4 Cities Worth Moving to in 2012

Madrid: A Base for Bloggers

Spend any time reading travel blogs and you’ll quickly discover that Spain, and in particular Madrid, is a favorite base for those who make a living off their laptop. Will Peach, of Spanish language blog MySpanishAdventure, on why he calls Madrid home: “Madrid is one of the cheaper Western European cities to live and has ample opportunities to develop other key business skills. It’s amazingly fun too!”.

HO CHI MINH CITY: TEACHERS PLAYGROUND

Vietnam’s largest city is home to one of the most exciting EFL (English Foreign Language) scenes around. With large private language schools like ILA Vietnam and VUS employing hundreds of first time foreign English teachers on competitive salaries, there is no shortage of fun to be had nights off. For aspiring journalists there is also a good amount of magazine work to be had as well as a blossoming non-teaching expat scene. You may need a place to stay in while you search for your permanent place. Expedia has a good selection for all budgets.

KATHMANDU: NGO KICKSTARTER

Despite having a strong tourism industry, Nepal remains the second poorest country in Asia after Afghanistan. It’s no surprise then that there are a ton of NGOs which deal with everything from arts and culture to legal aid. The low cost of living makes it possible to live off next to nothing while gaining valuable work experience (note: probably unpaid) in the industry.

SHANGHAI: START UP CENTRAL

The American Dream of making your own fortune is alive and kicking in Shanghai. Flocks of freshly graduated Americans and Europeans wash up on China’s eastern shores every September in search of a piece of the country’s economic gold rush. The huge expat scene supports a manner of quirky start ups like Strictly Cookies, run by an American EFL teacher turned full time baker, and PubCrawl Shanghai, a weekly booze bus set up as an MBA project.