Photo by jenschapter3
This is a guest-post from Sharon Hurley Hall, writing from Barbados.
Freelance writing from a Caribbean island could be the ultimate work at home dream. Not only do you get all the usual benefits of freelancing (setting your own hours, working in pyjamas, more time with the family) but you also get to work in a beautiful place which is frequently featured as a celebrity getaway.
If going on holiday to the Caribbean evokes sighs of longing; living there sends the envy into the stratosphere.
Even so, every paradise has its troubles and working from a tropical island isn’t always rosy. Here are some of the pros and cons of freelancing in the tropics.
Working Environment
Paradise: The biggest plus of working in the tropics has to be the location itself. Working in a place that’s 28C or more all year round means you’re never cold, never have snow and don’t have to worry about heating bills. That doesn’t work for everyone, but it does for me. By the time I moved, I’d had enough of the damp British winters. Being able to look out of the window and see brilliant blue sky, fluffy white clouds, sparkling turquoise sea and green as far as the eye can see makes every day a joy. I also enjoy the wonderful cooling breezes. I remind myself how lucky I am to have traded in gray skies and chilly winds for all this natural beauty.
Problem: Working in the Caribbean means Caribbean weather, and that’s not all good. When it rains, it’s no genteel English pitter-patter, but a brash, full bodied downpour which drenches you if you’re unlucky enough to be caught outside. Worse still, if you don’t close your window, you could return to your desk to find your laptop afloat. That’s not good for all that expensive electronic hardware.
And there’s more. Depending on the island you choose, you could find that between July and September/October you face hurricanes — and we all know what damage they can cause. Uprooted trees, damaged houses, flooding, power cuts and loss of life. Where I live, there hasn’t been a serious hurricane in more than 50 years, but some of the neighbouring islands aren’t so lucky. When you live in America, the UK or another big country, whatever the emergency, you almost never have to face week long power cuts; in a few places, it’s a regular occurrence.
Solution: The answer is to protect yourself. If you know bad weather is coming, it’s not only food and water you have to worry about, but your livelihood. If you don’t already have a surge protector to plug in all your electrical equipment, then get one now. Get a spare laptop battery while you’re at it, and get some friends with computers you can borrow in different parts of the island. It’s rare for everything to go down at once, but you should also consider getting a generator so you will have power even if no one else does.
Photo by jenschapter3
Flora And Fauna
Paradise: Balmy tropical nights with the sound of tree frogs, crickets and more. Beautiful bougainvillea, palm trees and other colourful plants. All of these add to the attraction of freelance writing in the tropics.
Problem: Insects. They grow big in the tropics, not as big as in Australia (They’re not big here, they’re just small everywhere else! — Ed), but still big enough to be scary. If you are worried about lizards and frogs, then this isn’t the place for you. There are millipedes, centipedes and some of the biggest cockroaches I’ve ever seen. And flies. Trying to turn out quality writing while swatting flies and slapping away mosquitos can be a challenge. This is a biggie for me. I really loathe the wildlife.
Solution: Make friends with an exterminator and call him in regularly. This will keep most of the wildlife out of the house most of the time. Another useful tip is to have an anti-fly and mosquito net at the door to your office. This will keep your work space a safe space.
Inspiration
Paradise: How could anyone fail to be inspired by all the natural beauty? It’s soothing and relaxing, and you can go and sit on the beach when you need a change of scene. I am definitely not complaining about that.
Problem: It’s the opposite of life in England. There, you have days so cold you didn’t feel like working. Here, it’s days that are too hot and humid. Hey, it’s the tropics, so it’s part of the package.
Solution: Windows (not the Microsoft kind), fans and air conditioning.
Stay tuned for Part 2 on communications, connectivity and timing.
Sharon Hurley Hall is a born again blogger who has been writing for more than 20 years. Visit her freelance mentoring blog, Get Paid To Write Online, for more advice on freelance writing.
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27 Comments, Comment or Ping
chris
Hi Sharon,
An excellent post which I can certainly relate to, especially the bloody mosquitos. The other problem I find about working in “paradise” is that people don’t work the “work” part seriously and think your life is a permanent vacation - even after 15 years!
Mar 20th, 2008
chris
Sorry that shoud read “take the work part seriously” - another issue of working at in home in paradise is having your 5 year old climbing all over you while you’re working:)
Mar 20th, 2008
chris
Sorry, that should read “…don’t TAKE the work part…” - another aspect of working from home in paradise is having your 5 year old climbing on you while you’re working:)
Mar 20th, 2008
Mark
Sharon - the intermittent internet connection is what really KILLS me.
Mar 20th, 2008
Outlaw Design Blog
Since I live on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, I have a lot of the same problems.
Moisture is a bitch. be it from rain or just the climate, it takes a tool on laptops. One thing I have noticed is that if you place your laptop on top of something that lets air circulate under it ( i.e. a hot plate holder or wire frame tray) it usually helps to protect the life of the laptop.
I also use a backup system, Mozy, that auto backs up my files everyday.
Mar 20th, 2008
Mindanao Bob
Hi Sharon - I also live on a tropical island and blog from here. I am American, but moved to the Philippines about 8 years ago. I live on the Island of Mindanao. It’s an interesting life, and I have many of the same situations that you describe, although not all of them.
Thanks for the nice article.
Mar 20th, 2008
Tom Beaton
Well there are problems. I have lived on islands before. Internet connections are far less reliable too! I still think it is worth it though.
Mar 20th, 2008
Armen
Good post!
It’s not tropical, but when I moved from the UK to Australia, a number of people told me of all the dangerous wildlife that’s here. It was enough to think there’s about a 99% chance of getting bitten by something which could potentially kill me.
Interestingly, most, if not all of those people, have never been here, and the reality is that the wildlife which is most annoying are the sticky black flies.
You have to love the sunshine though!
Mar 20th, 2008
Sharon Hurley Hall
Hey, Chris, you mean that doesn’t stop? I know what you mean about the five year old. I have one too.
@ Mark: there are days when I would kill (almost) for a decent, always on connection, but then I get a sense of perspective and enjoy the atmosphere.
@ Outlaw: I use Mozy too, and I have a Notepal cooler for my laptop. It plugs into the USB, so it’s handy.
@ Bob: Glad you liked it. The Philippines must be nice.
Mar 20th, 2008
Sharon Hurley Hall
@ Tom: I agree; it’s definitely worth it.
@ Armen: you’re right, flies are really annoying, but if I can keep them to a minimum they’re a small price to pay for all this tropical beauty,
Mar 20th, 2008
chris
I guess people assume that what they see on vacation is the reality of life in whichever “paradise” they happen to be in - as if everybody in Spain spent all day sitting on the Ramblas drinking a litre or two of sangria. I long ago gave up trying to convince people otherwise…
Also they need to believe the paradise myth - it’s too threatening to the mindset of many people to think that life isn’t just milk and honey elsewhere.
I particularly notice this in the UK but it’s probably driven by all those lifestyle TV shows selling the message of how bad life is and how it can be improved by changing country, garden, curtains etc
Mar 20th, 2008
Sharon Hurley Hall
lol, yes Chris. I used to watch A Place In The Sun myself, as well as a fair number of those redesign your life, home, kitchen ones. They are selling a dream, and that dream is important when the reality is cold, damp and grey.
Mar 20th, 2008
The Cubicle Guy
Sharon,
Two thing you pointed out are very important.
1) Surge protectors. As I recently lost a drive to a power outage overnight, I can tell those are important. Also data backup…. very important.
2) Big Roaches? They are just plain disgusting in any size. But extra large ones are just yuck. So plenty of pesticide should be always handy.
Good article!
Mar 21st, 2008
Skellie
@ Armen: I’ve lived in Australia all my life, been to the bush and the beach, and I’ve never seen a snake, been stung by a wasp, or stung by a bee, or bitten by a spider. I agree — the flies are just pesky sometimes, but usually only in the Summer.
I must admit to a few close encounters with Red-backs though, in the interests of honesty ;-). Link included to scare non-Australians, hehe.
Mar 21st, 2008
Sharon Hurley Hall
@ The Cubicle Guy: yes, pesticide is an essential.
@ Skellie: OK, consider me scared. Spiders are NOT my favourite creatures.
Mar 21st, 2008
Skellie
@ Sharon: I’m sure you get some pretty gruesome ones in the tropics, though!
Mar 22nd, 2008
Sharon Hurley Hall
@ Skellie: Cockroaches are the worst, and there are some pretty fearsome toads. Some islands have coral snakes, though not this one.
Mar 22nd, 2008
Tim E.
The insects don’t sound like fun at all. These are some of the things one of us dreamers should consider before we move to paradise. Still, that warm all year round thing is very appealing. I’m looking out the window at snow this morning in Canada.
Mar 22nd, 2008
Sharon Hurley Hall
@Tim E: James at MenwithPens shared some photos of the snow in Canada over on my blog. That is serious snow.
Mar 22nd, 2008
Dee
You guys are amusing. The thing is you all seem to have moved to the tropics, if you have lived here all your life the insects don’t bother you and you get pretty used to the weather. Sharon you have one of the best Caribbean island experiences being in BIM. If you were to check out some of our other territories you’d have a lot more Cons. I loved seeing the monkeys in Barbados when I went to UWI there, there are no monkeys swinging around on my island.
Mar 23rd, 2008
Sharon Hurley Hall
Dee, you are right. Although it has a few disadvantages, Barbados is a dream compared to some others. Have you seen UWI lately? It’s about double the size it was when I first knew it.
Mar 23rd, 2008
Reese
Geez, I thought the one roach I found a few months ago was bad. After reading your entry, I’m thankful for the lack of, er, ‘wildlife’ we have here in Malaysia. (Or at least that I’ve encountered)
Like you, I come from a colder climate. I actually find the warmer/sunnier climate I’m in now stifles my creativity at times. When I lived in Michigan and Canada in the winters, cozying down in the dark cold would get the design and writing juices flowing–don’t know why, but that’s what gets me all excited.
Curtains and working at night can help. Here it’s so bright that it feels like summer 24/7, and summer to me means “vacation time” so I’m constantly struggling with motivation and getting my rear in gear.
Dee makes an interesting point. My husband, who originates from Malaysia, doesn’t understand my fear of cockroaches. He grew up with them–no biggie. Me? I’d take a mouse anyday over the crawly critters, thank you!
Mar 24th, 2008
Sharon Hurley Hall
@ Reese: I’m not sure growing up with cockroaches lessens one’s worry about them. If you don’t like creepy-crawlies, no amount of familiarity will help you.
I get that being warm and cosy can help you write, though.
Mar 24th, 2008
Armen
@ Skellie
I’ve only come across one Red-back, and it wasn’t anywhere for me to feel threatened. The same goes for the Huntsman (huge, but not poisonous). I’ve seen a few snakes though, but only slithering across the road while driving.
It’s an amazing country for wildlife though; a lot more interesting than Northern Ireland (where I’m from).
Mar 25th, 2008
Louise Pool
I’m sitting in the Seychelles, so I can relate to all the stuff mentioned. I can live with the creepy crawlies; we don’t have anything deadly here. Australia really scares me, though.
The only thing that gets me down here occasionally is the reason I’m here: the heat. I love it, but it does sometimes turn my brain to mush. When it’s too hot (like now), I don’t “work”; I spend my time reading other’s blogs or going to the beach. Then, I’ll write at night, to the sound of crickets and gekkos …
Mar 25th, 2008
Sharon Hurley Hall
The crickets, geckos and tree frogs are a wonderful part of the tropics, Louise. They’re noisy at first, but you soon get used to them.
Mar 26th, 2008
Louise Pool
Oh, I actually love the sound of crickets and geckos. They provide a soothing background to the night when I work.
Mar 26th, 2008
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