Many people ask me where the original idea for Oh Hey World came from, so I thought I’d share it with those of you who I haven’t spoken with on the phone or in person.
The summer of 2010 was hands-down the best summer of my life. In early January of 2010 over beers in Belltown, my friend Ashley and I both decided to leave our jobs and spend the summer in Greece. Over the next month, we recruited my close high school buddy Dan (who was already in Europe) and two of our college friends, Chris and Brooke, to spend the summer with us. We decided on Santorini as a destination, and more specifically Perissa Beach, a place both Jerry and I loved when we traveled there on our trek around Europe in 2005 (Jerry actually took a job & stayed 5 weeks)
Ashley, Dan, Chris, Brooke, and I arrived in Santorini mid May and left early August. There were about 15 others between the ages of 18 and 24 who lived all summer on Perissa Beach with us – most worked at restaurants, bars, or hotels and just wanted to spend the summer somewhere other than home. The group consisted of a few Kiwis, Aussies, Irish, Canadians, and British. We had an amazing community of people to hang out with every single day. But let’s face it. No matter how much you enjoy your friends company, you want some variety every now and then. Sure, we met some awesome travelers who were in Santorini for only few days — but it was just those who we happened to meet at Atlas, Beach Bar, or by walking across the street to Youth Hostel Anna and drinking with the people outside. I guarantee there were some awesome travelers who visited Santorini in the summer of 2010 who had a lot in common that I never met for no other reason than I didn’t know they were there. One particular use case I wanted solved was an easy way to find others passionate about microfinance.
Hence, the idea for Oh Hey World was sitting in the back of my mind the entire summer…
Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was some way to get notified when like minded travelers arrived in Santorini to share a beer, sunset, or meal with?
Santorini is certainly my favorite place on earth — and, no surprise, it’s because of the people I went with and those I met while there. Yet it could have been even better if there was some way to meet fellow travelers who had common passions, interests, or experiences.
So, 3 years later, the frustration will finally be alleviated. Now, I guess I need to go back to Santorini for another summer to test it out…
Drew Meyers
Drew Meyers is the co-founder of Horizon & Oh Hey World. He worked for Zillow from September of 2005 to January of 2010 on the marketing team managing Zillow’s API program and various online partnerships. Founder of Geek Estate Blog, a multi-author blog focused on real estate technology for real estate professionals, and myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. As passionate as you get about travel.
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