Work From Wherever: Landing the Perfect Remote Job

Working in an office sucks. Right? There's no way I'm the only one who's noticed that. It's not really the office part that gets me, though, since socializing with co-workers and getting out of the house is nice. It's that when you work in an office, you have to be in a certain place (i.e. an office) and, therefore, you can't be anywhere else. I don't know about you, but for me there's a lot more of the world left that I want to see, and two weeks of PTO every year just isn't going to cut it. 

I'm not trying to sell you on some this-is-how-I-became-an-entrepreneurial-wall-street-consultant-model-that-makes-seven-figures-a-month-and-travels-the-world-with-all-my-many-hot-girlfriends-(or-boyfriends) seminar. Those things seem great, but are never realistic, so I'm going to level with you. Are you ready? Most people - and I don't mean to hurt your feelings, because maybe you can do it - but most people won't make millions as an entrepreneur. I'm sorry. I'm very sorry. If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure I'm with you on this one. But just because you may never one day have the money to drop everything and travel doesn't mean you can't not drop everything and travel! Confused? Me too, so let me just get to the point. Get a job that you can do remotely and you'll be able to go wherever you want, whenever you want, and work while you're there!

In part 1 of "Work From Wherever" I dove into the process of negotiating with your current employer to make your job remote. Part 2 is for those who already tried part 1 unsuccessfully, or don't have a job that can be done remotely, or just don't have a job at all. Here are some tips on where to start looking:

1. Your Own Network. First off, don't underestimate the power of your own network. I know, I hate myself for even thinking the word "networking", let alone advocating it, but it really does help. Two of my three jobs I have right now I found through people I know. How do you network without coming across as insincere? I've literally done zero research on this, but here's a link I just barely Googled (and have not read), maybe it will help.

2. Flexjobs. Employees from this website manually search the web for flexible job postings, including telecommuting/remote work, freelance, and part-time jobs (which makes me wonder if those employees are telecommuting and, if so, how one applies ... ). You can browse the job postings for free, but you'll need to pay for a subscription to apply to any of them. It doesn't cost very much, and you can even find promo codes online to get a good deal. Flexjobs offers a wide range of job categories, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding something that will fit. It's a great resource because all of the prospective employers are already expecting you to be working remotely! 

3. We Work Remotely. This resource is best for those looking for work in software development, marketing, or customer service. It doesn't offer quite the same quantity of listings as others, but it's still worth checking out. 

4. Upwork. This is the one where I've had the most personal success. Upwork is a platform where companies seeking freelancers can list both long-term and short-term jobs. All of the interaction and financial transactions occur over the Upwork platform, so even if your client flakes out on the bill, Upwork guarantees you'll get paid. After creating your profile and taking some optional qualification tests, you can start bidding on jobs (which gets very addicting). *Tip: clients on Upwork typically like to see that the freelancer they are hiring has already accumulated hours on Upwork from others projects, so they might be hesitant to hire you as a brand new freelancer. It helps to bid really low on your first project to get the job and then, once you have a solid review from them and a couple of hours under your belt, you can start pricing higher.

If you aren't a software programmer or internet marketer, you may be thinking you don't have any skills that would allow you to get a remote job, but that isn't true. They may not pay glamorously, but there are lots of gigs doing data entry and clerical work that can be found through the resources I mentioned that anybody with a basic understanding of computers can do. The first job I got on Upwork was doing internet research (just look stuff up and fill out a spreadsheet) and paid $11/hour. Again, not very much money, but you are going to see throughout our blog posts that $11/hour is more than enough to be able to travel the copperhouse way. 

A Budget Even Minimum Wage Can Afford: Buenos Aires

Here is our in-depth monthly expense report for Buenos Aires (and I'm going to need a rundown of this on my desk by tomorrow morning). It's a breakdown of literally every cent that has gone into this trip. We hope this will provide you with a realistic picture of what staying in Buenos Aires is like for the copperhouse traveler. And remember, this budget is completely customizable! We are traveling in a way that is comfortable for us and our budget, but there is a lot of room to cut costs (or add costs, for that matter). 

Monthly Budget Totals:
Solo Traveler: $1,475
Couple Travelers: $2,905

*All prices are in USD and for two people unless otherwise indicated

✈️ Flights: $600 per person (one way)

• Argentina is surprisingly expensive to fly to, but we booked through StudentUniverse, which gives discounts on flights to students, teachers, and anyone under the age of 26. This saved us about $250 per person.

🚕 Airport Pickup: $35

• There are three ways to get downtown from the airport: bus, Uber, and taxi. The bus costs $10 per person and will take you to a station downtown, from which you can take a short cab ride to your rental/hostel. Definitely the cheapest way for a solo traveler. An Uber will charge about $20, but you'll need cellular data to hail it since the airport WiFi is no good. That leaves the $35 taxi ride, which we did because our flight was delayed and we were pressed for time. 

🍔 Food: $600

• When we're on a trip, we're always tempted to eat out for every meal. If you've booked a place with a kitchen, though, you can save a lot by making some of your meals at home.

🏠 Accommodations: $690

• A little known fact is that many apartments on AirBnb will offer substantial discounts to anyone booking for a month at a time. In fact, if you search for accommodations with your dates already put in, the prices listed will reflect those for the month, service fee included. We got a very nice studio in the heart of the city for a very affordable rate.
• *Note: if you are traveling alone and are planning on staying in a hostel, you can find dorms for as low as $10/night on HostelWorld. For the budget's sake, let's say you're paying $12/night, or $360/month.

👖 Laundry: $60

• This was a strategic splurge for us. If you place doesn't come with a washing machine, there are two ways to get your laundry done in Argentina: the first is by hand in the sink, and the second is taking it to a laundromat where they wash and fold it for you. Obviously you can save a lot of money by washing your clothes by hand, but it is very time-consuming and if it cuts into your work, it's probably not worth it, even financially. We sent our laundry out three times during our month in Buenos Aires and paid about $20 each time.

🚇 Transportation: $20

• Buenos Aires has excellent public transportation with a very easy-to-use network of buses and metros. It's also ridiculously cheap - only $.40 per ride for the bus and even less for the metro.

💃 Activities: $300

• This varies widely based on what you like to do. Buenos Aires has a lot to offer, so come see it for yourself!

Work From Wherever: How To Negotiate Your Current 9-5 Into A Remote Job

The key to this whole lifestyle is setting up your work situation so you can do it remotely. Without this, you're toast. You might be thinking, "Why can't I just work until I save enough money for the trip?" If this is what you are truly passionate about, then working and trying to scrimp and save without traveling in the mean time will be miserable for you. Do yourself a favor and don't postpone happiness now for a short-term payoff later. Get a remote job and you'll be able to keep up this lifestyle for as long as you want.

The easiest way of going about this is to transition your current job into being remote. Obviously, this only works if your job can be done through a computer. More and more managers are seeing the benefits of allowing their employees to work remotely, but some still need a bit of convincing. 

Here is the step-by-step process I took to turn my formally-non-remote-job into a means of funding endless world travel.  

Step 1: Begin with a gig that can be done remotely. Though most employers require their workers to come into an office, a staggering number of those jobs can really be done from anywhere. In fact, in my personal experience (and I'm assuming for many others as well), I'm much more productive working from home than I am at the office where I get roped into small talk conversations with co-workers. Marketing, computer programming, graphic design, and data entry are just a few types of jobs that come to mind that could be done from anywhere. Avoid getting shuffled in to a job at a large corporation where you're expected to climb the corporate ladder - chances are you'll have no opportunity to take the job remote until you reach the top many years later. Small to midsize companies are ideal, with freelance work giving you the most freedom. 

Step 2: Be upfront about your intentions. When I applied to my current job right after my college graduation, we had already made our travel plans for a few months in the future. After my interview I told them about our plans and said that at that point I would either love to do this job remotely or I would find something else I could do. My boss did not sound optimistic about the option, citing experiences he had with past remote employees that didn't work out. Still, the fact that he didn't display downright outrage at the thought told me there was a chance. So, I took the job.

Step 3: Turn yourself into an asset that the company can't afford to lose. During the four months leading up the my departure I embedded myself into every minuscule part of the operation I could. I asked my coworkers to train me on literally everything so that my boss couldn't imagine things running smoothly without me.

Step 4: Take any opportunity you can to work from home. This is one I took out of the 4 Hour Work Week and I think it helped a lot. I stayed home one day when I was sick, but told my boss I'd be working from home. I used that day, and a couple of other weekends, as opportunities to really display how productive I could be out of the office.

Step 5: Have the talk. Don't be pushy, but make sure your boss understands that there really isn't any reason to not let you permanently work remotely. I made sure to mention that I would be just as productive (cite the days you spent working from home, if you have to) and that I'll keep a structured schedule so he always knows when we can communicate. It also helped to clarify that, rather than be constantly on the move and traveling to a new city every couple of days, we'll be getting a WiFi-enabled apartment and staying put for weeks at a time. 

As I previously said, getting at least a half-decent job to do while traveling is crucial. If your current job can't be done remotely, however, or your boss won't allow it, there's still hope. Check out "Work From Wherever" part 2 on finding a new remote job. 

Why Not Work From A Coffee Shop In . . . Paris?

Hello there!

Chase and I are travelers. We love to explore new places and cultures. About a year ago we were talking and lamenting the fact that we aren't able to travel as frequently as we would like. Chase was in school at the time, but we realized that even after he graduated and got a job, our travel would still be limited to whatever we could do with our two weeks PTO.

We started thinking about how amazing it would be if we could work and travel at the same time. With modern technology, you can be just as productive anywhere with an internet connection as you would be in an office, so why not? The more we thought about it, the more sense it made. With a year of school left for Chase, we decided we would take that time to to develop the types of employable skills that lend themselves to remote jobs and see what kind of work we could find. 

After we had made up our minds to pursue this lifestyle, we began telling family and close friends about our plans. While we have received overwhelming support for our decision to try this out, several people responded with, "Obviously that's what everyone wants to do, but it's just not realistic."

That got us thinking, is this really what people believe? That living this lifestyle is unrealistic? I've always assumed that people are doing exactly what they want to be doing, within realistic boundaries, but maybe there is a group of people who really want to live this lifestyle and just don't know that it's possible. So, we started this blog! If the idea of endless travel and adventure intrigues you, follow along. If you want to get a good laugh out of seeing our failed attempts and strokes of bad luck, follow along. Our hope is that something about this blog will inspire you to be more curious about the world and realize the possibility of endless adventure is within reach.

Follow along as we share step-by-step instructions on how to work from wherever, travel on a budget, book affordable accommodations, and truly immerse yourself in the culture wherever you go; aka living "the copperhouse way".