#satRdays voting closes May 31st

Voting for 2 of the 3 locations for satRday conferences will be closing at the end of May 31st (GMT). It’s been a phenomenal turnout with more than 1,500 votes so far.

You can still vote if you haven’t already!

EU status

Budapest, Hungary, is where Gergely will be throwing the EU event and it’s tentatively set for September.

US status

Chicago started out with a close runner of Washington DC, but that all changed as folks realised they could visit Puerto Rico and get fantastic learning, or Puerto Rico has for more R people than my tenuous grasp of geography led me to expect.

1. Puerto Rico (32% of votes for the US location)
2. Chicago (19% of votes for the US location)
3. Washington DC (13% of votes for the US location)

Rest of the World

This section of voting has been incredibly hotly contested with regular changes in poll position. We started off going to Russia, then Cape Town looked like a sure thing, then Mexico took the lead, and now it’s anyone’s guess in this section.

1. South Africa (35% of votes for the RoW location)
2. Mexico (26% of votes for the RoW location)
3. Sydney, Australia (22% of votes for the RoW location)

Words from some of the satRday nominees

You may have seen some of the posts about some respective satRday events:

• Mexico
• Cape Town

But not everyone is on R-bloggers so we offered to include some messages to do last minute convincing – these are below!

St. Petersburg

Saint Petersburg with its renowned architecture, museums and theaters has always been called a cultural capital of Russia.
A local R community actively promotes our cultural vision: open source and reproducibility, freedom of expressing ideas and sharing knowledge.
We always schedule our meetups on Saturdays, so we’re excited to race for the next level — a SatRday event!

Regardless of how the voting ends, you are always welcome in St. Petersburg!

Mexico

As in last time, here is another overview of Monterrey, Mexico one of the leading cities to host a satRday this year.

So far, the response has been incredible for the city. More than an estimated 300 votes and including some calls from local researchers interested in showcasing their projects.

As a further statement of convincing, here are a few of the things other people say about the city:

• From the American Chamber of Commerce:

With more than 4.9 million people, it accounts for 4.2% of Mexico’s total population, 8% ($6.8 Billion USD) of the country’s total GDP (2012), 11% of Mexico’s total manufacturing output, and is widely recognized for its entrepreneurial culture, elite pool of managerial talent and business oriented attitude.
Nuevo Leon’s GDP per capita of $19,887 USD (2012) is 195% more than the national average.
Just two hours south of the Texas border and with direct flights to major Mexican cities, the U.S. and the rest of the world, Monterrey is considered the most important financial, educational and industrial center in the country. It is also a main crossroads for the commercial exchange between Mexico and the United States.
The total amount of Nuevo Leon’s exports in 2012 were 35 Billion USD, 11% of Mexico’s total exports.
The city is home to 30 universities with world-class academic programs. Among them, two of the most important in Mexico and Latin America: Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) and Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo León (UANL).

The “business oriented attitude” is also evident in data. The state of Nuevo Leon (where Monterrey is based) has outgrown the country consistently.

• Mexico IT

The state of Nuevo León is one of the driving forces of the Mexican economy and home to large pool of highly educated professionals, excellent infrastructure, and a great quality of life. Since it borders the United States, investors are also attracted by an American‐style business culture

While its traditional sectors remain strong, Nuevo León has also become a hotbed for Mexican IT services companies in the past decade. It is now a preferred location for companies that offer nearshore IT services, and many large Indian IT service providers have established their delivery centers in the state.

Monterrey is not all about business, it’s also tons of fun:

• From Lonely Planet

Cosmopolitan Monterrey is Mexico’s third-largest city, second-largest industrial center and número uno in per-capita income. This economic powerhouse has a strong entrepreneurial ethos, humming cultural scene, vibrant universities and the best nightlife in northern Mexico.
With sprawling suburbs of gargantuan air-conditioned malls and manicured housing estates, this is also one of Mexico’s most Americanized cities. Boasting world-class museums and a jagged mountain backdrop that offers terrific outdoor adventure sports, the city’s attractions are diverse and myriad.
All of this makes Monterrey fiercely independent and very different to any other Mexican metropolis you’ll encounter, and its long-running rivalry with Mexico City is the stuff of legend.

Including some great hiking:

And soccer!

You can also see some amazing sights, here is a video from the skies!

Finally, go and vote for the city here!

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