[Que enspastic]

Ideally I’d live in Bangkok but the wages are low.

This cities where the wages are high I find property is super expensive

I don’t want to live in Texas

What’s the ideal city providing a good all round balance of the important things in life ?

[Dragan]

(02-27-2018 02:56 PM)Que enspastic Wrote:  

Ideally I’d live in Bangkok but the wages are low.

This cities where the wages are high I find property is super expensive

I don’t want to live in Texas

What’s the ideal city providing a good all round balance of the important things in life ?

EE man? Warsaw and Krakow are nice and cheap by european standards, and a lot of western/english speaking expats work in places like these cities for western companies or IT companies. I assume the pay is decent.

If you want cheap, I think the route is to get hired by an american company and then volunteer for an overseas assignment. Apparently a lot of salarymen, dudes with family aren't interested in doing overseas duty even though you get hazard pay.

From personal expereince you would not be disappointed with Belgrade, espeically if you have a valuable skill or american degree. Computer programming comes to mind, but also banking, accountant, consulting, etc. Belgrade is super cheap and has nice living standards, relatively, and I know it is big hub for western companies since it's the biggest city in the balkans. It is also very safe, has lots of cafes, and people are friendly. Serbian immigration law makes it significantly easier for you to live there, than say croatia or poland. Like way easier. long term residency is also easier as well, and don't require much money of anything like that. Keep in mind if you're working for a western company they're going to have to pay a western salary. That means a lot of money to pocket for yourself or to party.

Skopje macedonia is about a third the size of Belgrade, and is safe and beautiful. It's also cheaper, while still being a capitol city. There may not be as many jobs, but a whole lot less people know of skopje than belgrade...

I think a decent condo can be had In belgrade for 100,000USD, although I have no clue. Average rent per month there ranges 200-500 (500 being something really nice). Now maybe if you get a huge western place it may be 1000USD, but I think that says a lot about how cheap the property market is there.

[Pointer]

You don't get hazard pay for EE, it's not a war zone lol.

I vote for cities like Warsaw, Prague, Budapest and maybe Bucharest. I'm sure there are some cities in SE Asia as well but I'm not familiar with them. You have to look at outsourcing destinations if you want to live in a country that has a low cost of living/cheap property combined with decent career opportunities.

There are a few situations you can take advantage of if you have a university degree in IT, Finance, Accounting, Management or even Engineering:

1. Work for a consultancy company in a Western country.

Your best bet is to work for big consultancy firms like PwC, Deloitte, Accenture etc. Getting hired is not hard but finding a project in a country of your choosing is not guaranteed.
You'll get a Western salary and all expenses paid. You'll also need to fly on Sunday/Monday and return on Friday. Sometimes you can negotiate weekend stays depending on the project/long flights 4+ hours or you can stay at your own expense. Projects can last from one week to one year so you're not really in control.

2. Work for a corporation in a Western country that has a shared service in <insert desired location>.

Depending on your position, they will send you on assignment to the shared service location. You'll essentially work the same way as a consultant only internally. This is not a permanent assignment.

3. Work for a corporation in a Western country that wants to relocate you to <insert desired location> permanently.

In this case you will get a pay cut. I know quite a few people who have been relocated from Germany to Spain or from UK to Poland due to company restructuring and they all got pay cuts. No Western company will send you to a shared service hub to do the job of a local for a Western salary. Your salary will probably be higher than a local salary though.

4. Apply for a position in the local shared service. Many offer relocation packages for Western people who have the necessary skills/languages and the salary, depending on your experience/negotiation skills can be significantly higher than a local salary. That may not be a lot if you compare it with a Western salary but this is the easiest way to move to a new country.
In Poland for example if you're smart it's very easy to move up into a shared service. There's usually high turnover so it's not uncommon to see people in their 30s in leadership positions if they decide to stick around.

5. Work for a consultancy company in EE/SE Asia etc.

Many consultancy companies have offices abroad and the pay is quite good relative to the cost of living. Depending on the project, they will send you to Western countries all expenses included. That's really the best of both worlds.