@nickdanforth

Chiang Mai has had a deep Buddhist influence running over the last 1,000 years and this can be felt in the helpfulness, patience and generosity of the Thai and long-term transplants you come across. The city has an active community scene (nomads, spiritual seekers, hikers, creatives), several mountains with hiking spots and waterfalls surrounding the city, over 20 water bodies inside the city -- many have cafes and walks around, several public parks, and over 13 national parks with campgrounds w

Great for tourism, bad for living. The City has a fascinating contrast of old and new. You will never get bored, it’s easy to meet people and have fun. Infrastructure and food are great. Thai people are friendly and welcoming, even when it not always feels genuine. With that said, it’s not a good city for long term living. It’s too hot and humid. Felt air temperature is between 37°C-45°C almost year round during the day. It’s makes all outdoor activity unpleasant. Getting your daily d

All in, Austin is a good city. We live in Hill Country now so we're a bit removed. But it's beautiful area once you get away from the highways. A good tech scene. Not too expensive (~$2100 for a nice 2 bedroom apt) for the U.S. Has wineries and breweries galore. Not a great place if you are a recovering alcoholic (!). Cons: extremely hot in the summer; reaches 110 F (43.3 C) in summer afternoons from June - September. Not very diverse. Highways are loud and obnoxious.

In terms of value for money for a city, I would say Kuala Lumpur is the best in all of Asia, high-quality apartments at a good price, high-quality restaurants, has a car scene if you are a car guy. I found it quite safe. For me, the weather was like 4 seasons in one day almost every day. Rains a lot, a lot of storms and also very hot and humid. Dating was ok not bad like Western countries but not the best. I found the city quite boring itself, not a lot to see inside of the city. If you are

I lived in Beijing for almost 3 years from 2014-2017. It's an incredible city with a lot to offer. It's an imposing place and not the most welcoming, but that's because it takes time to adjust. In a nutshell: beautiful parks, very modern infrastructure , friendly people, good transportation (the subway is FAR superior to London or NYC, for example), amazing food, relatively cheap, extremely safe, loads to do, incredible history. The one major con is the air pollution—it can get really bad, so

Stayed for 2 weeks after almost a year n a half in LatAm. Beautiful city; great food options- especially for Asian food lovers. Plenty of authentic Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese options for about 50% of what you would pay in a Western city. Decent hostels will cost $11-$15 weekdays and between $18-$30 on weekends.... Good internet; beautiful architecture and people but it is true Hungarians can be very cold at times. Overall a good stay with many destinations just a quick and cheap flight/tr

Pros: Food carts, local microbrews, lots of outdoor activities within day trip range, high property values. Cons: trash everywhere, out of control crime, violent drug-addicted "houseless" everywhere, mediocre public schools, some of the highest taxes in the country, ineffective police force, antiquated inefficient form of city government, very high rents, passive aggressive culture.