What is a Hacker House?

by Micaela Navarro,

2 December 2022

Contents

If you’re passionate, impatient, and driven, then you’re the type of person who’ll love a hacker house. 

They’re for winners. So stop moving along at the same pace as everyone else already. We’re talking to you, the builders, entrepreneurs, and dreamers!

Don’t worry if you’re not sure what it means just yet, because that’s what this article is all about. It’s an answer to that very question, what is a hacker house

But we’re not just stopping at a vague definition. We’ll be exploring bigger questions, like how to join them, how to host them, where to host them, their key benefits, and much more. Now, read on and see what they can do for you! 

1. What is a Hacker House

What is a Hacker House via Hacker.House

So, what is a hacker house? A hacker house is a coliving space for coders; a decentralized housing network, and a new kind of coliving powered by blockchain. 

It’s temporary shared accommodation where people work on a predetermined project, like building blockchain networks, to creating a new app.

2. The Benefits of a Hacker House

There are several benefits of joining a hacker house. For starters: 

  • Develop skills: hacker houses are amazing places for young coders to learn new skills and for seasoned veterans to keep their skills sharp! They’re for people of all skills and all ages. The only prerequisite is passion. What’s more, it’s intensive, and you learn by doing, not in scheduled classes or in-between spaces in life. It’s for those looking to scale their skills at pace!
  • Live with like-minded individuals: Sometimes, work can be a lonely existence. But joining a hacker house is inspiring. It’s a place to share ideas. 
  • To Build: The primary purpose of a hacker house is to build things, from startups to products, apps, solutions, and altruistic projects. Instead of building your startup over the case of months, with slow back-and-forth work, you can do it over an intense long weekend, in person. No three-day email replies, no BS.
  • A unique solution to temporary housing: Here’s the thing, sorting accommodation can be a pain. If it’s short-term, a hotel or a hostel is just fine. If it’s long-term, then renting an apartment makes sense. But there’s a middle ground where it’s too expensive to stay in a hotel that long, and you can’t find a room to rent for that short a time. And plus, in some cases, you can live for free – depending on the work. 
  • Affordable housing in tech-focused cities: And, of course, as we know, once a city gets hot in the tech scene, the accommodation prices go through the roof. A coliving scenario like a hacker house is your chance to live there – for a while – at an affordable rate! And again, depending on the work you’re doing, sometimes you can live for free!
  • Experience life in a tech-minded city: Of course, we all know the stories of crazy tech booms in cities like San Fran, where people ran around changing the world in creative fury. Joining a hacker house is a way of experiencing a touch of that magic. 
  • Build a better and fairer internet: Web3 is coming. A decentralised world is coming. And it’s getting built in places like these. So if you want to say you were there, now is the time to jump on it! 
  • Network: You can build sincere connections that last a lifetime at hacker houses. So as you progress in your career, having folk you can rely on is vital. Whether looking for talent, a job, or a business partner, these are great places to build your network.

3. I Want to Join a Hacker House

So now that we have an answer to our primary question: what is a hacker house? You’ll now be wondering, how do you join one? 

The quickest way is the same method you figure out anything. It’s simple. Just google it. Shocking, right? Google ‘Hacker house in (your desired location)’, and see what you can find. 

However, Google doesn’t always come up with the goods so easily. So if you’re struggling to find what you’re looking for, we can help you find it. Our in-house team of expert coders can sort you out. 

But our hot tip is to check the calendar of major blockchain and crypto events. House Hack side events at these major occasions in the calendar are becoming more and more common. These tend to be shorter too. Perfect for dipping your toe in! 

4. How Long do Hacker Houses Last? 

A hacker house can last from overnight stays to forever. From long weekends to months, you can stay at them as long as you need to or want to.

However, some of them aren’t continual residences but project specific. And as we all know, there’s no universal project length, right?

5. I Want to Host a Hacker House

Now then, it’s one thing to join a hacker house, but what if you want to host one yourself? Well, as we mentioned, to get the biggest traction, exposure, and footfall, get yourself to the major blockchain and crypto conferences and host them there. You’ll be surrounded by like-minded and inspired people looking to make a name for themselves, change the world, and for a place to stay! 

We specialise in producing high-impact, fast-paced hacker houses. So if you want to build an event that nobody else is doing, we want to be involved! Tell us your goals, and we’ll help you jack them up to the next level! 

6. What is the Different Between a Hacker House and Coliving?

Of course, if you’re searching for the answer to, what is a hacker house, you might be struck by a simple thought. What is the difference between a hacker house and a coliving space? And it’s not a stupid question. They are both residential concerns. 

It’s just that one serves base functions: sleeping, showering, and eating. The other does those things, sure, but they also provide a communal environment where you can build a better you and a better world. 

7. What is the Difference Between a Hacker House and a Hackathon

Although you might do the same kind of stuff, a hackathon is not a residential endeavour and usually doesn’t last beyond 48-72 hours. 

The funny thing is though, if you’ve been to a hackathon, you’ll know that people often take naps. People even bring their sleeping bags! 

But more than that, hackathons are generally – though not exclusively – competitive affairs, with prizes and such. Hacker houses are usually concerned with collaboration. 

If you’re curious about hackathons, let us direct you to another of our articles: What is a Hackathon?

8. Where are the Best Cities for Hacker houses?

The best cities for hacker houses are those with growing tech scenes. It’s where you’ll find the best new talent flocking and where you’ll find the friendliest government grant, initiatives, and tax breaks. 

For startups, value hunters, and those wanting to stay ahead of the curve, we recommend staying away from established and over-saturated cities in the tech world, like San Franciso and the like. 

Right now, we really love the look of places like Buenos Aires, Lisbon, Mexico City, and Istanbul! If you want to know more about the best places to be, let’s have a chat! 

9. How to Market Hacker Houses 

In the final part of our guide to, what is a hacker house, we need to talk about marketing. To host a top experience and yield the best result, you need to reach the best talent. 

Now, of course, you can market your hacker house with traditional digital marketing methods – and you absolutely should – like Twitter, email, and so on. 

However, your modern tech-savvy person hangs out in other places, like Telegram, Discord, and Medium, to name a few. And we can help you with marketing in these circles, don’t worry about that. We’re pretty good at it! 

Wrapping up 

So, by now, you’re probably filled with awesome ideas for a hacker house of your own. In which case, you need to go to our launch pad. Pop your ideas in there, and we can help them take off! 

Picture of Micaela Navarro
Micaela Navarro
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