We are 5 days away from going to Portugal for a month! I decided, after months of hmm and hahhh’s that we were going to do it… we are going to move to Portugal for a month this summer! We are lucky to have a home there. As you guys know, Roberto is Portuguese, and Roberto’s parents own a home in the Algarve that was passed down to them from his mom’s parents. This home (pictured here) will be passed down to us one day. When we spent two weeks there last September, I fell in LOVE with Portugal. It’s so beautiful, full of culture, the most beautiful beaches, fresh food… and it’s not crazy expensive. I feel beyond lucky that it is a part time home! If you’re in a client based business that allows you to work remotely, you can do it, too! You don’t need to own a home abroad to take an extended work/live trip. Choose your location, book an Airbnb and just freaking do it.

So, what are some things that lead me to the decision, and how am I balancing life/work for the trip?

BUILD THE DREAM

It’s been a crazy four years owning a business. There is an element of burnout that comes with this, and it’s time for a breath of fresh air; I know I’ll come back inspired and buzzing. It’s been my DREAM to have a life a job that allows me to work remotely, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do! Have laptop, my camera, an iPhone and wifi, will travel. That’s the saying right? The biggest thing that gets in the way can be permission. Giving yourself permission to do something outside of your norm is a huge struggle! Hey, I had to turn down so many opportunities for this trip – new clients, new work, even a morning TV segment (all about how to get that perfect Instagram shot… might reschedule for August!). But you know what? When I made up my mind were going to do it, I committed to the trip.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

So why now? We have been trying to have a baby for a year, and while I’m honestly not worried, I felt it important to reset, take some time away, and let my body just relax a bit. We can come up with a million reasons why we shouldn’t do something, why it’s hard, money, work, time… we get in our own way most of the time It’s not others expectations of us, it’s our own. I decided that now IS the time. My mom is getting up there in age, my husband and I are in the prime of our life and don’t have kids yet. Life really is short, and I want to make memories, and enjoy things that we can, when we can. My mom, sister and her husband and baby will be joining us. Who knows how many ‘tomorrows’ we will have, right?

LIVING IN THE MOMENT

I’m not taking this trip to use it for photo ops – no drones, no exploring just for the photos. I’m going to live it, to enjoy it, and of course, to share it whenever I can (on Insta stories, but of course!). I’ll be working as normal, but I DID do some advanced planning to manage my workload, doing as much prep with content planning etc. well before leaving, which will help me to live in the moment. I also made sure not to book any meetings 10 days before leaving so that I could stay at the computer leading up to the trip and really get every piece of work I could complete in order to set myself up for the trip!

CLIENT WORK

My clients are very well taken care of, and I can do the same work at home, that I can do abroad. Each client is informed that I’ll be away, but that it will be business as usual, which it will be, just from another location. I worked into any new contracts that I will not be available for in person meetings from this date to this date, and anything that I need to be in Vancouver to do will be done before I leave.

Things to plan for if you want to take a working holiday:

Wifi – Is the wifi good where you are? Getting a hot spot portal to take with you and connect your laptop to at your home base and while you’re on the go (eating up your cell data isn’t ideal) is the best way to be sure you’ll stay connected. It’s like portable wifi! These little portals are loaded up with data GB’s and connect to a local provider. My cell company charges $10 a day to connect to the local data service, and I’m not so into that. If you’re into learning more about this, here is the one that I’ll be using.

Converters – make sure that you buy plenty of converters for electrical outlets. You’ll need to keep all of your gadgets charged!

Extra cell battery – My iPhone battery drains in half a day (lovely), and when I’m out and about, charging isn’t always an option. I’m going to rely on my portable battery to keep me topped up.

Time difference – The biggest issue about travelling abroad when you’re working is the time difference. Portugal is a full 8 hours ahead of Vancouver time, so I’ve ensured that anything I need to do (like social media scheduling) works with both time zones. i.e. I don’t need to wake up at 3am to post a client Instagram.

So could you take the plunge and go on extended trip? What’s holding you back?