Ask Slashdot: What's the Best Way To Work On Projects While Traveling? 273
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."
Why not just "relax" and enjoy travel WITHOUT work (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Don't. (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Visas are going to be an issue (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Why not just "relax" and enjoy travel WITHOUT w (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Visas are going to be an issue (Score:4, Insightful)
be a bit realistic. they won't know he is working, and most travelers do exactly that, leave after 6 months, go to some place outside the eu for a month, and then come back.
and there are lots of ways to extend your stay. language school is a modestly priced option for people in europe (or many other countries).
Damned if you do.... (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:Assume worst case scenarios (Score:4, Insightful)
Agreed on most of this, but I don't see much value for remote wiping software on a system that's secured properly with encryption. If an attacker can get as far as booting the drive to where the remote wipe feature kicks in, they've already made it too far. Having remote wiping on a phone makes more sense because there isn't much available for boot time security on those.