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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?

#851

Post by mindcrime »

srj wrote: post #837
cbames89 wrote: post #708

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…

For family reasons we've been considering a move into the area, but looking at job listings things seem scant. Wondering if any commenters here have input of what's available there.

Where are you looking? What kind of position?

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

#852

Post by ranchdubois »

ams6110 wrote: post #832

If you're looking to get totally away from the big urban experience, look at any midwest USA town where a state university is the primary anchor. Politics will be liberal, if that's what you're lookging for. Cost of living generally low. Many more cultural and intellectual activities than other towns of similar size. Public schools will be good.

Sounds like you just said Columbus OH

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

#853

Post by me551ah »

blocked_again wrote: post #734
me551ah wrote: post #711

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Woah, so much hate for Delhi ! I personally like the weathers in Delhi , there is a good variety of seasons in Delhi. Winters are my favourite part of Delhi weather. Some people like changing seasons and some people like a particular weather. The safety aspect is a bit blown out of proportion tbh. Statistically Delhi doesn't fare any worse than any modern city. United States has above 5x the number of reported rapes…

Crime rates doent mean anything. Kerala has the highest crime rate in India. It just means people are not afraid to go to police and report the crime. On the other hand Kerala must be one of the safest states to live in India. Delhi is a really dangerous city. Especially for a foreigner. Crime is extremely common in Delhi. > Well OP was looking for something out of SFO, salaries in europe are pretty much comparable t…

Crime rate is the only statictic that should matter IMO. With a literacy rate of 82% in delhi, it's highly unlikely that crime gets underreported. But how many cities in kerala has more than 5 million. Delhi has 24 million, SF isn't even 1 million. The absolutely number of crime is always going to be higher, but as long as you consider the crime rate it's low. I've had multiple foreigner friends from dubai and US, and none of them felt that crime is extremely common. People do try to get out more money, but you can always bargain. >Crime rates doent mean anything. Kerala has

It's not uncommon to make $60k if you are from a top tier college and in a top tier company. There are so many software engineers that you get it across the payscale. Uber, Directi, Google, Rivigo etc all pay quite a lot. >Its defintely not comparable. Almost every beginner software engineers in Europe makes $60K easily

Again it's relative, for the average person yes it's lower. But if you are in the top tier ( which an engineer from SF is ), then they would be in the top 1% of earners in the city which allows them to live a lot better. How many people in SF do you know who live alone in a high rise 3BHK floor, have a maid+driver and can get food delivered at 3AM? There are also way more good looking women in Delhi than SFO ;) >I dont think Software Engineers in Delhi have a better quality of life than Engineers in SFO.

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

#854

Post by pech0rin »

Technetium wrote: post #816
cbames89 wrote: post #708

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…

If you think you're going to have a good time living in the Carolinas, then I genuinely hope that you don't plan on being black or gay outside of a major city. There is a ton of bigotry and racism still present there, and the politicians in charge are happy to see it continue.

Not sure why this user is being downvoted, what they say is true. I lived for 5+ years in the Triangle and there is a lot of racism/bigotry/misogyny present there. Its one of the main reasons I left, so it shouldn't be left out of the conversation.

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

#855

Post by fauigerzigerk »

wprapido wrote: post #841
fauigerzigerk wrote: post #801

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Osijek seems a bit small for a tech hub with a population of just over 100,000

The university is a gamechanger. Osijek also doesn't feel provincial at all. Mind you, I'm a big city kid, still I love it here. http://softwarecity.hr/clanovi/

That's good to know, thanks.

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

#856

Post by davidf18 »

Israel serves your needs.

I have worked consulting there and almost everybody in the country speaks English, certainly those involved with Tech.

Tel Aviv is a great Mediterranean City (palm trees, great beaches, wonderful cafe's) with great places to discuss ideas.

Intel has 11,000 employees there. IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, Qualcomm, Broadcomm, Google, Apple, ...all have major engineering facilities there.

Many of the Intel CPUs, much the Apple CPUs, the Face ID recognition technology is from Israel. Intel is converting a 22 nm fab to 10 nm fab there.

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

#857

Post by nellyspageli »

Berlin! Berlin is by far the cheapest capital in Western Europe. You can get a nice sit down meal in a restaurant for 5-6 euros in the center of the city and rent a nice apartment for 500 euros a month. There is a large tech scene and everyone speaks english here. It's sometimes hard to practice German because English is so common!

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

#858

Post by virtualwhys »

Not sure about the thriving intellectual community, but Chiang Mai certainly has a sizable digital nomad population, and is absolutely dirt cheap.

I rented a beautiful studio with a view of the Doi Suthep (mountain bordering the city) for $100 USD/month last winter. Since Buddhism reigns there are loads of monks, which means vegetarian fare is easy to come by, and is similarly cheap (anywhere from $1 to $5 for a meal). Everyone eats out, it's really hard not to meet people.

Internet is very fast (up to 500mb/sec) and power is stable (no power cuts in 3 months).

Of course the timezone difference is substantial if your employer is USA based, but if you can make that work Chiang Mai is hard to beat.

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