Tag: freelance

Should you travel to new places or go back to old favorites?

Tagged , , 3 Comments

I often say that the problems I have now are the best problems I’ve ever had.

One of these “problems” is deciding between traveling to new, exciting locales or going back to locations that I already know that I love. Even as a remote-working digital nomad, my travel time is limited and precious to me.

My dream, and one of the reasons I travel so much, is to see as much of the world as I can. Travel has given me a great amount of perspective and really shaped my worldview, and I think I will also want to visit new places.

But that said, having been to 49 countries and most states already, there are so many places that I’ve loved and want to revisit (in fact, as I write this, I am on a flight to Maui, having just stayed there – at the same exact hotel – 4 months ago).

As a remote worker, it’s almost always easier to go to a location that I’ve been before, especially if I stay at the same hotel/Airbnb – I already know that there’s reliable WiFi, where to go nearby for quick meals, and will sometimes already have friends in those locations. This is one reason that I keep going back to Medellín and Puerto Vallarta, where I already have work routines in place.

Also, when my friends ask me to travel, just given all the places that I’ve been, it’s often to locations that are old hat to me. When that happens, I’ll usually look past the fact that I’ve been somewhere because the experience of going places with friends is usually worth the repeat in travel.

And just because I’ve been somewhere doesn’t mean that I’ve experienced it all. The third time I was in Medellín, for example, I took a tour that took me to some stunning places 2-3 hours outside of the city. Sure, I didn’t get to mark off a new country, but that trip was unforgettable.

So, for me, it’s a delicate balance and I usually try to split my travel 50/50 between places I’ve been and places that I want to go. Of course, when I was newer to travel, I was purely focused on new places, which I think makes a lot of sense if you’re just getting started – it’s very hard to tell what you’d like and what you wouldn’t if you only have a small sample size.

Do you prefer going to places you’ve been or to new destinations? Let me know in the comments!

How hiring an assistant can help freelancers travel more

Tagged , , Leave a comment

We could all probably use an assistant. But when you’re a freelancer running your own business, hiring an assistant can often be a practical way to increase both your revenue and quality of life (including your ability to travel more).

Let’s use a hypothetical freelancer, “Sally,” to illustrate this point. Sally is a freelance consultant who charges $80/hour for her services. She just started her business last year and spends roughly 10-15 hours per week on administrative tasks, like data entry, qualifying leads, and scheduling calls.

If Sally were able to take the 10-15 hours per week that she was spending on these non-revenue earning tasks and focus the time on working with clients and growing her business, she could increase her revenue by around $800-$1,200 per week. Assuming Sally pays $15/hour for an assistant (because Sally knows that everyone deserves a living wage), Sally would still be earning an additional $650-$975 per week.

Additionally (and, for purposes of this blog post, more importantly), hiring an assistant can help freelancers travel more. In addition to being able to take the increased revenue and use it for trips (both for business and fun), hiring an assistant makes it easier to work outside of your “home” base.

The reason for this is that even though the world is becoming increasingly digital, there are still reasons that freelancers may be tied to a specific location. In my own freelance business, a pain point I’ve faced is that I will sometimes need to get mail or mail documents out (yes, snail mail!), which can make it hard to plan trips that last more than a week or so. But by delegating these tasks, where possible, I’m able to extend my trips and worry less.

It’s often the case that if you’ve just started your freelance business, the last thing you want to think about is bringing on an assistant. Likely, you’re still trying to figure out if it’s a sustainable business and you want to keep every last penny of revenue that comes in (which is something I can totally relate to). Also, hiring an assistant sounds like something more “successful” people do.

But once you’ve established your business, and particularly if a goal of yours is to use your freelance business as a catalyst to travel more, it’s a step that’s definitely worth considering.

When you’re at the point where you’re ready to hire an assistant, there is great recruiting technology available to help make the process seamless.

Are you a freelancer who has used an assistant to help your travel more? Let me know in the comments!

5 steps to take before visiting a new country

Tagged , , , , Leave a comment

Whether you’re new to travel or a regular globetrotter, visiting a new country is always exciting. It can also be a bit nerve-wracking, particularly for solo travelers, as you may be worried about safety, maximizing your time while visiting, and making sure you have a good time.

Below are some tips for steps to take after you’ve booked your adventure but before you step foot in a new country:

no one deals like we do!

1. Learn basic phrases in the local language

Aside from my love of unlimited soda refills, probably the most American thing about me is that I am terrible at learning foreign language. After taking almost 8 years of Spanish and spending 4 years living less than 100 miles away from the Mexican border, my Spanish language skills are still very basic (though get better with alcohol consumption).

That said, before traveling to a new country, I always make sure that I learn how to say the basics, which include:

  • Hello
  • Thank you
  • Sorry/excuse me
  • Goodbye

While it would be great to know more (and see tip #4 here for help with that), I’ve found that knowing these words in a local language, a smile, and some body language are often all that I need to traverse a new, foreign destination.

2. Figure out currency conversion rates

One great way to save money when you travel is to use local ATM’s rather than currency exchanges to get your money, as the rate your bank charges is often lower. To do this, you should have an idea of how much money you need to get out by the time you land.

A trick that I like to use is looking up typical currency denominations and their corresponding value in USD, and writing down what it amounts to. For instance, in Colombia, here’s a list of the bills they have and current value in USD:

  • 5,000 Pesos = $1.75 USD
  • 10,000 Pesos = $3.50 USD
  • 20,000 Pesos = $7.00 USD
  • 50,000 Pesos = $17.50 USD

Knowing the exact worth, in USD, of these bills helps me avoid math (or really, getting the currency conversions wrong) when I’m out and about and possibly with no internet/cell service.

3. Learn about the local public transit system

If you’ve ever been to a new country and tried to hop on a local, non-tourist focused train/bus, you’ve probably experienced some anxiety related to it. Are you going the right way? Do you have enough money to cover the fair? Will there be signs for where you need to get off?

Even with proper research, a new city’s public transit system can be intimidating. I was in Tokyo a few months back for the annual cherry blossom festival, and Shinjuku station was hectic and confusing enough that, even with a plan, I almost had an anxiety attack.

But if you plan on using public transportation at all (and you should!), you should download a copy of the city’s local transit map and look into things like day passes, cost of public transit tickets, and hours of operation. Sometimes, you’ll find that private options (such as cabs or Uber) offer better value for your time and provide a way of saving time for you to explore.

4. Download “Google Translate” and “Google Trips” apps

Recently, I wrote an article about how Google Trips is my new favorite travel tool. I’ve linked to the article itself but, basically, it provides amazing day trip itineraries based on your interests.

Although Google Trips is my new favorite travel tool, Google Translate has been a favorite travel tool of mine for years. You can use Google Translate in a few ways, including entering a phrase you’d like to say in English and having the app tell you how to pronounce it in a local language to placing your phone over a menu (or anything in a foreign language) and having it auto-convert into English or another selected language.

5. Look into visa requirements

A few years ago, I was flying from Lima, Peru to Buenos Aires, Argentina when, at the Lima airport, I overheard 2 Americans talking. Apparently, they hadn’t realized that travel to Argentina required a visa for Americans, and because the system to apply for a new visa was down, they were stuck in Lima until they could get the visa approved.

Now, admittedly, I’m not the best at this — I’ve got a trip to Georgia planned in 7 weeks and I haven’t looked into the visa… yet. But you can save yourself a big headache by having the visa situation figured out a few weeks before your trip (or potentially a few months out for places that are known to have a difficult visa process, such as China).

Are there steps you take when you traveling to a new country? Let me know in the comments!

8 reasons why Tulum is the perfect destination for remote workers

Tagged , , , , , 1 Comment

Beautiful beaches, reliable infrastructure, and a community of digital nomads — read on to discover why Tulum may be the perfect destination for remote workers.

1. Easy to get to

Tulum is located about 90-minutes away (by car, bus, or shared shuttle service) from Cancún International Airport. Flights to Cancún are easy to get, with direct service from most major American cities.

2. It’s safe

Mexico is going through a crime wave right now, and even typical tourist hot spots like Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta have had incidents occur over the last few months and in recent weeks.

But the Yucatán Peninsula, including Tulum, Merida, and Cancún have largely been insulated from this wave of crime and violence.

Tulum3.jpg

Having traveled to Mexico many, many, many times, I have never once felt unsafe in the country. That said, there is nowhere that I’ve felt more safe in Mexico than in Tulum.

3. Easy to get by on English

If remote workers needed to know the language of every country they traveled to, for many, their world would be quite small. While I encourage anyone traveling abroad to a country that speaks another language to learn basic greetings and words, it’s always nice to know if you can get by on your native tongue.

In Tulum, speaking only English isn’t an issue, with taxi drivers, hotels, and restaurants all accommodating Americans and English-speaking travelers from all over the world.

4. Reliable WiFi (unless you’re right on the beach)

I spent a week working remotely from Tulum and had no connectivity issues, except while I was sunbathing on the beach itself (and it probably was better to take a full-on break at that point).

The closer to “town” you get (which is about 2 miles west from the beach), the better the WiFi gets. To ensure you’ll have service while you work, I would recommend staying closer to central Tulum and taking a taxi to the beach, which costs about $5 per trip.

5. Simply stunning beaches

Tulum1

Turquoise water, soft, white sand, and warm tropical sunshine help make Tulum’s beaches some of the best in the world.

While there, be sure to get a massage on the beach, where you can listen to the waves crash while your worries float away — and cheap-ish by American standards (~$40 for 60-minutes).

6. Community of remote workers/digital nomads/freelancers

Tulum is almost synonymous with digital nomads and remote workers. If you go to a coffee shop in Tulum in the morning or afternoon, you’ll see laptops and iPhones galore, with people typing away, (presumably) working.

If you want to get away from the beach or need to be in an office, Tulum even has a dedicated coworking space, Coworking Karma Tulum.

7. Cenotes

Tulum2.jpg

One of the main attractions of staying in Tulum is visiting some of the nearby cenotes.

“Cenotes are natural swimming holes formed by the collapse of porous limestone bedrock, which has revealed a secret subterranean world of groundwater pools,” according to Lonely Planet.

“Most cave cenotes have fresh water that has been meticulously filtered by the earth, making them so clear and pure that you can see straight through to small fish frolicking in the plant life below.”

A number of cenotes surround Tulum, including Gran Cenote and Cenote Dos Ojas. You can snorkel, dive, or just check out the beautiful scenery away from the warm, Mexican sun.

8. Ruins (with a view)

I’ve saved the best for last — the famous Tulum Ruins.

Tulum4

Tulum’s history goes back to at least the late in the thirteenth century, during what is known as the Mayan post-classic period. Tulum was built with a wall surrounding it, and while the reasons are still largely unknown (and may have been lost with the decline of the Mayan world), it’s thought that priests and nobility were hosted within these walls.

For the best experience, you should arrive shortly after opening before the crowds come. Once you experience the ruins themselves, be sure to head to the beach for a swim in the crystal-clear blue water, surrounded by history.