<story><title>Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?</title><text>I&amp;#x27;m a software engineer in the bay area and have been thinking about moving somewhere cheaper (in USA or aboard) where I can live cheaply and focus on my own intellectual pursuits. I&amp;#x27;d love to be in a place where the living costs are low and where there exists a thriving intellectual community (I&amp;#x27;ve noticed cities near top academic institutions tend to create that sort of atmosphere but not necessarily). I&amp;#x27;d prefer a place where English speakers are common enough such that I won&amp;#x27;t feel isolated by a language barrier. I haven&amp;#x27;t traveled too often and would love to hear from HN community about any places that match this general description. Thank you in advance!</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>msadowski</author><text>If you feel adventurous you can consider moving to Poland. I would recommend Krakow. Most young people will speak English, there are couple of top Universities there (PK and AGH for technical schools, UJ for humanities, medicine and some tech too and UE for economics). The tech scene seems to be constantly growing, with lots of international companies having their offices there. As a senior dev in Poland you can earn somewhere between 12-20k PLN a month. Renting a flat will be between 1.5-3k PLN(~400-800USD) depending on thr standard. Additional perks you can enjoy is free(as you pay it on your taxes) healthcare, amazing food, great nightlife and proximity of other European countries (the flights are super cheap).</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>flavor8</author><text>You&amp;#x27;d have to be quite apolitical to consider a move to Poland right now.</text></comment>
<story><title>Ask HN: Cheap places to live with a good intellectual atmosphere?</title><text>I&amp;#x27;m a software engineer in the bay area and have been thinking about moving somewhere cheaper (in USA or aboard) where I can live cheaply and focus on my own intellectual pursuits. I&amp;#x27;d love to be in a place where the living costs are low and where there exists a thriving intellectual community (I&amp;#x27;ve noticed cities near top academic institutions tend to create that sort of atmosphere but not necessarily). I&amp;#x27;d prefer a place where English speakers are common enough such that I won&amp;#x27;t feel isolated by a language barrier. I haven&amp;#x27;t traveled too often and would love to hear from HN community about any places that match this general description. Thank you in advance!</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>msadowski</author><text>If you feel adventurous you can consider moving to Poland. I would recommend Krakow. Most young people will speak English, there are couple of top Universities there (PK and AGH for technical schools, UJ for humanities, medicine and some tech too and UE for economics). The tech scene seems to be constantly growing, with lots of international companies having their offices there. As a senior dev in Poland you can earn somewhere between 12-20k PLN a month. Renting a flat will be between 1.5-3k PLN(~400-800USD) depending on thr standard. Additional perks you can enjoy is free(as you pay it on your taxes) healthcare, amazing food, great nightlife and proximity of other European countries (the flights are super cheap).</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>sawmurai</author><text>+1 for Poland. I am not living there but very time we visit my fiancée family we literally see how the economy is thriving. Exciting times for Poland.</text></comment>