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Ask HN: Affordable Locations for an Independent Study Period (Sabbatical)?

11 points by bolzano ↗ HN
I have been lucky enough to save up a good chunk of cash from regular work and side projects...

I would now like to take some time off (6+ months) to completely focus on my own development/education/reading etc... I am pretty free to go wherever I think would work best, what I would like is to find a relatively cheap place with:

- A decent living space (1 bed apartment)

- Relatively cheap and decent food and rent (hopefully < $1500/month all in)

- Good Internet Access and a comfortable/quiet place to read/study

- Some chances opportunities to socialize with like minded individuals (I'm afraid I speak only English)

- Somewhere not too hot (< 28C please! :) ) but with good access to nature (I love the outdoors and hiking)

Can anyone recommend somewhere? I'm a single mid/late 30s happy go lucky guy, who loves science and philosophy, if that helps!

I'm thinking SE Asia, or South/Central America are my best bets? Or maybe India/Nepal?

Thanks!

44 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 68.1 ms ] thread
hackermailman
For $1500/mth you could comfortably live in Berlin if not eating out restaurants everyday, could even go to some schools there since tuition is free. Here's typical neighborhood rent averages in the form of a metro map https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/jan/08/costs-berlin-...

SE Asia is interesting to visit but staying there half a year in a chaotic country which likely will have persistant flooding during rain seasons, non potable water, random power outages and endemic corruption from taxi drivers to police demanding bribes everytime you drive gets annoying really fast if your goal is studying and not living the tourist-bro party lifestyle. I spent a few months there doing exactly what you are doing, and immediately regretted not going to the Balkans or even Georgia (cheap cost of living) instead since my goal was to study.

bolzano
Thanks! I hadn't even considered Berlin or most of Europe to be honest, I just assumed it would be pricey... How did your trip work out? I'm fairly excited and hope it works out well... the food in Thailand though does tempt me :)
hackermailman
If you want to go there you should go, in hindsight what I should have done is attended a conference in another cheap cost of living country to meet other people doing the same field as I was studying but instead I did the chaotic country route. The worst part will be returning to your own country and having customs/ICE agents not believe you were there for studying since 'nobody does that'. So prepare for very long interrogation depending if their forensics people are on hand to scan your phone, laptop ect. while at the same time accusing you of being an international drug lord or sex offender.
bolzano
Oh god that sounds awful, I'm really sorry to hear that. I'm from Western Europe so things are bit/lot more chill here, (especially if you're white :( ). Thanks for the tips, I'm tempted to go somewhere exotic but I don't want chaotic
chungleong
I doubt you can live comfortably in Berlin off $1500. That's roughly my budget here in Krakow, Poland. Half goes to rent. Half goes to other costs. No way one can get by with that amount in more expensive Germany. Expats generally have to pay much more in rent than local residents.
muzani
Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are much less chaotic these days, and Grab (the guys who acquired Uber) has cut down greatly on taxi driver corruption. Traffic is still a mess, but stay out of KL (e.g. Cyberjaya) and you'll have a good time.
notahacker
Good for you, and enjoy. If I were you I'd be tempted not to commit to the full six months in one place - you might find a periodic move helps refresh things more

You might need to be slightly more flexible on the temperature for SE Asia (~30C and humid is pretty standard, though there's plenty of nice sea to cool down in) and speaking only English is going to somewhat limit your social options in many parts of South America.

bolzano
Cheers, that is something I'm sort of considering, perhaps 3 x 2 month periods or longer if I like the place... I'm kind of in the ideas gathering phase here.
muzani
I second this. Malaysia has a very good level of English, lots of nightlife and you can find a good spot for socialization. The city will probably cost around $1000 a month in food and rent, but I could probably recommend a few places out of the city, which are cheaper and accessible. Feel free to drop me an email.

You can probably save quite a bit and get a good monthly deal through Airbnb.

Bali is quite nice too.

Fair warning: we're facing a crazy heat wave this time of year, but there's plenty of air-conditioning. Take note that the humidity will leave you sweating up to 3 AM without an air conditioner.

vram22
How about the annual few weeks or months of haze from tree burning to clear growth in Malaysia and Indonesia? I've heard from friends that it is a health issue while it lasts, in the two mentioned countries and also in Singapore and maybe in Thailand too; also heard that something was being done to mitigate it, some time back. Do you know if there is any improvement in the situation?
santa_boy
$1,500 is pretty good for India. Bangalore is a good choice. Outdoor Activity is pretty accessible .. 3-6 hrs drives. The city is pretty crowded. But, English and vibrant software crowd can make it a good choice.
bolzano
Yes, I'd love to go to India, seems so vibrant and colourful! Thanks for the suggestion
asicsp
since you mentioned outdoor/hiking, if you do end up choosing Bangalore (name changed as Bengaluru now), check out Bangalore Trekking Club[1] - I did many treks and social events like tree plantation, blood donation, hill clean up, etc with them while I was in Bengaluru. Apart from many hills surrounding the city, you can lookout for trips to lush green Western ghats, Himalayas, etc. The best part is the club is non-profit and even trek organizers pay out of their pocket to share all the costs

[1]http://www.bangaloretrekkingclub.com/

bolzano
This is great! Thank you
keiferski
Check out the Balkans. Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, etc. All fascinating countries and you can easily get by on $1,000 a month.
chungleong
Money will go even further in Lviv, Ukraine. $1500 is like 5x the median salary. One can live like a king. In a beautiful European city. Safety of the Polish border just an hour away.
bolzano
Interesting! How about English speaking, is it possible to get by there? Socialise?
keiferski
Definitely possible to get by with English in Ukraine, but - many foreigners have left in the past year or so, due to the conflict in the east. There's nothing to physically worry about in the western part of Ukraine (where Lviv is) but the perception has scared some people away.

Another suggestion is Tbilisi. Very inexpensive, interesting place with 360-day visa on-arrival for all nationalities.

bolzano
Yes, have heard very good things :) Thanks!
pouta
Try Porto, Portugal. Amazing weather and city.

1500 p/month is more than enough to live comfortably

bolzano
Is it a bit cheaper than Lisbon, I'm not sure I could get by on $1500 in Lisbon from a previous short experience. It would be close... but I haven't tried Porto before
quickthrower2
Nottingham UK: cheap but with strong uni nearby so interesting people to meet or study with.
bolzano
Interesting... I hadn't really thought about the UK... Wouldn't the cost of living be quite high though (I'm used to London prices which are expensive!)
quickthrower2
You can probably get a 1 br place for $600/m rent plus bills. GBP is weak atm. So ballpark you could probably do it. There are probably even cheaper cities or towns in UK too.
irremediable
COL is high in London and cities around it, but way cheaper in other parts.

FWIW I'd recommend other places over Nottingham, though. Birmingham is a vibrant "second city", with low prices and good connections to London. Several decent universities. Manchester is cheaper still. Southampton is cheaper than London and has good culture and a good university. Glasgow is a cheap and rapidly rejuvenating city.

Nottingham is IMO pretty dull. Maybe the parent commenter has better experiences though.

badpun
Gdansk, Poland. For the next six months, the weather will be great (warm/hot, but practically never exceeds 26-28 C) and days will be long. Good public transport. You can live close to the beach. Good amount of IT around, and educated people who do speak English. Internet is not a problem (300 MBit/s at $20 a month). Charming nature/lakes/villages for hundreds of miles outside the city (the Kaszuby region). At $1500 a month, you’ll be living very comfortably.

The November-March part of the year is a bit dreary, but April-October is glorious for the most part. Just the right kinds of temperatures, and sun. If you’re from Europe, I’d say it’s probably better here (and in places in Europe with similar climate) than in SEA during spring and summer.

I’d recommend a few other Polish cities as well, but they’re not on the coast and so they can get hotter in the summer.

bolzano
Sounds great actually, another one I hadn't considered. Thank you
thorin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokhara

Probably the cheapest viable place you could go and find a nice set up. Easy access to hiking in the Himalaya! Internet connection is ok and has probably improved since I was there. You can probably get by on 200$ a month if you are frugal and the climate is mild!

Or "splash out" and stay here: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/11315606?location=Pokhara%2C%...

probably still spending <500$ a month!

bolzano
That sounds absolutely amazing! At that price I could stay longer! Are there many English speaking people there I could socialise with? Or is it just tourists passing through?
thorin
There are plenty of English speakers or locals who want to improve their English to work in tourism. There are lots of long term visitors and European or Americans running business over there like trekking, rafting, retreats etc. You're only a few hours away from 8000m peaks and the whitewater and culture is fantastic.
pieterhg
I made a site exactly to find these kinds of places called Nomad List.

Here's mild (20'C - 30'C) cities with fast internet and many young tech enabled people there to socialize with:

https://nomadlist.com/mild-cities-with-fast-internet-and-man...

1) Lisbon 2) Mexico City 3) Melbourne 4) Tokyo 5) Hong Kong

The more popular cities don't show with this filter query because they're a bit too warm now (>30'C). Try removing warm and seeing what you get!

bolzano
Yes, someone mentioned this site, and it's been excellent, thank you! Great job
dontbenebby
Interesting. When a city lists a dollar figure, is that the monthly rent, or total cost? (rent + estimate of meals etc)
pieterhg
It's the Nomad Cost, which is the cost of living per month for a person living mostly from hotels/Airbnbs and eating outside. If you click the sort dropdown and select local cost, that's the cost of living for a local.
nextos
Rural Spain and some coast hotspots, especially in the Atlantic have really good weather, food, infrastructure and cheap housing.

Also the weather is really mild all year round.

vram22
Can you mention names of some such places there? Sounds like a good combo of factors for a vacation.
nextos
This article should be a good starting point:

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/aug/15/slow-train-sp...

vram11
Thanks, will check.
vram22
I read it, it's good. Would be good to visit there sometime.
nextos
Glad you liked it. I think it's a really underrated region, although some people are starting to notice as seen in The Guardian article comments.

If you avoid July 15 - August 15 it should be extremely quiet.

vram11
Cool, thanks for the tip.

Such places - quiet, natural, rural, scenic, etc. - should really be the norm, not the exception. I am reminded of Gandhi's reply to someone (maybe a reporter) asking him "What is your opinion of civilization?"

He said "I think it would be a good idea."