A big reason for quitting my job at the beginning of 2020 is to be able to live somewhere I actually want to! (crazy talk)
Instead of scribbling tons of unorganized notes in my phone that I never manage to look at twice, here will be a collection of potential places I’m considering living in 2020.
Shenzhen, China
Pros:
- Cheapish: could rent a place downtown for $1k or less
- Thriving online business community and networking
- Chinese culture and language – I could continue learning Chinese
- Industry revolves around eCommerce and cross-border business
- Easy travel throughout China, Hong Kong, and SEA
- Tons of activities going on
- Have an established network and relationships there
- Ultimate frisbee
- Decent weather outside of rainy season
Cons:
- China-related issues / security
- Pollution
- Visa
- Boring, community not centrally located enough – hard time meeting others (happened before)
- Rainy season and monsoons from May – October
Koh Lanta, Thailand through KoHub
Pros:
- Cheap: ~$800/month
- All-inclusive coworking and living space
- 2 free meals a day
- Community of other location independent people
- In Thailand
- Massages
- Quick flights to anywhere else in Thailand and SEA
Cons:
- Could get boring being on that island
- The community there might be people focusing more on lifestyle and not business (haven’t looked into it)
- Internet could suck (apparently it doesn’t though)
- Coconut cowboys
Bangkok, Thailand
Pros:
- Plenty of apartments, around $1k or less for sure
- Huge community of expats and internationals
- Digital nomads / marketers / entrepreneurs
- Always something going on
- Great hub for the rest of SEA
- Good weather
Cons:
- Dirty, pollution
- Huge, hard to get around city
- Decent amount of sexpats and filth-bags not looking to do much besides bang prostitutes
- Party scene might get out of control in good and bad ways
Saigon, Vietnam
Pros:
- Plenty of apartments, around $1k or less for sure
- Good community of expats and internationals
- Digital nomads / marketers / entrepreneurs
- Always something going on and have connections there already
- Decent hub for the rest of SEA
- Good weather
Cons:
- Dirty, pollution
- Feel like I could be outgrowing the Saigon scene, a bit young and party-minded
- Visa issues
Austin, Texas
Pros:
- Solid community of like-minded people in the USA
- Texas has no state tax
- Tech scene
- Know a few people there and would be a fun and exciting leap back to the USA
Cons:
- Cost of living (it’s America)
- Difficult to take financial risks with business venture if I’m in the early stages
- Might get bored trying to grind behind a computer as a single male in my 30s, assumably less going on than in places like Thailand
“According to this method, Austin has a median household income of $55,216 but only$53,225 is required to live comfortably, according to the 50-30-20 rule. By that formula, if you’re an Austin resident making more than $55,000, you’ll have a little over $1,000 left to spend at the end of every year.”
Toronto, Canada
Pros:
- Strong community of online entrepreneurs
- Great city – fun and safe
- Outside of the USA – certain tax advantages
- Tech scene
- Know a few people there and would be a fun and exciting leap back to the North America
- Hockey and sports town
- Chinese population
Cons:
- Very high cost of living
- Difficult to take financial risks with business venture if I’m in the early stages
- Weather is too cold most times of the year
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