As I discussed when I orginally decided to move to Denver, I had no intention whatsoever of cutting my ties with the fine state of Maine, and indeed, anticipated spending a lot of time back there. It didn’t really work last summer, simply because it was my first in Denver and I need time to get settled, set up, plugged in, etc. But in planning for this upcoming summer, I’m strongly considering spending several weeks or more living and working back in Maine. Summers in Maine, after all, are divine (except for the damn mosquitoes, and they can be addressed).
From a RedMonk standpoint, the transition would actually be fairly simple, as I’ve proven on the two previous occasions I’ve moved: repoint the toll free number, and everything else (email, IM, Skype, etc) stays the same. Time zone wouldn’t be an issue, while travel would be easier on the one hand (east coast proximity – day trips down to Boston and so forth), but harder on the other (west coast). Having done that schedule before, however, it’s certainly not unmanageable. All I really require from an office space perspective is a desk, a phone, and internet. While the shared office options in my area of Maine (greater Portland region) certainly aren’t what they are here in Denver, they do exist and I’ve already sent a couple of inquiries on that front to folks I know back east. I’m confident I could come up with something workable, assuming that the cell access back at the family place still hasn’t improved the point that I could work out of there.
But this would be my first foray into seasonal occupation, and I’m curious as to whether there are other folks out there that live and work in similar fashion. I know at least one of the O’Reilly folks lives that way, along with a couple of others, but I’m curious as to whether any of you might have suggestions on things to consider/remember/avoid/etc when spending weeks or months away from your regular home base. How do you prep customers for it? Are there technologies like AccessLine I should be considering, or not? Any thoughts on best bets for shared office space (the Cafe Creme coffee shop is a strong contender)? What are the little things I’m likely to forget? What is it like living away from home? Thoughts on any/all of the above would be greatly appreciated.
