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What's the best place to find developers?


by @dries 9yr  | 16 comments

Nomads!

Iโ€™d like to start my nomad adventures in a location where developers (html,css,ruby,java, etc) can be found that are great to work with, communicate well in English and whom are affordable.

Iโ€™m a freelance designer/coder aiming to build a small development team so I can focus more on sales and design.

Many thanks in advance!

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@kfk 9yr

+1 for Sofia, taxes are really low for being a European country

@dries, question: why are you focusing on location to find developers? I thought the whole point of going nomad was to be able to have a team of people from around the globe.

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@dries 9yr

Youโ€™re totally right. Iโ€™ve actually started working with a dev from Ukraine and one from China. Found them by offering small tasks through Fiver and Elance.

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haha I had to click your profile to see if you were that Dries, as in Dries Buyteart of Drupal fame :slight_smile:

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Hah, me too! Iโ€™ve met Dries at Drupalcons a few times. I was just about to say โ€œWhat, Ruby?!โ€ :smile:

Iโ€™d recommend avoiding India for your travels. Itโ€™s a great place to work and travel (and live!), but my initial ideas of building a strong dev team here while I ran around nonprofit tech conferences giving workshops / talks and getting new business didnโ€™t work so well. Very few developers here are good (very entrenched culture of $500 wordpress site builds, and most of the โ€œfreelancersโ€ never get above that level). Almost none of them have any interest or inclination towards startups. Almost all of them jump jobs every six months to get a pay increase. Almost none of them value learning anything new on the job, or are passionate (or even curious) about the tech theyโ€™re working with.

There are a lot of exceptions, of course, and Iโ€™ve been fortunate enough to meet and work with a few of them over the last couple of years. But on the whole, it wasnโ€™t nearly as easy as I thought itโ€™d be. I had a much easier time building teams on this model in Chicago.

Iโ€™ve heard very good things about dev talent in the Philippines, and I know at least one Drupal shop in Chicago that has had a lot of success recruiting developers there (theyโ€™ve even set up a satellite office there). Might be worth checking out.

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@dries 9yr

Thanks! And good to hear other Drieses are doing good tech out there. Thanks about the tip. Vietnam is already booked but will put it high on the โ€˜nomad-travel-listโ€™

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@dries 9yr

Thanks for all the tips!
After a few days of reading/searching Iโ€™ve chosen to leave for Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Heard that there is a great startup and freelance scene there thatโ€™s mostly in tech and development. Local developers are aplenty too. Iโ€™ll try and update this post after my experience.

What I did find out however is that in Eastern and Southern Europe many developments are going on in the startup and tech scene. And that Berlin is definitely one of the most visited Nomad places in Europeโ€ฆso many places to go, canโ€™t wait to start the nomadlife!

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@eolexe 9yr

Man, I were living in HCMC for 1,5 years. (few weeks ago I`ve moved to Chiang Mai) Itโ€™s hard to find good developers here, especially ruby, you need to conduct hundreds of interviews to find really good one. I know that because from my own experience, I were conducting interviews for Lazada, who is one of the major players in the city and SEA region, honestly we have hired all best devs here :slight_smile: Anyway good luck! And ping me if you need any help/advice on HCMC.

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@toshuo 9yr

Why the focus on Ruby specifically? If someoneโ€™s a good JavaScript/Python/Java/whatever developer, they can learn Ruby quickly and will still be a good developer.

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Define โ€œquicklyโ€โ€ฆ?

Yeah, developers can switch to a different language or framework with a fair amount of ease, but it takes a long time to become proficient in that language/framework and understand all the little nuances.

Your will still be a good programmer in the sense that your problem solving skills will remain, but you may solve problems in a manner which is not efficient because you simply do not understand the underlying language/framework well enough.

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@toshuo 9yr

Quickly adv
1: with rapid movements
2: with little or no delay

In my usage, I meant the 2nd meaning. I think for someone moving from a similar language (such as any of those I listed), it will take a week or so before being able to contribute at essentially full speed. Depending on the codebase, they still might do productive work on day 1.

For people moving from a very different language (e.g. moving from Python to Haskell or from C to Prolog), then it might be a full month before reaching near top productivity.

Frameworks usually take longer than languages, but in 99% of recruiting efforts Iโ€™ve seen the focus on a specific language and framework is unnecessary and detrimental. Especially since the OP looking to pay sub-market rates, heโ€™d probably be better off focusing on programming skills and problem solving abilities than on a set amount of time working with a given language.

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@jruz 9yr

More interesting destinations could be in these coworkings:

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@dries 9yr

Ok, Eastern Europe. Not as exotic but definitely makes sense. Thanks!

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@eolexe 9yr

Lviv, Ukraine , is the one of huge IT hubs, good location, connection and a lot of talented developers

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@neven 9yr

I would refer you to Bulgaria (Sofia).
Here is very comfortable zone for new team.

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@dries 9yr

Thanks! Will look into that.
Also heard good things about Vietnam by the way. Anybody who can confirm that?

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@vitavalka 9yr

Prague, Czech Republic Iโ€™d say. But even there theyโ€™re almost being sold-out :slight_smile:

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Read and participate in 14,117 discussions on Nomad List

Suggested topics

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Holร  ! What's the internet / wifi situation in Sayulita ?


in Puerto Escondido , Mexico by @ambroisedebret 3yr 3 years ago  | 0 comments

After being told it's unworkable in Puerto Escondido, looking for alternatives :)

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What's the best thing to do with your phone/ your phone number when travelling?


in Poland by @davda1546 4yr 4 years ago  | 6 comments

Hey, hope everyone is well!

We're leaving in a month to go travelling. Our first destination is still to be confirmed, but will likely be Poland or Slovakia. We will be moving around every month or two to different destinations.

The question we have is: what do people do with phones/ phone numbers when hopping from country to country? Ideally we'd just like one number for the whole trip (even better, the number we already have) wherever we go, rather than getting new SIMs with different numbers.

This is just so it's easier to keep in contact with family/ clients/ etc.

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What's the best SIM card you can get for traveling to Spain?


in Spain by @gabygarreau 4yr 4 years ago  | 3 comments

Hi! I want to relocate to Spain and I was wondering if someone can recommend a SIM card with a good data package.

Thanks

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Central America - Where and what's next?


by @as11 4yr 4 years ago  | 11 comments

Currently in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and heading to Santa Teressa, Costa Rica next week.
Then Aruba in the Caribbean Sea for Christmas and New Year.

However I feel I want to head back to Central America to bring living costs down, rather than staying in the Caribbean Sea among the expensive Islands.

This means I have around 2 - 2,5 month of unplanned travelling.
Any digital nomads who have ideas about where to head in that timeframe?

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What's the first step now that I can work remotely?


by @mariaplslourdes 5yr 5 years ago  | 4 comments

Hi everyone and nice to e-meet you!
finally, after so long I found a job that allows me to work remotely.
But now? Do you have any practical advice that I can use to approach this new world?
In particular, I have to put my tax situation in order, do you know a good tax advisor from whom I can ask for advice? (Iโ€™m Italian but I live in Franceโ€ฆI donโ€™t know how long it will beโ€ฆ) )
Beyond that, any advice is welcome.
Thank you!
Maria

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What's the best warm destinations in Europe in the winter?

 

by @jammingsloth 5yr 5 years ago  | 33 comments

Planning ahead for the winter. Iโ€™ll be in Spain in the Fall and want to go someplace warm for the winter in or near Europe, but not Schengen. Was first thinking Cape Town, but the internet is slow and it is very far. Was also thinking:
Israel - but airbnb listings are very pricey.
Morocco?
Turkey - maybe a little chilly.

Any other suggestions?

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What's the best bank account for a global nomad?

 

by @barrybjjoubert 5yr 5 years ago  | 25 comments

Dear all
As a wanna be nomad figuring out a way to get free of the rat race, I was wondering what is the best bank account to have while travelling the globe? I need an account where is easy for me to receive payments from all over the world and it also need to be a bank that I can find almost anywhere in the world. I want to avoid carry cash on me if itโ€™s possible.

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What's the best CRM/system for managing remote work opportunities?


by @panoramica 5yr 5 years ago  | 3 comments

Iโ€™m currently doing some work through Upwork, but itโ€™s sporadic and Iโ€™m keen to get more active on other platforms like Freelancer, Toptal, CodeMentor, Fiverr etc

Currently Iโ€™m managing leads in a Google sheet. Basically itโ€™s just a list of projects I pitched for, how much I bid, what I did differently from the last pitch/bid, how much time went by before I got a offered a job etc.

Iโ€™m not actively following up anybody, and Iโ€™ve in fact โ€˜lostโ€™ a few jobs where the client was keen, but then disappeared without a trace. I guess I need to keep in touch with those people to ensure that they remain focussed on our agreementโ€ฆ

Iโ€™m also keen to take on more small projects concurrently, without dropping the ball on any of them.

Iโ€™ve done a quick Google and turned up a few names including Salesforce, Zoho, Nutshell, HighRise, Base, Nimble, etc etc. But testing out all these products isnโ€™t all that appealing, so I thought Iโ€™d ask here first :slight_smile:

Ideally Iโ€™d like something that integrates with remote job boards in some way.

Feature list

Iโ€™ve done some research and currently have this feature list:

Proposal building & tracking

  • Compile proposals from snippets - technologies, past projects
  • Quickly pull together a realistic/client friendly quote
  • Test and measure different approaches
  • Beat proposal deadlines while maintaining quality
  • Fine tune pitch material to bid more quickly and win more work โ€“ templates
  • Store history about past projects involving common needs and technological solutions
  • Learn which proposal content is working, and which is not

Lead generation and client management (CRM)

  • store info about regular clients
  • track remote projects which Iโ€™ve pitched for
  • Remote Job Board integration
  • search multiple job sites for keywords
  • track projects across multiple remote platforms โ€“ API integration / message alert/response

Project Management & Scheduling

  • Break projects down into granular tasks
  • Gantt chart to visualise overlapping jobs
  • Calendar to schedule daily work, deadlines, R&D
  • follow up, plan and schedule future work now, rather than once current work has dried up
  • offline reminders via a dedicated Android app
  • time tracking โ€“ to get an idea of true cost, to flag issues to client
  • BitBucket integration

Billing

  • Integration with Xero
  • tracking status of payments, actual payment date vs expected payment clearance date

Marketing

  • Get repeat business
  • Build Word Of Mouth
  • Proactive lead generation
  • Publish proposals as case studies

Cheers,
Dan

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What's the best place to incorporate an online business?

 

by @octave 5yr 5 years ago  | 63 comments

I have an commerce website. We get around 1000 orders per month and this is going to get quite a bit bigger in next few years.

I am British. I live in Thailand.
Im not allowed to majority own a Thai business and small foreign entrepreneurs are not really welcome. So i need an offshore company.

I need PayPal and an ecommerce internet merchant account. Also looking at alternatives like worldpay. 2checkout etc

Does PayPal need me to be a resident to the country i register my account to? Are there complications being a non resident to get other payment solutions?

Apparently in Hong Kong you need 2 years trading history to get an Internet Mechant Account and they generally turn their noses up at those with less than $1m(us) a year turn over. Singapore seems a bit easier.

I really want to avoid paperwork and book keeping. I hate it.

So i was looking at Seychelles, Panama, BVI, Belize.

Does anyone have experience with payment providers in these countries?

Most nomads i see donโ€™t really have a high volume of small monthly transactions which i do. Im going around in circles and donโ€™t know where to start.

Ill also need a bank account for business and a personal bank account to pay my salary into

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What's the best mobile-data option in New Zealand for nomads?


in New Zealand by @goldsaj 5yr 5 years ago  | 2 comments

Hi All! Iโ€™ve heard Spark and Vodafone are the best. I plan to move around, so I care mostly about having good coverage, and all Iโ€™ll need is around 1 GB of data or so.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

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What's the best bank for South African digital nomads?


in South Africa by @kirst85 6yr 6 years ago  | 12 comments

Iโ€™m a South African about to become a Nomad next year. I will still be employed by a South African company and receive a salary into my FNB bank account monthly.

I will be mostly based in Serbia but plan on travelling a lot. Does anyone have any advice on the best bank account to have? Is there a way to not get charged a small fortune in ATM charges and avoid getting my account frozen for using it in lots of countries?

Iโ€™m unsure of the best way to handle things. Should I try get another bank account outside of SA (Can I even do that)? I also have a British Passport if that makes a difference.

If any of you have any experienced advice I would be very grateful, Thanks in advance!

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What's better? Puerto Vallarta vs. Playa del Carmen in Mexico?


in Puerto Vallarta , Mexico by @oskar 6yr 6 years ago  | 12 comments

Iโ€™m going to travel to Mexico by the end of february and i would like to know which place do you recommend to stay at for a month or so. Which one would fit better for a digital nomad? Pros and Cons for each place are welcomed :smile:

thanks!

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What's a good US call and SMS forwarding service?


by @vong 6yr 6 years ago  | 12 comments

Hi all,

What do you guys use for call and sms forwarding?

Currently I have a Skype US number that forwards to my local phone number. However, it canโ€™t receive SMSโ€™es so thatโ€™s a huge dealbreaker.

Thereโ€™s RingCentral - but that starts at $29/month which is rather pricey.

Any suggestions? Iโ€™d just like to be able to call and text like Iโ€™m still in the US (when Iโ€™m not). Thanks in advance!

Sarah

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What's a good and warm place in April to surf with fast internet?


by @jakegibson 6yr 6 years ago  | 9 comments

I landed a remote job that is fully remote with only one team skype meeting a week. Iโ€™m looking to leave around March 13th and stay 1 - 3 months in each place. The first place I want somewhere that is warm with good surf. For the group video chat I need at least 5/2 down/up reliable internet. Any recommendations for a place that meets that end of March - April?

Iโ€™ve read through the forums / nomads list. Iโ€™ve already done Costa Rica and Indo and would like to try somewhere new. Currently looking at Sayuliata Mexico, Canary Islands, and Morocco though I think Iโ€™ll wait on the second two since they sound like they are better in the fall.

Thanks!

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What's the weirdest thing you travel with?

 

by @gigigriffis 6yr 6 years ago  | 21 comments

I was thinking about packing today and Iโ€™m curious: whatโ€™s the weirdest thing you guys have in your bags? Nomads are, by nature, minimalists, but Iโ€™m sure we all do it differently. I have a friend who travels with BASE jumping gear, another a sequin dress. So, whatโ€™s the most unusual thing in your bag?

Mine is probably that I travel with a dog.

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What's the standard salary for a designer in Germany?


in Germany by @nchow119 7yr 7 years ago  | 0 comments

Hi everyone,

I was wondering what the annual base salary for a full time junior to mid designer would be in either Frankfurt(Main) or Hamburg, Germany.

Thanks,
Natalia!

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What's better? Krabi or Koh Lanta in March?


in Krabi , Thailand by @jnomad30 7yr 7 years ago  | 2 comments

Thailand - Krabi vs. Koh Lanta in March

Hey Nomads -
So Iโ€™m looking to leave my current base in Chiang Mai, Thailand to head back down south in March to escape burning season.
Iโ€™m looking at staying for a month in either Krabi or Koh Lanta. I already spent a month on Koh Samui which was ok but Iโ€™m looking to explore the other side now and it seems this will be a good time of year seasonally to be on those islands.

Here are my main considerations and would love any thoughts:

  1. Housing - As the islands are much more expensive, I think it would be the most sensible to get an apartment or rental for a month. I got a good deal in Samui when I stayed for a month.
    -A/C is a must
  • Strong, Hi-speed wifi where Iโ€™m staying as I need to do video calls from home
  1. More walkable (or as much as possible) areas are preferred as I donโ€™t use a motorbike and transportation back and forth to restaurants, etc. can get expensive
    Walking distance to the beach would be great but price is a big more important factor

I donโ€™t necessarily care about being near a co-working space as much of my work on video calls requires me to work from home anyway for privacy.

Anyone stayed on Krabi or Koh Lanta & have any suggestions?
TIA!!

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What's the best way for Canadians to get cash or transfer money in Thailand & SEA?


in Thailand by @artofbryce 7yr 7 years ago  | 5 comments

Weโ€™re setting off on our first venture for new digital nomad life in 20 days!

  • starting in Chiang Mai as our home base
  • 1 year ED visa
  • planning to bounce around all over

Right now, Iโ€™m utterly baffled and confused by trying to figure out how weโ€™re going to be able to get more cash or transfer money from our bank accounts in Canada. Either at all or without getting charged insane fees.

Iโ€™ve looked through the forum and a lot of solutions put forth with no real luck. Hoping that some Canadians may chime in with solutions, experience or advice.

Thanks!

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What's the best digital nomad backpack?

 

by @levelsio 7yr 7 years ago  | 93 comments

I hear stuff about Tortuga and Minaal, although Iโ€™m myself using a fake Chinese one I bought here in Bali.

What do you currently have and whatโ€™s the best?

2017 UPDATE: I made a gear page now:

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What's the best surf spots in California or South America?


in Cali , Colombia by @rynesweeney 7yr 7 years ago  | 8 comments

I am currently living in Medellin until February. I want to find some of people favorite spots for surfing and community. I have heard Nicaragua and Guatemala have many options.

Multiple one month or more stays in countries below the US (CA, SA, Caribbean as all?). Spanish isnโ€™t a problem. Safety, internet, and surf are priorities. Ive heard good things about Panama and CR but they amount of gringos currently in these places is sort of a turn off (Im a gringoโ€ฆbut that is my preference). Budget is sub $1500/month.

Thank you for the suggestions!

Ryne

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