Montréal — winters prevent you from softening up and remind you about the great force of nature
I know a few people who moved up to Toronto for the animation industry, and they report loving it. Might be an option too?
Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?
241–250 of 1001 posts
Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?
#242There are some smaller German cities like Göttingen which have - in my opinion - a high intellectual atmosphere because they are so called university-cities: lot's of students and academics in a rather small city. And, in comparison with big cities like Berlin or Munich, the rents are much cheaper: from what I know you pay 2/3 to half of the price for the same amount of space. Example: a flat with 55-60 qm is about 6…
This is true. Lots of other mentions of Germany in this thread with good points. The downsides to Germany that Americans and Canadians (and to a lesser extent British) might perceive:
- Constant store closures. Almost all Sundays and numerous holidays, almost all stores, including groceries, are closed. Don't forget to get milk or you have to trek to the central train station.
- Very bad international food. Even in major German cities, the food (outside of German, Middle Eastern, and some European cuisine) is simply not on par with places like the Bay Area or London.
- Less outwardness as a social norm. I am sure there will be debate over this. But I think many will agree it is hard to make friends with non-expats even when there is no or little language barrier, compared to many North American social contexts.
- Lots of bureaucracy and dependency trees of ID and permits, even for simple things like getting a train pass. As a reference, it costs 1500-2000 EUR to get a driver's license in Germany (including mandatory training classes), much higher than in the US or Canada. Also, there is a refugee crisis choking the German immigration system and it may take much longer than normal to get immigration-related matters sorted out.
- More public smoking, including on patios and inside bars and clubs. If you are sensitive to cigarette smoke don't plan to go to any nightclubs.
- Serious environmental policies, which would be admirable if it weren't for the Autobahn and all the coal that Germany burns. Have fun drying your sheets and towels on clotheslines in the middle of winter and don't expect AC during the summer.
Some of this is generic to Europe, much of it less true in Berlin than elsewhere, and there are lots of positives to Germany that have been mentioned in this thread. Good luck!
Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?
#243Philippines - It's the best place to be. Just imagine coding in front of a breath taking view. Everything is cheap. No BS. Plus the beautiful nature and everybody speaks english. Here's a quick testament about the Philippines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-tKE812-ZY
Not everyone feels safe there though.
Don't believe the media. Although, I think no place is safer for that matter.
Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?
#244If you feel adventurous you can consider moving to Poland. I would recommend Krakow. Most young people will speak English, there are couple of top Universities there (PK and AGH for technical schools, UJ for humanities, medicine and some tech too and UE for economics). The tech scene seems to be constantly growing, with lots of international companies having their offices there. As a senior dev in Poland you can earn…
How bad is it there for sexual/gender minorities (aka gay/trans people). Is it livable if you are visibly transgender?
Rather bad. I guess it's getting better, especially in bigger cities, but even in Warsaw I don't think it would be a good idea for a gay couple to walk hand in hand. Poland is a mostly a great place to live, but this is a disgrace.
Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?
#245I am doing this in Taipei right now. The living costs are low and there is a thriving intellectual community, but there is definitely a language barrier. Most Taiwanese can speak enough English to be friendly and helpful (which they are), but not enough to have intellectual conversations. If you are willing to tolerate the language barrier and put in the time to find the people who can converse intellectually in Engl…
How concerned are the locals about the potential of getting "harmonized" by mainland China? I wouldn't want to be there if that goes down.
0 chance
Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?
#246Have you considered Pune in India? The area has an excellent tech scene with both established companies and startups. It has excellent universities and the area has a lot of students and institutions. Everyone knows English in here. The area itself is has lots of beautiful places around for trekking and exploring if you are into that sort of thing, especially in the monsoon season. And it's cheap. Really cheap. For 2…
Also you can choose to stay in a township like Amanora near Magarpatta which are like small islands with even better living facilities, high speed internet, walking access to malls, uninterrupted power, etc at 1/10 the cost.
Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?
#247Philippines - It's the best place to be. Just imagine coding in front of a breath taking view. Everything is cheap. No BS. Plus the beautiful nature and everybody speaks english. Here's a quick testament about the Philippines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-tKE812-ZY
Philippines is indeed very cheap but that comes at a cost. I've been here a year and can share some struggles.
Internet is OK at best. I have an internet line from three different providers, all three have been offline at the same time more than once, and speeds drop to dial-up or worse on my main line at least 2-3 times a month for hours at a time. I've observed this at multiple locations.
"Brown outs" are pretty common, get a UPS.
Good quality electronics and computer components can sometimes be tough to find but a quick trip to Singapore will sort that out.
Shipping can be a nightmare, I've waited months to receive packages in some cases.
Any involvement with any government run entity is a nightmare. I got a parking ticket because I accidentally left my motorbike in a non-parking space. I went to the office when it opened at 8AM to pay it. It took me 4 hours to pay the parking ticket.
Traffic is so insane and rules are so rarely enforced that I stopped riding my motorbike.
I'd suggest avoiding Manila, as all the Taxi drivers want to rip you off or haggle a fare with you instead of use the meter (same problem in Bangkok, Thailand). But there are plenty of cities in PH that don't suffer from that problem (Davao for example, is great).
Last but not least: Don't drink the water. Be careful where you eat. Food hygiene and quality standards might shock you.
But, that's about all the bad things I can come up with, and they're all manageable. The people are great, cost is low, and fly to nearby countries cheaply and quickly.
Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?
#248I am doing this in Taipei right now. The living costs are low and there is a thriving intellectual community, but there is definitely a language barrier. Most Taiwanese can speak enough English to be friendly and helpful (which they are), but not enough to have intellectual conversations. If you are willing to tolerate the language barrier and put in the time to find the people who can converse intellectually in Engl…
What about Singapore, Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur? The first two are definitely more expensive (KL maybe even being cheaper) but in SG and KL English is the primary language and in HK you'll be fine with it as well.
Hk is too expensive and stressful
Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?
#249Depending 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…
Thanks for this - been to Portugal a few times on holiday and love it, seems a perfect place too from which to work remotely given decent internet speeds etc. Not familiar with the towns and cities so good to have Braga now as somewhere to look at!
Re: Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?
#250Philippines - It's the best place to be. Just imagine coding in front of a breath taking view. Everything is cheap. No BS. Plus the beautiful nature and everybody speaks english. Here's a quick testament about the Philippines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-tKE812-ZY
Does the above hold if you're female?
Yes- for sure!