A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting Amsterdam with my family. Amsterdam is a beautiful city with great restaurants and super friendly people. Getting around Amsterdam is really easy. We walked most of the time, but found the trains to be convenient when we wanted to return to the hotel quickly.
What is Appsterdam? Appsterdam is a growing movement, and organization, bringing together app makers from around the world. It’s anchored in Amsterdam, a city with a diverse population of some of the friendliest people in the world. Appsterdam hosts various meet-ups, from weekly luncheon lectures and to monthly family fun weekend. And they even provide a co-working space available to those living in Amsterdam as well as for those just visiting.
As luck would have it, I had an opportunity to speak at one of the Appsterdam luncheons, and I attended a social gathering later that evening. This gave me a chance to meeting many of the local Appsterdamers, which to my surprise are from all over the world. In fact, I met a number of Americans who now call Amsterdam home. Meeting this international group of app makers proved to me that Amsterdam is not only a great place to live, it’s a great place to run an indie software company. And if it wasn’t for my love and desire to live in a ski town, I might try to convenience my wife we need to move there. While moving there is not an option for us, extended stays most certainly are, and I hope to make it happen (hint, hint to my wife).
While traveling abroad is not easy for everyone - the airfare alone can be costly - there is a way to get a taste of Appsterdam right here in the States. In San Francisco during next week’s WWDC, Appsterdam will be hosting the Appsterdam WWDC HQ, a free, week long co-working space (June 11 through 15) and daily talks from outstanding speakers. Appsterdam WWDC HQ is open to all. A WWDC badge is not required.
If you are in SF during WWDC, with or without a badge, I encourage you to stop by Appterdam WWDC HQ and get a taste for what this organization and movement has to offer app markers.
