I left the US and work remotely from a boat in Southeast Asia. My hours are 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., but I still have time for adventures.

• Jeremy Brand Yuan once worked in San Francisco. Now, he works remotely on a boat in Southeast Asia.
• He's gone on adventures in Malaysia and Thailand, but he's also found boat life to be isolating.
• Despite the sacrifices that come with his lifestyle, he'd rather not go back to an office job.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jeremy Brand Yuan, 39, who is from New York and lives between his apartment in Taipei and his boat. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

For a long time, I thought of myself as an office person. But after I got a taste of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, I didn't want to set foot in one again.

I was living in a shared housein San Francisco and decided to use the freedom of remote work to be near my mom in North Carolina for a while. I realized I didn't need to be with my colleagues all the time to feel part of the team, and I liked not being tied to expensive San Francisco.

My company doesn't have a return-to-office mandate, so in 2022, at age 35, I headed to Taiwan, since I'm half-Taiwanese and have family there. I work full-time as a product marketer, and mostly split my time between my apartment in Taipei and sailing around Malaysia and Thailand.

I've loved the adventures this lifestyle has afforded me, but I've also had to make a lot of sacrifices, like starting work at 9 p.m. to align with US hours. I'm not sure how easy this lifestyle will be to maintain, but for now, I'm fairly committed to it.

Sailing started as a hobby, but now it's a lifestyle

In July 2023, during a trip back to the US from Asia, I picked up sailing as a hobby to try something adventurous. I took a 101 class to learn the basics, and then taught myself using manuals and YouTube content.

When I was shopping for boats, the perfect one popped up on my radar in Langkawi, Malaysia. It wasn't big, but it was just the right size for me. It could be easily managed single-handedly, with ample interior space for a work station. I bought it for 22,500 euros (roughly $26,900 today) in December 2023.

Sailing involves costs like dock rental fees and boat maintenance, but overall, it's relatively cheap in Southeast Asia compared to other areas of the world. I still feel like I'm spending less than I did in San Francisco.

A beach restaurant or an island with a small market is rarely more than a day's sail away, so getting food and supplies is relatively easy. But I usually tap out after four to six weeks on the boat before heading back to Taipei life for a while.

I have to make compromises to be able to sail and do my job

I've worked in product marketing at the video software company Airtime since 2020, first as a full-time employee, and now as a full-time contractor. I maintain online connections with coworkers through one-on-ones and virtual coffee chats.

I need a reliable and fast internet connection, so I've invested in Starlink. A couple of times a day, when my mast is blocking the satellites, my internet connection drops momentarily. If I'm on a team meeting, the call drops off for 30 seconds or so. It's not a big deal, but it would be tough if I had lots of client-facing calls.

I work US Eastern hours, which is roughly 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. my time. As soon as I close my laptop, I try to sleep with a very heavy eye mask.

Normally, I wake up around 1 or 2 p.m., but it can get oppressively hot on the boat, so I sometimes wake up earlier in a full sweat. It can be annoying, but roughing it is a major part of the appeal for me.

I never sail while working. It would be super irresponsible to tap away on a laptop without minding what's happening on the water. During work hours, I'll be at anchor or at a marina. When sailing, I usually take shorter trips because my boat'sbatteries only last about three nights, and I want to be close to an onshore power source.

Still, the fact that this lifestyle is possible is outstanding. My parents' generation couldn't have dreamed of keeping their jobs while living on a boat in Thailand.

I rent scooters to explore the areas where I dock. You can easily drop anchor at a place, grab some food and drink, join a party, and then hop back out to sea. On my birthday weekend, I rented a car, drove out to Khao Lak, Thailand, and went surfing and horseback riding.

That said, the lifestyle can still be very isolating. Other sailors I meet have transient lives, and tourists come and go. Even though the people I've come across are cool, they aren't necessarily going to be lifelong friends. I'm probably tanking my social life, but also, who cares? Life is short.

My mom worried about my safety at first, and she'd probably like to see more of me, but she's never challenged my life decisions, and I'm grateful for her support.

I'd rather not go back to an office job

Two years into having my boat, I'm still infatuated by the technical sailing knowledge I've gained, and I've loved the simple lifestyle and adventures that have come with it.

I'd consider having an in-office job again, but I won't need one if everything goes to plan. In an office, there's no privacy. Everyone's on top of each other, and you can smell other people's lunch. It can get in the way of the work sometimes. Meanwhile, my boat is cozy, and I don't have to think about other people.

I've often wondered whether my remote lifestyle will cost me work opportunities, because there seem to be fewer remote jobs these days. If you're very careerist, my setup probably won't work for you, but I've made peace with it.

The corporate opportunities or lucrative paychecks of an in-person office job are not likely to make me happier at this stage in my life, but seeing sunsets off the bow of my little old sailboat will.

Do you have a story to share about your unique remote work lifestyle? Contact this reporter at ccheong@businessinsider.com

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