9 ms·

Remote Year: Travel with interesting people while working remotely

72 points by pdappollonio 12y ago

sushimako 12y ago
The wording on the page suggests that you get to live the nomad lifestyle while still maintaining your comfort-zone. I strongly believe that exactly the opposite makes this kind of lifestyle so interesting and worthwhile (i.e. being pushed out of your comfort zone on a regular basis). I understand that it may sound very compelling to many and I absolutely don't want to advocate against their "product"; just think about what you want. "traveling without any of the risks" also takes away much of the fun, adventures and personal growth you'd experience on your individual, non risk-free journey.
WestCoastJustin 12y ago
Looks like the classic MVP page to test if this is a good idea. Seems interesting, but can you imagine the headaches of looking after 100 people, in 18 locations across the globe, in one year?! Coordinating jobs, visas, accommodation, people leaving, getting fired, personal issues, flights, buses, etc. I have taken coordinated trips with 90+ people on the same plain to remote destinations, and it takes months of planning for a single stop. You would need full time handlers. ps. don't get me wrong, I like the idea, but you are likely going to burn these people out with tons of logistic issues.
- notahacker 12y ago
  I can't help thinking ~25 people and ~10 locations would be more of a sweet spot (100 people is too large a group for a lot of accommodation and easy booking on scheduled flights, for a start) but finding employers who want to guarantee 12 months' remote work for a given bunch of aspirant globetrotters on a relatively high-intensity world tour will be trickier still. But still, it sounds like fun and does solve the problem of lack of friends and focus for permatravellers. Might be easier to aim this at micropreneurs with runway as more of an alternative to the shared workspace/exotic workaway though....
- gdcaplan 12y ago
  We are going to have 5 full time staff to handle all of those details.
  - bonestamp2 12y ago
    Very cool. How are you handling work Visas? For example, when I moved to the US I kept my job back home but I still need a work visa.
    - trevorcreech 12y ago
      What kind of visa did you use that let you keep working for a foreign company?
      - bonestamp2 12y ago
        I've had the following US visas: E, J, L. I worked for a foreign company on E and L visas. You can work on an J visa, but there are very strict requirements -- you can't work for most local companies let along a foreign company. The type of visa you'll need really depends on your situation. This site will give you a brief overview of the types of visas available. http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/general/all-visa-categories.html http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/general/all-vi...
    - 31reasons 12y ago
      You are a tourist working remotely for some company in other country, do you need work visa in that case ?
      - bonestamp2 12y ago
        Swizec's answer is good, you technically need a visa. If you can afford to be kicked out of the country and not be allowed back in for a long time (10 years in the US), then it might be worth the risk of not getting the visa. But, if you can't risk being banned, or even if you just like to obey the law, you should get the visa, especially if it's easy... which it is for a lot of countries.
tylermac1 12y ago
Are the travel costs footed by the remote worker? I'm trying to understand how Remote Year would make money off of this. Kind of like a programmer/recruiter/travel agent all in one?
- gdcaplan 12y ago
  The remote workers all have their own jobs that Remote Year can help them find. They then pay a fixed amount per month to Remote Year, which includes housing, travel, activities, programming and some meals.
  - morganvachon 12y ago
    Would you be willing to add this information to your site? You might find more people willing to sign up if they are better informed. See my above (wrong) conjecture as an example of how little can be extrapolated from what you have on display.
- morganvachon 12y ago
  I would imagine the remote workers themselves are paid their normal salary by the company, or perhaps salary minus travel expenses. The company participates by footing the bill for travel expenses, and gets support and feedback from the firm behind Remote Year, who in turn get brand recognition and their name in the ears of executives. I could be completely wrong, though. There isn't enough info on the website to make hard guesses.
chippy 12y ago
It sounds like a coworking (coworkation?) round the world holiday. Can participants work on other things or are they tied to those jobs that the organisers assign them, I wonder...
Aardwolf 12y ago
There is some missing information on the page I think, such as, what do you get paid, and who pays for accomodation, and, what are the 18 locations?
- rco8786 12y ago
  They made it pretty clear that they aren't paying you for your work, but have some help available for securing remote jobs. So I imagine the pay has everything to do with you and your experience. Anyways, the page seems like a marketing test anyway, just to see if there is any interest.
briggers 12y ago
Pretty interesting. This is what I've been doing for the last 12 months throughout Europe, but with a new location every 1-2 months. At first the organisational details were the frustrating part, but after almost 12 months and 8 cities the lack of longer term friendships is more of a problem. In regards to "the headaches of looking after 100 people", surely that's something that can be addressed by limiting the scope of services provided? I think handling 1) accommodation and 2) work would be more than sufficient for most responsible people.
- Swizec 12y ago
  Similar experience. I've been moving around every 3 months or so for the past year and a half and man, the friendship and human connection stuff gets hard. So hard in fact that I ended up staying in SF two months longer than intended just because I had found some great people to hang out with regularly. WhatsApp can only get you so far.
  - bonestamp2 12y ago
    Have you tried co-working spaces? Might help you network with similar people.
- doctorfoo 12y ago
  How do you find places to stay, for these short periods? Airbnb? I've been thinking of doing a similar thing.
  - sonar_un 12y ago
    AirBnB has been useful for me. There are other companies like VRBO that work quite well also.
    - briggers 12y ago
      Likewise. AirBnB.
- sonar_un 12y ago
scrollaway 12y ago
Ok, as a remote worker this sounds super cool and all but I am going to have a minor complaint which has nothing to do with the feature at hand. "REMOTEYEAR@GMAIL.COM" Really? You have a domain name, couldn't set up "contact@remoteyear.com"? Even though I'm sure nothing was meant by that, it makes the whole thing sound incredibly unprofessional and simply detracts from the offer.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- morganvachon 12y ago
  This could explain it, it looks like their choice for hosting doesn't provide email: https://www.squarespace.com/pricing/ https://www.squarespace.com/pricing/ Still, they could opt for Google's business email so they could use Gmail's backend with @remoteyear.com addresses.
startupfounder 12y ago
Nice job! You got a nice simple idea, created a quick gmail account, built a quick SquareSpace landing page with collection form and now you are on the front page of Hacker News collecting some good data. This my friends is quick and dirty and it works, if you can hack this idea and get it onto the front page of NH in 30 minutes you will make this happen.
- flysteps 12y ago
  Yeah, they didn't even change some of the default squarespace photos.
nchuhoai 12y ago
I just started to work remotely and I agree that the solitude is easily the worst thing about it. You have to make an extra effort to go out and establish relationships, but even then, if you move around a lot, long-term it is going to be tough. I think having a group or network of similar minded people would greatly help. I have actually thought about this a lot, what if there is a network of airbnbs/hostels around the world which a group of remote workers agree upon to be more concentrated? I think co-working spaces do much of it right now, but it can always be improved upon.
- detroitcoder 12y ago
  I have started to experiment with this over the last month. Staying at room shares on airbnb, working in coffee shops/co-working spaces during the day and then meetups at night to network. Doing this with a group would lower costs and keep a sense of familiarity. Do you think a less formal concept of this would work?
  - nchuhoai 12y ago
    I think something more focused would be better. The biggest problem for me is not to meet people, but to establish long-term relationships, and that is hard if you are not around them a) frequently and b) long-term. I do think that something like OP would be too formal, as it doesn't give you the flexibility to deviate, which is why I think a more liquid network of at the start just several locations would work. Btw, I liked your approach above very much, if you have a majority of the group do that (allowing individuals to divert), this could totally work

72 points by pdappollonio 12y ago

The wording on the page suggests that you get to live the nomad lifestyle while still maintaining your comfort-zone. I strongly believe that exactly the opposite makes this kind of lifestyle so interesting and worthwhile (i.e. being pushed out of your comfort zone on a regular basis). I understand that it may sound very compelling to many and I absolutely don't want to advocate against their "product"; just think about what you want. "traveling without any of the risks" also takes away much of the fun, adventures and personal growth you'd experience on your individual, non risk-free journey.

WestCoastJustin 12y ago

Looks like the classic MVP page to test if this is a good idea. Seems interesting, but can you imagine the headaches of looking after 100 people, in 18 locations across the globe, in one year?! Coordinating jobs, visas, accommodation, people leaving, getting fired, personal issues, flights, buses, etc. I have taken coordinated trips with 90+ people on the same plain to remote destinations, and it takes months of planning for a single stop. You would need full time handlers. ps. don't get me wrong, I like the idea, but you are likely going to burn these people out with tons of logistic issues.

notahacker 12y ago
I can't help thinking ~25 people and ~10 locations would be more of a sweet spot (100 people is too large a group for a lot of accommodation and easy booking on scheduled flights, for a start) but finding employers who want to guarantee 12 months' remote work for a given bunch of aspirant globetrotters on a relatively high-intensity world tour will be trickier still. But still, it sounds like fun and does solve the problem of lack of friends and focus for permatravellers. Might be easier to aim this at micropreneurs with runway as more of an alternative to the shared workspace/exotic workaway though....
gdcaplan 12y ago
We are going to have 5 full time staff to handle all of those details.
- bonestamp2 12y ago
  Very cool. How are you handling work Visas? For example, when I moved to the US I kept my job back home but I still need a work visa.
  - trevorcreech 12y ago
    What kind of visa did you use that let you keep working for a foreign company?
    - bonestamp2 12y ago
      I've had the following US visas: E, J, L. I worked for a foreign company on E and L visas. You can work on an J visa, but there are very strict requirements -- you can't work for most local companies let along a foreign company. The type of visa you'll need really depends on your situation. This site will give you a brief overview of the types of visas available. http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/general/all-visa-categories.html http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/general/all-vi...
  - 31reasons 12y ago
    You are a tourist working remotely for some company in other country, do you need work visa in that case ?
    - bonestamp2 12y ago
      Swizec's answer is good, you technically need a visa. If you can afford to be kicked out of the country and not be allowed back in for a long time (10 years in the US), then it might be worth the risk of not getting the visa. But, if you can't risk being banned, or even if you just like to obey the law, you should get the visa, especially if it's easy... which it is for a lot of countries.

tylermac1 12y ago

Are the travel costs footed by the remote worker? I'm trying to understand how Remote Year would make money off of this. Kind of like a programmer/recruiter/travel agent all in one?

gdcaplan 12y ago
The remote workers all have their own jobs that Remote Year can help them find. They then pay a fixed amount per month to Remote Year, which includes housing, travel, activities, programming and some meals.
- morganvachon 12y ago
  Would you be willing to add this information to your site? You might find more people willing to sign up if they are better informed. See my above (wrong) conjecture as an example of how little can be extrapolated from what you have on display.
morganvachon 12y ago
I would imagine the remote workers themselves are paid their normal salary by the company, or perhaps salary minus travel expenses. The company participates by footing the bill for travel expenses, and gets support and feedback from the firm behind Remote Year, who in turn get brand recognition and their name in the ears of executives. I could be completely wrong, though. There isn't enough info on the website to make hard guesses.

chippy 12y ago

It sounds like a coworking (coworkation?) round the world holiday. Can participants work on other things or are they tied to those jobs that the organisers assign them, I wonder...

Aardwolf 12y ago

There is some missing information on the page I think, such as, what do you get paid, and who pays for accomodation, and, what are the 18 locations?

rco8786 12y ago
They made it pretty clear that they aren't paying you for your work, but have some help available for securing remote jobs. So I imagine the pay has everything to do with you and your experience. Anyways, the page seems like a marketing test anyway, just to see if there is any interest.

briggers 12y ago

Pretty interesting. This is what I've been doing for the last 12 months throughout Europe, but with a new location every 1-2 months. At first the organisational details were the frustrating part, but after almost 12 months and 8 cities the lack of longer term friendships is more of a problem. In regards to "the headaches of looking after 100 people", surely that's something that can be addressed by limiting the scope of services provided? I think handling 1) accommodation and 2) work would be more than sufficient for most responsible people.

Swizec 12y ago
Similar experience. I've been moving around every 3 months or so for the past year and a half and man, the friendship and human connection stuff gets hard. So hard in fact that I ended up staying in SF two months longer than intended just because I had found some great people to hang out with regularly. WhatsApp can only get you so far.
- bonestamp2 12y ago
  Have you tried co-working spaces? Might help you network with similar people.
doctorfoo 12y ago
How do you find places to stay, for these short periods? Airbnb? I've been thinking of doing a similar thing.
- sonar_un 12y ago
  AirBnB has been useful for me. There are other companies like VRBO that work quite well also.
  - briggers 12y ago
    Likewise. AirBnB.
sonar_un 12y ago

scrollaway 12y ago

Ok, as a remote worker this sounds super cool and all but I am going to have a minor complaint which has nothing to do with the feature at hand. "REMOTEYEAR@GMAIL.COM" Really? You have a domain name, couldn't set up "contact@remoteyear.com"? Even though I'm sure nothing was meant by that, it makes the whole thing sound incredibly unprofessional and simply detracts from the offer.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
morganvachon 12y ago
This could explain it, it looks like their choice for hosting doesn't provide email: https://www.squarespace.com/pricing/ https://www.squarespace.com/pricing/ Still, they could opt for Google's business email so they could use Gmail's backend with @remoteyear.com addresses.

startupfounder 12y ago

Nice job! You got a nice simple idea, created a quick gmail account, built a quick SquareSpace landing page with collection form and now you are on the front page of Hacker News collecting some good data. This my friends is quick and dirty and it works, if you can hack this idea and get it onto the front page of NH in 30 minutes you will make this happen.

flysteps 12y ago
Yeah, they didn't even change some of the default squarespace photos.

nchuhoai 12y ago

I just started to work remotely and I agree that the solitude is easily the worst thing about it. You have to make an extra effort to go out and establish relationships, but even then, if you move around a lot, long-term it is going to be tough. I think having a group or network of similar minded people would greatly help. I have actually thought about this a lot, what if there is a network of airbnbs/hostels around the world which a group of remote workers agree upon to be more concentrated? I think co-working spaces do much of it right now, but it can always be improved upon.

detroitcoder 12y ago
I have started to experiment with this over the last month. Staying at room shares on airbnb, working in coffee shops/co-working spaces during the day and then meetups at night to network. Doing this with a group would lower costs and keep a sense of familiarity. Do you think a less formal concept of this would work?
- nchuhoai 12y ago
  I think something more focused would be better. The biggest problem for me is not to meet people, but to establish long-term relationships, and that is hard if you are not around them a) frequently and b) long-term. I do think that something like OP would be too formal, as it doesn't give you the flexibility to deviate, which is why I think a more liquid network of at the start just several locations would work. Btw, I liked your approach above very much, if you have a majority of the group do that (allowing individuals to divert), this could totally work