When I decided to park my RV on Sanibel Island for a few days, I pictured a perfect blend of work and beach life. I didn’t anticipate the challenges that would come with finding workable connectivity. Finding good mobile coverage for working on the road can be a major headache, but these days, my mobile coverage is usually sufficient as long as I’m in relatively populated areas.

No sooner had we arrived at our RV park, I realized this one was going to be tricky. A scheduled meeting with my business coach turned into a laugh a minute as we tried Zoom on my laptop, then my phone, before settling for an old-school phone call.

After the call, I got busy finding a work set up. Off we went on an island-wide exploration. I scoped out every coffee shop (and there are a few), the local grocery store with a cozy coffee shop, even finding myself on a bench outside the local library, running speed tests.

In my search, I went to the googles and found “coworking spaces” on Sanibel that didn’t exist but were options off the island. I was hopeful about the library option though!

The Sanibel Public Library is a hidden gem (probably not so hidden, I guess): study rooms equipped with monitors and great internet.

I love a good library and I find it particularly pleasing to see one that operates like a community center, with resources not just for locals, but for transient workers like myself who need a reliable space to connect and create. They even have laptops for rent!

The lesson? Sometimes, the path to balancing work and leisure requires a bit of creativity and flexibility. I only work from the road for a few months out of the year, and it’s worth it! But it does require some resilience to make sure I can have productive workdays and relaxing beach evenings.

For fellow digital nomads considering a stint on Sanibel, know that with a little ingenuity, you can also have your beach life and your work life. The perfect spot might just be hiding in plain sight, like the wonderful public library I discovered.