[sbanerjee]

Originally Posted by RoadAtlas

We are still on the lookout for suitable options as an opportunity as good as this to become a digital nomad even for a few weeks may not present itself ever again.

As I search Airbnb I find 96 monthly stay option in Darjeeling district, price starting from 15,000, with 30,000 ones being decent enough.

[shavac]

For Folks in Bengaluru, The Tamara in Coorg is offering deals like 7 nights for the price of 4. The Wi-Fi was pretty decent when we had visited as well.

[warrioraks]

One of my friends just came back from a week long WorkCation. He and his partner rented an AirBNB in Bhimtal. The host provided them a cook who prepared three meals a day at Rs 500 per day. They had to buy the ingredients from a local shop. Not a bad deal.

Overall he was pretty happy with the experience of working from somewhere NOT his home!

[jbpanda]

I have been on a workcation in the outskirts of Dehradun with my family since early this month. It was initially planned for a week but we extended it beyond Diwali considering the rise in pollution levels in NCR. This was a much needed change after being at home for seven and half months (I refueled one of my cars after seven and half months for this trip and the other one is yet to be refueled since mid-March). It has been a welcome and much needed change, firstly the drive from Gurgaon to Dehradun and secondly, working from a new environment in the midst of nature (away from the hustle of the city) without bothering about the daily household chores.

[warrioraks]

Originally Posted by jbpanda

It has been a welcome and much needed change, firstly the drive from Gurgaon to Dehradun and secondly, working from a new environment in the midst of nature (away from the hustle of the city) without bothering about the daily household chores.

Can you share the property details of where you stayed and the experience with WiFi, power backup and similar essentials needed for seamless work experience.

[jbpanda]

Originally Posted by warrioraks

Can you share the property details of where you stayed and the experience with WiFi, power backup and similar essentials needed for seamless work experience.

The property is called Riverstone Cottages in Guniyal Gaon, Dehradun. River view rooms are preferable (though it gets very cold at night), but the garden facing rooms are not bad either. You may check out the availability on their website and online bookings show a 25% discount. Food and service is decent, though nothing exceptional. WiFi is decent for regular work but for seamless calls I use mobile personal hotspot as an abundant caution. They also have power back up. Let me know if you need any specific details.

Note: I just found the hotel on some internet search and this is my first ever stay with them and have no personal interest/ association with the hotel.

[yd_gli]

My wife and me went on a week's workcation to Udupi with the intent that we could extend it if we felt. Much to my surprise, we were happy to get back home to Pune at the end of the week.

The whole workacation is just another marketing gimmick from my perspective. Pune has great weather and I used to miss my daily bike/run friends. The winter rides into the hills around Pune can't be beat. My entire family is here too and Diwali without them would be a complete downer. For folks from metros such as B'lore, Delhi etc it might make sense since the conditions (pollution/traffic) in those cities are far worse than say Pune but even then I can't imagine staying away for more than a few weeks.

Also, why do people want to go to Goa for a workcation? The only positive for that place is cheap beer. Even my friends who are Goa natives don't want to go work from there. It's basically a party destination and the crowds over the next two months will drive one crazy. There are far more beautiful and peaceful locations up and down the coast (MH and KA) to work from. Last I checked, Jio works pretty well all over the coast.

People find it difficult to be productive from home. Being productive from Goa over weeks is .

[procrj]

Originally Posted by yd_gli

People find it difficult to be productive from home. Being productive from Goa over weeks is .

+1 to this as I did try working 1 day in the middle of a vacation and it did not go well. It was hard to get into the mindspace to do work and it just ended up being a neither here nor there situation for me.

For me, a Workcation makes sense if there is a clear plan to drive and visit places which might not be possible in the pre coivd era due to restrictions around taking time off. Example: Driving to Gujarat and Rajasthan from Bangalore, wherein weekend and maybe a few days of time off can be used to visit places and experience local culture. But a Workcation where you are just sitting on the beach doing nothing, might not work for me.

[Engine_Roars]

The Home Minister is very clear in her priorities. I quote " If I step out of the house for a vacation and have to work for office, I would rather stay in house and work." I can't argue with that logic specially when it comes from The Home Minister.

Some how mixing of work & pleasure does not sound like a great idea and it also makes matter complicated that we have to keep paying rent for our flat in Pune, if we plan for a longer workcation.

[hondafanboy]

People find it difficult to be productive from home. Being productive from Goa over weeks is .

Spot on. The folks who have done it or doing it now may have learned few tricks to make it successful. But overall this may work for singles or who run their own business.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by yd_gli

The whole workacation is just another marketing gimmick from my perspective.

People find it difficult to be productive from home. Being productive from Goa over weeks is .

Originally Posted by procrj

+1 to this as I did try working 1 day in the middle of a vacation and it did not go well. It was hard to get into the mindspace to do work and it just ended up being a neither here nor there situation for me. But a Workcation where you are just sitting on the beach doing nothing, might not work for me.

Originally Posted by Engine_Roars

Some how mixing of work & pleasure does not sound like a great idea and it also makes matter complicated that we have to keep paying rent for our flat in Pune, if we plan for a longer workcation.

Originally Posted by hondafanboy

Spot on. The folks who have done it or doing it now may have learned few tricks to make it successful. But overall this may work for singles or who run their own business.

To each their own guys, to each their own.

Just because it does not work for you, doesn't mean it can't work for anyone. And certainly the kind of job role, the corporate culture of the organization, and the family situation makes a huge difference. I know people who have been making it work for years, even before covid. Full-time employees of companies, not just freelancers or business owners. And in countries like the US, it's been common for years. My past 3 managers have all lived in different US states from the nearest physical office and have probably visited the office once or twice a year at most. So even before covid they didn't care where I worked from. (I have to add, it's only the Indian 'manager' mindset that thinks otherwise.)

If one approaches this with a 'do some work while on vacation' mindset, then it is certainly bound to fail over the long term. What makes more sense is- 'I'm here to work first of all, the fact that my job offers me the flexibility to work from outside a city is a bonus'. The stage one is at in their career and self-discipline are also factors. In fact, I think the 'workacation' word is misleading. It's simply remote working, that's all. Just like you would in the office, or back home, you have to prioritize work even when working from Goa, Manali, wherever. Everything else fits in after.

Anyway, this thread is for pooling info for those who want to try it out, I don't think it is meant to sell the concept to those who don't. In fact, the fewer people want to do this, the lesser the crowd at the places for those of us who want to! And that's ultimately the main reason (at least for me) to do something like this, to escape the crowds.

[autotranny]

Slightly off topic, but do you guys prefer to carry around an internet dongle for these 'away from home' work environment or do you rely on the hotel / air b'n'b provided broadband internet.

Im planning to shift back to Kerala for a couple of months, in between which I will be spending time in Munnar, Ooty etc. I'm hoping a Reliance Jio or an Airtel Dongle will provide a consistent 20 Mbps connection that I need for my endless zoom calls.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by autotranny

I'm hoping a Reliance Jio or an Airtel Dongle will provide a consistent 20 Mbps connection that I need for my endless zoom calls.

Hard to say, you need to check speeds individually at the places you are planning to be at. I carry both a Reliance and an Airtel hotspot as backups to the main connection. But if you are staying at a place for long, invest in a wired connection, nothing beats that.

Hotspot speeds vary from place to place, but from my limited observations so far, I've seen that where they both work, Airtel generally gives better speeds than Reliance. But in the remote areas, it's more often the Reliance that works and not Airtel.

What would be awesome is a database of speeds across locations based on people's observations. I've been maintaining a rough record, here are mine so far:

Palolem- Reliance: 5-15 Mbps Airtel: 20-30 Mbps
Udupi- Airtel: 6 Mbps, Reliance: 6 Mbps
Kaup- Airtel: 6-10 Mbps
Srirangapatna- Reliance: 6-12 Mbps
Agumbe: Reliance: 12 Mbps
Cubbon Park - Airtel: 16-37 Mbps, Reliance: 5 Mbps

Obviously not an absolute list, will vary based on where in the particular place one is, what parts of the town, line of sight to the towers, etc. But a sort of rough guide.

[am1m]

Back home in Bangalore for a week after 2 months away working in South Goa. (Mainly to avoid the madness there in Goa over New Year.) After 2 months, can say for sure that it's certainly possible to work there. At least for my kind of work and my family/social situation (no kids, wife also works remote, no other dependents, don't need to socialize with colleagues and no great desire to socialize with friends or relatives on weekends!)

Can't wait to get back there next week actually! And to get back to my healthy routine of morning beach run, work all day, evening swim, and exploring that beautiful state on weekends. Plan to continue working from there as long as offices here are shut.

[dsnaveen21]

Originally Posted by am1m

Back home in Bangalore for a week after 2 months away working in South Goa. (Mainly to avoid the madness there in Goa over New Year.) After 2 months, can say for sure that it's certainly possible to work there. At least for my kind of work and my family/social situation (no kids, wife also works remote, no other dependents, don't need to socialize with colleagues and no great desire to socialize with friends or relatives on weekends!)

Hi, Iam planning to go and stay in GOA for 2 -3 months for work, where did you stay, any contact number you can give please.

Thanks,