The time I tried to go fully remote from a beach town in Mexico and my internet went out for 4 days straight

I moved to Puerto Escondido thinking I'd work from hammocks and cafes, but a storm knocked out the fiber line to my whole neighborhood. I had to take a 45 minute bus to a coworking space in La Punta just to send two invoices and answer urgent emails. Turns out the backup Starlink I'd ordered hadn't shipped yet, so I lost a $500 retainer because I couldn't deliver a draft on time. Has anyone else found a reliable way to test internet reliability before committing to a lease in a smaller town?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_laura16h ago

Omg that's brutal, losing a retainer because of internet? I feel for you. I actually saw a thread where someone said they use the website Nomad Starlink or something similar to check for local coverage before they even book an Airbnb. They also said to message locals in expat Facebook groups for the area and ask them how their internet is, like specifically during storms or peak tourist times. Maybe that could help you avoid another nightmare like this.

sandra_moore3014h ago

Oh wow, that's such a good point @the_laura. A friend of mine actually did something similar before a trip to Costa Rica and it saved her whole work trip. She joined a local expat group on Facebook and some random person told her that the power went out all the time in that area, so she switched Airbnbs last minute.

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