Rebasing my workshop

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I’ve been posting occasional updates on my pending move in the live chat, but this was a bit extended and the “spoiler” tags didn’t work.

Background

If you’ve just stumbled into this, here is the TL;DR: My apartment is vibrating and I have to make an international move…

There was a bunch of construction in my apartment building last year to prepare for a new Dutch housing law in 2026. In August 2025 my apartment started vibrating violently. An acoustic engineer found levels of vibration and low frequency noise far in excess of health and safety guidelines.

I haven’t been able to find it. The investment fund that owns the building won’t help me isolate it. There’s nothing I can do aside from a legal battle with uncertain outcome.

The new housing law disincentivizes housing as investment, but allows owners of multiple unit properties to slice them up and sell them off individually. This happened quickly, there’s a flood of former middle-market rentals now being transferred to owner occupants (this is actually good, despite the personal impact). This apartment will almost certainly be sold when I leave.

Along with the existing world-class Dutch housing crisis, this makes it nearly impossible for me (non citizen) to find a new place in Amsterdam. The high end market still exists, but if I’m paying that much I want to build equity. Also I really need a change in climate and food scene.

My number one contender has been Mexico City. There’s some interesting PCB assembly and other manufacturing stuff that would be fun to explore. Infrastructure development in the last few years has been impressive.

However, I think I found a more sensible option. I started an application for a 5 year Thailand DVT permit.

Pros:

  • Easy, fast, efficient, completely online application, done in 7 - 21 days with no visit to the consulate. (Compared to Mexico: Send in an application by mail, wait 1-2 months for a email with an appointment some weeks in the future).
  • When I lived in China I typically spent a weekend in Thailand every month. I know what to expect.
  • Here’s the really big one that sealed the deal: it’s 2 hours from the China office. It would be nice to spend more time in the office/Shenzhen. I can make lots more cool stuff and join meetups and events. Mexico is just too far away with the current fuel crisis stuff.

Cons:

  • Getting there right now is a bit sketchy given all the hot zones.
  • There is bureaucracy around household registration, but not as strict as Dutch household registration.
  • Language is a bit bespoke. It shares a lot of the quirks of spoken Mandarin, but it actually has a script system. I guess you take what you can get.
  • Not a party to the Apostille Convention. I would put this as a positive because I do enjoy a good rivet, ribbon and wax seal, but I swore never to live in another country that requires full Legalization.

I just suffered through a Dutch winter, so I’ve earned a Dutch summer. After that I look forward to putting this very odd experience behind me.

Thank you everyone for bearing with my reduced output while all this has been going on. I did not have a backup plan for “my apartment is vibrating and driving me to the edge of insanity, thus I have to make a major international move”. If I knew then what I know now, I would have cut bait and left 10 months ago.

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I didn’t expect Thailand to enter the chat, but you make great points for it. Sounds like it’ll be better for you socially and professionally, too.

I’ll be following with a lot of interest and hoping for a smooth process for you.

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Thanks!

Once I saw they specifically have a low hassle digital nomad visa it was hard to justify anything else. I’m super keen on Mexico, and so-so on Thailand, but it seems like a really good temporary base.

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At one point Tokyo was on the list. :smiley:

But with the exchange rate and all the other political stuff happening here, it’s not the best.

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Haha you’re totally right! After that presentation at the hacker space I met with the immigration lawyer. I was this close to pulling the trigger on Tokyo, but then shenzhen won me over in the process.

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tokyo is also known for being massively overcrowded. not a spot where you can do hardware stuff at ~/

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The density does have some advantages. Tokyo has small boutique highly specialized shops, sometimes with housing upstairs, that are super affordable. It enables the otaku culture that would be priced out in the west, like small tailoring and leather shops.

My dream was to have my workshop in a tiny storefront, mostly an office but also people could drop by to buy a bus pirate, get support or make a feature request :slight_smile:

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City centers are, but if you just step a bit outside the Yamanote line circle, it gets quieter. And the other advantage is that there are tons of tiny parks and other green spaces spread throughout the city. I have friends doing hardware stuff here and I worked with them at one point, so it’s possible. Popping down to Akihabara to get a part makes things easier sometimes as well: You don’t need to order online a single part and wait for it to arrive.

It’s funny you mention leather shops as I recently picked up the hobby. And apparently there is a leather craft area with multiple shops just one station away from Akihabara. :smiley:

But enough about Tokyo, back to the topic: Have fun in Thailand! At least it’s closer to Shenzhen so that will help you out. But I’m guessing weather will be brutal there.

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