After years reading on Financial Independence and getting to know all the online personas, this week I finally attended my first ChooseFI meetup in person.
And what a treat it was!
Who attended
Organised by Barney aka The Escape Artist and Ken, we also had Brad from ChooseFI as the guest of honour. And of course a lot of FIers! I was admittedly too busy chatting to count attendees but it must have been around 100 of us there.
I first chatted to Araminta from Financially Mint, a student at the Open University who lives between Barcelona and Edinburgh but also travels a lot – the advantage of pursuing an online degree.
There were lots of Brits, Americans and Europeans, working in a wide range of sectors and jobs – business development people, software engineers, school admin staff, bankers, marketers and many more. Some new to London having lived in a range of different countries before. I great mix of people.
The best part
Here I was, an introvert striving for financial independence, talking to a group of introverted FI seekers. But the best part was just how easy it was to talk to everyone else! Through FI we had a strong common denominator, but we equally talked about everything that came to our minds. Often I would go over to a few new faces and be welcomed warmly into their conversation.
This is networking at its best – easy, welcoming, with a strong common interest. In other words, memorable.
The most common question
Almost all asked me: “do you have a blog?” As I do, I asked people to have a look at it and give me feedback (all feedback is welcome!).
Intrigued, I also started asking the same question. A lot of us have one, but not all. It certainly is not a condition to attend or to be an FIer 🙂
And now?
I feel inspired.
Inspired by the people I have met and the conversations I’ve had. By the lives these people are living and the feedback I’ve received on my ideas and my blogs. I have a long list of things I want to do and to write about.
And I am looking forward to my next one!
If you want to join us, just go to the ChooseFI London Facebook group.
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