A Remote Working City, Adelaide

If ever there is a location that would make for an attractive remote working city, Adelaide has to be one.

It has many of the key attributes to make it a first class remote working city. A city that can connect and engage the World without missing a beat.

A remote working model

Remote working model has been trending quietly over the years. We hear of people working from home operating as independent contractors well before the Covid pandemic. The pandemic probably pushed this model even harder.

Remote working involves an individual who does his or her work away from the usual office. Typically at home but sometimes from a work hub convenient to that person. It may be a few days a week or full time.

Young salaried employees who have gone independent have done much to push this model. A reflection of the fast evolving gig economy. An example is a software engineer who works from home on an assignment basis for companies.

Interestingly the tax authorities have provided tax relief for expenses incurred in converting home space for work. And this has been on the books for years so it is not a new idea or concept.

So why Adelaide?

Adelaide as the capital city of a state, South Australia. It has all the pre-requisites to support top tier commercial and corporate affairs.

It is 20 minutes to the Airport which services domestic and international flights. I can reach an Asia Pacific city in 6 hours hours and daily frequent flights to Sydney and Melbourne are the norm. Miss a domestic flight to either one of them and I take the next one 2 or 3 hours later. So it is well connected.

Now its the lifestyle attributes that clearly sets Adelaide apart from other cities.

It does not have skyscrapers (maybe one) and it is a terribly small for a city. It’s striking features are the sacred and protected parklands surrounding the city. The Adelaide Hills, the marina at Glenelg and the World famous Adelaide Oval. It also shows how small the city is.

So it is not a never ending urban sprawl or a concrete jungle. You quickly get into the suburbs and the Adelaide Hills from the city centre within 20 minutes.

Adelaide Hills is a separate eco-system. No other city has the proximity of access from the city centre to another eco-system like Adelaide. You can own a home and a stable with horses in Adelaide Hills and drive into the city centre within 45 minutes.

The pluses and minuses of remote working

For the employer it will be cost reduction in leasing or having office space. The lack of supervision and accessibility however can be detrimental. Current job profiles have to be re-evaluated and work engagement likely re-drawn to address remote supervision.

There will also be a dip in office camaraderie and culture as remoteness does not help in this regard. Some level of regular rotation would be necessary to retain and embed the company or corporate culture that is valued.

The second and eventually a bigger looming factor is retaining quality staff and top talent who prefer to work remotely. At least for part of the working week or month. The employer – employee power equation has also shifted towards well credentialed employees. That shift is growing.

For the employee, cost and time saved on daily commute would be significant. This can be which can up to 4 hrs in total. It’s is also an attempt to have a work-life balance that is more personalised. No better formula before and since.

Increasingly it is becoming a lifestyle choice when two ingredients come together. First is the desire to work remotely. Secondly picking the right location.

One might actually plan to move to a new home in a location or city that resonates or amplifies the work-life balance. So people that want to work remotely now look to relocate to a location that provides that balanced setting. And this is where Adelaide has an edge.

Remote working location viability

Firstly it must have all the attributes a city can offer in terms of first tier corporate infrastructure. These range from high speed broadband, a highly connected transportation hub to ancillary services that fulfils staff and corporate needs.

For the employee, good schools, restaurants, gyms, sport events and right down to organic and gourmet supermarkets. Anything less and you won’t attract top talent and many can afford to be selective. And the employer may discourage working remotely if the location is not right.

Just to be clear we are talking about close proximity to the city but not actually working in the city. That would defeat the purpose of working remotely and away from the office. They need to be close and have ready access to facilities when a need arises.

It need not be accidental

Granted that some of these locations have evolved over time but just hoping for organic growth is not ideal. Local authorities with a vision and a clear plan, can fast-track growth. If the outside World is aware that a city has clear focus on becoming a remote working hub, it changes things quite dramatically.

Good example of a remote working city is San Francisco which supports smaller towns that make up the Silicon Valley. These include San Mateo, San Jose, Mountain View, Cupertino and Sunnyvale amongst them all sparsely populated. These are homes to some of the best companies in the World. It’s no surprise that Silicon Valley has all the hallmarks of an ideal work-life balance. And the suburbs are highly attractive to those who want to work from home.

Good growing and planned supporting infrastructure therefore is a must. UK with its well connected rail network is another example.

My own discovery of Adelaide

I have covered many of the positive attributes of Adelaide in 2 other earlier posts. They are Adelaide, picturesque, quaint and festive and The Festival State comes alive again so I won’t repeat them here.

I would also like to share two interesting observation about Adelaide. One is my personal experience of moving to Adelaide for work. This is despite the initial plan of just staying for few years for work and moving on.

Within a few months, the family was keen to make it home. It takes about 20 minutes to drive from the foothills of Adelaide to the Rundle Street multi-storey carpark. It was too good to give up.

Some years later when a job and a permanent move to London for good via the right visa category was offered. I took the job but not the permanent relocation.

So do you think Adelaide makes the cut for a remote working city like no other in this part of the World?