Ask HN: Your tips on working getaways across the globe | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Your tips on working getaways across the globe

10 pointsaparadja10 comments

I recently quit my job to take a year off from cubicle life. Instead of idling, my plan is to work for myself. The dream is fairly typical: build products and reach ramen/paradise profitability before my savings run out.

As the work only requires a laptop and an internet connection, I'm pretty much free to do it from anywhere in the world. My idea is to make trips (1-3 months) to great places with low living costs.

I'm sure other people here have been in a similar situation. Any good experiences or recommendations for global work getaways? Somewhere inexpensive, enjoyable, with fairly reliable internet connections. To me, finding a good place to stay is the hardest part. Hotels and 2-month stays don't really mix.

(My original plan was to go to Guilin in China for two months this fall. I calculated that the savings in living consts would roughly cover the plane ticket during that stay. Unfortunately, the plan got cancelled due to an ill-timed health issue. I still want to go there, but not in January.)

I've done what you want to do this year and have been in Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam (5 months in total). As ehambers pointed out Lombok (or for the same feeling, islands of the Philippines) is nice if you like the beach - I think for me 3 months in a place like this and it would not look like paradise anymore. If I stay longer somewhere, It would be in a big city - I miss the energy if I'm staying in the mountains or the beach for too long.

If that's the same for you, then you could go to cities with great access to nature, like Yogjakarta, Indonesia, Cebu, Philippines, Hanoi, Vietnam...

On the inexpensive side: you cannot get much cheaper than Vietnam. Philippines and Indonesia while still cheap are more expensive.

I would also recommend not to stay in a hotel but to look for an apartment. I found a good apartment in 2 days in Hanoi (there's a good website for expats), it might be harder in smaller cities.

Of course, nothing limits you to Southeast Asia :-)

A good short-term apartment rental scene sounds perfect. Finding cheap flights is easy, but the housing doesn't seem trivial. 2 months is sort of an in-between duration. Too long for a hotel, too short for traditional renting.

Remember the expat website's url? A quick googling doesn't bring up any clear winner.

First Google result is the winner :-)

http://newhanoian.xemzi.com/

Lombok, Indonesia – for a couple of reasons.

Lombok is a laid-back, easy-going beach paradise right next to Bali. It's pretty much like Bali without tonnes of tourists.

You can get really cheap flights to Bali (since so many people go there). Going from Bali to Lombok takes less than a day by bus/taxi and ferry. I ended up near Senggigi, Lombok by coincidence last summer and ended up staying there for weeks. I halfway plan to do what you're doing once and that's probably where I would go. :-)

You will probably not find super-fast Internet connections outside of cities/tourist destinations, but unless you often need to download gigabytes of data that shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks! I'll check out what I can find about Lombok. Do you remember details about where you stayed? Some bungalow thingy?

Super-fast connections are not a requirement. I've been perfectly happy with my phone's slow gprs connection before. It's just important to have a connection.

I stayed at a hotel, but I can't remember its name. I was there with my girlfriend and we paid around $10 per night including a light breakfast. There are also some really nice resorts there, but I don't know how much they cost. The food is amazing and nasi goreng (fried rice with some meat and vegetables) is often not more than $0.40–$0.50.

Another thing: It's really easy to pick up some Indonesian phrases since the language is quite simple to pronounce and has a really simple grammar. The language does not have the concept of tones that other south-east Asian languages (Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese...) have, so even if the pronunciation is a bit off, people will understand you. It was really nice being able to use some polite phrases in Indonesian after just a few days – even if using English was no problem. :-)

Thailand is nice.

I was at the island of Koh Samui for 9 days in April 2008 working and attending a conference and lived in a bungalow village. Food was cheap and excellent, stable but DSL-slow (0.5Mbit?) wifi, and the very good accomodation was not too expensive. People are friendly, and I never felt worried about my safety. I could definitely see myself returning to Thailand and working there for a while.

One of my sisters has travelled extensively in the region, visiting places in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Kambodja over a time-span of 8 weeks. Her favorite is Vietnam since it is a bit less exploited by tourism, and is also a bit cheaper, while still having very friendly people.

Come to Kathmandu, Nepal.

Your laptop will run smooth here. Internet connection varies from Kbps to Mbps - depends on how much you would spend. Delicious Nepali food (Daal, Bhat), guest loving culture and friendly people. What else would you look for ?

Interesting choice. Will definitely check it out. Thanks!

I would probably skip china, you don't want internet censorship to get in the way of your work.

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