Silicon Valley: From Copenhagen to San Francisco

Copenhagen, Denmark. The clock is ticking. Tic-tac. Tic-tac. It reminds me of the time left for the trip to begin. I am sitting in my room thinking about places to visit there. Dark, cloudy day is perfect to think about the future, plan something great to do with your friends, family, your life. A small thought, which was coming back to me every morning, came back today. “What if I should start writing about the upcoming trip?” — thought I again. So finally, today I’ve decided to give it a try and start it with a small and practical story about how did I and some of my fellow friends prepare for this trip to Silicon Valley.

Part I: Check list

How do you usually prepare for a trip? Buy tickets, book a hotel room, prepare the documents, get the insurance and it’s done? Sounds easy, isn’t it?

However, since it is a study trip to Silicon Valley of a few dozens of a diverse group of Master students, it is quite vital to be prepared in advance. There are just a few steps to be prepared:

1. Make your research about the course.
2. Make a decision about participation.
3. Gather a group who will organize the trip.
4. Ask the previous cohort for help and insights.
5. Get the course approved by the university.
6. Buy the tickets.
7. Book the accommodation.
8. Register for ESTA/Visa.
9. Buy an insurance.
10. Go and have fun!

That’s mainly it. But wait, there is one main point missing in the list — finding the companies, VCs, and universities which are going to host you during the trip. You can do it after having an approval from the university that the course will officially happen. The best advice is — believe in the theory of 6 handshakes. I am quite sure that you definitely know somebody, who knows somebody, who knows somebody at the Silicon Valley. And it is a huge help for you as a student to get in. If not — improvise. Write letters. Find the right people in the university. Use Hunter.io.

Once you and your friends have checked out all previously mentioned tasks — you are good to go.

Part II: Practical Information

You might be wondering how much would it cost you to make this dream trip happen. And I have an answer for you:~1800 EUR. With this amount you will feel more or less free in San Francisco. You will be able not just to find the accommodation, tickets and transport, but also have some fun. Nevertheless, there are few tips and tricks which can help you to save some money even before your trip.

1. Flight. Buy your flight tickets at least 2–3 months in advance. If you are going in April, don’t wait until March — buy at the beginning of February. Check out Norwegian, they have pretty sweet deals for long flights. You can get from Copenhagen to Oakland(which is near San Francisco) and back home for 330–480 EUR with the direct flight of Norwegian. I would recommend buying not the cheapest ticket, but pay for the more advanced version with meals and luggage included. Practical tip: check out other currencies than Euros. I’ve saved 15 EUR just by paying in DKK instead of EUR. And always use the “Private” or “Incognito” mode in your browser.
2. Accommodation. San Francisco is known by its expensiveness regarding the accommodation, however, if you start looking in advance — you can find interesting deals. Firstly — hotels & hostels on Booking.com. They can be cheaper than AirBnB, however, they are mostly located in a rather sketchy area of San Francisco — Tenderloin. It’s up to you to decide, but think of times when you’ll be back home at night with your friends. Or if you want to invite somebody from the group over. Secondly — AirBnB. Most of the houses are quite nice, though more expensive than hostels or hotels in San Francisco. However, since you are going for a long period of time (two weeks), you can negotiate the terms with the hosts and reduce the price by 10-20%. The price will also depend on how many of your friends will live with you. More people — harder to find accommodation with San Francisco, but might be cheaper in the end. Fewer people — easier to find, the price might be higher. Thirdly — Couchsurfing. It is free. It is good for a short time. You might meet someone very cool. But are you going to ditch your friends?
3. Transportation. Since the US is a car country and you are going to visit companies not just in SF, but also in the Silicon Valley, some people might find an advantage of renting a car for 2 weeks. It can be cheaper than taking public transportation and Uber all the time if you have at least one person with a credit card, who is 25 years old. It can be also more flexible within the terms of where to and when to drive. However, you should remember that parking is not that easy to find in SF and it can be costly. Moreover, the driver will not be the happiest person in your group, since he will not be able to go out on a “full mode” with everybody else. There are some other options as well: Uber, Lyft, taxi, public transportation. Those might consume more money and time, but at least you will not care about parking and driving in a foreign country.
4. Fun & Food. San Francisco has plenty to offer. Google the places to find out what is suitable for you and go!

As you can see, we have done everything in advance. Booked the flights with Norwegian, found an amazing AirBnB to stay for the whole period of time and decided for the practicalities which will ease up our life in San Francisco.

Ou, I’ve almost forgotten. Help those guys who will be on the trip committee, if you are not a part of it. They will be very happy :)

As the dark evening has replaced the dark, cloudy day, I’ve finished writing my first thoughts about the trip. I felt relieved — I have finally made it. Somewhere, behind the clouds, the sun was going down, which meant just one thing — the new day was about to come. The countdown clock to the trip was ticking. I slowly pressed “Publish”. The text was gone. Tic-tac. Tic-tac…