221–230 of 400 posts
SF, Oakland, or Berkeley. My family and friends are in the Bay Area. The weather is nearly unparalleled. The food variety is solid. Transit is not that bad, if you compare the cities I mentioned to the rest of the US. I guess the tech scene is decent, but the other factors I mentioned mean a lot more to me. (I would almost prefer it if the area weren't as much of a hotspot, actually...)
Berkeley is really cool, esp downtown area
Taipei, Taiwan. The friendliest people you will ever meet, living and working in the most convenient country you will ever visit. Everything for daily life is within walking distance but if you do need something a bit further out, public and private transportation is exceptionally cheap and effective. The weather is fantastic year-round (save for heavy rains sometimes coming from the ocean) and taking a weekend to vi…
Additionally, the excellent public transportation meant that spending time walking outdoors (to the subway, etc) was much more likely than in a city where you are just walking from your office to your car. Just my 2¢.
Other than that, I agree. Well, and also the giant, flying cockroaches. They're pretty bad too.
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Let me elaborate on the isolated part a bit maybe. I speak almost fluent Japanese but the problem comes more in the very strong cultural difference that you are mostly not even aware of unless you are indeed fluent and surrounded by people that tell you your mistakes (which doesn't happen often). It is (IMO) very hard to make 'good' Japanese friends (not talking about occasional drinking buddies). People seem nice bu…
Yep, I'm familiar with everything you're saying. You definitely don't need language fluency to know that you're being treated differently...just time, and a bit of social awareness. They aren't particularly subtle about it. But in my experience, this is also true of any place where your foreignness is advertised by your skin color or facial structure or height or whatever -- you're just going to be treated like a str…
This is sort of a "bubble" problem. Dutch people that are "settled" already have a loyal circle of friends and are not always looking to make more friends. There's also the problem that expats usually work in demanding jobs with lots of competition and not a lot free time. It's hard to make friends that way, especially if half of your colleagues are rushing to daycare to pick up their kids.
If you were able to move out of that bubble, to a less populous / competitive area, you might find much more laid back people.
First of all, it's very reasonable. About 40% cost of rent compared to SF or NY and food/entertainment are also much cheaper.
Second, I think it's secretly the best food city (per dollar) in the country. Everything from the $7 cheese steak to a $50 dinner is great and you never wait in lin or fight for a reservation.
Third, easy access to the whole east coast. Amtrak to NYC or DC before lunch.
Fourth, great history and a vibrant culture. The city is also very pro-growth and seems to get better all the time. No NIMBYs.
Sixth, very solid infrastructure. Decent public transportation, great hospitals, world class universities in the city, etc.
Finally, I like the people there. They have a reputation for being tough but it's just a veneer.
Bellevue/Kirkland/Redmond is my second choice, and I like Washington outside of Seattle more than anywhere else in the US. Since I now have my own company, I'm fine with it -- if I had to work for Microsoft, another startup in WA, Google Kirkland, or something like that, I'd probably stay. Best overall blend of startups, sane government, qualify of life, great culture, environment, etc.
If I had the flexibility to leave, I'd be interested in: Beijing. Kharkov. Israel. Berlin. Hong Kong. As it is, I just got back from a trip to Kharkov, and if I had to hire a lot of ops/admin/tech people, it would be really really tempting. I'm also interested in Utah and Tennessee in the long run, and Montreal.
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Me too. If I think about not working in Amsterdam, I get miserable. What a place! There is a wee cafe on the Singel which does BLTs which are so good, that it the only food that i care about, everything else is mere mass. These BLTs though... Yes, I'd move for the BLT alone!
Just wondering which cafe?
I have no idea what the practicalities of a life in Paris are, but it's still at the top of my list. In maybe half a dozen visits, I've found Parisians to be quite friendly for city dwellers (very much counter to the stereotype). If I approach situations in my severely broken French, people figure out quite quickly that their English is better than my French, and like most everywhere else in Europe, nearly everyone under 40 speaks excellent English.
Maybe it's one of those things that looks better to an outsider than it is, but the pace of life is very attractive to me.
I'm far less surprised that nobody has mentioned Chicago, but it's not bad here. For a large city, it has most everything I want: great art, great restaurants, etc. The cost of living here is obscenely low relative to NYC or SF. For far less (monthly rent vs. mortgage payment) than friends who rent one bedroom apartments in either city, we own a modest, but very nice detached house in a nice neighborhood smack in the middle of the city.
Between the recent dramatic uptick in shootings and the truly shitty weather in the winter (though spring and summer are glorious), it's pretty hard for it to bubble up to the top of anyone's list.
This would be as far south as I could go on the planet without being an NSF scientist assigned to McMurdo and still be within US jurisdiction. Technically would count as a very legal tax haven within the US defense umbrella. I wouldn't be paying the IRS but rather the territorial government.
Yep, just need a good working satellite connection since the local broadband isn't that great and I would be good to go.