Remote Work Setup in a New Country

Internet

Your first priority is finding out what internet options your apartment has. Fiber is available in most European cities and many Asian capitals, with speeds of 100-1,000 Mbps. Rural areas and some Latin American cities may rely on DSL or cable.

Don't trust the listing. "WiFi included" in a rental can mean anything from 300 Mbps fiber to a neighbor's hotspot bleeding through the wall. Test the connection on day one during work hours, not at 2 AM when nobody's online.

Get a local SIM card with a generous data plan on your first day. In most countries, prepaid SIMs cost EUR 10-30/month for 20-50 GB. If your home connection drops during a client call, tethering through your phone should carry you. In Portugal, Thailand, and Mexico, 4G/5G speeds are fast enough to work from mobile data full-time.

Local SIM Cards

Buy a local SIM at the airport or a carrier store. Some countries require ID registration (Germany, India, Japan), while others sell SIMs over the counter. If your phone is locked to a carrier, sort that out before you travel. eSIMs are increasingly available and let you keep your home number active while adding a local data plan.

Coworking Spaces

If your apartment's internet is unreliable or the workspace is a kitchen table, coworking spaces solve both problems. Local alternatives to WeWork are often cheaper and better connected to the expat community. Day passes typically run EUR 15-30, monthly memberships EUR 100-300.

Coworking spaces also give you a professional address for mail, meeting rooms for video calls, and a social life outside your apartment.

Time Zone Management

If your clients or employer are 8 hours behind you, your "morning" calls are at 5 PM and your "end of day" is their morning. Figure out the overlap hours and protect them.

Set your calendar to show two time zones. Be explicit in meeting invitations about which time zone you're referencing. If you're choosing a destination for remote work, consider the overlap. Western Europe works well for East Coast US clients (5-6 hours ahead). Southeast Asia works better for Australia and East Asia but makes US overlap difficult.

VPN Considerations

Some work tools and services are geo-restricted. Your company VPN may flag logins from unexpected countries. Your bank might lock your account if it detects access from abroad. Set up a reliable VPN before you need one, and test your work tools through it before your first workday.

Some countries (China, Russia, certain Middle Eastern nations) restrict or throttle VPN usage. Research this before arrival.

Power and Hardware

Voltage differences won't fry your laptop (modern power supplies handle 110-240V), but the plug shape varies by country. Bring a universal adapter, and buy a local power strip so you only need one adapter for multiple devices.

Tax Implications

Working remotely doesn't mean your tax obligations stay in your home country. As the EU Your Europe portal notes, you will usually be considered tax-resident in the country where you spend more than 6 months a year.

Keep records of where you work each day. Some countries count days, and exceeding thresholds (often 183 days) triggers tax residency. If you're splitting time between countries, talk to a tax advisor who understands cross-border remote work.