Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere? • Hacker News Board

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

#441

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:35 AM UTC

sonnyblarney wrote: post #395

enjoyitasus wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would agree. Montreal has relatively good infrastructure and also good housing options for families and singles alike. It’s small compared to these tier 1 cities in Western Europe but it’s great, people are nice and are bilingual. The winters are extremely cold but if you don’t mind that it’s fine. Not sure about the salaries but I hear they are lower but so is the cost of living.

"It’s small compared to these tier 1 cities in Western Europe" Only London and Paris are much bigger. Mtl is about 4 million people, it's almost the same size as Madrid or Berlin or Barca. A little smaller than Amsterdam but really bigger than most else. But it's tier 2 size in North America, but a strong tier 2. It's really weird how people in NA don't know about Montreal. It kills most places for culture.

[deleted]

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

#442

Post by nunoferreira » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:36 AM UTC

nelsonic wrote: post #229

Depending 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…

As a born and raised in Braga I can confirm all of this. Also Braga as a background in IT sector for a few decades now. Mainly because of University of Minho.

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

#443

Post by pshirali » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:36 AM UTC

yipbub wrote: post #305

anonlilcoward wrote: post #214

Bangalore,India: Rent price : 200$/month for a 1000sqft apartment. Bangalore is often called the silicon valley of India, filled with software professionals. Majority of the city's inhabitants are migrants from other parts of the country and almost everyone communicates in English. The living expenses for a couple is not more than 600-700$/month including rent for a decent lifestyle. The city has a good pub culture a…

And an intellectual community?

Absolutely, and aplenty! But be prepared to network/dig-in a little to find exactly what you want. We definitely have people :) and communities which are both technically and intellectually strong.

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

#444

Post by sabman » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:37 AM UTC

Lisbon, Porto, Berlin, Leipzig

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

#445

Post by kfk » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:37 AM UTC

simplyinfinity wrote: post #137

mahasvin wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not much English speakers there, very mediocre roads in the city. However, the food is great, life is cheaper then in England, but not as cheap, as it may be at Chiangmai. Or in Scotland.

Mediocre roads indeed, but you can manage to get around the city by public transport. While public transit can be sometimes late, or some buss lines use old busses. it's A+ compared to US public transport, but not as great as the London or Paris (tho the metro is newer and cleaner than Paris). Public transport card for all lines for 1 year is 365 levs - 185 eur. Rent prices currently are on the high end and can run y…

long shot, but any chance you know a way to find short term rentals in the city center? I currently live in Lozenets and while I love it I’d prefer something more central like say Rakovski street

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

#446

Post by epynonymous » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:38 AM UTC

askmike wrote: post #262

the_clarence wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s better than a lot of places though. If you want an english friendly country in Asia it’s going to be expensive (hk, singapore, tokyo, etc.)

While in Tokyo I was not impressed with my ability to communicate in English. If you don't learn Japanese your options are very limited IMO.

very much agree, lived in tokyo for 1 year, i even had a private japanese tutor, but could hardly even order stuff from mcds, sure you could point to the pictures, but the follow up questions would be something along the lines of do you want this as part of a set or individually ordered, would you like it super sized, and/or would you like to swap coke for sprite or something along those lines. the funny thing is that i found out a lot of chinese students worked those menial jobs, so i could use mandarin to order. the machines were the best, just follow the pictures.

i love japan in general, had a lot of friends luckily that spoke great english, but the cost of living for me was 1700 usd per month (this was back in 2006, of course i lived in high flying shinjuku), and the english barrier was difficult to get over. probably if i was a bit younger and didn't need to seriously advance my career, i would have stuck it out and learned the language. you could probably find a decent apartment for 800-1200 usd, not sure what the rate is now.

i do think the high-tech scene is good in tokyo, the food awesome, the culture one of a kind, i just wasn't patient enough to learn the language.

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

#447

Post by blocked_again » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:39 AM UTC

iopuy wrote: post #394

quantummkv wrote: post #201

Have 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…

Do I have anything to worry about in Pune as a female engineer? I read about Pune on the net and it sounds nice, just want to make sure the community (tech and other) are as accepting as SFO. Thanks for the suggestion. Cheers!

India is not safe country for women in general. I don't know about Pune but it should be a similar situation. You can hardly see any women traveling alone at night in most Indian cities. Our law enforcement are just terrible compared to west. Crimes are high. There is nothing like 911 that will take care of you in a matter of minutes if something bad happens. Take most advices on India with a pinch of salt and please don't relocate here untill and unless you have experienced India first hand by yourselves. Most places are overpopulated and over polluted. People dont follow traffic rules and everything about India is completely opposite that of the west. A western colleague of mine got hit by car almost twice in the firsy day we went out. You can hardly find any foreigners in Indian cities unless its a tourist hotspot. In most cases there is nothing for you to justify moving to India. Look at the H1B visas from India and number of Indian students doing masters in foreign countries. Almost anyone who can relocate from India would do that in an instant if they have the resources.

You should take a look into this blog post https://medium.com/@oliviagoldstein/a-year-in-india-told-by-...

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

#448

Post by TigerHimself » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:39 AM UTC

blocked_again wrote: post #127

rexarex wrote: post #43

Chiang Mai, Thailand. It's super cheap and has a ton of 'digital nomads' there. I didn't spend too much time doing that there but there were a few co-working spaces, at least a couple years ago.

Not sure whether Chiang Mai qualifies for intellectual atmosphere.

Why not ? You should check Niman area. Lot of coffee shop where writers and other artists likes de hangout. As said a lot of remote workers are living here. I know some people working for big US tech companies living here.

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

#449

Post by TigerHimself » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:41 AM UTC

I strongly recommend Chiang Mai, especially Niman area.

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

#450

Post by rdfi » Mon, Oct 08, 2018, 9:42 AM UTC

epynonymous wrote: post #414

nelsonic wrote: post #229

Depending 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…

+1 for portugal, i was actually in lisbon for a few days this summer, first time, i really liked what i saw, was more on vacation than for work, but definitely had a few escalations that forced me to get on the internet and everything was fast. people are friendly, costs relatively low, i stayed in 2 different parts, but near my hotel there was a large huawei office (not that i'd ever consider working there), but it…

I think what you are referring to is the golden visa program (or Resident Permit for Investment program): https://www.expatica.com/pt/visas-and-permits/golden-visa-po...