What do you like/dislike about where you live?
Where would you live if you could? Why?
Even with kids, as we approach summer time, it's time to travel! None of this 2 week crap, take the full 2-3 months. Rent place via air-bnb and go live somewhere else, and see if you like it. I just always have a hotel for the first couple days when I arrive just in case of any SNAFU with airbnb, never go cheap on internet, and always have multiple ways of getting online.
Remember internet now isn't some 'nice to have' thing, if it's down you aren't billing, and if you aren't billing you are just throwing money out the window. I have 3 cell phones, each with a 4g+ chip from a different carrier, and I paid the extra cash to get a business grade internet hookup, because I want that 24x7x8 response SLA.
The best part, of course is the absolute freedom, the worst part can be the social isolation. I've found using shared office space from time to time being okay, or living somewhere more... bohemian than the typical urban environment a nice escape. My kids are 4 & 2, but they start kindergarden at 3 in China.
It's a big world, and a small world. Get passports, travel, see the world. If your wife is up to homeschooling then you can be free to go wherever you want to go, as long as they have iternet.
And I just went to China for a few months and I too had 2 cells and a portable personal router and don’t forget VPN service!
As a plan B you can string together a bunch of VPS's if you want.
In China nothing works forever, so always have many. And the CCP tends not to mess with business lines & VPN's as they know that you are too busy making money to be all political.
"Are you from China?"
Probably.
I moved to China when I was 35. Before that I had always lived within 10km of where I was born (except for some years at university, which was 100km away). I am not ethnically Chinese. I had one acquaintance in Beijing. Whether or not my decision was 'nuts' is just a matter of perspective/mindset.
"Is it possible to have family living in a country you are not from? Yes.."
I didn't say it wasn't possible. But it's very very very rare for someone who is not Chinese to move to China to be near family. Why? Because 90% of foreigners who live in China don't know whether they'll be here 2 years from now. So it wouldn't make sense for their family members to move to China to be near them (except for a spouse/SO of course).
But my family started going back and forth in the 1800's out here. The real shame is that of the land that is worth anything was sold for next to nothing long before my parents were born.
I know I'm not typical, but really anyone can do it.
I'm surprised about travel and adventure being out of the norm for Americans thought. If anything the tiny villages where everyone has the same last name is all too common in China.
This would be impressive even for someone who is single. But even more impressive to do it with kids to take care of.
Wow!
My idea would be something like EU (GR,AL,ES) and live like a prince. You high wage will make it possible to buy time, like housekeeper etc.
Probably do the same in pricier EU countries.
Kids can really put a lot into perspective, and give you unwavering drive.
I love living in a place with so many people, great museums, and great restaurants. It’s very walkable and I love the subways. I meet many interesting people at coffee shops and in the park.
The taxes are a high but overall it is cheaper than I expected.
Seattle (where I live) is pretty expensive now.
But living on one of the islands (Bainbridge, Vashon, etc.) could be wonderful (better cost of living, access to beautiful nature, good schools, small community vibe).
Bellingham is lovely and has a university in town and also in a really beautiful part of Washington with access to lakes, Puget Sound, mountains, and so on. It's also right by I5 and Canada is not far away.
If you noticed the running theme is if you love nature, water, and mountains and want to share that with your kids consider WA.
WA state doesn't have state income tax for now, and I've loved the 10 years I've spent here.
Oh yeah, and I guess Portland, OR is cool too. Also pretty, and a happy new more low key than Seattle.
Preferred place is Chania, but if you're going to cheap you can find cheaper right outside the old city center, especially if you're going to rent for a year.
The good things:
- Half a year is summertime - The food is superb - The canyons are amazing - Many seashores are amazing - You're close to the sea everywhere, very strong boost for your your family's immune system - You can live easily with less than ~40k/year - Ppl are accustomed to foreigners and very easy to befriend
You can find specific info about ppl working remotes all over the world here: https://nomadlist.com/?ref=remoteok (no affiliation)
I assume other Mediterranean countries are similar, but great weather and the general way of life it affords people and the culture it facilitates, all these have huge benefits to your day to day well being.
Personally, I'm currently stuck in Athens but I want to eventually move to central Greece when I land a remote gig.
Why is that?
Compare that to a similar Sydney dev salary, for an experienced dev, AU$140k would be towards the high end. So a 50% salary increase AND work from home can be on the cards. All that is stopping me is that my current gig is giving me learning opportunities both technical and managerial that I might find hard to get in a remote job. But boy do I love working on code in a quiet room!
A good way to "beat the system" would be to live in Adelaide where the cost of an apartment near the city is about $300KAU ($225k USD). A 100% mortgage on an ocean view house, close to the city, for a family would be affordable on a US tech salary! I guess as long as you don't care about 'house as an investment' because demand is likely to be higher in the long term in the horrible overcrowded "big smoke" cities :-)
its a shame that dev salaries top out so little here (i'm melbourne) makes you consider all these things...
For you, coming from LA, I'm not sure if it makes a ton of sense, but I would probably look at smaller cities around southern california in a similar way.
I love the outdoor culture, weather, low cost of living, focus on healthy eating, local restaurants, EPB fiber, small city vibe.
It has been compared to Austin and Boulder. The city schools suck because they don’t get enough funding. There are good private schools downtown and a good elementary.
The suburbs have some solid schools if you do your research. Suburbs like Ooltewah are growing and remain super family friendly. You’ll love the parks and town squares. Iron man has hosted here often. It’s 2 hours from Atlanta and Nashville.
It’s a very progressive city given the context of Tennessee and the south.
I could go on. If you’d like to know more, hit me up. I also work remotely.
We would consider moving to Colorado or Europe. That’s about it.
Living downtown allows you to walk to most events - CFC (soccer team), the downtown market, block parties, restaurants, etc. The public transit isn't very good but Ubers and Lyfts are cheap. We enjoyed living downtown except for grocery shopping. It's a bit more expensive and a drive from Southside. It's not far, but you have stoplights and all of that.
All in all, I'd say 7/10. I come from a more rural, less dense area, but coming from the Bay, you'll probably feel like it's easy as pie to get around.
Look for a place with good schools. A good place to start is small towns with land grant universities, like Manhattan, KS which was an awesome experience years ago when I lived there.
I also like being reasonably close to a good airport.
Make a list of stores, eateries and similar that you like. A town doesn't necessarily need all your favorites, but you should check that it has enough to be comfortable for you.
For a time, I very much wanted to live in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is 90 minutes from Denver, one of the busiest airports in North America. I never made it there and happy with where I'm at, but I think it's got a lot going for it.
We also have a great 1GB fiber internet connection, great for remote work.
I would move to Ithaca in upstate ny if not for family reasons. College towns are a nice mix of rural cheap housing and stuff to do.
Were you born in LA, or are you from somewhere else ?
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Pros: - Cheaper than most places in Ontario. We live in a great house that would cost at least 3x more in any GTA suburb. - Lots of nature and places to explore all around us. - Peaceful and quiet. - Good balance between country living and convenience - high speed internet, natural gas, amazon delivery, big box stores.
Cons: - More snow in the winter (which can be good if you're into winter sports) - Limited number of ethnic restaurants. - 2 hours away from an international airport.
My only complaints would be slow Internet (though fiber is more common these days) and the ticks. And it gets cold sometimes, some people don't like that.
Moved here to escape the Washington D.C. rat race after 9/11.
It's great here, but word has gotten out and prices have gone up significantly (nothing like LA) over the last few years.
I love it here, but it's scary moving somewhere where there are only a handful of non-remote jobs, especially as a divorced father of two (I can not move if I want to be near my kids)
Good weather, good food, beautiful people, fast internet, easy to travel to other places, very pro startup/tech attitude, nice currency conversion rate for remote workers.
Plus the Multimedia Super Corridor was just starting up then, and while I've not followed its progress closely, I did read now and then, that many startups have been set up there and such.
It's much nicer outside the fringes of KL, places like Shah Alam, Cyberjaya, Putrajaya, Bangi. Internet is just as good, travel to KL is not bad.