That "work from anywhere" guru cost me 3 weeks in Lisbon

Some blogger I followed swore the best move was booking a month in one spot before trying to work, said I'd adjust faster. So I locked in this apartment in Lisbon for 30 days, paid around $900 upfront, and it was a total dud. The wifi dropped every afternoon around 2 PM and the landlord took 4 days to fix it, meanwhile I missed two client deadlines. I should've done the opposite, tested a week in a cheaper city like Porto first to check my actual workflow. Now I'm stuck here with a slow hotspot plan that eats my phone battery by noon. Anyone else get burned by that "slow travel" advice, or is it just me?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordan_webb21d ago

Did you check the wifi speed before you paid? Because five minutes on fast.com would've told you that place was a scam for remote work. I get the frustration, but the issue isn't slow travel, it's that you trusted a blogger instead of testing the basics yourself. I've done the month long rental thing three times now, and yeah, I've had a dud too, but that's on me for not asking the landlord for a speed test screenshot in the ad. Porto might've had the same problem with a different landlord. You're not stuck, you're just learning that no guru knows your setup better than you do.

riley_miller2521d agoTop Commenter

Honestly, I used to be the guy who blamed the city or the blogger for bad wifi, but you just changed my mind. Is it really that hard to ask for a speed test before handing over money? Ngl, I've booked places based on photos and reviews alone, and I never once thought about testing the actual connection. That's a solid point about the landlord screenshot too, I'd probably look at it and still not run a test myself. But yeah, you're right that it's on me, not on the travel style or some influencer's list. The lesson here is simple, trust your own checks over someone else's hype.