How to Turn a Cottage into a Remote Office

Even if you’re not thinking of taking the leap and permanently relocating to the lake, having a functioning remote office makes sense. It means you can potentially extend your long weekends, or negotiate some “work from home” weeks (at the cottage). So, look for a property that offers enough rooms to dedicate one to an office, or has a separate, fully wired outbuilding.

If you’re taking all this time to set up a remote office at the cottage, you may as well make it special. Choose a room with windows looking out at the natural beauty you come up to the cottage to enjoy. In between conference calls and answering emails, you can look up and bathe in the lake, forest or mountain views.

Being able to shut out noise is also going to be crucial in choosing the right spot for a remote office. There will be days when you have to leave the merriment and general frivolity to finish a report or call a client. Having a quiet, sound-proofed room — or even a separate structure removed from the main cottage — will help you focus on your work.

A golden rule for buying a recreational property is to ensure it’s no more than three hours from a city. When it comes to also turning it into a remote office, that distance shifts even closer. Aim for a two-hour-or-less commute from the cottage to the downtown core of the city where your work is based. If you need to get there quickly for a meeting or to pick up supplies, your recreational location won’t impact your work.

All of these elements work together to help create a great remote office, but none are more important than having reliable Wi-Fi. Do your research into local Internet providers and their services, and ensure they can provide you with top speed and coverage. Also, prepare for power outages now so that you’re not caught on deadline with no signal. Look into gas generators to power your electronics and a battery-powered satellite Wi-Fi receiver to get your work where it needs to be.