Poll: Which would you prefer: to travel for work, or to work while you travel?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Mar 7, 2019

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Which would you prefer: to travel for work, or to work while you travel?".

View the poll results »



 
Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 06:08
English to German
I prefer not to travel at all Mar 7, 2019

I have the mental mobility of a mussel. One reason for being an e-lancer is that I can stay in one place. Even walking up the street to my employee workplace while I had one, was a PITA.

 
Marjolein Snippe
Marjolein Snippe  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 06:08
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Only for holidays Mar 7, 2019

I prefer not to work when I am away from my desk. Not in the evening, not in weekends and certainly not when I am on holiday. I would have to have made a serious planning error if I were to take my work with me while travelling.

Liena Vijupe
Vera Schoen
Julio Madrid
Melanie Meyer
Nadia Silva Castro
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 22:08
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Prefer not to travel at all Mar 7, 2019

I work exclusively in my office at home. I've done my traveling. I used to work at conferences and travel all over Latin America, sometimes taking work along with me at the same time, but I'm not up to that anymore.

Julio Madrid
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 05:08
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I prefer not to travel at all Mar 7, 2019

I was an eager traveler for a long time and over the years I’ve visited 21 countries in Europe, some parts of the USA, 1 country in South America, 3 countries in Africa. Then from 2006 till 2015 I was a digital nomad between Brussels and Lisbon for family reasons. Though this arrangement suited me fine at the time, it also got a little tiresome at my age. That’s one of the reasons why I decided in 2015 to move back to Lisbon. Now I'm much happier sticking close to home and there are many bea... See more
I was an eager traveler for a long time and over the years I’ve visited 21 countries in Europe, some parts of the USA, 1 country in South America, 3 countries in Africa. Then from 2006 till 2015 I was a digital nomad between Brussels and Lisbon for family reasons. Though this arrangement suited me fine at the time, it also got a little tiresome at my age. That’s one of the reasons why I decided in 2015 to move back to Lisbon. Now I'm much happier sticking close to home and there are many beautiful places to see and visit in my own country. Work-wise, I became extremely attached to my own space.Collapse


Julio Madrid
 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
Other Mar 7, 2019

I prefer to travel, no work)

Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Natalia Pedrosa
Cristina Heraud-van Tol
 
Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 06:08
English to German
Hi friendZ Mar 7, 2019

Lots of digital barnacles here!

Digital nomads might be more fashionable, but nothing beats an old-fashioned stationary desktop PC with an ergonomic keyboard big enough to hit over an intruder's head if need be. And I can see the butterfly bush grow while I work ("Now look at you, you must be growing a quarter of an inch a day" - no I haven't converted to imperial, it's a line from a song).


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
neilmac
 
Anna Herbst
Anna Herbst  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 16:08
English to Swedish
+ ...

MODERATOR
SITE LOCALIZER
I prefer to work while I travel Mar 7, 2019

One of the best things with being a freelance translator is that you can work anywhere and any time you please. Working while travelling has given me the freedom to upgrade the holiday components more than once, and it allows me to feel more relaxed about spending those extra dollars on non-essentials while I am away.

Elaine Ruby
Julio Madrid
 
Thomas Pfann
Thomas Pfann  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:08
Member (2006)
English to German
+ ...
I prefer not to work at all Mar 7, 2019

When I am travelling I prefer not to work. I am happy to fit in small requests and reply to emails etc. but proper work is best done at home in my office where I have everthing I need and where I can get into the right mindset.

neilmac
EvaVer (X)
Melanie Meyer
Thayenga
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 06:08
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Mar 7, 2019

While I enjoy being able to travel while working, for example to fill in a couple of hours when a flight is delayed, I much prefer working on my PC (not laptop) in my "office" at home. I have three fully equipped desktop PCs and, since my house was burgled at Christmas 2017, only one laptop, which I use when travelling.

Ideally, it would be nice to be able to travel on holiday without taking any work with me, but I usually take my laptop with me anyway, as I don't mind having non-ur
... See more
While I enjoy being able to travel while working, for example to fill in a couple of hours when a flight is delayed, I much prefer working on my PC (not laptop) in my "office" at home. I have three fully equipped desktop PCs and, since my house was burgled at Christmas 2017, only one laptop, which I use when travelling.

Ideally, it would be nice to be able to travel on holiday without taking any work with me, but I usually take my laptop with me anyway, as I don't mind having non-urgent jobs that I can do to pass the time if I get bored.
Collapse


 
Angie Garbarino
Angie Garbarino  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:08
Member (2003)
French to Italian
+ ...
Both Mar 7, 2019

I love to travel so both
I love working while travelling and travel for work


Julio Madrid
 
Tilman Loeffler
Tilman Loeffler  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 06:08
Member (2015)
English to German
One thing doesn't rule out the other Mar 7, 2019

Ricki Farn wrote:

Lots of digital barnacles here!

Digital nomads might be more fashionable, but nothing beats an old-fashioned stationary desktop PC with an ergonomic keyboard big enough to hit over an intruder's head if need be. And I can see the butterfly bush grow while I work ("Now look at you, you must be growing a quarter of an inch a day" - no I haven't converted to imperial, it's a line from a song).


I bought a car that's big enough and now I'm travelling through France/Spain/Portugal/Germany for almost 2 years, living and working in airbnbs, and I am doing that with my desktop PC, two screens and even my favorite ergonomic work chair. And I also got a bonsai tree with me, it grows quite slowly, but hey, at least something


Julio Madrid
 
Cristina Heraud-van Tol
Cristina Heraud-van Tol  Identity Verified
Peru
Local time: 00:08
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
I prefer to travel for work Mar 7, 2019

I love to travel!!!!

I prefer to travel for work, because normally as I translator I am sitting all day at my PC and don't go out much. When they hire me as an interpreter and then I have the chance to travel with all costs paid, I accept the job without hesitation. I always try to arrive or leave one or two days earlier/later to see more of the country. In this way, I am lodged at a 4 or 5 star hotel, have a nice breakfast and lunch, good transportation, I and have visited countrie
... See more
I love to travel!!!!

I prefer to travel for work, because normally as I translator I am sitting all day at my PC and don't go out much. When they hire me as an interpreter and then I have the chance to travel with all costs paid, I accept the job without hesitation. I always try to arrive or leave one or two days earlier/later to see more of the country. In this way, I am lodged at a 4 or 5 star hotel, have a nice breakfast and lunch, good transportation, I and have visited countries I never knew before, eg. Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, parts of the Netherlands.

When I save enough money and decide to travel on my own (with my family, of course), I am normally on holidays, relaxing, having fun, etc. so I decline all jobs.


[Edited at 2019-03-07 21:34 GMT]
Collapse


Kay Denney
Angie Garbarino
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 02:08
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Travel for work Mar 8, 2019

When you travel for work, work is the reason why you travel. You are willing to work in that case.
When you travel for yourseld, leaving work behind is one of the main reasons to travel. I do not work when I'm traveling for leisure or vacations. I warn my clients and plan way ahead. At the most, I'll answer my emails. I travel so rarely, because work doesn't allow me, I'm not gonna take my working stuff with me.


 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 06:08
French to English
Both Mar 8, 2019

I used to have a job involving travel. I would make appointments for Friday or Monday and spend the weekend there too, it was great.
Not so sure I would like that now because it often involved getting up very early for flights then getting back very late.

I do travel quite often now, for pleasure. I take my laptop or USB stick at least and I do work for my favourite top-paying direct clients, the others are told I'm not available. The main problem being that roaming charges o
... See more
I used to have a job involving travel. I would make appointments for Friday or Monday and spend the weekend there too, it was great.
Not so sure I would like that now because it often involved getting up very early for flights then getting back very late.

I do travel quite often now, for pleasure. I take my laptop or USB stick at least and I do work for my favourite top-paying direct clients, the others are told I'm not available. The main problem being that roaming charges outside the EU are exorbitant.

Vaguely thinking I'd like to go on a long voyage before I'm too old to enjoy travelling any more, so it's interesting to read about travellers here.
Collapse


Angie Garbarino
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: Which would you prefer: to travel for work, or to work while you travel?






TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »