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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?

#451

Post by hycaria »

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…

I'm not really confident about the quality of the cultural life in Portugal (let alone Braga). Do musicians tour there ? What about the classical music offer (a good marker in my opinion of intense cultural places) ? How many art museums, do they host touring exhibitons ?

Also education is not very convincing (considering op might want a family). Universities in Portugal are not that great nor renowned. Many qualified young people go work abroad by lack of local opportunities. I've also heard that healthcare is messy if you can't pay. It doesn't sound like a healthy country to me.

I guess Portugal is good enough if you just want sun, decent food, cheap QoL and good internet, but I wouldn't consider it a thriving intellectual place by any means. But maybe in OP's words, good intellect = finding a sufficient concentration of other engineers. Then it might be enough.

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

#452

Post by andrepd »

isostatic wrote: post #274
rolleiflex wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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...

Have you been to instanbul? I agree with everything you said, but a country and its people are more than their ruler.

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

#453

Post by xyproto »

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.

This was in the context of having "an intellectual atmosphere", though.

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

#454

Post by kowdermeister »

loriverkutya wrote: post #352
kowdermeister wrote: post #145

Try Budapest https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?cou... Lots of stuff here to do and see, there are many expats all over the city. English speaking is low among Hungarians (¬20%), but in the inner city you won't have a problem with it. I'd try a couple of cities for a few weeks then decide, Prague is also very beautiful, but as others suggested Berlin rocks too.

Corruption is sky-high, the government is in a constant “we are waging a war” mode, currently against the immigrants, and the prime minister is turning the country into a dictatorship slowly. Burocracy is horrible, nobody speaks English. And it effects people pretty badly, most of them are negative and sour. Also, intellectually it is way behind Western Europe. Source: I lived in that city for 15 years, family is sti…

So true, but if you are foreigner here, you can let most of the shit go. It doesn't hurt to have a Hungarian speaking friend, I have to agree.

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

#456

Post by alvar0 »

madeofpalk wrote: post #423
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…

> There's a reason @paddycosgrave moved Web Summit to Lisbon. Because the tax payers are paying €110m for it? http://www.thejournal.ie/lisbon-web-summit-new-ten-year-deal...

Exactly, the same reason some hyperloop stuff is probably going to get done in southern Spain.

Europe is only good for short vacations and subsidies. Except maybe London. If they finally escape from the EUSSR

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

#457

Post by andrepd »

nelsonic wrote: post #331
galfarragem wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand skipping Porto and specially Lisbon as prices literally skyrocketed in last years. I also understand that Braga is maybe the cheapest relevant city in Portugal, but despite that I would pick Coimbra for the intellectual vibe.

Agreed, Lisbon and Porto have become more expensive in the last couple of years but still way more affordable than SF/NY etc. [Sadly] while AirBnB has made it easier for "tourists" to visit the cities it has accelerated the [ridiculous] house-price inflation, especially in short-term apartment/room rentals often pricing "locals" out of the market completely. Coimbra https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coimbra is a lovely c…

> Much Closer to the Porto international airport via Bus, Train or Uber/Taxi.

It's 50mins train and 15mins uber, from Coimbra to OPO.

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

#458

Post by lotsofpulp »

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…

I would take CT/IL/NJ off of any list just due to the situation of the state finances. Taxes are going to rise a lot in the next 10 years, and government services are going to be reduced to make their debt payments.

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

#459

Post by devang1994 »

graeham wrote: post #390

Expensive by UK standards, but cheap vs Bay Area: Cambridge UK. I've not been anywhere else that has the density of interesting people doing interesting stuff. London is not far if you need to break the bubble (and Stansted Airport even closer). Downsides: salaries are generally lower than SV (esp for technical work), Brexit uncertainty, weather is fairly average, limited outdoor sport options (other than running, ro…

Its just a bit boring if you are young. As a young student its fantastic but as a young professional, it can get monotonous

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

#460

Post by dejv »

I spent my 20s traveling around the world, working and living from many places. My favorites are (skiping cities already in this thread):

- Brighton, UK: awesome music scene, lot of activities, chill atmosfere. Good connection to London (- Brno, Czech Republic: my hometown and place where I decided to settle down after years of traveling. University city, great place for gastronomy, bar scene and coffee. Very cheap: you can live very confortably for 1200 USD/month. Good place when you want to hangout and when you earn money remote. Close to Vienna or Prague.

- Cluj, Romania: a bit more off the beaten path feel. A bit run down, but having good youngful atmosfere. It is very cheap, good food, easy to meet new people and find friends. English is widely spoken among young people.

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