4 ms·

This is why I'm interested in starting freelancing/consulting. I think I'd enjoy being location independent more than I'd enjoy working at someone else's start

by cgag 14y ago

This is why I'm interested in starting freelancing/consulting. I think I'd enjoy being location independent more than I'd enjoy working at someone else's startup. Living somewhere cheap and only working part time while spending the rest of my time focusing on my own stuff really appeals to me. I haven't really figured out how to go about starting yet though. What's your cost of living like in Nha Trang?

cageface 14y ago
Yeah exactly. If you're not too materialistic you don't have too work too many hours to pay the bills and that leaves you with a lot of time to work on your own ideas and/or just enjoy life. Vietnam is very cheap. I can live quite comfortably here for about $1000/month and I could squeeze it down to about $600 if necessary. I'm currently renting a big, comfortable house within walking distance of the beach for about $350 a month. If you're at all interested in the hacker commune idea you could easily fit four people in a house this big and basically live for peanuts.
- stevenwei 14y ago
  What's your visa situation like? What country is your passport from, do you have a tourist or work visa, and how long are you able to stay in Vietnam?
  - cageface 14y ago
    U.S. passport, currently just on tourist visa. You can stay for up to three months on a single visa before you either have to extend it or leave the country and come back.
    - stevenwei 14y ago
      Ah, cool. So what are you planning to do when your visa expires? (I'm in a fairly similar situation, spent a few weeks in Vietnam this April, currently spending 3 months in Thailand, and then headed off to Japan - pretty much planning on bouncing around from country to country over the next few years.)
      - cageface 14y ago
        Not sure yet. Probably travel like you. One of the best perks of living in this area is that travel is very cheap and nothing is very far away. I'd like to spend more time in the Mekong delta and maybe also a few months in Cambodia and Laos. Japan would be fun too but you burn cash a lot faster there.
- cgag 14y ago
  I actually very recently searched HN for "hacker commune", I'm definitely open to it. Unfortunately I don't have many friends who I think would be interested, though it sounds pretty affordable even alone. One of my major concerns is finding apartments. How do you manage to find short term leases, especially when you don't speak the language? I'm also curious about how you handle health insurance and cell phone usage. Could you point me in the right direction with these things? Any links would be great, my email is in my profile if you don't want to keep going on this thread.
  - cageface 14y ago
    The best thing is to make some local friends that will help you out with this kind of thing, but there are also rental agencies etc that can help you. Cell phone usage is simple. Just buy a SIM card in any shop and pop it in your phone. For insurance I've used World Nomad's travel insurance.
beefsack 14y ago
Actually it's entirely possible to work at a startup and live overseas. I work for an Australian startup and recently moved to Guangzhou, China. You'll find that a lot of startups will be very flexible to your needs, the worst you can do is ask and see.

by cgag 14y ago

cageface 14y ago

Yeah exactly. If you're not too materialistic you don't have too work too many hours to pay the bills and that leaves you with a lot of time to work on your own ideas and/or just enjoy life. Vietnam is very cheap. I can live quite comfortably here for about $1000/month and I could squeeze it down to about $600 if necessary. I'm currently renting a big, comfortable house within walking distance of the beach for about $350 a month. If you're at all interested in the hacker commune idea you could easily fit four people in a house this big and basically live for peanuts.

stevenwei 14y ago
What's your visa situation like? What country is your passport from, do you have a tourist or work visa, and how long are you able to stay in Vietnam?
- cageface 14y ago
  U.S. passport, currently just on tourist visa. You can stay for up to three months on a single visa before you either have to extend it or leave the country and come back.
  - stevenwei 14y ago
    Ah, cool. So what are you planning to do when your visa expires? (I'm in a fairly similar situation, spent a few weeks in Vietnam this April, currently spending 3 months in Thailand, and then headed off to Japan - pretty much planning on bouncing around from country to country over the next few years.)
    - cageface 14y ago
      Not sure yet. Probably travel like you. One of the best perks of living in this area is that travel is very cheap and nothing is very far away. I'd like to spend more time in the Mekong delta and maybe also a few months in Cambodia and Laos. Japan would be fun too but you burn cash a lot faster there.
cgag 14y ago
I actually very recently searched HN for "hacker commune", I'm definitely open to it. Unfortunately I don't have many friends who I think would be interested, though it sounds pretty affordable even alone. One of my major concerns is finding apartments. How do you manage to find short term leases, especially when you don't speak the language? I'm also curious about how you handle health insurance and cell phone usage. Could you point me in the right direction with these things? Any links would be great, my email is in my profile if you don't want to keep going on this thread.
- cageface 14y ago
  The best thing is to make some local friends that will help you out with this kind of thing, but there are also rental agencies etc that can help you. Cell phone usage is simple. Just buy a SIM card in any shop and pop it in your phone. For insurance I've used World Nomad's travel insurance.

beefsack 14y ago

Actually it's entirely possible to work at a startup and live overseas. I work for an Australian startup and recently moved to Guangzhou, China. You'll find that a lot of startups will be very flexible to your needs, the worst you can do is ask and see.