One of the benefits of owning a remote accounting firm (and only working remote jobs since I graduated college in 2020) is that I can work from anywhere, from the Rocky Mountains to the volcanoes of Big Island. I’ve appreciated this flexibility greatly because I can combine my two loves, working and traveling. I’m one of those people who don’t mind blending their personal and professional lives, instead believing that full integration is better. I think “work life balance” only matters if you don’t love your job or find fulfillment in it. My goal is to love and enjoy my work so much that I don’t mind logging on from Big Sur or Bali - rather, my travels should inspire me to work better and think more creatively.

That being said, one of the main drawbacks of being an accountant is the incessant pressures of month-end close. For 1-2 weeks of the month, my brain is whirring frantically to cobble together accurate financials within 10 business days. It’s a relentless schedule that I’ve maintained for nearly seven years. I try not to travel during close week, but it’s often unavoidable. The flexibility is a blessing, but it can also be a double-edged sword because it’s much easier to close from my cushy home office. An airbnb coffee table simply can’t compare to my wide, wooden standing desk and huge monitor. However, I’ve gotten pretty good at this “on-the-go” close lifestyle. My essential tools include:

• Noise cancelling headphones and/or my “small ears” earplugs
• Secure and fast wifi connection (with VPN on)
• Spreadsheets available for offline work
• Enough willpower to “lock in” on command
• Pockets of uninterrupted time (1-2 hours minimum)
• My “productive” playlist
• An ergonomic mouse + mousepad (which I bring with me everywhere to save my wrist)

With my time-tested formula, I’ve been able to successfully close the books in some unusual destinations, although the wifi situation has been far from smooth in all locations…starting with:

‍Seattle <> Alaska Cruise, September 2022

Prior to this trip, I hadn’t taken a cruise since the Disney Cruise when I was three (I still vividly remember the endless free ice cream and my bright turquoise rashguard). My friends and I decided on an Alaska cruise since it was minimal planning, and our friends already lived in Seattle. Unfortunately for me, the trip was the first week of September…which meant close work on a vacation cruise. I was desperately trying to connect to the cruise’s awful wifi, overcoming my frustration with my sense of duty. I’m a stickler for things like this, and even though I had technically taken vacation time, I didn’t want to leave my team high and dry. My enormous spreadsheets were taking minutes to open, and Slack was whigging out. I was frantically trying to take screenshots of validator wallets on September 1 so I could reconcile later.

Despite the pain, the books were closed on time and I was able to eat wild salmon and go diving off the shores of Ketchikan. My husband always jokes that my closes are more stressful for him because he has to hear me complain about wifi speeds and excel shortcomings. Sorry!

Mexico, October 2022

Ah, I made a rookie mistake here - I did two closes with back-to-back traveling! My husband and I traveled to Mexico for a week to enjoy the vibes, see the sights and eat all the delicious Mexican food. We started in Mexico City and made our way down to Oaxaca. The cities were gorgeous, but my favorite part was seeing the ruins atTeotihuacan (and based on my pictures, it looks like I was there on October 1!). We then did a sauna session in an ancient temazcal (a traditional Mesoamerican sweat bath) and immediately after getting back to our hotel, I hopped on a Slack huddle. Whatever relaxation and spiritual energy was inside me was promptly converted to corporate hustle.  I was a crazy lady back then, but again, the rush of traveling made me ultra efficient.

Ski Trips through the Years (2021 - 2026)

I’m incredibly lucky to go on skip trips with my college friends every year, starting with our first trip to Nederland, Colorado, in February 2021. This was in the thick of COVID, and it was fashionable for young professionals to rent an Airbnb for a month, ski and work. There were probably seven or eight of us in the cozy lodge, taking meetings or skiing during the day and cooking group meals at night. Nederland was a literal fairytale. When we first arrived, a snowstorm had covered everything - the roads, the houses, the playgrounds - in several feet of pristine, squeaky snow. It was the first time I’d seen anything like it, and I was woefully unprepared as a Florida girl. I had to buy a second-hand, hot pink bib to withstand the cold. In fact, it was so freezing that when we threw cups of hot water into the air, the liquid immediately turned to snow crystals. While the beauty of Nederland was unrivaled, the wifi was horrific and we spent many-a-night lamenting the speed (or lack thereof). The Airbnb hosts were clueless, despite our many "Karen" messages.

Since then, our group has done several more ski trips, and I’m happy to say the wifi has only gotten progressively better:

• 2022: Salt Lake City
• 2023: Salt Lake City
• 2024: Tabernash, Colorado
• 2025: Salt Lake City
• 2026: Bend, Oregon

Our ski trip formula is that we ski in the mornings and work in the afternoons/evenings. The resorts are always less crowded during the week, so it’s a win/win, especially if we skip weekend skiing. Close is definitely more manageable on these trips because we’re there for several weeks and everyone is working hard too. We’re also total nerds so we’re always chatting about our work and even host “pitch session” nights where everyone pitches a startup idea. There’s something special about getting hyper-focused and obsessive people together to brainstorm random ideas!

Hawaii <3

Hawaii holds a warm, happy place in my heart. My husband and I have been going here since COVID, and we’ve been to 6 out of 7 islands so far (Niʻihau is in the final frontier!). Our first trip was to Honolulu in late January 2021, and while I wasn’t closing the books then, I was working at Honeywell and bound to pacific coast hours. I’ll never forget waking up at 3:30 am to take a 4 am call with my manager. He was skeptical about this whole “nomading” idea, and I wanted to prove that I could travel and be dedicated to the books simultaneously. Nikhil thought I was insane, and looking back now, I 100% agree with him. The sun was peeping over the horizon, flooding our humble Airbnb with a golden glow while I wrestled with ASC 606 revenue recognition schedules. The only thing that kept me alive was chugging delicious hazelnut 7-Eleven coffee.

During our next Hawaii trip to the Big Island, I was in between jobs so I thankfully spent my time reading and lounging on the beach. A few years later, we spent our honeymoon in Kauai in early January. This time, I was definitely working from our little dining room table, but luckily the wifi was pristine and we had just gotten married, so everyone was more relaxed about timelines. Nikhil and I kayaked down the Wailua River, adopted a dog from the Kauai Humane Society for the day, and hiked the famous (and lowkey treacherous) Na Pali coast trail.

In between our adventures, we stuffed in as much work as we could, and I miraculously closed the books only a few days late. Most vacationers spend a few hours lazing around or napping, but to succeed in this lifestyle, the downtime has to be transformed into productive working and delegating hours. This is a different type of exhausting, but we somehow find it compatible with our personalities. I thrive on being busy and having too many things on my to-do list. It pushes me, further and further, along a path I’m building as I’m walking across it.

Our most recent Hawaii trip was in January 2026. It was a triple whammy: we visited Maui, Lanai, and Molokai! I’ll never forget taking revenue screenshots and downloading bank statements from our quiet room in Molokai on December 31, 2025. Molokai is the least visited Hawaiian island (that tourists are allowed to access), and the normal population is tiny - there weren’t even any New Years fireworks! But I was steadfast, paying my contractors from Coinbase and syncing Ramp transactions from the other side of the world. I truly felt like I was on a remote island, completely hidden from the outside world…until my customers started asking questions about invoices. What a delicious contrast and one that very few people have experienced up until modern times.

Burning Man, September 2026

When you think “Burning Man,” you don’t think accountants, right? You’d be correct, as Burning Man is held during close week. We left for Burning Man on September 1 and returned home on September 7 - literally my entire close week. I was stressed about this the months and weeks leading up to the event; I almost didn’t go because I was apprehensive about the whole situation. But luckily for me, I had my trusty Starlink connection and my wonderful team so I was worried for nothing.

Starlink is a godsend and total game-changer in terms of mobile work. If I wanted to, I could do close work from the backcountry of Yosemite or the plains of Patagonia. All the Starlink device needs is a clear view of the sky. Burning Man is held in the vast, unforgiving deserts of Nevada, making it perfect for a fast satellite connection.

I know, there’s going to a loud corner of the internet throwing a fit about me working at Burning Man. After all, it’s a gifting economy, with no commercialism or capitalism, where everyone dances naked around a fire and drinks earthy tea. You’re not wrong, but owning a business means everything falls on your shoulders and the show must go on. The first few days of Burning Man, we were faced with some extreme weather…I’m talking dust storms so intense they’re called “White Outs” and rain. It was difficult to do anything outside of our tents…so I locked into doing some close work. Starlinks are secure and fast, so downloading credit card and bank data for my contractors wasn’t an issue. Even with the 45mph wind shaking our shade structure, I could still fulfill my promise to our customers. I was paranoid because the Starlink, which we mounted onto the shade structure, was getting whipped and abused by the relentless winds, but it held up and worked spectacularly. Thank you, Elon. The only difficult part was when the rain prevented our camp’s generator from working, so the Starlink couldn’t turn on. So I turned my brain off and actually enjoyed Burning Man with our camp. :}

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In writing this post, I’ve realized how lucky and grateful I am to be able to travel and make money at the same time. It can be a stressful lifestyle, but I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything. It’s taught me how to be more efficient with my time and look beyond myself, beyond the spreadsheet, to the world beyond. I always romanticize working in an office and gossiping with coworkers by the cooler, but I think that would get old quickly. I rather have my breath taken away by ancient ruins in the morning and then tackle crypto accounting problems in the afternoon. 😇