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2014: The Year the DC Makes a City
Posted by Steven Moody on August 25, 2013 at 8:27pm in General/Lifestyle
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I want to live in paradise, but it doesn't exist yet. Lets create it.
The Three Places you Meet in The DC
From conversations I've had with others in the community, there seem to be three types of paradise for
the digital nomad:
Tropical beach paradise (Bali, Puerta Galera, Phuket)
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Yoga retreat (Chiang Mai, Ubud)
Young hip urban center (Bangkok, Berlin, Saigon)
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Having visited many of these places I generally find something missing:
1. Beach: caters to tourists, residents see you as ATM, internet is spotty
2. Yoga: slow towns, cater to tourists, no beach, prone to smog from field burning
3. Urban: usually too smoggy or too expensive. High stress environment
There is a fourth place.
The Cloud Paradise
What if we could create the city DCers want to live in? This city would have to meet these criteria:
Low cost accommodations for bootstrappers and luxury accommodations for ballers
Access to beaches and nature in general
International airport (1 stop to US, EU, AUS)
Low pollution
Healthy, fresh, cheap food supply
Awesome cafes
Universities nearby to provide labor
Access to population of internationally educated English speaking citizens for employment
Fast (free?) wifi
Economy not based only on tourism/sexpats
Not so damn hot (looking at you, Bangkok and Saigon)
World class prestige
International standards for food, safety, medicine
The Cloud Paradise: Da Nang?
This place doesn't exist yet, but I believe we can create it in Da Nang, Vietnam. Here is what we know:
City, beach, mountains, yoga (all photos above from DN)
The government wants to make this a major international city
Beach location with temperate weather and nearby mountains
Great food, free wifi, international airport, vietnamese cafe culture
Three local universities
Thousands of internationally-educated Vietnamese born there
History as hub of economy, not just tourist destination
Lower labor costs than even HCMC
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I've spoken with a dozen HCMC citizens who moved from Da Nang, and the consensus is they would
return there if a) they can find a job making 75% as much and b) there were more awesome people there.
There are thousands of others just like them: they studied abroad, they moved to HCMC for the money,
and they would be happy to be closer to family.
So we have a chicken-egg problem: there are no jobs or international entrepreneurs in DN because there
are no jobs or international entrepreneurs in DN.
How we build the Cloud Paradise
This represents an incredible opportunity: we can take this city, already replete with the international
infrastructure, and form it into the paradise for cloud workers.
Here is how we do it:
Fifty entrepreneurs pledge to hire five local employees within one year, if they receive tax-exempt
status for five years and working visas. No more forced visa runs. (cost: less than most countries)
We collectively buy a coworking space and cafe in Da Nang and update them to international
standards (cost: less than $10k)
We organize the first triathlon in SE Asia outside of Singapore, gathering multinational sponsors
and international recognition of the city (cost: three interns at $500/month)
We group-sponsor experts to live in DN for three month periods, bringing expertise in Paleo
cooking, Yoga, Crossfit, whatever is needed.
We build the first job network for HCMC citizens from DN and begin hiring them way from
HCMC to live and work in DN. From this, we bring one thousand of the best back to DN to live
there.
Why The City of Da Nang will love this:
They currently pay full scholarships for students to study abroad, if they return to Da Nang and
work for the government for seven years. So the government there is full of internationally-aware
staff who will support us in bringing international influence to them.
We're going to provide jobs and grow the local economy.
We're going to make DN and Vietnam an international hotspot.
Next Step
I'm arranging a trip in mid-September to gather more information, meet with government officials, and
lay out this proposal.
What I'd like to hear from you:
Want to join the field trip in September, complete with a local tour guide?
Is there a better place to do this? Why is it better?
What would it take for you to move to Da Nang?
[EDIT] Here are the assumptions we'll need to validate in September:
Healthcare: what is the standard of hospitals in DN? How do they handle emergencies?
Nightlife/dating: what is the experience for clubbing and dating? Will DCers get bored easily
there?
Food: what cuisines already exist there? Can someone live there who doesn't eat seafood?
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Cafes: are there any cafes with Arabica coffee? Any plans to bring international chains here?
Fitness: are there any international-level gyms here?
Internet: how good is the internet quality, really?
Crime: how safe would it be to walk the beach at night? Is there a local mafia we should know
about?
Primary schools: are there any respectable international schools here?
Air quality: are there any hidden issues like Chiang Mai's field burning season?
Tsunamis: what is the likelihood of a tsunami causing permanent damage?
Language: how common is English in DN?
Government: how supportive will they be? Can we implement something like a light version of
the Malay Multimedia Super Corridor?
Tags: paradise
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Permalink Reply by Jimmy Hayes on August 25, 2013 at 8:44pm
Stickiest of the icky. Love this.
- Likely yes.
- Not that I know of. Have spent time hanging out in that area and it's sweet, at least in terms of
beach, friendly people and cost.
- A solid crew, benefits that would outweigh cost/hassle of regularly flying back to Saigon for
work (factories), two hula hoops and a 5x5 trampoline.
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Permalink Reply by Damian Thompson on August 25, 2013 at 10:22pm
I LOVE this idea, I don't know enough about Da Nang, but it sounds awesome. To me the
BIGGEST points of consideration for me for my next location to commit a year to i:
Reasonably priced as I bootstrap but the ability to "grow into" better digs
infrastructure
cool peoples
A decent group of DCers to commit to this and I would be super interested for 2014
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Permalink Reply by Aamir Chishtie on August 26, 2013 at 12:20am
One thing you forgot to mention is healthcare. What are the hospitals like in Da Nang? Doctors?
Dentists? How much do they cost? That should be a high priority when choosing a location, in my
opinion.
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Permalink Reply by Till Carlos on August 26, 2013 at 12:42am
Yeah, sounds great and like I will need this city soon!
Want to join the field trip in September, complete with a local tour guide?
Won't make it to Thailand before DCBKK
Is there a better place to do this? Why is it better?
I haven't been to Thailand but there were nice places in Brazil (Florianopolis) or here
in Bavaria, Germany. I'd stick to your suggestion though :)
What would it take for you to move to Da Nang?
Nothing. I'd also hire the first people for my current company in the next year if
everything works out.
Keep us posted!
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Permalink Reply by John Reineck on August 26, 2013 at 1:15am
Like Love In.
I don't trust collectives and democracies for making things happen, but I do dig on products, sales,
and capitalism. I'd say build something 100% self-sustaining and any government/corporate
support you can add in is gravy.
Start pre-selling ownership of the co-working space as an investment - $200 gets you unlimited
access (and wifi), profit sharing in the business. Its all about getting critical mass, so the earlier
you sign on, the lower the price. If you don't hit the minimum amount, everyone gets their money
back. If you do, everyone's got skin in the game and you don't have to go around herding cats,
making people pledge to move, etc.
Once you've got 30 people on board and the co-working space happening, start making things even
easier. Negotiate discounted housing, hire an in-house VA team for members to use for translation
and on-boarding to Da Nang, food, health, and stuff like that.
Also, it goes without saying that the co-working space should be BOMB. It should be a product
that stands on its own - it should sell itself and be profitable.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Hebert on August 26, 2013 at 2:35am
This is why the DC is awesome. I'll be venturing to SE Asia in 2014 and although I want to do
some touristy things ;) this sounds perfect.
Again this is why the DC rules.
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Permalink Reply by Barbara Fernandez on August 26, 2013 at 4:03am
I love it!! I am totally up for participating as much as I can, but for the first 3 years it would be part
time as my children are finishing school. I would probably be one of the '3 months at a time' people
while I bootstrap - I could provide expertise in raw food prep if that helps.
It sounds awesome!! And totally a DC kind of idea:)
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Permalink Reply by Tristan King on August 26, 2013 at 6:32am
Love this too. I'm looking to move to VN or TH next year with my wife. Would be happy to
consider DN. I don't know enough about it as yet (haven't ventured there), but it sounds good on
paper.
Will check it out when we're there in October if time permits; if not, will keep an eye on this thread
and do some more research as a potential hot-spot for next year.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Koskella on August 26, 2013 at 8:05am
Really cool post Steven! I love your idea of a "DC City" (and NOT the DC we have in 'Merica!).
Would anywhere in Central America be a consideration? I'm thinking of Panama or Nicaragua or
maybe even Costa Rica.
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Permalink Reply by Damian Thompson on August 26, 2013 at 8:27am
As I said I LOVE this idea and am in. Sorry to be the arsehole Westerner, BUT English is pretty
important to me, I don't plan on getting deep into a new language. What is the everyday usage of
English like in Da Nang?
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Permalink Reply by Tim Conley on August 26, 2013 at 8:52am
Indonesia has a multimedia super corridor program that will give you residency and allow you to
hire foreign workers and not just locals.
You can Google "multimedia super corridor" for more information. This is the program that
allows Vishen Lakhiani to hire so many foreign workers for mindvalley.
Reply
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Permalink Reply by Markus A. Seebauer on August 26, 2013 at 11:08am

Interesting, that is in Malaysia though. Otherwise the Bali crowd would jump on this.
Tim Conley said:
Indonesia has a multimedia super corridor program that will give you residency and
allow you to hire foreign workers and not just locals.
You can Google "multimedia super corridor" for more information. This is the
program that allows Vishen Lakhiani to hire so many foreign workers for mindvalley.
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