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Ask HN: Where should I live?

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Re: Ask HN: Where should I live?

#11

Post by bedobi »

rosndo wrote: post #10
malux85 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah op listen to this, some areas of Barcelona are now very dangerous, I lived there for 3 months during the worst part of covid. Covid induced unemployment has spiked crime a lot. It was not unusual to see drug addicted shirtless guys carrying machetes walking through the streets first during the night and now during the day. Infrastructure is starting to suffer because the drug addicts are pulling the copper out o…

Not just “some areas”, our car got robbed while driving on C/ de Mallorca just 2 blocks from Sagrada Familia, a normally quiet area near the centre. Guys with knives surrounded the car and stabbed out the tires, pulled out whatever stuff they could get from the backseat. A couple of days later two guys in hoodies ripped my watch from my wrist after I stepped out to smoke next to a posh Eixample restaurant. Admittedly…

@rosndo @malux85 not sure if you're just trying to scare away another expat or if it's legit :P but if legit that doesn't sound good at all :( any other places in Spain you would recommend? Valencia and some other cities are pretty non-car centric too, no?

Re: Ask HN: Where should I live?

#12

Post by malux85 »

bedobi wrote: post #11
rosndo wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just “some areas”, our car got robbed while driving on C/ de Mallorca just 2 blocks from Sagrada Familia, a normally quiet area near the centre. Guys with knives surrounded the car and stabbed out the tires, pulled out whatever stuff they could get from the backseat. A couple of days later two guys in hoodies ripped my watch from my wrist after I stepped out to smoke next to a posh Eixample restaurant. Admittedly…

@rosndo @malux85 not sure if you're just trying to scare away another expat or if it's legit :P but if legit that doesn't sound good at all :( any other places in Spain you would recommend? Valencia and some other cities are pretty non-car centric too, no?

I dont know, I only lived in Barcelona sorry, but I lived there pre-covid for about 6 months, then moved to Germany for 8 months, then back to Barcelona for about 3-4 months ... after I went back the city was a LOT scarier.

Re: Ask HN: Where should I live?

#13

Post by rosndo »

bedobi wrote: post #11
rosndo wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just “some areas”, our car got robbed while driving on C/ de Mallorca just 2 blocks from Sagrada Familia, a normally quiet area near the centre. Guys with knives surrounded the car and stabbed out the tires, pulled out whatever stuff they could get from the backseat. A couple of days later two guys in hoodies ripped my watch from my wrist after I stepped out to smoke next to a posh Eixample restaurant. Admittedly…

@rosndo @malux85 not sure if you're just trying to scare away another expat or if it's legit :P but if legit that doesn't sound good at all :( any other places in Spain you would recommend? Valencia and some other cities are pretty non-car centric too, no?

Valencia isn’t so bad, but almost nobody speaks English. This is very helpful if you want to learn Spanish :)

The food scene in Valencia isn’t half as good as in Barcelona though, but the beach is infinitely better and life tends to be more relaxed.

Pre-COVID I would have recommended Barcelona to anybody.

Re: Ask HN: Where should I live?

#14

Post by p1esk »

Giorgi wrote: post #5
bachback wrote: post #3

check nomadlist.com. nomad style would be travel to all the ones you fancy and spend a few weeks there, then you'll know. one of the most favourite nomad places worldwide is thailand and bali. if you factor in costs work from home/paradise very likely gives a lot higher payoff than locating at tech hubs in terms of price/value. e.g. Chiang mai, Thailand frequently ranks #1 on nomadlist. living cost there is shown at…

$1000/month will make you live like king in Tbilisi and Georgian cuisine is unmatched worldwide. Also super cheap craft beer and wine.

Are many Russians moving there because of the sanctions?

Re: Ask HN: Where should I live?

#15

Post by bedobi »

spupe wrote: post #6

Out of your shortlist, I would recommend Lisbon. It's not as big but punches above its weight in most of your other criteria. The Brazilian cities you described do not have good public transport or bikes, and almost no foreigners. The advantage is that cost of living is very low, but Lisbon is also not that expensive as well.

Really appreciate this reply, I will bump Lisboa in my mental ranking then!

Re: Ask HN: Where should I live?

#16

Post by colourgarden »

You don't mention if you speak any languages other than English?

Whilst you'll get by OK in any large city with just English, some places are better than others. For example, in my experience, Lisbon (and Portugal in general) has a much higher level of English than Barcelona.

Maybe language isn't a huge concern for you but you still have a level of bureaucracy and settling in moving to any new place.

Re: Ask HN: Where should I live?

#17

Post by Megranium »

rosndo wrote: post #7

Barcelona has gone to shit in the past couple of years, it’s gone from a relatively safe city to one where it’s commonplace for knife-wielding gangs to rob your car in the stoplights. Pre-covid, it was a wonderful place to live (although outside of restaurants customer service is non-existent)

Hmm I don't agree, really, and I live in BCN, for 5 years now. People living here twice as long tell me how bad it was in the early 2000s, and it's nowhere like that today.

There's pickpocketing, sure, but it's not at all the hellhole you describe, seriously. Not sure where you got that from.

Re: Ask HN: Where should I live?

#18

Post by Ayesh »

Giorgi wrote: post #5
bachback wrote: post #3

check nomadlist.com. nomad style would be travel to all the ones you fancy and spend a few weeks there, then you'll know. one of the most favourite nomad places worldwide is thailand and bali. if you factor in costs work from home/paradise very likely gives a lot higher payoff than locating at tech hubs in terms of price/value. e.g. Chiang mai, Thailand frequently ranks #1 on nomadlist. living cost there is shown at…

$1000/month will make you live like king in Tbilisi and Georgian cuisine is unmatched worldwide. Also super cheap craft beer and wine.

I'd move to Georgia with absolutely no hesitation!

The life is surprisingly "slow", people are more relaxed (apart from the recent protests related to the incident we all are worried about), friendly faces, and like you said, the cuisine caught me off guard and turned out to be absolutely amazing!

Re: Ask HN: Where should I live?

#20

Post by Ayesh »

Why not Singapore? The tech scene there is amazing and inspiring, (too?) Warm, diverse, and very good public transportation. Heck, you can walk though neighborhoods if you fancy some sweating.

Unfortunately it's a little bit too car-centric despite the expensive prices of cars, and I find the culture to be a little bit "unhinged".

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