Cheap destinations with reliable internet?

July 30, 2008 9:18 PM

Where could I spend 3-6 months, that has a low cost of living and reliable internet?

I am interested in taking a few months to half of a year and living/vacationing somewhere other than my current location(Ohio). Either within the US or another county is fine. I work via the internet so I would like any recommendations on a good place to go that would have reliable internet so that I could continue to work.

I guess close to Eastern Time Zone would be good, as I do have a general timeframe that I have to be working, but I am single so I could keep strange hours (relative to the local time) if needed.

I do require it to be a place that is still a good deal for those spending American Dollars. I was thinking 3 to 6 months as that would allow me to rent an apartment more in line with locals' rates rather than the tourist rates you see for a few week or monthly rental.

posted by travis08 to travel & transportation (25 comments total)

Montreal, Bangkok.
posted by dawdle at 9:27 PM on July 30, 2008

I hear Bangkok is not as cheap as it used to be, and it's 11 hours from EST. I'd suggest one of the towns in Mexico or Central America that have a lot of expats - Antigua, Granada...
posted by lunasol at 9:48 PM on July 30, 2008

Re: Bangkok. Also, unless you speak Thai or have connections there you won't be able to get the cheap local apartment prices. They have different prices there for foreigners on everything: apartments, taxis, etc. The internet can be good there, but it's also erratic and unpredictable.
posted by sharkfu at 9:52 PM on July 30, 2008

Halifax, Manila.

I realize that SEA entails a 12 hour time change, but at least you never have to change the time on your watch.

I like the Philippines. English is widely spoken, people are friendly, internet is reliable. Although the food is not as interesting as Thai.
posted by dawdle at 9:59 PM on July 30, 2008

Montreal? Are you joking? It's expensive there.

Halifax is enormously cheap, though.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:14 PM on July 30, 2008

Maine is gorgeous, EST, and cheap.

Do you have a car?
posted by sondrialiac at 10:18 PM on July 30, 2008

Which Halifax are you talking about?

I have a car, but I am guessing that Maine is not much cheaper than where I live in Ohio.
posted by travis08 at 10:23 PM on July 30, 2008

Guatemala is nice, good internet availability in the main cities, interesting stuff to do. I'd recommend Antigua or Xela. I think it's 2 hours off EST.
posted by bluejayk at 10:27 PM on July 30, 2008

Burlington, VT is close to Canada - which makes it fairly exotic. It's cheaper there than most places on the east coast (by virtue of its being in the middle of nowhere). I can't guarantee you'd get a reliable cell phone signal... but internet shouldn't be a problem.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 10:49 PM on July 30, 2008

Coos Bay, Oregon.

A small city, but a major west-coast port. Cost of living is very low in Coos Bay and surrounding towns.

I suspect that most of the cheap cities and suburbs in the US have reliable internet at this point.
posted by zippy at 10:53 PM on July 30, 2008

Cairo, Egypt. Even the McDonalds have WiFi. Although since I left I've heard there have been some conflicts arising out of increases of formerly subsidized goods like bread and gasoline.
posted by Deathalicious at 11:00 PM on July 30, 2008

Montevideo, Uruguay
posted by lois1950 at 12:37 AM on July 31, 2008

It doesn't really fit your timezone requirements, unfortunately, but parts of Indonesia would otherwise fit the bill quite nicely.
posted by rodgerd at 1:52 AM on July 31, 2008

Coos Bay is one of the most depressing shitholes in Oregon I've ever had the displeasure of visiting.
posted by floam at 2:45 AM on July 31, 2008 [2 favorites]

Czech Republic. Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever see, great history, beatiful women, and just all around awesome feel. Everything is dirt cheap there, beers for a quarter, packs of cigs for less than a Euro, super cheap and good food (I was eating a plate of dumplings for what i remember being less than 3$ american.) I don't know about lodging but I'd think you could find something pretty cheap, I stayed in a hostel for like 20$ a night. I don't know about internet, didn't really use it there but I'm sure they have it.
posted by BrnP84 at 4:02 AM on July 31, 2008

If the time difference isn't too much of an issue, I'd add Brno in the Czech Republic to the list. Prague is getting more and more expensive by the day and with the dollars further decline against the Czech Crown you'll get more bang for your buck outside the capital. From Brno you can jump on a train and be in Prague, Bratislava or Vienna with a couple of hours (OK maybe three). Internet connections are fairly easy to come by and there's plenty of wifi spots. You could rent an apartment (or room) in one of the old concrete panel buildings for peanuts. The language is a sod to learn, but plenty of people speak good English. Not sure what else to add other than good luck wherever you end up.
posted by RobSog at 4:37 AM on July 31, 2008

Portland, Maine, just avoid the dead of winter.
posted by gudrun at 5:12 AM on July 31, 2008

PEI, Canada. Low cost of living, especially compared to Halifax.
posted by scabrous at 5:45 AM on July 31, 2008

US suggestions:

Florida Panhandle. Get a place about 5-10 miles from the beach, kinda near a wal-mart, and you'd be paying very very cheap rent and still be able to have fun with the hicks on the beach. The beaches are beautiful there, and there's easy access to internet. Places like Dothan AL, might also work.

Tenn / Kentucky ? Live in the hills or mountains. Those areas are economically depressed, so things are really cheap. Again, you'll be amongst hicks, but that's the cost of being cheap.

Michigan coast ? I have no idea what would be cheap up that way, but it's beautiful and I'm sure if you're willing not to have lake views from your bedroom, you could probably live cheap. Probably higher quality hicks up that way...

Outside the US:

I recommend these more highly. When else will you get to be a bachelor, live in a cool place, keep crazy hours, and generally have a blast?! You won't. Or at least you might not. So take advantage and travel and live somewhere interesting.

Guatemala / Costa Rica. Amazing beauty. CR is more built up and more expensive. Even if you're paying tourist-ish prices (esp in CR), you can live cheap, especially if you're not on the beach or in some eco-resort (i.e., get an apartment in San Jose, or Golfito or some other regional capital. Still cool, and easy access to internet). Central timezone.

Venezuela / Peru / Ecuador. These are all in central or mountain time. Amazing countries (never been personally, but I know some USians who've been and I know some locals too), easy internet (esp in cities), and cheap.

I wouldn't want to live in SEA if I had to be on US time... You're going to be a bit lonely already, and, I'd be afraid that you won't be able to enjoy the life of the country if you're totally "upside down" all the time. How will you eat out? How will you get a beer when you need a beer? Etc. If you only had to 1/2 way be on US time, or only 3 days per week or something, I'd consider it. Once you're there, it's really cheap.
posted by zpousman at 6:22 AM on July 31, 2008

Yeah dude, Kentucky. I go to school in Lexington, and the surrounding areas (well, lexington itself even) are very cheap to live in and are getting broadband penetration. Not sure if you can get DSL out in the hills, but I think most of the bluegrass is covered.
posted by phrontist at 6:45 AM on July 31, 2008

Unless you live downtown in one of the larger cities in Ohio, I'm assuming no where in America will be a good place to live and be cheaper to live. I'd suggest somewhere in South America, as the weather will be more temperate than what you'll find in Central America.
posted by sandmanwv at 9:09 AM on July 31, 2008

Re: Venezuela - just read an article in the Economist that iirc said the crime rate there is the worst in South America.
posted by storybored at 11:30 AM on July 31, 2008

Venezuela is very hairy at the moment. My company just turned down a prospective client there due to safety concerns. The Dept of State has strong concerns about Venezuela too - although anti-Chavez bias may have ramped it up a little.

The FCO (UK) is a little less damning but I still don't think it viable.
posted by NailsTheCat at 1:27 PM on July 31, 2008

Bulgaria. Still not on the Euro, and pretty cool besides.
posted by trouserlouse at 9:25 PM on July 31, 2008

Athens, Georgia.
posted by PueExMachina at 8:41 PM on August 3, 2008