Ask HN: Thinking about relocating, suggestions? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Thinking about relocating, suggestions?

7 pointstemp1368017 comments

Where should I live?

I'm a single founder with a [stable] revenue generating startup (lifestyle business). I'm technical but also have business development and marketing experience so I pretty much run the whole shop.

I broke up with my long-term girlfriend a few months ago and I've still not completely recovered. I have no friends where I live, the weather is horrible, my flat is £950 a month not including council tax (£180) and other utilities for the equivalent of a trailer on a bypass.

Every month or so I read articles on HN about people who move and work from paradise locations where the weather is beautiful, the food is mouth watering and the quality of lifestyle is to die for. Best of all, it's cheap/er!

I desperately need the above and a change of scenery, even if temporary.

I have a GB passport and I can live pretty much anywhere for X amount of time, with little visa requirements. I don't mind relocating for 3, 6 or 12 months. I will very rarely need to return for meetings as most of these can be done using video conferencing and I have people on the ground who can help if needed.

I haven't done much research (apologies), this is my first point of call and I've only just decided that I need to take action.

The criteria are, good: Internet access, climate, food and rates

I welcome suggestions / experiences. Thank you.

I think Bangkok hits most of your bullet points. You could find a nice apartment with fitness, pool and a maid for 60% of what you're paying now. Most of the nicer places will want a year contract (and might whine if you're not a resident) but shorter term apts are certainly available.

You can have a decent dinner for two for US $40 / $80 with wine. The French food here is so-so, the Italian and Japanese top notch. Chinese is good (not great). The Korean is great. They really never got American food here. If you don't want to spend, you can eat a couple of good bowls of noodles for $3.

Internet access is decent. I get 8Mb/s (actual speed) for around $30 / month. Mobile is a different story. They never made the transition to 3G here so speeds are bad. There is one carrier that unofficially supports 3G (they get around the law by running a permanent trial in Bangkok) but even that is pretty slow. I still use my iPhone to look stuff up, but the experience isn't great.

Cars are somewhat expensive (compared to the US). Sport bikes are insanely so (a Street Triple is taxed 100%, any BWM 200%). Mac prices are on par with the US (which IIRC would be more attractive than UK prices).

If you're not broke they're pretty easy going about immigration. You can live here for well over a year as a tourist as long as you follow the rules.

It's not all roses though. The city is congested. It's damn hot most of the time (unless it's raining like the world is ending). For a slight increase in cost, you could move to an island though. Then you get to live in paradise.

The US is probably out - due to VISA requirements you can't stay there for any length of time. But if you do go there, I would advise setting yourself up with HSBC Premier in the UK first, then getting USD bank accounts setup via them (they are real, local US accounts with cheque books and debit cards - not just a "currency account"). In fact that advice probably applies irrespective of where you move - get a local account setup from here first if you can. Setting up local bank accounts as a foreigner can be a real pain in the arse, and yet they are so essential if you want to get any kind of income (or even just to avoid wild exchange rate fluctuations).

Start going minimalist now, if you are not already. The worst thing you can do is lug all this useless shit with you around the globe, or move somewhere and start accumulating crap. Yes I am speaking from experience.

Finally, if you are not that well travelled, start by actually travelling :). By that I mean use the net to target some places, then take yourself on a holiday and hit all those places. Don't plan any of the usual touristy crap, just try to take in the environment you are in. See if the place gels with you or not, as much as something can in a week.

Good luck with it.

India is a great place, you wont have any issues with language and from the looks of things on HN in places like Delhi there are small hacker communities that you can get involved in if you're looking to meet those kinds of people.

You can rent a 2 bed appt for around £400 a month in a good area - perhaps this is more than you were planning on but I think it is somewhere that you wouldn't have to fight with. I found China to be an incredible place but if I am perfectly honest it is not an easy place to be - fun and eye opening but can be an absolute nightmare if you don't speak the local dialect - even if you have some very helpful local friends. That said Shanghai has a large expat community where you will be able to very easily get involved in (http://www.shanghaiexpat.com/)

BTW - I am personally going to be in Delhi a lot as I am setting up a business there and I spent a lot of time in Shanghai in the past.

Weather is really bad in Delhi these days, around 108 degrees and then they have very long power cuts every day :(

Hacker Community is growing but infrastructure is poor and internet connectivity is slow & unreliable. Roads are overcrowded, and driving is dangerous. You will have to rely on very bad public transport, which you will not want to do during 108 degrees temperature.

Besides, Delhi is an expensive place to live.

The problem I foresee with the "cheap/er" places that you mentioned is that they tend to suffer from infrastructure problems. This includes net connectivity/speed, powercuts, healthcare among other things. Be sure check that out thoroughly before you make a commitment.

Some places in Asia that I think will suit your criteria: Singapore, Okinawa. But they aren't exactly cheap.

Good luck.

I spent 3 months in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, and loved it. Rent for a nice 2 bed townhouse was $1000 but cheaper is possible. It's a surfing beach with a bit of a nightlife. Lots of europeans, I met several british people there. The food was okay, internet access was alright (1-2mbps) but sometimes unreliable. The weather is perfect during the dry season (nov-may), and apparently is tolerable during most of the wet season because the surfing is even better. It's not completely paradise though, its a poor country, drugs and petty theft is common, but altogether not too bad.

Morocco,Spain,Turkey are great places for internet,weather,food

First of all, congrats on getting out of a bad relationship (assuming) and having the option of picking up and going anywhere your heart desires - you should know you're one lucky guy!

My picks: Buenos Aires (maybe 30% cheaper), Montreal (6 summer months) (maybe 20% cheaper), Hawaii (maybe 20% cheaper), Barcelona, Istanbul, Fiji, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Porto Alegre in Brazil.

Philippines - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines

Bueno Aires fits your criteria. Life style in Bueno Aires is best bang for the buck. Active Hacker community is a bonus.

Switzerland-Lugano, on the Swiss/Italian border is a personal favorite.

Well the best area is the heart of it all - Silicon Valley - USA - Mountain View or Palo Alto or San Francisco. Depending if you are trying to grow your business.

I'm not trying to grow my business. The location need have nothing to do with my startup.

That may be true. The lifestyle in Silicon Valley is pretty awesome. I've lived in and visited several world class cities and the Bay area outshines pretty much everyone. You might be able to increase your friend pool if you are a technical person. For example, MakerFaire is happening soon! Or you could go to Noisebridge in SF. I've had awesome random tech conversations with people at coffee places (MV used to be full of folks doing YC). The place has excellent weather (by my personal standards - I don't like rain and snow). You have Napa, Yosemite, Santa Cruz, Tahoe and a bunch of other places nearby for weekend getaways.

Other cities I can recommend: Vancouver and Dubai.

Vancouver is climatically bankrupt (exception: Apr - Oct, then its the most beautiful place, heaven on earth!). Costs are about half of what you're paying. I lived there for a decade and went to college there, let me know if you want to know more.

Dubai is morally bankrupt. Do not go there.

My point being the bay area is great to live regardless and you talk about your business doing great, you should be in silicon valley. (2 birds one stone.)

I know your just looking for locations, but your life is apart of business and your location is key. Why not improve both at the same time. :)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com