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Ask HN: What's the best place in Europe to live and work cheaply?

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Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in Europe to live and work cheaply?

#81

Post by jsoo4 »

bluedevil2k wrote: post #32
briggers wrote: post #10

I'm in Sofia, Bulgaria right now, doing contract work for international clients. Rent is generally very cheap, 250EU/mo for a central apartment (12mo lease). I am staying here only a month however, so am paying a lot more. Eating out, beer etc is very cheap. Numbeo gets it about right. Amusingly, most Bulgarians I speak to ask why I would want to come to Bulgaria of all places. I guess it's like many places: great fu…

Not the original poster, but I lived in Istanbul for a month a few years ago. I found the people to be the most friendly I've ever encountered in my travels, probably against the expectations of most Americans. Try to live on the European side, north of the Golden Horn, in the Taksim area.

1 month is visiting, not living.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in Europe to live and work cheaply?

#82

Post by kephra »

moonfern wrote: post #80
pyvpx wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what are the VISA requirements like for someone from a western country (say, the US or Canada)? If I wanted to live in Germany for a full year, is there a way to do so working independently (i.e. without a German corporation sponsoring a work VISA)? thanks.

Yes, they have the "artist/self-employment visa" More info: http://4dayvisa.tumblr.com/ I would recommend Munich nice village with a good climate in the southern part of Germany.

Munich is extremely expensive, the natives there are right wing and known to be unfriendly to foreigners, who do not speak Bavarian. Recommending Munich to foreigners is like recommending southern US states to black people.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in Europe to live and work cheaply?

#83

Post by adyus »

briggers wrote: post #10

I'm in Sofia, Bulgaria right now, doing contract work for international clients. Rent is generally very cheap, 250EU/mo for a central apartment (12mo lease). I am staying here only a month however, so am paying a lot more. Eating out, beer etc is very cheap. Numbeo gets it about right. Amusingly, most Bulgarians I speak to ask why I would want to come to Bulgaria of all places. I guess it's like many places: great fu…

Be prepared for more of the same in Romania. Just like most of Eastern Europe, lovely place to visit, horrible place to live long-term.

That being said, hit me up if you're in Bucharest :)

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in Europe to live and work cheaply?

#84

Post by zalew »

eCa wrote: post #36
zalew wrote: post #23

define cheap , but: Warsaw (I may be obviously biased). Berlin. beautiful Praha (no idea how the tech market looks like there though).

How would you rate Krakow compared to Warsaw? Numbeo says it's a bit cheaper[1]? [1] http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?coun...

Basically every place in Poland is cheaper than Warsaw. Comparing any Polish city to Warsaw economically will give the obvious same results on every aspect, but these cities are completely different breeds of horse. Krakow is more visually appealing and is loved for its historical and cultural value, and a kind of bohemian vibe. Business has boomed significantly during the last decade down there and it's getting more attractive. I've heard it faces serious pollution problems, and in some areas crime is more significant than in Warsaw (which in general is a pretty safe place). When it comes to 'big city life', making money and riding on the fast lane in the land of opportunities, Warsaw is considered that place (saying it's the NY of Poland would be a bit of a stretch, but you get my point). As for the general vibe, Warsaw is the kind of big city you love or hate with a passion, there is no middle ground. You need to learn it and it will be for you what you want it to be. So, whether you're more happy here or there depends on what you are really looking for.

For cheaper city alternatives, I've heard a lot of positives about Wroclaw, but I honestly don't know much about it.

Disclaimer: I'm locally patriotic, but that said I sincerely believe Warsaw is the place to be, YMMV.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in Europe to live and work cheaply?

#85

Post by ErsatzVerkehr »

nolok wrote: post #50

Question for the people answering: how do you handle revenu/salary taxes ? I see no mention of it in any post, do you keep paying in your home country, or do you pay in each countries ?

For the case of normal income, usually income tax is paid to the country where you are working. The U.S. also claims the ability to tax the income of U.S. citizens working in other countries, but for incomes below $97k/year the Foreign Income Exclusion prevents double taxation.

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Forei...

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in Europe to live and work cheaply?

#86

Post by DrJokepu »

nolok wrote: post #50

Question for the people answering: how do you handle revenu/salary taxes ? I see no mention of it in any post, do you keep paying in your home country, or do you pay in each countries ?

In the EU you pay income tax in the member state where you have earned your income.

Some countries of the world (notably the United States of America) require its citizens and permanent residents to pay income tax on foreign earned income as well (in some cases). No EU member states have such requirement.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in Europe to live and work cheaply?

#87

Post by kephra »

Guest98130 wrote: post #68
pyvpx wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what are the VISA requirements like for someone from a western country (say, the US or Canada)? If I wanted to live in Germany for a full year, is there a way to do so working independently (i.e. without a German corporation sponsoring a work VISA)? thanks.

Germany has a freelance visa that'll allow you to stay in the country for a year or longer. It's not the easiest to obtain, but do a quick search on Google and you'll find information on the process.

Thanks - thats new to me - I'll investigate it. But I fear 1-2 years are not enough to be interesting for most people. Thats why those I know used the marriage trick.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in Europe to live and work cheaply?

#89

Post by varsketiz »

Check out Vilnius (I'm obviously biased, but bear with me), Lithuania:

Cheap:

* Cheap rent. 500eu should get you a decent flat in the city centre without much research

* Cheap cabs. Cabs that take you around will rarely cost more than 3-4eu

* Cheap transportation options with Ryanair and Wizzair

* Cheap internet and communications

Not many other places will offer this great quality of life for ~1500eu/month. Obviously, you can get around much much cheaper, but I'd say that 1500 - 2000 eu/month is the sweet spot

Good:

* Fastest internet in Europe. Seriously

* People speak english. Everyone under 30 will be able to speak english to you. Might be a little harder to communicate to the older folk without knowing lithuanian/russian

* Growing tech community. Regular meetups for ruby / php / js / java / .net usergroups + the biggest developer conference in the Baltics is coming very soon - http://buildstuff.lt/

* Great dinning options. Lunch in my favorite places, some of which have award-winning chef's, will start at 5eu (you can find lunch deals from 3eu). Evening dinning options are great too

* One of the largest old-town's in Northern Europe. Very cozy

* Funs bars. Can't speak about clubs too much, but there are plenty of bars with cheap beer and great crowd

* Lots of interesting stuff to explore within 100km radius - old castles, gorgeous lakes, mighty forests

Winters can get a bit cold and dark, especially if you are used to southern climates. Best weather from April to October.

Some pictures - http://curiouseggs.com/beautiful-lithuania-25-wonderful-phot...

Re: Ask HN: What's the best place in Europe to live and work cheaply?

#90

Post by ncc88 »

kephra wrote: post #82
moonfern wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they have the "artist/self-employment visa" More info: http://4dayvisa.tumblr.com/ I would recommend Munich nice village with a good climate in the southern part of Germany.

Munich is extremely expensive, the natives there are right wing and known to be unfriendly to foreigners, who do not speak Bavarian. Recommending Munich to foreigners is like recommending southern US states to black people.

There are more black people in the southern US than any other region, your analogy does not match up and is woefully ignorant.
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