People ask me all the time: "You really do software development from Jamaica? For international clients? How does that work?"
The short answer: the same way it works anywhere else, just with better weather and worse internet (sometimes).
Let me walk you through what a typical day actually looks like.
The Morning Routine
Wake Up
I'm naturally an early riser. No alarm needed. The roosters around my neighborhood handle that. Mandeville mornings are cool — we're about 2,000 feet above sea level, so it's not the typical Jamaica heat you might expect.
Coffee & Planning
Blue Mountain coffee (of course). While it brews, I check my phone for any urgent messages that came in overnight. Most of my clients are in the US, so they're 0-2 hours behind me. I scan Slack, email, and WhatsApp to see what's waiting.
Deep Work Block #1
This is my most productive time. No calls, no meetings, just code. I typically work on the most complex tasks here — building new features, debugging tricky issues, or writing new plugins. The house is quiet, the internet is stable (morning traffic is low), and my brain is fresh.
I protect this morning block fiercely. No meetings before 9 AM unless it's an emergency. Clients learn to respect this pretty quickly when they see the quality of work that comes out of it.
The Workspace
I work from a home office in Mandeville. Nothing fancy — a desk, a good chair (your back will thank you), and the essentials:
Windows laptop M2
Main development machine. Fast, reliable, handles everything I throw at it.
27" External Monitor
Essential for code + browser + terminal side by side.
Dual Internet
Flow fiber (primary) + Digicel LTE (backup). Redundancy is key.
UPS Battery Backup
JPS power cuts happen. This gives me 30 minutes to save work and switch to mobile hotspot.
💡 Pro tip for remote workers in Jamaica: Always have backup internet. I've had calls with US clients where Flow went down mid-conversation. Switching to Digicel hotspot in 10 seconds saved the meeting. Invest in redundancy.
The Work Day
Client Communication
This is when I respond to emails, Slack messages, and hop on any scheduled calls. Most of my clients are just starting their workday on the US East Coast. I'm on Zoom or Google Meet 2-3 times per week for project updates, demos, or planning sessions.
Deep Work Block #2
Back to focused development. This block usually involves continuing what I started in the morning, or switching to a different client project. I try to batch similar tasks — all the PHP work together, all the frontend work together.
Lunch Break
Step away from the computer. Actual food (not snacks at the desk). Sometimes I run a quick errand in town. The key is disconnecting for at least 30 minutes. Your afternoon productivity depends on it.
Afternoon Sessions
This is when I handle the less intensive work: code reviews, documentation, responding to support tickets, writing proposals. My brain isn't as sharp for complex logic in the afternoon, so I lean into tasks that require less deep thinking.
The Reality Check
Let me be honest about the challenges. Working remotely from Jamaica isn't all beaches and sunsets (I rarely see the beach — Mandeville is in the mountains).
The Hard Parts
Internet reliability: It's improved massively in the last 5 years, but outages happen. You need backup plans.
Power outages: JPS does their thing. A UPS is mandatory. A generator is nice if you can swing it.
Timezone coordination: When US West Coast clients want a 4 PM call their time, that's 7 PM for me. Boundaries matter.
Banking/payments: Receiving USD payments requires some setup. Payoneer, Wise, or a USD account. It works, but it's not as seamless as it could be.
Isolation: There's no tech scene to speak of in Mandeville. No co-working spaces, no meetups. You have to be okay working alone.
The Advantages
But here's why I stay:
- Cost of living: My money goes much further here. A lifestyle that would cost $8K/month in a US city costs $2K here.
- Focus: No commute, no office politics, no distractions. I control my environment completely.
- Family: I'm close to my people. That matters more than any salary increase.
- Timezone advantage: Jamaica is EST/EDT. Perfect overlap with US East Coast clients — no middle-of-the-night calls.
- Quality of life: Fresh air, slower pace, less stress. I'm not grinding myself into the ground.
Evening Wind Down
Wrap Up
I try to stop working by 5 PM most days. Push commits, update project management tools, send any final messages. Sometimes a US client needs a quick call at 5-6 PM their time (7-8 PM here), but I limit those.
Personal Time
Disconnect completely. No Slack on my phone after hours. Spend time with family, watch something, read, or just decompress. The work will be there tomorrow.
What I've Learned
After 14+ years of doing this, here's what I'd tell anyone thinking about remote work from Jamaica:
- Invest in your infrastructure. Good internet, backup power, reliable equipment. These aren't luxuries — they're the foundation of your business.
- Set boundaries early. Clients will expand into any space you give them. Establish working hours and stick to them.
- Over-communicate. When you're not in the same room, you have to be proactive about updates, questions, and progress reports.
- Deliver consistently. Your reputation is everything. One missed deadline can undo months of good work.
- Build systems. Document your processes, create templates, automate what you can. It's how you scale without burning out.
Would I Change Anything?
Not really. The freedom to work from home, set my own schedule, choose my projects, and stay close to family is worth every challenge. Is it perfect? No. Is it better than the alternative of commuting to an office in Kingston or trying to relocate abroad? For me, absolutely.
The technology exists to work from anywhere. Jamaica is as good a place as any — and better than most.
Want to Work With Me?
I build websites and software for businesses across Jamaica, the Caribbean, and internationally.
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