[unavida]

Surprised more people on here aren't saying nice, relaxed, sunny places like SE Asia. I'm a white american citizen and I've been living in SE Asia for 3 years having the time of my life while working remotely. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Looking back at the US, I don't miss the jerks everywhere, the value system of work, work, work and more money. Here in SE Asia, they value quality of life, being happy, family, and friends over money and "success" which is what Americans value.

[ryannevius]

Most (not all) places in SE Asia have air quality that will have health ramifications that aren't worth the upsides of living there. I unfortunately recently had to move my family out of there because of it. Air quality aside, it can be a great place to live.

[antigirl]

This. I've been in Bangkok for the past year and the air quality has been really bad. Not as fatal as china but almost there.

other factors

-Food is cheap but novelty wears off eventually and you will want to cook. Apartments are mostly expensive and small [in BKK] so kitchen is small. Western style groceries are expensive.

-Its too hot. Traffic is really bad. Public transport is air conditioned but walking to skytrain etc is tiring because of the traffic, pollution, heat around you.

-Wework or similar remote coworking spaces are not cheap

-Language barriers

-Time difference with clients back home [major one]

I did one month in Hanoi, Vietnam and hated it. Places with infastructure worse than Thailand make it awkward if you have to work everyday 9-5

I think it can be fun if you move around and do it in episodes. I'd like to do some time in SKorea and Japan Perhaps Taiwan too https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23297378 (but then also see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GIndXSfawA)

[jimhi]

All of these points are easily resolved by not living in the biggest city in your country. Bangkok is the New York City of Thailand. You could have all the same delicious food, but great air, no traffic, and more if you went to say Chiang Mai

[ryannevius]

Nope. I moved from Chiang Mai. It has some of the worst air quality in the world for a quarter of the year, and almost consistently worse than in Bangkok.

[jimhi]

That's a shame, guess I was only there during the good time

[antigirl]

I stayed in chiang mai for a month last year. Air quality is second worst in Thailand because of crop burning.

[Markoff]

I think Chiang Mai has issues with seasonal burning fields (same as Malaysia thanks to ID)

[badestrand]

Good points, but the plus sides of Bangkok:

+ incredible night life with some of the best bars and clubs I've ever seen

+ from downtown to the most beautiful beaches in just 3 hours by car

+ more dream islands and beaches just 1 hour by inland flight away

+ several national parks in range for weekend tours

+ super easy and cheap to hop to exciting neighboring countries (Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore) for a few days

+ actually there are many super nice coworking spaces for around $120/month and many cafès allow sitting for hours

+ probably the best dating scene in the world for white and black men

+ Thai people are probably the friendliest, relaxed and most easy-going people in the world

[antigirl]

Agree with the dating scene and nightlife. Beaches too. I really messed up my posture by working in cafes so tend to look for proper setups these days

[neurostimulant]

Air quality in Indonesia is pretty good (as long as you're not in Jakarta or any other major city in Java) and a lot of expats work remotely in Bali.

[Markoff]

that's just not truth unless you live in the biggest cities, it's not really an issue in most of the places, for instance I travelled across Thailand for months many times and only place I would consider dirty regarding air quality would be Bangkok

[antigirl]

You're absolutley wrong. Air quality is a huge issue in most Asian countries due to crop burning especially Thailand. You should look at the AQI and pm2.5 levels on a trusted app.

[Markoff]

yes, crop burning is seasonal issue in some locations of Thailand, Malaysia (from ID) and Indonesia, not all year round issue

[antigirl]

Go look at the AQI for last 12 months. I live here. I know.

[Markoff]

I looked at AQI right now and forecast for next few days and don't find there anything extreme, just a little bit dirtier air during rush hours caused by crappy cars and motorbikes without filters, but nothing extreme anyway, slightly above what is considered completely healthy.

[tluyben2]

That's in cities right? I know most people want to live in cities, but if you don't, I don't think that would be an issue.

[martinesko36]

Just curious, which countries in SE Asia would you recommend?

[Mengkudulangsat]

KL (my hometown) is great. There's reliable gigabit internet, which is important to remote workers I reckon. Dying to convince tech folks to come here instead of Singapore.

[ShorsHammer]

As a citizen you might not see it but Malaysia is tough for foreign developers and foreigners in general. I mean it's tough even for decent local developers, all the good ones get out asap. The only acceptable foreigner workers for most of the population are the ones who will do menial jobs, everyone else isn't wanted there. In SG no one cares about you being a foreigner.

Theres few options available to someone trying to work in Malaysia remotely:

- Get business visa sponsorship for a local job, be treated terribly and earn a bit more than local dev rates which are still lower than what you get flipping burgers in the West and work your remote job on the side.

- Apply for the Tech Entrepreneur visa which is inward looking and needs to either employ locals or be focused on the Malaysian market to be successful.

- Third option is buying a house and getting a 10 year renewable visa from that, the recent situation with the government banning permanent residents from returning home due to covid shows how little value PR actually grants you.

Not really conducive to remote workers moving there to live. Internet is great though and most services are well provided for.

I couldn't live in KL longterm, was there for most of a year and it really wasn't for me, there's some nice suburbs and all that but the pollution and soulless aspect of the city really gets to you after a while, it's so car-centric with malls everywhere being the only place you are encouraged to be a pedestrian.

For someone like me who likes to go out and drink a bit it's incredibly expensive. Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day costs basically nothing though which is amusing as a non-smoker. It's also hard to justify living in and supporting a country where people pay different prices for the same house based on their race along with a myriad of other race based laws, it's very backwards in a lot of ways. Everywhere has problems but these ones seem quite in your face once you live there for long enough. Bumiputera laws are bizarre and counterproductive to any semblance of a healthy society.

Penang is charming though and has a lot going for it, along with a big expat community, fresh air and always close to nature, Langkawi is a cheap 15 min flight away, it was once the "Silicon Valley of the East" but never really capitalised on that, regardless there's still a lot of tech manufacturing and associated industry.

[Mengkudulangsat]

I feel you.

Our homegrown tech scene is nothing to shout about. That's why realistically I positing a case for remote workers of foreign firms instead. Who knows, maybe the "right stuff" will spillover locally after a decade.

The bumiputera nonsense is outside our control, however unless you have to frequently deal with the government, most people won't even notice.

[ShorsHammer]

There's so much potential there, Malaysia has a lot going for it from a startup perspective it's just getting the talent, not just in tech either. Energy, rent, taxes are all incredibly low. I guess the same applies to startups but it all comes at a cost.

Homegrown success stories like grab eventually move to Singapore because it's just easier in a lot of ways.

I find it sad, been in and out of the country for nearly a decade and there's some real opportunities to lure in foreign remote workers or startups but there's little political will to do so. The concept that a foreigner could work for a US company from KL will just upset locals who would demand they do the work instead.

Know plenty of expats and nomad types from over the years and even basic things like accommodation is a nightmare. Monthly rentals are rare to come by apart from airbnb and that is banned in many apartments. Everywhere else in SEA you can walk up to an apartment and have a monthly lease signed in under an hour.

When I first moved in for the first week every security guard in the complex demanded to see my lease and accused me of using airbnb, was quite a shock.

[kenneth]

Having spent the last few months stuck in Singapore's awful lockdown, I'm pretty convinced it's not the place for me. Can't wait to get back home to HK. I'm starting to miss the smell of teargas.

That said, wasn't the biggest fan of KL when I visited. It gave me "trying too hard to be Singapore and failing" vibes. Was much happier chilling in Langkawi. For a big SE Asia mega-city, BKK or Saigon are far more livable than KL, Manila, or Jakarta (and the associated crime, traffic, etc.)

[Mengkudulangsat]

Langkawi is currently reeling from the virus. They are dependent on the Chinese cruise crowd and that have dried up completely. I expect real estate prices will see a hit.

On the bright side, they're likely to be the first spot in Malaysia to get 5G, so that will bode well for an emerging tech scene.

Expats love it because sin items (tabacco and alcohol) are not only tolerated, but duty free. People buy a house right next to the airport and fly to KL / Singapore for their once a fortnight big-city fix.

[dwd]

Try Labuan, not as touristy and good Internet due to the offshore finance centre. Large number of expats as well as the oil crew from Brunei who come for the tax free alcohol. Regular flights to KL or take the ferry/fly to KK or Brunei.

[st1ck]

KL isn't much of a mega-city compared to Bangkok, which is IMO an upside.

[unavida]

definitely Thailand. Vietnam is nice on the coastal cities.

[ShorsHammer]

How do you work remotely from Thailand for any reasonable amount of time? They are incredibly strict about these things. Sounds like an extended holiday and no stable way to live.

Apart from applying for an education visa and learning Thai (unsure that actually grants work rights?) or an actual work visa with associated FT job, you'd be on 1 month tourist visas with repeated border crossings and in legal grey zone at the whim of regulators.

Vietnam you can apply for extensions up to 1 year and everyone leaves you alone if employed remotely or running your own business abroad. Central Vietnam is a beautiful place.

[companyhen]

The elite visa is $15k for 5 years if you have the money that's the way to go. It's possible to stay in Thailand about 6 months max per year without risking getting into trouble on a tourist visa.

I've been living there 6 months out of the year the past 3 years and plan to get the elite visa once the pandemic settles down. Vietnam is another favorite spot of mine but Thailand has always been my #1.

[stephenr]

Foreigners paying 15K for a glorified tourist visa is why the myths about all foreigners being “rich” continue in this country.

[tluyben2]

There are also special rules/visa (I do not know details but I have a few friends who did it and are still doing it) where you can create a company and hire Thai people, you can stay + pay (almost) no tax. If I remember correctly, the tax incentives expire after 6 or so years, but you can stay there as long as the company exists. One of the friends is there 13 years now and had no issues (besides the paperwork, but he paid someone to do that). But I guess you do need some money; just going there on a shoestring is not great anyway; I would want to be able to leave at any time when I want to (that's emergencies, not leaving for fun!).