Georgia! Georgia on my mind! Remote Lyfe in Atlanta was motivated by getting out of the Detroit cold for a month – and into the Atlanta cold (it was 16 degrees some of our days there!)!!! Atlanta does not have any big lakes or rivers going through its downtown, which was notable, but it did not disappoint with its vibrancy as a cosmopolitan city in the South. We thought we would be hanging out with Luda or Usher immediately upon arrival but we did enjoy the local friendliness and having our Airbnb close to Grant Park.

I loved visiting the Ron Clark Academy which is a Disneyworld esque-Harry Potter themed school for 4th-8th graders, majority of whom are low-income. You enter the school through castle gates with a huge dragon above you and leave by getting “slide” certified. I was able to observe the founder, Ron Clark, teach a math lesson that looked like a Shin Lim magic show, set to dramatic Hip Hop Music, and with him and students walking on top of desks. The students were all 100% engaged and were empowered to speak and connect with the class in ways that were trusting and powerful methods of teaching. I loved how playfulness was a shared quality of all the adult staff and that the kids seemed to truly love being there. The building was inspiring of the imagination of what is possible for education re-design, as most of my experiences teaching in cities like Detroit have been walking into the most uninspiring, prison-like buildings in the world. This is what is possible when we actually value youth and education and I loved that teachers from all over the world were coming to Ron Clark Academy to learn about how to transform education.

We also enjoyed the National Center for Civic and Human Rights to celebrate MLK day, the Atlanta zoo, the Coca Cola museum, and the Carter Center. Rosalynn Carter in particular was inspiring to me with her advocacy for mental health over five decades ago! Atlanta is rich in its cultural offerings and significant history in the civil rights movement. Despite the cold weather, we found so much to go do and see everyday in a city that is a nexus of social change and innovation being home to a ton of Fortune 500 companies. Also, with the Beltline, a 20+ mile biking and walking path, it was a joy to be a part of an incredibly active community, and we enjoyed hanging out at the Ponce City Market (especially the views from the Rooftop!)

Heading into Atlanta, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Unless you’re from there or have spent a lot of time there, you don’t really have an idea. 

We were aiming for a mild winter there in order to maybe walk to our local coffeeshops and be in the sun, but joke was on us as the winter wrapped us in the vortex of frigid temperatures & storms. We had to lean on driving more than expected as Atlanta had lesser of a public transportation system than some of our other larger destinations, but we still ventured out for the best cup of speciality coffee. 

Overall, Atlanta surprised me with some of the best coffees I have personally tried and harnessed quite a bit of the coffeeshop vibes making it very easy to remote work. There is definitely a larger market of remote workers in Atlanta and I did find it more difficult to find seating as the morning progresses. So just be sure to know the early workers get the seats. 

Some of Pidge’s favorite Atlanta Coffee Shop Locations:

Inman Perk Coffee-240 North Highland Avenue Northeast H

Coffeeshop with breakfast options that has a bar for the mid afternoon transition. Easy parking and a quiet hotspot for workers, but could always find seating. 

Urban Grind-962 Marietta St NW

Staff at this one were stellar. Shop itself was definitely a hotspot for the college students looking for a study day, but not super crowded. Some eclectic furniture that really brought together a great environment. 

Howdy ATL-753 Cherokee Ave SE

One of our favorites right next to Grant Park with amazing full cafe menu including great lattes. Always plenty of seating with lots of windows and very sweet staff. 

Drip- 928 Garrett St B

One of the first ones we tried with a customizable breakfast sandwich. Solid coffee, but a little small. 

Grant Park-337 Georgia Ave SE

This was a favorite of David due to comfortable seating and a more open coworking vibe with reservable meeting rooms. Full cafe menu. 

Little Tart Bakeshop-68 Georgia Ave SE

As a sucker for baked goods, this one landed on my top list for the interesting and delectable treats. Not the best seating for long term working due to small seating and no plugs, but it still is great for a shorter work session with lots of windows. 

Honorable Mention* Hodge Podge (no longer open)-720 Moreland Ave SE

Have to mention this one as it was closing the first week we arrived because it would have been our favorite. Very inviting for all identities with amazing seating options.

O New York! Picture these two UStriches on a boat pretty much like Titanic making their way across the sparkly sunny waters of New York for their morning commute from the Bronx to Manhattan. It was pretty dreamy, especially for $2, to have the windblown hair look on your first zoom call of the day is ideal. Being from Detroit, we have a deep appreciation for public transit. It doesn’t even have to be great – I mean we are coming from “The People Mover”/no public transit so we are easily impressed. However, New York really has public transit down. It was a delight to take the metro and it didn’t bother us how long it took to get from the Bronx all the way downtown or to Brooklyn. It was notable the inequality towards the Bronx in how only one line services this whole borough which also just happens to be the lowest income population of New Yorkers.

I had only been to NYC a few times before for quick trips like to see my friend Antwaun Stanley and Vulfpeck play a sold out Madison Square Garden. We stayed a month in a Bronx Airbnb which felt similar to where we live on the east side of Detroit. A little rough but vibrant. And we had the true New York experience of having to open our oven to open our silverware drawer – yup the kitchen was that small! I got us some groceries at the corner store and loved hearing only Spanish in the store. We started to find some gems in the Bronx from parks that are huge, to cute unique coffee shops (which Pidge will explain below), and we even befriended our neighbor who gave us the inside scoop on the Bronx having been a lifetime resident there.

We ventured out, as Ostriches do, to explore all the NYC hotspots like Central Park, went to the top of the Rock to see all of NY, Coney Island beach, and explored the waterfront sports and activities haven of the Brooklyn Heights, and even made it out to Governor’s Island where you can lay on a hammock and see the Statue of Liberty. We even saw a Broadway play – New York, New York, of course, which we got a great deal through Broadway Roulette. We imagined what it would be like living here and after a month had picked out a few spots that we could see as our next nest 🙂

Coffee Round Up by Pidgette

Ah, New York. Such a working hub with so much influence. It is no surprise that so many remote workers still opt in to pay the extra fees, taxes, and cost of living increase in order to remain in the land of coworking spaces, endless coffeeshops, and networking opportunities. 

Well, now its harder for me to provide a true coffeeshop review as we technically stayed in the Bronx. For anyone that has visited the richly cultural borough, coffeeshops are not as prevalent, so I definitely had my work cut out for me on days where we opted not to travel to the other boroughs. BUT it wasn’t impossible and even found a few gems.

In order to stay true to Pidge’s roundup, I only added Bronx places recommended for remote working. 

Some of Pidge’s favorite Bronx Coffee Shop Locations:

Boogie Down Grind-868 Hunt Ave. 

Absolutely was my favorite. R&B music theme where you could feel it was a neighborhood staple. 

787 Coffee Co.-2430 Third Ave. 

One of NYC’s chain coffeejoints with a location finally in the Bronx. The location was a little odd wedged between warehouse buildings and residential, but to be honest that is a lot of the Bronx. Perfect interior atmosphere with a roof window. 

The Way Cafe-1015 Castle Hill Ave

Honestly, a very cute little neighborhood joint run by a very sweet religious community, but very welcoming to remote workers. 

As two Snow Birds, after our first remote lyfe month in sunny St. Pete, we were excited for month #2 down south and began to flap our wings from St. Pete all the way over to Austin Texas for our second nest of the winter. However, we didn’t know that we were about to spend 2 days in Baton Rouge Louisiana, about 6.5 hours out from Austin, to wait out a once in a lifetime ice storm that hit Austin serendipitously the day before we were supposed to be there. We saw news stories showing Austin drivers slipping and sliding down hilly roads, and how the trees were weighed down and breaking under the weight of the wintry mix. It did not look good. Our moms advised not to go there yet and we acted as if we were gonna go anyway but actually listened to them and waited it out a bit more. By the time we summitted Austin it was still wintry, the trees looked like they needed unlimited PTO, tons of damage everywhere, and the roads were still slick. And, our new Airbnb had no power when we arrived. Romantic!

This new place was cute – not huge but compared to our “cozy” first Airbnb it was a much better layout. Our cats seemed to be in better mindsets with this new pawquarters and Pidge and I went shopping for groceries, candles and other things to get settled in with no power. The next day the power came on and the adventure began. Our Airbnb was very close to the Colorado River that runs you into the downtown and we loved having the access to boundless dream running trails along the river. Along the path, there are tons of turtles on logs bathing in the sun and you can see the whole skyline of Austin in the distance. Since we were training for Pidge’s first half marathon, we took in a lot of the city on foot and by trail, which was super nice. Austin was charming with its vibrant downtown, tons of music opportunities, and great bar options everywhere. On the flip side, it did not seem as diverse as we thought it would be and it seemed like every ‘restaurant’ was a food cart serving tacos!

We had fun with some Austin friends we were visiting, a close friend visiting us while we were there too, and we even made new friends at a coffee shop that was between a funeral home and a gas station. That was dope. In Austin, I ventured out to a co-working space for a few day passes close to us called Createscape that a fresh and funky co-working space for a very affordable price. Most days I joined Pidge working at a coffee shop. Austin was a little tough for remote working with its high prices for parking and overwhelmed coffee shops with high competition for seats indoors near plugs. We did enjoy a nice day trip to the Riverwalk in San Antonio and appreciated the spectacle of a Buc-ees, which is like a Disneyworld gas station experience – it’s huge! Overall the highlight was seeing Pidge rock her first half marathon in Austin on a super hilly course, being with friends, and the Colorado River.

Coffee Shop Roundup by Pidgette

Austin in February was to experience the electricity while escaping the winter. Overall the weather remained mild and provided sun more often than not, but rainy days in between. 

The remote working community was much more saturated than probably most other metro cities with the buzz about Austin growing. That being said, take extra consideration with Austin’s coffeeshops-many have more limited seating. Supply vs Demand. We found ourselves under the pressure to beat the crowd in the morning (before 8:30 AM) for indoor seats especially on rather hotter, colder, or rainy days. To note, Austin has various spaces with coffee, food trucks and breweries with outdoor yard seating and that defines where more locals go to spend time. It became a bit more transparent though that during the more extreme Summer weather, remote working is most likely a large challenge as most of those outdoor yard seating places offer no charging plugs and leave you vulnerable to the sun. 

I would say that if you are looking to spend your time at a coffeeshop in Austin, to plan weather wise. Most locals already know, but bringing your own water, charging packs, and finding shade is key to Austin for year round. 

Some of my favorite Coffee Shop Locations:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Flyin Ostriches 🤍 | Kait + David | Goofy Love & Travel (@flyinostriches)

Remote Lyfe! It all began in a 199 sq ft. “cozy” Airbnb in beautiful St. Pete, Florida. We arrived late at night for our month stay and immediately took in our new ‘storage cube’ of a unit. Pidge began weeping. Our cats looked at us like “is this all we can afford?” Turns out $2500 doesn’t get you much anymore these days. On the positive side we could high five from the toilet to the bed, it had a cute little porch with a swing, and we had access to Season 18 of Survivor on Netflix which somehow we ended up watching all of in our time there. Also, important to mention is that we had access to THE OCEAN!!! I mean it wasn’t at our doorstep, (a park with live gators was), but the ocean was only a 13.4 minute drive away.

Pidge and I put our stuff down, got the cats out of their negative mindsets with some deep breathing and affirmations about how we can make this beautiful together, and then we went down the street to a Mediterranean restaurant to reflect on our life choices. Our Remote Lyfe adventures had officially begun! What happened for the next month no one really can recount. We did make this (<—) MTV Cribs-esque video to capture the memorable humble beginnings.

The Remote Lifestyle in St. Pete Florida – Quips, Comments, and wild thoughts from David

Ah St. Pete. On one side of town, there is the 1970s style of mostly low-rise low-key ocean front hotels, Kava Dens, sea-themed restaurants and some beautiful sand + crystal clear turquoise waters (who knew that the word turquoise was spelled that exquisitely!) I put a toe in that sparkly water and it immediately froze off. For two Detroiters though, that 65 degree sunny day felt like a 90 degree beach day but that water was a polar plunge for only the bravest on the beach/the kids who ran in like it was a heated wave pool!

On the other side of town was the gorgeous St. Pete Pier. It truly is beautiful and showcases the oceanfront with community interaction opportunities for recreation, strolling, running, shopping and such. It was the perfect boardwalk to stroll while eating a gelato! And 4th street of downtown St. Pete is poppin’ with some snazzy places like a bar called the Laundromat, where you enter by calling a pay phone and then pushing on one of the laundry machines in the wall that opens up to a swanky speakeasy. And a place called the Dog Bar, where we witnessed dog heaven, dogs running everywhere and sniffing butts as adults drank cold beverages. It was at that bar that we witnessed a first date between what seemed to be a dog loving woman and a guy overdressed in a suit who must have said that he loved dogs too. With a dog’s ass in his face for at least 85% of the date, it was just quality entertainment.

We loved the hip, fun-loving people of St. Pete, and the calming ocean waves at our feet by the end of a workday. One day after we finished work, we quickly got some picnic accoutrements and made our way to the sparkly beach only to be feasted on by a hangry group of seagulls, one of which ran off with Pidge’s favorite cookie. Pidge will be commenting about the lay of the land of coffee in St. Pete, and I wanted to share a bit about joining a co-working space called the Tampa Bay Innovation Center. Conveniently located downtown, with free parking, I found Mary from the center to be the most amazing welcome guide for St. Pete. The center was very affordable for a month membership and I could do my meetings from board rooms with views of the whole city. Plus with the free parking outside me and pidge could park there and I could do some meetings at the center and then join her at a coffee shop or take a walking phone meeting by the water. St. Pete was sunny, somewhat warm, and quirky cute and it was really a great month to kick off our remote lyfe! We also had a great time fitting in a few day trips to nearby Tampa, which we went to for a Jazz Festival and a Theatre of the Oppressed event, and down south to Sarasota and Siesta Key for some more beach adventures! Now to the coffee round up with Pidge!!

Coffee Shop Round Up by Pidgette

St Petersburg was the luxury escape for sun deprived, remote workers very accustomed to the dull Midwest winter. For the Midwest in January, there is little to no option to remain outside further than necessary to scurry to the next enclosed locations,so for St. Pete to offer any amount of extended time outside is a new experience. 

Doors were left open at midday for the fresh air. People would fill the outdoor table seating to enjoy their lunches. Faces lit up by sunlight while conducting their meetings. Absolutely unknown to us. 

Not only does offering the outdoor office option create the best fight against seasonal depression, but the overall energy of the coffeeshops. People seemed lifted in a way that not only were most days met with beautiful sunshine, but the reminder that the beach, ocean, parks, downtown pier were all a quick 20 min drive for the after-working hours where we could enjoy the remaining sunlight in January. 

Overall it seemed like a smaller remote working community that contributed to the daily coffeeshop traffic. 

Some of Pidge’s favorite St. Pete Coffee Shop Locations: