

Ask HN: I want to take a vacation and code; where should I go? - maroonblazer

I&#x27;m a hobbyist programmer who only gets to code mornings, evenings and weekends. I need a break from work - and the Pacific Northwest - so want to get out of town and spend it working on my current project. I&#x27;m targeting late Feb&#x2F;March 2014. These are my requirements:<p>- Within the western hemisphere, between Hawaii and the Caribbean, inclusive. Probably no further south than Central America (I&#x27;ll be traveling from the Pacific Northwest)<p>- Sun, temp in the range of 75-85 F (23-30 C) and near natural water (not just a pool)<p>- No family resorts<p>- Some low impact activities for when I want a break from coding<p>- Fairly low-key vibe; I don&#x27;t want my attention competing w&#x2F; drunk college kids<p>- WiFi outdoors (I recognize this is a nice-to-have)<p>The few people people I&#x27;ve put this question to (non-programmers) have responded w&#x2F; raised eyebrows, wondering why I&#x27;d want to take a vacation to code. I can&#x27;t be the first person who wants to do this.<p>Anyone have any recommendations?<p>Thanks in advance.
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nkg
I left Paris for the Caribbean almost a year ago. First I've been in
Martinique, and now I'm in Guadeloupe. Martinique has been an ideal place to
work on my side project.

If you don't speak french, I would recommend Saint-Lucia :

-the people are kind and welcoming

-life is cheap

-you can rent some remote house on a hill where no one will bother you.

-activities are within the usual island-vacation-pack : beach sports, volcano trek, museum, golf

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midas007
How are the hurricanes?

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deadfall
Hurricane season in Florida/Caribbean is from June 1 to November 30.

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easong
Not entirely what you're looking for, but I just finished hitchhiking and
urban camping up the Arab peninsula, and Oman is pretty great for coding. Lots
of cool and easy to access beaches, very friendly people, modern
infrastructure, and I never encountered another Westerner, tourist or
otherwise. There are resorts, but they're easy to avoid. Wifi is difficult to
come by, but 4g hotspots are cheap and easy.

The UAE (Dubai in particular) is all kinds of awful, though.

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munimkazia
I was born and brought up in Oman. I don't think its especially cheap to live
there, and the internet connectivity isn't great. You do have 3G, but it is
quite pricey.

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easong
I can't comment on total cost of living as I was camping and hitching rides
for free, but (restaurant) food and random consumer items seemed noticeably
cheaper than their bay area equivalents. 3g/4g data in particular was _way_
cheaper than the US - I walked up to a random telecom booth in the airport and
prepaid for far more data than I needed with whatever I had in my pocket at
the time...under $20? The equivalent service in the US costs around $80/month
via ATT, I think.

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munimkazia
I was comparing the 3G prices to India and other Asian countries. I guess US
has some of the highest prices around.

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cmer
A cruise might be your best bet! Read this:
[http://tynan.com/cruisework](http://tynan.com/cruisework)

FYI, wifi is now a bit cheaper on some cruise lines. Last time I was on Royal
Caribbeans they had an unlimited wifi package that wasn't so outrageous.

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EdgarVerona
Agreed - the cruise idea is fantastic. I went on a cruise and only had
programming as a secondary objective (secondary to hanging out with my
girlfriend), and even when it wasn't top priority it was still much easier to
get it done there.

Cruise ships have a lot of relatively quiet nooks where you can camp out
somewhere with a beautiful view of the ocean and just code all day if you
want. If you get a balcony room, you could just park yourself there the whole
damned trip and take up their free room service for food (just remember to tip
them very well at the end if you do this!).

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ms013
Hawaii. Rent a condo/house on VRBO, that way you are not stuck at a resort
with tourists. Typically can find these near resorts, so you are close enough
to enjoy them when you want to close the laptop. I've had some good weeks of
hacking between snorkeling and sunning on Maui, renting a condo on a golf
course near the resorts north of Lahaina. Kauai and the Big Island have
similarly nice places with reasonable housing and food, with the ocean nearby.
Avoid the resorty areas of Oahu.

As for outdoor wifi, often just making sure I'm in a spot with LTE
connectivity is sufficient to live with tethering to a phone or my ipad to do
basic net things like access repos, web pages, and occasionally download
packages.

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lsiunsuex
I've thought about a vacation to code, but the only place I want to go on
vacation to is Las Vegas.

Aside from the natural water part (it is in the middle of a desert) i think
sitting by a pool would make a great place to work. Most (all?) of the pools
have outdoor music, wifi, people watching, etc... Mandalay Bay has sand but
they've since started a Day club which I don't think would be very good for
the life span of your laptop... If you got a cabanna, it wouldn't be so
dangerous.

I have worked in the lobby of a vegas hotel in a pinch so it's not bad...

The only problem with my plan, its not exactly cheap to stay at a vegas
hotel...

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joelrunyon
I imagine Vegas hotels are _much_ cheaper than any other sunny/beachy locale
in the US because of the casino industry.

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mixmastamyk
This is a tough question... so many possibilities.

First thing that comes to mind is the Cadillac Hotel in Venice Beach, CA. Fun,
sunny, laid-back area, easy to get to, lots to do. Close to the Getty. Not too
expensive. Biking/rollerblading at sunset is wonderful.

[http://www.thecadillachotel.com/](http://www.thecadillachotel.com/)

The Santa Monica library is also a great resource and alternate place to work
if you are tired of coffee shops and hotel wifi.

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vermasque
Thanks for this recommendation. I was looking at Los Angeles to do something
like this because I wanted to see some stand-up comics on the side at places
like the Laugh Factory.

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midas007
Pick up surfing in Malaysia or Philippines. Super cheap living.

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deedubaya
San Jose, PR. It's a common wealth, so travel there and back is easy. They use
the US Dollar. I was there earlier this month, and the connectivity was really
good compared to most places I visited in Costa Rica. Also, no roaming charges
for most US cell carriers.

Weather was great, nice beaches, fairly nice people (Costa Ricans are nicer).

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midas007
This huge Russian IT manager I know (6'3 / 250 lbs) was robbed at knife point
in the doorway of his hotel in San Jose, CR in 2007. When he went to ask a
taxi driver what to do, the driver handed him a knife and suggested he get his
own wallet back. He did so and recovered his wallet, as the robbers failed to
leave the scene. Street justice FTW.

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dubfan
Costa Rica might be the place. Find a reasonably well-developed town on the
beach that isn't too touristy and I think that will fit most of those
criteria.

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elwell
San Diego

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actionbrandon
thailand

