New Ruralism / Architectural Renovation / Big Ideas, Small Towns
Connectivity - The Lifeblood of New Ruralism
New Ruralism is distinguished from earlier movements to rural or small towns by the connectivity that enables the Urban Escapee to continue to participate in the culture at large and generate knowledge based income.
The benefit of small town urban escape is that the benefits of infrastructure - water, sewer, telephone, wireless phone and cable are there as a foundation for remote participation.
Here are some starting points and comments - once you are able to get that all important home cable or DSL connection:
1. Cultivate alternate means of net connection. This means supporting your local businesses that offer free wifi - encouraging them and promoting their efforts. You can never tell when your DSL or cable will fail and you will need to have a smooth transition back into a semi-public setting. Practice getting on from various points around town - and talk up your appreciation !
2. Be prepared and somewhat paranoid on open WiFi - even your New Rural environment will have potential bad guys. The $60 per year at PublicVPN.com will provide you with safety and security . On your router and wireless access point, use the WPA option, not WEP.
3. Pay for a good quality headset like the Plantronics Virtual Phone Booth., and get used to using it for routine calls.
4. Skype (and Skype-Out) is your friend. Keep $20 in your SkypeOut and practice using it from time to time. When you need it, it will be a smooth transition - and you will be surprised how much you will prefer Skype to your cellphone for most calls. Just be careful when you call a mobile outside the US. Caller pays, and it is just like watching the meter run while pumping gas.
Skype-In allows you to set up a points of presence in multiplemetro areas of your choice and direct it back to your Skype account - which you can then patch through to your cellphone.
5. Routers and Wireless Access points can go bad (I think the heat gets them) - consider your time versus the $40-$60 to replace them.
6. Data Paranoia pays. You will lose your disk drive - it will quit. You will lose your thumb drive - yes really lose it ! Email stuff to yourself .
7. I've had good results with Magicjack. $40 per year for North America and Canada - Plus you can get a metro phone number, if you wish.
The benefit of small town urban escape is that the benefits of infrastructure - water, sewer, telephone, wireless phone and cable are there as a foundation for remote participation.
Here are some starting points and comments - once you are able to get that all important home cable or DSL connection:
1. Cultivate alternate means of net connection. This means supporting your local businesses that offer free wifi - encouraging them and promoting their efforts. You can never tell when your DSL or cable will fail and you will need to have a smooth transition back into a semi-public setting. Practice getting on from various points around town - and talk up your appreciation !
2. Be prepared and somewhat paranoid on open WiFi - even your New Rural environment will have potential bad guys. The $60 per year at PublicVPN.com will provide you with safety and security . On your router and wireless access point, use the WPA option, not WEP.
3. Pay for a good quality headset like the Plantronics Virtual Phone Booth., and get used to using it for routine calls.
4. Skype (and Skype-Out) is your friend. Keep $20 in your SkypeOut and practice using it from time to time. When you need it, it will be a smooth transition - and you will be surprised how much you will prefer Skype to your cellphone for most calls. Just be careful when you call a mobile outside the US. Caller pays, and it is just like watching the meter run while pumping gas.
Skype-In allows you to set up a points of presence in multiplemetro areas of your choice and direct it back to your Skype account - which you can then patch through to your cellphone.
5. Routers and Wireless Access points can go bad (I think the heat gets them) - consider your time versus the $40-$60 to replace them.
6. Data Paranoia pays. You will lose your disk drive - it will quit. You will lose your thumb drive - yes really lose it ! Email stuff to yourself .
7. I've had good results with Magicjack. $40 per year for North America and Canada - Plus you can get a metro phone number, if you wish.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by UrbanEscapee on -
Excellent article, Andy! Awesome points from a pro!
Each one of these "preparedness" actions make working remotely possible AND profitable. Lesson here: be prepared so your remote office is always easily accessible and protected.
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