@secondlife

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 The cost of living for a local is severely outdated.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.

Difficult to find places to work in the evenings if you work for a western company. Hard to find a good quality restaurant, Google reviews are very inflated here.

I loved my stay in Austin. I had heard a lot of people moved here during COVID and wanted to see it for myself. We stayed around Lady Bird Lake, like on the south side of the river, a very nice area. We were there in July so it was quite hot, but in the shadow it was fine to walk. It is dry heat, not like in Thailand, so while it's hot it's not sweaty which is much better. The average quality of food here is very high, like some of the best food I had in the world besides maybe Japan. Not eve

Ubud is dead. I plan to stay here for a month starting today, but my heart is already breaking. The traffic is too much. The center of Ubud is always crowded with cars and motorcycles, not a very relaxing environment. It's a pity.

Overall, a pretty great place. Good restaurants and many breweries. Solid entertainment. It has all four seasons and lots of sunshine. Some homelessness issues downtown, like most cities.

avoid going to the waterfalls with weed (or buying any on the way there) It's a very old trick the cops stop & search bikes on their way back. (while the locals try to sell you stuff on the way there)

So… amazing food. Great public transportation. Very clean. But very conformist. Self expression limited. The irony of seeing an exhibit on graffiti, yet no actual graffiti in the streets. And the causal racism especially if you’re brown. You could be British born but still expect to be sat far away from everyone else at cocktail bars, experience comments and have weird assumptions made.

I spent a month in Tirana in February 2022 and then returned in October for a one-week stay. Generally, I was pleasantly surprised and would recommend Tirana. Here are my Pros and Cons: Pros: - Cheap: Airbnbs are cheap (especially on a monthly basis), food is very cheap (around a third of what you would pay in Germany) and still good quality (most of the time). - Walkable: The city center is pretty compact and everything can be reached on foot - Green: The city center has multiple parks around

San Miguel de Allende is a very cute town. The colors and architecture of the buildings really give a European vibe, not to mention the cobblestone roads. It’s a fantastic place to stay for one week max! Also, there are A LOT of old, wealthy gringo retirees here that were once hippies, so a lot of organic and vegan options are here. It’s in the low 80’s each day and sunny. Once the sun sets, the temp drops and feels amazing outside. Long sleeves or light jacket is plenty. Pros: -bea

Most people I speak to confirmed my belief that Marrakesh is a place to visit for a few days max. The excitement and chaos are novel for a short time, particularly in the old medina. Scams, expensive and tiresome. For sure Marrakech is something to experience, it really is a buzz, especially if you want to shop but within a couple of days I learned to avoid the medina as much as I could and within a week I was ready to leave. Plenty of excursions and day trips including Atlas mountains, Sahara,

Unless you want to spend the whole ski season in an outdated, tiny, crowded and poorly manage ski resort and terrible town and atmosphere, there’s nothing worth noting to do in Bansko. Food is horrible, with no real healthy options to eat outside. Very limited and low quality products supermarket. Almost all restaurants have typical ski resort offers for all the British you will find here. Yes, tons of them come for vacations and the resort gets so crowded that even in the best days only a co

Playa has been really good to me. The digital nomad community (at least over my winter stay) has been INCREDIBLE. Join the Facebook groups, find the WhatsApp groups - it’s so easy to meet others. The beach is ok, seaweed isn’t as bad in winter but it’s very visible and does smell. It rarely kills my beach day. The city has so many conveinces and is very walkable - it’s perfect for someone looking to work and enjoy themselves. Internet has been stable and fast. I get it’s not authentic,

Great for a visit. Beautiful scenery. Good food. I thought it would be great to live here, start a startup and be in the same time zone as SF, close to Seattle, etc. But compared to Vancouver in 2009, one big change that totally ruined it for me: Absolute zombie apocalypse of drug addicts and shouting/violent home less people. It was shockingly bad. The locals often visibly carry naxalone (anti-overdose medicine, I learned) because there are so many people overdosing in the street. Police were n

Do not go to Baltimore. Very unsafe, not much to do, bad roads, bad air, pollution everywhere (including water), and it’s not a nice place to be overall. Many murders and gangs. Do yourself a favor by never going here.