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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?

#681

Post by CalRobert »

sneak wrote: post #603
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"

Yes, competitive salaries in business centers are 3x higher in the US. It is possible you are not acquainted with current prices.

3x isn't really 60-80% though? I understand fb median salaries are 240k usd rightnow, alphabet about 190k usd. Non-faang a fair bit lower. So offers of 70-100k eur in europe, doable in the more expensive bits, would be more like half-ish.

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

#682

Post by baby »

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.

There are very good restaurants in Cluj. Check Baracca, Da Pino, Bujole, Roata, etc.

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

#683

Post by davidscolgan »

reustle wrote: post #562
davidscolgan wrote: post #138

I've recently moved to Chicago and am thoroughly loving it. There are tons of programming meetups here, seems pretty progressive, super good public transportation (at least for the US) and costs seem to be mostly reasonable. My studio apartment is about $1k a month in a nice part of town right next to a train stop. I really like that since Chicago is the third largest city in the country, you can probably find just a…

Curious to hear your thoughts after winter

Ha! I spent about a year in Chicago a few years back and got the full winter experience. I actually like the cold and snow, so I wasn't bothered too much. I was the digital nomad who went to Lithuania in November and December and somehow it didn't occur to me that I was setting myself up for endless twilight (and ended up really enjoying it anyway).

That's definitely something to consider though if you need the sun. I found that having access to the train makes it way easier to get around in the snow compared to having to drive everywhere, but YMMV for sure.

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

#684

Post by ianai »

dsiegel2275 wrote: post #655

This is easy. Pittsburgh. Consistently ranked as a top city in the US, and world, to live in, in no small part due to the comparatively cheap cost of home prices, rent, and living in general. For example, there are nice neighborhoods in the city where one can buy a three bedroom, 2000sq foot house for With Carnegie Mellon University here, the 'intellectual' and more specifically the tech scene is thriving. I work for…

What is the driver of the local economy? Ie most people wind up working at/in _____ .

How hard is it to find good doctors and red Chile.

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

#686

Post by baby »

namdnay wrote: post #291
the_clarence wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice is probably the last place I would go to in France. Bordeaux and Montpellier are much nicer places.

I guess it depends on what your criteria are. Bordeaux is a lot wetter than Nice, and the extremes in Montpellier can be quite harsh. There are no mountains near Bordeaux, and you need to drive a good 30-45mn out of Montpellier to get anywhere nice. I completely agree that the night life and cultural scene is far better in student cities such as Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, Montpellier etc

I lived in Lyon almost all my life and I wouldn't call it a student city. It's pretty boring.

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

#687

Post by fafournier »

mahasvin wrote: post #80

Scotland. Most definitively, outskirts of Edinburgh.

Definitely so, nice atmosphere, good transport, both city, country and also international planes, a couple of universities with good ranking and an active academic life. Even in the city center life remains not too expensive! In my opinion, a bit less of a tech scene and more of an academic scene, but this can only be for the better!

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

#688

Post by pbhjpbhj »

ansible wrote: post #601
rb666 wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahaa Istanbul a good intellectual atmosphere? A country run by a lying, corrupt, refuge-bombing despot. Why on EARTH would you invite anyone over.

And how is that any better than in the USA right now?

Trump isn't imprisoning 10s of thousands by edict yet, is he?

>"[...] 134,000 people in Turkey have been sacked, including 7,300 academics and 4,300 judge and prosecutors in the nine months since the failed coup in which there is little evidence that any of them knew anything about or were otherwise involved. Some 231 journalists are in jail and 149 media outlets have been shut down, while 95,500 people have been detained and 47,600 arrested under emergency laws." (https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/turkey-erdogan-referend...)

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

#689

Post by welcome_dragon »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #548

I am living in Urbana/Champaign Illinois for a few years for a job. The university here is one of the best engineering schools in the world and the whole area has a lot to do: meetups, entrepreneurship centers, culture, and is an easy drive to Chicago and St Louis. I will miss this place when my wife and I return to Sedona Arizona next year.

Plus there's Lil Porgy's
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