@ahmetexplores

I grew up in Chicago and still return fairly often. I love the character of the different neighborhoods, the variety of architectural styles, and as others have said, the food scene is incredible. It's easy to make friends in the suburbs, perhaps not so much in the city itself. I have never witnessed racial tension here, and have been pleasantly surprised by the interracial friendliness I have observed. There are a wonderful selection of forests and parks just about everywhere, and the museu

The city is overrated. I feel like I have to be on guard most of the time. People are always trying to scam you, from taxi drivers to waitresses. It's fine for a three-day vacation which is more than enough but staying long-term is very subjective... Airbnbs are overpriced for what you get. Turkish hospitality is a joke. They’re really good at conning tourists here. I stayed for a month, but I should've just passed through. A layover at the airport would've been plenty.

I recently visited Amsterdam for the third time (and the first time since 2018). I personally think it's a little overrated, but a cool place to visit nonetheless. The architecture is beautiful, and there are lots of good places to eat. I don't like the main area of the canals in the city centre; it smells of weed and is often packed. However, the outer edges - such as the Jordaan district - are less busy and more interesting in my opinion. One thing that surprised me is how much trash was o

Lived here for 6 months 2X over the last few years. This city is so under the radar. While medellin is overrun with gringos you will find very few here. International food is quite good and you will even find michelen starred restos here. Internet is great, and many cafes or coworking/weworks to work out of. Bogota is a tech capital in latam, so a decent place to farm out work, although dont expect mass english proficiency. Women here are very good looking but more of the "classy" type versus t

Don't let yourself be discouraged by the reviews here! Most of them are untrue and very negative and actually they made me skip Santiago in 2022. I came to spend a month in February 2024 and it was amazing! Everyday I got impressed by how nice this city feels. I've been in every latam country apart from Venezuela. Santiago is for sure one of the best. The city is very developed, clean and organized at the same time has a lot of shops, nice architecture, museums, bars and places with a soul. It's

“Don’t take your phone out” is some outdated advice… there are several people on the streets and in the metro using phones and taking pictures. Remember that nothing stays the same forever. Rio is safer than many people describe. Use your common sense.

As a local living in Buenos Aires, renting a one bedroom apartment by myself, working from home and being very frugal (I don't dine out, I don't get take-out, I don't travel), I spend around USD 800 a month. If I buy myself something like a new bag or pair of jeans that number goes up by at least USD 100 (current value of USD 1 is ARS 1400). The cost of living for a local is severely outdated. It's more like the cost of living for an expat now.

(It seems my paragraph formatting is being removed due to the length of my comment, so sorry you'll have to deal with the wall of text if you want to read this, haha) Have been in Bangkok for the past 6 months. I've been nomadic for the past 4 years across Europe & the US, and as someone who is used to walking everywhere and greenery, I found it quite difficult living here. I spent my first 5 months living in Airbnbs, which were fine for around $6-800/m, and for the last month decided to live in