5 Interesting Things I Learned From Traveling While Working Remotely
OK let me start off by saying it was not nearly as glamorous and “cool” as I had first pictured. After having been in Los Angeles for nearly 10 years, including during the pandemic, I had been itching to get out of the city and see the world. When I booked my one way flight to Boston, I didn’t even have a solidified plan for what the next year would look like for me. I literally just knew I wanted to be anywhere besides Los Angeles.
I ended up spending the summer in Boston (June – August), then going to New York City for the fall (September – October), and finally enjoying a month in Hawaii (October – November), before heading back home to California for the holiday season. I’ll share details of my individual trips in future posts and on my Instagram, so make sure you sign up and follow me to stay in the loop. Keep reading for the 5 interesting things I learned from traveling and working remotely for over 6 months.
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This one is definitely something I thought about ahead of time, but figured “oh whatever, 3 hours won’t be that bad.” I was wrong. It’s important to note here that my job is based in Los Angeles, and as I was traveling, I kept my same PST working hours. I am a big morning person and love having that time to myself to wake up, go to the gym, set my intentions for the day, and ease into work.
When I was on the east coast, I had SO much time before work that I truly didn’t know what to do with myself. I ended up staying up late and sleeping in, upsetting my circadian rhythm, or starting work early while still working late, burning the candle on both ends. When I was in Hawaii, I was waking up at 4 AM to start work right away, often pushing back my dedicated gym time to the afternoon when I had no energy or real motivation to workout. Neither were ideal.
2. You will get lonely.
I am an extrovert, through and through. I love being around people, spending time with my close friends and family, and making new friends. LOVE it. It was really hard for me to adjust to no longer having my support system close to me, and I either ended up depending too heavily on my boyfriend when we were traveling together, or feeling pretty lonely and bored from time to time. In Boston, I had roommates who were AWESOME and so kind and inclusive (shout out Zoe & Ian!) which I really enjoyed. I had a couple close friends in NYC and Hawaii, but it just wasn’t the same as having a bigger support system close by.
<< one of my many solo Hot Girl Walks around Boston!
another solo adventure >>
floating in the ocean in Hawaii
3.Your routine will get messed up and you will feel out of sorts.
This can definitely apply to all sorts of routines – for me I particularly struggled with my fitness routine. I was used to waking up at the same time every morning, going to the gym at the same time, seeing my gym friends, then continuing on with my day. My life in LA was very structured and as a Type-A, organized personality, that worked well for me.
I didn’t have a car during my time traveling, so was more limited in gym options. I sometimes wasn’t able to work out every day since Barry’s was a 4 mile walk roundtrip, or didn’t have the energy if I was up working early. While not life-threatening, I strongly believe fitness is so essential to my mental health, and this was very frustrating for me. Ironically, I ended up pretty much eliminating alcohol from my diet, so felt much healthier than I had since my pre-college drinking days, but my day-to-day routine was disrupted.
4. You will get to spend more quality time with your extended family.
I grew up in upstate New York, and most of my extended family is in the Northeast – spread out across New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Being back East, I was able to go to my Grandma’s 80th birthday party, visit my Aunt & Uncle’s house in Connecticut for the first time, spend the day with them in NYC, and see my Grandma’s sister in Boston.
I got so much closer with my family, and I would not trade that time for the world, especially after not having seen them for over 5 years. It was really so special and I am so happy it worked out the way it did.
5. You will miss the Brentwood Farmer’s Market more than anything.
This is highly specific and may sound ridiculous, especially if you have never been. But truly, the Brentwood Farmer’s Market is one of a kind, and I missed it so much. When I was living in LA, I would go every Sunday morning to get my groceries for the week – local, organic fruits and vegetables, pasta from Italy, “rainbow” eggs, fresh fish, hummus & pita, sourdough bread, and more. I just was not able to find anything that compared in any of the cities I went to, and it really pained me to keep buying all the plastic-packaged products in the supermarkets.
All in all, I do not regret my experience one bit – I learned so much about myself and it really gave me the opportunity to grow as a person and think about what I really wanted out of life. Knowing what I know now, if I ever do something similar again, I would definitely take more time off rather than purely working remotely from different locations. I want to really be able to enjoy myself, experience each city to the fullest, and actually be able to relax.
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mariss
