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Comment by w1ntermute | Hacker News Reader

What kind of work do you do? I'm in college (CS major) now and am planning to start freelancing on the internet soon and continue that as my permanent job after I graduate. If I relocate abroad to a developing country but pretend to be located in America (just use my parents' address or something), I could make a killing off of this sort of thing and have a relatively high standard of living in a country like Cambodia.

Is the internet there fast/reliable (censorship isn't important because I can just use a US VPN)? How's the weather?

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Some more questions:

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.

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?

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.

> 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).

You can open a bank account at all banks if you have a local job. If not, Foreign Trade Bank are the ones to go with.

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.

> 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.

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?

Starting off your professional life by being deceptive is not something I'd recommend.

I'm a native-born American, with a degree from an American college. I don't see why my pay should be reduced because of my location when I'm doing the exact same work.

ams6110 is correct, I'm not sure why he is being down-voted.

I develop software. I did this for 10 years in Australia before moving here and because of this have relationships with Australian companies that would allow me to do contracting work remotely for good money if that is what I wanted (however at the moment I'm working on personal projects, currently backrecord.com). You are right - GNI per person in Australia is ~$42k (assume it is similar for USA). GNI per person here is $650. So you live like a king.

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.

> GNI per person in Australia is ~$42k (assume it is similar for USA). GNI per person here is $650. So you live like a king.

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.

> > btw: I don't think you'd ever get away with pretending to be located in America.

If you are an American citizen, you have an obligation to pay income tax on your earnings. The same goes for many countries.

Because you aren't actually in America.

Yes, I already gleaned that much. My question is how a client I would only communicate with over the internet and/or phone could possibly know this.

You have to appear in person to get certain paperwork done.

How often do you have to do this sort of thing? Is it per client, or if you use a freelancing website, can you do it just once at the beginning?

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?

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