Happy May, co-remote workers of the Triangle! We seem to be in that brief window between cold winter, brutally humid summer and the mighty pollen storms, so I hope you're making the most of it!

In our last newsletter, I shared some of my favorite apps related to remote working, which seemed to be useful to some of you. So this month I'm sharing some podcasts I've found insightful relating to the remote lifestyle. Podcasts are easy to do, but very difficult to do well. I've come across dozens related to remote work and digital nomadism, but most have junk audio quality, drone on and on with no regard for their listeners' time, or just don't put in much effort beyond the host riffing into a mic. The below podcasts, though, I've enjoyed and gleaned some useful insights from. It's still a relatively small niche, so none of these are exactly NPR quality -- and some can be hit or miss -- but I think these are the five worth checking out.

1. That Remote Life - This is my favorite on the remote work topic. Host Mitko Karshovski is really on top of the subject matter, does his homework and puts a lot of effort into finding good guests to interview. It explores all sorts of things related to living and working remotely and draws from a wide array of successful remote workers, entrepreneurs, and digital nomads doing cool stuff.

2. The Nomad on Fire - Aimed at digital nomads and remote workers who want to achieve financial independence (FIRE, for the uninitiated, means Financial Independence, Retire Early). The interviews feature successful entrepreneurs and investors who share their tips and strategies for building wealth, managing finances, and achieving financial freedom while living a location-independent lifestyle.

3. The Side Hustle Show - If you're like me, working remotely has freed up a lot of time previously spent on getting dressed up in the morning, commuting, and wasting time countless ways in the office. With that extra time, I've started thinking about creating other revenue streams outside my main job. To that end, this podcast features interviews with successful side hustlers who share tips on growing additional revenue streams while working remotely.

4. Freedom Lifestyle - Another interview-focused show aimed at remote workers, drawing from a wide range of guests. Partly about the remote lifestyle and partly about the business side, it talks about things like strategies for building a business, creating a sustainable remote lifestyle, and staying efficient with your time. The guests tend to be pretty interesting, and the interviews are usually reasonably concise and listenable.

5. The Location Indie Podcast - A good all around podcast for remote workers that covers both the business end and the lifestyle side, with high production quality and engaging hosts. Location Indie is an interesting organization focused on remote workers, and the topics they choose for the podcasts demonstrate a high level of thought on the remote lifestyle, ranging from very practical considerations to more abstract things like motivation and values.

What we're up to

This month we're putting a call out for volunteers that can help us better carry out our mission to connect remote workers in the area and help them get the most out of the location-independent lifestyle. To that end, we're holding a recruitment and ideas event over drinks at Triangle Beer Co on May 16th at 6:30pm.

With our growing numbers, the opportunities to foster relationships and organize constructive and fun activities are increasing too. We'd like to recruit more event hosts in various parts of the Triangle, as well as hear about any ideas or talents you have that might be conducive to activities relevant to this group. So if you want to get involved, RSVP to our event listing. We'll chat over some brews and it should be fun, but it will be a 'working discussion', so please only attend if you actually want to get involved or share ideas.

In other news, we recently held our second co-working retreat – a beach getaway at Surf City on lovely Topsail Island. A St. Patrick's Day pub crawl, yoga, working at an oceanside café, and sunrise beach strolls were among the activities on the four-day trip. Once again, it was wonderful to get out of town, work in novel surroundings and get to know fellow Triangle remote workers. We're tentatively planning to do the next retreat sometime in late summer, so stay tuned!

Our upcoming events

Reminder that these are only the events already confirmed, and they are subject to change. We often post new events less than a week ahead of time, so be sure to follow us on Meetup to stay up on them as they're posted or adjusted.

• Friday, May 12 (3pm-6:30pm) - Drinking on the job at Guglhupf (Event listing)
• Tuesday, May 16 (6:30pm-8:30pm) - Volunteer recruitment for NC Triangle Remote Workers over drinks at Triangle Beer Co (Event listing)
• Thursday, May 18 (9:30am-12:30pm) - Co-working at Mad Hatter's (Event listing to come)
• Tuesday, May 23 - Co-working at Meeples in Morrisville (Event listing to come)
• Wednesday, May 24 (2pm-5:30pm) - Co-working at Open Eye + drinks at Steel String in Carrboro (Event listing to come)

Other events of interest

Not affiliated with us in any way, but you might be interested in:

In the Triangle

• Wednesday, May 10 (8:30am-5pm) - Free co-working day at Spaces Magnum Street in Durham (Event listing)
• Thursday, May 11 (Noon-1pm) - On the Menu: Public Speaking Open Mic - Free seminar with free lunch at Frontier RTP's co-working space (Event listing)
• Tuesday, May 23 - (9am-5pm) - Free co-working day at Durham Bottling Company (Event listing)

Outside the Triangle

• May 28-June 3 - Nomad Cruise - A floating conference in the Mediterranean for digital nomads (Event listing)
• June 16-19 - Camp Indie - An adult summer camp in Connecticut for those who work remotely and want to connect with like-minded individuals (Event listing)
• June 25-July 2 - Bansko Nomadfest - Remote worker/digital nomad conference/festival in Bulgaria (Event listing)

Venue spotlight: Summer Moon Coffee

The trek out to Wake Forrest is worth it for this new venue. Fabulous coffee that's wood fired over Texas oak, you won't find a cup quite like it elsewhere in the area. And with comfy tables and a cool aesthetic, it's a great place to hang out while working for the afternoon. (See website)

Featured member corner

A new addition to this newsletter, each edition we'd like to start highlighting a different member of our community and get their thoughts on remote working in the area. First up: Joe Corliss!

• I work as a Data Scientist for Anywhere Real Estate, a residential real estate company.
• My favorite place to work remotely is The Optimist in the Historic Oakwood neighborhood of Raleigh. It's a cozy, locally-owned coffee shop filled with house plants and paintings from local artists. They also have board games, seasonal drink offerings, a made-to-order food menu, and a back patio to listen to the birds and meet dogs while you work. They even have live music on Saturdays.
• The best part for me about remote working is having more control over my time and being able to run errands during the day if I need to.
• My advice to remote workers is to work with your manager to block out a no-meeting day on your calendar each week. Then you can plan a full-day trip to work in another part of town you want to explore, maybe hopping to a library or a coffee shop, and treat yourself to a nice lunch. Changing your surroundings can do wonders for your mood and creativity.

Want to be featured in an upcoming newsletter? Join our Slack community and reach out to Brooke Safferman, our Director of Community Engagement/Recruitment.

May remote work reads

• ​The gender divide when working from home - Forbes
• ​Remote work and mass layoffs are creating a 7-day workweek and erasing old job boundaries - Fortune
• ​The Surprising Effects of Remote Work - The Atlantic
• ​'Zoom rooms' and Dutch door offices show how remote work is changing the way we build new homes - Business Insider
• ​Workers are suspicious about remote co-workers’ productivity, survey says - HR Dive
• ​SVB listed remote work as a business risk before it collapsed. That’s ‘a convenient excuse,’ experts say - NBC
• ​Remote jobs have some workers feeling like college kids again: They play in the afternoon and work at night - Business Insider
• ​Why Bosses Who Praised Remote Work Sour on Productivity From Home - Wall Street Journal
• ​Work-From-Home Era Ends for Millions of Americans - Wall Street Journal
• ​Is the Remote Work Boom Busting? - Nerd Wallet
• ​Full-Time Remote Work Is Falling—But Still Five Times Pre-Pandemic Levels, Survey Finds - Forbes
• ​No, Cities Aren’t Doomed Because of Remote Work - New York Magazine
• ​Why remote work is becoming a blue-state privilege - LA Times
• ​Many workers willing to take a pay cut to work remotely, survey finds - CBS
• ​Next Wave of Remote Work Is About Outsourcing Jobs Overseas - Wall Street Journal
• ​The real reason bosses are freaked out by remote work - Business Insider

Thanks for making it to the end. If you enjoyed this newsletter, send this link to a friend so they can sign up too. And if you have any other questions or suggestions, write to us at durhamremote1@gmail.com. Happy working!

-Eric

Note: We have no relationship – financial or otherwise – with any of the establishments (or podcasts) mentioned in this newsletter. All recommendations are our genuine, unpaid opinions!