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Author Topic: Where to Live as a Stock Photographer?  (Read 37329 times)

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shudderstok

« Reply #25 on: November 16, 2014, 14:22 »
0

Camboia is the place to go!
In many respects, Cambodia is the cheapest destination in Southeast Asia and there are a lot of good reasons to live here, especially if you have a job where you can work remotely. For a paupers salary in the US, Canada, or Europe, you can like like royalty here.

most of south east asia is still very affordable apart for Singapore.
if you can work remotely you can have 3G or 4G pretty much anywhere and ADSL up to 6-8Mbit even in godforsaken villages.
the only real issue is to get long term visas, especially for thailand.

i also heard good things about the cost of living in hungary, bulgaria, and greece.

Contrary to common belief, Singapore is actually very affordable. Average cost for a meal in a food court 2-3$, rental can be as low as 200-300$, of course you can also have a luxury apartment for 30 times of that price. Great public transport, no need for a car. Best healthcare in the world and very heavily subsidized even for foreigners. Great services. For photography: diverse ethnicity, short fly to anywhere in Asia. I lived there for 8 years and now kicking myself everyday for not staying there.

i totally agree and it is really a great city.


shudderstok

« Reply #26 on: November 16, 2014, 14:24 »
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Somewhere like here. Rural with no immediate neighbours. Doesn't help with the photography really, but the peace and quiet is nice! :)

for long timers the real issue is always the Visa or residence permit, very few countries now give away 12 months visa "no questions asked", let alone 5-yrs dodgy business/tourist visas as in the past.

indonesia has all it takes to be a great location to settle down but they won't give you more than 60 days per stay unless you find a dodgy visa agent or you marry an indonesian girl and even then there's a lot of red tape.

Bali is a perfect location and still OK pricewise unless you stay in the touristic areas.

there are lots of countries in se asia that give decent visas. malaysia probably has the best deal in town for permanence next to singapore. and thailand contrary to the expat gossip is very easy.

Hobostocker

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« Reply #27 on: November 16, 2014, 14:29 »
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Contrary to common belief, Singapore is actually very affordable. Average cost for a meal in a food court 2-3$, rental can be as low as 200-300$, of course you can also have a luxury apartment for 30 times of that price. Great public transport, no need for a car. Best healthcare in the world and very heavily subsidized even for foreigners. Great services. For photography: diverse ethnicity, short fly to anywhere in Asia. I lived there for 8 years and now kicking myself everyday for not staying there.


2-300$ in SG ?? where ? how ? now they ask 20-30$/night even in the filthiest guesthouses in Little India.
must be a long time you don't go there.


Singapore named the world's most expensive city
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26412821




shudderstok

« Reply #28 on: November 16, 2014, 14:36 »
0
Contrary to common belief, Singapore is actually very affordable. Average cost for a meal in a food court 2-3$, rental can be as low as 200-300$, of course you can also have a luxury apartment for 30 times of that price. Great public transport, no need for a car. Best healthcare in the world and very heavily subsidized even for foreigners. Great services. For photography: diverse ethnicity, short fly to anywhere in Asia. I lived there for 8 years and now kicking myself everyday for not staying there.


2-300$ in SG ?? where ? how ? now they ask 20-30$/night even in the filthiest guesthouses in Little India.
must be a long time you don't go there.


Singapore named the world's most expensive city
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26412821


shared hdb apartments on the far side of the island by the bridge to johor. but realistically closer to 400-500 as of late.

Hobostocker

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« Reply #29 on: November 16, 2014, 14:38 »
+1
thailand is one of the easiest places to get a visa in south east asia, you must be doing something wrong. i take it you are based there. pm me and i can suggest a very simple way for you to get a one year visa with a work permit, and you can do it yourself without all the lawyer nonsense - and trust me it is very easy with no strings. i know cause i have done it many times. and you don't even need to set up a false company with nominees or marry a thai woman or be a retiree etc.

cambodia is nr.1 for long term visa, you can get a 12 months business visa in any travel agency for less than 300$ in 3-4 days, no questions asked.

i guess you mean fake companies run by dodgy farangs and thai crooks selling working visa, good luck with that, they're the same who scamming people with ED visa until the last crackdown in august.

malaysia, singapore, no problem, 90 days per stamp and it's free, no need to even get a proper visa, just do back to back visa runs every three months.

vietnam : 3-6 months visa available.


Hobostocker

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« Reply #30 on: November 16, 2014, 14:41 »
0
as far as i know you can even become a citizen in Singapore and Indonesia, not sure about Malaysia but i guess it's doable as they're relatively foreign-friendly unlike Thailand or Myanmar.

said that, you must give up your original citizenship in singapore and you must also join the military service for 12 months or more.

in indonesia i think you must live there for at least 5-6 yrs and speak fluent Bahasa before even trying to ask (lots of red tape of course).


Hobostocker

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« Reply #31 on: November 16, 2014, 14:45 »
0
shared hdb apartments on the far side of the island by the bridge to johor. but realistically closer to 400-500 as of late.

ahhh you mean rooms in shared apt, that's certainly doable but what's the point, better go in Johor Baru or Sumatra ...

i don't think i could live in Singa for long, they would hate my chain smoking hahaha and i'm not gonna pay 7-8$ for a pack of cigs.

S'pore girls are also among the most entitled bit-ch-es in the whole SEA, good riddance.

Hobostocker

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« Reply #32 on: November 16, 2014, 14:50 »
0
malaysia probably has the best deal in town for permanence next to singapore. and thailand contrary to the expat gossip is very easy.

their "Malaysia my second home" 10 yrs visa is definitely the best in SEA or in the whole of Asia in my opinion but you must invest some money to qualify, months ago i was in Saba and the newspapers were claiming it's been a half fiasco so far, less takers than expected and not enough results, seems it will be scraped soon unfortunately.

i don't know why you keep saying thailand is so easy, even in china it's easier than thailand and by a long shot, same for taiwan and japan and HK.

« Reply #33 on: November 16, 2014, 16:01 »
+1

Contrary to common belief, Singapore is actually very affordable. Average cost for a meal in a food court 2-3$, rental can be as low as 200-300$, of course you can also have a luxury apartment for 30 times of that price. Great public transport, no need for a car. Best healthcare in the world and very heavily subsidized even for foreigners. Great services. For photography: diverse ethnicity, short fly to anywhere in Asia. I lived there for 8 years and now kicking myself everyday for not staying there.
hahah what

just to rent one ROOM in singapore is between 700 and 1200 SGD. if you want a studio apartment, it's more like 2000 SGD. that's not luxury. and in europe for the same surface you pay around 400 euro. i mean, depending on the location, center of paris/london will be more expensive, but in singapore everything's expensive except i guess the far east/nortwest.

public transport is crap, especially if you have a transfer at jurong east

that food you mention for 2/3$ is crap.

« Reply #34 on: November 16, 2014, 17:01 »
0

Contrary to common belief, Singapore is actually very affordable. Average cost for a meal in a food court 2-3$, rental can be as low as 200-300$, of course you can also have a luxury apartment for 30 times of that price. Great public transport, no need for a car. Best healthcare in the world and very heavily subsidized even for foreigners. Great services. For photography: diverse ethnicity, short fly to anywhere in Asia. I lived there for 8 years and now kicking myself everyday for not staying there.
hahah what

just to rent one ROOM in singapore is between 700 and 1200 SGD. if you want a studio apartment, it's more like 2000 SGD. that's not luxury. and in europe for the same surface you pay around 400 euro. i mean, depending on the location, center of paris/london will be more expensive, but in singapore everything's expensive except i guess the far east/nortwest.

public transport is crap, especially if you have a transfer at jurong east

that food you mention for 2/3$ is crap.


Clementi as an example, not too far from center, 200-300$ meaning 300-400 SGD, shared HDB flat. Many of my students still live there with a scholarship of around 1000 SGD a month and can still save half of it. And as i said, you can rent for as low as, not the average. Go to a food court there, meals are between 3-4 SGD (that's 2-3USD). Of course in the tourist area like Orchard, in the food courts meal are 5-7 SGD, that's 3-4 USD roughly. Well, of course if you dont like Asian food, then dont go there.

I lived there, 8 years, my family of 4 spent about 800 SGD a month on food, and we eat well, eat out most of the time.

Public transport bad? really?  Are you using public transport? I have noticed that for people who love driving any public transport would be bad. I am relying solely on public transport (i hate driving), and i have lived (for years) in many big cities in Europe, US, Asia, and that is the best one I can tell you.

« Reply #35 on: November 16, 2014, 17:02 »
0
Contrary to common belief, Singapore is actually very affordable. Average cost for a meal in a food court 2-3$, rental can be as low as 200-300$, of course you can also have a luxury apartment for 30 times of that price. Great public transport, no need for a car. Best healthcare in the world and very heavily subsidized even for foreigners. Great services. For photography: diverse ethnicity, short fly to anywhere in Asia. I lived there for 8 years and now kicking myself everyday for not staying there.


2-300$ in SG ?? where ? how ? now they ask 20-30$/night even in the filthiest guesthouses in Little India.
must be a long time you don't go there.


Singapore named the world's most expensive city
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26412821


I am not talking about hotels,  it's long term renting, not short term, and not condos, HDB flats.

« Reply #36 on: November 16, 2014, 17:12 »
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Clementi as an example, not too far from center, 200-300$ meaning 300-400 SGD, shared HDB flat. Many of my students still live there with a scholarship of around 1000 SGD a month and can still save half of it. And as i said, you can rent for as low as, not the average. Go to a food court there, meals are between 3-4 SGD (that's 2-3USD). Of course in the tourist area like Orchard, in the food courts meal are 5-7 SGD, that's 3-4 USD roughly. Well, of course if you dont like Asian food, then dont go there.

I lived there, 8 years, my family of 4 spent about 800 SGD a month on food, and we eat well, eat out most of the time.

Public transport bad? really?  Are you using public transport? I have noticed that for people who love driving any public transport would be bad. I am relying solely on public transport (i hate driving), and i have lived (for years) in many big cities in Europe, US, Asia, and that is the best one I can tell you.
i lived there. my salary was pretty higher than your student's and still i could only rent a room and save not so much every month. i rented around CCK. and it's not just me, all my colleagues paid between 700 and 1100 sgd per month just for one room, with locations ranging from cck, boon lay, to the places MRT doesn't go :D. and even for 700-1100 sgd per month it's not comfortable. to me comfortable means - you have the whole place for yourself.

i didn't like the public transport, especially during peak hours. sometimes had to wait for 6 trains to pass until I could get into one. too crowded. people say crap about the paris metro, but i like it a lot better. there's a train every 3-7 minutes, and they're not as full. not as pretty as singapore, but more pleasant to ride in.

don't get me wrong - i love singapore, it's a great city, very modern and absolutely beautiful architecture. but it's not cheap. it's the opposite of cheap. when did you leave sg?

« Reply #37 on: November 16, 2014, 17:29 »
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Clementi as an example, not too far from center, 200-300$ meaning 300-400 SGD, shared HDB flat. Many of my students still live there with a scholarship of around 1000 SGD a month and can still save half of it. And as i said, you can rent for as low as, not the average. Go to a food court there, meals are between 3-4 SGD (that's 2-3USD). Of course in the tourist area like Orchard, in the food courts meal are 5-7 SGD, that's 3-4 USD roughly. Well, of course if you dont like Asian food, then dont go there.

I lived there, 8 years, my family of 4 spent about 800 SGD a month on food, and we eat well, eat out most of the time.

Public transport bad? really?  Are you using public transport? I have noticed that for people who love driving any public transport would be bad. I am relying solely on public transport (i hate driving), and i have lived (for years) in many big cities in Europe, US, Asia, and that is the best one I can tell you.
i lived there. my salary was pretty higher than your student's and still i could only rent a room and save not so much every month. i rented around CCK. and it's not just me, all my colleagues paid between 700 and 1100 sgd per month just for one room, with locations ranging from cck, boon lay, to the places MRT doesn't go :D. and even for 700-1100 sgd per month it's not comfortable. to me comfortable means - you have the whole place for yourself.

i didn't like the public transport, especially during peak hours. sometimes had to wait for 6 trains to pass until I could get into one. too crowded. people say crap about the paris metro, but i like it a lot better. there's a train every 3-7 minutes, and they're not as full. not as pretty as singapore, but more pleasant to ride in.

don't get me wrong - i love singapore, it's a great city, very modern and absolutely beautiful architecture. but it's not cheap. it's the opposite of cheap. when did you leave sg?

2010.
Cheap or not it's relative, it's definitely not cheap compared to Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, but definitely not the most expensive as advertised.  To put it into perspective, i moved to a medium size city here in the US, totally a boring, with terrible weather and bad healthcare, virtually no public transport, and we spend a lot more here on everything. Food of course, we cant eat out so often, cant possible swallow Mac Donald food all the time. For rent, well , cant even rent here, not many choices at all, so we had to buy, and we pay about the same just for real estate tax as for our rental in Singapore, not even talking about mortgage. There, another good thing about SG, tax is very low. With the amount of all taxes that we are paying now here we could pay tax AND live very comfortably in SG.

shudderstok

« Reply #38 on: November 16, 2014, 21:44 »
0
malaysia probably has the best deal in town for permanence next to singapore. and thailand contrary to the expat gossip is very easy.

their "Malaysia my second home" 10 yrs visa is definitely the best in SEA or in the whole of Asia in my opinion but you must invest some money to qualify, months ago i was in Saba and the newspapers were claiming it's been a half fiasco so far, less takers than expected and not enough results, seems it will be scraped soon unfortunately.

i don't know why you keep saying thailand is so easy, even in china it's easier than thailand and by a long shot, same for taiwan and japan and HK.

yes the mm2h requires a small amount of money, but the three month visa is the way to go. back to thailand, it is the easiest of easy to get a one year work permit, as in apply and voila you have it in a few weeks. again as i mentioned earlier there is a visa very few people know about (thankfully) but it does work, i know cause i've done it for years. and the nice part about it, there is no shadiness involved whatsoever. no ED, no business, no retirement, no marriage, etc. it is so rare it seems you don't even know about it, but my bet is you'd get it in less than a month with no strings attached. just sayin. i did suggest you pm me on this as i really don't want to broadcast this openly on a forum.

Hobostocker

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« Reply #39 on: November 16, 2014, 22:29 »
0
just to rent one ROOM in singapore is between 700 and 1200 SGD.

exactly.
and don't expect any discounts for us "Ang Mo".



Hobostocker

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« Reply #40 on: November 16, 2014, 22:34 »
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but it does work, i know cause i've done it for years. and the nice part about it, there is no shadiness involved whatsoever. no ED, no business, no retirement, no marriage, etc. it is so rare it seems you don't even know about it, but my bet is you'd get it in less than a month with no strings attached.

if you mean getting a proper working visa, yes, all you need is getting hired by some thai company, but here we were discussing about visas allowing foreigners to live or to work freely in a SEA country.

besides, it's a matter of principle with Thailand : they just hate us and there's no point feeding their corrupt government, if all i want is a beach with coconuts trees and a row of bars with hoo-kers there's plenty of other options in SEA where i also won't be bothered too much about my visa status.

the golden days of thailand are well and truely over, it was great till 2008 but now ?

Hobostocker

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« Reply #41 on: November 16, 2014, 22:37 »
0
2010.

that explains everything, S'pore cost of living  changed incredibly in the last few years, it was actually a cheap destination until 2005.

actually the whole SEA changed so much, we're getting the same sh-it as 10 yrs ago but prices have doubled or tripled, the locals are more and more unfriendly and take us for granted, scams and crimes are on the rise everywhere.

said that, the pros still outweights the cons for the time being.
« Last Edit: November 16, 2014, 22:42 by Hobostocker »


« Reply #42 on: November 16, 2014, 23:02 »
0
I live in Taiwan and the cost of living here is pretty low and there are loads of locations and models to shoot.

The downside to this is the demand for these locations and models doesn't seem to be very high.

shudderstok

« Reply #43 on: November 17, 2014, 09:39 »
+1
but it does work, i know cause i've done it for years. and the nice part about it, there is no shadiness involved whatsoever. no ED, no business, no retirement, no marriage, etc. it is so rare it seems you don't even know about it, but my bet is you'd get it in less than a month with no strings attached.

if you mean getting a proper working visa, yes, all you need is getting hired by some thai company, but here we were discussing about visas allowing foreigners to live or to work freely in a SEA country.

besides, it's a matter of principle with Thailand : they just hate us and there's no point feeding their corrupt government, if all i want is a beach with coconuts trees and a row of bars with hoo-kers there's plenty of other options in SEA where i also won't be bothered too much about my visa status.

the golden days of thailand are well and truely over, it was great till 2008 but now ?

great till 2008? * you really missed the golden days by a decade, by 2008 it was not the place to be at all.

Hobostocker

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« Reply #44 on: November 17, 2014, 10:33 »
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great till 2008? * you really missed the golden days by a decade, by 2008 it was not the place to be at all.

i know what you mean but it's the whole SEA chaging too fast for the worse, and i still remember my first trip in china where you could only see millions of bicycles and a few old taxis, no skyscrapers and no shopping malls.


« Reply #45 on: November 17, 2014, 19:21 »
+1
Turkey has low rentals in Istanbul and even less if you live in other urban areas (all have excellent bus connections, ferry service great around sea of marmara);  food in markets is cheaper, and restaurants about 1/2 of US or European  equivalents

i'll stick with seattle for a few more years, though, as I prefer urban living.   easy airport access, and I spend 2-3+ months on post-shoot for every month of travel

« Reply #46 on: November 17, 2014, 20:42 »
0
.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2015, 08:20 by onepointfour »

« Reply #47 on: November 17, 2014, 20:47 »
+1
.
« Last Edit: June 16, 2015, 08:20 by onepointfour »

Hobostocker

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« Reply #48 on: November 18, 2014, 07:33 »
0
I think you left right during the property booming which is year 2009, but you probably was spared from the hike. Rental is very expensive now. I used to rent a bedroom at $500 during 2005, then gradually $700, then moved to 2 bedrooms HDB at $1800. It's now probably at $2300. Nothing close to luxury. Meals are still cheap at food court, and I agree although, if you don't compare with HK or Tokyo, Singapore has the best public transport, and cheap too.

some areas of Bangkok are already following the same trend, it's getting out of control, the chinese and the thai-chinese are buying at crazy prices as a long term investment and running a cartel to keep prices ridicolously high.

and anyone complaining about the public transport in SG should better take a look at the abysmal situation in places like Jakarta, Manila, Phnom Penh, Saigon, Yangon !


Hobostocker

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« Reply #49 on: November 18, 2014, 07:46 »
+1
Turkey has low rentals in Istanbul and even less if you live in other urban areas (all have excellent bus connections, ferry service great around sea of marmara);  food in markets is cheaper, and restaurants about 1/2 of US or European  equivalents

i always heard good feedbacks about Istanbul too, it's on my to-do list since a long time.

sooner or later i will also travel across the whole middle east, too bad that Sirya and Lybia have been devastated by the war, they have many interesting sites.

i've met guys who traveled in Afghanistan after touring central asia, they could only stay in Kabul and it was pretty expensive for foreigners, it's not a place where you can go backpacking on the cheap like in the 60's.

Kashmir is now semi open to visitors but still grey area, and who's going to buy images of kashmir if tourists aren't allowed ?

Tibet is still limited to tour groups, i was lucky to go there before the 2008 mess but even at the time many areas were closed to foreigners and full of checkpoints.







 

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