
Ask HN: Travelling the world while working on projects. Best way to do this? - archagon
I've saved up enough money at my day job to hopefully travel the world for a couple of years, but I also want to take this opportunity to grow as a developer and designer as much as possible. I'm probably going to be travelling from hostel to hostel at first (with a few weeks at each), but I'm concerned that I won't be able to find a good place to work. Are there typically quiet areas in hostels where work could be done? Is it acceptable in Europe to bum around in a cafe for half the day, assuming you keep buying coffee at regular intervals? What about hackerspaces -- are those common in Europe? Libraries? Any other options I'm missing? (Apartments are a possibility for later on in my travels, but I still want to have a reasonably active social life, and I'm not sure how easy that is when you're in a foreign country.)<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as I've never done anything like this before. Thank you!
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jasonkester
Europe is actually a little harder than you might think. The days when a cup
of coffee would buy you a seat in any Paris cafe for the entire day are long
gone. You'll have to do some looking to find a place with good wifi and low
enough traffic to tolerate you working there.

Hostels are not a good workspace for the reasons stated here already: They
often close the common spaces during the day, and when they're open they're
crowded with outgoing people having a good time, who are expecting everybody
around them to also be on the same energy level and willingness to meet new
people. You'll need to work on your Scowl-Of-Concentration if you want to fend
off new friends.

Libraries are hit and miss. Most European ones have some crazy scheme in place
to lock down internet access to just a few wired terminals. Oslo was the only
one I found with simple free wifi and a comfortable place to work from.

Frankly, I'd skip Europe altogether in favor of Southeast Asia. Your money
will go a lot farther there, and there's no shortage of paradise beach with
cheap accommodation and wifi. When I need a good year off, my one-way ticket
is usually to Bangkok.

Good luck!

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aviv
I think you will find answers to many of your questions and concerns, as well
as inspiration and guidance, from Simon & Erin over at
<http://www.neverendingvoyage.com/start-here/>

I don't know what ever happened with their digitalnomad.co project. Either
way, be sure to spend time reading their older posts as well.

~~~
vijayr
that blog is very very interesting, and eye opening. thank you for the link.

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hbien
First off, congratulations! Not a lot of people have the drive to save up that
money for a big goal.

Hostels will give you an active social life but may be difficult to work with:

    
    
      1. Some have common areas, but it's usually only quiet during off hours
      2. Wifi will be a pain (even if a hostel advertises it, it's usually weak/broken)
      3. Your laptop might get stolen, not all hostels have lockers.  
         If they do advertise lockers, it's usually small.  Bring your own lock.
    

Some tips:

    
    
      1. Working at cafes are totally acceptable as long as you purchase items 
         from them once in a while.
      2. If you do decide to rent apartments, check out Airbnb.  People usually 
         offer discounts for 1-month rentals.  It's not so great for durations 
         shorter than 1 week b/c you'll usually have to meet/greet the owners 
         (which becomes difficult in a new foreign city, where you don't have a 
          cell phone and flight/train schedules get delayed a lot)
      3. Think about getting a cheap GSM smartphone that can tether.  When you 
         arrive in a new country, get a prepaid SIM card with data.  It's usually 
         slower, but it's useful when wifi is missing.
    

Once again, congrats and have a lot of fun!

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seiji
For Internet access: Apple stores, lobby of hostel, tether using a foreign SIM
(it will probably have 15+ GB of data for $25).

For working: Apple stores with theaters (Chicago, NY SoHo, London Regent St),
lobby of hostel, laying in your bed, Starbucks, Au Bon Pain, etc.

Get a Skype number with unlimited US calling for something like $20/year, then
you can make and receive US calls using your network access.

Get used to people thinking it's strange you're visiting a place not for
holiday, but to live/work for a while.

I should elaborate in an ebook.

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um304
One of my friends spent a month in Sri Lanka living in hostels and working in
cafes. For internet connection, he bought a USB dongle which worked throughout
the island. Whole trip costed him less than $800 including airfare (from
Pakistan).

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soneca
Well, you only cited Europe, but here in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the best choice
would be public libraries or Starbucks. With some local tips you could also
find a mall with a quiet food court with wifi.

