Desk Research

[nelsonic]

Just opening this issue as "Todo" (note-to-self/reminder) to add a section on Nomad List to Readme. https://nomadlist.com https://nomadlist.com/braga

[nelsonic]

https://open.buffer.com/state-remote-work-2018/

[nelsonic]

Searching for "Braga" on the nomadlist home page ... It's already number #42 ...

[nelsonic]

http://digitalnomaddocumentary.com https://youtu.be/XXMnKEKPj3A

[nelsonic]

PAID for the Documentary:

@youjindo is the documentary maker.

Redirects to: https://vimeo.com/271403090/52b08a2649

Downloaded the 720p version for watching offline with @iteles next week.

[nelsonic]

5 Things I Hate about being a Digital Nomad

https://youtu.be/wgwp_H4XAY8

1. Governments don't understand what we do! Taxes, Visas, Job Status, "one-way tickets". ⛔️
2. No "Sick Days" ... 🤧 when you are sick, there is nobody to pick up the slack for you. If you are not producing, you are not making any money. Clients don't care if you are sick, they care that the work is getting done. > Find a way to take days off. ☀️
3. Clients who (don't) pay well and/or on time. E.g. some clients will pay in 90 days. some will take your work and never pay. 😢 If you do a project, have a contract.
4. Constantly having to explain what you do for job/work. (to friends/family...)
5. You will work harder than any job you have done before. Being a "digital nomad" is an amazing thing, but it's hard work! "Freedom isn't free".

[nelsonic]

Just got served this Ad: https://youtu.be/wl7_b5zz9MQ

Hacker Paradise ... https://www.hackerparadise.org

@iteles worth taking a look at in your next pomorodo break. 🔍

Related to #5

[nelsonic]

Digital Nomad documentary https://youtu.be/iXGtx-hroKE

[iteles]

Samsung made this little video to show how their equipment can be used even in the most remote locations, even using the Casa do Penedo (remote, in Portugal) as a coworking space for 2 days (sent by my mum!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=22&v=4ioYFYWex4E

[nelsonic]

@iteles wow that video is popular ... 🙄 (two views ... basically only you and I watched it...)

It's an 8 minute Samsung advert ... 😕 (_not a tour of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_do_Penedo ..._) The artist featured in the video pretends to like using the Samsung "S Pen" to draw, but seconds later he's back to using pen & paper because he prefers the "large format" ... (duh!) He was clearly paid or given a free device to be part of this long-form advert The true test of the phone's usefulness as a drawing tool would be if you see him using it in the street instead of his sketch book a week after the advert is filmed.

#posture ... did nobody tell Marco Brandão this was being filmed as an advert, and to sit up straight! He goes through this whole spiel about how the Samsung Note can be used instead of a DSLR ... Where have we heard this nonsense before? https://www.zdnet.com/article/samsung-busted-faking-galaxy-blur-effect-with-a-dslr-photo #lies https://www.dpreview.com/news/7660321303/caught-trying-to-pass-off-dslr-photos-as-phone

The background/scenery in Fafe is irrelevant to the video. It's actually disingenuous to film there and claim that there is good signal "everywhere" ... Sure it's a "remote" location, but it's not the middle of the Alentejo (where there are no turbines). When there are high output wind turbines they need decent connectivity to transmit the running data, nobody invests millions of Euros into turbines and then does not track their every rotation! So obviously there would be decent cell signal because Vodafone has dedicated towers in the area!

Did your Mum actually watch the video? 👀 ❓ Did it clarify her "confusion" or "doubts" about remote work, co-working or co-living? 🤔

[iteles]

I think she found it interesting to note that remote working/co-working is actually such a market that even Samsung is focussing an advert (disguised as an informative video) on it.

To be fair, it only came out today.

[nelsonic]

@iteles with 1k subs "TheNextBigIdea" channel can/should do better than 2 views on a video's launch day. unless they are "fake subs" to boost the channel's credibility. https://www.google.com/search?q=fake+youtube+subscribers 🤦‍♂️ The creator of the video did not even bother to get the people featured in the video to like + comment on it (which would be legit interaction) ...

Anyway, remote/co-working is obvs a market, everyone who has typed it into google and seen millions of results knows that. And Samsung will sponsor anything to get their devices featured. It's good that your Mum took the initiative to share the video with you. Less good that she still openly "doubts" what you are trying to achieve instead of choosing to understand the future and wholeheartedly supporting your mission.

[nelsonic]

Why remote work isn’t going away anytime soon: https://www.fastcompany.com/90318974/the-rise-of-remote-working-will-continue comments/discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20323849

[nelsonic]

In Europe, the countries with the highest "Work from Home" percentage are The Netherlands and Finland:

http://alugy.com/usa/latest-eu-data-shows-that-in-the-netherlands-14-of-employees-work-from-home-in-usa-only-2-8/

[nelsonic]

2022 ...

Revisiting this with the benefit of hindsight. ⏳ Posted the above stat on working from home weeks before the COVID19 Pandemic forced all knowledge workers into working from home ... 💭

People who once thought it would be inconceivable to work-from-home such as teachers, doctors/nurses and social workers have now all experienced remote working; even hair dressers gave clients "virtual haircuts" via Zoom where the client used the scissors and the stylist told them what to do ... this is obviously an extreme, but it shows how many activities can be done remotely!

2 years later and the majority of knowledge workers now have some form of work-from home component. Remote working is the norm now no longer the exception. Yet there is still a shortage of co-living spaces for remote workers.

Are Digital Nomads Still a Thing? 🤷‍♀️

The Digital Nomad thing is still very much thriving and Portugal is a prime destination. In the latest Nomad List https://nomadlist.com rankings, there are 4 Portuguese Locations in the top 20:

• #2 Lisbon - https://nomadlist.com/lisbon
• #6 Porto - https://nomadlist.com/porto
• #11 Madeira - https://nomadlist.com/madeira
• #16 Ericeira - https://nomadlist.com/ericeira

Sadly, Braga has dropped in the rankings from position 42 above https://github.com/dwyl/home/issues/2#issuecomment-414018782 ... 🙄

While this is lame because Braga was recently voted "best European destination" to visit in 2021 https://www.idealista.pt/en/news/lifestyle-in-portugal/2021/04/27/946-braga-voted-best-european-destination-to-visit-in-2021

https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/european-best-destinations-2021/#content

Why?

The reasons that Braga is not higher on the Nomad List rankings are: a. Availability of short-term rentals in Braga for people who don't have a PT/EU passport and references. b. Visibility of the city on sites like Nomad List or Workmode: https://workmode.co c. Great Co-working locations where people can focus on their Deep Work without interruptions and with great internet, healthy food and a creative/inspiring environment.

Braga currently has no presence on Workmode: https://workmode.co/braga 😞 (sad trombone ...)

By contrast Lisbon has plenty of locations: https://workmode.co/lisbon

We can easily "fix" this if we (still) want to.

[nelsonic]

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/charting-the-continued-rise-of-remote-jobs/

Via: Dagogo Altraide's "Why Millions of People Are Quitting Their Jobs": https://youtu.be/YK1EXbNx6js

[nelsonic]

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220309-workcations-the-travel-trend-mixing-work-and-play

[nelsonic]

How many jobs can be done at home? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272720300992 This is an interesting read from The Journal of Public Economics.

Fulltext PDF: 1-s2.0-S0047272720300992-main.pdf

Highlights • We classify the feasibility of working at home for all occupations. • 37% of jobs in the United States can be performed entirely at home. • Jobs that can be done at home typically pay more. • Lower-income economies have a lower share of jobs that can be done at home.

Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30802137

[nelsonic]

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230413-home-coworking-spaces-with-friends

[nelsonic]

The workers quitting digital nomadism: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20230531-the-workers-quitting-digital-nomadism

not sure how representative this article is, but going to read it in any case. 💭

[nelsonic]

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20231002-digital-nomads-have-billions-to-spend-entrepreneurs-are-cashing-in

[nelsonic]

Checking back on https://nomadlist.com/braga and there quite a few things that are wrong ...

• Internet: "34Mbps" ... even the cheap internet is 100Mbps ...

https://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/isp-directory/Portugal/Braga.html

• Vulnerability to climate change: "good" ... should be excellent! 200m above sea level and in the base of a mountainous region flanked by two rivers with unlimited water. Sufficiently north of the equator that 2° C temperature rise will not minimally affect the city.

• Fun: "Bad" ... what is the metric for this?! 🤷‍♂️

• Education Level: "mediocre" ... totally off! Literacy is 100%, there are several good universities and the Nano Technology Institute: https://inl.int there is no shortage of highly educated people in the city.

• Happiness: "Bad" ... "* Values derived from national statistics" What?! link to the stats!! Was the poll taken the day after a football match where the team lost?! 🤷‍♂️

We might want to email someone at Nomad List to get the scores revised with evidence.

The last review was 5 years ago: ⏳

[nelsonic]

https://www.uil.unesco.org/en/learning-cities/braga

[nelsonic]

Did a quick price-check on hostels in Braga: €20/night is the new "going rate" .... https://www.hostelworld.com/pwa/wds/hosteldetails.php/inBraga-Hostel/Braga/90111

InBraga are still using the crappy bunk beds with no privacy, horrible mattresses and linen:

We are spending €1200 per bunk bed to give people privacy curtains & noise isolation, high quality memory foam mattresses and luxury linen. We will charge less and give people a lot more. Where would you prefer to stay? 💭