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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?

#621

Post by dtornabene »

assblaster wrote: post #433
tropdrop wrote: post #147

If you would like to remain in United States and do not mind having proper seasons, I would strongly consider Chicago, the last affordable big city in the United States. University of Chicago pulls a robust intellectual community (81 Nobel Laureates), but there is also a deep intellectual history around the arts and music that transcends the work of the university - something that I'm not sure I can say for a place l…

Chicago is a terrible option: Major parts of the city are off limits to white people due to threats from gangs on racial basis, but also random violence from crowds of "youths" who troll around nicer areas of the city looking for victims. Insane traffic, but if you want public transportation, you can look forward to dirty buses and subways, and again, threats of violence directed at you. Miserable long winters. High…

So, in case this doesn't get completely flagged, which it should, its also dead wrong. I lived in Chicago for years, family from Chicago, so I've been coming there literally since I was born. The cost of living is low, and the idea that "major parts of the city are off limits to white people" is exactly as absurd and racist as it sounds. I worked on the south side, and am painfully white. I biked and walked around the south side and have gone to meetings on the south side and west side. People pushing this are either racist or simply trolling. Its a wonderful, cosmopolitan city, with dozens (and dozens) of languages spoken, quiet friendly neighborhoods to live in. The only neigborhood I've ever personally had trouble in was Wrigleyville, and I'm going to shock people here, but it isn't people of color making it difficult. I lived in Jeff Park, up and down Milwaukee, Wrigleyville, and Evanston (Not Chi, but close). Its a great city to live and work in and I miss it dearly.

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

#622

Post by milaresearcher »

randomsearch wrote: post #615
HelgeSeetzen wrote: post #610

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Montreal is a great choice indeed. I am originally from Europe (Germany, short time in Holland) and have built tech companies on the West Coast (Vancouver, SF). After a decade on the West Coast, I moved to Montreal in 2010. Really enjoyable city with a great mix of high quality of life, culture and massive diversity (which in my opinion - even more so that universities - is the cause of the "intellectual" environment…

What's "deep tech"?

By deep tech he means tech companies backed by patents or defensible intellectual property. Technology businesses enabled by research or new ideas, not another chat app.

He was a research physicist that worked on developing High-Dynamic Range screens, so he's interested in businesses kinda like that.

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

#623

Post by fileeditview »

dathinab wrote: post #280
CalRobert wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The complete elimination of auto expenses helps a lot. And frankly, it's hard to put a price on 6 weeks' _guaranteed_ vacation per year. And true, salaries are lower, but 60-80%?? Obviously headhunters and published ranges are to be taken with a grain of salt but a HH was trying to entice me with 90k in Berlin for data engineering a while ago and that, while not SV money, is better than "60-80% less"

It's min. 4 Weeks (by law) + national/regional holidays, which differ based on region in Germany and might overlap with Saturday/Sunday if anyone is interested in it. It's still pretty nice.

With a higher education you won't find any job offer with less than 25 days of vacation, usually >= 28. In tech most companies offer 30 days. I've seen some offering 38..

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

#625

Post by nik736 »

niccolop wrote: post #561
mhjas wrote: post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have had my eye on Portugal for a number of years, but there are a few things that seem less than ideal. * Cost of living for a good quality of life still being relatively high or rising, especially in Lisbon and other tourist/expat areas. And a second tier city in Portugal is much less of a clear choice since that is comparable to a lot more places. * The tax system being very complicated. One can always argue abo…

Spain offers you a mixture of international cities, and technology hubs. There will never be another "Silicon Valley", but as an alternative where you can find stimulating and rewarding work, I'd argue it's better than Portugal.

> I'd argue it's better than Portugal.

Why is it better?

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

#626

Post by nelsonic »

balladeer wrote: post #565
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…

> Portugal is very welcoming to US citizens What about people from other part of the world? Asking since you live there. Any resource you would recommend to have a general idea?

Good question! I'm simply highlighting the fact that US citizens are welcome in PT because there's always been a "special relationship" between the two countries for various historical reasons.

Portugal is one of the most welcoming countries to people of all nations. You will never be unwelcome here regardless of where you are from. There are communities of people from the Middle East, Nordics, Indian Sub-continent, China, Africa (South America, obvs) and if you go out to the "trendy" parts of town and listen to the range/variety of accents it's every bit as "cosmopolitan" as London's Shoreditch/Soho! Just book a trip and see for yourself! ;-)

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

#627

Post by cpfohl »

ajuc wrote: post #326
msadowski wrote: post #22

If you feel adventurous you can consider moving to Poland. I would recommend Krakow. Most young people will speak English, there are couple of top Universities there (PK and AGH for technical schools, UJ for humanities, medicine and some tech too and UE for economics). The tech scene seems to be constantly growing, with lots of international companies having their offices there. As a senior dev in Poland you can earn…

Poland is very cheap, English is common (among 35 and younger), and in university cities the atmosphere is nice. Deoending on what you value more I recommend: - Kraków (biggest startup scene, biggest city out of these, most active cultural scene, but also crowded with tourists, worst air quality and slightly more dangerous than the others because of football clubs violence) - Wrocław (almost as big tech scene, less t…

My (American) parents moved to all to Wroclaw when I was 5 for 6 years. I have been back several times. Each time it's like a time machine racing forward.

I love Wroclaw, I'd move back in a heart beat if it weren't for family here in the states.

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

#628

Post by jpkeisala »

siquick wrote: post #90

Barcelona - one of the best all-around cities in the world (climate/culture/architecture/world proximity/quality of living/beach/mountains) and a growing tech scene. Very easy to pick up development work here for a local company, you won't be required to know Spanish/Catalan for a job. The only downsides are that the pay is relatively low (€43k average for SE) and it can be quite difficult to find a place to live wit…

I cannot think better place in Europe than Barcelona to live. I used to live there for 5 years. Now I am living in Copenhagen. In Barcelona weather is perfect, great food and culture. Good connections everywhere. Cosmopolitan. However, recent nationalism movement on the region puts toll on all this.

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

#629

Post by tmux314 »

There are lots of college towns throughout the US where property is cheap, people are friendly and well-educated, and there is a lot of access to culture. Chapel Hill, NC comes to mind. I've heard Ann Arbor, Wellesley, Corvallis, and Fort Collins are all great. Obviously, there are many more college towns that worth noting.

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

#630

Post by fileeditview »

ulfw wrote: post #620
donjoe wrote: post #483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to add my bit here: - Public smoking in public indoor places is completely banned in Bavaria, including pubs, restaurants and bars. - No one will forbid you to buy your own dryer in case you're not happy with hanging your clothes on clotheslines. We do have a dedicated clotheslines room in our building thus I never needed a dryer myself (and my clothes are getting dry within 2 days even in the winter) - ACs are…

Drivers Licenses in Germany haven't been unlimited ("for life time") for a while now. https://www.adac.de/infotestrat/adac-im-einsatz/motorwelt/be... "Driving licence validity in Germany. Driving licences are valid for 15 years. Licences issued before 2013, lose their validity at the latest on 19 January 2033."

This article does however say that after this period you can just request a new one for 24€. No further tests are required.
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