Madrid, Spain
First hand experience: Long-term vacationer throughout Spain

Cost of Living - 3. A cab ride from Madrid-Barajas airport to my current location was 35 Euros. (about a 25 minute cab ride). A meal at a mid-range restaurant containing a main and two import beers was a bit less than 20 euros. A one way subway ticket costs 1.5 Euros.

Nightlife/Recreation - 9. Like New York City, Madrid is a city that never sleeps. Some restaurant don't even serve dinner before 8 pm. The typical night owl will grab dinner around 9 or 10 pm. They'll stay at a tapas bar for a bit before going to a nightclub at around midnight. The clubs close around 5 or 6 AM and you go to sleep afterwards.

How Scary - 9. Violent crimes are mostly limited to drunken bar fights and the most common property crime is pickpocketing. Other than using common sense, there isn't much you have to worry about. To put things into perspective, there are approximately 2 murders per 100,000 people in Madrid. Meanwhile, NYC is more than triple that with 6.4 per 100,000 people and NYC is on the low side in America for such a large city.

Poker - 2. You can only legally play poker online on .es websites. The market is growing, but at the moment the traffic is much lower than the typical .com sites. You are probably better off playing elsewhere if you play online regularly. There's one casino in Madrid (Casino Gran Madrid) which offers SnG and tournaments with a vig around 15-20%.

Getting there - 10. Pretty easy to get there if you are a EU citizen. Just need to show ID to travel. If you're not a EU citizen, with a passport from some countries (such as America), you can travel without a visa for 90 days within a 180 day span in Spain. However, it would pay to get a Schengen Visa, especially if you want to go to more than one country.

There's one airport in Madrid. Madrid-Barajas is the 5th busiest airport in Europe and 19th in the world.

Getting Around - 6 (non-Spanish speaker)

Spain has a very large, fast, and fairly cheap public transport system. The metro is extensive and has over a dozen lines that touch every notable area of the city. Taxis start at 2.3 Euros from the city center unless it is very late at night or on Sundays. There's also a large bus system that I have yet to use. However, the metro trains I have been on are unlabeled, stops are not announced and are not presented with an English translation. I have not tried all of the trains (mostly Line 1 as of now), but this has been the case for me. I imagine the newer lines are more English friendly.

At first, street signs are difficult to notice. Rather than being placed on a post at a street corner like most Americans are used to seeing, they are planted on the sides of buildings at intersections and can easily be missed. They don't stand out at night as the colors of the signs are dark with thin, white lettering. Best to bring a map or a phone/tablet with GPS.

Despite being a cosmopolitan city, very few Spaniards in Madrid are proficient in English aside from some simple words and most of the signs relevant to directions or transport are in Spanish with no English translation. It pays to either learn some Spanish beforehand or to bring a translator/dictionary if you need to ask any questions.

Country - Puerto Rico
Firsthand Experience? - Yes

Cost of Living - 5 - The cost of living is good compared to European COL, but not really compared to most places in the US. Rent and housing prices tend to be cheaper, but that's because houses are much smaller -- the average house is about 700-800 sq. ft (about 70-80 m2 for you non-Americans) and goes for like $100k, compared to American houses being 2,300 ft on average and going for like 200k. In San Juan housing is about as expensive as it would be in, say, Houston, but if you're willing to live a ways away (and really it's a pretty small island), your costs drop a fair bit. Groceries are about comparable/slightly cheaper than you'd get in say the UK, more expensive than in the US. Street food is much cheaper than in the US though, and it is VERY good. The biggest dent to your pocket would be utilities -- it's pretty standard to pay $250+ a month for water and electricity.

Recreation - 9 - Awesome beaches, lush rainforests, nightclubs, plus pretty much every amenity connected to living in what is essentially a developed country.

How Scary - 3 - Police corruption is near-nonexistent, though some police departments are pretty ineffectual when it comes to investigating robberies for example -- be sure to lock up. The cities are quite slummy in some areas and crime is high, but in general Puerto Rico is actually safer than, say, Detroit, for instance. You're not very likely to get caught (or get more than a slap on the wrist if you are) for scoring pot.

Poker Playing - 4 - Poker is legal here, including online poker. Unfortunately though Puerto Rico is under US jurisdiction and ROW sites won't allow PR players. There's like four or five casinos that spread Texas Hold 'em games (NL and FL both), the best one being La Concha in Condado.

How Easy to Get There and Stay There? - 10 of you're from the US, about 8 otherwise - Puerto Rico is a US territory and for moving-in purposes pretty much counts as a state.

Getting a job is a little more challenging though. No need for a work visa for Americans, but unemployment is, last I heard, hovering around 15%. A lot of places require political connections to even give you an interview.

90% sure that's because you were searching in English. I found like 200 <$800 listings in like 2 minutes.

http://www.encuentra24.com/panama-es...ch=f_rent.-800

Aleksei - Thanks for the link.

Any information on Boquete, Panama or Granada, Nicaragua?

http://www.encuentra24.com/panama-es...=prov-chiriqui apparently there's exactly one place that meets your specs in Boquete.

What's the banana man ?

Reefer.

Right on.

I mean, chronic is neither tough to find nor will get you into too much trouble in South/Central America. Places where you really can't smoke it are all in Asia.

Country - Malta (St. Julians)
Firsthand Experience? - Yes

Cost of Living - 4 - Food and basic items a bit more expensive than in Germany for example. Almost everything has to be imported, hence very high prices for certain products. Moreover not a very varied range of food. However no admission fee in almost all clubs and drinks in the clubs are pretty cheap compared to the food prices in supermarkets.

Recreation - 9 - Nightlife is for me the best one I have ever seen in the party area called "Paceville". Awesome between March and October, November-February sucks, though (in winter only good on weekends). Girls from all over the world, usually on party vacation and hence easy to get.

How Scary - 10 - I heard that Malta is one of the safest countries in the world. Sometimes fights between drunken people but I guess that's normal. Very, very safe place.

Poker Playing - 6 - Three casinos in Malta, the two most popular ones (Dragonara and Portomaso) located in St. Julians. Really tough live tables, of course fishes, too, but I have seen a lot of live games in my life and the ones in Malta were definitely the toughest ones. Sometimes I had tables with 7 regs and 2 fishes.

How Easy to Get There and Stay There? - 10 - If you are from EU, you can stay as long as you want. AirMalta is Malta's airline and it is very easy to get flights to Malta.

Yeah basically the more regs drool over a site (and every other reg I've spoke to thinks Malta is the ****) the more regs it's gonna contain. Simple math.

Same reason Stars cash games are so tough. I mean, I'm pretty sure Bovada 50NL is fishier than Stars 5NL.

Yes, I think the basic problem is that Poker has such a high significance in Malta. Every foreigner in Malta is a) a professional poker player or b) working for a Poker company. And I rarely see local players in the casinos (maybe because Maltese people need to be 25+).

Monte-Carlo:
1) Cost Living - very expensive but if really search inexpensive relax, especially with friends.
2) Recreation - ohhh, night live is very-very good: music, yachts, villas, women etc., no time to boring
3) How Scary - Low criminal
4) Poker Playing - European Las-Vegas
5) How Easy to Get There and Stay There - I was born in Russia (Saint-Petersburg) but living in Monaco.
a) Сitizenship you can get if you marry and live in marriage 5 years, if not wrong.
b) If you are monegasque. Dunno how much time this it.
c) You can move from other country, if a lot of money - stable cash income, you can get Schengen visa. After buy house, live 10 years on your money.

But if you want take passport of Monaco you MUST forgot about double and second citizenship.

Canada

I've seen a lot of requests and the one review I read was pretty bad. I'm Canadian and have played online here for 5 yrs +

Canada is a huge country, so this review will be an average of the major Canadian cities (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal) For smaller and rural areas: Decrease price, increase safety, HEAVILY decrease nightlife but increase outdoor rec.

Cost of Living- 3. Cheaper than Scandinavia, more expensive than the US. Alchohol, tobacco and taxis are particularly expensive. Taxes are high in most provinces. Rent, restaurants are expensive.

Recreation- 8. All the bars, restaurants, concerts ect you'd expect from a major, first world city. Hockey is the most popular sport by a ton. Certain parts have awesome outdoor recreational options--pretty much all of BC, Alberta rockies are my faves for that. Golfing is great in Canada. Weed is very easy to get, very high quality (especially in the west) and practically legal. I've been caught with 1/2 oz 3 times, they just take it and let me go with a seatbelt or speeding ticket ect.

How scary- 9. Canadians are stereotypically out of their way nice and overly polite. The police are very just. There are almost no scams. Every city has it's bad area, but compared to the ghettos of other countries, it's Mr. Rogers' Neighbourhood.

Poker Playing- 8. There are quite a few casinos, all with poker. High stakes are a little tougher to find but... There are no issues with online poker. I tell the government I play poker for a living.

How Easy to get There- 6. Flights I'm sure are very easy, but I think it's tough to stay for an extended time.

Cliff notes of each city:

-Vancouver: Nicest, most expensive, rainiest, mild winters.

-Okanogan Region: Actually a desert, very hot summer, no snow. Great weed. Beautiful terrain. Quite expensive. Not the nightlife of major cities.

-Alberta Rockies (Jasper, Banff): Outdoor lovers dream. Skiing, hiking, cliff jumping, kayaking. Truly 2 of the most beautiful places you'll ever go. They're National Parks, however and pretty much tourist towns. Bars are small but fun.

-Edmonton: Great in the summers, lots of festivals, concerts, art scene. Long, cold, bitter, depressing winters. Cheapest of the 5 major cities I listed.

-Calgary: Like Edmonton but better winters, closer to mountains, more expensive, dummer people. Most American culture.

-Toronto: The biggest city, highest end clubs, most cultural diversity, nearly as expensive as Vancouver. Winters not horrible but always smoggy and sticky and not any nature.

-Montreal: About 1/2 are French, but almost all understand English. Never been in person but a cool and cultured city, good nightlife, slutty girls. French are a little standoffish--can be perceived as rude. Heavy organized crime but great strip clubs in Quebec.

-Maratimes: Easily the cheapest. Beautiful landscape but ****ty weather. No big cities. No clubs but ppl love to party--kind of feels like Ireland. Ppl have thick accents, sound Irish too.

so, if i drive into Canada, shall i be completely honest? I have read mixed responses. I plan on leasing an apt. for ~3 months, do i tell this to border patrol and tell them I am essentially going into Canada to play online poker?

I don't know the specifics, but I wouldn't say I'm coming to work. There's nothing wrong with playing poker for work, but working without a Visa isn't allowed. Just say you're travelling imo

truthfully, i like being honest, honesty is easy. I want to tell the border patrol I am planning on leasing a place to play online poker for a short stint and maybe golf and do some other rec things while around. I will give an estimated time frame, I see no harm in this?? If they consider it working, would they consider it working if I were to drop 25k online during my stay?

Just tell them you brought your golf clubs and you're roadtripping. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. Plus you are telling mostly the truth just not offering every detail.

Playing poker for a living isn't technically working; working (for the purposes of requiring a visa) is being employed and paid by another person and paying taxes as such. At most professional poker is a business venture, but legally I don't think it's even considered that -- you obviously don't need a business license to play poker.

Ok, go ahead and tell them you're a professional poker player here to work, I don't care. But an easy way to save yourself potential trouble is to just say you're here travelling.

I have to pay taxes on poker because it's my primary source of income. So I'd imagine there may be some Visa issues if you say you're here hoping to make money.

Do whatever you want.

you guys that have moved into a poker house, does this work as a sublease???? has anyone here been set up without sending in a utility bill?? can i get setup with a lease agreement (sublease agreement) and proof of a Canadian bank account, if those were the only two things i sent to the sites???

Paris/France

Cost of Living - 6 Paris is very expensive. My 12 square meter apartment was 550 euro/mo. In the center of town it can be prohibitively expensive for a nice apartment, but in the outer districts and suburbs it's not as bad. Food is not cheap but if you cook it's much better. There is lots of fast food on the street and it's possible to eat on 10 euros/day at restaurants. Drinking is very expensive too. Happy hour beers at decent bars range from 3.50 to 5 euros. Normal beers are 5-7 euros normally. Anywhere that charges more is not worth going to.

Recreation - 10Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world in terms of architecture. The foundations of the city are very old--dating back over 1000 years. The rest of the city was constructed during the mid-late 1850s and onward during the reign of Napoleon III. It's beautiful.

Nightlife is great in Paris. There are several clubs which attract high profile DJs and musicians. One of my favorite clubs is on the Champs Elysees next to the Aviation Club de France. If you are looking to go out every night Paris will eat up your bankroll, but once or twice a week is easily sustainable on a normal salary.

How Scary? - 7 Paris like any other city has its dangerous areas. In general it's not too bad though. If you've ever been to a big city then you know how to be street aware, but if not, just pay attention and be aware.

Poker Playing - 9 France has everything. There are three cardroom/casinos in Paris alone and all over france there are plenty. Games range from 2/2 to 25/50 and beyond. The players are generally weak but obviously it ranges depending on the stakes. My only concern was the rake which was difficult to beat. If you are a B&M grinder, the rake will be nearly impossible to overcome at the lowest stakes, but at 5/5 and 5/10 it evens out somewhat. They take an hourly at those stakes whereas rake is 10% up to 40 at the Paris casinos.

In Cannes and Deauville, the Casinos like the Majestic or the Pullman Royal are owned by the same Barriere company. Rake is 4% uncapped which is outrageous. The higher games make that kind of rake impossible to beat except for the fact that the games at these places are FILLED with rich tourists. I went 8 for 8 in my sessions in Cannes. In the major Casinos like Barriere and Pullman, the lowest games will be 5/10 and highest...??? Maybe 100/200 plO. 25/50 was the highest nlhe game I saw in Cannes.

All in All, poker is fun and an easy way to learn French. In Paris, you will learn plenty of french at the table. I was able to beat the game at first when I didn't speak french and after a year there, I was quite successful after I became fluent.

How Easy to Get There and Stay There? 7 France has strict visa laws. Finding a job once you get there is not too difficult honestly. Finding a GOD job is another story. French companies will sponsor visas only under specific guidelines. Often, to obtain a work visa you need to have a job already, and to get a job you need to have a work visa already. The conundrum is hard to work around, but if you are going on a blank slate, many expats will take French class in order to get a STUDENT visa, you can work part time and work from there. I suggest taking this route.

Hope this all helps! PM me with any questions.

Salut tu peux m'ajouter sur FB stp? https://www.facebook.com/Rouxe5769
je suis un grinder francais qui souhaite venir m'installer à Londres
j'aurais quelque question à te poser si tu veux bien merci d'avance

Valencia, Spain
Firsthand Experience - I live there

Cost of Living - 6 (1 = most expensive) According to expatistan.com, aside from some other cities in Spain*, Valencia is the least expensive city in Western Europe as defined by the United Nations with a population above 300,000 people.

That isn't to say that it's still not expensive. Western Europe in general is expensive. Valencia is still more expensive than practically every notable city in Central and Eastern Europe.

*Murcia, Valladolid, Cordoba, and Malaga are slightly less expensive than Valencia.

Recreation - 8: Valencia has pretty much everything any other major city has. It is not quite as cosmopolitan as Madrid or Barcelona and the clubs aren't quite as vibrant, but it still has enough to cover nearly any hobby or interest you may have.

In terms of tourism, Valencia is often overlooked on short-term vacations. If people have enough time to travel beyond Madrid and Barcelona, they'll try their hand at Bilbao up north, Seville towards the south or Palma de Mallorca off the coast. Hell, people skip over Valencia for Alicante and they're both in the same province. That isn't to say that it's not worth visiting for a weekend. Even if it's just a day trip to see something such as The City Of Arts And Sciences, Valencia is definitely worth a gander if you have the time.

How safe - 9 (1 = least safe) So long as you exercise common sense and don't put yourself in compromising situations, you will have no problem with safety. The corruption in the police force has dropped dramatically since the Francisco Franco regime fell. They do have a uniformed presence in the center of the city, normally around the subway stops in order to keep beggars from pestering people or watching out for pickpockets.

Poker Playing - 2 Like the rest of Spain, people in Spain can only play on .es websites which has a smaller player pool. Valencia does have its own casino called Casino Cirsa Valencia which actually is not in the city but rather on the edge of the city limits. I have not yet been to the casino yet. So, I cannot personally attest to its quality.

Getting There - 10 - Pretty easy to get there. EU citizens have right to work and travel throughout the EU. American citizens can travel there visa free if they are staying for less than 3 months.

Valencia Airport is located a few miles outside of the city center and has domestic connections throughout Spain and connects to major airports in 15 other countries. With exception to Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca, all international flights are within Europe (flying as far east as Ukraine and Turkey). Most people flying from the west will fly through Heathrow or Madrid-Barajas on their way to Valencia.

Getting Around - 10 - Taxis start at 4 Euros and rarely go above 10 Euros unless you hit major traffic or travel to a suburb outside of the city proper. Subways are quite extensive and travel to the suburbs outside of the main city as well as within the city itself. It's normally 2.5 Euros one way unless you are traveling to the end of the line where it's a bit more expensive, but you can buy passes should you stay long-term. However, most of the tourist areas (save The City of Arts and Sciences) are within the city center and you could travel from one to the other by foot or bicycle should you choose to do so.

Staying There - 6 - A single room in a hostel is 25-30 Euros per night. EU citizens can stay there no problem. If you are not an EU citizen, it is quite a pain to get a work visa unless you have a sponsor and the paperwork process for one is lengthy. The economic situation is quite bad but it is getting better. There are way better places to play poker than Spain.

Everything depends on what are your expectations and preferences, I lived in Norway. Many people say it is very expensive but if you work there you won't feel the difference because salaries are also higher. Only thing is weather can be really cold, especially wind but softer in Oslo area.

Dont let this put you off, Weed was extremely easy to find in Cambodia and Laos, and Northern Thailand. India even had a government run weed shop in some small beach town. The weed isn't great.

Im currently looking to relocate to South America but can't land on a location, I want a weed friendly environment with cheap living expenses (nice 1broom ~600) don't care about night life. Any advice would be great.