Post: #1

A question out to the SEA guys:

Are any of you employed in the US and working US hours?

I have been contemplating spending a few months in Indonesia / Phils and keeping my current job: but that would mean effectively working from 11pm-7am daily (in Manila, or 10pm-6am Jakarta time.)

I'm just wondering if those hours will a) wear on you and b) make it impossible to live a player lifestyle? Night game is effectively out of the picture, unless you can wrap it up pretty early. Weekends would be ok, because you'd be off work by 7am Friday morning, but I'm wondering how the odd sleep impacts that?

Post: #2

The only way I would work a US gig in SEA would be at the satellite office of a US company. Those hours and the time difference you suggest will eventually wear you down.

Post: #3

Does it have to be those exact hours unless you are customer support?

The book Re:work (from the Basecamp creators) talk about having employees offshore and they just try to get 3 hour overlap every day.

I wouldn't do it. You're not meant to be working at night only. Lack of daylight will become an issue because the sun goes down at 6 pm sharp in the tropics.

Post: #4

(01-10-2015 06:45 PM)berserk Wrote:  Does it have to be those exact hours unless you are customer support?

The book Re:work (from the Basecamp creators) talk about having employees offshore and they just try to get 3 hour overlap every day.

I wouldn't do it. You're not meant to be working at night only. Lack of daylight will become an issue because the sun goes down at 6 pm sharp in the tropics.

It doesn't have to be those exact hours, but it has to be reasonably close to US working hours. I could realistically start my "day" as early as 8pm Jakarta time, which would be 8am in New York, but that would still have me on until 4am.

Post: #5

I guess, at this point, I have to ask...why don't you go somewhere else where the time zones more closely align?

Post: #6

I wouldnt do it. I'd be miserable.

Go somewhere like DR or Colombia.

Post: #7

(01-10-2015 05:49 PM)Stun Wrote:  A question out to the SEA guys:

Are any of you employed in the US and working US hours?

I have been contemplating spending a few months in Indonesia / Phils and keeping my current job: but that would mean effectively working from 11pm-7am daily (in Manila, or 10pm-6am Jakarta time.)

I'm just wondering if those hours will a) wear on you and b) make it impossible to live a player lifestyle? Night game is effectively out of the picture, unless you can wrap it up pretty early. Weekends would be ok, because you'd be off work by 7am Friday morning, but I'm wondering how the odd sleep impacts that?

Last year while I was training a couple guys I was working night shift. It wasn't ideal, but for 6 months was doable. It's a strange existence, and I found I got sick more often and felt more detached from normal life. I still had fun and had plenty of time for girls however.

I would take melatonin around 5am and try to get to sleep before sunrise. Then I'd get back up around noon and have a good chunk of the day left.

This year I'm working with employees that I have on a modified day shift and I like it much more. I still have some US time meetings a couple days a week, but I try and schedule them for the mornings. That way I can still sleep before 2am each night and get up at 9am.

In the Philippines there are thousands of girls that work night shift so you certainly won't be alone in that boat.

I'd see if you could do a 3 hour overlap shift like Berserk mentioned (BTW - Rework is a good book) or do split shift work. How flexible is your company?

Post: #8

I used to work part-time for a customer service company during my first months in Thailand. The company was in Canada so we had +12 time difference and I had to work 12:00am to 6:00am most of the time.

It was really wearing me down and I quit after a while. You should pick a closer spot.

Post: #9

(01-11-2015 03:14 AM)YardDog Wrote:  I would take melatonin around 5am and try to get to sleep before sunrise. Then I'd get back up around noon and have a good chunk of the day left.

Yeah, see in SEAsia the sun would definitely be coming up before 7am..
It's definitely not healthy bro. I'm not sure what amount of $$ i would fuck my sleep cycle up this much for, and plus you'd only be banging during the day? Or "lunch break" at 2am?
.

Post: #10

(01-11-2015 01:05 AM)Americas Wrote:  I guess, at this point, I have to ask...why don't you go somewhere else where the time zones more closely align?

Living in a 33% Asian city (SF) has given me a pretty bad case of yellow fever. I have also had a pretty solid amount of success with Phils and Jakarta girls here.

I'm not nearly as attracted to Latin or EE women. My Spanish is pretty good, but central/South America really aren't that appealing to me.

Post: #11

You also need to keep in mind that internet providers are generally pretty shitty in Manila and Jakarta.

You can't rely on the internet provider in your apartment and have to pay for a 3g or 4g cell phone connection if available and use it as backup from time to time.

I'm sure there are ways to find a more reliable internet provider be it a shared office space or just a more expensive, business class internet package at home, but make sure you've got that covered.

Post: #12

You haven't mentioned whether or not you've been to any of these cities. Manila and Jakarta may be the best cities in the world to come for a week or two and get a bunch of easy lays, but living there is not for everybody.

Based on my limited experience, I would say Manila is a better place to live than Jakarta, at least because pretty much everybody speaks English. Small things matter, like getting your utility bill or power outage notice in English as opposed to Indonesian or being able to read instructions on your SIM card package and connecting to the internet right away without having to walk around looking for a cell phone shop with English speaking staff who will help you.

If I were to choose a city to stay for a few months or more, I would probably not go to Manila or Jakarta unless I got a job or business connections requiring me to be there. I would look for a second tier city such as Cebu, Davao or Dumaguete (I haven't been to any of them yet, though, so can't speak from experience). Depending on your situation in SF, you may find that you'll be spending almost as much to live in Jakarta or Manila. While food and services are generally cheaper, rent is not cheap at all if you need a decent apartment in a nice neighborhood.

If you drink, alcohol is fucking expensive in Indonesia.

Both cities suck when it comes to air quality and environment. The air quality is so bad that you might as well start smoking because you're fucking up your lungs anyway. Canals, at least in Jakarta, are so full of garbage and filth that the filthy water doesn't drain to the ocean anymore, so basically the city is slowly drowning in its own filth. I heard that the situation is pretty similar in Manila, though not as severe.

Here is a pretty good article about Jakarta http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/2...6S20141222

Post: #13

I don't have any experience working odd hours per se, however I met quite a few westerners in the Philippines who did. Most of them were working European hours though so they got off around 1am. None of them seemed to complain and argued that it was worth living there instead of the cold northern Europe despite the hours. You're schedule is a little worse though.

If you really want to travel and desperately need a change of environment I'd give it a try. But LatAm would be first on my radar..

Post: #14

(01-11-2015 01:14 PM)Stun Wrote:  Living in a 33% Asian city (SF) has given me a pretty bad case of yellow fever. I have also had a pretty solid amount of success with Phils and Jakarta girls here.

I'm not nearly as attracted to Latin or EE women. My Spanish is pretty good, but central/South America really aren't that appealing to me.

Have you considered going to Vancouver, Canada? Asian population is about 50% here and it's a good city to be in during the summer. There would also be no time change at all.

Post: #15

(01-11-2015 01:51 PM)Americas Wrote:  

(01-11-2015 01:14 PM)Stun Wrote:  Living in a 33% Asian city (SF) has given me a pretty bad case of yellow fever. I have also had a pretty solid amount of success with Phils and Jakarta girls here.

I'm not nearly as attracted to Latin or EE women. My Spanish is pretty good, but central/South America really aren't that appealing to me.

Have you considered going to Vancouver, Canada? Asian population is about 50% here and it's a good city to be in during the summer. There would also be no time change at all.

? I want to experience a warm, inexpensive, relaxed culture of feminine women. None of which describes Canada.

Post: #16

I work US hours in the Philippines - it's a bitch but it's still worth it.

Post: #17

(01-11-2015 01:28 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  I'm sure there are ways to find a more reliable internet provider be it a shared office space or just a more expensive, business class internet package at home, but make sure you've got that covered.

In Manila you can get good, reliable internet if your building is wired for fiber/cable lines. If it is, you'll have decent to good internet though you'll pay for it. If not, it's the older DSL lines that are only poor to fair. Even with DSL lines at 5mb you can do screen sharing calls to the USA but the connection times out here and there.

If high quality internet is important be sure the building your is wired properly.

Post: #18

(01-11-2015 01:37 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  Based on my limited experience, I would say Manila is a better place to live than Jakarta, at least because pretty much everybody speaks English. Small things matter, like getting your utility bill or power outage notice in English as opposed to Indonesian or being able to read instructions on your SIM card package and connecting to the internet right away without having to walk around looking for a cell phone shop with English speaking staff who will help you.

Yes, day to day living in Manila, especially the Fort, is easy. It’s very simple to take care of all the little things in life here. Note that foreigners working in Manila do not live in Manila. When people are talking about Manila it’s Makati/Ortigas/Fort/Rockwell/etc. Manila is a shithole and there’s little reason to go there.

(01-11-2015 01:37 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  If I were to choose a city to stay for a few months or more, I would probably not go to Manila or Jakarta unless I got a job or business connections requiring me to be there. I would look for a second tier city such as Cebu, Davao or Dumaguete (I haven't been to any of them yet, though, so can't speak from experience). Depending on your situation in SF, you may find that you'll be spending almost as much to live in Jakarta or Manila. While food and services are generally cheaper, rent is not cheap at all if you need a decent apartment in a nice neighborhood.

My monthly bills here, for a 650sqft apt in one of the best parts of the city, are around $1000 for rent, power, internet, cable, and water. If you live in SF proper you’ll be paying 2x to 3x that plus everything else. Things like having a maid clean here saves you time and money too. Overall I think Manila isn’t the best value but it’s acceptable.

To each their own, but I tried Cebu and quickly grew tired of it. I found the air quality nearly as bad, the housing selection was very poor, the costs not much cheaper, and the city to be very provincial with really not much to do. Overall I prefer Manila as it has more variety, higher quality of expats, far better nightlife options, millions more girls, places you can actually take a walk, more parks (though very few still) and overall it's more cosmopolitan/international.

I don't think I could live anywhere in the Phils without extended breaks and travel.

(01-11-2015 01:37 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  Both cities suck when it comes to air quality and environment. The air quality is so bad that you might as well start smoking because you're fucking up your lungs anyway. Canals, at least in Jakarta, are so full of garbage and filth that the filthy water doesn't drain to the ocean anymore, so basically the city is slowly drowning in its own filth. I heard that the situation is pretty similar in Manila, though not as severe.

Yes, air quality and environment does suck here. You can try to mitigate it by living in in areas near gold courses and without jeepneys. Again, if you live in Manila you’ll never really go to ‘Manila’. I’ve only been a couple times. You won’t be passing slums on the way to the grocery store here.