A Tale of a Digital Nomad: How the Journey Started

I have always thought that having the freedom to work from home or any other place of comfort is the best idea ever and that it comes with no stress (You would be working from your comfort after all. What is there to stress about?).

Well, now I can say with certainty that that is so far from the truth. Yes, it is a great idea and you get to work from your comfort but that doesn’t eliminate the cons that come with it like the difference in time zone, language barrier, getting a stable internet connection, and the likes.

I was overjoyed when I got my first remote job with a startup company in the U.S. My first thought was — this is a great way to gain visibility and build a carrier as a remote worker but that joy was tinted with pains sooner than I thought.

By 5 pm on a fateful day, I got an email from my boss notifying me that there would be scheduled online meetings every week with my team members and myself.

I was a bit anxious as this would be the first meeting with my boss so, I double checked everything — from the internet connection, audio and video microphone to anything that could be a source of interruption in my home. I made sure it was all perfect. I wish I could say the same of the meeting.

Although I tried to keep everything in perfect condition, that didn’t eliminate the fear and insecurities that come with being a non-native. English language was my major challenge. I could barely hear anything my boss said but I’m definitely not going to let him know that. I wish I didn’t.

He was warm and very eloquent. I remember trembling to mutter “I’m fine, thanks” to his — “how are you today?”

Amidst my struggle to grab a few words he said, he turned to me and asked something (I still cannot remember the question till date), for the fear of showing that I heard nothing I quickly replied: “I agree with that.” The deafening silence that followed echoed how badly I have performed. I felt really bad and kept my mouth shut throughout the meeting.

I knew how badly I have performed so; I waited patiently for his email to fire me. Fortunately, he didn’t. I was so happy. First battle won — I have my job still! So, I started considering enrolling for business English courses in my city. Then, I realized I had a flexible work schedule as such I can travel to an Anglophone country for the courses and work from there too. Hurray! I quickly decided to settle for New Zealand because I have always wanted to visit the country.

Alas, there was another problem — the difference in time zone. The idea of working through the night to keep up with the company’s time made me have a rethink.

I finally settled for the United Kingdom as the time difference and visa cost wasn’t really a problem.

So, I enrolled in an intensive English class that was scheduled for four hours daily and booked a flight to London almost immediately as I would have to be there early enough to meet up with the language class.

London is a very beautiful city, I must confess. Away from that, the stress of keeping up with classes, social life, and work wasn’t as fun as I had thought.

I had to scout for coffee shops as that was the perfect place get a stable internet connection and at no cost too. Yay!

Okay, that joy didn’t last for long as I had to deal with the disturbing noise from customers and passersby. Concentrating on the task at hand was a real hassle.

Sooner than later, I realized that I couldn’t keep up with working in such a noisy environment (This is definitely not the comfort that I hear remote workers talk of and definitely not the comfort I envisioned when I decided to start working remotely).

I decided to change my place of work but I didn’t have enough money to pay for co-working space so, I looked for pubs. Well, that turned out to be way better than coffee shops. They stay open even by past 8 pm (unlike coffee shops) and have a stable internet connection.

While this was a good way out, I still had troubles keeping up with work and school and maintaining a healthy social life. I noticed my host family was a little disappointed as I barely spent any time with time.

Well, I guess that was the pain that comes with the job. No pain no gain, right? Yes! 6 months between London and Manchester, I could say with pride that my English has improved a great lot.

A great way to start, yes?

How difficult is it for you to socialize as a remote worker?