i was wondering how stable/reliable the internet is for foreign countries (not security, just from getting disconnected)? i currently live in the united states and was considering moving out of the country and relying solely on poker as my source of income. The requirements for where i'm going to move are: (1) stable internet connection, (2) relatively unpopulated, (3) cheap living, (4) and most importantly good surf. Possibly moving around seasonally as well, kind of like the "Endless Summer" of poker. Possible destinations include: south pacific (tahiti, fiji, etc), mainland Mexico, Bali, Peru, Costa Rica, Panama, or Ecuador. I'm not looking into anywhere like Australia or southern California since there are way to many surfers, too many people, and too expensive (i only net about 30k - 50k online annually). So how's the internet in these remote places. and hows the surf?

you might want to post this in the travel forum

ya you will post in travel and 90% of responses will be thailand even though its not good for poker.

1 and 2 aren't going to agree.

Hell, internet sucks in Sydney.

thailand!!

Discussions of Internet gambling venues?

in my experience, you can get stable internet access in most places in central and south america, provided you are willing to pay for it (sometimes more expensive than it would be in the US), you might need to go satellite.

i think central america would be ideal, as long as you are willing to speak/learn spanish and not just be an expat douche. costa rica probably the most expensive, but easiest, choice.

Southern Mexico I pay 350 pesos a month for dsl. I find no difference between here and the states. You can also rent wifi in a internet cafe for around 10 pesos and hour. Lots of free wifi around as well.
You can easily rent an apartment for around 1000 to 2000 pesos a month. Though most gringos get ripped off and pay more.
Food is cheap and very cheap if you cook at home. At a normal mom and pop sit down place plan on 40-50 pesos.
Best guess is your cost of living will run 50-60% that of the states. Single guy with a social life would do fine with 1200usd.
Southern pacific coast has some of the best surfing in the world. I would do winters on the coast and the summers in the mountains. Here in Oaxaca in july or august the average temp is in high 70s and down below in the coast it gets brutal. (90s plus)

Peso runs 10.75ish to 1 usd

Lima, Peru has hi-speed available but how long it takes them to get it to you after you order it can be a big hassle. And Lima isn't really ideal for your purposes of surf-and-fun anyway.

Outside of Lima along the beaches it would be my hunch that wi-fi might not be available. I could be wrong though. Just a hunch that much of it is isolated enough that you would struggle to get what you need.
Not sure how that satellite stuff works though. I would think if you could get something like that to reach you in the remote areas that the speed would be good enough for internet-pokering.

why would you want somewhere good for surfing but without many surfers?

good luck finding a place good for surfing without surfers but with high speed internet and other creature comforts.

winner

Sounds like this should be a lot of fun. I know you're trying to do this now, but talk to the people who actually live in the country your moving to before you move there. Ask them about their internet connection. Of course, you may need to learn their language. Anyway, good luck!

thanks for all your response, i'll try to reply to them by memory:

1) why would i want to go someplace without lots surfers? i think you were joking when you said this but i'll respond anyway..... waves are finite unlike online poker tables. a new one doesn't just pop up when there are to many people out in the water. i grew up in so cal where the surf scene is really competitive/aggro and i don't want to have to deal with it.

2) satellite is something i definitely want to look into. this really would help out if i decided on someplace in the northern region of peru like Mancora. anyone have any experience with satellite internet.

3) i speak spanish not fluently but enough to get by. i'm leaning towards central/south america. oaxaca sounds amazing, but i would be on the coast in august regardless of the heat because the waves are amazing that time of year.

4) Costa rica is on the list. Just worried it's got to many Americans there already (the bad kind of ex pats) and isn't nearly as inexpensive as the rest of central america. Panama sounds even better and i forgot to put it on the list.

5) I'm definitely doing some more research and probably a handful of scouting too.

My experience with satellite several years ago, in Belize, with a US ISP, was not good. The latency is a problem. Even the slightest delay is tough to live with every time you click. Also, during really foul weather, when I would generally want to stay home at the computer, the satellite connection didn't work at all.