August 30, 2023 • 20 mins
Ever wondered how to maintain a digital lifeline while leading a nomadic lifestyle? Envision the freedom of living on a sailboat or campervan, while still running an online business. My secret? The potent combo of a Visible cell phone hotspot and Starlink satellite internet. I'll break it down, exploring why Visible's $45 plan is perfect for me, and how it unlocks access to the 5G network and cross-border connectivity in Mexico and Canada.
But, that's not all. Let's journey through the marvels of Starlink, a game changer for remote work on the road. While it's not without its share of challenges—from the demand for a clear sky view, portability issues, to the initial setup complications—I'll tell you why it's worth it. Plus, I'll discuss the financial aspect, how the investment in Starlink gets balanced out by the savings from not having to pay rent or a mortgage.
So, gear up for an enlightening conversation on navigating the digital nomad life effortlessly!
Links mentioned:
- Visible Wireless
- Visible Wireless Review
- Starlink mobile internet
- The Wayward Home Podcast Episode - How to get Wifi in your Van or RV with the RV Mobile Internet Resource Center
Connect with Kristin Hanes and The Wayward Home!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 0 (00:00):
So I'm sitting in my campervan up at Lake Tahoe right
now and I'm recording thispodcast using my cell phone
hotspot by Visible, which isamazing.
It requires internet to recordinto the software descript that
I'm using, and I just love thatI can use my cell phone and I
don't have to pull out myStarlink.
What I found is that acombination of a cell phone
hotspot and Starlink is theperfect combination for my
(00:22):
lifestyle in the campervan.
So in this episode of theWayward Home Podcast, I'm going
to talk a little bit about why Ilike the combination of Visible
and Starlink, how much eachservice costs and how I use it
to run my business on the road.
Let's go.
Hey, there, I'm Kristen Hayneswith the waywardhomecom and I
spend half the year in mycampervan and half on my
sailboat in Mexico.
My goal is to help you achieveyour nomadic dreams as well.
(00:44):
So one of the questions I oftenget in my email inbox for my
Wayward Home subscribers is howdo you get Wi-Fi on the road?
Now, this has been somethingI've struggled with for a while,
because I need really goodWi-Fi to run my business, which
is the waywardhomecom, from mycampervan and on my sailboat.
Running the waywardhome means Ineed internet for various
things like zoom calls, and I'minterviewing people, especially
(01:07):
for the Wayward Home podcast.
I need to be able to watchtraining videos, I need to be
able to write and upload blogposts and I need to be able to
work with images like resizing,cropping, uploading to various
social media platforms.
So doing my job, which is anonline business, requires a lot
of internet, and a lot of reallygood internet.
Now it might be different foryou if you're traveling full
(01:28):
time and you're just usinginternet, you know, for email or
for texting or for watching aNetflix show here and there.
You probably won't need asrobust of a Wi-Fi system as what
I have in my van and you mightbe able to go with just a cell
phone hotspot, for example.
And I wanted to talk to you alittle bit about what's working
for me right now, because I knowthere's tons of options on the
(01:49):
market and it can be prettyoverwhelming figuring out what
exactly will work for you andyour unique situation.
So hopefully you'll gain someinsights from what's working for
me right now in my van andmaybe you'll choose to go the
same route as me, or maybeyou'll explore some other
varieties as well, becausethere's something for everyone
out there, depending on yourprice point, how much you use
the internet, but there issomething for everyone out there
(02:11):
on the market.
First, I wanted to talk to youa little bit about the cell
phone hotspot I use.
I use something called visibleNow, before I used Google Fi,
which is also really popularamong nomads because it works
overseas.
For example, if you're a digitalnomad and you're flying around
the world a lot, having GoogleFi is really handy because you
just turn on your phone in aforeign country and it works.
(02:32):
You have data, you have phonecalls, you have texting.
But I found that it was gettingreally expensive for me because
they charge per gig and it's$10 per gig, and $10 per gig
isn't really that sustainable ifyou're working full time or a
lot of the time, like I am.
However, with Google Fi, youcan use up to you know, six gigs
.
You're paying $60 and afterthat it's unlimited.
(02:54):
But it slowed way down and Ijust found that wasn't working
very well for me.
And plus, google Fi did notwork in Mexico.
It was very expensive down.
I mean, it works in Mexico butit's very expensive down there,
especially for phone calls.
So my phone bills wereastronomical and at that point I
decided to switch over tovisible for my phone plan.
So you might be wondering whatvisible is.
What's amazing is that it's asuper affordable cell phone
(03:18):
service for anyone, especiallyfor nomads.
It's really popular in the vanlife circles, but you can get a
basic visible cell phone planfor just $25, which is
incredible.
That includes unlimited data,talk and text in the United
States and that's plenty of datareally for anyone.
So if you're just casuallyusing visible, I would recommend
(03:39):
getting that $25 for month plan.
That is really cheap, isn'tthat unbelievable?
But I chose to get the $45 amonth plan and I did that
because it actually provideshigher speed internet.
You get more access to the 5Gnetwork and the clincher of it
all is it works in Mexico andCanada, and so I was able to
bring my phone across the borderand I was able to use it for
(04:00):
data.
They do give you a half of agig of data.
After that it slowed down, butI didn't really notice that much
because I relied on Starlink inMexico.
But it was nice to get thereand be able to do phone calls
and they don't cost an arm and aleg, you're able to text and
you are able to use data in bothMexico and Canada.
And that's why I chose the $45plan, because I just needed a
(04:20):
little more coverage with myphone plan and I needed high
speed data plans for when I'mdoing things like recording
podcasts or on Zoom calls, andit's worked out amazingly for me
so far.
So just this month, I have used111 gigs off my visible hotspot
and that costs $45.
Can you believe that Any otherphone plan would be very
(04:42):
expensive using that many gigsof data?
What's interesting is that onVisible's website they say if
you use over 50 gigs of data,you might see your service
slowed down.
But, like I told you, I've usedover 100 gigs in this filling
cycle and I haven't noticed anythrottling or data issues at all
.
I use my hotspot all the timeand I use it to do Zoom calls
and I use it to do things likethis, like upload, a podcast
(05:04):
recording, and I haven't reallynoticed any lag time and it
hasn't affected me whatsoever,and so I've been really happy
with Visible's hotspot up tothis point.
However, when I first gotstarted, it was a little bit
complicated transferring myservice from Google Fi over to
Visible.
It worked at first in SanFrancisco when I activated the
plan, but for some reason when Istarted boondocking near Yuma
(05:26):
it just stopped working, and Idon't know why.
It was pretty frustrating.
I had to get on with supportseveral different times and I
was using Starlink to get onwith support and they had to
reset my eSIM, and I'm not surewhy that happened, but it was a
little bit frustrating.
The phone kept thinking I wasin Mexico because I was so close
to the border.
But it's supposed to work inMexico and it wasn't, and so
that was a little bit annoyingat first, but finally I got it
(05:49):
working in the United States.
Then I crossed the border intoMexico, to Puerto Penaresco,
where we have our sailboat, andit worked just fine.
There I was having a great time.
I was doing phone calls.
You know, I would even use likeFaceTime Audio to call my
friends and family when I waswalking on the beach and the
data worked perfectly and I wasable to text and use the
internet and it worked Amazingly.
But then I left on my sailboatand I went to Loretto and La Paz
(06:11):
and it wasn't working at all.
It was like the data just shutdown, wasn't functioning.
I had to get on with supportagain several different times.
They had to once again reformatmy ESIM and relaunch the
service and after that itfinally worked.
But those were some annoyinghiccups and if I hadn't had
Starlink as my backup it wouldhave been pretty irritating to
be in Mexico and not havevisible work.
(06:33):
But after I resolved thoseissues it did work really well
south of the border and itcontinues to work really well up
in the US to this day.
There are a couple things thatyou should know about using a
visible phone service and somethings that have been a little
bit annoying for me and Tomwhile we travel around in our
camper van.
For one thing, it can only linkone computer at a time as a
(06:54):
hotspot, so sometimes we've hadto alternate.
I'll download some things, I'llwork offline, I'll give him my
hotspot and he'll work a littlebit.
Yes, we are working ontransferring his phone to
visible as well, but we wantedto keep him on Google Fi, to try
to do a little bit of acomparison here.
So he's on Google Fi and I'm onvisible, and so in order to not
use his data because it's $10 agig and that's pretty expensive
(07:15):
, we just use mine and hotspotoff of mine and share it, and so
that's something that's alittle bit irritating.
Before I got visible, I actuallyhad a separate designated
hotspot.
That was by reliable Internetservices and that cost about
$110 a month and it was aseparate little device and that
worked well because we could runas many computers, ipads,
(07:36):
phones off it as we wanted.
But that's, you know, fairlyexpensive for unlimited data and
with visible offering unlimiteddata for just $45.
That's why I switched over tothe visible phone plan and it's
worked well.
But having to share the hotspotis kind of annoying and I think
I might actually switch hisphone over to visible as well so
he can enjoy unlimited data,because it's really wonderful
(07:57):
Not worrying about how much datayou're using.
I mean you can stream videos onyour phone and not be worried
about how much data you're using, and that's been really freeing
on the road.
I've really loved that aspectof being able to just use my
phone as much as I want and notworry about how much it's going
to cost.
Another thing to know aboutusing visible if you're going to
be in Mexico or Canada, thatdata is throttled after half a
(08:17):
gig, and half a gig was aboutenough for me to stream a
Netflix show and then I got atext alert saying that my data
would be slowed down and Ididn't notice that many changes.
But again, I wasn't working offof my hotspot, I was using
Starlink as my main internetprovider down there but for
casually surfing the web,getting directions, you know,
looking up various places Iwanted to visit.
(08:39):
It worked really well in Mexicoand I really love that quite a
bit.
And again, as I said before,visible also warns that your
data would be deep prioritizedafter 50 gigs, something I've
never noticed, but maybe Ihaven't used it in a crowded
enough area for that to be anissue.
So, to wrap up this part aboutvisible, if you're looking for a
really cheap cell phone planfor van life or for your RV, I
(09:00):
highly recommend getting visible.
I mean, even if you're livingin a house, it's really a lot
cheaper than what all my friendsand family pay and I get that
unlimited data.
And just remember, the cheapestplan is $25 and I would
recommend the $25 plan.
If you're not using it to workremotely, you're just, you know,
more casually using it.
If you need those 5g superfastdata speeds and a high priority
(09:20):
network.
You might want to upgrade tothe $45 a month plan.
And I did write a full reviewabout visible as well, and I'll
link to that in the show notesin case you want to really read
that and get deep into thenitty-gritty about visible.
And you can also click a linkto head straight to visible's
website from the show notes.
But if you want to go thereright now, just go to the
wayward home dot com.
(09:41):
Forward slash visible and youcan check out their plans and
sign up.
If you want, you can even useyour existing number, your
existing phone, and it's prettyeasy to transfer service over.
I use an eSIM to do that, whichmeans I don't even need a
physical SIM card.
So it was all prettystraightforward and easy and I
think if I can do it, you candefinitely do it too.
So that's my number onerecommendation for a cell phone
(10:02):
hotspot for full-time travelers.
So the next thing I wanted totalk to you about is using
Starlink satellite internet.
So I use that to supplement myvisible hotspot, because a lot
of the times we go boondockingand we're way far away from
cities, there's no cell phonesignal and I'm always really
thankful to have Starlink so Ican work from anywhere.
Just this morning we found thisamazing boondocking campsite a
(10:25):
little bit to the north oftruckie in the Sierra Nevada and
it was down these for a serviceroads, there was absolutely no
cell phone signal and I wasreally thankful to have Starlink
because I was able to get upthis morning, have my coffee and
do some work while listening tothe birds outside the window
and smell the sagebrush in thepine and I was like, wow, this
is the best remote office Icould ever wish for.
(10:45):
And so in these instances,having that Starlink has just
been a life changer for me and Ialso use it in Mexico on our
sailboat because you can use itabroad for a couple months at a
time at least, before they startgetting on your case for using
it out of the country.
But last year I think, I usedit for about three or four
months in Mexico and I never hadany issues or warnings from the
company and we were able to useit on our boat and really
(11:08):
remote anchorages and I've justenjoyed using Starlink so much.
It's made it possible for me towork from anywhere.
It was just as a game changer.
I don't have to go into cities,I don't have to stay near a
phone signal.
I can go way deep into nature,whether it's on my sailboat or
in my camper van, and I'm ableto work remotely and stay in
touch with friends and family aswell, which is also really fun
(11:29):
for me and important when livingthe nomad life, which is often
quite solitary.
I also use Starlink when I justneed really fast data.
Now my phone plan is prettygood and, as I mentioned before,
it is on the fast prioritynetwork, but Starlink is faster.
So if I am going to beuploading a lot of videos or
watching videos or doing thingsthat you know require a lot of
(11:50):
Uploading or downloading, I liketo set up the Starlink so that
I have access to that higherspeed data.
Now I got on Starlink in 2021when it first became available,
and I immediately was.
I was on my sailboat in Mexicoand I immediately rushed up to
the US to bring it back down toMexico and use it down there,
and I've been using it in youknow ever since and it's been
fantastic.
I'm on the residential andportability plan, which is
(12:13):
actually no longer available, soif you're going to sign up for
Starlink now, that's not goingto be an option for you.
It's work well for me, but theytook that, you know, off of
there list.
So right now, if you're goingto sign up for Starlink, you
have to use or what I recommendis that you use their Rome plan.
It's called Starlink Rome.
That allows you to take itanywhere, like in your home
(12:35):
continent, like, for example,you can travel all over the
United States with it and if yougo up to Canada or you go down
to Mexico, you're able to use itfor two months out of your home
country.
Like I said before, they don'tseem to be regulating that all
that much, but you can take itacross the border, which is
really nice and that costs $150per month.
But you have an initialhardware cost of about $599.
(12:59):
So around $600.
But the benefit of this, asopposed to my plan, is that you
can turn it on and off whenyou're not using it, so that can
save you a lot of money.
I'm on the residential plusportability and I like that one.
I'm not switching to Romebecause it actually gets a
little bit of the higherpriority when I'm in a more
congested area, and so I'm notgoing to make the switch anytime
(13:20):
soon.
I don't need to turn it off,where, if you are traveling part
time, you'll definitely want toturn off Starlink when you're
not using it, because $150 amonth adds up with the Starlink
Rome plan.
You can choose from using therectangular dish, which is what
I have and it has a little standand you can set it up outside
your van, or you can use a highperformance flat dish which is
(13:40):
meant to be used in motion.
We chose not to get that dishbecause not only is it way more
expensive than the regularrectangular dish, but it also is
a power hog.
It uses way more power and wereally don't need to use it when
we're in motion, and so we'vejust stuck to the normal
rectangular dishy they call it,and that's worked pretty well
for us.
There are a couple of bummersabout using Starlink, though.
(14:02):
First of all, it's really bulkyand sometimes it's frustrating
to have to pull it out of thevan and set it up every time.
Sometimes it's buried in ourcrap in the garage area of our
Sprinter van and you have to setit up, haul it out.
It takes up tons of space inthe van and we're hoping to
permanently mount it at somepoint.
That doesn't mean we can use itin motion, but having it
(14:22):
permanently mounted would bereally nice.
We don't have to pull it in andout all the time, and we'd want
it to be hooked up to aseparate switch inside the van
so you just flip the switch andyou have internet, and that's a
solution that we're lookingforward to doing in the future.
As it is right now, we pull itout, we set it up, we set it far
enough away from the van andtrees that it'll work.
(14:42):
Another bummer about Starlink isit requires a clear view of the
sky, and that can be a painsometimes, because we spend a
lot of time in Oregon, thePacific Northwest, in forests,
and so when you're in a forest,it's definitely not going to
work and you'll need to find aclearing or you'll have to pick
your boondocking spot based onwhere Starlink is going to work,
(15:03):
and so having to rely onStarlink is tough, which is why
I have a cell phone hotspot.
When we're in a forested areaclose to a town or a city, I use
the hotspot.
I don't even bother pulling outthe Starlink, and when we're
away from cell phone signal, wechoose our boondocking spots
that they have a clear view tothe north.
That's where Starlink needs toface to work properly.
(15:24):
So if you're going to beanywhere in a tree area, I would
highly suggest also havinganother form of internet,
especially if you have to dolots of work online like I do.
Another negative of the Starlinkis it's quite expensive and if
you're not working full-time, Idon't know if it'd be really
worth the cost of a hundredfifty dollars per month.
Now, as you can tell if you'vedone the math, I spend a hundred
(15:44):
fifty a month on Starlink andanother forty five dollars on my
Phone plans and spending abouttwo hundred dollars per month on
internet.
And if you come from a houseenvironment, you're probably
going to think, oh my gosh,that's so expensive.
But luckily I don't have amortgage or rent to pay, so I'm
able to allocate money in otherplaces, which is internet and as
I rely on that my business, theway we're at home to Fund my
travels, it's really importantthat I'm connected whenever I
(16:07):
want to be connected on the road, which is why I use that
combination of the visiblehotspot and the Starlink dish.
Another thing I've noticedabout the Starlink dish that is
a little bit on the negativeside and some of the other van
Lifers I have spoken to have hadthis problem as well, but
sometimes it cuts out quite abit.
So if you are going to be onconstant zoom calls or meetings,
(16:29):
it can have Some issues withdropping out, and usually it's
one to two seconds, butsometimes it can be up to ten
seconds.
That can be really frustratingif you are, you know, trying to
do a zoom call.
So that's something to keep inmind.
If you're doing constantback-to-back zoom calls
throughout the day, you mighthave a little bit of trouble
using Starlink.
Me personally, starlink hasworked pretty well for me when
(16:52):
I've been recording podcastinterviews with other guests.
I haven't experienced a lot ofdropouts.
But I do use a software programcalled Riverside that Accounts
for these dropouts.
It's recorded locally on eachperson's computer so that
they're not constantly droppingout, and so I do have to think
about it, think about my day andwhether it's going to cut out
or not, and if that's okay, youknow, if it cuts out during a
(17:13):
podcast, I just have to do alittle extra editing.
So for me it's not that big ofa deal.
But if you rely on zoom as yourbread and butter, it might be a
problem some other nomads havesolved this issue by getting a
peplink router and that plugsyour Starlink and your your cell
phone plan or, you know, othersim cards into the same router.
So if the Starlink drops out,the cell phone will will hop in
(17:36):
and kind of take up that timewhen you're having dropouts With
the Starlink.
And I'm not going to go into itthat much because I don't
personally use that, so I reallycan't explain that how that
works that well.
I know I haven't really neededit for my line of work, but you
might need it for yours, and sothat is an option out there
where you can have some Backupsystems for when you're using
one method of internet, anothermethod will back it up so you
(17:58):
don't experience those dropouts.
I've also written an entirearticle about Starlink and so
I'll also put that in the shownotes.
You can go and read about howto set up Starlink, how to use
Starlink, how to order it, and Ihave all of that on On my
website and I'll put a linkbelow so you can go and read
that in-depth post about it.
But I found Starlink very easyto set up and use.
(18:19):
There's an app and you justname your network and it guides
you through setting up the dish.
It's super simple.
Anyone can do it.
I love that there's an app thatallows you to easily connect to
Starlink, see if it's online,download updates and see your
data usage.
I found it all really a breezeto use, very user-friendly,
which is great because I'm notvery technological and so don't
worry, if you're not verytechnologically advanced either,
(18:40):
you'll have no problem usingeither Starlink or visible,
which is why I love both ofthese ways of getting internet
on the road.
So if you want even morein-depth options when it comes
to Wi-Fi when you're traveling,you should go listen to episode
6 of the wayward home podcast,which I'll also link below in
the show notes.
In this episode I spoke withChris and Cherie of the RV
(19:00):
mobile internet resource center,and these guys are the
full-blown experts of how to getWi-Fi in Campervan or an RV or
on a boat when you're traveling.
They literally go out and testall these hot spots and cell
phone data plans and Starlinkand Peplinks, and they're just a
wealth of knowledge.
So if you want to geek out andgo really in-depth on internet
options, go listen to episode 7of the wayward home podcast if
(19:23):
you're like me and you want tokeep it simple.
You might want to go check outvisible, the wayward home comm
forward, slash visible, or youmight want to check out Starlink
or a combination of both, likeI use.
I'm not very advanced with thisstuff and these work really
well For me, so hopefully one ofthem will work well for you too
.
If you like this episode of thewayward home podcast, do me a
favor and forward it to a friendor a family member who you
(19:45):
think would Like it.
Word of mouth is the biggest waythis podcast grows and I really
appreciate you sharing it andeven going on Apple Podcasts and
leaving a review or justclicking a few stars Showing
your gratitude.
It really helps me out when itcomes to getting more ears on
the wayward home Podcast andalso as a reminder if you prefer
to watch instead of listen, Ido record these episodes on
(20:06):
video and I post them to myYouTube channel.
You can find that at thewayward home comm forward slash
YouTube.
Or just go to YouTube andsearch for the wayward home and
you'll find me and all mypodcast episodes.
You can have it on in theBackground while you're cooking
I'll keep you company or whileyou're doing whatever you need
to be doing, but there are videoepisodes as well if you prefer
that.
So thanks again for listeningto this episode of the wayward
(20:29):
home podcast.
I really appreciate yoursupport.
I'm so happy you're here, andoh again if you need to email me
, kristen, at the wayward homecomm, I'll see you next time.
So I'm sitting in my campervan up at Lake Tahoe right
now and I'm recording thispodcast using my cell phone
hotspot by Visible, which isamazing.
It requires internet to recordinto the software descript that
I'm using, and I just love thatI can use my cell phone and I
don't have to pull out myStarlink.
What I found is that acombination of a cell phone
hotspot and Starlink is theperfect combination for my
(00:22):
lifestyle in the campervan.
So in this episode of theWayward Home Podcast, I'm going
to talk a little bit about why Ilike the combination of Visible
and Starlink, how much eachservice costs and how I use it
to run my business on the road.
Let's go.
Hey, there, I'm Kristen Hayneswith the waywardhomecom and I
spend half the year in mycampervan and half on my
sailboat in Mexico.
My goal is to help you achieveyour nomadic dreams as well.
(00:44):
So one of the questions I oftenget in my email inbox for my
Wayward Home subscribers is howdo you get Wi-Fi on the road?
Now, this has been somethingI've struggled with for a while,
because I need really goodWi-Fi to run my business, which
is the waywardhomecom, from mycampervan and on my sailboat.
Running the waywardhome means Ineed internet for various
things like zoom calls, and I'minterviewing people, especially
(01:07):
for the Wayward Home podcast.
I need to be able to watchtraining videos, I need to be
able to write and upload blogposts and I need to be able to
work with images like resizing,cropping, uploading to various
social media platforms.
So doing my job, which is anonline business, requires a lot
of internet, and a lot of reallygood internet.
Now it might be different foryou if you're traveling full
(01:28):
time and you're just usinginternet, you know, for email or
for texting or for watching aNetflix show here and there.
You probably won't need asrobust of a Wi-Fi system as what
I have in my van and you mightbe able to go with just a cell
phone hotspot, for example.
And I wanted to talk to you alittle bit about what's working
for me right now, because I knowthere's tons of options on the
(01:49):
market and it can be prettyoverwhelming figuring out what
exactly will work for you andyour unique situation.
So hopefully you'll gain someinsights from what's working for
me right now in my van andmaybe you'll choose to go the
same route as me, or maybeyou'll explore some other
varieties as well, becausethere's something for everyone
out there, depending on yourprice point, how much you use
the internet, but there issomething for everyone out there
(02:11):
on the market.
First, I wanted to talk to youa little bit about the cell
phone hotspot I use.
I use something called visibleNow, before I used Google Fi,
which is also really popularamong nomads because it works
overseas.
For example, if you're a digitalnomad and you're flying around
the world a lot, having GoogleFi is really handy because you
just turn on your phone in aforeign country and it works.
(02:32):
You have data, you have phonecalls, you have texting.
But I found that it was gettingreally expensive for me because
they charge per gig and it's$10 per gig, and $10 per gig
isn't really that sustainable ifyou're working full time or a
lot of the time, like I am.
However, with Google Fi, youcan use up to you know, six gigs
.
You're paying $60 and afterthat it's unlimited.
(02:54):
But it slowed way down and Ijust found that wasn't working
very well for me.
And plus, google Fi did notwork in Mexico.
It was very expensive down.
I mean, it works in Mexico butit's very expensive down there,
especially for phone calls.
So my phone bills wereastronomical and at that point I
decided to switch over tovisible for my phone plan.
So you might be wondering whatvisible is.
What's amazing is that it's asuper affordable cell phone
(03:18):
service for anyone, especiallyfor nomads.
It's really popular in the vanlife circles, but you can get a
basic visible cell phone planfor just $25, which is
incredible.
That includes unlimited data,talk and text in the United
States and that's plenty of datareally for anyone.
So if you're just casuallyusing visible, I would recommend
(03:39):
getting that $25 for month plan.
That is really cheap, isn'tthat unbelievable?
But I chose to get the $45 amonth plan and I did that
because it actually provideshigher speed internet.
You get more access to the 5Gnetwork and the clincher of it
all is it works in Mexico andCanada, and so I was able to
bring my phone across the borderand I was able to use it for
(04:00):
data.
They do give you a half of agig of data.
After that it slowed down, butI didn't really notice that much
because I relied on Starlink inMexico.
But it was nice to get thereand be able to do phone calls
and they don't cost an arm and aleg, you're able to text and
you are able to use data in bothMexico and Canada.
And that's why I chose the $45plan, because I just needed a
(04:20):
little more coverage with myphone plan and I needed high
speed data plans for when I'mdoing things like recording
podcasts or on Zoom calls, andit's worked out amazingly for me
so far.
So just this month, I have used111 gigs off my visible hotspot
and that costs $45.
Can you believe that Any otherphone plan would be very
(04:42):
expensive using that many gigsof data?
What's interesting is that onVisible's website they say if
you use over 50 gigs of data,you might see your service
slowed down.
But, like I told you, I've usedover 100 gigs in this filling
cycle and I haven't noticed anythrottling or data issues at all
.
I use my hotspot all the timeand I use it to do Zoom calls
and I use it to do things likethis, like upload, a podcast
(05:04):
recording, and I haven't reallynoticed any lag time and it
hasn't affected me whatsoever,and so I've been really happy
with Visible's hotspot up tothis point.
However, when I first gotstarted, it was a little bit
complicated transferring myservice from Google Fi over to
Visible.
It worked at first in SanFrancisco when I activated the
plan, but for some reason when Istarted boondocking near Yuma
(05:26):
it just stopped working, and Idon't know why.
It was pretty frustrating.
I had to get on with supportseveral different times and I
was using Starlink to get onwith support and they had to
reset my eSIM, and I'm not surewhy that happened, but it was a
little bit frustrating.
The phone kept thinking I wasin Mexico because I was so close
to the border.
But it's supposed to work inMexico and it wasn't, and so
that was a little bit annoyingat first, but finally I got it
(05:49):
working in the United States.
Then I crossed the border intoMexico, to Puerto Penaresco,
where we have our sailboat, andit worked just fine.
There I was having a great time.
I was doing phone calls.
You know, I would even use likeFaceTime Audio to call my
friends and family when I waswalking on the beach and the
data worked perfectly and I wasable to text and use the
internet and it worked Amazingly.
But then I left on my sailboatand I went to Loretto and La Paz
(06:11):
and it wasn't working at all.
It was like the data just shutdown, wasn't functioning.
I had to get on with supportagain several different times.
They had to once again reformatmy ESIM and relaunch the
service and after that itfinally worked.
But those were some annoyinghiccups and if I hadn't had
Starlink as my backup it wouldhave been pretty irritating to
be in Mexico and not havevisible work.
(06:33):
But after I resolved thoseissues it did work really well
south of the border and itcontinues to work really well up
in the US to this day.
There are a couple things thatyou should know about using a
visible phone service and somethings that have been a little
bit annoying for me and Tomwhile we travel around in our
camper van.
For one thing, it can only linkone computer at a time as a
(06:54):
hotspot, so sometimes we've hadto alternate.
I'll download some things, I'llwork offline, I'll give him my
hotspot and he'll work a littlebit.
Yes, we are working ontransferring his phone to
visible as well, but we wantedto keep him on Google Fi, to try
to do a little bit of acomparison here.
So he's on Google Fi and I'm onvisible, and so in order to not
use his data because it's $10 agig and that's pretty expensive
(07:15):
, we just use mine and hotspotoff of mine and share it, and so
that's something that's alittle bit irritating.
Before I got visible, I actuallyhad a separate designated
hotspot.
That was by reliable Internetservices and that cost about
$110 a month and it was aseparate little device and that
worked well because we could runas many computers, ipads,
(07:36):
phones off it as we wanted.
But that's, you know, fairlyexpensive for unlimited data and
with visible offering unlimiteddata for just $45.
That's why I switched over tothe visible phone plan and it's
worked well.
But having to share the hotspotis kind of annoying and I think
I might actually switch hisphone over to visible as well so
he can enjoy unlimited data,because it's really wonderful
(07:57):
Not worrying about how much datayou're using.
I mean you can stream videos onyour phone and not be worried
about how much data you're using, and that's been really freeing
on the road.
I've really loved that aspectof being able to just use my
phone as much as I want and notworry about how much it's going
to cost.
Another thing to know aboutusing visible if you're going to
be in Mexico or Canada, thatdata is throttled after half a
(08:17):
gig, and half a gig was aboutenough for me to stream a
Netflix show and then I got atext alert saying that my data
would be slowed down and Ididn't notice that many changes.
But again, I wasn't working offof my hotspot, I was using
Starlink as my main internetprovider down there but for
casually surfing the web,getting directions, you know,
looking up various places Iwanted to visit.
(08:39):
It worked really well in Mexicoand I really love that quite a
bit.
And again, as I said before,visible also warns that your
data would be deep prioritizedafter 50 gigs, something I've
never noticed, but maybe Ihaven't used it in a crowded
enough area for that to be anissue.
So, to wrap up this part aboutvisible, if you're looking for a
really cheap cell phone planfor van life or for your RV, I
(09:00):
highly recommend getting visible.
I mean, even if you're livingin a house, it's really a lot
cheaper than what all my friendsand family pay and I get that
unlimited data.
And just remember, the cheapestplan is $25 and I would
recommend the $25 plan.
If you're not using it to workremotely, you're just, you know,
more casually using it.
If you need those 5g superfastdata speeds and a high priority
(09:20):
network.
You might want to upgrade tothe $45 a month plan.
And I did write a full reviewabout visible as well, and I'll
link to that in the show notesin case you want to really read
that and get deep into thenitty-gritty about visible.
And you can also click a linkto head straight to visible's
website from the show notes.
But if you want to go thereright now, just go to the
wayward home dot com.
(09:41):
Forward slash visible and youcan check out their plans and
sign up.
If you want, you can even useyour existing number, your
existing phone, and it's prettyeasy to transfer service over.
I use an eSIM to do that, whichmeans I don't even need a
physical SIM card.
So it was all prettystraightforward and easy and I
think if I can do it, you candefinitely do it too.
So that's my number onerecommendation for a cell phone
(10:02):
hotspot for full-time travelers.
So the next thing I wanted totalk to you about is using
Starlink satellite internet.
So I use that to supplement myvisible hotspot, because a lot
of the times we go boondockingand we're way far away from
cities, there's no cell phonesignal and I'm always really
thankful to have Starlink so Ican work from anywhere.
Just this morning we found thisamazing boondocking campsite a
(10:25):
little bit to the north oftruckie in the Sierra Nevada and
it was down these for a serviceroads, there was absolutely no
cell phone signal and I wasreally thankful to have Starlink
because I was able to get upthis morning, have my coffee and
do some work while listening tothe birds outside the window
and smell the sagebrush in thepine and I was like, wow, this
is the best remote office Icould ever wish for.
(10:45):
And so in these instances,having that Starlink has just
been a life changer for me and Ialso use it in Mexico on our
sailboat because you can use itabroad for a couple months at a
time at least, before they startgetting on your case for using
it out of the country.
But last year I think, I usedit for about three or four
months in Mexico and I never hadany issues or warnings from the
company and we were able to useit on our boat and really
(11:08):
remote anchorages and I've justenjoyed using Starlink so much.
It's made it possible for me towork from anywhere.
It was just as a game changer.
I don't have to go into cities,I don't have to stay near a
phone signal.
I can go way deep into nature,whether it's on my sailboat or
in my camper van, and I'm ableto work remotely and stay in
touch with friends and family aswell, which is also really fun
(11:29):
for me and important when livingthe nomad life, which is often
quite solitary.
I also use Starlink when I justneed really fast data.
Now my phone plan is prettygood and, as I mentioned before,
it is on the fast prioritynetwork, but Starlink is faster.
So if I am going to beuploading a lot of videos or
watching videos or doing thingsthat you know require a lot of
(11:50):
Uploading or downloading, I liketo set up the Starlink so that
I have access to that higherspeed data.
Now I got on Starlink in 2021when it first became available,
and I immediately was.
I was on my sailboat in Mexicoand I immediately rushed up to
the US to bring it back down toMexico and use it down there,
and I've been using it in youknow ever since and it's been
fantastic.
I'm on the residential andportability plan, which is
(12:13):
actually no longer available, soif you're going to sign up for
Starlink now, that's not goingto be an option for you.
It's work well for me, but theytook that, you know, off of
there list.
So right now, if you're goingto sign up for Starlink, you
have to use or what I recommendis that you use their Rome plan.
It's called Starlink Rome.
That allows you to take itanywhere, like in your home
(12:35):
continent, like, for example,you can travel all over the
United States with it and if yougo up to Canada or you go down
to Mexico, you're able to use itfor two months out of your home
country.
Like I said before, they don'tseem to be regulating that all
that much, but you can take itacross the border, which is
really nice and that costs $150per month.
But you have an initialhardware cost of about $599.
(12:59):
So around $600.
But the benefit of this, asopposed to my plan, is that you
can turn it on and off whenyou're not using it, so that can
save you a lot of money.
I'm on the residential plusportability and I like that one.
I'm not switching to Romebecause it actually gets a
little bit of the higherpriority when I'm in a more
congested area, and so I'm notgoing to make the switch anytime
(13:20):
soon.
I don't need to turn it off,where, if you are traveling part
time, you'll definitely want toturn off Starlink when you're
not using it, because $150 amonth adds up with the Starlink
Rome plan.
You can choose from using therectangular dish, which is what
I have and it has a little standand you can set it up outside
your van, or you can use a highperformance flat dish which is
(13:40):
meant to be used in motion.
We chose not to get that dishbecause not only is it way more
expensive than the regularrectangular dish, but it also is
a power hog.
It uses way more power and wereally don't need to use it when
we're in motion, and so we'vejust stuck to the normal
rectangular dishy they call it,and that's worked pretty well
for us.
There are a couple of bummersabout using Starlink, though.
(14:02):
First of all, it's really bulkyand sometimes it's frustrating
to have to pull it out of thevan and set it up every time.
Sometimes it's buried in ourcrap in the garage area of our
Sprinter van and you have to setit up, haul it out.
It takes up tons of space inthe van and we're hoping to
permanently mount it at somepoint.
That doesn't mean we can use itin motion, but having it
(14:22):
permanently mounted would bereally nice.
We don't have to pull it in andout all the time, and we'd want
it to be hooked up to aseparate switch inside the van
so you just flip the switch andyou have internet, and that's a
solution that we're lookingforward to doing in the future.
As it is right now, we pull itout, we set it up, we set it far
enough away from the van andtrees that it'll work.
(14:42):
Another bummer about Starlink isit requires a clear view of the
sky, and that can be a painsometimes, because we spend a
lot of time in Oregon, thePacific Northwest, in forests,
and so when you're in a forest,it's definitely not going to
work and you'll need to find aclearing or you'll have to pick
your boondocking spot based onwhere Starlink is going to work,
(15:03):
and so having to rely onStarlink is tough, which is why
I have a cell phone hotspot.
When we're in a forested areaclose to a town or a city, I use
the hotspot.
I don't even bother pulling outthe Starlink, and when we're
away from cell phone signal, wechoose our boondocking spots
that they have a clear view tothe north.
That's where Starlink needs toface to work properly.
(15:24):
So if you're going to beanywhere in a tree area, I would
highly suggest also havinganother form of internet,
especially if you have to dolots of work online like I do.
Another negative of the Starlinkis it's quite expensive and if
you're not working full-time, Idon't know if it'd be really
worth the cost of a hundredfifty dollars per month.
Now, as you can tell if you'vedone the math, I spend a hundred
(15:44):
fifty a month on Starlink andanother forty five dollars on my
Phone plans and spending abouttwo hundred dollars per month on
internet.
And if you come from a houseenvironment, you're probably
going to think, oh my gosh,that's so expensive.
But luckily I don't have amortgage or rent to pay, so I'm
able to allocate money in otherplaces, which is internet and as
I rely on that my business, theway we're at home to Fund my
travels, it's really importantthat I'm connected whenever I
(16:07):
want to be connected on the road, which is why I use that
combination of the visiblehotspot and the Starlink dish.
Another thing I've noticedabout the Starlink dish that is
a little bit on the negativeside and some of the other van
Lifers I have spoken to have hadthis problem as well, but
sometimes it cuts out quite abit.
So if you are going to be onconstant zoom calls or meetings,
(16:29):
it can have Some issues withdropping out, and usually it's
one to two seconds, butsometimes it can be up to ten
seconds.
That can be really frustratingif you are, you know, trying to
do a zoom call.
So that's something to keep inmind.
If you're doing constantback-to-back zoom calls
throughout the day, you mighthave a little bit of trouble
using Starlink.
Me personally, starlink hasworked pretty well for me when
(16:52):
I've been recording podcastinterviews with other guests.
I haven't experienced a lot ofdropouts.
But I do use a software programcalled Riverside that Accounts
for these dropouts.
It's recorded locally on eachperson's computer so that
they're not constantly droppingout, and so I do have to think
about it, think about my day andwhether it's going to cut out
or not, and if that's okay, youknow, if it cuts out during a
(17:13):
podcast, I just have to do alittle extra editing.
So for me it's not that big ofa deal.
But if you rely on zoom as yourbread and butter, it might be a
problem some other nomads havesolved this issue by getting a
peplink router and that plugsyour Starlink and your your cell
phone plan or, you know, othersim cards into the same router.
So if the Starlink drops out,the cell phone will will hop in
(17:36):
and kind of take up that timewhen you're having dropouts With
the Starlink.
And I'm not going to go into itthat much because I don't
personally use that, so I reallycan't explain that how that
works that well.
I know I haven't really neededit for my line of work, but you
might need it for yours, and sothat is an option out there
where you can have some Backupsystems for when you're using
one method of internet, anothermethod will back it up so you
(17:58):
don't experience those dropouts.
I've also written an entirearticle about Starlink and so
I'll also put that in the shownotes.
You can go and read about howto set up Starlink, how to use
Starlink, how to order it, and Ihave all of that on On my
website and I'll put a linkbelow so you can go and read
that in-depth post about it.
But I found Starlink very easyto set up and use.
(18:19):
There's an app and you justname your network and it guides
you through setting up the dish.
It's super simple.
Anyone can do it.
I love that there's an app thatallows you to easily connect to
Starlink, see if it's online,download updates and see your
data usage.
I found it all really a breezeto use, very user-friendly,
which is great because I'm notvery technological and so don't
worry, if you're not verytechnologically advanced either,
(18:40):
you'll have no problem usingeither Starlink or visible,
which is why I love both ofthese ways of getting internet
on the road.
So if you want even morein-depth options when it comes
to Wi-Fi when you're traveling,you should go listen to episode
6 of the wayward home podcast,which I'll also link below in
the show notes.
In this episode I spoke withChris and Cherie of the RV
(19:00):
mobile internet resource center,and these guys are the
full-blown experts of how to getWi-Fi in Campervan or an RV or
on a boat when you're traveling.
They literally go out and testall these hot spots and cell
phone data plans and Starlinkand Peplinks, and they're just a
wealth of knowledge.
So if you want to geek out andgo really in-depth on internet
options, go listen to episode 7of the wayward home podcast if
(19:23):
you're like me and you want tokeep it simple.
You might want to go check outvisible, the wayward home comm
forward, slash visible, or youmight want to check out Starlink
or a combination of both, likeI use.
I'm not very advanced with thisstuff and these work really
well For me, so hopefully one ofthem will work well for you too
.
If you like this episode of thewayward home podcast, do me a
favor and forward it to a friendor a family member who you
(19:45):
think would Like it.
Word of mouth is the biggest waythis podcast grows and I really
appreciate you sharing it andeven going on Apple Podcasts and
leaving a review or justclicking a few stars Showing
your gratitude.
It really helps me out when itcomes to getting more ears on
the wayward home Podcast andalso as a reminder if you prefer
to watch instead of listen, Ido record these episodes on
(20:06):
video and I post them to myYouTube channel.
You can find that at thewayward home comm forward slash
YouTube.
Or just go to YouTube andsearch for the wayward home and
you'll find me and all mypodcast episodes.
You can have it on in theBackground while you're cooking
I'll keep you company or whileyou're doing whatever you need
to be doing, but there are videoepisodes as well if you prefer
that.
So thanks again for listeningto this episode of the wayward
(20:29):
home podcast.
I really appreciate yoursupport.
I'm so happy you're here, andoh again if you need to email me
, kristen, at the wayward homecomm, I'll see you next time.
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