Web & Grafic Design Group

Freelance illustrator, two years in Pattaya. For the first eighteen months I did the obvious thing and rented one larger flat so the second bedroom could be the studio. Then I split it into a small flat plus a separate small studio, and I want to write the numbers down because everyone told me it was a strange decision.

The one big flat: I was paying for a second bedroom around the clock in order to use it about seven hours a day. Air conditioning ran in the studio through the afternoon and in the bedroom at night, so effectively two rooms cooled most of the day. And the work never ended, because the desk was eleven steps from the bed.

The split version: a one bedroom for living, and a small unit in an older low rise nearby for working. Total rent went up by roughly a fifth. Electricity…

Graphic designer, mostly branding, I work from home and I have moved three times inside Bali in four years. Every time I chose wrong for a different reason, so maybe this saves someone a move.

• Light before size. My second place was big and had one small window facing a wall. By eleven in the morning I was working with the lamp on and colour proofs were useless.

• - The working room needs its own air conditioner. "The bedroom has AC" means you will be working in the bedroom, on the bed, and hating your job by March.

• - "Wifi included" is a range from 5 to 200 Mbit. Ask for a speed test screenshot, or bring your phone and run one during the viewing.

• - Annual payment upfront is normal here, and it is your main lever. Nobody advertises the discount, you ask.

• - Advertised prices and real prices…

freelance designer here, 9 years in kadıköy. rent for my small studio went up two times in one year so now i am looking at antalya, maybe konyaaltı side.

what i am afraid of is clients. half of my work is with agencies in istanbul and they like to meet in person sometimes.

prices i am watching on https://turk.estate/en/ mostly and for the same money i get double space there. still deciding. if someone here works remote from antalya tell me how is the internet, this is my real question

For freelancers who thinking about moving to Spain, maybe my comparing is useful.

I was choosing between Valencia and Alicante for one year. Valencia is bigger, more clients locally, more design people, but rent went up a lot and good flats go in one day. Alicante is quieter, cheaper, but you must accept that most of your clients stay remote, nobody here needs a brand designer every week.

I was watching listings in both cities for around six months on https://spain-real.estate/ and what helped me was not the prices but how long the flat stays in the list. In Valencia it disappears fast, in Alicante it can sit for months and then the price drops.

I took Alicante. Small flat, one room for work, sea in fifteen minutes by bus.

Somebody here works from Canarias? I am curious about the tax part, everybody says different things.