Getting Discomfortable with Remote Year

One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “How was that travel program you did?” This refers to Remote Year, a working travel program designed for remote workers or “digital nomads” that I did in 2017-2018. This episode answers that question in depth and even includes some thoughts from two of my travel mates, editor and vlogger Justin Poore and insight researcher Deborah Simmons.

Remote Year was like summer camp for adults. Summer camp that lasts all year. It was the most travel, tourism, learning, partying, writing, drinking, volunteering, socializing, and working I have ever done. It was easily the most fun I’ve had in a single year in my adult life, and that is especially impressive given that I was going through a serious breakup at the same time. 

What makes Remote Year so amazing is the community. I discovered that if you get to know anyone well enough, you learn to love them. 50 strangers from around the world who I probably never would have connected with under any other circumstances became my travel family by the end of the year and I expect that I will stay in touch with almost all of them to varying degrees for the foreseeable future.

One of Justin’s vlogs from the end of our year together perfectly encapsulates the experience and the people, and if you look carefully I appear in it at least twice: 

The program isn’t without its downsides, of course, but I should note that pretty much everything I’ve taken part in since my shame breakthrough has been positive and insightful in one way or another, so it’s probably a matter of mindset and expectations as much as anything else.

For more on my experiences during Remote Year, check out the episodes on Spontaneity and The A.J. Tax.