NuNomad

Got an Interesting Office Space? Opportunity for Fame and Maybe Fortune - You Never Know

This morning I was contacted by Nick Leiber of Businessweek.com. They are working on a new project that will feature photos of interesting at -home office spaces and descriptions of those people who work in them. Nick thought our audience of nu nomads might be great candidates for people with cool office spaces and I have to say I agree. Ricardo has already sent in his photo and description. I'll be soon to follow.

If you'd like the opportunity to appear in Businessweek.com along with your name and short description, go to Wanted: Pics of Your Home-Based Business and follow the directions.

If you get published - let us know and I'll blog about you too!

What the F*** Are You Doing in a Cubicle?

by Carmen
Today as I was listening to the radio I caught a story on Marketplace (a popular public radio news show) about the latest reports on U.S. worker productivity. Here's an excerpt from it that I pulled from the story text on the Marketplace site:

DAN GRECH: Since 2000, workers have increased their productivity by nearly 20 percent, but during that same period, average hourly wages increased by only 3 percent.

JARED BERNSTEIN: The American work force is working harder, smarter and longer. Essentially they're baking a bigger pie, but they're taking home smaller slices.

That's Jared Bernstein with the Economic Policy Institute. He says the gap between productivity growth and wages is at a historic high. The reason, more money is ending up in the pockets of the wealthy.

The story then mentions that some economists do not believe the gap between productivity and wages is as large as reported although they agree that there is a gap.

And get this - the way productivity is measured is in units of "widgets per hour". I don't know about you - but I have one life to spend on this earth and it's damn sure not going to be spent in a cubicle pumping out more widgets for less money so someone else can live like a Rockefeller.

And I ask you - if you're reading this from your cubicle in the 12th hour of your work day "What the F*** are you doing it for?!" Is this really what you dreamed your life would be? If not - go out and live it.

I suppose you're on this blog because traveling is one of your dreams. Make it happen. We've got tons of information here for you and more coming. In addition, there's a whole community of like minded people here on the forum, ready to help and an e-book to give you a step by step. Sorry - you don't have any excuse for being a widget pumper. Believe me. I'm a coach and I've heard every story under the sun. If you want it - go out and take it.

Nomading in America?

By: Ricardo

I remember struggling in my college macro-economics class some years ago over the relationship between the strength of the US Dollar, the consumer price index, interest rates and all that stuff. It was the sort of mind-numbing equation that only made me want to pack my backpack even faster for the nomadic journey I was strategically planning instead of doing my homework. But this year I finally got what my professor was trying to explain to me.

Since January 2007 the US Dollar has fallen in strength 12 percent against its biggest rival, the Euro . Therefore my money-belt and US bank accounts that store my greenbacks, which fund my nu nomadic lifestyle, are becoming dangerously anemic. (I'm at risk of sharing the same economic position to those of working expats. Nooo!) For example, when I arrived in Thailand six years ago to begin my work-travel journey, the Thai Baht was 42 to one USD. Not a shabby exchange rate at all. Then, slowly, that rate began to ebb. Now the Baht is only 33 to the Dollar. This means that within six years everything cost 28 percent more-and this is not factoring in local inflation. And Thailand is not the only country that is affected. Nearly all are.

Yup, the ability to take advantage of the higher paying "western" economies while spending it in the lower priced "eastern" economies is now leveling off. China, India, Thailand are but a few examples of what were once "great values " for those with Dollars. But with Asia's emerging economies and America's slide toward recession, I may soon find myself making a circle back to America soon. Yes, America!

The up-side to America's week dollar is that America's (that is, USA, as opposed to North and South America) goods and services are now competitive again! Who would have thought? Now on the world market (which we nomads have to survive in) foreign companies want American airplanes, American computer chips, American stuff. Why? Because the Dollar is now down some 40 percent against the Euro (within the past seven years) and those with Euros, British Pounds or whatever are now taking advantage of the weaker American economy. And now traveling in America can only be cheaper than it has been in decades-especially if your income is in Euros or Pounds.

All over the USA there are small, inexpensive, towns to visit and nomad in. Forget expensive New York and Los Angeles. Think Route 66 haunts and national parks. I mean, really, how much could a one room apartment in say, Winslow Arizona, cost?

I would be very curious to hear from other nu nomads who are currently in the States what prices they're paying for such things as accommodations, food, transpiration and Internet access.

More and More People are Working Remotely

By Carmen Bolanos
November 5, 2007

While we often describe remote working as packing up and heading across the globe, let's not forget that a lot of folks are freeing themselves from the traditional workspace just to the nearest coffee shop or bookstore to get online. This may not have the same romance as the former scenario but it's a first step in what we at NuNomad believe is a quickly growing trend that will see increased numbers take the bigger leap into the world soon.

iPass Wifi Hotspot Index has recently released a report that supports our assumption. By using tracking data from over 80,000 hotspots in over 85 countries they have compiled a study showing the patterns of internet usage across countries, cities and venues. The current report compares the last six months of '06 with the first six months of '07.

Some of the most dramatic increases include a 239% rise in internet usage both in Europe and other world countries (not included in main country categories). The smallest increase in growth was in Asia/Pacific but even that growth was a whopping 86%.

In terms of venue, airports lead the pack for number of wifi sessions but hotels saw the largest increase of 255%. As might be expected, the top three retail locations for internet use are cafes, restaurants and bookstores. However, interestingly, the largest increase in usage was seen in train stations (good news for us nomads) at 139%.

Top 3 countries for internet use? The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany have a large lead over the remaining listed countries. The remaining of the top ten are all in Europe with the exception of Japan and Australia. Australia boasts the largest growth at a colossal 789%!

As for cities, London is way in the lead with nearly 4 times the number of internet sessions as the next cities, New York and Tokyo. London also experienced the largest growth in the last year for number of sessions.

So - what does it all mean? Basically, more people are getting online out in public. While we don't know how much of the internet usage was business vs. personal, we can probably deduce that both business and personal use in public places is increasing rapidly. This trend will invariably result in a greater number of venues offering wifi and greater ease of accessing internet for all of us who rely on this type of accessibility!

Hopeful Trend for NuNomad Wannabes

Virginia's governor, Timothy Kaine announced earlier this year that he wants to see 20% of Virginia's state work force telecommuting by the year 2010. Currently, only 3% of their workforce telecommutes.

Maybe people are finally figuring out that forcing employees to work on site is pretty stupid for a large percentage of the working population. There is a growing number of workers who could easily do their jobs via the computer or telephone and really have very little reason to force their human bodies across cities twice a day in order to accomplish their tasks. I don't know about the rest of you, but there is no way I'm spending a percentage of my life stuck in my car on some highway. And I won't even go into the environmental impact of all those horrible traffic jams.

Still, this is a hard sell to many traditional managers. I'm always intrigued by reactions when I bring up this subject. So many people become very uncomfortable and say something like, "I just really need to have my employees in the office. We need to see each other face to face". When I ask why they need to see each other face to face the answer is never very satisfying. It usually goes something like, "Well, that's how we have our relationship and that's how I know what's going on".

As a person who has worked 90% virtually for almost a decade now, I can tell you this is old fashioned thinking. I have had deep and meaningful relationships by telephone and email with co-workers who I've never met. I have had deep and meaningful relationships with clients who I've never met. Many of my clients have stayed with me over the course of several years. Some are going on 8 years with me now. I know intimate facts about their lives and their families. We exchange holiday gifts. All the things you might do face to face. We even drink coffee together by phone!

You may be intrigued to know that Ricardo and I (my co-founder here at NuNomad) have never met face to face although we are business partners. How do I know what he's doing? We communicate daily by email. Sometimes we Skype. We've still not even had a telephone conversation. Do I feel like I know him? You bet! I consider him a friend as well as business partner.

And to those managers who will counter with, "well, I just know that some people won't work if I'm not standing over them", I have one word - PRODUCT. If you measure your employee by what they produce - not by how much time their butt is in their desk chair - you're going to have more productivity and a happier workforce. What if they don't produce? Let them go! It should be the same story even if they're smiling at you from their cubicle 10 hours per day.

Anyway, enough digression. The news in Virginia is good for anyone who is hoping to achieve a NuNomadic lifestyle someday. No offense to state workers (my husband is one) but state governments aren't usually known for being on the cutting edge of things. If this government body has the balls to make a stand for telecommuting, maybe more will follow. And as you know, once you're working from home - it's only one more step to working remotely!

P.S. I'll let you in on a secret. I have a dream that someday our community here at NuNomad will be large enough and strong enough that we can start doing some lobbying for more remote working. If there is anyone out there who'd like to help me make this come true - let me know.

NuNomad "Cover Story" of Business Week Online!

We are proud to announce the appearance of NuNomad and Laptop Hobo as the "cover story" of today's small business section of Business Week online! The story by Karen E. Klein, features interviews with NuNomad/LaptopHobo founders Richard Hamel and Carmen Bolanos as well as our forum member, Greg Moulinet and his wife, Yoko, NuNomads and owners of Nomadesign. This is our first major press and we are very hopeful it will help us in the building of our community! Come take a look! The New Nomads Business Week Article

Goodbye Shopping - Hello World

A big issue for many people who would like to do extended travel is finances. Forums are full of discussions on how to save the money to make your trip happen. So many of us are bogged down in credit card debt, student loans, etc. that the idea of saving money seems like a pipe dream. Even if you can figure out how to maintain your income while you're away, you'll need a nest egg to get you out the door.

If you're one of these dollar weary folks, check out this recent story about The Compact group in San Francisco. My husband found this article on Yahoo!News titled "S.F. group enjoys shopping sabbatical". A group of friends in their 40's with professional jobs decided to take a sabbatical from shopping for an entire year. They allowed themselves only essential items for health and safety such as toothpaste, food, etc., but bought nothing else. What they found is that really, they needed little else and in the process were able to save money and pay down debt.

What's cool is that they have inspired thousands of others to follow in their footsteps and have created a group listserve to share information on how to achieve this lifestyle. Their listserve can be joined at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecompact. Get inspired! Save your money - see the world!

The Post-Geographic Office - Your Ticket to the World?

Michele Conlin of Business Week Online has recently written one of the more exciting articles for NuNomads I've seen.  Smashing the Clock describes Best Buy's new corporate policy in which employees (not frontline store employees but administrators, execs, etc) Are allowed to work when and where they want.  The initiative is called "ROWE" standing for Results Only Work environment.  Employees may come and go at anytime and work from anywhere.

More exciting are the numerous examples Conlin has collected of other companies that are implementing similar policies.  These companies include IBM, Sun Microsystems, and a Boston Consulting firm. It seems that the corporate world is finally waking up to the benefits in employee morale, productivity and savings to the companies in less need to provide physical work space.  In fact, the initiatives have been so successful, Chief Executive Brad Anderson of Best Buy has launched CultureRx, a subsidiary to help other companies go clockless.

So to those employees of IBM, Sun and other clockless companies, I say, "Come on over to NuNomad - the world is your oyster"!

NuNomad - Faster than CNN!

So - I don't normally consider myself any sort of hot reporter but I must say I was a bit psyched to open up CNN.com today and find an article on Couchsurfing - a topic I wrote about 2 weeks ago!  Of course, they did a better job, gave more information and links to a few more like minded sites.  Nevertheless, I'm taking the opportunity to blow my horn.  If you want to take a look at their article go to Need a Place to Crash? Try a Stranger's Couch.  They have some interesting examples of people who have done this including a guy who's been sleeping on couches since 2004.  They also mention hospitalityclub.org, globalfreeloaders.com and place2stay.net .  These are all free sites devoted to matching friendly couches with friendly sleepers.  Only worrisome part is - sounds like several of these sites have a hard time keeping afloat.  What will be the fate of NuNomad?  Please - if you appreciate getting travel information faster than CNN brings it to  you - tell your friends about us, sign up for our Forum, and be active with us!

The Nu Nomad is Here!

As they say in the Monty Python movie, "I'm not dead yet!"  No - on the contrary - though I haven't been posting to my blog for a couple of months, I've been working hard with my nomad partner Richard, to bring you all a new resource in work and travel.  I'm proud to announce today the opening of www.nunomad.com and www.quitdreamingandgo.com .

Www.nunomad.com has been created as an online community for people who are making a living while they see the world or who really want to be.  Www.quitdreamingandgo.com is our page for selling our new e-book titled, you guessed it, "Quit Dreaming and Go!".  This ebook is a step-by-step manual for those people who would like to embark on the travel adventure of their lives and keep their income in the process.

We're really excited about both sites and hope you will join us there.  If you're a friend of the Nu Nomad you can help us out by getting on the site, going to the Forum and joining us in discussion.  We hope to see you there!