Travel Like a Techie
I travel frequently, for both fun and work. One of the most satisfying aspects of global travel is connecting in person with technical people worldwide. So, how do I do that?
Advance Notice
I generally mention that I'll be in a particular place about 4-6 weeks in advance of me going there. My preferred method of communicating publicly is via Twitter. If I've met someone from the area already (usually at a tech conference somewhere else in the world), I will sometimes just ping them directly via email or messenger.
Extra Time
Because I suffer from jet lag, I often pad my travel with 1-3 days advance time, particularly when traveling abroad. I also try to avoid flying in general on Monday mornings and Friday evenings, as this is when most over-bookings, crowded flights, etc... seem to occur. Depending on my final destination, I might get creative with the extra time. For example, I had friends living in Barcelona, so whenever I'd have a trip to somewhere in Europe, I'd just fly to London or Amsterdam, then hop on a quick flight to Barcelona for the weekend before the engagement. Regional flights can be very cheap -- much cheaper than hotels in London for example.
All Alone -- not really
Given the amount of places I travel to, it's inevitable that I'll end up in places completely new to me. This situation inspires me to explore. I simply look for 'things I like' in whatever area (usually a city) I am in at that particular time. In addition to my go-to 'Ok Google, find the hipster coffeeshop near me' query, I look for places where nerds gather. I also use Meetup (with filters for location and interest) to find nearby tech user group meetings.
Co-working spaces are wonderful ways to connect with the local tech scene.
I'll look for co-working spaces which have a 'day rate' or 'guest pass'. Recently, I've been in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While here I discovered an amazingly beautiful co-working space in the former Minnesota Grain Exchange Building (CoCo), shown below.
In addition to getting to know a great deal about local tech (i.e. which business problems, cloud providers, languages, etc... ), I've also hung around for some start-up pitch nights held at co-working spaces.
It's been so interesting to hear startup ideas such as 'Zen VR for long flights' (Melbourne, Australia), 'Micro loans on mobile phones' (Bangalore, India), 'Smart transit control with IoT sensors' (Hong Kong) and many more.
Another way to connect is to meetup with local expert-partner communities (Microsoft MVP, AWS Community Hero or Google Developer Expert). Can you spot me in the picture below? I am enjoying a wonderful meal with a Microsoft MVP group in New York City.
Go Outside
Of course, even techies eventually go outside. Figuring out which type of transit to use in a new place is often a bit of a challenge. Should I rent a car? Use Lyft (if available)? Hire a car and driver? Take public transit (which type)? Again, I go to a default query:
'What is the most beautiful place near me?'
and then I challenge myself to go there.
Shown below is me and a group after a 4 hour-long hike in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. I am the one of only two non-Australians in this picture. How did I find these people? AirBnB Experiences - a new, hyper-local service.
People to see, places to go
Where and how do you travel? I'd love to hear your tips and suggestions.
#happyTravels #oneTechWorld