THE FOREIGN OFFICE

TOURIST OFFICES, TRAVEL COMPANIES AND EVEN CONVENTIONAL EMPLOYERS ARE MAKING ‘WORKCATIONS’ EASIER THAN EVER BEFORE. DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO JOIN THE GROWING RANKS OF REMOTE WORKERS SETTING UP OFFICES ON BEACHES AND IN HOTEL CAFES? MEET THE PEOPLE WHO, AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC, HAVE DRAMATICALLY CHANGED THEIR WORKING LIVES.

- SARAH BARRELL

Most mornings, before her working day begins, Keisha Ferrell scales a mountain. This isn’t just any mountain, but one whose jungle-fringed paths climb to what’s among the most spectacular views in the West Indies: Shirley Heights. From this vertiginous old British military post, the island of Antigua is laid out with postcard perfection: pristine arcs of white sand frame yacht-populated bays of brilliant blue, giving way to forever views of the Caribbean Sea. It’s a soul-lifting way to start the day, a moment’s blissful pause before the conference calls from rainy England start ringing in.

What sounds like the enviable morning routine of a megabucks business executive is, in fact, the happy new habit of a young British freelancer. Keisha is one of numerous UK employees to have recently set up office in Antigua, taking advantage of the island’s new ‘business on the beach’ initiative. In 2020, the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority conducted a nationwide UK survey that showed 84% of working Brits would love to replace their Zoom background with a genuine tropical island backdrop, and in early 2021, the Caribbean nation launched its Nomad Digital Residence (NDR) programme, designed for those who can ‘meet the requirements of their employers, clients and colleagues while working abroad’. In short: the sort of remote working many of us having been doing during the pandemic.

Those who take advantage of the NDR can stay for up to two years, benefitting from the islands’ no personal income tax status. The programme provides ‘some much-needed space and recuperation following a turbulent 2020’ according to the tourism authority. It also, quite crucially, brings business back to destinations that rely heavily on income from tourism.