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How a Programmer Gets By On $16K/Yr: He Moves to Malaysia

Posted by timothy on from the wouldn't-be-for-everyone dept.

An anonymous reader writes "If you can make $10 and hour doing remote work, you can afford to live in Malysia. Make it $15 or $20, you can work 30 hours a week. Real money? Make it ten. This article talks about how John Hunter did it." Malaysia's not the only destination for self-motivated ex-pat programmers, of course. If you've considered doing this kind of sabbatical, or actually have, please explain in the comments the from-where-to-where details and reasons.

4 of 523 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Missing link. by Bongoots · · Score: 5, Informative

    I found the missing link!

    http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/unchartered-waters/interview-with-a-digital-migrant-meet-john-hunter/

  2. Re:What article by ph1ll · · Score: 5, Informative

    ... and I can't find a country called Malysia (please note, editors: it's Malaysia).

    I know Malaysia well (even though I live in the UK). I first went there in '97 and married a Malaysian-born woman. Some observations:

    • They really like and respect white people.
    • They don't particularly like Chinese people (my wife is half Chinese so I see rampant discrimination against this large minority - about 25% of Malaysia's population - all the time).
    • The weather is great (although sometimes a little too humid).
    • Kuala Lumpur is a very advanced city that can compare to anything in the West.
    • Broadband speeds are so-so according to my cousin-in-law.
    • There appears to be a demand for good engineers (according to another cousin-in-law, a Chinese who studied IT in England). So, assuming you can get a visa, getting some interesting work shouldn't be too hard.
    • The political situation there is... interesting. But I get the impression that if you don't cause trouble you will be left alone - especially if you are white.

    HTH

    --
    --- "We've always been at war with Eastasia."
  3. Re:30 hours per week? by Stiletto · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's not causal. Working long hours does not cause you to be highly paid or wealthy. If that were true, all a vegetable picker would have to do is work 120 hours a week and retire in comfort. A CEO does not make 800X what his average staff makes because he works 800 times as long.

    Sadly, on average, the most accurate predictor of someone's income is their father's income.

  4. Re:30 hours per week? by fluffy99 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Sure I have credit card debt, but the house is half paid for

    Get rid of the higher interest debt first - that would be the credit card. Also note that the mortgage interest is probably at a much lower effective APR and is tax deductible, whereas that cc interest is not. Too many people focus on paying off the house while they should be paying off the cars, credit cards and other more expensive debts first.