What makes a good remote-work destination? My 5 must-haves:

I work a “regular” corporate 9-to-5, so when I work while traveling, I make sure that to have access to the following things, in order of most important:

1. Reliable Wifi Connection

I’ve found that short-term rentals like Flat.io and Airbnb have been the most reliable during my travels. Of my 14 places I’ve stayed in the last 3 years, there was only one case during which my Wifi had cut out, but it wasn’t too dire). Rental units tend to have their own Wifi routers which helps with ensuring a good connection.
Hotel Wifi is usually okay, but I’ve been in a few scenarios where I am prevented from connecting to my work VPN.

At my accommodation in Bozeman, Montana, I sat near the Wifi router for the best connection. This was a home rental, so the connection was quite strong anyways.

2. Backup options for a Wifi connection:

Internet cafes or coworking spaces: I’ve used Google Maps to find ones near my accommodations, just in case the wifi cuts out in my hotel. It gives me peace of mind to have backup options.
Portable Wifi: Though I’ve personally never used one, it is good to know that I could purchase a Wifi egg or pocket wifi if I really, really needed to.
Phone Hotspot: This is a good temporary solution if you’re in a pinch. Unless you have an unlimited data plan, I wouldn’t recommend this as a long-term solution.

My work setup from a cafe in Reykjavík, Iceland. I landed at 5:30am and check-in wasn’t until 3pm, so I worked from a cafe nearby. It was 7:45am at the time this picture was taken, and I had breakfast, lunch, and a snack here. (Cafe name: Kaffitár)

3. A suitable workspace

Now that I’ve established how important it is to be able to connect to the Internet, the next most priority is a suitable workspace. This might look different depending on the nature of your work, but for my corporate desk job in technology, my bare minimum requirement is a chair and a desk. Since my setup is light (just a laptop), I don’t need much space. However, some others I know need a second monitor, or bring their own laptop stand and peripherals (headset, keyboard, mouse), which would require a larger table.

I rented a studio apartment for one week in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. I worked from the L-shaped countertop and bar stool for the duration of my visit. It wasn’t as comfortable as my desk and rolling chair back home, of course, but it was all that I needed to do my work productively. I switched things up by working from the couch sometimes, too, though that is less comfortable for extended periods of time.

4. Proximity to grocery stores and restaurants

Since time is limited during the workday, especially if I have to maintain my home working hours, I prefer to be very efficient about my meals. At one accommodation in the Netherlands, I stayed rather far from a grocery store, and even further from any restaurants. Thus, it took some careful planning to pick up everything I’d need for the week because I only wanted to make one trip.
By contrast, at another accommodation at Johor Bahru Malaysia, I lived in a mall with easy access to grocery stores and restaurants downstairs. It was so much easier to get meals, and I didn’t have to ration my provisions for the week since I could step out quickly, even during the middle of the day if I craved a snack!

When I visited the Netherlands, my first accommodation was an Airbnb near Hoorn, a shipping village about an hour from Amsterdam. It was beautiful, but…
… the nearest grocery store was a 30-minute walk from my home, and the bus that would have quickened the journey was not running for the duration of my stay.
Though the walk was necessary, I very much enjoyed the journey to the charming town. I only made one trip for provisions to last through the next few days.

5. Walkability / efficient public transit

On trips where I’m spending the majority of my time working, I prefer to be nearby to many attractions so I can minimize my commute time and optimize my exploration time during my 5-to-9 before or after work.
It is nice to explore on foot, and and also very convenient to rely on public transit. Otherwise, I’m spending more time commuting than sightseeing! I detail my contrasting experiences in Vienna and Bangkok in the gallery below:

My Flat.io rental in Vienna 2 was very close to many cafes and shops. I could explore by foot in the mornings, then return home fairly quickly to begin my workday.
When I stayed in Vienna, Austria, I really appreciated how there were so many art and cultural things to explore across the city. The public transit was very efficient.
By contrast, I found the public transit by boat and rail in Bangkok, Thailand quite slow and inefficient, taking over 30 minutes to travel only a few stops.
Thus, I could only walk as far as the nearest mall and I kept my temple visits and excursions to days that I was not working. This picture was taken from a pedestrian bridge on my 20-minute walk to the mall from my Airbnb.