Extending your long weekend, a trial run at the nomad lifestyle



Travel Kickstarter.

What if we told you that extending a long weekend into the following week is a perfect opportunity to experiment with the nomad lifestyle?

Do you think you could make it happen?

From 1 week to 2 months

Jack and I first extended a one-week vacation in Aruba to ~2 months abroad. On a whim, we looked at pricing for local Airbnbs and explored their neighborhoods.

We could rent a condo or townhouse for about $2300/month, so we asked how fast the internet was for each space, and Jack negotiated our stay.

Reply if you want the hosts we liked; they had several properties each.

4 Tips to Extending a Long Weekend into a Workation

Tip 1: Plan your work schedule

Being a digital nomad doesn’t mean you're on vacation all the time—you still have work to do. Create a detailed plan for the week, outlining your working hours, tasks, and deadlines. This will help you balance work with the freedom and flexibility of the nomadic lifestyle. Make sure to plan excursions on days you don’t have a lot of meetings to keep stress levels low so you can soak in the experience.

Tip 2: Test your Wi-Fi

Ensure you have reliable internet. Before starting your week-long experiment, research your destination's connectivity options. Consider investing in a portable Wi-Fi device, choosing accommodations with robust and reliable internet, or a coffee shop if you don’t have a lot of video meetings.

You can use Nomadlist.com to check the city's general internet speeds and contact the hotel or your hosts to get internet speeds for your accommodations.

Internet speeds & what you can do

  • Up to 10 Mbps: Basic browsing, email, social media, music streaming (1 - 2 devices)
  • 10 - 25 Mbps: HD video streaming, video conferencing, online gaming (3 - 5 devices)
  • 26 - 100 Mbps: 4K video streaming, large file downloads (5 - 10 devices)
  • 100 - 500 Mbps: Smart home devices, faster uploads, cloud backups (10 - 20 devices)

Tip 3: Explore local co-working spaces

These spaces offer a quiet place to work and a chance to network with other digital nomads or local business owners. Co-working spaces are also great for maintaining a work-life balance as they create a separate environment for productivity, helping to separate your work and leisure time.

  1. Coworker lists coworking spaces worldwide, providing reviews, pricing information, and booking options.
  2. WeWork is one of the most well-known coworking space providers with locations across the globe. Their website details their spaces, amenities, and membership options.
  3. Spaceworks offers creative working environments with a unique entrepreneurial spirit. Their website lists all locations and services.
  4. Deskpass provides access to various coworking spaces in several cities with flexible membership options.
  5. Croissant provides access to coworking spaces on a flexible hourly or daily basis, with a variety of locations in major cities.

Tip 4: Explore co-living/co-working spaces

Another option to simplify your extended weekend is to explore a combination of co-living and co-working spaces. Outsite is one I like because it has locations globally, including several in the United States. You can choose a room with a private bathroom or a room with a shared bathroom. These spaces have a communal kitchen, co-working space, and high-speed internet. Each has a community manager who can provide recommendations or introductions to other nomads like yourself.

I stayed in one, and they offered a WhatsApp group to everyone. My project manager stayed at an Outsite in Puerto Rico and attended salsa lessons on the beach with other guests. Guests in the Lake Tahoe location would take hikes together.

No matter what activities you like, this experience will allow you to meet digital nomads to learn about their favorite cities, countries, or experiences.

Reader, if you found these tips helpful, we’d love it if you could share them with friends and family who dream of traveling part-time.
Christine working in the kitchen behind Max

Extending a long weekend into the following week lets you dip your toes into this lifestyle without worrying about storing your things or giving up your home.

Do you want a FREE travel checklist?

Get a your printable travel checklist, weekly planner, and sample packing lists.

Stay tuned for travel gear reviews and remote work productivity tips to help you become a part-time digital nomad.
If you have a travel question, reply to this email.
Cheryl

99 Wall Street #5849, New York, NY 10005
Unsubscribe · Preferences

To Work and Wander

We empower hybrid employees to travel for extended periods so you can create unforgettable memories without sacrificing your career. We believe that work should help you to see the world, not confine you to a desk. Why wait until retirement to travel? Subscribe to learn more. ⤵️

Read more from To Work and Wander
Escalator and stairs at Penn Station, New York

To Work and Wander How I secretly became a part-time nomad and landed a promotion In 2021, my partner and I decided to do something exciting and nerve-wracking: during the pandemic, we started a year-long road trip across the United States. We were looking for a change of scenery and wanted to visit our families. Outside of COVID, my biggest concern was—I didn't want my employer to know I was traveling. While most "digital nomads" freelance or have their own businesses, I work full-time for a...

timelapse photography of double decker bus on road between buildings

To Work and Wander. Long weekends are a popular time to take trips, whether it’s to visit your family, attend a destination wedding, or for an extended vacation. Questions When is the best time to fly? How do you plan ahead? When is the best time to fly? Depends. Morning Flights 6 am flights don't suck in 1st class Jack and I visit my family in Arizona a few times a year. When we return to NYC, we book a night at an Aloft about 1.5 miles from the Phoenix airport. There is a hotel shuttle to...

a man sitting on a bean bag on the beach

To Work and Wander. 11 Surprising myths of digital nomad life Cheryl debunks misconceptions about digital nomads and shares secrets to thriving when life gets hectic. 1. Digital nomads work on the beach or by the pool (all the time). It’s notoriously difficult to find amazing Wi-Fi on the beach, and unless you are under a palapa or an umbrella, it’s hard to see the screen with direct sun. While it’s possible to work poolside with a DJ blasting music, keep this for days when you don’t need...