Also, are these apartments dirt cheap and do they speak english in these areas at all? Maybe they could be a haven for startups, which are somewhat less bound by geography, if they were extremely cheap. I might just be dreaming though.
Is the internet there fast/reliable (censorship isn't important because I can just use a US VPN)? How's the weather?
Is it difficult to wire money from America to developing countries like Cambodia?
For those cases where the people don't speak English, is it particularly difficult to learn the language when you're actually immersed in it on a daily basis?
What is the local social scene like? Is there a large expat community? If not, are the natives welcoming?
Hopefully it'd be possible to get some action. I don't mean to be crude, but that's sort of a requirement for me (and a lot of guys) to live in any place. It's obviously not an issue anywhere in America, but it certainly can be abroad. I have quite a few high school friends in the military, and those stationed in Japan and Korea have no problem getting local women, but Afghanistan and Iraq are a completely different story.
Just hearing it all day every day won't make you suddenly magically start to understand it.
Of course, the difficulty level depends on the language. For example, many South-East Asian languages have tones and a highly bothersome writing system (especially compared to the 26 characters you're used to).
But no matter what foreign language you decide to learn, expect to make a huge effort.
Haha, I guess this can't really compare to a few years of high school Spanish (not that I really learned anything from that either).
Transferring money is no problem (though the service I use to get a good rate - ozforex.com.au ask additional questions).
I've tried to learn Chinese and (a little bit of) Khmer. Khmer is much easier than Chinese, you'll pick up lots. But it's not essential.
It is VERY social, unlike any other place I've lived. Don't worry, the local girls will love you.
Is Chinese used there as well, or was that just a hobby? According to Wikipedia, it looks like Khmer, unlike most SE Asian nations, is not tonal. That'd make things a lot easier for a tone deaf person like me.
> It is VERY social, unlike any other place I've lived. Don't worry, the local girls will love you.
What about the political climate? Is it less oppressive than China, or about the same or worse?
Internet is reliable and fast enough (I use a 3G connection and this is very cheap). There are many telcos so lots of competition.
Weather is hot and at the moment wet. I love the weather.
btw: I don't think you'd ever get away with pretending to be located in America.
Yeah, US is $46k according to Google. Can you afford a chef, maid, and chauffeur? That would be absolutely awesome! (Sorry if I sound a little too giddy; I come from a lower middle class, rural background, and the thought of doing software development while living like a king in a faraway tropical paradise sounds absolutely magical.)
> btw: I don't think you'd ever get away with pretending to be located in America.
Why is this (honest question, I really don't know much about freelancing yet)? The time difference? For phone calls, I'd use Skype to get an American number I could give clients, and my parents would have no problems scanning & emailing any documents that might arrive in the snail mail.
If you are an American citizen, you have an obligation to pay income tax on your earnings. The same goes for many countries.
And if you can build some relationships before leaving (I'll be doing it for a while before I graduate from college), would it then be possible?
What would be the hurdles to get a startup running in China? The Great Firewall?
It's a big country so it's always possible to find a place that fits your personal taste. For example Sanya is a tropical island. Not much infrastructure there yet though.
1) Language, especially when getting stuff like visas, work permits, incorporation, etc. You can stay on non-work (or business) visas, but it's not terribly legal.
As for the English standard, imagine you have a country with 1 point something billion people, and speaking English was discouraged until about 20 years ago (except if you were in intelligence). How do you teach it? Only young people tend to be fluent. Most English teachers have never left the country, or had much one-on-one interaction with people who can speak good English. Students are great at certain elements of formal written grammar, if it's in an exam setting. Vocabulary can be OK. But fluency can be a problem.
2) Red tape. It's non-existant for the old woman selling wonton soup by the side of the street (as long as she can run faster than the local city management, or can afford to give them lots of free soup), but not likely to be fun for foreign businesses.
3) Talent. I'm sure it's there, but you won't know how to find it. You can't tell if people are bright, unless you can communicated easily. Also,expect programmers with great geometry, good algorithms, and no idea how to work in a team; kinda like most countries, really.
4) Honesty. Chinese believe that "actions speak louder than words". If you don't understand this, and you won't, you won't understand why everyone is telling white lies to you. People may explain this as "face" related, or "high context communication", but to some people it looks very dishonest.
Sanya is not an island, its a city on the island of Hainan.
Infrastructure in China is very good, especially train lines.