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[LarryC]

Help me daydream! What are some fairly inexpensive, delightfully exotic places to live that have excellent internet connections?

I  teach most of my classes online. My college also has a major emphasis on international education. Professors are encouraged to study, take students, and form connections abroad. I am pretty sure I could convince my administration to let me go abroad for an academic year so long as I taught my course load. My wife and 6-year-old would come along.

But where would we go? In my minds eye I am swinging in hammock between two palms trees as the surf breaks yards away. Or at a street cafe drinking the local drink and soaking in the culture. Or in a quaint village in the mountains, listening to the tinkling bells of the goats being herded down the cobble stone streets just outside my cottage garden. In any case, I need an absolutely reliable high speed internet connection to do my job.


Any advice? My priorities are 1) fairly inexpensive, as my wife would not be working, 2) reasonably connected to a major airport, so friends can visit, 3) safe of course--I used up all my luck in my 20s, 4) someplace I can justify as being related to the history courses I teach (which fortunately are quite broad--the Atlantic World is one course I do, I also teach Latin American history sometimes, and I could develop a course in almost anything to justify the trip).

Other factors: I speak a little Spanish, or used to, and like Latin America.  My wife loves Europe, though she really liked Havana a few years ago.

Where could we go?

P.S.: Don't hate me.

[Thailand]

For me it would be Thailand, wonderful food, wonderful people, colorful markets, interesting jungle. I would imagine that there must be good internet connections with the many travelers, but you may want to make sure of that. Bangkok if you like a lot of people, Chiang Mai if you like it a little more remote, some of the islands maybe....excursions to Laos, Myanmar or Kambodia are easily arranged from there. Cost of living is very reasonable.

[Abufletcher]

I gave this a lot of thought a couple of years ago when I was playing around with what I'd do with a sabbatical.  I ended up taking the "serious" route though (visiting scholar at UCLA) instead.  But I sure thought about all the more exotic places I could go.

As far as being somewhat close to home yet still plenty exotic, Oaxaca, Mexico would be high on my list.  Thailand might be nice but a bit over-touristed in the  south.  Bangkok would be a nightmare to live in.  Chaing Mai is a nice size  city but hardly in the middle of things.  Malaysia is pretty laid  back place to be.  Actually I really enjoyed Kuala Lumpur.   I spend a week on an little island off the northwestern coast with little more than a couple of A-frame cabins, all the blue water snorkeling you can take, a couple restaurants serving great shark steaks and a little internet cafe a 15 minute walk through the jungle away.  No wharf.  Instead you just wade ashore.

In South American I'd be interested in Peru or maybe Argentina as places to say (as opposed to visit).  Brazil is also appealing but like in the big cities is not for those without significant street smarts.

BTW, I'd be interested to hear more about how the online teaching works for you and how you ended up getting into that.  Was it something on the table at the time you were hired?

How about Morrocco or Spain?  Or Tunesia?

[Abufletcher]

One practical issue is they type  of visa you can get.  If you're going to be someplace for a year you'd need to have more than a tourist visa or count on multiple trips out and back during the year.

But I'd imagine this wouldn't be too much of a problem in any tourist friendly third-world country.

[LarryC]

But how is the internet connection in those places?  This is the key.  I'm not talking about checking email at some backpackers cafe, but getting high speed access at my house.  I can't do my job without it.

Abufletcher: After I was hired but before I was tenured, my college decided to make a massive push into online teaching.  The nice thing is how they used carrots instead of sticks--faculty were offered $2k to develop online courses, and $60 a head for accepting students over our online cap of 20. We had a baby on the way and I thought, hmm, they give more me more money and I return get a more flexible schedule?  Yeah I'll take that deal. So did a lot of people.  In a year we had perhaps the largest distance ed program in the state.

I really enjoy teaching online.  Done right it is as good or better than the classroom in terms of student learning. I teach a 4/4 load and have to come to campus one day a week (which I could negotiate away for my year abroad).

If you want to  know more feel free to drop me a line at moc.liamg@alubecyrral (reverse the order).

[case insensitive]

I'll second the vote for Thailand. I did a short term teaching stint there and loved it.  The people are wonderful. The economy is much cheaper than the US.  I worked in Bangkok, lived in a nice hotel (that the university paid for), and was generally treated with copious amounts of respect.  

c i

[Anglo Angle]

Larry, if it was me I would consider Spain, and or particularly the canary islands, take your pick my favourite is called La Gomera. They are at varying stages of tourist development, but have all mod cons webwise. Otherwise I'd vote Brazil. No email in Habana....

[Portugal, Greece, Turkey]

Anglo Angle wrote:

> Larry, if it was me I would consider Spain, and or particularly
> the canary islands, take your pick my favourite is called La
> Gomera. They are at varying stages of tourist development, but
> have all mod cons webwise. Otherwise I'd vote Brazil. No email
> in Habana....


I think I would prefer Portugal over Spain if you are thinking about that area. Greece is also very nice and Turkey. It depends what kind of cultures, what kind of climate and food you prefer.

[Logan]

Spain and Portugal exotic??? I do not like this word, and certainly Spain and Portugal are not exotic from an American pov but basically like the US, although quite cheaper - and with far lower salaries too, of course. And I would not go to the Canary Islands if you want good air connections, they are s... there.

[Istanbulite]

You'd love Istanbul -- it's got all your criteria.  It's not terribly cheap anymore, but certainly cheaper than most Western European countries.  Great food, too, and very kid-friendly culture.  How "exotic" it is depends a bit on where and how you choose to/can afford to live.  There are neighborhoods where your lifestyle would not be very different from Paris or New York... and others where cultural and economic differences would be more striking.

This is a bewitching place -- it's such a cliche but it really is like the Balkans, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Europe all at once.  Many expats who come end up staying, or at least returning over the course of their lives.

[in Thailand]

I'm starting my second year teaching in Thailand.

Since several people have mentioned it as a good location, I thought I'd chime in.

It's true that if you're continuing to draw your American salary you can live like a king here, even in the most expensive parts of Bangkok.  But since you have a school-age child, unless that child is very motivated to learn Thai, you may end up blowing a lot of money on an English-language private school--the people who run these schools cater to expats who are drawing salaries from major American and British corporations.

As for the internet connection, well, you get what you pay for.  I am connected through my university, and while it's in theory high-speed (and wireless, ha!), the connection is very flaky and often slower than a good dial-up line back home.  But if you plan to live in the expensive area of Bangkok, you will find it's quite easy to find a connection like the one you need.  Outside of Bangkok, though, I wouldn't vouch for high-speed internet.  

Speaking of Bangkok, don't, don't, don't live there if anyone in your family has asthma or any kind of respiratory problems.  The pollution is visible, very malodorous, and rampant in the city.  

Thailand is an amazing place, though, and the people are incredibly friendly and cheerful almost all the time.  The cheesy tourist literature calls it the "Land of Smiles," and it's not a lie.  The food is unbelievable, of course, and teachers here are treated with a great amount of respect.  Traveling is easy and cheap, for anything from backpacking in the jungle to luxury vacations.  Shopping is a national pastime, there is an amazing lot of history shoved right up against modernity in Bangkok (a 200-year-old temple next to a skyscraper--no kind of zoning at all), and though I don't have any kids, the kids I know here (Thai and expat) seem to be having a blast.

[mindfulwhim]

Larry,
You might consider the Czech Republic. I have been there several times and it has recently been added to the EU. The place is incredibly romantic, and the people and culture are innovative and thoughtful. It's reasonably safe (more so that most American cities) and the economy is growing steadily. US dollars go quite far there still. Prague, IMO, is the most romantic city in the world. Taste the fine Czech wine in an underground brick wine cellar with a lighted candelabra and aviola playing. Your wife will melt!

My first experience there was in 1990 (just after the Velvet Revolution) and my latest experience there was during Christmas 2005. The change from then to now is truly amazing! The network is everywhere; the Czechs have more cel phones per capita than any other country in the world.

Good luck finding Shangrila!

[busyslinky]

Didn't see this until someone new posted.  Something to say about this 'latest' postings tool...

Budapest...Hungary.

Great Schools, great culture, down to earth, easy Internet, nice European flavor, and cost of living is probably average Midwest cost of living...at worst.

Of course, only problem is that average person on street speaks little English, but Academics are pretty good at it...

Spent a couple of months on a position there.  Would highly recommend it.

 

[abuflletcher]

Something else to consider in terms of online teaching from overseas (if most of your students would be from the US) is the time difference.  I find myself staying up to un-Godly hours (4am) to communicate with my family in California.  Actually there are about two time-windows per day, once in the morning and again about noon and then I enter into the "time shadow" when I'm wide awake and their all asleep.  Having a Skype phone greatly simplifies things since I can make a phone call from anyplace I have an internet connection. 

Arranging synchronous forms of interaction (e.g. live chats) might be a challenge from overseas though forums would be fine.  BTW, I've read about an internet based time standard promoted by the good people at Swatch which is based on a day being divided into 1000 "beats" such that, say, 654 would be the say for people all over the world.  So you could tell students:  "I'll meet you at 367."

[larryc]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies! My daughter will be out of college in 2 years and the wife, son and I will be going...somewhere!