The bad: we are seriously isolated. Pullman has a small airport that has 3-4 flights a day, all going to Seattle which is a 5 hour drive. So unless you're going to Seattle there is no such thing as a direct flight, and flights to almost anywhere are very expensive. The nearest "big" city (pop. 200k so really not even very big) is 1.5 hours north in Spokane. We have Moscow, Idaho 20 minutes east (which is another college town with almost the exact same population, so it's almost like someone just copy and pasted), Clarkston WA and Lewiston ID 40 minutes south, and that. is. it. None of these cities exceed 30-40k in population.
All in all I wouldn't change much. This is a beautiful little town with just enough places to eat and drink to satisfy me, and plenty of outdoor activities. Hell of a place to raise children with some of the top schools in WA. I have family spread out all over the country and so not being able to see them frankly sucks. I miss some chain stuff we don't get out here like Five Guys and Chipotle but I probably shouldn't be eating that crap anyway.
Anything else you'd like to know about Eastern WA/Northern Idaho let me know.
>They’ve successfully worked remotely before, or they’ve run their own business (do they have what it takes to motivate themselves to work solo?)
But, as it's suited to experienced employees it limits the opportunity for inexperienced ones. Consequently, diversity is limited and it's not good for growing new professionals. This leaves teams over-balanced with senior people and creates a problem for developing people, particularly when an organisation is larger than a handful of hackers.
It can be done, but it's tougher than the buzz suggests and there are real trade-offs!
I'm flabbergasted by how difficult it is to train a new employee that is remote. It's not even worth trying.
I've tried to find a decent remote job for about 8 months and the whole search has completely turned me off the idea. I used to believe that remote would be the future, but it seems like remote jobs are what mediocre startups with insufficient funding try to use as an excuse to underpay you. I've pretty much seen it all: jobs that are listed as remote, but when you interview, the first question is "When can you relocate?"; jobs that pay $60,000 per year (without taxes or benefits) for a Software Architect role; and the last straw--jobs offering a decent rate but saying they can only pay you for 25 hours a week (hmm, how does a Sw Eng switch their mind off at the 5th hour every day as opposed to at the 8th?)
Of course, everybody requires rock stars (at least Google-level engineers, preferably with CS degrees from Stanford or MIT) and who have experience with remote work, and can manage teams, overcommunicate, are a culture fit, and most importantly are willing to work for $60,000 a year with no benefits and no vacation.
Remote has a long way to go.
Also, as an aside, their option box is a word-for-word copy of Neil patel's. "from aha to oh shi*t..."