Photo: Guwashi999
What’s the “techiest” city you’ve ever logged into on your travels?
As ambiguous as we may feel over the term “flashpacker,” it’s hard to deny the truth that technology is becoming an ever more important element of travel. Sad as it sounds, without a laptop and hostel wifi, I wouldn’t be able to travel at all.
Trips doesn’t usually take its cues from AskMen.com, but we did notice when they recently published a list of the world’s top 10 tech cities. Factors taken into consideration included the amount of R&D undertaken by national companies, the prevalence of free wifi spots in the country, and the surely difficult to quantify “techiness” of its citizens.
Photo: e-magic
Here’s what they came up with:
1. Tokyo
2. Seoul
3. Singapore
4. Hong Kong
5. San Francisco Bay Area
6. Seattle
7. Helsinki
8. Bangalore
9. Munich
10. Tel Aviv
I can vouch for Seoul, even though I haven’t been back since wifi went big. It’s the home of Samsung and LG, after all, not to mention that 95% of the male population age 2-30 spend their waking hours battling each other in World of Warcraft.
One notable omission would have to be Taipei, where many Gadgets Bonafide Flashpackers Should Carry are manufactured. A few commenters also wondered why the Bay Area wasn’t higher up the list, being the birthplace of “tech” and all.
What do you think? Have you traveled to a city that struck you as particularly techy? How big a role does technology play in your travels? Indulge inquiring minds by leaving a comment below.
Community Connection
Still confused about what exactly a flashpacker is? Read about Matador Nights editor Tom Gates’ identity crisis in From a Flashpacker to a Backpacker, take 2.
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20 Comments... join the discussion!
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What are you saying, Eva? You think we do?
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Not at all, Hal! Just enjoying the understatedness of the line.
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Phew!
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Santiago, Chile. In fact, the entire country. When I went last fall, I was blown away by how connected Chile is. I was told that every school in the country–from the desert to Patagonia–was online. There was lots of WiFi access and just a general consciousness about role technology can play in society.
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Really! V. interesting to hear that about Chile.
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Friend of mine was able to go to Santiago, Chile with UNESCO to work on “Culture of Peace” internet projects with kids groups back in the late 90’s.
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I think Iceland/Reykjavik should have been in there, but great list otherwise
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I remember reading a “most wired city” article awhile back, and being surprised NYC wasn’t on it. Not here either…hmmm.
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No Scandinavian city on the list? Ha!
All 4 cities (Oslo, Reykjavik, Stockholm, and Copenhagen) are super connected!
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This is great. Bring it on, people!
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It’s a very good list. Hard to argue about any of the choices.
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Tokyo at #1, huh? I haven’t spent much time there, but don’t think the rest of Japan is particularly wired. Great list, though, got me thinking!
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I seem to recall that Latvia was shooting to become the first country to have a complete wi-fi blanket… I guess that might make Riga a candidate?
I’ve also heard that Canadians tend to be early adopters and extremely wired (as individuals, not so much the government structures I don’t think – schools, public wifi etc) – we were some of the first to fully embrace Interac direct payments, had early and high numbers of high-speed internet in homes, etc. Plus a huge number of personal gadgets. I wonder if they’re looking more at structural stuff or individual habits?
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Hello fellow Canuck! I agree with you to a certain extent on the idea that Canada is quite techy and early adapters on many tech fronts. I lived in a few cities and our companies are quite tech progressive.
Having traveled outside of Canada and lived in Asia for a couple of years, I feel that Canada is lagging.
In the context of tech and travel, its seems more expensive to maintain the freelance writing (mobile phone, wifi, computer equipment) but that could be do to the size of Canada (smaller market).
Tech doesn’t mean cheap but I just thought I would throw that observation out there.
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And to add to what Julie said, in addition to the spectacular Wifi coverage (near major cities and towns), people are always very surprised when I tell them that in Santiago, Chile we use our right index finger on a reader to confirm our identity to buy “bonos” which are like copay vouchers at the doctor’s office. No whipping out your proof of insurance and getting a photocopy made of it. I also remit invoices online (through our version of the IRS), and pay my Chilean taxes online as well. As well as pay for health insurance, phone bills, etc (through my bank account). The bus and metro both have those snazzy fast passes that you just wave in front of a reader and you get free transfers using the same card.
So yeah, I guess I’d put Santiago on that list.
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Gotta love the finger scanner. That’s awesome!
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This list is bullcrap. First of all, hows about Stockholm? Some of the world leading R&D is going on there.
In addition putting *FREE* Wifi on the list of criteria of techiest cities is just plain bullshit.
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Why? Surely free wi-fi means a more “wired” population overall? Greater access for more people? I’d love to hear a rationale beyond just “this is bullshit.”
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I think many westerners need to move beyond Hong Kong in their thinking about China and technology. I only mention this because of the aformentioned list at the top of the article.
I would definitely have to include both Shanghai and Beijing in terms of a “broader” concept of technology. Wifi, electronics markets, online social networks (English and Chinese) and access to mobile tech (basic phone services and advance services)
I think many Chinese cities are either unknown to us or emerging such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu.
Peter
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