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Ask Slashdot: What's the Best Way To Work On Projects While Traveling?
An anonymous reader writes "I really want to go travel the world with the money I've saved up at my day job, but I also want to grow as a developer in the process. This is a long-term engagement: 2-3 years or more depending on whether my software is successful. I'll probably be hopping from hostel to hostel at first, with a few weeks at each. How do I find a good work environment in these conditions? Do hostels generally have quiet areas where work could be done? Is it OK to get out your laptop and spend the day in a cafe in Europe, assuming you keep buying drinks? What about hackerspaces — are those common on the other side of the globe? (Apartments are an option for later on, but I'm concerned about losing the social atmosphere that's built in with the hostel lifestyle.) I've never done anything like this before, but I'm really excited about the idea! Any advice would be greatly appreciated."
You want to travel AND you want to grow as a developer? Well if you want to travel and enjoy yourself why take work with you. And if you want to grow y our development skills why not stay home and take classes or something.
you'll never look back, or regret it. i've been doing it for 3 years and it's the best lifestyle possible.
you can find wifi in most guest houses/hostels in the world, and also cafes too, if you buy a hot chocolate or coffee from time to time they let you sit there for hours.
duh.
but in europe, you can find quiet places in most cities. if it's a quiet cafe they don't mind if you give them money every now and then.
hackerspaces you'll probably find near universities. which brings up another point, at least in finland you can just walk into any university during daytime and nobody will ask you any questions and you'll find quiet places to work during daytime, during night you might need a pass to get in and get booted by the security depending on the university(booted means asked to leave, though that happens probably only if you're drinking alcoholic beverages).
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
It's hard enough to give a development project your full attention while you're at home, much less "hopping from hostel to hostel" or leeching internet connections in cafes.
There are time limits on how long you can stay on a tourist visa everywhere (something like 6 months for Americans in the EU, and you can't just leave and come back to reset the clock). Plus, it's not really clear that you can legally do what you're talking about; countries haven't adjusted to the new reality of working from anywhere. You may find that you need a work visa to do this, even if you're not making money in the country.
"I really want to go travel the world with the money I've saved up at my day job, but I also want to grow as a developer in the process. This is a long-term engagement: 2-3 years or more depending on whether my software is successful.
Awesome, welcome to the fun :D
I'll probably be hopping from hostel to hostel at first, with a few weeks at each.
Each place you stay try to find semi-furnished apartments by the month if you can. Honestly if you can find them you will save loads of money. I usually found a touristy area in my desired city, and asked bartenders and restauranteurs.
How do I find a good work environment in these conditions? Do hostels generally have quiet areas where work could be done?
Not really, they are designed typically with socializing in mind. My favourite hostel work space is in bed... Next best is an area with various cafes.
Is it OK to get out your laptop and spend the day in a cafe in Europe, assuming you keep buying drinks?
I find it is more internal that I start to feel uncomfortable working in any particular cafe too long or too many times in a row. I don't think they mind, but I start to feel awkward. That is why I like areas with lots of cafes/bars all with internet. So I can shuffle around a bit.
What about hackerspaces — are those common on the other side of the globe?
I haven't found them, they would be a welcome site to me. Maybe more in Europe.
(Apartments are an option for later on, but I'm concerned about losing the social atmosphere that's built in with the hostel lifestyle.)
I find when I'm working I lose that social atmosphere anyway and have to find it outside after work anyway. I'm not sure the benefits of a hostel outweigh the costs.
I've never done anything like this before, but I'm really excited about the idea! Any advice would be greatly appreciated."
Good luck, it is fun!
Hmm, the humour and sarcasm seem to have been be lost on you.
I suggest you look at the concept of coworking. Basically you'd rent, short-term, a desk in an open-plan office full of people who work under the same arrangement. This includes internet access, power, and perhaps snacks and drinks. The other people in the place provide the social work atmosphere you crave, and exposure to other interesting things they may be working on. You can pay by the day, week or month (week and month payments usually cover a set amount of days but are cheaper than paying by the day).
Coworking spaces exist in many cities around the world, and since coworking enthusiasts are, well, very enthusiastic about the concept, they communicate with each other and set up collaboration networks. Before you leave on your trip, I suggest you look for local coworking spaces to scout the concept, and talk to the space owners about your plans. They can certainly give you more information and tell you about the "coworking visa" which "allows active members of one space to use other coworking spaces around the world for free for a set number of days (3 is the default)."
Read more about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coworking
http://wiki.coworking.com/w/page/16583831/FrontPage (they have a worldwide directory).
Surprisingly good places to work in many western nations.
As long as you understand that you will very likely get robbed, or have your laptop stolen at some point, I'd go into something like this with a learn-as-you-go attitude. After all, it's supposed to be an adventure, right? Gain some world knowledge from first hand experience and whatnot. Just make sure you're saving your work remotely somehow, probably through some cloud service, and that your credentials and personal identity information isn't easily available to the first person who swipes your phone or laptop.
Seriously consider getting remote wipe software for both, as well.
As for the other stuff... hostels are, by their very nature, community areas. Most have space to break out a laptop and get internet access, but you are very much sharing the area with other strangers. Again, theft is a huge issue at these places, to the point that you might return to from taking a piss only find your laptop stolen.
There are also some security-related issues to consider, if you are going to be hopping from one country to another. Many will flat out require access to your laptop just to pass through, and if you have it encrypted (which you should), they'll demand access to the encrypted data as well, or else confiscate it while you miss your flight. It can be a real big pain in the ass. So what you want to do is setup your laptop with a standard unencrypted Windows OS install that you use for random internet crap like Facebook or general browsing, and maybe a few games. Then setup a second hidden install of whatever OS you prefer, and use it for your *real* work. TrueCrypt handles this for the purpose of plausible deniability, although any encryption software should be able to handle it. The basic idea is that, if you get stopped at customs, you can happily give them access to your laptop and let them log in and see your mundane OS install with normal internet crap, without raising any flags about whatever work you are doing.
And it really doesn't matter what kind of work you are doing, either, because the security guys at checkpoints could easily decide that the crazy-looking computer code for your gaming pet project might really be stolen state secrets. Or that the photos you took of some Buddhist temple could be considered spy activity. Crazy people are crazy, and the last thing you want is get sent to some labor camp in the middle of your dream vacation.
Things to take:
A spare battery for your laptop. (And encrypt your laptop, and have a decent backup solution.)
Power adaptors for your things.
A powerboard, hostels often only have one or two powerpoints.
Oh, and a voltage converter thing.
An unlocked mobile phone.
Fewer electronics (no music player, no recorder, etc., let your phone do all that).
A backpack (a suitcase will really piss you off).
Water bottles. Plastic travel cutlery maybe (it's cheaper to buy bread and cheese separately than it is to buy them together as a pre-made sandwich).
Travelers Checks and cash for many countries.
A lock for your bags, a lock for lockers in hostels, and a bicycle lock to tie your bags to your bed (or park bench) when you don't have a locker.
Get clothing with hidden (inside) pockets to put cash in. But that's emergency cash. Put your general day cash in an easily accessible pocket (and watch it).
Hostels only sometimes have quiet areas, and are only sometimes quiet (not just drunken people wandering in at 3:00, but also just the traffic all evening, or the bar downstairs), and only sometimes have Internet in the rooms.
If you're looking for places to stay all day, try libraries instead. Ask yourself if an American cafe would let you stay all day. The answer is probably the same for other countries. But then again, a library or a local park would be cheaper.
Two years is a long time. You'll probably get sick of traveling by the end.
Your question is too generic to give a more specific answer.
HELP MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED BY AN ILLIBERAL ART STUDENT SET TO DESTROY THE INTERWEBZ!
if you're traveling in russia and eastern europe then you should be able to find a job supporting a botnet operation
You want to travel AND you want to grow as a developer? Well if you want to travel and enjoy yourself why take work with you. And if you want to grow y our development skills why not stay home and take classes or something.
I'm not sure why this is flamebait, but sadly I'd rather comment than moderate.
I would suggest breaking the time into phases: travel and study. Say spend a month wandering around, then pick a city and settle in for some serious study time.
Seems like the best of both worlds to me.
XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
Because growing as a developer is enjoyment for him. I have trouble explaining to my significant other that building electronics, developing software, and yes, even maintaining my work's servers in offtime, gives me not only a sense of accomplishment, but also a feeling of growth and even pleasure.
Otherwise, I might just find a deserted island and maroon myself there (possibly with my family).
But I would expect not to have to explain that on /.
Also, development skills can (sometimes, even in isolation from other developers) be grown with little more than a book, an IDE, a compiler and time -- the kind of time he's looking to avail himself by travelling while he has no immediate debts or job responsibilities. That's leaving the question of Internet connectivity and all that entails: wikis, IRC, Youtube, etc...
Again, not the sort of thing you think you'd have to explain to a fellow /.er
Emacs: for people who just never know when to
A person expresses a desire to travel and improve him/herself. You snark.
If the same person had said they attempt to live frugally and therefore don't travel you'd probably say they were a typical Ugly American with no interest in the rest of the world.
Unless you're one of the millions of people in the world who drink unsafe water and live in shantys you also have "First world problems" and can STFU.
You'll have a blast!
I really recommend that you spend some time in Berlin. I lived there for 6 months (some of it working, some of it chilling out). It's a hugely exciting city and everywhere has free wifi. I spent many happy days just hanging out in cool cafes, coding. Don't be put off if you can't speak German. I only really have schoolboy German but everybody under the age of 35 speaks fluent English (which is a bummer if you also want to seriously learn the language).
I've also done similar in Stockholm, Sweden (but for a much shorter amount of time).
Basically, both have really nice people, great beer, great coffee, great working environment and a surprisingly large number of fellow coders.
Enjoy!
--- "We've always been at war with Eastasia."
I recently did this myself, traveled for a year and a half through Europe, Australia and Hawaii, while writing software to pay the bills. It was much easier than saving up that much money before hand, and the work was more stable and dependable than trying to find temporary work at each new location. I stuck to countries with good Internet access, where I didn't have to worry about getting mugged or my rig stolen.
Some hostels provide free wifi, but in many cases it's painfully slow, and many hostels charge for wifi, but it can often be by the hour or for really small amounts of data. Basically they're assuming that you're just emailing and facebooking. Many do have a quiet area, but it might not be setup well for plugging in a laptop, and ergonomically sitting there for hours at a time. What worked best for me was to plan on participating with the other hostelers at all the peak times, such as the shared breakfast and possibly shared dinner times, and either afternoon treks or late night partying. Then I worked in all the gaps in-between, usually the late morning, afternoons, and before supper. Staying in the hostel quiet area all that time was very unappealing, so I would use any rooftop patio, or cafe, or pubs that aren't busy and so will allow you to camp out for hours after you've finished your meal, if asked nicely. Libraries are very good, as well as any post secondary schools that might be nearby. When I found a cafe with good wifi, I would return often, and they would usually accommodate me, even asking other patrons to move for me so I could access a plugin!
Since not every place has good cheap/free wifi, it quickly became necessary to get local SIMs for my iPhone, and get data plans that allow for tethering. Luckily in most places outside of North America, getting 1 GB pay as you go is pretty cheap and easy. At times I got 1.5 or 3 GB. It did take some effort to make sure that a wireless provider allowed both tethering and VPN through that tethering, so I could access my company's intranet for SVN etc. Also, having a local SIM will facilitate with communicating with fellow hostelers and locals that you meet. People seem to mostly stick to SMS, WhatsApp, iMessage and Facebook for messaging and coordinating meeting up.
I always kept a very current Time Machine backup of my computer, which I stored separately from my computer bag, which saved the day when my computer did eventually get stolen. Don't rely on a computer that you can't afford to replace. If you can, keep your home insurance up, to cover your possessions abroad, like I did. Also, I use CrashPlan for an offsite backup, in case I lost everything. This helped get back my very most recent work that I hadn't yet backed up to my Time Machine. But beware, your data plan or limited wifi will not readily support regular backing up everything. I added rules to CrashPlan to not backup any temporary or built files, and I would regularly use the feature that allows suspending backing up for several hours, until I was back on a free wifi. Also, don't let your computer automatically download updates. It can take a while for an online backup service to upload everything for the first complete backup, so start that process well before leaving. I used Mozy first, and didn't like how slow it was and the trouble I had restoring files, so I needed to start all over again with CrashPlan. Also, a padded water proof or resistant computer case is a must. Many times I went to a cafe it wasn't raining, but on my return it was. Always lock up your computer in your locker in your room. Not every hostel has lockers in the rooms.
The main thing, is to not shut yourself off from the other backpackers, but to find a balance of socialising, seeing all the sights, relaxing, and also fitting in your work that will pay the bills. This way you will have an even better time than those who are not working but must live within a tight budget as they're burning through their savings.
And be prepared to forget about work. That's what usually happens when I do these kinds of trips, in which I lie to myself that I'm gonna do some work.
`echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
Think of it not as an alternative to vacation/traveling, but an alternative to living/working in the same city you always have.
I've traveled 150+ dates a year while keeping a full time job and I can say that it is not easy. While most of that time is spent in a van and in nasty green rooms, there have been some helpful tricks that have helped a great deal being productive while on the road.
1. Keep whomever you work for in the loop. There are going to be times where you are missing a meeting or will have trouble being available. Most of the time isn't a big deal if you're up front an open about where you are. It also helps if you end up keeping somewhat "off hours", which I typically do.
2. Get a MiFi or some other reliable internet source. Coffee shops and hotels often have flaky connections. When you do need to have that meeting or restart some services, it is beneficial to have a connection that is reasonably reliable. Also, if you use Linux full time, a MiFi is like any other wifi, which can mean less futzing with USB drivers.
3. If you work while "moving" (ie in a van, train, plain, etc.) then make sure you don't get motion sickness. I used to take Dramamine and Bonine, but both made me extremely tired and put me in a horrible mood. Since then I keep a lot of ginger chews / gum and natural motion sickness remedies. Specifically, I use a chewable tablets with Nux Vomica and Cocculus Indicus. You can pop that stuff like candy and it really works.
4. Have different themes available for your text editor. When traveling, having a light and dark theme is helpful when you may not have the best natural lighting or you have to battle some sunshine outdoors or by a window.
5. Battery life is critical! A small power efficient laptop is really helpful, especially if you have to carry it around. I also keep a small power inverter for working in the car. You want to get the lowest power possible as they are less likely overheat and break.
I've also found that using a email client that can work offline is helpful at times. I use Emacs + Mu4e with offlineimap and have found it to be helpful at times. Org-mode in Emacs is also helpful as it provides me with a timesheet and a helpful system of organizing my notes that is close to the code. This is nice b/c when traveling, you typically will have shorter time spans to focus. Being able to clock out and keep a note of what you were working open when you close your laptop can go a long way when trying to get back to work.
Good luck!
actually if the guy is moving between hostels he isn't exactly loaded with cash, and many people like to have a break from regular work
he's probably single with no wife/girlfriend or family to support
i say good on him and wish him luck in his adventure
my advice would be to leave the computer at home. there is a good chance that wherever you go will have slow or no internet access anyway, and power connectors vary between countries. also, why travel the world if you're just going to hunker down in a hostel at a computer? seems like a huge wasted opportunity to go outside and experience the countries and cultures you visit. i'm not saying you should be an ignorant tourist with a camera strapped around your neck, but if you're going to visit another country and spend the time programming on your computer you way as well save your money and travel with google earth and streetview.
he could also be a pizza face teen in his mom's basement posting what he wishes he could do, but in either case if it's the most pretentious thing you've read in a while you clearly don't do much reading.
.. It can be challenging but can be done....
Here in Sweden you have lots of places where you can go and work outside.. At least in the summer when the polar-bears are not roaming the streets :)
There are quite a few places where you can sit and work inside too, as long as you order stuff for the duration... Have done that myself quite a few times, but only for about 3-4 hours at the max.. never had the need for anything longer...
Libraries can also be kind of nice if you want a bit quieter environment..
In London, at least the places i usually visit i don't see that a whole lot, but there must be some... The hotel-bars is often a good place unless it's crowded and i usually see some people working from those from time to time...
Amsterdam have tons of cafe's, and yes coffee-shop's too :), and it's a wonderful city... But same thing here... just as long as you keep your orders going... Most i have spent in one place there where about 3 hours without any complaints...
It probably differs from place to place, but as long as you are not disturbing anyone and keep ordering stuff you should not have any problem anywhere in Europe.....
But from experience you can never go wrong with the hotel-bar/cafe/lounge .. Usually you don't have to order that much and it's usually not packed during the day so they will not complain even if you don't order anything as long as you are staying in the hotel...
I usually don't stay in hostel's, but from the few i have been staying in one maybe 30% of them have had some semi-quiet place where you could sit and work... Check online before booking...
Hackerspaces do exist here, but not too many depending on where you are going... Check http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/List_of_Hacker_Spaces
don't use 3g / 4g without a local sim unless you like paying about $20 a meg.
The power-outlet differs between countries, but they all use 240V so using a simple adaptor will work... Laptop's AC adaptors are usually designed for anything between 110-240V...
Internet in most countries in europe is quite good, and you can buy fairly cheap 3g prepaid cards for pure data too..... and loads of cafe's have free wifi too...
Some prices for Sweden : http://prepaidwithdata.wikia.com/wiki/Sweden
So buy a prepaid sim for the wanted duration and plug it into a cheap android phone and you have a perfect way to get online where ever you might be..
I'm doing this myself right now in a way in the Philippines but for only 2 months. What I did is get a cheap town home in a medium sized village outside of a major city. So living in the village gives me the to true culture and life style and when I need something I hope on a Jeepney and travel into town. I've learned to split up my time, I'll work a few hours in the morning when I wake up. Then walk around outside around lunch time and see if any street vendors are cooking anything good. If so will eat lunch with them and chat a little, sometimes been asked to help them with something in return for free lunch or even asked if I would like to join them on a trip with them to a beach or somewhere. Go back home and work a few more hours till 4-5 like a normal working day. After that and the sun starting to go down is when the city comes alive anyways. Will usually go into town then and do any number of things. Last night went to the tallest building here in Cebu and did their sky walk along the edge of the roof of the building. Then walked down Mango street (kind of red light district) just to see all the strip clubs, went into a few shops for clothes and then came home. I'll also sometimes take the weekend or a few days to travel to different area. 2 weeks ago spent 4 days in Davao south of here and went wake boarding with the locals. Thursday driving south to Oslob to swim with whale sharks and a number of other things I'm trying to get planned. The first week or 2 was a little rough, finding the place to stay, finding Internet for laptop (wifi sticks but limited to 800mb/day!!), random brown outs aren't uncommon here either. Of course also have no hot/cold water but have gotten use to that and find it refreshing now with the high heat here anyways. It helps I found a beautiful lady here to keep me company and her cooking is AMAZING! I've never ate so good for so cheap.
It used to be that there were quiet a few people who traveled around Latin America teaching at the US Consulate-sponsored English as a Second Language institutes. Travel for a time, settle into an interesting city, teach part time and explore the vicinity, and then move on. Don't know if that's still possible.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
I telecommuted for a couple years, mostly from an island in Thailand. It was pretty easy to set up in a restaurant for up to 3 hours at a time, but I would likely have been unwelcome if I was taking up space for more than that, or if I was just ordering a Coke during dinner. Personally, I worked in 3-4 3-hour shifts, early morning at my bungalow, lunch at the restaurant, early evening at either another restaurant or a place with air conditioning, and as needed a 4th shift back at the bungalow. Some social time, but also some concentration time in the mix gave a reasonable balance. Could get in 2 hours of Scuba diving a day as well.
In hostels in Europe I would think the same style of living would be much more difficult. Biggest problem would be concern of theft, but after that you have to find good venues for a large part of the day. Restaurants closing between lunch and dinner makes this hard; you would have to work hard to make more than a two-hour shift. Working in a hostel would never be functional for me; too transitory of a place.
Really it comes down to finding the right spot for yourself. If you can concentrate in a public square you are set...
I've managed to organize my freelance writing business so I can (and do) travel as much as I want. I'm not 100% -- I travelled 188 days in 2012 -- but that's by choice. (I like having a home base in small-town Ohio, where the livin' is easy.)
Anyway, to answer your questions from my perspective, with travel in the U.S. and Western Europe (which seems to be your focus):
Most modern Hostelling International hostels in Western Europe have comparatively reliable wifi, 24-hour access, and electrical outlets. (I can't speak for other hostel chains or independents.) I've found cafes to be less reliable -- they have less at stake if the wifi goes down. And libraries don't all offer wifi to non-members.
Usually.
It depends. You can usually spend a couple of hours at each, but it's obnoxious to stay when it's crowded. Some have auto-limited wifi access: Check before sitting down.
Again, it depends. I know of some in Rotterdam (The Netherlands), but that's a very Western city. Now, my comments.
Good luck!
Tom Geller
Many hostels have a "quiet" reading area (it isn't always quiet) Some have decent wifi. Yes sometimes it is horrible, sometimes it isn't. One option is a 3g card or similar. Pick one up in the country you are in.
Pretty much any country you go to will have restaurants or coffee shops you can hang on it, especially if they are off hours. A bar can be a good place to hang out in during the day.
I like your idea behind hosteling at first. You might want to hop a bit more. But hostels are a GREAT way to meet other tourists (not so great of a way to meet locals)
Looks like you can only spend 90 days every 180 in Europe. So plan accordingly. I love your idea, and don't pay attention to the naysayers.
I'd recommend setting things up so you can do all of your work without using the internet. I did some great working, sitting outside, watching the sunset and enjoying a nice cool evening deep in the alps. You will also probably want to work whenever you are on the train for a long trip, and they don't always have internet.
I coded while being on the move for about 5 years. Sometimes I rented a place for a month or two, sometimes I would change location every two days.
- expiment to find out what work environment works best for you. E.g. I work highly productive on trains (most people don't).
- get a very sturdy laptop, mate screen, with a global on site next day warranty, so you don't have to send your laptop in. I have used thinkpads from the x and t line. Sometimes the service still sucks horribly (IBM Dublin, I am talking to you), but better then nothing.
- have a lightweight laptop, you want to be able to carry it with you at all times.
- bring an external keyboard, and a laptop stand (e.g. https://baach.de/Members/jhb/lapchop/howto). Your neck will thank you for that.
- prepare for offline development, git is your friend.
- have a backupdrive in your backpack, and backups on the net.
- carry a multi-plug - fellow travellers will love you for that.
- either plan on tethering from your 3g mobile phone, or have 3g in your laptop. Use a local sim, or one with good roaming (e.g. three network was good at the time)
- Learn being the best guest possible. Bring a gift. Do couchsurfing.
- As others mentioned: coworking spaces can be great. I used the ones from the-hub.net quite a bit.
- Get yourself a voip number that you can redirect to your mobile phone, so that customers can reach you using the same number all the time
- Organise snail-mail. People stil send letters. Either a friend who opens, scans and emails, or one of the professional services.
- Organise money transfers. Not all countries love credit-cards.
Have fun.