

Ask HN: How/Where to take a month off - zacharypinter

For the past year or so, I've been consumed by a project at my current employer. I've got a lot of ideas and side projects, but my job as of late has been so consuming that I've had little energy for them. However, the project has gone well, we're going live soon, and I want to use the break between projects to take a month off.<p>I've got enough expendable income that travel costs aren't really an issue, though I'm not looking to burn through a ton of cash in the process. I don't have any family/kids to worry about, so it'll be just me traveling.<p>I'm looking for a nice location (or set of locations) with high speed internet and a relaxing environment to spend a month resting and focusing on my own ideas. I'm not bilingual (though I'd like to be), so if the location is international, I'd need to be able to make my way around without having to learn another language ahead of time.<p>With that in mind, are there any suggestions? A one-bedroom or studio apartment on AirBNB looks like it might be fun to try out, just not sure where to go.<p>Thanks in advance!
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peteforde
I also want to say that Portland, OR is one of the coolest cities I've ever
been to. I went for RailsConf two years in a row... when RailsConf moved, I
kept going back to Portland.

Only now I go for a week.

Pinball and micro-brew cider in every pub, seriously laid back but lots going
on artistically, musically and otherwise.

~~~
tcdent
I'm coming to the end of a one-year working "vacation" here and would highly
recommend a visit as well.

The public transportation is ample (and growing) and everywhere else is bike
friendly. Good food is abundant and cheap if you hop between the many food
carts. Plenty of unique bars which all serve some sort of food, too. The
selection of beers brewed in and around here are endless.

It does rain a fair amount, but almost never more than a trickle during the
day; I don't wear anything more than a sweatshirt most moist days. All the
precipitation isn't without benefit and makes the city and surrounding areas
absolutely beautiful in the spring, summer and fall. Real, dense forest and
the coast are only an hour and a half's drive away and the city is littered
with well maintained parks.

We don't get quite as many musicians coming through as Los Angeles or Seattle,
but a fair amount (of the ones I'm interested in at least) do stop-in. I do
find the local music scene lacking. I'm sure there are more events like these,
but all of the art galleries have open houses (with free booze) the first
Thursday of every month Downtown, and the last Thursday on Alberta.

We are heading back home to Los Angeles soon, but only to be closer to friends
and family for a bit longer. Portland has definitely made the list of places
to return to.

~~~
peteforde
I ended up being there for first Thursday this month! Sadly I was feeling
mopey and anti-social, so I really didn't take advantage of the opportunity.

It's weird, I saw the best show of my life at Dante's (Extra Action Marching
Band) but I've now been back four times and have never been tempted back in.
It always just seems like trashy bar bands?

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spitfire
thailand. and make it more than a month. A cheap cabin just off the beach is
$100/month with cleaning lady.

Lunch (chicken on a stick/or something thai, some friend banana, a drink) is
$0.50. Dinner will be $3-4. The view is nice, and so are the sunsets.

~~~
zacharypinter
I'm very interested in Thailand. How big of a concern is the current political
situation over there?

~~~
elai
I'm planning to go to ko tao ($200 for an open water PADI course &
accomidation) and just snorkel/dive for several weeks. It's a really good
place to be. Snorkeling is one of the best kinds of exercise there is. It's
not too hard, but you can do it for hours and it's really fun and you feel it
when your done.

Another option is the perhentain islands, tioman island or siporna archelegpo
in malaysia. Malaysia has better infrastructure compared to most of south east
asia. You can get unlimited 3G internet for certain ($6.50 a week USD prepaid)
with celcom on those islands. (not sure with siporna).

~~~
bemmu
I don't know how it is now, but two years ago in Ko Samui the 3G internet was
unusable. For example I never managed to log in to Facebook with it. It would
work for a few seconds, then the connection would disappear for a minute and
then work for a few seconds again. We had more luck getting a very cheap cabin
next to a very expensive resort and use their wifi. Forget the internets,
bring a few good books and enjoy your stay =)

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mrtron
KK in Malaysia is quite nice. You should be able to rent somewhere for a month
quite easily and cheaply. Similar to what spitfire mentioned about Thailand,
you can just go with english and a bit of money and get by without a problem.

In KK you are an hour away from hiking in the mountains, white water rafting,
going to an island to snorkel/scuba by the coral reef, etc.

Taiwan is another option - you can do it very cheaply if you want or live
lavishly for a reasonable price. I would recommend this option if you want to
travel around more rather than stick in one place. Spend a few weeks in
Taipei, a few in Kaohsiung, and a few elsewhere. Rent a scooter and explore.

If you are going now - consider it is the hot season in SE Asia and the rainy
season is just about to start.

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Maktab
Depending on when you're going to be able to take the time off, I can
recommend Cape Town, South Africa. By avoiding the traditional tourist traps
you should be able to find a place to stay for a reasonable price once the
football world cup finishes in early July and there's a lot of choice when it
comes to food. Language is not a problem, as pretty much everybody speaks
English.

The broadband is decent these days, albeit quite a bit pricier than US or
European broadband equivalents, but it should be suitable. Cape Town also has
a fairly active start-up community, if thats important to you.

Others may have had a different experience, of course, but I've always found
the area around Cape Town to be incredibly relaxing and conducive to good
ideas.

~~~
grandalf
I've heard Cape Town is very dangerous... is it?

~~~
ido
Might you be confusing Cape Town with Johannesburg?

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pmjordan
As with any large city there are nicer parts and not-so nice parts in Cape
Town, too. But it is a beautiful city, and I've felt safe the couple of times
I've been there.

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starkfist
It's pretty hard to give advice without additional information about what
you're into. I mean, you could go to NYC, or Nova Scotia, or Belize, or
Hawaii, or Paris, or Montana, or...

~~~
zacharypinter
Point taken.

I'm not a fan of driving. I'm looking to avoid cooking my own meals (so a nice
set of restaurants in walking distance would be great). Also, per the earlier
comment, I'm not bilingual, so I'd like to avoid places that are hostile
towards that (I've heard rumors about Paris, but I'm not sure how true they
are).

Not sure where I fall on urban versus scenic. I wouldn't want to be out in the
middle of nowhere, but if all the niceties of civilization are there then a
scenic environment would be nice.

~~~
ido
Where are you at?

The best vacation I've had by far were two months I've spent in northern India
- getting around with just English was not a problem, violent crime is
uncommon enough to not be an issue at all (especially outside of Delhi) and it
was dirt cheap (that was 6 years ago - I've heard prices have risen since then
but it should be still extremely affordable if you're from a western country).

It was a bit of a culture shock at first, and India's big cities are
definitely not for the faint of heart (or cleanliness-obsessed) but the
Himalayan hill stations offer great scenery, a very different culture &
generally very friendly & helpful locals.

The food is also great and extremely cheap (<$1 for a basic and very filling
main-meal at a typical dhaba).

Most Indians don't own a vehicle, so mass transport is plentiful (if not very
efficient). I didn't have a car there and never wanted one either.

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nl
I'm assuming you are from the US (?).

I liked the Czech Republic. Cheap, good beer & most people speak good English.

Everyone I know who's been to Croatia has loved it, too.

The Netherlands is fantastic, too, and people there seem to speak better
English than a lot of supposedly-native-speakers.

If you want English speaking, then Australia & New Zealand might work, or
various Pacific islands.

~~~
TeHCrAzY
There is a requirement for decent broadband, so that rules Australia, and our
friendly neighbors :/

~~~
nl
Broadband isn't _that_ bad here.

For a traveller, you'd want wireless. If you want fast Telstra's prices are
high but they give you the best datarate: [http://www.telstra.com.au/bigpond-
internet/prepaid-wireless/...](http://www.telstra.com.au/bigpond-
internet/prepaid-wireless/rates/index.htm)

If you want cheap, you can get similar datacaps for about 50% of the price
(but generally the speed & coverage isn't quite so good).

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stoney
I suggest you start with the "when" part of things - most places have a peak
tourist season and a bad weather season. You will probably want to avoid both
of those!

That said, I'd give a big +1 to the Australia suggestion. I'm a Brit, but I've
emigrated to Oz after I came on holiday here a few years ago. It's definitely
a relaxing place to live and there's loads of nice locations (the typical
travellers route is down the east coast with a detour to the outback). There
shouldn't be much of a language problem (once you work out what Ozzies mean
when they talk about their thongs), prices can be anything from fairly cheap
(shared dorms in a youth hostel, but not as cheap as SE asia) to very
expensive. There's a huge variety of stuff to see.here (beaches, mountains,
deserts, weird animals).

------
rue
Presumably you are from the US since in the civilised world most people get a
month off every year ;)

A relatively simple but interesting and easy-to-branch-from trip would be to
hit one of the big Mediterranean cities; say, Rome, Marseille, Barcelona,
Mostar, Athens, Istanbul, Tunis, Tripoli, even Cairo. Hang out there for a bit
and then take a ferry to another one (or a smaller place). If you get bored of
the Med, you can make trips inland.

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lionhearted
You can by almost anywhere with just English and waving your arms around - you
can do a "fish" gesture if you want to order fish, flap your arms up and down
and go gwak-gwak-gwak if you want to order chicken, and go "p-shawwww" while
holding your arms out if you want a taxi driver to take you to the airport.
And that's in countries where no one speaks English, most places there's
enough people who speak it. Once you meet someone local and get along, try to
get a few phrases at least for politeness' sake - thank you, hello, "I don't
understand the language, sorry" are a good first three. "Happy" is another
good versatile one in most languages.

The bigger piece of advice than "where?" is "how?" How you travel makes all
the difference. You're probably going to make tourist mistakes when you start
traveling, and pay between twice as much and five times as much as you should
for what things cost and get lower quality in the process. Hey, it's how it
goes, I was staying in a so-so hotel in London near Victoria Station the first
time I went, and I wound up paying 12 pounds for bad Mexican food in Leicester
Square. Ouch. Now if I was going back I'd either short-stay rent an apartment,
or if I was going cheap I'd stay at Picadilly Backpackers for cheap. I'd eat
at all you can eat Indian and Chinese buffets once a day for a very large
meal, and have a small meal from a grocery store the other meal. I'd live
really cheap in London and save any/all money for when it can be better spent
elsewhere.

But you learn those things over time. Don't book too far in advance at any
hotel if you don't know the area. Like, if you booked "downtown" in Los
Angeles, you'd be staying in the middle of nowhere. LA has no real center, but
the area called "downtown" happens to suck and not have anything really
significant, whereas Santa Monica and West Hollywood areas are more
interesting. But again, you wouldn't know that if you didn't know that, so
don't book too far in advance. If it's a walking city, I like to just turn up
and ask people in the airport what area is nice, then go walk around that area
until I find somewhere to stay.

That sounds crazy, but it's not. You can always find an internet cafe and
start making calls to places if you don't find a place within a few hours. One
time I showed in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia without anywhere to stay, and it
happened to be their 50th anniversary of their independence, and a major air-
and-space convention was in town. That was the hardest it ever was for me to
find a room, but I still found one after a number of hours. Usually it's much
simpler.

Very, very glad my first time to Taipei I just showed up, because Guting
doesn't show up as a "top area" on anyone's tourist lists, but I love it and
it's perfect for me. Again, showing up and walking around (though I got into
Taipei in the middle of the night, so I stayed at an airport hotel the first
night).

Anyway, how is more important than where. How - stay flexible and mobile on
your accomodations so you can move around if you don't like the area. Eat
where the locals eat, especially laborers if you can find them. That's the
best value for healthy, high energy food. If I see construction guys going
somewhere at lunch, I know it's going to be good value for good, hearty food.

Street food can be very good for cheap in some countries. Walk into all sorts
of small, local restaurants that you can't understand the sign with no English
and look at the prices. If you're not a picky eater, just point to something
and there's a decent chance it'll be okay. (I used to do this before I refined
my diet down to just a few things) Convenience stores or grocery stores
sometimes have really good value, depending on the country. South Korea and
Taiwan both have flavored hard boiled eggs for quite cheap that are delicious.
You pick that stuff up when you get around.

If you have a return ticket from a major airport like Schripol in Amsterdam or
anywhere in London, you're free to bum around Europe and and find somewhere
that suits you. Also possible in Japan, but less possible in most of Asia.
These days I'm pretty comfortable going one way and I figure I'll get a one
way ticket to return whenever from wherever I'm at, though occasionally
(rarely) you get burned on price, especially if you have to get back on a
certain day. Again, I'm _usually_ okay doing it this way, but I remember once
or twice I paid a fair bit. I still think it's worth it and still usually do
it this way.

Ah, there's so much more to say... look at travel lists of recommended places
from people who have similar tastes as you. My recommendations:

-Easiest to get around with just English: London, Amsterdam, Toronto, New York, Hong Kong, Taipei (Taipei less so than the rest, but really it's not bad at all, my Chinese is almost nonexistent)

-Good beach weather: Italy, Spain, Southern France, Austin (need car), Los Angeles (need car), Thailand depending on the season

-My favorite cities overall: Tokyo (by far, but it's not relaxing), Barcelona, London (not really relaxing), New York (...maybe not relaxing), Nice France, Florence Italy.

Southern Europe might get you the best bang for your buck, get a return flight
from a big city and you can travel until you find a city you really like and
then spend most of your time there. Taipei is a fine choice if you like Asian
culture, it's extremely clean, safe, modern, and inexpensive for the quality
you get. Japan is amazing but can be crazy. Thailand is hit or miss - I
actually wasn't crazy about it while I was there, but in retrospect I had a
great time. Note that some people do really dislike Thailand, it's kind of...
in your face. Sensory overload at times, lots of vibrant smells, prostitution
is everywhere and very aggressive, lots of drinking and drugs in the tourist
areas. The type of traveler in mid/low end places in Thailand is different too
- not really my kind of people, I like the people I meet in Europe and Taipei
much more, lots of very hippie stoned out people but to each his own.

Lots of thoughts there. Drop me a line if you've got any questions or reply
here and I'll try to check it, I've been to a fair number of places in Europe,
North America, and Asia over the years.

~~~
arthurk
I'm going to travel the US later this year for a month. And I'm a little bit
uncertain what kind of backpack I should buy. I've never traveled that long
and previously I took a small trolley bag. However, I was always wondering if
there's a better alternative. What kind of backpack do you recommend?

~~~
runjake
I strongly urge you to check out the various "One Bag" and minimalist travel
websites. I recently started doing this and found I eliminated a bunch of
hassles and weight without losing much of that personal sense of security that
comes from lugging around a ton of your crap with you.

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peteforde
I stayed here for a week, and it was perfect:

<http://www.villascarrizalillo.com/>

\- not a tourist trap \- authentic (but not "too" authentic) \- relatively
easy to get to \- wifi \- quiet and you can be left alone with your thoughts

Enjoy your vacation.

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ccollins
_Check out Peru for a few reasons:_

July / August = peak season.

Peruvian food is delicious.

You can catch Peru's Independence day(s) at the end of July
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiestas_Patrias_%28Peru%29>)

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ig1
I'm in a pretty similar situation, and I've decided to go to Berlin. It's
cheap, international, english is widely spoken, good public transport,
internet shouldn't be a problem and there's a start-up community there.

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eande
Santorini <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santorini>

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huhtenberg
I have this bookmarked - <http://sivers.org/sakurajima>

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petervandijck
Are you willing to drop the fast-internet requirement?

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pplante
check out santiago, chile. its cheap, and has a huge european influence from
what i have read.

