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A surprising number of Minnesotans who have been working from home during the pandemic have actually been working from this location instead.

It's good to see that the pandemic is fading, vaccination rates are climbing, things are finally starting to open up across Minnesota. But over the past year, many Minnesotans were sent to work from home-- and many still are.

But for over one in three Minnesotans, working from home actually means working from here. So where is 'here,' exactly?

It's their car!

That's right, according to this new Working Behind The Wheel survey from Gunther Volkswagen, 36 percent of those Minnesotans who've been working from home have actually been working from the vehicle.

Which, I guess, makes sense, if you've been sharing your home 'office' (or especially if you don't even have a home office) with your spouse, kids and pets. Heading to the car might be the only place you can actually get some privacy to get some work done.

In a different twist, this CNN story tells the story of a man from Texas who had to head out in his minivan to find decent cell service so he could work from 'home'. He now has an entire office set up in his van, with computer printers, monitors and more.

I can relate. When I lived out near Lake Wissota over in Wisconsin, the cell coverage at my house was pretty spotty. So I often headed out to my SUV and drove to an area with a better cell signal and made calls from there.

Meanwhile, this Technology For Travelers story from TooManyAdapters.com has 13 different tips and tools for working out of your vehicle. (They recommend using a good car charger, power bank or power inverter, upgrading your cell phone and checking cell coverage areas and data speeds before you head to the car to work.)

Some of these tips could come in handy not just for work, but if you're heading out and hitting the highway on some family vacation road trips this year, as well, and still want to stay connected. (Just don't work too much-- it's supposed to be a vacation, after all!) And speaking of vacations and road trips, if you want to pack up the family and head to the beach this summer, keep scrolling to check out some of the best beach towns in America!

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and afternoons from 2 to 6 on 103.9 The Doc

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

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