08-14-2014, 09:48 AM
Aloha Susan,
We work from home in Nanawale. The area we live in only receives internet via Exede satellite which was spotty when it was windy, rainy, sunny, muggy, dry, the coquis were too loud, etc...we're thinking service will improve now that an entire albizia forest which previously blocked the signal is now a pile of rubbish. Won't know until we have power to check out the signal, but crossing our fingers. We knew going in that we would have an issue with internet but even though our jobs depend on it, we still chose to purchase our house there because we fell in love with the area and couldn't imagine not living where we now live. I guess to clarify, we don't technically "work from home" all the time, maybe 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time we work "near and around our home".
Since we have to have stable internet for at least 4-8 hours almost every day, we use a variety of resources:
Pahoa library - great (free) internet, generally quiet; downsides are a limited seating area and you can't plug in your computer/phone, etc, so you have limit your time there or buy a backup battery or depend on a longerlasting battery-life option such as a chromebook/ipad
Hilo library - great (free) internet, generally quiet, lots of room to spread out, generally quiet and lots of plugins for our energy hungry electronics; downside is having to drive to Hilo every day or if taking the bus it is a bit of a walk or bike from the bus depot
Hilo Starbucks - one on Kilauea Ave and one at Prince Kuhio Plaza - both have great (free) internet (Google provided), lots of sitting area if you get there early (we work mtn or eastern time hours so are often there right when they open at 4:30am), coffee (with free refills if you are a "gold card" member), both are close to bus drop offs; downside is again the drive in to Hilo, having to buy corporate coffee and/or dealing with the occasional screaming child wanting a double soy mocha latte with whip (that actually has never happened, but i hope every day that it does because that would be an awesome story).
Our next step is renting co-working space at Hawaii Techworks. For $60 a month they have fantastic internet, air conditioning, they are next to Rainbow Falls and a great locally-owned coffee house, it's a cozy space and has a conference room in which you can take calls, etc when you need quiet/privacy. For $200 you can set up your own desk in the space (so you're not always hauling your stuff back and forth, very handy if you're on the bus) as well as have the internet, etc. They have great security and overall I was impressed with Tony's set up. I only know this much about it as I went to check it out a week or so before the storm as we are potentially starting a project that requires super internet and is conducive to 8-10 hours of concentrating at a time.
We stay in touch our various project teams via Google Docs (for sharing and modifying docs with the ability to see who changed what when) Google Chat, Skype Video Chat, join.me and other desktop-sharing apps, phone, Facebook and email. While I admit I sometimes miss the social facet of working in an office, the same type of feel has naturally evolved via these other communciation routes. I rarely feel as if I am missing out on anything and without the constant distractions I feel as if my work is of better quality.
I hope your experiment goes well and that you are able to find a good balance!
Cheers
-Allison
I do not fear computers, I fear the lack of them.
- Isaac Asimov
We work from home in Nanawale. The area we live in only receives internet via Exede satellite which was spotty when it was windy, rainy, sunny, muggy, dry, the coquis were too loud, etc...we're thinking service will improve now that an entire albizia forest which previously blocked the signal is now a pile of rubbish. Won't know until we have power to check out the signal, but crossing our fingers. We knew going in that we would have an issue with internet but even though our jobs depend on it, we still chose to purchase our house there because we fell in love with the area and couldn't imagine not living where we now live. I guess to clarify, we don't technically "work from home" all the time, maybe 50% of the time. The other 50% of the time we work "near and around our home".
Since we have to have stable internet for at least 4-8 hours almost every day, we use a variety of resources:
Pahoa library - great (free) internet, generally quiet; downsides are a limited seating area and you can't plug in your computer/phone, etc, so you have limit your time there or buy a backup battery or depend on a longerlasting battery-life option such as a chromebook/ipad
Hilo library - great (free) internet, generally quiet, lots of room to spread out, generally quiet and lots of plugins for our energy hungry electronics; downside is having to drive to Hilo every day or if taking the bus it is a bit of a walk or bike from the bus depot
Hilo Starbucks - one on Kilauea Ave and one at Prince Kuhio Plaza - both have great (free) internet (Google provided), lots of sitting area if you get there early (we work mtn or eastern time hours so are often there right when they open at 4:30am), coffee (with free refills if you are a "gold card" member), both are close to bus drop offs; downside is again the drive in to Hilo, having to buy corporate coffee and/or dealing with the occasional screaming child wanting a double soy mocha latte with whip (that actually has never happened, but i hope every day that it does because that would be an awesome story).
Our next step is renting co-working space at Hawaii Techworks. For $60 a month they have fantastic internet, air conditioning, they are next to Rainbow Falls and a great locally-owned coffee house, it's a cozy space and has a conference room in which you can take calls, etc when you need quiet/privacy. For $200 you can set up your own desk in the space (so you're not always hauling your stuff back and forth, very handy if you're on the bus) as well as have the internet, etc. They have great security and overall I was impressed with Tony's set up. I only know this much about it as I went to check it out a week or so before the storm as we are potentially starting a project that requires super internet and is conducive to 8-10 hours of concentrating at a time.
We stay in touch our various project teams via Google Docs (for sharing and modifying docs with the ability to see who changed what when) Google Chat, Skype Video Chat, join.me and other desktop-sharing apps, phone, Facebook and email. While I admit I sometimes miss the social facet of working in an office, the same type of feel has naturally evolved via these other communciation routes. I rarely feel as if I am missing out on anything and without the constant distractions I feel as if my work is of better quality.
I hope your experiment goes well and that you are able to find a good balance!
Cheers
-Allison
I do not fear computers, I fear the lack of them.
- Isaac Asimov