Why Billi?

I was searching for that unique, random event, the kind of thing you would know about in your hometown, but don’t have access to when in a foreign place.

Site after site showed mainstream events only and everything was sold out. I needed a site to show me the smaller get togethers, the events I had never heard of, the ones only the locals knew about, that still had availability.

I love to explore my own city and surrounds. I created Billi to showcase local events, the coffee art courses in the next suburb, the “no reason” high tea at that boutique hotel I’ve always wanted to go to. I couldn’t find any sites to help me locate the different experiences I was chasing.

My vision is to have this platform for travellers and locals alike who don’t have plans, but they want plans. I want Billi to help you be part of something new, and give you access to places and events otherwise seemingly hidden.

It’s a warm New Year’s Eve 2018 in stunning Queenstown, New Zealand. I am travelling solo, immersing myself in the beauty of this picturesque town. Meeting new people and finding their stories all so fascinating. As a lover of the world, I find when I travel, I’m chasing that feeling of connection and sense of belonging, trying to find what community looks and feels like to the people in places foreign to me. This doesn’t have to be on an overseas adventure. When we open ourselves up to discovering our own neighbourhoods, we can tap into these same feelings of excitement we get from travel, and that sense of joy that overcomes us when experiencing places or an event for the first time.

All it takes is to be present, challenge yourself to explore like you would if you had a ticket to Europe or South America in your hands. Take note of the smell of the fresh air, or the feel of the rainy afternoon’s humidity on your skin, the taste of coffee from a different café on a crisp winter’s morning, new music playing etching memories in your soul.

Community is found everywhere, it’s not only a group of people living in the same place, it’s also having a particular characteristic in common. We are travelling for new experiences, and sometimes without even realising it, we are looking for those experiences to somehow connect us back to how we feel when we are at home surrounded by the people whom we love. (and looking for commonalities within in our own lives).