Sarah Harvey moved to the Maldives in 2010 to take a job at a travel website. She eventually founded her own company, Manta Media, and continues to work remotely during extended stays on the islands.
Sarah Harvey
Sarah Harvey left London in 2010 for a job in the Maldives and later founded her own media company.
She reviews $4,000-per-night resorts for travel magazines and websites — sometimes while wearing a bikini.
The internet, weather, and friendships are great, though Maldivian cities are different than people may think.
In my 20s, I decided it was time to start living the life I'd been dreaming about and moved from London to the Maldives.
During her early days living there, Harvey traveled around the islands by ferry to review resort properties.
Sarah Harvey
I beat out 300 other applicants for a job as a news editor for a local travel website and became one of just a handful of journalists to live here.
Very few journalists live in the Maldives full-time, Harvey says.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
I'd recently recovered from Guillain-Barré syndrome, so being able to snorkel, dive, or surf whenever I wanted meant more than you can imagine.
The coral reefs are a highlight of the archipelago.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
After five years here, I moved to the French Riviera and then California, the Riviera Maya, Miami, and NYC. But I'm still regularly drawn back to the Maldives to work remotely.
Harvey is currently in her second extended trip to the Maldives in a year, doing work for her own company, Manta Media.
Sarah Harvey
I like to start my day with a typical Maldivian breakfast of mas huni and roshi — a mix of tuna, coconut, onion, chili, and lime eaten with tortillas. It's great once you get your head around having spicy fish for breakfast.
Traditional mas huni and roshi with some kukulhu riha (chicken curry) is a typical breakfast for her.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
If I have time before starting work, I'll go snorkeling. Visibility is best around 7 a.m., and the sheer volume of tropical fish, turtles, rays, and reef sharks I see is amazing.
Snorkeling visibility is best around 7 a.m.
Sara Harvey/Insider
I'm currently working from the Amilla Resort, where my work area includes my laptop, a desk with some chargers and ports, and a tea and coffee station.
Cookies and caffeine are on standby at Harvey’s desk.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
Not all resorts here have desks, so I've previously made do with working from makeup tables, patio tables, and even hammocks.
Harvey sees people pose for photos with their laptops by the pool, but in reality it doesn't work due to the sun's glare.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
Sometimes I'll work from the living area of my villa, which is surrounded by water. Many resorts offer discount rates for media members or remote workers — and some have invited me to stay for free if I'll be writing about the property.
Harvey says all the natural light helps her work.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
But you can't just turn up on a private island without a booking, like how you'd walk into a city hotel.
Water villas are private bungalows built on stilts out on the water.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
I work with companies in the Maldives as well as in the US, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia, which occasionally means a late-night or early-morning meeting.
A temporary ‘home-office’ comes in handy late at night or early in the morning.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
I love being able to take a break from writing to jump in the plunge pool or sea. Having access to so much private space also made me feel safer when COVID-19 was more of an issue.
Harvey has learned the importance of taking small breaks to avoid burnout.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
The internet is beamed by satellite, so the speeds for Google Docs, video calls, and emailing photos are surprisingly good. WiFi is usually free, but some resorts charge $6 for just 30 minutes.
It's surprising how good the internet can be in such a remote location, Harvey says.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
When I first arrived, I had to buy phone cards and type in long codes if I wanted to call friends or family around the world. Now I use Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
Now it's much easier to stay connected with friends and family, despite how remote the Maldives are.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
I love getting out in the field (often the ocean) for research — anything from scuba diving with a marine biologist to interviewing a head chef.
Harvey caught one sunset while on a dolphin-spotting excursion.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
I make a point to try to finish work and get outside to watch the sunset every evening around 6 p.m.
Even after thousands of sunsets here, watching them never gets boring for Harvey.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
I often need to travel for research. I use seaplanes and domestic flights to reach the really far islands, or speed boats and ferries for closer ones.
Harvey on a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter plane, which takes her to the most remote resorts.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
I've slept at some of the most expensive resorts in the world for my work, and am often surprised by how the atmospheres vary — some are really sociable, while at others all the guests ignore each other.
Private pools and butlers are standard at Maldives resorts.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
Each resort feels like its own bubble, and I feel very safe and insulated — you only hear the news if you seek it out here.
Harvey at a beach villa at the five-star Jumeirah Dhevanafushi.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
At five-star resorts, I've heard about and seen some wild things, like a $200 pizza menu or the celebrity who wanted her hot tub filled with melted chocolate.
Taj Exotica and a few other resorts have $200 pizzas or burgers on their menus.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
When I first moved here, one of the biggest surprises was that there was only one resort per island.
Every resort in the Maldives is located on its own private island, except the new Crossroads development.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
Resorts are segregated from the local community — where alcohol, bikinis, and pork are banned.
Bikinis are not allowed on public beaches in the Maldives.
Sara Harvey
I don't work from resorts all the time. I'll soon be heading back to an inhabited island named Hulhumalé, a completely different experience from the resorts.
Harvey will soon be heading back to an inhabited island named Hulhumalé.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
I'll sometimes arrange short-term rentals and temporary sublets on Airbnb or through Facebook groups for expats.
Harvey working from an apartment in the Maldives.
Sarah Harvey
But I find the capital city of Malé disappointing. It's very crowded and rundown, despite having rent prices almost comparable with Los Angeles.
Most Maldivians live in modern apartment blocks in the cities.
Sarah Harvey/Insider
Malé is one of the only cities in the Maldives where there are cars. Most of the inhabited islands have sand streets, so small motorcycles are way more popular — and a status symbol.
Most of the inhabited islands have sand streets.
Sarah Harvey
I don't enjoy being stuck in an apartment working, so I'll often go to a laptop-friendly café and use their wifi to get work done when I'm in Hulhumalé or Malé.
One of Harvey's favorite coffee shops in the Maldives.
Sarah Harvey
I love that tea is sold everywhere here, but I was surprised the first time a café owner gave me take-out tea in a bag.
Maldivians often drink tea, but coffee and Red Bull are also very popular.
Sarah Harvey
Another surprise when I first moved here was that there was so little produce at stores — and the only cheese I could find came in a can.
There's now a wider variety of produce and dairy options, Harvey says.
Sarah Harvey
The Maldives' public ferry network is a nice way to slow-travel between inhabited islands. Some even have roofs that I've worked from with my laptop.
The ferries in the Maldives are called "dhonis."
Sarah Harvey
Of course, a major perk is being able to work in my bikini and wear flip-flops year round — the temperature's always an average of 86 degrees.
One resort, Kurumba, flew Harvey to the Maldives to write blogs for its website.
Sarah Harvey
When I'm not working, I'll do fun things like scuba dive. I learned how several years ago and have completed 100 dives since then.
The Maldives is one of the best places in the world to scuba dive.
Sarah Harvey
I'll also hang out with friends on weekends. I've made incredible friendships here with people from all around the world.
Harvey and a friend visited a yacht with a hot tub, the ScubaSpa Maldives.
Sarah Harvey
My partner now works remotely here with me, and my parents and old friends have come to visit.
Harvey and her partner now work remotely together.
Sarah Harvey
I make sure to show them the real island communities — the kind of stuff that most visitors to the Maldives don't normally see.
At the time of reporting, Harvey was working from Amilla Maldives Resort and Residences in the Baa Atoll UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
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