5 ms·

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

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.

joss82 15y ago
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.
- yaix 15y ago
  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.
- wisty 15y ago
  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 15y ago
    So, except for point 2, it's a matter of learning the language and culture thoroughly.
- matwood 15y ago
  What is corruption like in China? IMHO, that would likely be the largest hurdle to starting a business outside the US.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
- joshwa 15y ago
  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.
math 15y ago
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 15y ago
  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?
  - ams6110 15y ago
    Starting off your professional life by being deceptive is not something I'd recommend.
    - w1ntermute 15y ago
      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 15y ago
        ams6110 is correct, I'm not sure why he is being down-voted.
  - 15y ago
yaix 15y ago
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).

joss82 15y ago

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.

yaix 15y ago
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.
wisty 15y ago
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 15y ago
  So, except for point 2, it's a matter of learning the language and culture thoroughly.
matwood 15y ago
What is corruption like in China? IMHO, that would likely be the largest hurdle to starting a business outside the US.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
joshwa 15y ago
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.

math 15y ago

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 15y ago
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?
- ams6110 15y ago
  Starting off your professional life by being deceptive is not something I'd recommend.
  - w1ntermute 15y ago
    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 15y ago
      ams6110 is correct, I'm not sure why he is being down-voted.
- 15y ago

yaix 15y ago

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).