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Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

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Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#261

Post by [deleted] »

rolleiflex wrote: post #239
nelsonic wrote: post #229

Depending on your ability to work remotely, I would make the "case" that you should consider Portugal . Lisbon and Porto are super popular with ["digital nomad"] remote workers who work for international companies so earn in USD but spend [much less] in Euros for a superb lifestyle. There's a reason @paddycosgrave moved Web Summit to Lisbon. It's one of the cheapest cities in Europe and [unlike Barcelona] everyone sp…

This is awesome. I live in SF, and have a base in Istanbul, which is from what I heard, similar to Lisbon in many aspects — but I would be hesitant to recommend it without at least a willingness to learn Turkish. There are some digital nomads here in HN based in Istanbul, though. Nevertheless - my point was, you’re living my dream and I’ll definitely give a visit when my life allows for a Portugal trip. Never been ye…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#262

Post by askmike »

the_clarence wrote: post #237
szopa wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been to Taipei, and the language barrier was quite horrible. People speaking English seemed to be the exception, not the norm – I'd never appreciated Google Translate as much as I did in Taiwan. And a lot of things work quite a bit differently than in the West – so a few times I had to be borderline rude to trigger someone enough to attempt to explain stuff to me in English instead of just shooing me away.

It’s better than a lot of places though. If you want an english friendly country in Asia it’s going to be expensive (hk, singapore, tokyo, etc.)

While in Tokyo I was not impressed with my ability to communicate in English. If you don't learn Japanese your options are very limited IMO.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#263

Post by ur-whale »

nelsonic wrote: post #229

Depending on your ability to work remotely, I would make the "case" that you should consider Portugal . Lisbon and Porto are super popular with ["digital nomad"] remote workers who work for international companies so earn in USD but spend [much less] in Euros for a superb lifestyle. There's a reason @paddycosgrave moved Web Summit to Lisbon. It's one of the cheapest cities in Europe and [unlike Barcelona] everyone sp…

How is the income tax situation in Portugal?

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#264

Post by stef25 »

bogdanu wrote: post #116
cleansy wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I second this. But definitely try to get a remote SE job there. The pay is laughable compared to for example Berlin. Which is also a great city to work and live in.

I saw some jobs in Berlin that payed around 70K Eur. Assuming it's before taxes, it means that after taxes it's around 3.8k/month; a bit low if you ask me. I know pay is not the only factor, but heck, I make half in my home country, but the living costs are far lower (and I don't even pay rent).

> it means that after taxes it's around 3.8k/month; a bit low if you ask me

3.8K after taxes anywhere in W-Europe (outside of London) is pretty good salary

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#265

Post by CalRobert »

odiroot wrote: post #172
flavor8 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd have to be quite apolitical to consider a move to Poland right now.

Why throw politics into it?

Because the rise of anti-immigrant parties and sentiment is rather relevant to prospective immigrants.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#266

Post by fireattack »

nelsonic wrote: post #229

Depending on your ability to work remotely, I would make the "case" that you should consider Portugal . Lisbon and Porto are super popular with ["digital nomad"] remote workers who work for international companies so earn in USD but spend [much less] in Euros for a superb lifestyle. There's a reason @paddycosgrave moved Web Summit to Lisbon. It's one of the cheapest cities in Europe and [unlike Barcelona] everyone sp…

Why did you italicize so many words?

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#267

Post by maxkwallace »

hnzix wrote: post #217
maxkwallace wrote: post #134

I am doing this in Taipei right now. The living costs are low and there is a thriving intellectual community, but there is definitely a language barrier. Most Taiwanese can speak enough English to be friendly and helpful (which they are), but not enough to have intellectual conversations. If you are willing to tolerate the language barrier and put in the time to find the people who can converse intellectually in Engl…

How concerned are the locals about the potential of getting "harmonized" by mainland China? I wouldn't want to be there if that goes down.

Generally very concerned, but it depends on who you talk to. It's extremely, extremely unlikely China would take any sort of violent military action to bring this about. More likely to continue be a long process of exerting geopolitical pressure over decades.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#268

Post by dathinab »

Kovah wrote: post #168

There are some smaller German cities like Göttingen which have - in my opinion - a high intellectual atmosphere because they are so called university-cities: lot's of students and academics in a rather small city. And, in comparison with big cities like Berlin or Munich, the rents are much cheaper: from what I know you pay 2/3 to half of the price for the same amount of space. Example: a flat with 55-60 qm is about 6…

Berlin only has high rents compared to Berlin a view years ago and some, uhm, small places ;)[1]. Compared to many European capital cities or at last other large cities in Germany Berlin rents are still quite ordinary or even cheap (through the 600-900€, for a 55-60m² are right in Madrid for example that would be more like 900-1500 and in Munich its 1500+).

[1] not sure how to express this, I mean just because it's a "small" place it's nor any worse just a bit different.

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#269

Post by galfarragem »

ur-whale wrote: post #263
nelsonic wrote: post #229

Depending on your ability to work remotely, I would make the "case" that you should consider Portugal . Lisbon and Porto are super popular with ["digital nomad"] remote workers who work for international companies so earn in USD but spend [much less] in Euros for a superb lifestyle. There's a reason @paddycosgrave moved Web Summit to Lisbon. It's one of the cheapest cities in Europe and [unlike Barcelona] everyone sp…

How is the income tax situation in Portugal?

Portuguese IRS: https://github.com/galfarragem/learning-notes/blob/master/no...

Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?

#270

Post by bandy008 »

actionowl wrote: post #247
bandy008 wrote: post #153

Philippines - It's the best place to be. Just imagine coding in front of a breath taking view. Everything is cheap. No BS. Plus the beautiful nature and everybody speaks english. Here's a quick testament about the Philippines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-tKE812-ZY

Philippines is indeed very cheap but that comes at a cost. I've been here a year and can share some struggles. Internet is OK at best. I have an internet line from three different providers, all three have been offline at the same time more than once, and speeds drop to dial-up or worse on my main line at least 2-3 times a month for hours at a time. I've observed this at multiple locations. "Brown outs" are pretty co…

I agree! When you come to the Philippines, skip Manila and go all the way to Cebu or anywhere Visayas area or Davao.

Internet?? Well yea! Depends on the area you're in. I have 50mbs on a fiber connection and no major problem so far. Except when I travel to nearby islands, then internet connection can be really bad.

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