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?

#511

Post by jpkeisala » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 10:26 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.

I have visited Cluj few times and stayed in hotel. Office life is international but the moment you step out the street it's Eastern Europe in terms of difficult to navigate in English. But everyone is nice. I assume living there would require learning the language. Local food is not interesting, if you value food. Look into Mediterranean direction. The city is nice but it is not cosmopolitan, but I think it might be moving that direction.

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

#512

Post by blocked_again » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 10:27 AM UTC

apexkid wrote: post #476

blocked_again wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only good thing about Banglore is that it has a very big tech community. But the wages are really low compared to the west. Traffic is just terrible. Sometimes it may take you 1 2 hours even to cover 1 KM. Its overpopulated and has too much pollution. Night life is nowehere close compared to SFO and so is the intellectual community. Again nothing to justify to move all over from SFO.

I have been living in Bangalore for 5 years and this is completely exaggerated opinion. - In no situation it will take 2 hours for a km unless there is a natural disaster period. - Bangalore is one of lesser polluted cities in India. Pollution index is mostly green. SFO is much better though in terms of particulate matter index. - Nightlife, i haven't experienced in SFO so will not comment. You can justify a move fro…

It's nowhere exaggerated. What part of Banglore do you live in? Try traveling in Bellandur at around 5 - 6 PM and see by yourselves. In most places it's almost impossible to predict whether you can cover as low as 10km - 15km even if you have 2 hours to spare[1]. Banglore is over populated with people everywhere. You should travel to west for a vactaion so that you know how bad a place is Banglore compared to western cities. It changed my persepctive when I did that. I also used to think Banglore was a place to settle. Not anymore.

Pollution masks are almost a necessity if you are in Banglore and care about your lungs[2]. There are traffic everywhere. Also have you seen Bellandur and other lakes of Banglore recently? Bellandur lake is the most polluted lake in India[3]. I dont even want to start on water scarcity.

> You can justify a move from SFO to BLR if you want a multitude cheaper place to live without losing out too much on the tech community.

He would be also be making an order of magnitude less. After working for some years and going back to US he would be having peanuts as savings. The tech community is also not anywhere good as SFO. What you see in SFO today you can expect to see in Banglore after a few years rebranded in a diffrent name.

And the nightlife and quality of life is just terrible when you compare to SFO. I don't understand why will anyone who is on their senses will move to Banglore from SFO.

[1] https://www.quora.com/Why-is-there-so-much-traffic-in-bangal...

[2] https://medium.com/@selfishaltruist/how-bad-is-bangalore-air...

[3]https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/02/bangalore-india-...

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

#513

Post by dharma1 » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 10:28 AM UTC

garyclarke27 wrote: post #482

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…

Yes Portugal is a good choice now, I moved here 1 year ago from UK because of various factors, Brexit, tax, quality of life etc also because I believe it will be a great location to recruit IT talent to. I live in Cascais which is a bit expensive, (still much cheaper than San Francisco of course) but has wonderful quality of life for family, Capital city amenities next to beach. Great infrastructure, motorways, ultra…

"Dividends are Tax free from the UK for 10 years" - can you share any more info on this?

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

#514

Post by galfarragem » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 10:30 AM UTC

hycaria wrote: post #451

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 qualifie…

> Universities in Portugal are not that great nor renowned.

I disagree. Universities are not the problem. General school is. As a rule of thumb, public universities are better than private ones and the opposite on general school.

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

#515

Post by asmosoinio » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 10:31 AM UTC

markdown wrote: post #495

garyclarke27 wrote: post #482

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes Portugal is a good choice now, I moved here 1 year ago from UK because of various factors, Brexit, tax, quality of life etc also because I believe it will be a great location to recruit IT talent to. I live in Cascais which is a bit expensive, (still much cheaper than San Francisco of course) but has wonderful quality of life for family, Capital city amenities next to beach. Great infrastructure, motorways, ultra…

> no Amazon Really? I live in a developing country middle of the Pacific Ocean and I regularly buy from Amazon with no issues. How come Portugal doesn't have Amazon?

I think that has to mean no Amazon Prime or similar?

I buy things from Amazon.de to Finland very often - often no extra cost for shipping and good prices. Also EUR prices without extra taxes for me.

So while Finland does not have "Amazon" (amazon.fi is a redirect to amazon.de) - I can still buy things from there very easily.

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

#516

Post by buboard » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 10:33 AM UTC

You asked about intellectual atmosphere, but most people here respond about architecture / cost and comfort of living. I would like to see more answers based on the culture that one is going to be living in, not just the cleaniness of apartments.

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

#517

Post by atilaneves » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 10:34 AM UTC

smueller1234 wrote: post #88

fipple wrote: post #68

The answer here is places that are COLD. For any type of city, the one in a colder place is cheaper. Minneapolis might be a good choice, or Chicago if you want a bigger atmosphere. You’ll have to put in elbow grease to create an intellectual milieu but it is there.

That cold-cheap bit is decidedly not applicable to Europe, by the way. Scandinavia is overall among the most expensive places in Europe. I'd imagine Switzerland is more expensive by a bit, but Oslo and Stockholm are brutal as well.

Switzerland isn't that cold. The weather in Geneva is basically identical to Paris.

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

#518

Post by simplyinfinity » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 10:34 AM UTC

kfk wrote: post #445

simplyinfinity wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mediocre roads indeed, but you can manage to get around the city by public transport. While public transit can be sometimes late, or some buss lines use old busses. it's A+ compared to US public transport, but not as great as the London or Paris (tho the metro is newer and cleaner than Paris). Public transport card for all lines for 1 year is 365 levs - 185 eur. Rent prices currently are on the high end and can run y…

long shot, but any chance you know a way to find short term rentals in the city center? I currently live in Lozenets and while I love it I’d prefer something more central like say Rakovski street

The only thing i can think of is AirBNB, but from what i've seen as prices there, it can be x2-3 more expensive per month, but also depends on your use case. Also try the more larger rental/property agencies like Mirela and Address, they might have few short-term apt.

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

#519

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 10:35 AM UTC

fipple wrote: post #68

The answer here is places that are COLD. For any type of city, the one in a colder place is cheaper. Minneapolis might be a good choice, or Chicago if you want a bigger atmosphere. You’ll have to put in elbow grease to create an intellectual milieu but it is there.

[deleted]

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

#520

Post by dejv » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 10:36 AM UTC

growlist wrote: post #494

dejv wrote: post #460

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:…

I live near Brighton and am moving away soon: house prices in Sussex pretty much anywhere with decent transport links are insane (the house I'm buying in the West Country would be more than double the price over here, around £1m!!), pollution is bad, there is drugs and crime, loads of the shops are just overpriced crap for idiot hipsters, and it's always crowded with tourists. It's such a shame because Sussex is love…

You can say that about any city of major size. If you live in Brighton, you don't have to visit Beach and clubs around Middle street (I guess this is where a lot of crime and fighting happen) and you dont have to go to Lanes and areas around Pavillion (hipster shops and tourists).

Brighton for me was more about open mic events, lots of concerts, hikes in nature, coffee shops and work. I barely seen any tourists.