Shanna&Martin
We’re Shanna and Martin, a visual designer and a developer from Taiwan. We both work remotely, and we’d like to spend a month living and working in the far north: Northern Norway, the Faroe Islands or Iceland, wherever the programme places us.
Meet usOur story
We’re a married couple from Taiwan, both 28. Shanna is a visual designer. Martin is a developer. Our work could hardly be more different, but it fits into the same kind of day: two laptops at one table.
Outside work we care about the same things: travel, music, nature, local culture and the small everyday moments that make a place feel familiar. Working remotely means we can take our jobs with us.
Visual designer · Healthcare
I work in branding, digital design and visual communication, mostly in healthcare. In that field the job is to make difficult information calm and easy to follow. I like that kind of work. It needs care more than decoration.
See Shanna’s portfolio ↗
Developer · Remote
He’s a developer based in Taiwan and works remotely for a luxury resort company in the Philippines. His team and systems are in another country, so working remotely is already how his job works, and Norway would just be a different desk.
Full-time jobs, own costs
We both keep our full-time jobs during the stay, so we pay our own way.
Already remote across borders
Martin lives in Taiwan and works for a company in the Philippines. Working with a team in another country is already part of our everyday life.
Flexible hours
We can set our own working hours, so we can fit work around the town’s rhythm and community life.
Life beyond work
Travel
We keep coming back to old towns in winter, food markets and places where the light changes the whole mood of a street.
Flight log
Shanna logs every flight in Flighty. These are her numbers since April 2024. Almost every route starts at home in Taipei.
Why the far north
We’re curious about the Nordic way of life and how people balance work with their personal time. We’d love to experience it for ourselves, continuing our usual remote work while living at a slower pace.
We’ve travelled to many countries, but never to the Nordics, and most of our trips have been fast-paced city visits. This time, we hope to spend a month in a small town during the quieter season, enjoying long walks, getting to know the local community, and experiencing everyday life beyond the usual tourist attractions. We’re not looking for a holiday, but a chance to live somewhere new, keep up with our work, and learn from a different way of life. Whether in Northern Norway, the Faroe Islands, or Iceland, we’d be happy to make it our temporary home.
Learn
Experience
Ready for winter
Giving back
We’d love to get to know people through simple, everyday conversations, and to help with real things the town needs.
We’ve both worked for several years and are used to working with all kinds of people. Shanna did a working holiday in Australia, and Martin works across borders every day for a company in the Philippines. Working alongside people from other cultures is something we’ve both done.
Shanna
Photos, illustrations and short notes about winter life in the town, shared on Instagram. The town and the programme are free to use them.
Shanna
Helping local people and small businesses with the design they need, such as posters, menus, signs or a simple logo.
Martin
Helping local people and small businesses solve tech problems, such as building a website, setting up email or keeping their files backed up.
Both of us
Joining community events and volunteering wherever the town could use help. Our working hours are flexible, so we can make time for it.
Hei
Thank you for reading this far. We’d love to spend a month working, walking and learning in the far north, wherever the programme places us, and we’ll share what we find along the way.