Can you please introduce yourself?
Hi, I'm Pat O'Hara - my wife and I share a love of travel and living in foreign countries
What’s your profession, what do you do?
Preparing to open a real estate office in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
What company do you work for? Are you a freelancer or Digital Nomad.
Baja Realty Executives
How did you start with a remote work journey?
In 2016, my wife and I sold everything and moved to Costa Rica. Since then, we've lived in Spain, Croatia and Mexico, working remotely as recruiters.
What do you think are the main benefits of working remotely?*
Work-life balance, new experiences, better quality of life.
Do you think there are disadvantages or that you’re missing something by working remotely?
Not a thing
From what cities or countries have you worked since you have become remote? What are your favourite countries or cities to work from?
Grecia, Costa Rica - Cullera, Spain - Split/Zagreb, Croatia, La Paz/Los Cabos, Mexico. Our favorite is San Jose del Cabo
From what type of places do you prefer to work? Home, co-working spaces, coffee shops, or others?
Home/Coffee Shops
What places would you like to travel to while working remotely?
Southern Europe, Ireland, Asia (Bali, Malaysia, Goa)
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them? Share your remote productivity, communication, management, etc. tips based on your experience!
We did copious research ahead of each move (something I'd highly recommend). Online research and expat forums are invaluable sources of information. High on the list of priorities are safety, internet access, health/travel insurance, money, things to do. Regarding work, it's important to consider tax implications, especially when working under work visas or with residency (temp or perm) within the destination countries.
What tools do you use to improve productivity and manage work efficiently?
Zoom has been great for team communication. There are also abundant and helpful mobile apps for digital nomads available.
How do you manage your business and taxes as a remote working professional?
We've always lived as tourists in other countries, avoiding tax burdens there. This will change when I start a real estate office in Cabo as I will pursue permanent residency in Mexico.
What advice would you give to people looking to work remotely?
Research and ask questions! Pro tip: get a Schwab account and access ATM's worldwide. You'll get the best currency exchange rates, and Schwab will reimburse you for any ATM fees incurred.
Do you work on any side projects?
I'll keep my part time job as a portfolio manager for a content marketing firm. I've also started the process of opening an online T-shirt store
Would you like to share any interesting stories while you worked remotely?
Please share if you can.The best thing about living and working remotely in other countries is that we're on vacation every moment we're not working! Before work, we've enjoyed activities such as searching for scallop shells on the Mediterranean coast, kayaking in the Sea of Cortez, and having coffee in a Zagreb coffee shop. After work, we're free to enjoy the wonderful food and drink options wherever we are, or explore shopping/hiking/water sports/casinos and much more.
Can you please share some photos of your work life and experiences?
I have tons of them, but no photo hosting site
Patrick's Website: https://oharapp.com/
Patrick's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.ohara.73157
