Anyone else out here in Hawaii and working in high-tech? It's a growing trend, and we should all connect!
Context: I moved to Oahu, HI soon after the pandemic started to take a university research job in machine learning.
Any other technologists hanging out in Hawaii? Let's build a hacker community
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Re: Any other technologists hanging out in Hawaii? Let's build a hacker community
#2Not yet, but it's a consideration. I just put in two weeks' notice at my job, and after working on some side-projects I do intend to travel a lot, starting with Hawaii. In contrast, I'm probably trying to move away from Machine Learning (I've been doing computer vision for the last five years) and focus a bit more on my Engineering roots.
Re: Any other technologists hanging out in Hawaii? Let's build a hacker community
#3There were already some tech folks there concentrated at the universities, telescopes, and telecommunications infrastructure, but not many coders or VC/startup folks. Many of the local coders will assume you're a short termer and treat you like a tourist for quite a while.
It's a bring your own job and bring your own friends kinda place. Hang out at the local brewery... brewers are interesting, especially if you like drinking. Lots of the profs surf too.
Re: Any other technologists hanging out in Hawaii? Let's build a hacker community
#4There were already some tech folks there concentrated at the universities, telescopes, and telecommunications infrastructure, but not many coders or VC/startup folks. Many of the local coders will assume you're a short termer and treat you like a tourist for quite a while. It's a bring your own job and bring your own friends kinda place. Hang out at the local brewery... brewers are interesting, especially if you like…
> It's a bring your own job and bring your own friends kinda place.
Very accurate. If you didn't go to the local schools, you really won't fit in.
And most locals have 2 (or 3) jobs to pay the rent, so if you're not a bartender or waiter in a crew, you won't meet locals either.
I once asked a passenger on a plane going to the mainland what he thought of the economy in Honolulu. He answered, "Oh, it's great. I own a grocery store chain." :)
Re: Any other technologists hanging out in Hawaii? Let's build a hacker community
#5I'm down in Waikiki, Oahu. If someone wants to do a meetup on a weekend, I'll try to make it.
Re: Any other technologists hanging out in Hawaii? Let's build a hacker community
#6Fast track in covid-19 times:
1. Start a chat channel upfront and announce it here (discord, matrix riot element, signal, etc...) With dedicated and announced times for project e-meetup
2. See which hacker space are active if any
3. Maybe plan physical meet up in outdoor setting, easy for HI as it's hot weather. Don't become the next covid-19 cluster
It's always random how some communities work and some other don't. So start one and see if it works
Re: Any other technologists hanging out in Hawaii? Let's build a hacker community
#7I'm down in Waikiki, Oahu. If someone wants to do a meetup on a weekend, I'll try to make it.
This sounds fun! We could do something social distanced, maybe surfing
Re: Any other technologists hanging out in Hawaii? Let's build a hacker community
#8I'm down in Waikiki, Oahu. If someone wants to do a meetup on a weekend, I'll try to make it.
This sounds fun! We could do something social distanced, maybe surfing
Needs to be said: Socially distanced does not mean meeting up with new people and staying a few metres away. In fact it means avoiding social interaction especially with individuals in a different social group.
Re: Any other technologists hanging out in Hawaii? Let's build a hacker community
#9My parents live in Hnl and I love the place but have always lived and worked on the mainland. I've heard of the entrepreneurship center at UH and I've come across one angel group. But it seems like a tough place to build a company because everything is so expensive and something about the place makes you want to slow down and not work so hard...
Re: Any other technologists hanging out in Hawaii? Let's build a hacker community
#10My parents live in Hnl and I love the place but have always lived and worked on the mainland. I've heard of the entrepreneurship center at UH and I've come across one angel group. But it seems like a tough place to build a company because everything is so expensive and something about the place makes you want to slow down and not work so hard...
Your parents live in an airport? Like Tom Hanks in Terminal?