is budapest the best option for grinding or are there other decent cities in hungary? Also are u sure online poker is tax-free or is it just the case that most online players dont pay their taxes? Def seems like an interesting option for sure

Well, Budapest is the capital, and the biggest city by far... The 2nd biggest where I live now is Debrecen, with the population of 200k. You can do many things here as well, but its nothing compared to Budapest... There are like 5 cities with 100-200k population in eastern Hungary, most of them are quite nice, good option if you only want to concentrate on playing poker... (Szeged , Miskolc, Szolnok...)
The western side of the country is more modern though and little more expensive as well... Especially the towns around the "Hungarian sea" the Balaton, those towns are really nice but not as big as previous cities... Internet connection is fast and stable everywhere.
So Budapest is the best if aside of poker you want to party and wanna live in the fast lane... Other cities better, if you want a little more peace...

About taxes... There are many controversies, but the fact is that there's no unitary legislation about this, there are just plans by the goverment to regulate it somehow, but it'll be a question of years and years...I dont know anyone who had payed taxes after online winnings... So tax-free

But if you play here and win, you have to pay the taxes in your country where you are citizen as it considered as foreign earned income i think... Except of course if poker winnings are tax free...

ty very much lots of useful info there

how about philippines what can you say guys

Country - Bulgaria, Varna

Have been here often but not for a long time. Just like all east-european countries prices have risen over the last years. It's all still quite affordable just not that insanely cheap anymore that you don't need to watch how much your spending on anything. Varna is quite small so there isn't that much to do really. Traffic is quite unsafe you should watch out. Police is also the most corrupt one in europe so if you go, sort out your visa stuff real well. Internet is supposed to be decent, but it costs. If your looking for a place to just grind, relax at the beach, go out eating and drinking and play sports it's quite alright. PM me if you'd like to know more and I'll ask a bulgarian

what is the best place for poker in south america ?????

lithuania anyone?

Lithuania


Cost of Living - 8 Usually you would pay around 300-400 USD a month for a decent 2-3 room apartment. The food prices are cheap compared to the Western European countries, e.g. you can order a pizza for 4-5 USD or a Kebab for 2 USD. Electronic devices are a little bit more expensive compared to UK/Germany(only god knows why).

Recreation - 8 Really depends on what you are looking for. There are a lot of night clubs and bars in the city center. There are several parks which are decent for jogging, the old city is a great place for taking a walk on a nice sunny day. There is an indoor Ski resort only 120 kilometers away from Vilnius, you can find a lot of SPA resorts near the city, big shopping malls etc etc. The girls are very very pretty and it for a foreigner, it is not too hard to get attention from them, def one of the best places to get laid in Europe. When it comes to summer - we have a lot of lakes and the Baltic sea. There are some really nice places to stay at summer, you can basically rent a summer house for the whole summer near the lake shore with awesome nature surrounding you. We have 3 main cities near the seashore, Palanga is the most popular one, a lot of village people coming there for their summer holidays, Russian music, lots of alcohol, lots of bars. A day in Palanga is pretty straight forward - Wake up, eat some kebab, go sunbathing, get drunk in the evening, dance to Russian music, get in a fight. Šventoji - another place with village people, though most of them come with their children so it is really calm compared to Palanga. Nida - def. one of the coolest places to be. No village people, since they can not afford it. A lot of German tourists(it used to be German lands which they visited for their holidays decades ago) are staying there during the summer.

How Scary? - 7 Like all the ex-Soviet countries, Lithuania is not the safest place to be in. Over the years it really became better, though you can still meet some angry chavs that can ask you for a cigarette and beat you up if you are being cocky. There are a few places that you want to avoid walking at night. The police are doing a great job, the only minor issue that it is still easy to bribe them when you are speeding or driving drunk(Might not be an issue for some people). Overall, i would say that it is pretty safe and if you are not looking for problems - you won't get in trouble.

Poker Playing - 8 Playing online is legal. You have to pay 15% taxes for your online winnings, though most of the people don't. There are ways of avoiding the tax, though it is not so big so it is not really an issue to stay legal. There are several casinos(Olympic group) that run cash tables, freezeouts few days a week, there are a lot of poker clubs where you buyin for an amount which you can later spend at the bar. That is how the poker clubs avoid the law which does not allow to play for real money live apart from the casinos. In the past few years, Tony G has been hanging around in Lithuania quite a lot, he has been supporting our national basketball team, organizing quite a few Poker tournaments in his SPA resort. We have of the best Internet services in the world so you can expect cheap internet(20 usd for 100 mbit). The mobile internet is also very cheap so you can play from any place you like.

How Easy to Get There and Stay There? - 9 For Europeans - it's very easy. Since it is in the EU, you will only need to get a residence permit(If you want to use the public hospitals n stuff). I have no idea how it is for people outside EU, but i bet that it should not be too hard getting in. Vilnius airport has an air link with the largest EU cities via Ryanair/Wizzair so it's really cheap to travel around from the place.

tyty. lots of great info, appreciated

slovakia or slovenia if anyone has lived in either place as well please. considering options for the summer. thanks

havent read through the thread yet so these might be covered alrdy:

BERLIN

Cost of Living:
6/10 very cheap considering its a capital in western europe. if youre looking for places try immobilienscout. groceries/eating out/nightlife are priced reasonably to average for western europe as well. very good and cheap infrastructure.

Recreation:
8.5/10 lots of stuff to do, nightlife, things to see, restaurants, also stuff like the tropical islands (check google) and other stuff to do for fun. most people (read girls) speak mediocre-decent english.
its near the polish border and NL and CZ arent too far away either which is pretty cool.

How Scary:
3.5/10 ive been to a lot of places in europe and berlin is on the safer side. some sketchy neighborhoods but not as ghetto as stuff ive seen in NL, france or eastern europe.

Poker:
4/10 theres the spielbank casino (EPT stop) and good cash game action but i remember the rake being high . sng/tourney structures suck if they havent changed that. some private lolsoft games around but gotta find them.
playing online is legal but you have to pay taxes (not sure how much, dont live there anymore and you can just not pay easily). internet is cheap and fast.

How easy to get there?
very easy for europeans, not sure about rest of world. obv fairly easily accessible by plane.


AMSTERDAM

Cost of Living:
4/10 one of the most expensive cities in europe. if youre willing to live a little bit further from central amsterdam its not too bad tho, other than rent nothings too overpriced. still nowhere near as cheap as berlin. infrastructure is decent although a little expensive imo.

Recreation:
10/10 i love amsterdam, lots of great clubs, bars and restaurants, coffeshops, friendly people, everybody speaks pretty good english. the scenery is pretty cool too (architecture and all the little channels in the city), red light district is great eye candy but overpriced for those who are into that.

How scary:
4.5/10 generally i felt pretty safe in most of the city center, just watch out for pickpockets a little bit. some neighborhoods are def. sketchy and ive heard stories of people getting robbed and/or beaten up. its fairly easy to avoid these areas in amsterdam, as theres nothing really interesting there anyway.

Poker:
3.5/10 theres a "holland casino" in amsterdam but rakes too high and tourneys/sng structures suck. online is legal, not sure about taxes. fast and cheap internet available.

How easy to get there?:
again, very easy for europeans, not sure about rest of world. huge and very well connected airport.

ive also lived in the hague and compared to amsterdam its cheaper and a lot more boring. amsterdam (45min) and rotterdam (20min) are really close tho and lots of stuff to do there. quite some sketchy areas that you should look out for. theres a beach which is cool to hang out at but its a bit further (20ish mins by tram) from the center.

interested in romania/bulgaria/croatia if anyone got info on that.

Interested about hungarian cities except Budapest. Budapest (absolutely love that city) already redic cheap to western standards but even better if there are some other decent options even cheaper and still furnished flats available to rent! Köszönöm!

Obviously this is a very important criteria.
Here is a website that could help you to compare the cost of living.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

Chiang Mai, Thailand
resident 2 years

Cost of Living - $1 = 30THB. Very cheap. One of the cheapest cities in the world according to numbeo. Rent from 3000 THB - for a tiny 1 room apartment, up to 70,000 THB for 2 bedroom serviced apartment with pool/fitness/sauna etc. Tons of guest houses with various prices from $10-$120 a night, with the typical place being about 1000 THB

Recreation - Very fun place to live, great scenery, lots of things to do in the day, and at night there are a decent selection of things to do, especially if you like drinking. Not as crazy as Pattaya or BKK for nightlife, but plenty of action if you seek it. Weather is awesome from October - April but then again in May-September it's monsoon season it gets very humid

How Scary? - Not scary at all. They are used to farangs there. Expect to pay more for everything than Thais in anything related to tourism. Don't ever fight a Thai. They always stick together and it will always be your fault. Just use your common sense and you'll be fine. Standard to bribe police for even minor offences. Paying 200 baht direct to the cop for not wearing a helmet on your motorbike instead of paying 400 at the station for example. For him that's his daily salary doubled right there.

Poker Playing - No gambling is allowed in Thailand. It is illegal. Online is technically illegal but in reality it is fine, all sites work, just don't tell anyone who doesnt need to know about it.

How Easy to Get There and Stay There? Very easy, there are thousands of flights to BKK daily from all over the world. There are up to 8 flights per day from BKK to Chiang Mai for around $50 1 hr flight AirAsia.

Korea
1 year

Cost of living 1,100 Won = $1 USD. For a first world country, Korea is VERY cheap. Daily consumable goods are very cheap, It is common for $2 a beer 500ml. Cigarettes are $2.50. Restaurants are super cheap (A very large meal for two typically costing 40,000 with alcohol). It is not as cheap as developing countries like China and Thailand, obviously, but it MUCH cheaper than other developed countries like Japan. Rent is cheap but Key Money / Security Deposit is large. Expect at least $10,000 down for a normal place, but then pay around $500 a month in rent. OR you can pay a much larger fee, closer to $100,000 in Key Money and pay nothing in rent. You get the Key Money back when you move out. More info on Numbeo.

Recreation - EATING AND DRINKING. This is by far Koreans number 1 recreational activity. Get used to Korean Barbecue and drinking Soju. Norebang (singing room) is common afterwards so expect to be heading there and ending up blackout drunk from soju. http://blackoutkorea.blogspot.kr/
Hiking is a favourite of Koreas though not my cup of tea. Pro baseball is played very regularly and ticket prices are cheap, even cheaper for soccer matches but expect a low standard of play, basketball and volleyball pro leagues exist too. Learning Korean is a past time many waygooks take up as it is fairly easy to learn Hangul (the alphabet) and get the basics down, and even a small amount of Korean amazes the natives, and shows you care in a way, this opens up a lot of doors and Korea becomes WAY better when you know more Korean people.

How Scary? Zero. Probably the safest place on earth. Maybe there are safer places but I have seen literally NO trouble here. Unless you are ******ed then you will have no trouble. The only weird part is everyone learns English at school but then hardly anybody uses it. There is a big gap between their English knowledge and practical application.

Poker Playing Walker Hill live, Huge rake. There is ONE casino that Koreans are allowed to go to, but apparently its a waste of time as it would take DAYS to get a seat at a table. They wouldn't be playing holdem there either, most probably seven card stud. Online is easy, all sites work, super super fast reliable internet.

How Easy to Get There and Stay There? Book any flight to Seoul and then use the KTX (300kmph speed train) anywhere around the country. Very cheap to use.

Debrecen, Pécs, Győr, Kecskemét, Székesfehérvár
All of them has more than 100k citizens.
mielellään

Köszi!

Gonna check my options, next summer also Hungary on my mind

I'd suggest Debrecen... I've lived there for 25 years, and it's a pretty cool university city with tons of beautiful young girls...
The other cities mensioned are on the western side (except Kecskemét), which is more expensive than the eastern side...
Miskolc and Szeged also mensionable on the eastern part with 100k+ population...
But Debrecen is the best in my opinion... There is also a CL, EL participated football team, and a new stadium is being built... Not big, but gonna look cool...
Quite a few places to party... Ain't bad..

hello everyone,

I'm looking for countries in Europe where playing poker is tax free. I mean 100% tax free.
This is my main criteria : I want to avoid to pay taxes in my own country and I want to declare myself as a citizen of the country where I will move.
So when I come back to my country, I will be able to proove that my winnings are legals.

At the moment, UK seems 100% tax free. And after what I read here, it seems to be the case for Ireland, Hungary and Portugal too.
Could someone confirm or counter that?

What about Gibraltar and Swiss please?

Thank you very much !! and sorry for my mistakes, I'm french

I'm assuming you are french canadian, in that case if you want legal residency somewhere else that usually means paying taxes. If you are EU french then obv just move anywhere you want and live tax free.

Gibraltar tax free for sure, malta is generally thought to be tax-free, its not actually stated in the laws whether poker is taxed, i do know certain prize winnings are not taxed which is a good indicator, also at least half of the accountants say the same(i grind here). Hungary im not so sure about but i do know grinders just dont pay the tax. As regards becoming a citizen etc. im from Ireland and id bet money you`d never be formally deported if u stayed here, ul be seen as a wealthyish tourist as much as anything else.

Thanks for your replies.
Im french EU.

Thing is, I want to invest my winnings into a company, or to buy a house. If I come back to France, the local fiscal services will ask me where does that money come from.
If the country where I moved to was TAX FREE, then I suppose that the french administration won't be able to do anything against me.. but if I was supposed to declare my winnings.. they may contact the fiscal department of the country I moved to, and I may be in trouble.

This is why I want to be sure before going abroad, that gambling will be allowed and totally tax free in this country.

okay i see now- what you want to do is become a resident of another EU country ie Ireland or malta or whatever- in malta you can get your residency card after 3 months i believe- after that period u wouldn`t be liable for taxes to france for sure- you`re already a citizen of the EU so u only need to establish residency- if french taxman tries to come after you you`ll need proof of address and flight details etc. Before that period im not sure what the case is since you`re not yet a resident technically.
Either way most important thing is changing details on ur french site as soon as u move and sending them proof of address.

Thank you very much for your reply

I heard Gambling is supposed to be taxed in Malta though, so I rather think about moving to Ireland or Luxembourg at the moment.

yes well a few accountants say its taxed and some dont, i know there are more french grinders here in malta than in Ireland or Luxembourg :P Id imagine very few players are paying taxes here far as i know.