In recent years, remote work has become a popular way of life, with more and more companies allowing their employees to work from home or other locations all over the world.
What you might not know is that GoSkills has actually been a fully remote team since its inception. In fact, we have employees working from 21 different cities, all the way from New Zealand to Spain.
We'll be honest: working remotely isn't always as glamorous as it can appear. We have plenty of days of taking conference calls in our pajamas or simply perching at a desk for hours on end. But still, while remote work gives us a ton of unique benefits as an organization and as individuals, our favorite one might just be that we can make our environment uniquely suited to how we work best.
Top 10 best places to work remotely
Here are ten remote work locations our team loves, some far away and exotic, and some much, much closer to home. 😊
1. Beachub in Thailand
“My favorite remote working spot is a co-working space called Beachub in Ko Phangan in Thailand,” says Bhav. "It's right by the beach, and it's open air, so you get a fresh ocean breeze. There's super fast internet, and the people are chill.” What more could you ask for, really?
2. Campervan in New Zealand
Caitlin shared, “I most love working from my campervan. It's the best way to truly embrace the beauty of remote work. I can go anywhere I want at the drop of a dime, set up next to a gorgeous view, and still not miss a single meeting!” Looks like the perfect setup, doesn't it?
3. Beach in Montego Bay, Jamaica
“Maybe because I grew up on an island, I find the sound of water incredibly calming,” says Claudia. “Working with a river or the ocean as my backdrop makes me so happy!" We agree! Isn't it scientifically proven that the workday goes faster when you're on the beach?
4. My balcony in Istanbul
Gyuzal from our development team enjoys this view of Galata Tower while she works from the balcony. Doesn't this photo almost make you feel like you're there?
5. Koh Samui, Thailand
Another vote for Thailand! “One of my favorite places to work is at 4Monkeys in Koh Samui. The views are amazing, the music is great, and once I was done with work, I was one order away from a nice cocktail to end the day,” shared Kgosi. Hear, hear!
6. Cafe in Glasgow, Scotland
Sometimes, a good coffee shop feels like just as much of an escape as the beach. Here, copywriter Laurel sets up shop at a cozy cafe in Glasgow, with the hum of city streets as her background music.
7. Beach view in Goa, India
“I love working by the beach, even though the sand can be a bit of a nuisance!” said Sonia. “Goa is one of my favorite remote working spots. It’s low-key, sunny, and there’s always something to do!” Consider this one officially added to our list ✔️.
8. London with a view
“Last year, I traveled for a work event in London and was very lucky to get a room in front of Tower Bridge!” shared Maria. “That view reminded me how much I enjoyed living in the UK as a student, and having the chance to work remotely from there was simply amazing! It also gave me the chance to have a walk in the nearby areas and enjoy plenty of coffee at Pret a Manger, my favorite coffee shop.”
9. Granby, Colorado
Every now and then we like to trade beaches and fruity cocktails for mugs of hot cocoa and snowy mountains. Imagine working from Granby, Colorado, like Missi from our support team!
10. My backyard in Melbourne, Australia
Admittedly, this submission from Ste on the marketing team might be our favorite. “My favorite place to work remotely isn't anywhere fancy; it's at my property in the back paddock of my house outside Melbourne, where I don't get interrupted,” he shares. Sometimes, it's true what they say — there's no place like home.
Working remotely, together
You might be wondering how remote team members manage their work when they're working in different locations, schedules, and time zones. Admittedly, it isn't easy, but with tools like Zoom for live and recorded video calls, Slack for messaging, Google Calendar for scheduling, and Trello for project management, we make it work.
Using the GoSkills learning management system for the onboarding process and ongoing knowledge sharing also helps!
We even schedule virtual downtime for parties and games, and have a virtual space where people can drop in at any time to share in random office chit-chat and banter.
Wrapping it up
Clearly, our remote team relishes the ability to say goodbye to long commutes, fixed working hours, and strict dress codes. Remote working can be challenging for business owners and managers. It can be hard to keep remote employees engaged and maintain a strong company culture. However, working remotely allows us to connect with talented people from varied places and maintain a healthy work-life balance. This brings new ideas and perspectives to our work.
We're excited to see where else remote working takes us as our distributed team continues to grow!
Caitlin Brown
Caitlin is an editor at GoSkills, lending a keen eye and strategy to all related content. Her work includes product reviews, employee development platforms, and press releases. In addition to her Bachelor's in Public Relations from the University of Cincinnati, she also studied Theater at the Baltimore School for the Arts. When she's away from her computer, you'll likely find her roaming around her campervan in New Zealand, perusing cookbooks, or planning imaginary trips to Europe. Learn more on Linkedin here.
