All posts by 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.

Travel Thoughts

“What’s It Like to be Back?” – One Week on the Ground in the US

May 27, 2012 Drew Meyers Leave a comment

Whenever you get back from an extended trip abroad, you hear the question over and over from everyone.

What’s it like to be back?

Since I just got back from 5 months abroad a week ago, I’ve gotten the question quite a few times from friends and family.

Honestly, I don’t even know how to begin to answer it. How do I summarize 5 months in a couple minutes? Where to even start? All sorts of things race through my mind.

How do you answer it?

Drew Meyers

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Travel Links

Hitting the Travel Links – May 25th

May 25, 2012 Drew Meyers Leave a comment

There’s been lots of good travel content surfacing in my Google Reader recently, so here are a few posts that might wet your whistle:

8 (Instagram-ic) things to love about Sacramento – A rare post about the United States in my feedreader. Somehow, the US just isn’t as “sexy” as blogging about Thailand, Italy, or Kenya.
How to Travel Like a Child
It’s Surprisingly Easy to Be Gluten-Free in Italy

Drew Meyers

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Travel Thoughts

A Few Thoughts After 24 Hours on the Ground in the States

May 17, 2012 Drew Meyers 4 Comments

24 hours since landing in San Francisco after spending the previous 5 months in Southeast Asia, here are a few thoughts I wanted to share:

I prefer shorts, a t shirt, and flip flops to jeans, a fleece, and shoes.
I’d love it if I never had to wear shoes again. But I need to buy some shoes, as I have none with me.
It’s true – life in the US really does revolve around sporting events.
The US is NOT backpacker friendly. Both Europeans in my hostel room complained about how inaccessible everything in the US was for backpackers.
My pocket book is going to take a hit while I’m here. I spent over $100 yesterday alone. That’s about 2 weeks of expenses in SE Asia.
Coming from daily humid, 100 degree weather – San Francisco is freaking cold and windy. I froze my butt off at the Giants game last night.
I’m extremely fortunate to be surrounded with such a great group of friends

Drew Meyers

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Photos

Travel Photo: Dolphin Watching in Bohol

May 8, 2012 Drew Meyers Leave a comment

Drew Meyers

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Travel Thoughts

Sacrifices to Living a Nomadic Lifestyle

May 4, 2012 Drew Meyers 9 Comments

What kind of life do you want to lead? And where do you want to live it?

The life I’ve chosen over the past few years is a nomadic one — meaning constantly on the move to new places and experiencing new cultures and people. But, though I wouldn’t trade it for the world, such a life is not always as rosy as people think.

Here are some of the sacrifices you’ll need to make:

You’ll have no “home” for months at a time
You’ll go months and months without seeing your best friends in person
Comfortable couches, and beds, are few and far between
No peanut butter for hundreds or thousands of miles
Watching anything other than futbol (soccer) is amazingly hard
You’ll experience a slew of dropped Google Voice and Skype calls due to weak internet connections
Constantly fighting time zone differences trying to communicate with family and friends
No money to spend on DVD’s, fancy clothes, or other materialistic crap (that you don’t need). Not really sure this one is a sacrifice — at least to me, it’s not 🙂
Depending on your location, going days without seeing another Caucasian
A comfortable overnight bus ride? You’re dreaming.

Still want to live the nomadic lifestyle? If yes – do it. You just need to set your mind to it, make the sacrifices to save money, pack your backpack, and get on the plane.

I’ll leave you with this:

Drew Meyers

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Travel Links

Hitting the Travel Links – May 4th

May 4, 2012 Drew Meyers Leave a comment

Drew Meyers

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Blogging Advice

The Importance of Social Objects in (Travel) Blogging

May 3, 2012 Drew Meyers Leave a comment

I can’t stress enough the importance of social objects — ie getting others to relate to you on some level beyond your professional work.

And Matt Kepnes just did that with this photo in his most recent post.

What’s the social object you might ask?

The ONE T-shirt he’s wearing.

You see, my friend Jerry Ostradicky and I started the ONE Seattle chapter back in 2007 (can’t remember the exact date) and remained involved for several years. I’ve moved on to other philanthropic interests (but glad to see the Seattle scene is still active), but ONE will always trigger memories of my time advocating for ONE.org.

Thanks to a single photo, whenever we do talk, ONE.org is a common interest that Matt and I share that will get us beyond “travel blogging” (which I’m sure he’s tired of talking about anyway).

How do you intersperse social objects into your writing?

Simple. Be personal and share yourself.

Drew Meyers

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Travel Costs

Cost of a Men’s Haircut in Cebu, Philippines

May 2, 2012 Drew Meyers 1 Comment

I’ve now gotten my hair cut somewhere other than Thailand in Southeast Asia (see my post on getting a haircut in Chiang Mai) — this time in Cebu in the Philippines.

I went to the Salon De Rose at the Ayala Center. The cost of a basic men’s haircut in Cebu? A quick buzz cut with a #4 on top and #2 on the sides blended ran me 100 Pesos — 150 if you include the 50 peso tip I left (prior to even knowing the final price of the bill).

Regarding the quality? I have to admit, it might be the best buzz cut I’ve ever received — complete with meticulous attention to detail and a head massage.

A haircut for less than $3 US dollars? I’m a fan. In the US, this would have cost no less than $10.

Drew Meyers

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Blogging Advice

Successful Travel Blogging Takes Guts

May 1, 2012 Drew Meyers Leave a comment

It’s not easy to write a post like this one talking about sex tourism in Thailand. But the fact that Matt has the guts to write the post is the exact reason Matt succeeds and most fail at travel blogging. He puts a little bit of himself out there, day in and day out.

So, I urge you — go find your voice and yourself – and put it online.