I participated in the Venture With Impact November 2018 Lisbon, Portugal program
I participated in the Venture With Impact November 2018 Lisbon, Portugal program. Unfortunately my experience wasn't good and ended up being a waste of money. I really liked the concept of their program, but I learned the hard way that it's a gamble when you let a third party book your accommodations. Prior to arrival I was told I would be in a first floor apartment, but I was actually placed in a musty, moldy, ant infested basement apartment that wasn't suitable to live or work in.
When I asked the founder, Ann Davis, to place me in a different apartment because the mold in the apartment was making me sick, she said the situation was out of her control. Her only effort was to try to make the current apartment work by placing a dehumidifier and fan inside. Neither do anything to eliminate mold. She actually told me "We would have taken more care with thinking about this, if we knew about this allergy before." So the standard is to place participants in unlivable apartments unless you tell them about your allergies? I found that a bit unsettling as no one, with or without an allergy, should be surrounded by mold.
Because the living conditions were making me so sick, I had no choice but to leave the apartment after only a few days and find my own accommodations for the rest of the month. I wasn't compensated for the extra cost and any request for some type of refund was denied. The way the whole situation was handled was unprofessional and disappointing.
These days there are so many great ways for digital nomads to travel. Rather than considering Venture With Impact, I suggest looking into co-living/co-working places like Outsite or Roam. I stayed at the Lisbon Outside location and had a really good experience there. Those types of places offer great communities for travelers. Not only do you have access to a co-working space (which VWI didn't provide), but the cost is significantly less than VWI. If you like the volunteering aspect that VWI offers, then I suggest doing a little research beforehand to find out what kind of options are available in the city you're considering visiting.