[whatwhatwhat]

How many apartments are vacant in the US, just as a comparison, does anyone know? That would make the number much more meaningful.

Also, are these apartments dirt cheap and do they speak english in these areas at all? Maybe they could be a haven for startups, which are somewhat less bound by geography, if they were extremely cheap. I might just be dreaming though.

[math]

Try Phonm Penh (Cambodia). You can buy an apartment for $30k in a premium location. If you can't afford to buy, you can rent something decent for $60 a week or less. Food is about a third to half the price of what you're used to paying. Western standard places that are great to work in are springing up quickly now. Very friendly place. A lot of people speak English. Many of them have an entrepreneurial mindset (and run or dream of running some sort of small business). If you've got an interesting enough resume and want to check it out, feel free to ping me and I'll show you around (and depending on the state of the renovations you can stay one of my spare rooms).

[w1ntermute]

What kind of work do you do? I'm in college (CS major) now and am planning to start freelancing on the internet soon and continue that as my permanent job after I graduate. If I relocate abroad to a developing country but pretend to be located in America (just use my parents' address or something), I could make a killing off of this sort of thing and have a relatively high standard of living in a country like Cambodia.

Is the internet there fast/reliable (censorship isn't important because I can just use a US VPN)? How's the weather?

[w1ntermute]

Some more questions:

Is it difficult to wire money from America to developing countries like Cambodia?

For those cases where the people don't speak English, is it particularly difficult to learn the language when you're actually immersed in it on a daily basis?

What is the local social scene like? Is there a large expat community? If not, are the natives welcoming?

Hopefully it'd be possible to get some action. I don't mean to be crude, but that's sort of a requirement for me (and a lot of guys) to live in any place. It's obviously not an issue anywhere in America, but it certainly can be abroad. I have quite a few high school friends in the military, and those stationed in Japan and Korea have no problem getting local women, but Afghanistan and Iraq are a completely different story.

[white_devil]

For those cases where the people don't speak English, is it particularly difficult to learn the language when you're actually immersed in it on a daily basis?

Just hearing it all day every day won't make you suddenly magically start to understand it.

Of course, the difficulty level depends on the language. For example, many South-East Asian languages have tones and a highly bothersome writing system (especially compared to the 26 characters you're used to).

But no matter what foreign language you decide to learn, expect to make a huge effort.

[w1ntermute]

> But no matter what foreign language you decide to learn, expect to make a huge effort.

Haha, I guess this can't really compare to a few years of high school Spanish (not that I really learned anything from that either).

[math]

You can open a bank account at all banks if you have a local job. If not, Foreign Trade Bank are the ones to go with.

Transferring money is no problem (though the service I use to get a good rate - ozforex.com.au ask additional questions).

I've tried to learn Chinese and (a little bit of) Khmer. Khmer is much easier than Chinese, you'll pick up lots. But it's not essential.

It is VERY social, unlike any other place I've lived. Don't worry, the local girls will love you.

[w1ntermute]

> I've tried to learn Chinese and (a little bit of) Khmer. Khmer is much easier than Chinese, you'll pick up lots. But it's not essential.

Is Chinese used there as well, or was that just a hobby? According to Wikipedia, it looks like Khmer, unlike most SE Asian nations, is not tonal. That'd make things a lot easier for a tone deaf person like me.

> It is VERY social, unlike any other place I've lived. Don't worry, the local girls will love you.

What about the political climate? Is it less oppressive than China, or about the same or worse?

[ams6110]

Starting off your professional life by being deceptive is not something I'd recommend.

[w1ntermute]

I'm a native-born American, with a degree from an American college. I don't see why my pay should be reduced because of my location when I'm doing the exact same work.

[math]

ams6110 is correct, I'm not sure why he is being down-voted.

[math]

I develop software. I did this for 10 years in Australia before moving here and because of this have relationships with Australian companies that would allow me to do contracting work remotely for good money if that is what I wanted (however at the moment I'm working on personal projects, currently backrecord.com). You are right - GNI per person in Australia is ~$42k (assume it is similar for USA). GNI per person here is $650. So you live like a king.

Internet is reliable and fast enough (I use a 3G connection and this is very cheap). There are many telcos so lots of competition.

Weather is hot and at the moment wet. I love the weather.

btw: I don't think you'd ever get away with pretending to be located in America.

[w1ntermute]

> GNI per person in Australia is ~$42k (assume it is similar for USA). GNI per person here is $650. So you live like a king.

Yeah, US is $46k according to Google. Can you afford a chef, maid, and chauffeur? That would be absolutely awesome! (Sorry if I sound a little too giddy; I come from a lower middle class, rural background, and the thought of doing software development while living like a king in a faraway tropical paradise sounds absolutely magical.)

> btw: I don't think you'd ever get away with pretending to be located in America.

Why is this (honest question, I really don't know much about freelancing yet)? The time difference? For phone calls, I'd use Skype to get an American number I could give clients, and my parents would have no problems scanning & emailing any documents that might arrive in the snail mail.

[wallflower]

> > btw: I don't think you'd ever get away with pretending to be located in America.

If you are an American citizen, you have an obligation to pay income tax on your earnings. The same goes for many countries.

[whatwhatwhat]

Because you aren't actually in America.

[w1ntermute]

Yes, I already gleaned that much. My question is how a client I would only communicate with over the internet and/or phone could possibly know this.

[joss82]

You may be dreaming, but you're not the only one.

What would be the hurdles to get a startup running in China? The Great Firewall?

It's a big country so it's always possible to find a place that fits your personal taste. For example Sanya is a tropical island. Not much infrastructure there yet though.

[wisty]

Hurdles?

1) Language, especially when getting stuff like visas, work permits, incorporation, etc. You can stay on non-work (or business) visas, but it's not terribly legal.

As for the English standard, imagine you have a country with 1 point something billion people, and speaking English was discouraged until about 20 years ago (except if you were in intelligence). How do you teach it? Only young people tend to be fluent. Most English teachers have never left the country, or had much one-on-one interaction with people who can speak good English. Students are great at certain elements of formal written grammar, if it's in an exam setting. Vocabulary can be OK. But fluency can be a problem.

2) Red tape. It's non-existant for the old woman selling wonton soup by the side of the street (as long as she can run faster than the local city management, or can afford to give them lots of free soup), but not likely to be fun for foreign businesses.

3) Talent. I'm sure it's there, but you won't know how to find it. You can't tell if people are bright, unless you can communicated easily. Also,expect programmers with great geometry, good algorithms, and no idea how to work in a team; kinda like most countries, really.

4) Honesty. Chinese believe that "actions speak louder than words". If you don't understand this, and you won't, you won't understand why everyone is telling white lies to you. People may explain this as "face" related, or "high context communication", but to some people it looks very dishonest.

[joss82]

So, except for point 2, it's a matter of learning the language and culture thoroughly.

[joshwa]

As a foreigner you are not allowed to own a business in China. You must start a special "joint venture" company with a native Chinese partner, with something like $15-20k USD in a chinese bank. Expect to be screwed by your Chinese partner, the bank, the local government, your local vendors, your landlord, etc.

[yaix]

Great Firewall? Use a VPN, easy. (I'm doing it for many years).

Sanya is not an island, its a city on the island of Hainan.

Infrastructure in China is very good, especially train lines.

[matwood]

What is corruption like in China? IMHO, that would likely be the largest hurdle to starting a business outside the US.

[yaix]

Depends on the city. In the city I live in, apartments cost the same as in Germany, but with worse quality. But prices go down drastically in the countryside (because nobody wants to live there).