Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere? • Hacker News Board

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

#431

Post by kgabis » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:32 AM UTC

flavor8 wrote: post #65

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…

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

If you ignore weekly nazi rallies and all the book burning it's not such a bad place./s

Seriously though, Poland is one of the safest place to live in right now, especially if you're a foreigner. Media's portrayal of current political situation in Poland is HUGELY exaggerated.

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

#432

Post by luka-birsa » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:32 AM UTC

A couple of suggestions:

- If you enjoy going out, like laidback attitude - Berlin. Not super cheap, but way cheaper than SF.

- If you like the sun, sea, surfing - Portugal.

- If you like outdoors, security, ecology, arts - Ljubljana (Slovenia).

I'm biased since I'm a Slovene, but work-life balance is insane in Slovenia, the environment is super clean, everything is super safe (as in no murders). If you're remoting you'll be earning top dollar, but even mediocre senior tech job will net you enough to support a family living in Ljubljana and live very comfortably (long vacations, travel, eating out, nice apartment)...

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

#433

Post by assblaster » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:32 AM UTC

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 cost of living.

Horrible politics, rampant corruption and mismanagement.

You'd be better served in a suburb of Chicago, but you'll still be affected by statewide corruption and mismanagement and high taxes.

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

#434

Post by maephisto » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:33 AM UTC

Arkight wrote: post #330

victorpascu wrote: post #289

Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Per month: Rent is 500-600 EUR max (worst case unless you're actively looking to splurge), with the average going around 250-300 or so. You can cover food and taxes at a basic level on another 300. Of course, YMMV if you only order restaurant food and such, but if you stop by a supermarket every now and then you're set to go as low as 600 EUR/mth to live comfortably. I got by on 400 when I reall…

I heard that Romania have great internet speed, especially comparing to fellow nations in Eastern Europe. However..... what about its stability? BTW what about food? I am picking a location for doing remote job next few year in Europe, now it seems that Romania should be part of my short list. Like, I really love to eat, so it would be nice to know whether Cluj-Napoca have a diverse catering service.

Romania has great local food! But not so much when it comes to international cuisine - it's either bad or very expensive. Internet is fast and stable and on top of that super cheap, compare with other UE countries. I'd recommend RO if you enjoy nature, specially the mountain/rural side.

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

#435

Post by distances » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:33 AM UTC

alphakappa wrote: post #406

isostatic wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Istanbul (and all of Turkey, obv.) is run by a dictator who tortures detainees, and arbitarilly arrests journalists and human rights workers https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/europe-and-central-asia...

The country is more than its government. If you’ve been to Istanbul, you would know that it’s a wonderful place. Should we shun the country and its people because they have been burdened with a bad ruler? We should look in a mirror first before passing such harsh judgment.

> Should we shun the country and its people because they have been burdened with a bad ruler?

You don't need to shun the people even if you shun the country.

I feel it's already very widespread to avoid any visits to Turkey and Russia (among others obviously), though it's hard to say how much of it is because of the political situation, and how much because of perceived instability. Personally, I would like to see Hagia Sophia but I'm unlikely to visit as long as Turkey stays in the current dictatorial road.

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

#436

Post by raverbashing » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:33 AM UTC

yorwba wrote: post #386

tetrazine wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true. Lots of other mentions of Germany in this thread with good points. The downsides to Germany that Americans and Canadians (and to a lesser extent British) might perceive: - Constant store closures. Almost all Sundays and numerous holidays, almost all stores, including groceries, are closed. Don't forget to get milk or you have to trek to the central train station. - Very bad international food. Even in m…

> - Serious environmental policies, which would be admirable if it weren't for the Autobahn and all the coal that Germany burns. Have fun drying your sheets and towels on clotheslines in the middle of winter and don't expect AC during the summer. I'm not sure whether you're trying to imply causality between environmental policies and the prevalence of clothes dryers and AC, but you can certainly get those things (alt…

Oh yeah, Germans "love" the heat

Their attitude towards AC are offset by how early and high they turn the heat on in the year.

But I never had to dry stuff out in the cold. (Lack of AC is annoying though). You might get that if you Airbnb a place from some old lady though.

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

#437

Post by paraschopra » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:34 AM UTC

quantummkv wrote: post #201

Have you considered Pune in India? The area has an excellent tech scene with both established companies and startups. It has excellent universities and the area has a lot of students and institutions. Everyone knows English in here. The area itself is has lots of beautiful places around for trekking and exploring if you are into that sort of thing, especially in the monsoon season. And it's cheap. Really cheap. For 2…

In terms of quality of living, Pune is perhaps the best city in India. (According to govt rankings and my personal experience of living in various cities in India).

However, that said, there's no intellectual energy. The city is more like a laid-back town. Tech scene also doesn't compare to Bangalore.

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

#438

Post by paraschopra » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:35 AM UTC

iopuy wrote: post #394

quantummkv wrote: post #201

Have you considered Pune in India? The area has an excellent tech scene with both established companies and startups. It has excellent universities and the area has a lot of students and institutions. Everyone knows English in here. The area itself is has lots of beautiful places around for trekking and exploring if you are into that sort of thing, especially in the monsoon season. And it's cheap. Really cheap. For 2…

Do I have anything to worry about in Pune as a female engineer? I read about Pune on the net and it sounds nice, just want to make sure the community (tech and other) are as accepting as SFO. Thanks for the suggestion. Cheers!

Pune is safe for women. Yes, the tech community is accepting of female engineers.

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

#439

Post by watoc » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:35 AM UTC

galfarragem wrote: post #318

nelsonic wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good question. If you work for a local company income tax is "steep". see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Portugal Portugal has followed the "Nordics" model when it comes to taxes; income is taxed higher but services (healthcare, schools, roads and other infrastructure] is much better than in the US [or most of the rest of the world for that matter!]. The much cheaper lifestyle in Portugal more than makes…

> paying yourself/co-founders [Tax Free] dividends. I'm not a tax expert but I don't think you can do it. Dividends are not tax free. You have to pay 28%(IRS) + ~20% (IRC) so in the end you pay more than a regular freelancer (for salaries below €80K). edit: except if you are a non-habitual resident..

As a non-habitual resident in Portugal or Spain, it seems that the dividends are tax free if they come from a foreign source but you still have to pay taxes in the country of origin [1].

So maybe if you set up your company in another tax friendly country, you would be able to pay your corporate tax and taxes on your dividends there.

[1]: http://www.newco.pro/blog/en/portugal-or-spain-two-tax-regim...

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

#440

Post by kfk » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:35 AM UTC

toddkazakov wrote: post #173

larodi wrote: post #69

Check Bulgaria's Sofia capital - is top notch. Lots of concerts, events, bars, meetups, conferences, sports facilities. Is still growing lot in terms of IT, hundreds of job postings, major companies such as VMWare, HPs, Codix, SAP all have big offices here - check Linkedin. senior positions after taxes pay 1000-2000EU. Rents are 400-600EU for a very decent central place 80m^2 + furniture. 4 mountains around the city,…

You can find senior positions up to 5000-6000EU. That's the good part. Unfortunately, I wouldn't call it a city with a good intellectual atmosphere. I suspect it's one of the worst places if ranked by this factor - it's full with sketchy people in sketchy "businesses", corruption and low level of education. Disclosure: I'm Bulgarian who used to live in UK and France, and now considering emigrating again due to the re…

Hi there, Sofia is not like, say, Munich, but it’s chilled, people are friendly and there is a good IT community. It’s not that I disagree with you, but you can find your way around as a foreigner here.

Disclosure: I got almost burned out and heavily depressed after living 4 years in Munich where everything is perfect but I could not quite accept that.