2022
Hi everyone! Welcome to Local Guides Connect. Please take a moment to introduce yourself to our community.
As “Introduce Yourself” threads can be lengthy, we start a new one each month and lock past threads. You can check previous threads, like March's, to see who recently joined and where they’re from. We’ll merge any “I’m new” and “Hello world” posts we find elsewhere with this thread to keep things organized.
Do you want to be featured in our monthly Introduce Yourself posts? Share your introduction in the comments, following the five prompts below, and a horizontal photo of yourself (in landscape mode). We will select one of the best introductions and include it in our next month’s post. Please note: Your response may be edited for clarity. By taking part in this challenge, you agree to allow us to share your answers and photo(s) publicly here on Connect.
This month, meet @JustJake! Jake is a Local Guide Level 8, and here’s what he shared.
2. Location: Phoenix, Arizona, USA
3. What I love about being a Local Guide: I have realized that being a Local Guide has made me slow down and be much more observant and present in my hometown and places I visit.
I get encouraged by the accomplishments of others on Connect:
- Like @SholaIB and @jayasimha78 paving new roads (2000 by Shola & 1000 by Jay!), in the footsteps of the Godfather of Road Editing, @ErmesT;
- Or the Top 100 Board's Billion Photo View Club (I'm woefully behind on @MortenCopenhagen's Storefront Photography Series, which I have been using to improve and one day join the Club);
- And my dear neighbor @AZ_2021 going to extraordinary lengths in order to explore every corner of our amazing state.
It's a nice feeling to be able to contribute a review, photo, or edit that will, hopefully, have a positive impact on a traveler or business. I also love the anonymity of the whole thing (unless you get caught or become a "star"). There are no prizes or monetary rewards, just the satisfaction of knowing there's so many of us going around quietly, making it easier for everyone else to navigate the world and find awesome places.
4. My favorite thing to explore: I am obsessed with the rural areas and small towns within Arizona (USA). There is quite a lot of history here that connects to the expansion of the United States and the cultural importance of the land I live on to the Native Peoples who have been here for thousands of years. Some of the rural areas have retained a sense of time back to when they were settled. Much of the Tribal lands are without modern services that exist only 50 miles away in a bigger town. The experience of being in these places, speaking with the locals, and understanding the challenges or reasons for the “character” of their home is my favorite.
5. Fun fact about me: Despite the layout of Phoenix, the 110 average days with temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the infrastructure built for 7-passenger SUVs to go 100mph everywhere, I prefer to commute on a Vespa Scooter. Scooters are a rarity here, but we have a small community of Scooter enthusiasts, and we turn heads wherever we go. That's me, always needing more attention while trying to fly under the radar. 😂
Nice to meet you, Jake! Local Guides, don’t miss the chance to say hi to Jake in the comments below and to share your introduction, too.
Hello @Ivi_Ge
Happy new month and thank you for starting this month's introduction thread.
Congratulations again you are featured on connect for March introduction thread. It's quite hilarious that you are on a roll in connect these days. Guiding star,featured for this month etc. Watch out that you don't slip and fall 🤣🤣🤣
Keep up the roll and keep up the good work.
Happy guiding Buddy
Cheers
