How to Live & Work Remotely

Realistic tips for living and working remotely.

I've been living and working remotely for well over a decade, long before the coronavirus put us into a state of quarantine. In fact, the virus has had virtually no impact on my life whatsoever. Every way in which people are now finding they have to live (and struggling to do so) is how I've already been living for a very long time.

In one form or another, I've been blogging about working remotely and otherwise sharing anecdotes about it here and there and everywhere for years, but I've always wanted to put all my knowledge together in one organized place. There's probably no better time than now to get to work on that.

What You'll Need

  • Internet. Whether you have your own internet already, are able to sign up for internet, or otherwise have access to it (friends, family, library, or other public Wi-Fi), internet is pretty vital to living and working remotely. Certainly it's possible to do so without it, but it makes thing incredibly difficult.
  • A device in which to access said internet. From most ideal to least ideal, that would be a: laptop, desktop, tablet, or phone. The smaller the device, the more difficult it is to work comfortably and productively.

Objectively-speaking, that's all you'll need, seriously. With access to the internet, you have all the tools you'll ever need to survive and eventually, even thrive. Subjectively-speaking, you're going to also need a hell of a lot of determination.

"But I'm not very good with computers!" you shout. I understand, but you don't need to be a computer expert to take advantage of the opportunities that the internet provides. Baby steps. You do a little bit, then a little more, then a lot more. Don't burn yourself out. One day at a time and all that jazz.

You might be feeling like slapping me upside the head at this point with "Easier said than done! And I need to pay rent and buy groceries now, not later!" I've been there. I call it "Survival Mode." Those times when you're deciding whether to pay rent or buy food, and if you do pay rent, you're eating rice and beans for a good stretch.

From struggle to sustainability. That's the name of the game, and it's definitely a marathon, not a sprint.

I completely understand that not everyone has the same opportunities, especially the poor or those in locations without modern conveniences, but for those that can get access to the internet, I'll do my best to share what I know and help you find a place in the new culture of remote living, whether that's something you're forced to do or something you simply wish to pursue.

I'll break down my tips for remote living in 3 sections: Necessities, Work, and Play.

Necessities

I haven't had a car for 3 years now, and I can get everything I need, pay every bill I have, and get all my groceries without ever needing to set foot outside.

Getting groceries and supplies delivered. First thing I want you to check is Amazon Fresh. Even if you don't have an Amazon account already, or if you have one, you don't even need to sign in to find out if Fresh is available in your area. Top-left, just under the Amazon logo, click on "Select your address" and then enter your zip code.

Most likely it's not available in your area. If you're in a major city, chances are good it'll be available to you, if you live in suburbia, maybe, and if you're in a rural area, it's not gonna happen.

But, if you are lucky enough to have it in your area, I highly recommend it. Whether Amazon Fresh is available to you or not, if you plan on using Amazon in general for other supplies, the most frugal option is definitely to upgrade to Amazon Prime (you will save a lot of money in the long-run).

Amazon Fresh is unlikely to come out as a better deal overall versus you just going to your local grocery store, but you are paying for the convenience or necessity if you cannot leave your home. You can get good deals and even free food sometimes though.

It's somewhat difficult to get to, but here's how you should start every Amazon Fresh order, on this page (bookmark for future use). Here, you can begin paging through all available Amazon Fresh items in your area, from cheapest to most expensive.

If Amazon Fresh isn't in your area, other options to check are Safeway, Costco, or maybe even your local small town grocer delivers. If you can go without fresh produce for awhile, Amazon may still be an option. Amazon Pantry, which unless I'm mistaken, should basically be available anywhere you can receive normal UPS packages, which is virtually everywhere.

Even if you have Amazon Fresh, it might be worth comparing prices on Amazon Pantry every now and then as sometimes one offers a better price for the exact same non-perishable item. Pantry is a good option for anything like: rice, beans, soup, snacks, beef jerky, drinks, condiments, toilet paper, paper towels, and general household items and cleaning supplies.

If all else fails, consider hiring a personal driver/assistant! I know that sounds crazy, and crazy expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Many times, I've found people off of craigslist to help me out. Yes, craigslist is notorious for flakes, scammers, spammers, and other kinds of sketchy people.

However, if you're smart about it, it's no more dangerous than Uber (not to say that Uber doesn't have any danger, but if you're comfortable with a stranger from Uber, you should be comfortable with a stranger from craigslist). In fact, many Uber and Lyft drivers moonlight as personal drivers and assistants on craigslist. Cutting out the middleman (Uber), you pay less, and the driver makes more. Win-win.

Work

There are an absurd amount of jobs that can and should be done completely remotely, from home, or wherever the hell you want. The amount of money wasted on leasing office space in the modern world, when that money could go toward higher salaries for workers actually pisses me off quite a bit. I call it "Dinosaur Mentality," when companies, especially old ones, resist improvements in technology and communication.

Digital Jobs

Jobs that can be done completely digitally, without the need for physically interacting with others or even revealing your home address.

  • Artist (of so many varieties)
  • Web Designer
  • Graphic Designer
  • SEO
  • Marketer
  • Social Media Manager
  • Security
  • Audio/Video Editor
  • Photographer
  • Filmmaker
  • Agent
  • YouTuber
  • Podcaster
  • Musician
  • Writer
  • Editor
  • Translator
  • Transcriber
  • Lawyer
  • Accountant
  • Sales
  • Teacher
  • Assistant
  • Customer Support
  • Therapist
  • Researcher
  • Data Analyst
  • Scientist (excluding some fields of science obviously)
  • Broker
  • Loan Officer
  • Camming/Pornography

Believe me, there are many more than what I've listed here; that's just all I could think of at the moment. I'll add more if I think of them or based on suggestions from the comments below.

Physical Jobs

Jobs that can be done from home, but require some level of physically interacting with others, tangible goods (that require shipping), and likely require revealing your home address, so some of these aren't completely remote.

To be clear, for privacy and security, I strongly suggest NOT ever revealing your home address, publicly or on paperwork. Instead, use a PO Box (usually the cheapest and most convenient option — but you can't receive non-USPS packages), UPS Mailbox (a little more pricey and you have to fill out a special USPS form to be able and get regular mail along with packages), or a virtual address (most expensive, but with the most options for viewing, handling, recycling, and forwarding your mail). That said, some jobs out of your home will require people actually coming to your home and so it's unavoidable.

  • Selling on eBay, Etsy, etc.
  • Baker
  • Barber
  • Chef
  • Doctor
  • Farmer
  • Landlord (I'll explain below)
  • Mechanic
  • Repairs (computers, furniture, bikes, etc.)
  • T-shirt Printer
  • Tailor

When you think of a landlord, you probably don't have very kind thoughts, but beyond that, you're probably wondering how such a hands-on job as that could be done remotely? Well, one bold option is to open up a spare room, garage, basement, etc. in your own home to renters.

But, what I really meant (and obviously this only applies to those that either have savings or the ability to get a loan in order to buy a property) is owning a house, duplex, etc. You could even do this out-of-state, buying a really cheap property in Kansas for example.

You could then higher a local realty company to be the proxy landlord. You remain anonymous, and they handle all the maintenance, finding tentants, signing leases, collecting rent, etc. and just cut you a check every month. I know I probably lost most of you who likely can never afford this option, and that includes myself, but it's still a really interesting idea.

Whether it's done digitally or physically, there are so many jobs that can be done remotely or semi-remotely, and so many more that you can create all on your own. Remember that everything at some point was just made-up by someone, so why can't you make something up and just do the damn thing?

Where to Find These Jobs

A lot of these jobs can't be "found" per se, because you have to actually start them up, which is going to require some creativity, a website (I recommend Bluehost), and marketing. We'll get to that in a bit. Here are my favorite places to look for remote gigs:

What I like most about these sites is that there's no middleman bullshit; you can connect directly with potential clients. I'm not a fan of Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, and other sites where your communication is locked inside of their platform and they take a cut of your money.

Starting Up Your Own Business

It's not that scary, really. I promise. The most important piece of advice that I can give, that I've never seen anyone else give, is that you DO NOT need to go all-in just to get your feet wet with a startup! You DO NOT need to register an LLC, get a business license, or worry about taxes right out of the gate.

Think of it as a hobby, and only if you actually start making money should you worry about all the red tape. Technically, even if you earn $1 from a hobby, you're supposed to report it, but honestly, if you're making little to no money crafting birdhouses for fun, you'll be fine. If you start to make enough money that it can actually be considered income, that's when you need to start taking it seriously as a business.

And if/when it gets to that point, it's surprisingly easy and cheap to set up an LLC, business license, and report your taxes. It will obviously vary by state, but it's unlikely to cost you more than $300 to get all that squared away.

Play

Oh my. What an absolute playground we have at our fingertips.

I doubt many people will need much advice here, with everyone's favorites already well-established, but in case you're stuck indoors or the 20th century, I have just one word for you, Netflix.

Netflix is by far the most bang for your buck you can get when it comes to entertainment. It can be played on virtually any computer, gaming console, tablet, phone, or TV. Netflix pretty much single-handedly destroyed Blockbuster and cable, and I saw it coming an entire decade ago.

Other worthwhile options:

  • Disney+
  • Amazon Prime (which you should already have for saving on shipping for food and supplies)

While they do have some good original content, I can't fully recommend:

Gaming. In terms of storytelling (movies, TV, books, etc.), I consider video games to be the most immersive experience there is. If you pick up an Xbox One or PS4, you're getting so much more than a gaming console. These machines are now complete entertainment centers, through which you can: play games, watch/rent movies, watch TV, watch YouTube, listen to music, and even browse the web (not the greatest experience for that in my opinion).

Watching podcasts through YouTube on my big screen, only in the last year or so has become one of my greatest joys and time-sucks (with interviews running between 1-4 hours long). I love listening to comedians and other creative people talk. It's not even necessarily funny; it's just interesting.

Thank you for reading!

Comments

This really only just begins to scratch the surface of my knowledge in and my experience of all things remote, so please ask me anything, suggest your own tips, or if you're interested in a private consultation about living or working remotely, you can also email me.