Digital Nomad | Technology Enthusiast | Software Engineer

A Canadian-Azerbaijani Master's Student @ the University of Tartu who also lives in Toronto, 🇨🇦 and works as a full-time remote Senior Software Engineer. Interested in technological innovations, startup ideas, local coffee shops, walking and exploring the cities, mountain hiking, etc.

Instagram: @samusali

My score is 18 so far by now on the Lonely Planet's 100 Best Cities in the World: https://www.listchallenges.com/lonely-planets-100-best-cities-in-the-world
1. Toronto, 🇨🇦
2. San Francisco, 🇺🇸
3. Istanbul, 🇹🇷
4. Hamburg, 🇩🇪
5. Berlin, 🇩🇪
6. München, 🇩🇪
7. Montreal, 🇨🇦
8. New York City, 🇺🇸
9. Chicago, 🇺🇸
10. Vancouver, 🇨🇦
11. Quebec City, 🇨🇦
12. Tallinn, 🇪🇪
13. Helsinki, 🇫🇮
14. Lisbon, 🇵🇹
15. Stockholm, 🇸🇪
16. Prague, 🇨🇿
17. Vienna, 🇦🇹
18. Innsbruck, 🇦🇹

What is your score?

Upcoming planned visits:
1. May 16 - 21: Austin, Texas, 🇺🇸
2. May 26 - 27: London, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, 🇬🇧
3. May 27 - June 8: Tartu, 🇪🇪
4. June 8 - 16: Baku, 🇦🇿

I'm also trying to learn 🇩🇪 & 🇫🇷 on Preply and practice them with 🇷🇺 on Duolingo.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet with travelers and various types of people and I think it's super great to know the people from multiple places. To contribute to the platform by hosting and getting hosted whenever visiting some other places.

By the way, I recently joined forces with another Couchsurfer to write a book about Couchsurfing based on her master's thesis and extra additions. Maybe, you can also be helpful for us by sharing your insights and thoughts :)

Interests

Travelling, Technology, Coffeeshops, Hiking, Walking

• #hiking
• #running
• #coffee
• #wine
• #reading
• #exploring
• #backpacking
• #walking
• #coding
• #chess
• #startups
• #nomad

Music, Movies, and Books

No specific music taste, but I do enjoy Daft Punk and the soundtracks, mainly by Hans Zimmer.

Regarding movies, depending on the severity/level of the fiction, I love Sci-fi such as Interstellar. The Dark Knight Trilogy is the best compilation about Batman; other than that, I don't watch anything fictional.

Requirem for a Dream, Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind, Inception, Pi, a Beautiful Mind, Predestination, Into the Wild

Regarding TV Series, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Afterlife, Black Mirror, Friends, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Silicon Valley, Parks and Recreation, etc. Forever The Office fan! :)

Self-improvement and self-productivity books, especially the ones written by Malcolm Gladwell.

My favourite quote that I live by is "Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known." by Carl Sagan :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The COVID-19 pandemic forced most software engineers to work from home, and I decided to roam and travel Canada and then some other areas while working instead of paying monthly increasing rent in Canada. I ended up attending UniTartu to get a master's degree by my 30s. In general, the shift I have done in my life is fantastic.

Another fantastic thing I could recall was that I had a chance to climb to the second most challenging peak in Azerbaijan, Shahdagh, with 4243m in July 2021. Unforgettable memories I still carry with me.

Recently, in January-February 2024, I started travelling spontaneously, starting from Prague and then using trains to Vienna, Innsbruck, Zürich, Lausanne, and Milan. In this, my Couchsurfing experience was quite unforgettable.

Teach, Learn, Share

Can Teach Programming, Math, and some nerdy stuff 🤠 would love to learn German, French, and Russian, playing tennis, swimming, and improve my biking skills.

UPDATE: In fact, after writing the sentences above, I started learning French and German on Preply and practice Russian, French, and German on Duolingo.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My stories, experiences, and tips from my experiences.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Azerbaijan, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Azerbaijan, Canada, Estonia