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Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

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351–360 of 400 posts

Re: Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

#351

Montréal. Having visited for a few weeks I fell in love with the city and the province.

Montreal in the summer is really incredible. It feels like a big city with all of the amenities. I've never been there during the winter, but thought of several feet of snow makes me not want to live there.

Re: Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

#352

Already live there: Los Angeles. Why? * Booming tech scene, with a healthy startup/VC ecosystem. * Best weather + location (benefits of sun + proximity to the ocean are well-documented, e.g. http://www.livescience.com/37819-health-benefits-living-near... ). It's no surprise that people from SF and NY are flocking here ;)

I come to Los Angeles a few times a year for several weeks and I really like it. I'm normally based in a mid-sized European city. In L.A. One thing that surprised me is the proximity of the mountains and Griffith Park for hiking, that's fantastic. Beaches very close, awesome weather, movie theaters everywhere, lots of diversity, etc. Oh there are issues of course, lots of homeless, not bicycle-friendly, etc. But it i…

The west side (Santa Monica/Venice/Marina del Rey) where most of the tech companies and startups set base is extremely bicycle friendly.

Re: Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

#353
post #261
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pros: great culture. Cons: no landscape to speak of.

What do you mean by no landscape? Sure it's no Queenstown, but there's awesome beaches within an hour, mountains and snow within 4 hours.

> there's awesome beaches within an hour, mountains and snow within 4 hours.

True. They aren't in Melbourne though.

By 'no landscape' I mean 'flat as a pancake'. I like a city with hills, views, and especially views over water with an interesting coastline. Wellington and San Francisco are good examples of cities that I like the shape of. Valparaiso and (less so) Santiago as well.

Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed being in Melbourne. It's an easy place to live with great people and a lot going on.

Re: Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

#354

Granada or Cordoba in Spain. Would need central air conditioning in summer though.

+1 for Granada. Probably my favourite place I've visited to date, but the job market doesn't sound great. If you can get a remote gig though, what a place to live.

My business goes where I go, so all I need is a stable internet connection.

The really difficult problem for us Americans is staying in the EU for an extended period of time (90 of every 180 days only).

Other options I'm inclined to try: Santiago in Chile, and maybe one or two of the smaller tiny towns dotting the Chilean coast as you head south to Patagonia.

Re: Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

#355

I ended up in Montana. (Bitterroot Valley between Hamilton and Missoula specifically). Granite big walls and boulders to climb, powder to ski in winter, microbreweries and relatively cost of living.

Oh hello fellow Montanan. I grew up here, so it's a little different for me.

Re: Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

#356

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, I forgot about tennis. I applied to UMelb and Monash back in 2011 when I was applying to grad school, but was scared off by some attacks on Indian students at the time. My sports watching life would've been so different if that had gone well. I'd put London slightly above Melbourne, it's got Tennis, Football and Cricket among others.

One thing to note is the accessibility and convenience of the events in Melbourne. The MCG and other stadiums/arenas are all in a big complex right in the heart of the city, with easy train, tram, bike, and walking access, and this includes the Australian Open tennis. The Grand Prix is in Albert Park, which is kind of like saying there's Formula 1 in Central Park NYC, kind of nuts. Not sure about London, but in NYC,…

I see, thank you! Hopefully I can live in Melbourne sometime.

Re: Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

#357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah, I forgot about tennis. I applied to UMelb and Monash back in 2011 when I was applying to grad school, but was scared off by some attacks on Indian students at the time. My sports watching life would've been so different if that had gone well. I'd put London slightly above Melbourne, it's got Tennis, Football and Cricket among others.

One thing to note is the accessibility and convenience of the events in Melbourne. The MCG and other stadiums/arenas are all in a big complex right in the heart of the city, with easy train, tram, bike, and walking access, and this includes the Australian Open tennis. The Grand Prix is in Albert Park, which is kind of like saying there's Formula 1 in Central Park NYC, kind of nuts. Not sure about London, but in NYC,…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

#358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I moved to Denver about a year ago. It's all subjective of course, but I really struggle to understand the benefits of living in Boulder outside of a more vibrant tech scene and being a nice cozy town. The rent is ~$300-$400 more expensive. The trails are absolutely packed with people. There is beer pong and loud parties on every corner in the summer. Yes, it's a little closer to skiing resorts, but we're talking ext…

I've heard home prices are Bay Area level without similar salaries there, is that accurate? And how does that stack up against Denver? The job market seems relatively weak in both areas compared to the Bay Area... Would you agree with that?

I don't think anything in Denver or Boulder stacks up to astronomical prices of the Bay Area. You can easily get a nice house 20 minutes from Denver for $300K. If you're looking in Denver proper, you're looking at $500K-$1M+ (Cherry Creek or similar). But you get much much more bang for your buck (we're talking a nice house). A $1M property in SF is like, what, some land with a dilapidated property? Boulder's housing market is going to be significantly more expensive. I'm only familiar with rent prices there. Maybe somebody else can comment on the housing market. But again, I don't think it's anywhere close to the Bay Area prices. At least not in terms of what you get for the same money.

Boulder has more tech jobs. There are big guys like Twitter, Google and a gazillion of startups like VictorOps and SendGrid. Denver's lacking but I don't think it's too far behind. The fun stuff is pretty much all in Boulder though. Maybe the current construction boom will change that a bit.

I can't comment on salaries. I work remotely for a company that isn't in Denver, but I can just say you can live lavishly here if you make $120K+. And if you have some money to burn, it's a perfect time to invest in some property. The entire Denver area is under construction right now.

Re: Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

#359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I moved to Denver about a year ago. It's all subjective of course, but I really struggle to understand the benefits of living in Boulder outside of a more vibrant tech scene and being a nice cozy town. The rent is ~$300-$400 more expensive. The trails are absolutely packed with people. There is beer pong and loud parties on every corner in the summer. Yes, it's a little closer to skiing resorts, but we're talking ext…

If you aren't on the hill or a in a tiny handful of bars on Pearl, you never run into the college kids. They mostly stay south of the creek, with the exception of the dive bars on Pearl (and Absinthe House, but that place is a dump anyways). I've lived here for three years, go out every weekend and never once have I seen anyone playing beer pong.

Yeah, like I thought, it's a little subjective. I'm just hanging out at the wrong places with folks there :)

Re: Ask HN: If you could live and work somewhere, where would it be?

#360
post #241

I moved four months ago from a very crowded city to an small town in the province of Córdoba, Argentina called Mendiolaza. We have beautiful landscapes and it is near (25kms) the big city. I am a software developer like you and I work from home for a company based on Seattle. Anyway I am not here to convince you to move to this city in particular but please consider low populated areas with green spaces. This move ha…

Thanks for this summation of small town living. I find it pretty inspiring actually.

One question, do you honestly ever feel like you're "missing out" or feel a sense of isolation by being so far away from a denser place? While I think cities are over-rated, I do feel that there is a variety to my immediate environment that I'd be missing if I moved to a small town and had a family. I strongly suspect this could be a false perception though.

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