Digital Nomad

There’s a lot of stuff to sort out before hitting the road. The clock is running since we have to be ready no later than the third week of October. I’ve been concentrating on the physical stuff, the tow vehicle, the boat, camping gear, and whatnot. That’s necessary, but preparing for our digital life is important too.

When we travel there are still bills that need to be paid. My goal is to avoid having to write paper checks. Unfortunately, one company we deal with is back in the dark ages and can’t be paid on-line. Good thing it’s a quarterly bill so we won’t have to do that too often. Just about everything else can be handled with on-line payments.

To get on-line we’ve two laptops, a cell phone, and a mobile hotspot device. Our cell phone plan is pretty bare bones and doesn’t have a lot of data. While it’s possible to add more, it’s expensive. In the long run it’s cheaper to use a Straight Talk hotspot. That device allows us to connect a number of devices to the Internet at the same time. Last time I used it we had very good service just about everywhere.

Unfortunately, when I tried to reactivate the hotspot the cell phone app informed me a new SIM card was needed. I really really really hate dealing with customer service. Fortunately, while it was still a pain, Straight Talk’s customer service department seems to have improved. They are sending me a new SIM card for free. It’s a good thing I’m not trying to sort this out while on the road.

My lovely wife and I are one of those weird couples who share a single cell phone. For this trip we might pick up a really cheap burner phone. There may be times when we are separated and still need to be in touch. We also have a couple of small two way radios. They can be surprisingly handy and don’t rely on the cell phone network.

Last but not least is my Kindle book reader. It’s always nice to have access to a lot of reading material without having to carry a hundred pounds of books.

-Sixbears