Good locations worldwide for a coder gypsy wannabe [closed]?

The Netherlands Pros English speaking Excellent broadband Liberal attitude Cons Not the cheapest living costs (not living in the Holland region reduces these a lot) Weather can be poor. (Very similar to the UK) Jamaica Pros Excellent weather Good broadband coverage English speaking Cons Hurricanes gh murder rate Cyprus Pros English speaking Great weather Cheap broadband Large community of British ex-pats Cons Occasionally too hot Not all of the island is English speaking Greek/Turkish relations sometimes become tense Australia Pros Fantastic broadband coverage Great weather 100% english speaking Visit the great barrier reef Cons Home to most venomous snakes in the world Spiders, scorpions etc Barbados Pros English is the official language A moderate tropical climate Often spared from tropical storms and hurricanes due to location Cons Internet penetration is only 56% Ireland Pros Ireland has very cheap internet rates Gorgeous scenery 62.6% of Irish households have broadband Cons Bad weather Malta Pros English as the main language Hot mediterranean climate (Rainy winters but hot, dry summers) Widespread broadband Cons Cable Internet is run by a monopoly, Melita Plc (formerly OnVol).

Holland is a region in the Netherlands, you can greatly reduce living cost by moving to the southern or norther regions of the Netherlands, the very south "Limburg" has milder climate and more burgundian life-style. – Davy Landman Apr 7 '09 at 9:32 I've been to Amsterdam. Quite like it but definitely need some deep cash reserves from where I'm starting off from.

How is broadband and other infrastructure in the northern or southern regions? – Fung Apr 7 '09 at 9:46 The Netherlands is quite small, only in the really small villages you'll sometimes have limited broadband possibilities. But generally infrastructure in the Netherlands is at a high level.

I'm speaking for the Limburg region, not quite sure about the northern region. – Davy Landman Apr 7 '09 at 10:44 Hmmm - incorrect info on Australia. They don't currently ban sites, although are investigating this.

Will probably fall through when they realise how stupid they are being. Don't worry about the snakes and spiders - deadly but timid. Broadband coverage is good, but depending on usage may be expensive – Chris Apr 7 '09 at 12:48 1 The weather in Ireland can actually be quite lovely.

On the whole (the 6 months I lived there) I found it to be temperate and pleasant. Then again, I've lived in New England my entire life, so maybe that colored my opinion. – James McMahon Apr 7 '097 at 16:47.

I cannot recommend Vancouver highly enough. Pros: English speaking obviously, Has a large and entrepreneurial tech industry Consistently ranked in the top 5 cities to live in in the world for a reason Canada has so far been the G20 country which has suffered least in the recession according to the economists Unbelievable natural surroundings with associated recreational opportunities Olympics in 2010! Cons: Renting living or commercial space isn't that cheap (but then again relative to some places coughUK*cough* it actually still is!) A long flight away from a lot of things Broadband providers whilst roughly acceptable are pretty far from ideal Canucks' tickets are approximately $CAD INFINITE.

5th most expensive city to live in on the planet (Medium property value to median wage). – Tom Apr 12 '09 at 4:47 And worth every penny :) Bit surprised at that though (care to cite a source? ) givenmy personal experience is that the entirety of the southern UK is mor money for smaller properties than vancouver.

– annakata Apr 18 '09 at 22:50 So is the downvote cause the olympics are over now or what? – annakata Jun 2 '10 at 7:57.

This answer comes from 6 years of traveling and working on the road. Here are some of the places I've set up shop over the years. It's not in any order: Tonsai Beach, Thailand Pro: Cheap living Great Weather Great Food World-class Rock Climbing Fun vagrant climber population Con: Satellite internet Non 24/7 generator power Noosa Heads, Australia Pro: Amazing Surfing Backpacker town, thus an unlimited supply of drunken European girls Con: Dialup Seriously, Dialup.

Australia is 10 years behind on DSL Chamonix, France Pro: Alps Brie Cheap off-season Ski Chalet rentals ($1400/month, 5 bedrooms, sleeps 15, good WiFi, and a cook included! ) Con: A bit pricy unless you have funding or a lot of developers to chip in Hoi An, Vietnam Pro: Climate Relaxing vibe Amazing food! Cheap Good fast Internet, lots of options Con: 20 minute scooter ride to the beach no surfing or climbing Pamplona, Spain Pro: Balconies overlooking Cobblestone streets.

Full-on Hemingway vibe. 1st world == real DSL Cheap rent compared to the US The Running of the Bulls! Rock Climbing.1500 routes up to 9a within an hour's drive, and a good gym.

Con: Nobody speaks English. Period. You can't actually get permission to live there if you're an American, so you'll be "undocumented" Hard to get set up with Apartment, DSL, etc. Zanzibar, Tanzania Pro: 4000 year old stone town.

Your apartment will be pretty cool.Hot. Like Africa hot. Tarzan couldn't stand this kind of hot.

Swahili Food is awesome. Check out the "Two Tables restaurant" if it's still there. Beach Con: African Internet.

Not sure about the DSL situation, and it's a long flight back if you can't make it work. Bishop, California Pro: Road Trippable Free camping in the wilderness Free WiFi in town. Wireless Broadband all the way out to the Buttermilks Climbing Con: Eventually you'll want a shower.

Mauritius can change your life! It is the sweetest beautiful green island with %70 wireless connection coverage and with a national language of English.

Just ring me when you are there. – Orkun Balkanc? Apr 2 '09 at 12:13 Is living there expensive?

A friend of mine went there for her honeymoon. Said that everything is transacted in USD and they mark up the prices for tourist. – Fung Apr 3 '09 at 0:52 don't know yet cause i'm just offered to work there.

Hopefully I can tell you next month or so. – Orkun Balkanc? Apr 3 '09 at 6:43 Orkun, waiting for the update in a month =D – Fung Apr 7 '09 at 9:40 don't worry, i'll have a very detailed report soon.

Btw you got a website about your travels? – Orkun Balkanc? Apr 7 '09 at 10:36.

I worked there for 18 months and really loved it - it's got everything on your PROs list (apart from being near Thailand and Singapore, although you can get to some really far-flung places like Samoa and Tonga pretty easily). The only CON I can think of was the traffic (compounded by the lack of a decent public transport infrastructure). If you need to commute into the city from the suburbs I'd get a bike.

Depending on your nationality, you may have issues getting a work visa though :s.

1 Yes, have definitely considered New Zealand. But for retirement =). I know the New Zealand government is encouraging certain professions (accountants, IT, medical doctors and a few other) to migrate there.

What's the cost of living like? – Fung Apr 3 '09 at 0:56 Cost of living pretty good (certainly when compared to UK) - cars and apartments are cheap. Great beaches nearby and lots of good coffee!

– Paul Suart Apr 3 '09 at 7:43 1 Apart from Auckland, consider smaller centres in NZ such as Wellington and Christchurch. My experience is that Wellington has a lower cost of living than Auckland, and a much better traffic situation -- and a very lively community, both IT and culturally. Not so good for the beaches though!

– itowlson Apr 12 '09 at 4:38.

I'm answering my own question to give an idea of the kind of answer I'm looking for. Hopefully it'll also prove helpful to others looking to do the same thing. My suggestion for a pretty good place to relocate is Penang, Malaysia.

That's where I'm currently at =) The cost of leaving here is affordable. About USD300 for a decent 1K sq. Ft.Apartment. Meals normally range from USD2 to USD15.

Broadband is a near monopoly but readily available and stable most of the time although a bit low on bandwidth. Most cafes (especially international ones like Starbucks) have free wifi at all outlets. So you can just bring your work out and sit for the whole day and swap places during lunch.

All the usual services (courier, banking, etc.) you would get in a city are available as well. The developer community (SCOPE, MIND) is somewhat lively. Georgetown, the capital of Penang state is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Penang itself is a tropical island so there are plenty of nice beaches around. PROS: Affordable. Good infrastructure.

Nice laid back environment (which I think is great for developers). Tourist/ex-pat friendly. Near to Thailand and Singapore.

Can country jump when you get bored. Lots of outdoor activities. CONS: Not much cultural activities if you're into that (some might flame me but I'm giving my honest opinion).

Not pet friendly. Slow bureaucracy. Hot and humid weather gets to some people.

Don't have any representative pics on hand or I'd post them, too.

I have been to penang before , would love to work there. I find Singapore life way too stressful! – Rick J Apr 2 '09 at 4:30 I would say Penang is good place if you can run your business from anywhere.

However if you're coming here to look for a job then it might be slightly tougher. Although the talent pool isn't large but getting permits for foreigners is difficult. And yes, it's less clinical than Singapore =) – Fung Apr 2 '09 at 5:02 how easy is the migration?

– Click Upvote Apr 7 '09 at 9:28 Is that 300 usd /month or week? – Click Upvote Apr 7 '09 at 9:29 Pretty easy if you're coming in on a tourist visa. I think you're allowed to stay for half a year before you have to get your passport chopped again (normally at Thailand or Singapore) before reentering.300USD per month!

=) – Fung Apr 7 '09 at 9:39.

I have read an interesting blog article on a closely related subject: The joys and challenges of running a nomadic software company.

Myself and my partner (both of us work in IT sector) moved over to Vancouver, Canada a year ago and are having a fantastic life out here. Coming from the UK, the cost of living is so much cheaper here, and the standard of living much higher. Also, if you have a "wanted skill of Canada" (programming is included) then it is very easy to get a working Visa.

There are some good IT companies here, and lots of contract work (check out vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/ - a great place to find apartments/furniture too). The weather can be rainy, but we had some amazing sun last summer, and some great snow over Christmas - so it is great for different seasons. Lots of outdoor activities to enjoy - mountain biking, hiking, snowboarding/ski-ing, surfing...so you can balance your worklife with some fun!

People are incredibly friendly and helpful here too. Do it, come to Canada!

I'm of the same mind myself, and my target is Antigua in Guatemala. I was there a few years back and internet was readily available. Some/most of the locals speak english as it's a real backpacker haunt.

You can learn Spanish at US$100/week for 1 to 1 tuition, including accomodation. You can drive there from the states. Although I live in Australia, the idea of buying a car in Texas, loading up the family and heading south suits pretty well.

There's an international airport an hour away. The climate is pretty good too. BTW I ran into a old cattleman looking to retire in Monteverdi, Costa Rica, same goes as above but a little more expensive.

S call was close to the equator and high up - he reckoned that was the perfect climate.

Monteverdi looks a bit too exotic for me =) – Fung Apr 1 '09 at 3:48 I would be concerned my car would get stolen if I drove it through Mexico. – iterationx Apr 6 '09 at 14:57.

I would suggest South Africa but we currently have rather crappy broadband penetration until the Seacom line goes live in May~June. Other than that Mauritius is a good bet.

South Africa has a lot going for it if safety is not your concern at all. With an average of 50 murders a day it's not for everyone... – Maltrap Apr 11 '09 at 12:54.

Not Dublin, Ireland. Weather is pretty rubbish, cost of living is high and broadband is expensive. Mind you there's plenty of good craic in the pub :).

Haha. I stayed in Maynooth for about a month. Rained nearly every single day!

Public transport was pretty bad too. You really need your own car to get around. But the rolling greens outside of town... gorgeous =D – Fung Apr 7 '09 at 10:00.

There are some relevant threads on this topic from the "Business of Software" forum: discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?b... discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?b... discuss.joelonsoftware.com/default.asp?b....

We've been missing you. Really.PS : Avoid the route through Italy.

Montreal. Ok, it's cold. But, there's plenty of work with a .net orientation, and they speak both English and French, so you can learn to parlay vouz with the best of them, if you like.

Accommodations are quite reasonable too.

As you originally mentioned Bali is cheap, and it's wifi-ed all around. Weather is great too.

If I was on your place I'll choose ASIA and the following countries Singapore Hong Kong South Korea Japan (last one to visit if you was successful) Ok here's why Hard Working People and not lazy (also they are helpful) South Korea has the fatest internet connection ever on earth (read it on Gigaom) They have high and advanced technology They are cheap (but not very for the latest years) Very Very Clean and organized You are near China and Japan They have very beautiful landscapes I like it very much :) Google for more VISA and cost information. Also don't take your desicion on only one suggestion so you won't regret it!

He's not going there to get married :) – Click Upvote Apr 14 '09 at 15:07 I never recommend to come to korea. Now I live in Korea.In here , most programmer work about 14~15 hours per a day, If I finish work early, the manager give me extra work. There's no foreign programmer in korea.

As I know, almost asian country has the same condition – sunglim Mar 17 '10 at 14:41.

I can advise you Malaysia, good environment for IT work and cost of living is enough cheap. PS: I am doing that here already ;).

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.