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Comment by ryannevius | Hacker News Reader

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.

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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 skytrain etc is tiring because of the traffic, pollution, heat around you.

-Wework or similar remote coworking spaces are not cheap

-Language barriers

-Time difference with clients back home [major one]

I did one month in Hanoi, Vietnam and hated it. Places with infastructure worse than Thailand make it awkward if you have to work everyday 9-5

I think it can be fun if you move around and do it in episodes. I'd like to do some time in SKorea and Japan Perhaps Taiwan too https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23297378 (but then also see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GIndXSfawA)

All of these points are easily resolved by not living in the biggest city in your country. Bangkok is the New York City of Thailand. You could have all the same delicious food, but great air, no traffic, and more if you went to say Chiang Mai

Nope. I moved from Chiang Mai. It has some of the worst air quality in the world for a quarter of the year, and almost consistently worse than in Bangkok.

That's a shame, guess I was only there during the good time

I think Chiang Mai has issues with seasonal burning fields (same as Malaysia thanks to ID)

I stayed in chiang mai for a month last year. Air quality is second worst in Thailand because of crop burning.

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

Agree with the dating scene and nightlife. Beaches too. I really messed up my posture by working in cafes so tend to look for proper setups these days

Air quality in Indonesia is pretty good (as long as you're not in Jakarta or any other major city in Java) and a lot of expats work remotely in Bali.

that's just not truth unless you live in the biggest cities, it's not really an issue in most of the places, for instance I travelled across Thailand for months many times and only place I would consider dirty regarding air quality would be Bangkok

You're absolutley wrong. Air quality is a huge issue in most Asian countries due to crop burning especially Thailand. You should look at the AQI and pm2.5 levels on a trusted app.

yes, crop burning is seasonal issue in some locations of Thailand, Malaysia (from ID) and Indonesia, not all year round issue

Go look at the AQI for last 12 months. I live here. I know.

I looked at AQI right now and forecast for next few days and don't find there anything extreme, just a little bit dirtier air during rush hours caused by crappy cars and motorbikes without filters, but nothing extreme anyway, slightly above what is considered completely healthy.

That's in cities right? I know most people want to live in cities, but if you don't, I don't think that would be an issue.

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