect with people who live in the cities that you travel to. Coworking spaces typically hold events that are open to all members, so you can take advantage of these moments and meet locals who have similar interests to you.
On top of networking events and meetups, we are committed to helping participants develop professionally. Many programs hold goal-setting workshops and assign accountability partners to keep people on track to hit their professional milestones. We have also seen some programs host Startup Weekends, create groups to encourage and provide feedback for entrepreneurial endeavors and host events where program members can educate others on their specific point of genius, from designing graphics to writing copy for a website.
We will expose you to new perspectives
Finally, the aspect that can help your work most of all is the variety of perspectives that you will be exposed to along your journey. As we mentioned above, you will get a chance to meet people from around the world within your own work and travel program community, but you will also connect with locals in every city that you travel to. If you take the time to have deeper conversations with them about history, culture, current events, business and other topics of global interest, you’ll see that there’s not only one way to look at things.
So how can this help you in your work? How does this aspect set you up for success while working remotely and traveling? From our perspective (see what we did there?), opening your mind to new ways of seeing the world is the reason for working and traveling. It’s not about the views, it’s not about the early morning hikes or the food that you’ll try in every destination, it’s about the people whose stories you will hear as you live in each city.
Inevitably, you will take the lessons that you’ve gleaned from listening to others and apply them to your work. That process that you’ve always felt was inefficient? With fresh eyes, you may just be able to find a simple solution. If the marketing strategy that you’ve been working on feels like it’s just not hitting the right note, you may be able to give it a global twist after making a new acquaintance in Marrakech or Hanoi.
The traveling aspect of a work and travel program is not just a perk that comes along with the benefits of working remotely. It is one of the most important benefits of being able to work outside of an office. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, businesses will turn to people like you who have valuable insights to offer on a global scale. This experience might not only change the quality of your work, it also might just change the way we work as a society.
