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Ask HN: If your job was remote, which city would you choose to live in?

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Re: Ask HN: If your job was remote, which city would you choose to live in?

#121

Post by pieterhg »

ckris wrote: post #93
pieterhg wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, cities like Budapest, Prague, Austin, Medellin, Tbilisi tick those boxes. If you don't care about humidity, the usual nomad hot spots come up like Chiang Mai, Ubud etc. If you don't care about humidity and don't care about it being a bit crowded, you also get Canggu (which can be busy now), Bangkok, Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Asia is just very humid. My personal challenge is that I don't like sweating…

Definitely agree with you on the weather. At least in the tropical part of Asia it is either too hot, too humid or too dark. Personally I am not sure about Eastern Europe long term, it seems to be going the wrong way politically. Which is just a bother. There seems to be an inverse (I guess pretty unsurprising) relationship between being decent and being cheap. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be 1 to 1. But almost e…

Great post, agree on all this.

One thing though: I think many cities as you say are now overpriced. Even with all the qualities of expensive cities like London, you get very little for what you pay for. That means there's an (economic) information lag where many people don't realize this yet. I hope my site helps reduce that information lag.

I think cities attracting people will happen organically as it's mostly always has been. People go to cheaper/better places to save money, then those places develop, get expensive/crowded etc.

In terms of non-organic ways of attracting people, I know governments in Spain, Ireland, France, Georgia, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and a few more countries where ministries (eg of tourism) are actively aware of remote work, nomads and wanting to attract them.

The challenge is that the things remote workers are attracted by in a city are either fixed (weather) or slow to change (internet speeds, infrastructure, safety).

Places that have become hotspots for nomads like Chiang Mai and Bali mostly did because they already had a giant tourism industry and supply of (cheap) accomodation, were relatively safe and had usable internet. It "happened" to them, not the other way around.

Re: Ask HN: If your job was remote, which city would you choose to live in?

#122

Post by ioddly »

I'm trying to figure this out myself. I have freelanced for years from Houston and it's been fine. I avoided moving somewhere more expensive because my income was inconsistent, but now I have a salaried remote job and no excuse. It's harder than I thought it would be to pack up and leave a place.

I'm headed to Austin for a month today, hoping to try Vegas later this year as well.

I'll let you all know when I figure this one out...

Re: Ask HN: If your job was remote, which city would you choose to live in?

#123

Post by tertius »

moktor wrote: post #106

My job is remote, and the wife and I just took the leap of moving from the Seattle area to a small town north of Houston. The weather, cost of living, and pace of life is just so much better.

Which town? (I'm in Houston)

Re: Ask HN: If your job was remote, which city would you choose to live in?

#124

Post by ckris »

pieterhg wrote: post #121
ckris wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely agree with you on the weather. At least in the tropical part of Asia it is either too hot, too humid or too dark. Personally I am not sure about Eastern Europe long term, it seems to be going the wrong way politically. Which is just a bother. There seems to be an inverse (I guess pretty unsurprising) relationship between being decent and being cheap. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be 1 to 1. But almost e…

Great post, agree on all this. One thing though: I think many cities as you say are now overpriced. Even with all the qualities of expensive cities like London, you get very little for what you pay for. That means there's an (economic) information lag where many people don't realize this yet. I hope my site helps reduce that information lag. I think cities attracting people will happen organically as it's mostly alwa…

Good points.

I think the key for those places wanting to attract people is to not be beholden to overall developments. On the one hand they can't rely on large changes because they take too much time and often are marginal. Instead of making the Internet better overall (which of course be the ideal thing) they could make sure that hotels in one area have good Internet, and that there is for example a lesser tax rate for monthly stays. On the other hand they also need to offset local changes, like the area becoming expensive, to keep the ball rolling.

I think that is partly why these places became hotspots. Because as you said they already had the backpackers, expats, surfers or fighters, and therefor the facilities. But also because when things got popular, they just move down the road and open up another place. And it seems that places like Lisbon can't really compete in that way. When it gets more popular it gets less accessible and more expensive a lot faster than opportunities to for example stay longer. So they end up in the same place as somewhere like London, but on a smaller scale.

I guess they would see it as a good thing as it makes more money, but it also hiders the "catalyst" or the further development, which should be their ultimate goal. At least that is my current impressions, but maybe that is just the way of the world and part of the fun. It just seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity. I guess I will know a bit more when I travel again in the autumn.

Re: Ask HN: If your job was remote, which city would you choose to live in?

#127

Post by mgertner »

wikibob wrote: post #104
666lumberjack wrote: post #54

London. I like big, dense, multicultural cities with lots to do at any moment of time, lots of different people and high-quality food from as many cultures as possible readily available. On that measure I think the only city that compares (and is probably better) is New York, but I have a citizenship and lots of family + friends in the UK so it's a much more convenient place to be. I'm working on moving there to do n…

London is rapidly losing all appeal. The pound is tanking. Brexit is going to totally decimate the economy long term.

If you're working remotely, the pound tanking is a good thing, isn't it?

Re: Ask HN: If your job was remote, which city would you choose to live in?

#128

Post by d-sc »

thwythwy wrote: post #99
sethammons wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For sure! My email is in my profile. Hit me up. I'm in Polson.

Do . . . . do people in Montana really just meet each other on the Internet and get coffee?

Well no.. because I’m in California currently. But, yeah we have civilization in Montana. Also, the place in question is small enough that you can get to know a double digit percentage of the population within 30 mins driving distance if you wanted to, so it’s not entirely unlikely that there wouldn’t be a couple mutual connections anyhow.

Re: Ask HN: If your job was remote, which city would you choose to live in?

#129

Post by Gustomaximus »

crazypyro wrote: post #117
akras14 wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does CBD stands for? Google is not being helpful, unless you do mean weed.

Seems to be a common Australian abbreviation. Only other place I've ever heard it (central business district) is on an Aussie TV show.

Yes was referring to 'central business district'.

And good to find out it's an Australia centric expression. Thanks.

Re: Ask HN: If your job was remote, which city would you choose to live in?

#130

Post by jazzyjackson »

orky56 wrote: post #101
jazzyjackson wrote: post #13

Los Angeles would be more ideal if you don't have a commute, I think. Just stay in your little beach community around Venice or Long Beach. I'm often wishing New Orleans had a bigger tech scene, it's a beautiful town.

I'm doing that in Orange County at the moment. John Wayne Airport is a pleasure to fly out of. Newport Beach offers the beach home life and Irvine/South Coast Metro bring the big city tech offerings. Other responses go for more cost effective options with more rural nature. However for me, the temperate climate and urban/suburban pace of life works best.

John Wayne, what a guy to name an airport after!

I'll have to take a look at newport beach sometime, thanks for the tip :)

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