[The Hotspotter is proud to host this first in a three-part series on how one Hotspotter equips himself for the tough job of working from exotic beachfront locales. Part one introduces us to Jared Reimer, hardcore digital nomad. Part two provides a guide for the gear recommended to stay connected while still within site of civilization. Part three covers the hardware needed for true digital nomads to stay on the grid while off the grid. -Ed.]

One of my first major trips abroad as a Hotspotting digital nomad was a month-long dive trip to the Philippines in 2002. At that point in  time, rural Internet connectivity options were extremely limited and very expensive. In fact, many places on Earth had no Internet access, and many others were limited to dial up access at extremely high cost with congested backhaul links and frequent service outages. In less than a decade, things couldn’t be more different. Being a nomadic nerd is no longer difficult, or even uncommon. There are a significant number of people working on the road part-time or full-time now, and a lively community surrounding that lifestyle. In fact, there’s reportedly even a Madison Avenue ad executive working remotely from a sailboat while sailing around the world.

In 2002, I stayed at a wonderful dive resort called Sangat Island Reserve. The proprietor, a British ex-pat who had moved to the Philippines years before, had done some ingenious things to equip his resort. He had an ancient diesel truck engine connected to a generator and 12V DC battery plant. The batteries were sufficient to run many of the resort’s amenities, including the satellite phone. Entirely off-the-grid and very basic overall, this place had pretty much everything a traveling worker could hope for.

While at Sangat Island, I encountered my first serious digital nomads; a couple from Microsoft. They’d wake up, use the sat-phone to download email and check out code, work and dive all day, then dial back in and upload their work at the end of a day. Their managers were fine with it because they did great work and took it seriously. Upon returning to the US, I couldn’t get that idea out of my head. Over the seven years that followed, I became increasingly passionate about leveraging technology to see the world while escaping the usual 9-to-5.

…continued tomorrow in Part 2: “Roam if you want to…”

[Tomorrow Jared gets into the nuts and bolts of what equipment he uses to work on the go cheaply and reliably. And come back again on Thursday when he will explain how to work from anywhere, less cheaply but just as reliably. -Ed.]

Jared Reimer is the founder of Cascadeo Corp. If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas, Jared would love to hear them. His email address is jared@cascadeo.com and he welcomes your feedback. Additionally, his firm provides consulting services to companies with mobile and rural telecommunications needs, and is available to provide complete solutions, support, engineering, and even drop-ship pre-configured systems to remote sites around the planet.

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