That cafe conversation in Medellin made me rethink my whole setup

I was sitting in this little spot in Laureles last Tuesday, working on some client edits, when this older guy at the next table asked what I was using for travel internet. I told him about my usual setup with a local SIM and a backup hotspot. He just laughed and said he ditched all that stuff six months ago. He told me he just relies on cafe WiFi and a good VPN, and he hasn't missed a deadline yet. It hit me different because I've been hauling around this whole tech kit for nothing. Now I'm wondering if I'm overcomplicating things for the sake of feeling prepared. Has anyone else downsized their nomadic gear and actually felt better about it?

3 comments

3 Comments

joelt7014d ago

Remember that public wifi is only as good as the router in the cafe and how many people are leeching off it at the same time. I've been stuck in places where the connection dropped to a crawl at peak hours, and for client calls or uploading large files that's a hard no. A backup hotspot isn't overkill if it's saved you once from missing a delivery, but I do agree ditching half the cables and adapters you never touch makes the bag way lighter.

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raymitchell14d ago

Oh man, you just described my last THREE cafe work sessions. The wifi was so slow I could have faxed my files faster.

jesse_green5514d ago

Thirty seconds into a Zoom call at a local coffee spot last month and my video froze on me making this weird squinty face that my boss still teases me about. The place had decent reviews online too, but I guess the afternoon rush just killed whatever router they had. I sat there refreshing the page like an idiot while the little loading circle just spun and spun, you know? Ended up having to use my phone as a hotspot anyway and burned through half my data plan for the month. And the worst part is I had already bought their overpriced latte thinking it would buy me some decent connection or something. Your fax comment hit me right in the feels because that's exactly how slow it felt, like I was waiting for smoke signals to arrive.