A slew of organizations and online communities targeted at digital nomads have emerged in recent years: the #nomads Slack group, the digital nomads subreddit and Nomad List, to name a few. But Remote Year is certainly the most ambitious company attempting to harness the lifestyle’s appeal into a viable business model.

Here's how it works: For a monthly fee, Remote Year handles all the logistical details including accommodations, coworking space memberships and travel to and from each destination. The company also provides a community, social events and sporadic networking opportunities with locals.

The process for applying is relatively simple: Go through a series of online applications, submit a $50 fee and interview with a staff member via Skype. If you’re invited to the program, you send in a deposit ($5,000) to secure your spot.

That’s not to say it’s not competitive. Remote Year claims that more than 200,000 applicants have applied for the 75 spots across their programs, six of which will launch in 2016.

Though it’s decidedly cheaper to go backpacking solo, the appeal is obvious. Who doesn’t want to travel the world and escape the drudgery of planning it, all while collecting a steady paycheck? From a corporate perspective, too, companies feel more secure letting their employees travel abroad with an organization that touts itself as rooted in professionalism.

This all sounds terrific.

But the ambitious business model isn't without serious hurdles, perhaps the most daunting of which is finding a middle ground between the fluidity of the lifestyle and the rigidity of a set itinerary and work schedule. Digital nomadism is attractive because it teases the promise of a truly untethered life. But Remote Year is a structured program. It dictates where, and how, you’ll travel, and the people with whom you’ll be surrounded for an entire year.

The two principles are innately at odds with one another.

An ad campaign for the nomad lifestyle would likely showcase young, beautiful people lying in hammocks on the beach, laptops in tow and a drink in hand. In fact, I may have just described an ad currently running to promote Remote Year.

Living the reality, however, looked a little different.