We love the digital nomad community in its entirety.
That means, even though they may be seen as rivals or competitors, we love programs like Remote Year, Hacker Paradise, Outsite, and the other companies that help bring groups of remote workers together around the world.
In fact, we often organize meetups with fellow nomads in these groups in different cities such as Medellin, Buenos Aires, Chiang Mai, Bali, Cape Town, Barcelona, Lisbon, and other hotspots – and many WiFi Tribe members have been a part of these other programs in the past or are members of several programs at once, weaving in and out of them as travel schedules allow.
Although it is all love between these intersecting communities, there are a few things that we feel sets WiFi Tribe apart from the rest. These aren’t necessarily good or bad things, they are just ways in which our Tribe community differs and areas that we feel bring our best to the forefront.
In the spirit of collaboration and inclusiveness for all nomads with shared values, this isn’t about bringing down other groups or communities. Rather, it is about celebrating what makes WiFi Tribe stand out as a welcoming, vibrant community where many members have found a literal home.
Below are some of the things that make us different from other remote work companies.
We are a community before a company
This is the truest aspect of WiFi Tribe. The strength of the community is incredible, and the support that everyone shows for each other within it goes far beyond what the management team provides.
Digital nomad communities, in general, are quite strong, so it’s not like we are alone in this. It makes sense that as you travel and explore with like-minded people while gaining invaluable experiences that create tight-knit bonds. The thing that sets WiFi Tribe apart in this regard is that we focused on building a community rather than a company, and what it has evolved into is beyond what any of us could have anticipated.
Check out the ‘Member Doc’ below to hear what some members have to say, in their own words, about the strength and value of our community.
Our core values dictate our members
Every strong community is built on a solid foundation of shared values – and only those that share these values are allowed to be a part of WiFi Tribe.
These are our core values:
Respect
There is never a good enough reason to treat others without it
Humility
The Tribe is an ego-free zone. There’s just no space for big egos here
Camaraderie
We look out for each other, grow together, and cheer for each others’ successes
Curiosity
We crave to learn, create, and discover the new. Curious people make life exciting
Passion
We don’t cruise through life, we live it fully and cherish every day
Inclusion
We celebrate each others’ differences because they make the world colourful
There are a lot of people that live by these values, both out in the office world and in other remote work programs. But WiFi Tribe interviews potential members to ensure that they are bringing these values with them if they enter the community. The vetting process is quite simple yet very effective – we’ve rarely gotten it wrong when admitting members to our growing group.
It should be noted that less than 50% of WiFi Tribe applicants get accepted, making it a pretty exclusive-inclusive program. However, much of the exclusivity is due to applicants not understanding what WiFi Tribe is really about (i.e. not having a remote job to bring with them) as much or more than it is about their lack of shared values.
We want to be inclusive to all our members, but the only way to ensure inclusivity is to make membership exclusively accessible to those that align with our values – and those that have enough work to help hold others professionally accountable. This way, we ensure all of our members uphold our core values and our shared workday expectations.
Flexibility is our jam
While spending an entire year travelling around the world is a dream come true for many, there are many others that only want in on this dream part-time. WiFi Tribe has provided, since its inception, 4-week or 6-week “Chapters” offering co-living and co-working spaces with other remote work professionals in a new city every month – and you can sign up for as many or few as you like.
Other programs, Remote Year particularly, have also recently adopted a more flexible schedule, but in a lot of cases, you still need to join for at least a few months at a time.
One thing all these programs offer to differing degrees is a choice of destinations around the world. All of them offer locations around the world, from Colombia in Latin America to Portugal in Europe to Thailand in Asia (and much more). The key is which locations are offered at different times of the year, which has always been changing and is even more so since COVID-19 came on the scene.
Personally, as someone that enjoys living in a location for one or two months and then going back to be with family for a few months before heading out to explore again, I really resonate with the idea of full flexibility from as little as 4-weeks to a full year. I also appreciate the value in longer commitments that other programs offer, which would be great to build connections and have some certainty around who you’ll be with over that span.
But flexibility is my jam as much as it is for the Tribe.
We have a vested interest in each other’s growth
We’re not just about the travel – or the job.
Every member of the WiFi Tribe community, from members to the team that runs operations values the success of others.
This is apparent from skillshares, where members present on topics they know well and are passionate about – with the only form of compensation being the gratitude and smiles from the attendees. It’s also apparent in mastermind sessions, where members help give feedback and move forward projects or ideas for one another, all while simultaneously growing as professionals and friends.
But perhaps the best examples of the vested interest in the growth of others is when you listen to how Tribe members speak about one another when they’re not around. I can only hope others are as interested in seeing me succeed and saying such nice things about my work as I’ve heard members say about others.
In the end, to each their own
We love our community and everything it stands for and gives to members.
But we also love the fact that there are other programs out there doing something similar, helping others make connections to like-minded professionals while traveling the world together and growing as human beings.
Meeting up with people in other programs and sharing stories, advice, and simply sharing space as people that are just trying to make the most of the freedom that working remotely provides is something special.
We hope to see you out in the world somewhere, whether it is with us or one of our fellow remote working nomad programs.
