Ask HN: If your job was remote, which city would you choose to live in? - <AUTHOR> Curious which cities people like <comment><USER2> My job is remote. I moved to a hobby farm on the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia. So 45-70min commute to the CBD depending on traffic

Is a great lifestyle if you like the outdoors whiles giving access to a major city. I used to live in Sydney but couldnt buy a farm without being 2+ hours commute to CBD.

The blend of being on the keyboard most of the day but jumping on the tractor/motorbike/chainsaw etc at the end of a day gives a feeling of balance. Its hard work and takes over your life with animals, but if you like this stuff is really wholesome living.

<comment><USER3> What does CBD stands for? Google is not being helpful, unless you do mean weed.

<comment><USER4> Seems to be a common Australian abbreviation. Only other place I've ever heard it (central business district) is on an Aussie TV show.

<comment><USER2> Yes was referring to 'central business district'.

And good to find out it's an Australia centric expression. Thanks.

<comment><USER5> CBD is an expression also used by Kiwis (New Zealanders).

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I had that same question a few years ago and made a site to answer it (for myself and others) called [https://nomadlist.com](https://nomadlist.com).

Personally, I like cities with lots of nature in or around it, with low people density (not crowded), with a creative culture (like art, but also startups), in mild climates (like 20'C - 30'C, 68'F - 86'F), where it's not humid (so between 30% and 65% humidity).

<comment><USER7> any examples of such cities?

<comment><USER6> Yes, cities like Budapest, Prague, Austin, Medellin, Tbilisi tick those boxes.

If you don't care about humidity, the usual nomad hot spots come up like Chiang Mai, Ubud etc.

If you don't care about humidity and don't care about it being a bit crowded, you also get Canggu (which can be busy now), Bangkok, Taipei and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

Asia is just very humid.

My personal challenge is that I don't like sweating all day, even if A/C is available. I want to live somewhere where it's moderately mild/warm and where you can walk outside without getting drenched in sweat.

<comment><USER8> Definitely agree with you on the weather. At least in the tropical part of Asia it is either too hot, too humid or too dark. Personally I am not sure about Eastern Europe long term, it seems to be going the wrong way politically. Which is just a bother.

There seems to be an inverse (I guess pretty unsurprising) relationship between being decent and being cheap. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be 1 to 1. But almost everywhere attractive in Europe is now very expensive. Cities like Berlin, or even Lisbon, are pricing themselves out of the race. The US doesn't seem to be worth it anymore overall for Europeans.

So what I have managed to find on paper is Slovenia which supposedly has low taxes and decent quality of life but is tiny, relatively inaccessible and still a bit expensive. Another option seems to be something like a second tier city of a bigger country. Like Porto, Valencia and Montpellier and maybe Hamburg.

What sort of surprises me is that I haven't really been able to find any, at least not European, city which seem to want to attract people based on quality of life. All these "next silicon valley" type statements always only talks about things that largely doesn't matter. Not how to live there for 1 week, 1 month or 1 year. Have you noticed any city, or even region, doing better in this regard?

<comment><USER6> Great post, agree on all this.

One thing though: I think many cities as you say are now overpriced. Even with all the qualities of expensive cities like London, you get very little for what you pay for. That means there's an (economic) information lag where many people don't realize this yet. I hope my site helps reduce that information lag.

I think cities attracting people will happen organically as it's mostly always has been. People go to cheaper/better places to save money, then those places develop, get expensive/crowded etc.

In terms of non-organic ways of attracting people, I know governments in Spain, Ireland, France, Georgia, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia and a few more countries where ministries (eg of tourism) are actively aware of remote work, nomads and wanting to attract them.

The challenge is that the things remote workers are attracted by in a city are either fixed (weather) or slow to change (internet speeds, infrastructure, safety).

Places that have become hotspots for nomads like Chiang Mai and Bali mostly did because they already had a giant tourism industry and supply of (cheap) accomodation, were relatively safe and had usable internet. It "happened" to them, not the other way around.

<comment><USER8> Good points.

I think the key for those places wanting to attract people is to not be beholden to overall developments. On the one hand they can't rely on large changes because they take too much time and often are marginal. Instead of making the Internet better overall (which of course be the ideal thing) they could make sure that hotels in one area have good Internet, and that there is for example a lesser tax rate for monthly stays. On the other hand they also need to offset local changes, like the area becoming expensive, to keep the ball rolling.

I think that is partly why these places became hotspots. Because as you said they already had the backpackers, expats, surfers or fighters, and therefor the facilities. But also because when things got popular, they just move down the road and open up another place. And it seems that places like Lisbon can't really compete in that way. When it gets more popular it gets less accessible and more expensive a lot faster than opportunities to for example stay longer. So they end up in the same place as somewhere like London, but on a smaller scale.

I guess they would see it as a good thing as it makes more money, but it also hiders the "catalyst" or the further development, which should be their ultimate goal. At least that is my current impressions, but maybe that is just the way of the world and part of the fun. It just seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity. I guess I will know a bit more when I travel again in the autumn.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Haven't explored internet options up there. But the UP of Michigan, it's beautiful country and it's been far too long since I've had a pasty. It doesn't have the scale of Washington or the weather of California, but it is so much beautiful unspoiled wilderness. It's really hard to describe. Honestly the best show to capture it is Joe Pera talks with you.

<comment><USER10> Grew up in the UP. Of course it depends on location, but DSL has been available for about 10 years. It helps to be close to a trunk. The phone company said they will be running fiber to all their existing customers in the next two years. I think there might be subsidies because it is so remote.

Cable is probably confined to the biggest towns.

<comment><USER11> Yes, I occasionally spend time at our cabin north of Iron River. Cell coverage is not great except near the "bigger" towns like Houghton (Michigan Tech) and Marquette (Northern Michigan). But I love the UP and its remote northwoods wilderness.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER12> Not fully remote, but my wife is.

We enjoy Pittsburgh, big city feel (not massive though), decent public transit, gigabit ethernet.

Decent airport (well kinda we have to do a lot of connections when flying to SF or Europe). Easy to get to DC, NYC though via plane or car. Everyone is pretty nice here (bias I did grow up around here, though I can tell you driving has gotten worse..still far better than DC).

Edit: Given the chance to live _anywhere_ we'd probably go back to Europe, lived there for about 4 years with my previous job. It fit our lifestyle a bit better than the US does. Probably pick a place like Berlin, Copenhagen, Amsterdam-area.

<comment><USER13> I'm in Pittsburgh as well, but I don't think I'd agree on our public transit and airport being decent or having a big city feel. Our downtown is pretty much an industrial park, it's nearly a ghost town most evenings. Other areas like Lawrenceville, the Strip district, and the Mexican War Streets are nice, but they feel a bit inauthentic. The bus system is _really_ lacking, it's something that should be light rail instead.

<comment><USER12> I take the bus every day to/from work (live and work inside the city) and am able to get pretty much anywhere with the bus, I don't really see a problem with it.

Pittsburgh would not work with a lightrail the city is a triangle with crazy ass intersections and "tiny" streets, not a grid. A lightrail would be very ineffective (see Baltimore's that just runs pretty much one line in the city to the airport), or would require the city to pretty much destroy all existing streets and try again.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Since nobody put it, I've been fully remote for the past 5 years, used to live in San Diego but 2 years ago moved up to SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA.

Great small town, 30 minute scenic drive down to Costco/Trader Joes in Carson City. Reno airport is 1 hour away.

There are tech meetups here and tech community at the local CoWork Tahoe co- working space is thriving.

Winters are epic: take a long lunch, do a few laps up at Heavenly, be back in time for a 2pm call. Do a late start every other week and get a half-day in down at Kirkwood.

Summers are crowded but once you get on a trail there's nobody around.

Spring and Fall are quiet and you feel like you have the place to yourself.

Only down side is still paying CA taxes, stings more when Nevada is 2 miles from my house...

</comment><comment><USER15> Los Angeles would be more ideal if you don't have a commute, I think. Just stay in your little beach community around Venice or Long Beach.

I'm often wishing New Orleans had a bigger tech scene, it's a beautiful town.

<comment><USER16> I'm doing that in Orange County at the moment. John Wayne Airport is a pleasure to fly out of. Newport Beach offers the beach home life and Irvine/South Coast Metro bring the big city tech offerings. Other responses go for more cost effective options with more rural nature. However for me, the temperate climate and urban/suburban pace of life works best.

<comment><USER15> John Wayne, what a guy to name an airport after!

I'll have to take a look at newport beach sometime, thanks for the tip :)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> I'm in Philadelphia. Taxes aren't the best, but not as bad as some cities. For me it hits all the major check boxes. The other thing to me is I weigh cities on how much they give, versus how much they take.

* Lower cost of living * Close to other cities * I walk almost every where. Groceries are the exception once a week for a 20 minute subway ride. * A lot to do and see here. Admittedly I'm biased of all the cities I've been it's my favorite. * Transit. I visit other cities (NYC primarily). Buses are under 10, and most trips are two hours or so. * Decent tech scene, and start up scene.

The biggest con as a remote employee. Is Comcast, their internet leaves a lot to be desired.

</comment><comment><USER18> My job is remote I used to live in Grass Valley, a town of 3K that is 1 hour drive from Sacramento. No cell phone reception 1/3 of teh population is on Dial up, I was fortunate to have AT&T DSL 760 kiloBits per sec 75/month Moved to LA to get decent internet of 100 MegaBits per sec 70 per month Used to own, now I rent So much for living the good life

<comment><USER19> Hi from Grass Valley :)

I've been working remote here for a few years and have had a different experience. Verizon cell phone coverage is fine for me here (tho it was terrible on AT&T). Agree that broadband access can be really spotty, but if you live in town the options are ok. We have 250Mbps at the house, and Comcast says they offer gigabit, but I haven't tried it. Anyway, it's possible things have gotten better, or else it just depends a lot on the available infrastructure where you live/work.

</comment></comment><comment><USER20> I'm fully remote, enjoying Western Montana. I'm in a small town on Flathead Lake with mountains in my backyard. I couldn't imagine much better. ATVs, archery, guns, fishing, boating, and more.

<comment> d-sc Hey! I'm from the Flathead valley (Yellowbay & Kalispell). We should get coffee when I'm back in town.

<comment><USER20> For sure! My email is in my profile. Hit me up. I'm in Polson.

<comment><USER21> Do . . . . do people in Montana really just meet each other on the Internet and get coffee?

<comment> d-sc Well no.. because I'm in California currently. But, yeah we have civilization in Montana. Also, the place in question is small enough that you can get to know a double digit percentage of the population within 30 mins driving distance if you wanted to, so it's not entirely unlikely that there wouldn't be a couple mutual connections anyhow.

<comment><USER21> I'm jealous if it wasn't apparent from my question

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> London. I like big, dense, multicultural cities with lots to do at any moment of time, lots of different people and high-quality food from as many cultures as possible readily available. On that measure I think the only city that compares (and is probably better) is New York, but I have a citizenship and lots of family + friends in the UK so it's a much more convenient place to be.

I'm working on moving there to do not-remote development at the moment, incidentally.

<comment><USER23> London is rapidly losing all appeal. The pound is tanking. Brexit is going to totally decimate the economy long term.

<comment><USER24> If you're working remotely, the pound tanking is a good thing, isn't it?

<comment><USER25> It's sad that people are willing to sacrifice culture and sovereignty because they're scared of a temporarily weaker economy.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER26> Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Fast growing 400k people city in Transylvania.

Moved here almost four years ago from western Europe. Romanian people are very warm and friendly. Cluj grows and develops at an astonishing rate. Summers are nice and warm, but not too warm. Winters are cold, but not too cold.

Cost of living is high for the average Romanian. However, salaries for software engineers are at least two or three times the average and if you're a little better, it's five or six times more.

All you have to do is get over the fact that it's an ex-communist country. Behind on infrastructure development with a corrupt national government. Local government in Cluj is actually really nice and develops like crazy.

</comment><comment><USER27> My job is remote, and I chose Melbourne, FL. No income tax, great weather, and it feels like a small town with big town amenities. I may move again when my rental time is up just to see more, but this place is quite nice.

</comment><comment><USER28> My first serious programming job was fully remote I immediately moved to the island of Guadeloupe. It was great.

My current job is fully remote... I live in the San Francisco Bay area, am I doing this wrong?

<comment><USER29> Paying Bay Area prices when you don't have to seems silly.

<comment><USER28> totally i was being glib, I live here currently to support family

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> I am currently in Stockholm and would probably move somewhere more remote in Sweden, where I can pursue my dreams of running a small chicken rescue operation.

<comment><USER31> Um... do chickens _need_ rescuing? Could you explain what that means?

<comment><USER30> When egg-laying hens at big factory farms get past their prime and don't lay as many eggs anymore they are often killed and disposed of or sent to be turned into pet food. My farm would take as many of these older chickens as I can to let them live out the rest of their lives on a spacious farm where they have room to roam, and die of old age. I would still likely get some eggs out of them too (since they often still produce eggs, just not at a rate the factories deem profitable).

<comment><USER32> Beautiful

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER33> I've been working full-time remotely for past 5 years and tried many cities to live in. I feel like it might come down to personal preferences but I noticed a pattern in where I felt the best. London, Berlin, Chicago, Frankfurt, Bologna and Neapol would definitely take the bottom of my list. They are crowded, expensive and people are absolutely tired of tourists. Not to mention that all of them have some nasty places you wouldn't want to end up in by mistake and get mugged.

The top ones however would be in the order from least to most recommended: Ann Arbour (MI), Bari (IT) and my absolute Italian gem: Macerata. It's a 4k people historic city filled mostly with students. People rarely speak English and it doesn't make it any harder to make friends. Everyone welcomes you with his arms wide open and the city is lively. The food is absolutely amazing but that's Italy for you in general.

As a side note I'm Polish and in my mid twenties, I was born in Kraków so I skipped this city as it'd be hard for me to be objective about it.

<comment><USER33> P.S. I will be checking out Faenza (IT) this year as well

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> My job is remote. I decided to relocate from big European city to very small asian tropical island in the middle of nowhere. Best decision ever.

<comment><USER35> What is the visa situation? The only thing stopping me from doing something like that is that I dislike the idea of border hopping every 3/6 months and I am definitely not going to go through the hassle of obtaining permanent residency in such a country.

<comment><USER34> In Thailand you can stay one year on a tourist visas. Every 3 months you have to go a Thai embassy outside of Thailand to get a new tourist visa. Then you have to go somewhere else for a few month and you can repeat the one year cycle.

I did got through the hassle and setting up a Thai company. This gives me a 1 year multiple entry visa and a work permit. Cost around 2.000 USD. An agency will handle the paper work for you.

It is a hassle no matter if you choose to do what i did or if you do the tourist visa, but it certainly is possible to stay and work for years in Thailand and many do although it is getting more difficult.

So yeah, it is possible to try to live here for a year on tourist visa, and if you fall in love with the place as I did, you have options in regards to make a life time stay and to get that work permit so you are legit.

I have been working remote from here for 6 years so far and counting )))

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER36> San Luis Obispo. Charming college town which has restricted growth.

<comment><USER37> What do you mean by "restricted growth"? Not much to do around SLO though?

<comment><USER38> You are about an hour from SB, which has more of the trappings of a city

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER39> I've been remote the past 3 years and live in Bangkok ~6 months out of the year (visa issues staying any longer than 6 months per year) - still love it! Been to almost every other country in Asia but Bangkok feels most like home to me.

Big tech community, events every night, cheap delicious food, nice people, I like the weather, and more

<comment><USER40> Could you share more?

Is it a safe city?

Can you walk in random directions without fear?

How difficult is to get visa?

Do they speak English?

What kind of expenses are you looking at monthly?

As someone with fully remote job, I am wondering whether I should go couple of months there. I am on the verge about it.

<comment><USER41> Just go.

Random walking is my all time favourite thing to do in Bangkok. Although I'd recommend getting out of the CBD. Yes, tech events are great, but I prefer the slower, quiet pace of somewhere like Southern Phuket, or the diving in Koh Tao.

Visa is trivial, English is everywhere, if you're splurging, you could spend however much you want, but it's easy to live cheaply. Rent is something like USD500-800 for the month if you don't even shop around. Food is pretty cheap that I'm not even sure how much stuff costs. A 1 hour massage is about USD10, although you could splurge to about USD20 if you really want to.

That said, while I love Thailand, I'd have to say that Vietnam is still my all-time favourite SEA country to visit... but Thailand does keep drawing me back. I have a favourite beach spot and Kana Moo Grob really hits the spot.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER42> My job is remote and I choose to live in Los Angeles, CA. This is the same city as when I worked in an office, and with family, friends, my wife's job, and my daughter's school and friends it would be hard to leave. The weather, diverse population, entertainment, and the beach are huge draws as well.

</comment><comment><USER43> I'm fully remote now, and am currently still in the bay area (used to work in SF), but planning to move to the Sacramento area by next year.

Why Sacramento? 1) Wife and I still have family members in the bay area and we'd like to stay within driving distance, 2) Still get to enjoy California weather, without the possibility of a 8.0+ earthquake looming over our heads, 3) Better school for our kid while spending less than half the amount to buy a house vs similarly good school districts in the bay area, 4) I'm not very into snow, which eliminates much of the northern half of the country as candidate cities to choose. If I'd also like to avoid hurricanes, tornadoes, and huge earthquakes, that eliminates most of the country. The Greater Sacramento area actually fits that bill.

<comment><USER44> I grew up around Sacramento. One nice thing was that we actually had 4 seasons, unlike SF. 100+ degree summers were sometimes rough though.

</comment></comment><comment><USER45> I'm thinking about Boulder Colorado or Eugene, OR, but I haven't been to those places yet.

<comment><USER46> I lived in Eugene for school a while back. It was a great town, lots of outdoor stuff, coast is an hour away. The college is a major influence on the town but the summer, when most students leave, is one of the most enjoyable places to be as long as you're not allergic to grass seed

</comment></comment><comment><USER47> Maybe Portland Maine, seems like a nice little city on the coast, plus the lobster is dirt cheap.

<comment><USER48> Grew up there. Live in Portland OR now. I'd like to be remote someday exactly so I can move back, though probably just to one of the quieter (cheaper) surrounding areas... Hard to beat actual seasons and interesting weather. You can drive for 20 minutes in any direction and find yourself alone in nature. Boston is just 2 hours south and the ocean is everywhere you look. Winters are long and harsh, though.

</comment></comment><comment><USER49> I would try Austin, Texas. The weather is not extremely cold or hot. The cost of living is reasonable. It's not super crowded. And if I lost my job, there's a growing demand for tech workers.

Are there any Austinites that can comment on this?

<comment><USER50> It is getting super crowded and cost of living is skyrocketing. It's been near 100 degrees for a month with no end in sight. Nobody knows how to drive, but they drive aggressively. Also, there's definitely not enough water for everyone who wants to move to Texas. (Can you tell that I'm ready to leave?)

<comment><USER50> Also, someone said that there are seasons, which is a lie. Fall is basically: One day it rains pretty hard and all the leaves fall off the trees. Winter is: Leaves are off their trees for six months and it's kinda chilly. Then it rains a lot in "Spring", then it's 100 degrees until you think you can't take it anymore.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER51> I'm remote and live in Glasgow, Scotland. My partner is tied down with their location so I don't travel as much as I might otherwise, but I like it here and we have already lived abroad so it works out pretty well.

</comment><comment><USER52> Eastern Tennessee in the Smokey Mountains, preferably near a college campus.

<comment><USER53> yep

</comment></comment><comment><USER54> It's not a city, but I've just spent 10 days working remotely from the Isle of Jura, population 200, off the west coast of Scotland. I work in finance as a programmer, and whilst often need to spend time with traders and quants, this time away was a great opportunity to get my head down and get stuck into some issues that I normally don't get time for. The best thing was that my daughter could spend time with her cousins and I could do trail running at random times of the day. Seriously considering doing this more often!

</comment><comment><USER55> My job is remote, and the wife and I just took the leap of moving from the Seattle area to a small town north of Houston. The weather, cost of living, and pace of life is just so much better.

<comment><USER56> Which town? (I'm in Houston)

</comment></comment><comment><USER57> My job is remote. I moved to a hobby farm in Utah on what was (at the time) the dividing line between suburbia and farmland, and an hour from SLC, so it isn't too far if I need a larger city. But I rarely actually go there.

Many people who joined our company moved because we were 100% remote until a couple years ago when we were acquired. I'd say more than half picked some small town. The specific small town varies greatly, depending on what you like to do and who/where your family is.

</comment><comment><USER58> My job is remote. Moved to a lake near family in Alabama. Couldn't be happier. Very low cost of living. I also get to go wakeboarding on my lunch break

<comment><USER53> where abouts? i'm in birmingham and want to live on a lake or mountain

<comment><USER58> smith lake

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER59> I'm trying to figure this out myself. I have freelanced for years from Houston and it's been fine. I avoided moving somewhere more expensive because my income was inconsistent, but now I have a salaried remote job and no excuse. It's harder than I thought it would be to pack up and leave a place.

I'm headed to Austin for a month today, hoping to try Vegas later this year as well.

I'll let you all know when I figure this one out...

</comment><comment><USER50> I live in Austin, which is expanding so quickly, it is no longer bringing me joy...

I'd be in Boise, near family, nature, isolation....

</comment><comment><USER60> Sudsbury Canada I believe the name is. Cold, good internet, not too dense, low CoL. If I ever get a serious remote job I would definitely consider it, it would require me to emigrate for the US. If emigration wasn't realistic, I'd probably move somewhere in Minnesota (I like the cold for various reasons)

</comment><comment><USER61> Nobody has mentioned [http://nomadlist.com](http://nomadlist.com) yet

<comment><USER61> And could mention (i m working on) [https://reworkin.com/](https://reworkin.com/) as a hub for remote workers to connect with each other.

</comment></comment><comment><USER62> Tokyo, Manila, Cebu, Bali, Chiang Mai

I personally enjoy emerging economies - money goes far, people are fun, and you could loop yourself into a fun investment or two.

Tokyo/Japan is not emerging, but the language, culture and identity are fun parallels.

China is a maybe, even now, I would love to go to a Confucius Instuite and pick up Chinese.

<comment><USER63> I agree with any or all of these. Part of my fascination with living in Japan would be in being completely alienated. I currently feel disconnected from American culture and though I "blend", I feel the distance. I think it would be good to feel what that is like when it is overtly apparent.

</comment></comment><comment><USER64> Preferably in a state with no state income tax: [https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0210/7-states- wi...](https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0210/7-states-with-no- income-tax.aspx)

<comment><USER65> Most of those states have a higher cost of living than other states, largely offsetting the relatively small benefit of state income tax savings.

Rent/mortgage/utility is likely a far bigger overall concern than state income tax in the bigger picture.

</comment></comment><comment><USER66> I work remote from Sydney's Northern Beaches. Life couldn't be better :)

</comment><comment><USER67> I would move to Rochester, NY.

The Bad: Very long winters with lots and lots of snow. Not a whole lot of economic opportunity if you're not in healthcare.

The Good:

1\. The most beautiful Spring/Summer/Fall seasons I have ever seen, and I've been lucky enough to see a good portion of the world.

2\. Vibrant and walk-able downtown area. Arts/Culture/Music are taken very seriously there.

3\. A ton of affordable yet beautiful housing in _mostly_ desirable areas. Low cost of living in general.

4\. Close proximity to beautiful countryside and the criminally underrated Finger Lakes (which are home to some of the best wineries in the USA).

5\. Rochester Public Market. Think a farmers market that exclusively sells "ugly" produce for bottom dollar cheap. It's huge and quite fun to go to on the weekends.

The TL;DR I usually give people is that it's a Portland, OR that no one really knows about. It's the third largest city in New York State behind Buffalo and NYC. It's not a perfect place and it has its fair share of problems, but it is a great place to live. Assuming a decent tech salary, one could live very well there.

</comment><comment><USER68> I'm from Europe so i would choose an European city - Wroclaw.

Polish city - so living is way way cheaper compered to the western Europe, while the city itself is neat and offers high standard of living.

<comment><USER69> Wrocław represent! I hate living here because of the winters, but still it's a great place to live for someone who doesn't mind the cold

</comment></comment><comment><USER70> Valencia Spain, most amazing city I've ever been, go visit :).

</comment><comment><USER71> Kailua Hawaii. Just over the hill from Honolulu and Waikiki, just an hour from Maui and the Big Island. Hours from the rest of the world. *-

</comment><comment><USER72> Scandinavian west coast may-sep (Sognefjord to Kungsbacka).

Zürich/Zug/Vaduz oct-apr.

Utrecht for the crowd, Tokyo for the food.

Want to try: Auckland, Singapore, Vancouver.

<comment><USER73> I'm currently working remotely from Sognefjord (just for a month or so). Plenty of rainy days where it's not hard to stay inside and get stuff done. Still beautiful even in the rain!

<comment><USER72> For me, personally, the extended coastal region is all about the nature access. Without gear I have several months of great water for swimming, diving, sailing, etc. With a thin suit it's six months. Then it's the beautiful forests, allemansrätten in Sweden, low traffic, friendly atmosphere, etc.

From Sognefjord in the north to Kungsbacka in the south it's generally easy to choose the kind of weather you want, depending on how much work you have to get done :)

Society in the region is great, friendly people, internet coverage is good, industry is strong, education is very good.

But for winter I prefer Switzerland.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> My city of choice would be Remote, NA. I'd be a full-time tech nomad traveling around North America in a converted bus.

</comment><comment><USER74> Some beach. Maybe in Spain. I like fomenterra

<comment><USER75> Formentera could be a bit lonely on winter, but Spring is beautiful.

The problem is both Ibiza and Formentera are fully booked for summer season and, unless you by a property there, rent in July-September will be prohibitive.

</comment></comment><comment><USER76> My job is remote and I moved from London to Barcelona area. It's been two years and I'm still thrilled so far

<comment><USER69> What's the best and the worst thing about this city in your opinion? I'm dreaming about moving to Spain and hesitate between Barcelona and Valencia

<comment><USER76> I was also hesitating between Valencia and Barcelona. I ended up choosing Barcelona because there would be more job opportunities for my SO who doesn't work remotely.

Valencia is much cheaper than Barcelona but doesn't have a big airport nor as many good restaurants.

As for the best and worst things, I think they're valid for both Barcelona and Valencia:

The best thing is actually a combination of many: excellent weather conditions, relatively cheap cost of life, great food, access to the beach, overall good quality of life.

The worst things are the noise (cars and people) and communication.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER77> \- Zurich

\- Los Angeles

\- Mumbai

in the descending order of preference!

</comment><comment><USER78> Rio de Janeiro or Florianopolis, Brazil (I currently live between both of them and some months in Buenos Aires).

</comment><comment><USER79> West LA. Tough place to be getting remote pay unless they pay more for cost of living unfortunately.

</comment><comment><USER80> Santa Barbara

</comment><comment><USER81> Doesn't really matter if I have a remote job or not I'll pick Berlin

</comment><comment><USER82> San Diego

</comment><comment><USER83> 12 different ones, then choose based on my mood.

</comment><comment><USER84> Where can i find remote job?

<comment><USER85> Not the creator but this is pretty good if you are serious about finding remote opportunities:

[https://findwork.dev/](https://findwork.dev/)

There's good amount of filters to make it work for you.

</comment></comment><comment><USER86> Bogota, Colombia. For sure.

<comment><USER52> Why Bogota over Medellin?

<comment><USER87> I am not GP but I found Medellin had a really dangerous vibe and a hideous city center. Bogota felt much safer for me and the center is really beautiful with lots to see and do.

I know that Medellin is said to be popular with nomads but I honestly have no idea why.

<comment><USER78> And has a terrible (and insecure) night life.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER88> Oahu, Big Island, Maui

</comment><comment> non-entity Honestly theres no where I'd settle, but I think some staying in some far out cities could be interesting for a few years. I'd try something like Juneau, Alaska a shot,despite being tiny, it looks beautiful</comment>


Free Vector Icons of Drinks - <AUTHOR> https://www.designer-daily.com/exclusive-free-drinks-icons-87605 <comment><USER2> Really needed source like this!</comment>


How can I improve this Node framework? - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/chenzihui/HopKick

<comment><AUTHOR> I'm a front end guy, but last week I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try building a Node.js framework.

It is probably full of flaws at the moment, but I'm all for learning.

Let me know what I did wrong, and where can I improve. Much appreciated. Cheers

</comment><comment><USER2> Personally, depending on so many libraries is a turn off. Seems more like a collection of modules, than a framework. Also, hard to grasp how the MVC structure is wired. Example and test would be nice.</comment>


Music for Deep Work - <AUTHOR> https://thefocuscourse.com/music-for-deep-work/ <comment><USER2> I really enjoy music that gets me in the zone.

Some key ingredients for good focus music:

\- Minimal lyrics

\- Deep pitched electronic hums and sounds in the background

\- Full length albums that have natural transitions

Here is a playlist I use everyday with these criteria: [https://open.spotify.com/playlist/61RNVG9yeQpFBRi8OAVC9I?si=...](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/61RNVG9yeQpFBRi8OAVC9I?si=5s_Ig2GmRuGiN2Lg9xNS2A)</comment>


How to Make MIDI Files Sound Better in Windows 7 - <AUTHOR> https://blog.markheadrick.com/2012/10/01/how-to-make-midi-files-sound-better-in-windows-7/ <comment><USER2> ...or, on modern systems: [https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Timidity#SoundFonts](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Timidity#SoundFonts) ;)

</comment><comment> sid-kap This is an extremely niche post, lol</comment>


Nobody Cares - <AUTHOR> http://bennesvig.com/2012/08/09/nobody-cares/ <comment><USER2> _"You should care because nobody else does"_

Sure. It's a decent enough reason. But it seems born from an overly cynical thesis.

How about a better reason? Care because you want to. Make a conscious effort to give every stranger you encounter the benefit of the doubt. Some will prove you wrong, naturally. But until they do, they're presumed innocent.

It's actually pretty remarkable how much of a difference this approach can make in your daily life. People on HN like to talk about "expanding their luck surface area," and other terms of that nature. Well, being genuinely interested in other people is one of the better ways to do it.

Our lives are stressful. Our patience is thin. Our guard is up. All of that seems to come with the territory of modern life. But resolving to push that crap down, and treat other people respectfully, takes an enormous amount of strength. And it's a mark of good character.

Have something you stand for in life. Have a code. Make being a good, friendly person part of that code. This isn't corny. This is strong. This is _badass_. James Bond lives by a code. Batman lives by a code. See if you can rise to the challenge, and do the same.

<comment><USER3> It's also mentally exhausting and drains your willpower. While it may be a sign of good character, being like that 24/7 (even when you don't feel like it) is a good recipe for driving you insane eventually.

<comment><USER4> Making a "code" is like building a habit. Maintaining the code might be tiring at first, but consistently caring about others, just like consistently brushing your teeth, will inevitably get easier. If you truly are feeling exhausted/insane after treating people well for a day, its unlikely you think people are worth treating well to begin with.

<comment><USER5> Exactly. You weren't born with the instict to say "fine, how are you you" or "please" and "thank you." You were taught to do that by your parents.

Habits like this are a muscle that can be developed. Relatedly, the concept of ego depletion: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_depletion>

<comment><USER3> I think most humans are kind by nature, since we're social beings. In a setting like a tribe or a small community, it's relatively easy since we depend and know everyone else. It's when we have to be like that to everyone, including strangers.. that's tough.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> This seems like a very cynical article. On the behalf of everyone in Canada, the UK, and Australia, it's very common for people to reciprocate this sort of courtesy and genuinely mean it. In fact, I'd go as far to say that most people would be downright offended if you didn't reciprocate.

Similarly, most people go out of their way to thank transit drivers, and everyone holds doors. Perhaps an American could share some insight.

<comment><USER7> Seems pretty cynical to me too, but I've lived in either North Dakota or Minnesota for a couple of decades. It takes so little effort to be nice and have a conversation with people. Who knows, you might make the teller laugh and get through their day easier.

[from the article] Does anyone who has ever said "have a good one" actually mean it?

Yep, I do mean it. I'm that sap. I wish you well and still sign all my e-mail "keep safe". I mean that too. The world can be an unforgiving place, no need for me to not help you along.

<comment><USER8> I am rather dismayed by the lack of interaction between people in my country (Greece). We don't talk to strangers at all, not even to say hi or hold a door open or anything. It's a cultural thing, people just don't think to talk to other people.

That's all I wanted to say, have a good day!

<comment><USER9> It's like that in southern California. Most people out here act cold and just want to keep to their own. People rarely say hello to anyone they pass on the streets. Just keep your eyes pointed forward and maybe you won't have to interact with another person. The mean streets of Orange County.

<comment><USER10> That was the biggest difference I noticed when I moved from the Bay Area to Texas. Everyone says hello, everyone asks how you're doing. I grew up thinking no one was ever nice to a stranger. It was unnerving at first but frankly it's more pleasant this way.

And it's not just the south, been this way everywhere else I go in the middle of the country.

(Except on Houston's roads, of course. That's a different world entirely)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Moin,

There is one nice thing about traditional frisian greeting:

The first one greets, moin and the traditional answer is moin,moin. We often confuse people from southern Germany and the rest of the world, because we use that greeting around the clock, even if moin sounds a lot lot like morning.

But the translation of moin is just good. So we avoid all those how are you, fine thank you nonsense, and just greet each other with good and good,good.

</comment><comment><USER12> _Have a good what? Have a good time? Have a good weekend? Have a good life?_

Day. It means "have a good _day_ ".

<comment><USER13> It's funny, the first time I heard this, I thought it was a really neat thing to say. It's like wishing somebody a good day, weekend, evening, whatever, not worrying too much about the specifics. The kind of laziness that seems more sincere.

Now it's become just another greeting, part of our business culture. The fact that it's probably in some ESL textbook kind of kills the intent. Probably a sign that I'm getting old.

Anybody know what the young people are saying to each other nowadays? Aside from racist, homophobic slurs, I mean.

</comment></comment><comment><USER14> "Does your server really care how the first few bites are?"

On first pass, I read this and thought he spelled 'bytes' wrong. ^_^

<comment><USER15> Ha ha, wow! I thought I was the only one who read it that way.

<comment><USER16> Your server really cares, its those first few bites that tell it the packet is meant for them :-)

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> The first thing I do when interacting with someone who is providing me a service is ask them how their day is going. Why? Because no one does this (I'm in London), more often than not it really makes a positive difference to this persons day, i.e. they are genuinely shocked that someone gives a shit (I do by the way) and it doesn't cost me a single thing to do.

I think it's something everyone should do.

<comment><USER18> >I think it's something everyone should do.

Nah, i don't think so, because most people (me included) wouldn't actually care and then it would devolve into meaningless politeness. I prefer that only the people (like you) who actually care signal that they care.

<comment><USER19> I think he meant that everyone should care, not just that everyone should say the words. I guess its really up to you whether you want to do it or not, but it is a pleasant attribute

<comment><USER20> Actually, if you do certain things while saying the words, it will help make you care.

There are two things you need to do:

(1) say it intentionally. Pay attention to how you say it, and deliver it earnestly with your head up and be prepared to

(2) listen to the response. Give due consideration to the answer and don't dismiss it. This is a window into someone else's life: treasure it, regard it with curiosity, but not intrusively.

Most people will start actually caring about the other person as a result of doing this a few times.

<comment><USER21> THIS.

I have a coworker who, upon arriving to the office every morning, walks by my desk and asks* "How are you doing?" and every morning I say "fine" with varying levels of sarcasm (and eyerolls). Does she ever notice my tone? Nope. She just parrots back "that's good!"

Most of the time, I think people are programmed to ask out of some socially expected behavior...but I'm pretty sure they don't want to hear what the actual answer is.

"Well, I woke up to my cat knocking a vase off a table and having to clean up broken glass at 2:30 in the morning. Then when my alarm went off, I got out of bed and stepped right in a pile of cat puke. Oh, I'm also crampy and I hate this job."

Somehow I don't think that will go over too well.

____

* as much as one can ask when their face is engaged in whatever is on their smartphone and not what's going on in front of them.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> In the US at least, please stop analyzing these types of social interactions literally. The subtext is quite different. Basically, "Hi, how are you doing?" is the equivalent of "Hi, I'm being a pleasant person going through this standard cultural greeting." Expecting something more from this pattern shows a poor understanding of the culture.

Breaking out of this is easy. As other people have mentioned, simply departing from the script is effective. For example, you can follow-up "Hi, how are you doing?" with "How's your day been going?" or "It's pretty busy in here." There's also subtext here and it's basically "I'd like to engage in a conversation."

I'm not even sure how you ask a person how they're doing in a way that lets them know you mean it without sounding condescending.

</comment><comment><USER23> I return the "how are you?" question with equivalent replies in shops all the time and if recipients were annoyed by it, I don't recall noticing. Being pleasant frequently helps me feel more pleasant. And anyway, I actually do hope they have a great day. I hope everyone has a great day.

<comment><USER24> I almost always ask how they are doing too, and never have I noticed (or don't remember) someone being annoyed by me asking.

</comment></comment><comment><USER25> I always genuinely care and end up looking like a smug asshole most of the time but there are a few times when someone does seem to feel really good that I care.

You should see how much meat they pack on my subs at the local sub place. ;)

</comment><comment><USER26> I don't care that nobody cares. I care that they pretend that they do. Fake friendliness is annoying, and good service is not formulaic.

<comment><USER27> Come to Spain then, most people don't care and there's no effort to hide that. Stuff like this happens often:

\- having to chase a store clerk while he flees and tries to hide because his chatting with his friend on the cell is obviously more important.

\- "Oh could you also please bring ..." replied with a "why didn't you say that before?" at say a restaurant.

I used to be annoyed by fake attention in the North Americas, but after a couple years back here, gawd how I miss fake. They may not really care about me, but they care about trying to make the experience pleasant for the customer.

<comment><USER28> I live in the US Midwest. Yes, it is true that if someone asks you casually "How are you?" they are not expecting your life story, and the waiter's question about "how's the food so far?" is generally not an invitation to give a three paragraph review of the food. But it is legitimately a time to ask for refills, and a clerk's question is legitimately a time to tell them about the bathroom being dirty or something. It may not be a close personal connection and you may not invite them to your son's graduation party, but it isn't quite the null, empty question this essay portrays, either. It's better than being ignored.

Fun hack: "How are you?", "What's up?", "Hey", etc., are all fungible. It is perfectly acceptable to answer "What's up?" with "Hey" or a question in return. Fun.

<comment><USER29> Taken to extremes by the colloquial English greeting of "alright?" where the answer is "alright" and the formal introduction of "how do you do?" which is responded to with "how do you do?" with no change of inflection.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER30> Somewhat related: am I the only one who's not in love with the new trend of startups sending fake "personal" messages to new users?

I know you want to show you care, but I haven't had 5 minutes to try out your app and you're already asking me if I need any help and when we can schedule a Skype call so you can show me all your cool features.

I usually just ignore these messages, but always feel slightly bad on the off chance that it actually _wasn't_ an automated message and I just snubbed a real person.

<comment><USER31> Ugh, thank you for bringing those up. These are particularly bad when I sign up for enterprise trials for work. It's clever when they utilize their metrics to calculate how much time I spent on the site and then send a message corresponding with that length/depth that offers to better acclimate me to the product or just get me through a problem I may have had.

But recently? I didn't even _go_ to that site when I got the launch email. Instead of asking me why (through a form on your site, not one-on-one through an email) or nudging me to check if now's a better time to poke around, they're going to do a personal webinar for me?

I recently had this kind of inbox harassment on my home account and every time I saw another email asking me to _connect_ with them, I felt a little sad. Were they having a hard time reaching the numbers they wanted? Was everything okay at HQ? Kind of depressing, but that's the only way I could justify the amount of emails I was receiving without ever showing interest except for whatever time and dimension it was when I signed up to begin with.

I don't really know why I put myself through it, the unsubscribe button is right there. I guess it just kind of fascinates me, the combination of hot messes that are creepy sales outreach and HTML emails.

Maybe I'm just too loose with my email.

Maybe I just care too much.

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> A corollary is there's a limit to what you can effectively care about.

A big part of what makes us geeks is caring _too much_ about the wrong things (according to normals anyway).

<comment><USER33> > A corollary is there's a limit to what you can effectively care about.

In absolute terms, maybe, I'm not sure.

But in relative terms, by definition, there is a limit to what you can care about.

Care more about your job than your kids, that's a problem. Care more about your friends than your spouse at a time when they need your support, that's a problem.

<comment><USER20> > In absolute terms, maybe, I'm not sure.

Check out Dunbar's Number (a.k.a. the monkeysphere).

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER34> This article identifies a secret weapon that startups have when competing with a large, established business.

I have worked as a programmer for (a) several large banks and (b) my own startup business: Nothing comes close to the level of care you feel to your users when you run your own business.

When a user gets a NullPointerException, I take personal responsibility and want to fix it as soon as possible. When a user emails me a question, I want to answer it well and as soon as possible. If the software looks ugly or is not intuitive, I get a strong urge to improve it.

They say that a good programmer can be 10 times as productive as an average programmer. Well it is also true that a good programmer can be 10 times as productive as him/herself - it depends on the environment.

</comment><comment><USER35> The key element is this. Do you view customer support as a cost center or a sales channel? If a cost center, then you as a company are not going to care. If as a sales channel, then you as a company are going to care, and are likely to going to need premium pricing somewhere to pay for that.

Note, one of the offered examples is MediaTemple. I know the people at MediaTemple pretty well, and when I made that comment to them they all agreed with me that MediaTemple views customer support as a sales channel. It also has premium pricing compared to the rest of the web hosting industry. So while I cannot vouch from first hand experience that my comment fits all companies that care, I know it does fit that one.

</comment><comment><USER36> The angst in this post is really off putting. It reads like a series of observations by someone having a bad day after reading a book about existentialism (Mark Cuban is more likely to answer my emails than my friends?). He hints that caring can make you more successful as a business. But ultimately decides that we should care more simply to seperate ourselves from an uncaring world... because nobody cares. I don't find this particularly relevant.

</comment><comment><USER37> Serious question here, not even joking: do you care about the mobile visitors to your site? Do you care that there is an obnoxious floating "contact" widget popping out from the side covering the text I want to read? This sort of thing happens on so many other websites too that I think it ironically fits right into the topic. I think a lot of people need to visit their own websites on a smartphone.

</comment><comment><USER38> If your products are Target priced, it's uneconomical to care too much. If you work at McDonalds, caring too much will drive you nuts.

If your product is Tiffany priced, you'd better care a lot. If you work at the French Laundry, you'd better care a lot, and make sure your peers do too.

In either case, losing touch of the customer will force you to lose touch with the business.

</comment><comment> jack-r-abbit When I am interacting with someone who is "serving" me in some way and they ask how I am doing... I almost always ask them back. It is quite interesting the different reactions I get. They pretty much _have_ to be pleasant and I think it throws them off when people are pleasant by choice.

<comment><USER39> this is kind of a jerk thing to do because a server / cashier person basically has to be nice even if they feel crappy so when you ask them "how are you doing" you are forcing them to lie.

do you feel better now?

<comment> jack-r-abbit I don't do it to make myself feel better. I care. I've had plenty of them tell me they're having a bad day or what have you.

<comment><USER40> But cashiers/servers probably get asked that same question "how are you?" a hundred times per day. Customers who think they are being nice by starting small talk may have the opposite affect. It's all context really.Small talk in a busy line is probably not the best idea.

<comment><USER41> It all depends on the person, and there's no way to tell without asking. If someone doesn't want to talk, it's quite easy to tell from their response to the question. If that's the case, you end the conversation there, and nobody cares.

Anecdotally, I have started many conversations with service people this way, and I'm not much of a talker. In fact, it's usually them telling me about how horribly things are going, and I just listen. It's interesting how often a perfect stranger will open up to you if you just show a little empathy.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER42> There is truly nothing interesting about this observation, and pretty much a juvenile insight. Yes, give a shit about what you do, it'll be apparent in your work, yadadada.

As for the whole 'care about other people', that's just so ridiculous, I'm not even sure how this is on the frontpage.

</comment><comment><USER43> Recently, many articles (including this one) on HN have provoked one reaction from me : "Um, yeah. What's so special about this? Maybe if you look harder, you're wrong"

I always ask back, "How are you doing?", and have always received a smile and a "Good, thank you" in response - never offense.

Maybe if you didn't lie to the cashier at Target and told them what you didn't find, you would notice that some people might go out of their way to help you.

Have a good one? If we start being so literal about everything in English, we're going down a very dangerous road.

It's funny that the author is writing on the topic of "caring", but himself comes across as cynical and overtly negative.

</comment><comment><USER44> Wait, you're not supposed to ask how the other person's doing? Really? :(

</comment><comment><USER5> When I get the "how are you" question I often answer "Oh, about an 8. How about you?" Always gets a smile.

Wish I could say I invented that but I stole it.

</comment><comment><USER45> When I ask someone how they're doing and they say "good" it makes me a feel a tiny bit better. I don't know if they're lying or not, but I feed off of their good feelings none-the-less.

I usually "pay it forward" by also trying to be generally positive when interacting with strangers.

</comment><comment><USER46> Thanks for the succinct bit of observation! It is something that no one really picks up on, but when you are told about it all you can think is "huh, that really makes sense". For that I thank you. I am going to go really ask someone how their day is going. =)

</comment><comment><USER47> Telling people to care that don't already won't have the effect you are looking for. It's like telling the sky to be green.

Good plan otherwise, though.

</comment><comment><USER48> Slightly off topic, but the dollar shave club splash video is brilliant.

</comment><comment><USER49> There was a meme at Google with a tombstone and the caption "Cared Too Fucking Much". I won't get into the story behind that meme, other than the observation that caring too much can be very damaging.

I think people develop the blah attitude after exposure to the consequences of caring too much. At some point, they overcompensate by getting the attitude that nothing is worth caring about, as opposed to the more reasonable and strategic decision not to care most of the time.</comment>


HTTPie: a CLI, cURL-like tool for humans - <AUTHOR> https://github.com/jkbrzt/httpie <comment><USER2> Previous discussions for the one interested:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4261263](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4261263)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7890367](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7890367)</comment>


Jian-Wei Pan, China's "father of quantum" - <AUTHOR> https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612596/the-man-turning-china-into-a-quantum-superpower/ <comment><USER2> I think QKD encryption will be essential in the future for securing our data. Data leaks as seen with big tech companies like Google, Facebook, etc. are a massive problem and will only continue to become worse as big data grows. QKD could nip the problem in the bud (may require large infrastructure investment) and save us all a lot of privacy headaches as we move towards a data-fueled future.

<comment><USER3> > Data leaks as seen with big tech companies like Google, Facebook, etc. are a > massive problem and will only continue to become worse as big data grows. > QKD could nip the problem in the bud (may require large infrastructure > investment) and save us all a lot of privacy headaches as we move towards a > data-fueled future.

Can you go into more detail? I'm inclined to disagree because most "data leaks" rarely seem to be about cracked encryption, but rather software bugs, poor security practices, or just plain giving the wrong people access.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Wait, I'm confused... how is a country like China that is known for the most horrific human rights violations be a proponent for technologies like quantum computing and encryption?

<comment><USER5> National security

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> If people think that China's is still a science backwater think again. China actually ranks 2nd on many science research areas by the number of articles published in prestigious journals (e.g. Nature), so China is one of leaders in the 2nd tier. The 1st consists of US only and the 2nd tier consists of contenders like Germany, Japan, UK, France, Italy, Switzerland, South Korea and Spain (just) if I remember correctly. I need to dig up the figures, but it was compiled by a reputable publication.

<comment><USER7> Nobody thinks China is a "backwater", but it's seriously underperforming vs expectations from purported statistics. How come it only produces half the worthwhile research while having double the scientists? Something is seriously screwed up there.

<comment><USER8> To be fair, I think extremely ignorant people who don't follow any updates about scientific and technological progress probably still think that China is a science backwater. But their opinions don't really matter because they don't really get involved in the conversation anyway, and at the odd times they do, they have large misconceptions like how coal usage is clean, beautiful, and good for the planet.</comment></comment></comment>


Auth0 and FusionAuth – Compare features and price - <AUTHOR> https://fusionauth.io/blog/2018/10/19/auth0-and-fusionauth-a-tale-of-two-solutions <comment><USER2> The comparison says on-premise, does that mean you can run in a docker container?

<comment><AUTHOR> hells yeah! not a problem.</comment></comment>


Ask HN: Accounting for a brand new startup - <AUTHOR>

Just co-founded a company with my neighbor - more on that later... How are you handling accounting now? What's the most cost efficient way for 2 partners to have simple income and expense tracking so tax time will be easy? Still in R&D but we've closed the first sale (we already have a check and no bank account yet). <comment><USER2> Depends on your needs. Wave Accounting has a free tier that you could probably use. I tried it out but went back to GnuCash (also use Quickbooks for the day job) as my brain works better with double entry accounting. With Wave (or other online accounting systems) it is easy for both you and your neighbor to track information. You could also do the same with a simple shared spreadsheet.

I would recommend one of you take the responsibility for the accounting and provide the other with monthly income statements and balance sheets.

Come tax time it might be worth your time to hire somebody to do your taxes. Maybe the same person who helped you file your business paperwork since they are already familiar with your company structure.

It isn't accounting software (but it does do income and expense tracking) but if you're interested I'm just about ready for beta testers for some software I've been working on. startopz.com.

Send me an email (in my profile) and mention this post if you're interested in trying it out.

</comment><comment><USER3> I would say it depends on (1) how much time you want to contribute to you own bookkeeping (2) how comfortable are you with your own financial management. You definitely can split the work with an accountant and only pay for what you really need help with.

The least you can do is maintain all your records in one place, this will make reviewing and auditing the work more efficient.

If you are comfortable, try setting up a category listing and recording your bank transactions and spendings (Quickbooks, Wave, Xero). This is about 80% of the overall work.

When it comes tax time, hire an accountant to review your ledger and make any necessary adjustments. The income stmt generated at the end of all this is sufficient for tax filings.

Slowly build your accounting infrastructure as your business grows. I would suggest improving the system so that it would generate useful information about the trends of your income and expenses, cash-flow, and business projections - in addition to providing numbers for tax purposes.

(Feel free to contact me for any specific questions, happy to help. I'm an accountant in Seattle with expertise in small business accounting.)

</comment><comment><USER4> I've always been partial to the Accountinator spreadsheet. It's basically just an Excel spreadsheet with a variety of simple customizations to make it a nice ledger. Easy to learn, easy to customize, etc.

[http://accountinator.com/2012/11/simple-accounting- spreadshe...](http://accountinator.com/2012/11/simple-accounting-spreadsheet- excel/) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtqkL2KgjXI&feature=youtu.be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtqkL2KgjXI&feature=youtu.be)

</comment><comment><USER5> Crunch in the UK is pretty good to startups. Many places these days give you a fixed fee for stuff and then throw in online software aswell.

Can recommend Quickbooks online for managing...though I hear Xero is good also.

</comment><comment><USER6> (disclosure: I'm with Wave) Wave is great for new companies. The accounting and invoicing are 100% free. Like define_hipster says, your attention is likely to be on your product right now, but my advice is to start capturing your expenses and income right away. It's seconds of work if you do it now vs. headaches and stress if you leave it for later. Good luck with the new business!

</comment><comment><USER7> I tried to manage my own accounts but after a year you soon realise you're better off having an accountant. Your time is too valuable to be doing something that doesn't directly add value to your business. It's also very reassuring knowing when I get a letter from HMRC I don't fully understand they are only a phone call away.

</comment><comment><USER8> Very cost effective: 2 folders:

\- /incoming invoices/january/ \- /outgoing invoices/january/

And then a Google spreadsheet with columns and totals to keep track.

</comment><comment><USER9> If you just founded the company, you probably shouldn't even think about things like accounting because at that stage only making product and selling product matter.

</comment><comment><USER10> Totally depends on the country, state, type of work etc. but the safest way is working with an accountant.</comment>


Ask HN: How is the Startup School founders track going so far? - <AUTHOR> <comment><USER2> It's great! Videos are great, as are the virtual office hours. Very helpful. Go Group 42!</comment>


A really well-designed combination lock - <AUTHOR> http://scottbarstow.com/the-really-well-designed-combination-lock/

<comment><USER2> A well-designed product is not just one that had a clever idea in the concept. To be a well-designed product, it must also be reliable, usable, and above all have great build quality.

As someone who bought one of these and threw it away in disgust after being unable to open it once I supposedly set my own combination, I'd never call it a well-designed combination lock.

As uptown says, the reviews on Amazon alone bear witness to the fact that this is a shoddily built lock which often fails one of the only tests that really matter for a lock, namely, can you open it?

I'd rename this article "A really clever idea for a combination lock (that failed in execution)."

<comment><USER3> I've had this lock for months and it's never failed me. I didn't even want it since it was more expensive than most locks but it was the only one at my gym's shop.

</comment></comment><comment><USER4> Until you read the reviews on Amazon:

[http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-1500iD-Combination- Assorte...](http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-1500iD-Combination- Assorted/product- reviews/B002TSN4SQ/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R2YZLP63IRM9P1)

</comment><comment><USER5> It's a nice practical joke task to rearrange those stickers, I'm quite sure there are plenty of users who can't open the lock after that.

Personally I wouldn't ever record password, I would record the combination. Because there is that risk. I have seen way too many people to fail with simple tasks like this.

Just like changing log-in domain or putting caps lock or numlock on (laptop). So much lulz and waster effort due users who are unable to grasp what's happening.

Btw. When I was kid, there were bicycle locks using the same idea.

<comment><USER6> Yes, those 80s bicycle locks were the first thing I thought of when reading this. Really the main difference is including stickers to allow spelling a password.

</comment></comment><comment><USER7> It's a terrible product that rusts and jams extremely easily, requiring a saw or bolt cutters. Good design is about more than ingenuity.

</comment><comment><USER8> Some great information on the innards of this lock can be found at [http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/security- corner/ph...](http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/security- corner/physical-security-master-lock-1500id-speed-dial/)

<comment><USER9> Very interesting... I had seen this lock before, but I wasn't sure how secure it'd be. Playing with the simulator (<http://toool.nl/images/e/e1/MhVisualizer_V2.0_p.swf>), found in a link on the website bewoody provided, I'm still not sure I'd want to trust this to anything I truly value.

For example, UDL is the equivalent of LDL, and UDLR is the equivalent of LLR... but by extension it is also equivalent of LDLR. There are 5 positions for each of 4 tumblers, but not every tumbler position is valid, so the total number of combinations must be far less than 5^4.

I know that the dial combination locks have a reverse combination as well, and that the total number of tick marks is actually greater than the number of valid positions for the dial, but this whole system reminds me a bit of a game of lights out.

</comment></comment><comment><USER10> I had the plastic one used in an exterior location, which isn't a good idea – was always finicky and difficult. The metal one seems to be more reliable. I wouldn't trust it somewhere I cared greatly about security, but combination locks aren't generally great in those cases.

One of the difficult parts is telling anyone else how to use it. Up-down-left- left-right, but only after you pushed it in to reset it? With a standard combination lock all I have to tell someone is the combination, and one of the great parts of a combination lock is that you don't need to copy a key or anything in order to delegate opening it.

So in my opinion it's only an okay lock.

<comment><USER11> > With a standard combination lock all I have to tell someone is the > combination

I don't think that's fair. The standard combination lock interface is well- known, not intuitive. "6-38-16" is brief, but it assumes the listener already knows to translate that to "turn right 360 degrees, then right 6, left 38, right 16". This lock doesn't seem any worse in that regard.

<comment><USER12> > The standard combination lock interface is well-known, not intuitive.

Indeed. Over in this part of the world, I have never actually seen one. I once looked them up on the Internet just to figure out how to use one, but had by now forgotten about the starting reset.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER13> Those stickers look gorgeous and like they would survive a hurricane....

</comment><comment><USER14> There's a nice PDF that discusses the mechanism

[http://toool.nl/Image:The_New_Master_Lock_Combination_Padloc...](http://toool.nl/Image:The_New_Master_Lock_Combination_Padlock_V2.0.pdf)

</comment><comment><USER15> Is it still just as easy to shim as the old ones?

</comment><comment><USER16> "now heinously ugly"

A combination lock may not be sexy, but I see it as a classic design. There is no way you can call it hideous unless you have some childhood locker trauma to work through, and/or you only date supermodels, drive expensive cars, and live in a million dollar home.

</comment><comment><USER17> It seems like it would be easy for someone to watch you enter your combination from a distance.

</comment><comment><USER18> Mechanism simulator: <http://toool.nl/images/e/e1/MhVisualizer_V2.0_p.swf>

</comment><comment><USER19> I guess you could use the Konami Code on this one.</comment>


Engineering researchers achieve organic laser breakthrough - <AUTHOR> http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=7849 <comment><USER2> I'm willing to donate $100 for the bioengineering of laser emitting fireflies. We could bring nature into the 21st century one bug at a time.</comment>


Ask HN: Choosing an e-commerce platform - <AUTHOR> Hi HN,
I need your advice. I have a client that wants to use an e-commerce platform. How do you choose an e-commerce platform? What are the risks of a bad choice?
I could use Ruby or Python. What platforms do you recommend? Is there one that uses Flask (Python)?
Also, I'm in the "API team", do we really need to use an e-commerce platform just to create the API?
Thanks! <comment><USER2> I'm also looking for an e-commerce platform. This is what I've discovered researching it so far.

For Rails there is Spree Commerce. But since they have been bought they have reduced the commitment to the open source project. Hence a fork called Solidus.

For Django there is Oscar Commerce. There is also Cartridge which integrates with Mezzanine CMS.

Personally I would go with Spree Commerce or Solidus. If you need e-commerce functionality attached to a website I would go with Wagtail CMS and Oscar Commerce - there is an integration project called django-oscar-wagtail.

<comment><AUTHOR> Thanks! I found some of them too. Good luck in your project @FormFollowsFunc :)

</comment></comment><comment><USER3> If you're looking at Flask, you may just want to connect to Stripe and then design your own basic platform.

[https://github.com/realpython/flask- paywall](https://github.com/realpython/flask-paywall)</comment>


Show HN: Workflow, a "Screen Time" App for Linux - <AUTHOR> https://gitlab.com/cunidev/workflow <comment><AUTHOR> Creator and developer here. I noticed that the Linux ecosystem currently lacks even simple graphical screen time apps, so I built one based on the cross- platform ActivityWatch tool ([https://activitywatch.net](https://activitywatch.net)).

Some technical details:

\- Workflow is written in Python using GTK3. Don't panic about dependencies, it's already on Flathub

\- As said above, it is a GUI for ActivityWatch, which does all the "dirty work" of monitoring the user's windows (and their titles) via `aw-watcher- window-*`.

\- It has only been tested on Xorg so far due to some known ActivityWatch limitations, yet their team has just released a beta `aw-watcher-window- wayland` which should work on some desktops. GNOME window tracking on Wayland is already theoretically possible via introspection APIs, but I currently don't know if an implementation for ActivityWatch has been made.

\- It is currently interfaced with ActivityWatch via its web REST APIs, and currently all parsing of information is done on the app side. This could be done very efficiently using their query API, but documentation for it is still too limited to rely on.

\- Workflow is still at a very early stage of development, so it won't do much more than showing how much you used every app each day, and displaying a simple graph showing weekly usage per day. Most bugs have been sorted out for the 0.1.1 release, but the UX is still far from optimal.

\- As for any FOSS software, contributions and PRs are extremely welcome. Opening an issue before starting coding, however, might save you a lot of time.

Constructive (or constructively destructive) feedback is appreciated.

</comment><comment><USER2> Seems to work great, but having to install ActivityWatch seperately is annoying

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah, I'm aware. But zipping everything together in my own Flatpak seems unfair given how much work I owe to ActivityWatch</comment></comment>


Integrated Construction Platform - <AUTHOR> https://test-champaign.kickoffpages.com <comment><AUTHOR> Hello, Since many days I was working to solve the problems faced by first time home builders. I have made an attempt to create an integrated construction platform where the first time home builders can collaborate with the reputed local building contractors, construction material dealers, and architects. Would like to know your thoughts on this idea.

Thanks</comment>


Co-Living: We Are Not Selling a Product (2015) - <AUTHOR> http://funologist.org/2015/08/12/we-are-not-selling-a-product/ <comment><USER2> Nitpick, but: I read this caption and stopped. In the photo, there are five white men, and one woman of Asian heritage. How does this make the dinner "multicultural"? [http://imgur.com/hy0BmEZ](http://imgur.com/hy0BmEZ)

<comment><USER3> You can be multicultural but not multiracial. I'm a white male but from a different culture.

As an aside; is it racist to assume all white men have the same culture?

<comment><USER2> I do agree with you, but my point still stands - how would you, looking at the photo, know that this is multicultural? I have no idea. The woman may have a very similar culture as the men.

Multicultural here is misused as a thinly veiled term for 'there's one not- white person in this photo', like the way the term "diverse" is often a coded term for 'non-white'.

<comment><USER4> >how would you, looking at the photo, know that this is multicultural?

You could take it for face value and just assume they were talking about the food. It's also possible the "white people" are from a variety of the many diverse european cultures. Those both by definition are multicultural.

>Multicultural here is misused as a thinly veiled term for 'there's one not- white person in this photo'

No its not, you are just focusing on the color of their skin and projecting a world view that is not built upon principle but instead identity politics. Try and change out "white people" in your argument for any large group of people who are of other skin colors and this becomes immediately apparent.</comment></comment></comment></comment>


Did Donald Trump Use Artificial Intelligence to Win the Election? - <AUTHOR> https://medium.com/@trentlapinski/did-donald-trump-use-artificial-intelligence-to-win-the-election-8008c2c0bf59#.nbj25uqnp <comment><USER2> putting my money on brute force: [https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the- last-10-weeks-of-20...](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the- last-10-weeks-of-2016-campaign-stops-in-one-handy-gif/)</comment>