Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live?

#541

Post by slyall » Mon, May 25, 2020, 5:54 AM UTC

dzhiurgis wrote: post #103

Not far north of Auckland - Tawharanui peninsula, Mangawhai, etc. On a large rural mansion (preferably with ocean view). All easily achievable with about $1m USD (interest rates are great atm to). The thing to watch out is "rates" aka taxes and maintenance (ocean water does etch a bit). Downside is NZ is quite boring from cultural perspective (but super fun for boating, fishing, hunting, etc - I think most city dwell…

I live in the main part of Auckland, easy 20 minute bus ride to the Centre of town and Gigabit Fibre for Internet..

What specially you miss when you say "NZ is quite boring from cultural perspective" ?

For me Auckland is about the minimum size (1.5m people) I'd want to live. I have a minority hobby (chess) that barely exists in smaller cities, let alone towns. Similarly as you go to smaller places you lose those other niche things that need a huge population to support. For example outside of Auckland/Wellington most towns have perhaps one Tech meetup group, not one for every topic.

The outdoor stuff is an occasional for me. Living in the Auckland I can get to it in an hour or two dring while having two good bakeries in walking distance for my house.

Re: Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live?

#542

Post by wojciii » Mon, May 25, 2020, 5:56 AM UTC

I can live anywhere with 1000/1000 fiber connection. Preferably outside a big city (biking distance, 20-30 km or so) and with alternative source of power (solar with battery backup). If a shtf situation arises we will at least have a better chance to survive for a while or ride out a food crisis because we are surrounded by food (farm country). Not many people live around here in DK. This is perfect for me.

Re: Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live?

#543

Post by kabacha » Mon, May 25, 2020, 5:59 AM UTC

I've been working remotely and I feel that the best option is: moving around every few years.

I found that 2-3 years is the sweetspot where you can absorb the culture, learn the language and start to get kinda bored of your surroundings - so that's exactly what I've been doing.

I feel that digital nomad doesn't really work as you can't really get to know the place you're living at in few weeks or even months and staying in a single place for longer than 3 years is a severe underutilization of remote benefits.

Re: Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live?

#544

Post by tigen » Mon, May 25, 2020, 6:01 AM UTC

fsloth wrote: post #513

ethanbond wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The important thing to remember is that the same forces that made those people homeless are what made you pay for your overpriced apartment. All the “unlanded” are sharecroppers, some better paid than others. Time for some solidarity among the renter class.

Homelesnes can be cured only by treating housing as a basic human right. There are plenty of examples of this globally so it's a fact, not a theory or a political fad. If you prefer more equal ownership of capital there is nothing wrong with that. But that is completely orthogonal to solving 'the problem' of homelessness. Please don't confuse the two issues.

What constraints do you think there should be on that basic human right, if any?

Re: Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live?

#545

Post by quietthrow » Mon, May 25, 2020, 6:04 AM UTC

Singapore. Quality of life is far superior than the western world. They have a “Mac” govt - it just works :) the govt actually has a Legal helper program in place you where you can get live in help at a very reasonable cost (which before you get judgmental helps uplift a lot of people out of poverty from neighboring countries). Imagine US having that for their tired masses who barely have any time between both parents working and a school system that is at complete odds with the economic system (work is 8/9-5; schools are 8am to 2 or 3 pm and the govt just expects the kids to manage themselves from 3-5/6 when parents get home or wait you spend more money to have them kept. The masses also don’t demand a change and carry on with this broken system. Cooking cleaning groceries etc is all on top of that. Imagine the quality of life if this sphere could be outsourced for a reasonable amount. Sheep like masses also don’t demand any change but what can’t they do they just don’t have any time. On top of all of that we have con in chief running the country, electoral system from the Middle Ages and partisanship that has started an overall decline of american life at least for a generation before it can get better (at best). Anyways I digressed )

East is where the new opportunities are. Singapore provides developed world life in that part of the world which being extremely safe, high quality of education and a lot of overall convineice of life.

Re: Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live?

#546

Post by camgunz » Mon, May 25, 2020, 6:05 AM UTC

I've made a pretty long list, and here are my faves:

- Auckland

- Taipei (Taoyuan and Kaohsiung are very close by HRT)

- Sydney

- Helsinki

- Stockholm

- Oslo

- Amsterdam

- Copenhagen

- Toronto

- Dublin

- London

- Paris

- Berlin

- Barcelona (or Madrid)

- Lisbon

My criteria were things like Gini coefficients, diversity, democracy indexes, gender equality, and LGBTQ rights. Most places in Asia got bumped because of poor LGBTQ rights, and the US got bumped for poor gender equality (representation in government is a big component of the formula). Diversity is just generally difficult to find, even in major cities, and when you do de facto segregation is almost certainly an issue.

I used to live in NYC but left--the COVID-19 outbreak didn't make that easy--and have been plotting on where to settle for hopefully forever. Toronto's at the top of the list, but it's hard to say no to Europe, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. What a privilege to have options like that though, what a time to be alive :).

Re: Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live?

#547

Post by econcon » Mon, May 25, 2020, 6:05 AM UTC

DoreenMichele wrote: post #489

baby wrote: post #486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sad that this is the first thing we're thinking about, removing them. What does it mean, displacing them so that it's somebody else's problem? Putting them in jail? Killing them?

Killing them? Given how much lower the average lifespan is for homeless individuals, we are more or less killing them.

I came from tribal origin with nomadic goat and sheep herders recent ancestors. Life is not easy there but sense of community is strong and lifespans are at par with cities with best healthcare despite not having good healthcare facilities there. Not sure how it compares to people who are homless in cities.

Being from the tribal origin I've been conned by city dwellers a lot before I wised up. In tribe we trust everyone, there is no need to be shrewed and sense of community and living together in harmony is valued above everything else.

Re: Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live?

#548

Post by danielrpa » Mon, May 25, 2020, 6:06 AM UTC

gautamcgoel wrote: post #314

danielrpa wrote: post #77

Atlanta, GA or Raleigh, NC. I like the climate and trees in the American Southeast. Also, house prices are very reasonable while enjoying the amenities of big cities.

I'm from ATL and I'm curious about Raleigh. What is the social and cultural scene like?

Not like Atlanta, but surprisingly active considering the metro size. You might have to go to the surrounding cities to realize the full potential of the region (also known as the "Triangle" because actually includes 3 cities - Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill - each with their own contribution to the social/cultural scene).

Re: Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live?

#549

Post by DoreenMichele » Mon, May 25, 2020, 6:09 AM UTC

econcon wrote: post #547

DoreenMichele wrote: post #489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Killing them? Given how much lower the average lifespan is for homeless individuals, we are more or less killing them.

I came from tribal origin with nomadic goat and sheep herders recent ancestors. Life is not easy there but sense of community is strong and lifespans are at par with cities with best healthcare despite not having good healthcare facilities there. Not sure how it compares to people who are homless in cities. Being from the tribal origin I've been conned by city dwellers a lot before I wised up. In tribe we trust every…

Not sure how it compares to people who are homless in cities.

UK data from 2011:

Homeless die 30 years younger than average

The new research found that the average homeless person has a life expectancy of 47, compared to 77 for the rest of the population: a startling difference of 30 years. The life expectancy for women was even lower, at just 43 years.

https://www.nhs.uk/news/lifestyle-and-exercise/homeless-die-...

I think this is US data from 2017:

The average life span of a homeless person was shorter by about 17.5 years than that recorded for the general population.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5739436/

In tribe we trust everyone

Yeah, my dad was part Cherokee. I can be sort of stupid at times about thinking the best of people and I've been burned by that.

But I also think my native heritage helped me survive living in a tent for nearly 6 years and helped me profoundly in other ways.

That sense of community is very life giving and it tends to be lacking in most modern American places.

Re: Ask HN: If you could work remote where would you live?

#550

Post by badestrand » Mon, May 25, 2020, 6:11 AM UTC

antigirl wrote: post #466

ryannevius wrote: post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most (not all) places in SE Asia have air quality that will have health ramifications that aren't worth the upsides of living there. I unfortunately recently had to move my family out of there because of it. Air quality aside, it can be a great place to live.

This. I've been in Bangkok for the past year and the air quality has been really bad. Not as fatal as china but almost there. other factors -Food is cheap but novelty wears off eventually and you will want to cook. Apartments are mostly expensive and small [in BKK] so kitchen is small. Western style groceries are expensive. -Its too hot. Traffic is really bad. Public transport is air conditioned but walking to skytra…

Good points, but the plus sides of Bangkok:

+ incredible night life with some of the best bars and clubs I've ever seen

+ from downtown to the most beautiful beaches in just 3 hours by car

+ more dream islands and beaches just 1 hour by inland flight away

+ several national parks in range for weekend tours

+ super easy and cheap to hop to exciting neighboring countries (Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore) for a few days

+ actually there are many super nice coworking spaces for around $120/month and many cafès allow sitting for hours

+ probably the best dating scene in the world for white and black men

+ Thai people are probably the friendliest, relaxed and most easy-going people in the world