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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?

#701

Post by kowdermeister »

ssijak wrote: post #411
loriverkutya wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

And Hungarian language is the worst ever.

Depends on the point of view. For example you can swear for a very long time and not repeat a word :)

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

#702

Post by keehun »

amm wrote: post #358

Vienna, Austria. It has been ranked the most liveable city in the world for some years in a row. Cost of living is low compared to the European average; you can rent a medium-sized apartment for 600-700€/month. Everyone speaks English. Co-workers from Spain never bothered with German, because they can get anything done in English. Viennas public transport system is cheap (30€/month) and excellent. You can get anywher…

How is the visa situation if given a remote US-based job?

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

#703

Post by rodelrod »

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…

> 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 ?

Lisbon is quite good in all of the above since it is well placed on the European circuit for performing arts and has plenty of smallish but very high quality museums. As a music student there I got to hear all of the greats and frankly I got to attend relatively more high-quality concerts there than what I get around to living in Paris, since in Lisbon I didn't have to book everything 6 months in advance. (I'm not complaining about Paris, it's awesome.)

Braga on the other hand has a lot less cultural activity as is normal for a small city. However, it does have an incredibly rich history, plenty of ancient monuments (mostly churches) and is a 45-minute drive from Porto.

If you're talking about the bubbling native culture that you can find in cities like London or New York, than no, Portugal isn't the hottest place. But the SV isn't either.

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

#704

Post by [deleted] »

amm wrote: post #358

Vienna, Austria. It has been ranked the most liveable city in the world for some years in a row. Cost of living is low compared to the European average; you can rent a medium-sized apartment for 600-700€/month. Everyone speaks English. Co-workers from Spain never bothered with German, because they can get anything done in English. Viennas public transport system is cheap (30€/month) and excellent. You can get anywher…

[deleted]

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

#706

Post by ChefboyOG »

If you want to remain in a major US city with a lower cost of living, great quality of life, and thriving intellectual community, I'd strongly recommend checking out Chicago.

While it's not as cheap as many cities you'll find abroad, it is extremely affordable compared to US cities. The food is fantastic and affordable. There is a wonderful intellectual community. The nightlife is amazing, if you're into that. It's also possible to find lots of space, as the city is geographically massive with many different neighborhoods with diverse vibes.

The big downside is the winter. However, if you know how to dress for the weather and don't live somewhere incredibly remote, you can mitigate a lot of that inconvenience.

Again, you'll be paying more than you would in Thailand, but for the US it's really fantastic.

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

#707

Post by BugsJustFindMe »

amm wrote: post #358

Vienna, Austria. It has been ranked the most liveable city in the world for some years in a row. Cost of living is low compared to the European average; you can rent a medium-sized apartment for 600-700€/month. Everyone speaks English. Co-workers from Spain never bothered with German, because they can get anything done in English. Viennas public transport system is cheap (30€/month) and excellent. You can get anywher…

Vienna would be a lot nicer if they didn't still allow smoking in bars and restaurants.

"Just don't go to the smoking places."

A very large percentage of the adult population in Vienna still smokes tobaccco. When I was there in 2017 it felt like there were no non-smoking places.

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

#708

Post by cbames89 »

I'd highly recommend the triangle area in North Carolina. In Raleigh, there are a large number of tech companies, RHE, Cisco, IBM, Unreal Engine, just to name a few. It has the second highest % of computer science PhDs, and it's home to NC State, Duke University, and UNC. It's also a cultural hotspot for Blues creativity. Many of the best contemporary blues artists are located here in the triangle. The cost of living is relatively low. The rent I paid for 3 months in Redwood City, would have paid my mortgage here for 14 months. The southern part of NC is an agricultural center and thus food is relatively inexpensive. We usually spend ~500 a month.

In addition, Durham, in particular, is a melting pot of Northerners and Southerners. This has lead to some wonderful conversations where regional and cultural expectations were questioned.

Lastly, there are several startups here that are actively recruiting the best people away from the groupthink and costs that are currently dominating the bay area.

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

#710

Post by rout39574 »

Gainesville, Florida has low cost of living and the University of Florida.

You're within what the eastern seaboard considers "A commute" of three major metropolitan areas: Jacksonville, Tampa, and Orlando.

It's about as far away from the ocean as you can get in Florida, which decreases the hurricane risk.

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