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Comment by urlwolf | Hacker News Reader

Just a quick note with more details...

- The starting date is Oct 1st.

- We have some incredible residents already, and are looking for more.

- Please contact us if you want to be a student or a resident, or know someone who is a perfect match.

The story: This is inspired by Hacker School NY. When I saw they got Peter Norvig as a resident, I almost jumped into a plane straight. But I have a girlfriend, a dog, and a baby, so I cannot leave Berlin.

So, in the most unadulterated hacker spirit... I made my own :)

Berlin has some serious advantages over NY:

- It's dirt cheap to live here. Maybe 1/3 of NY prices

- There are plenty of talented people, and user groups.

- There are some desirable startups, and a shortage of hires (as anywhere else, really).

Edit: formatting

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This looks really awesome. Funny enough I was just considering moving to Berlin for some startup work when my wife said "Why don't you go to Hacker School for a few months ?" (I had mentioned it earlier this year to her but the timing wasn't right)

So now this gets added to our list of "Why we should consider moving to Berlin". The only thing that has kept us off so far are the rather harsh winters. Was in Berlin about 60 days ago and of course, the summer is amazing and I totally loved the city for being so cheap and alternative... For New Yorkers, it's like Williamsburg, but all over the place ;)

I'll be following this closely. Thanks for taking the initiative to create this!

EDIT: Just told the wife, she says it's a sign - lol :P

"harsh winters" is relative. :) There tends to be less snow accumulation in Berlin than much of the Northeast US, and chances are you won't need a car, nor need to shovel it (plus walkway and driveway) out. And besides, meh-weather helps with productivity.

Come on! Winters are harsh, particularly the last one... The other thing you want to investigate before making the move is taxes! Income Taxes are high, the marginal rate is 45 pct.

For me, the winters are relatively better; unlike where I grew up (the 51st state), there's less snow on the ground, and walking everywhere keeps me warm. :)

As for taxes: if you're just coming for 3 months, no tax worries. Beyond that: 1) you get a lot more services for the tax money, like health insurance, university; 2) the treatment of capital gains taxes is very favorable for entrepreneurs: http://venturevillage.eu/gmbh-tax-change

Exactly. I come from Greece and haven't had any major problems with the Berlin winter so far.

London's cold was much more bitter, for what it counts.

Berlin was "dirt cheap" ten years ago. Rents have been skyrocketing in recent years. On the other hand, salaries haven't.

Yes. Having lived in New York for many years and visited Berlin several times in the last few, I can say that the cost of living there is skyrocketing. Also, 1/3 of the price to live in Berlin vs. NYC is a vast exaggeration, especially if you're talking about an English-speaker looking for short-term digs.

How do I apply? I have subscribed to the list. Am I supposed to wait for you to contact me?

That's correct. Should be within a few hrs :)

Great. Thanks a ton! :)

Sorry I'm still a bit confused. Do we wait for a personalised response or reply to the update?

I'll contact you. But if you want to skip the first step, just reply to the update, and tell me:

- What tech you'd like to work during the retreat (or book to go through, or project to work on).

- Do you have a github/bitbucket?

- Do you want to do the fulltime or extended weekend version?

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