Hey friend,

Remember when we thought remote work was just about freedom and Wi-Fi? Plot twist: it’s also saving small-town economies.

Every latte, coworking day, and local collab you invest in is helping rebuild Main Streets across the map. Your laptop isn’t just your livelihood—it’s local economic development in disguise.

Let’s talk about how remote work is quietly fueling the next great community revival.

—Ric & Shellie

P.S. Love this issue? Forward it to a friend who’s part of the movement. ✨

REMOTE COMMUNITY

Designing a Remote Life You Love: The Belonging Blueprint

By Darcy Marie Mayfield

Your Wi-Fi works. You found the taco truck. So why does your new town still feel like a really long Airbnb stay? 

Turns out, remote workers aren't just filling coffee shops, they're building businesses, joining boards, and pumping millions into local economies. But here's the kicker: most cities have zero onboarding plan. 

Darcy spills the secret sauce that turns transactional nomads into rooted residents who actually give a damn.

Check out the city onboarding playbook →

LAST WEEK’S POLL RESULTS

How are you contributing to your local community?

THE CULTURE EDIT

Remote by Design: Reimagining Place and Belonging

The Culture Edit: Your invitation to shape the remote life that works for you.

As remote work untethers many of us from cities, a quiet movement is reshaping small towns, showing the potential impact of remote work locally. People blending digital collaboration with local contribution, showing the future of work can also be the future of belonging.

Observe: Notice how remote workers currently engage locally: coworking spaces, cafés, libraries, maker labs, volunteer projects.

Reflect: How does being remote expand, not limit, your sense of community? What would it look like for your town to thrive because of your presence?

Reimagine: Start with listening. Map the intersections between your digital and local life, and name the possibilities that serve expressed community needs. See yourself as a bridge between global knowledge and local opportunity.

We shape our communities; thereafter they shape how we live, create, and belong.

by Maria Scarzella Thorpe | Workplace Culture Strategist & Founder of Nomad Pass – Designing Retreats and Culture Experiences for remote and hybrid teams. 

QUICK TAKES

We Are Community

✅ Revitalizing Rural Areas with Remote Work. Revitalize rural areas, relieve urban congestion, bring infrastructure and economy to areas in need, and ultimately create a more balanced way of living and working.

✅ Rural Remote Workers Concentrate in Recreation Hubs. Fewer rural Americans work from home compared to their metropolitan counterparts.

✅ The Impact of Remote Work on Urban and Rural Areas. Urban areas may see continued changes in commercial real estate and local business dynamics, while rural areas could experience further economic growth and infrastructure development.

MEME OF THE WEEK

THE VIBE

News to Use

🔆 A 16th-century Spanish explorer claimed this Florida beach town. Now it’s a remote work hotspot

🔆 8 phrases people say once they discover the happiness of working from home

🔆 5 tips to improve your work-from-home space and be more productive. Check out these hacks so you can lock into the work day and dismiss distractions

STATE OF REMOTE

The Fortune 100 is still Hybrid, but tightens requirements

POLL – NEXT WEEKS TOPIC

Next week we celebrate our 1 Year Anniversary! 🎉
We'd love to hear what keeps you opening our emails every week!
Bonus Question: What do you find most valuable from the Thrive Remotely newsletter?

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Get Off Your Couch

Your calendar's looking tragic. 

Fix it: explore haunted farms in Chicago, hack AI apps in Asheville, or howl at the moon in Naperville. Austin’s got happy hour. Philly’s got ping pong. Walking? (looking at you, Boise)

Anyway—get out there. The world misses you. Go be interesting.

🗓️ Check out the Community Calendar!

RESOURCES

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