need help finding a 'scuba city'; or: what developed city has best dive options?

[kvm]

Have you considered anything outside of Asia? San Francisco or Monterey USA, Nice (France), Greek Islands, Egypt (Red Sea), Wilmington North Carolina? All these are super-developed with first class internet and great airport links. just some more options...

i am considering _any_ city, but posted in this forum because places in asia intrigue me most.

I used to live in SF, and while I love it and will likely move back there, it offers no direct access to diving.

The greek islands and Egypt are of interest to me, but for some reason they dont excite me as much as places in asia.

So even after all of this discussion im still not sure what the hell im going to do.

argggg

[Ze_Abron]

Well, I moved to Asia for the diving. :-)

San Francisco is close to Monterey/Carmel, which has world class (albeit cold water) diving.

[iamafish]

Hey KVM,

The thing about being remote is that you don't need to live in one city. You can live in Bali for a few months of the year, Thailand a few months of the year, Philippines a few months of the year. I also work remotely and was able to find great Internet in Bali, more than good enough for working remotely; but not everywhere. The same is true in Thailand, actually and that includes Phuket. Even in Phuket, there are days when the rain and storms are so strong that power is cut; the same is true in Bali and elsewhere. Thailand has good Internet, but I found the Internet in some of the new resorts in Bali to be just as reliable (and the diving much better). Some of the information you are getting here is a bit dated; because the Internet in Bali works great in some places (but if you stay at the wrong places, it can be really bad!). In fact, I was just in a new resort in Amed and found the Internet excellent, and I was there nearly a month diving.

It kinda defeats the purpose of being a "Internet Nomad" if you just move to one area and plant yourself there. Better to travel to many areas and stay there one or two months. As far as which is better, that completely depends on your personal preferences. I just spent a month in Bali and am back in Thailand for a month, but not so much for the diving in Thailand, but because I have some friends here I want to dive with; and I like shopping and the night life here from time-to-time. Then, I'm off to another destination for a month or two. I might stay in Bali for another month, or go say in Subic and dive wrecks for a month or more.

Personally, I like healthy coral reefs, and I found Bali to have far healthier coral reefs than any place I have been diving in the past year. I don't do live-a-boards or very remote locations because I need reliable Internet access for work. So far, Bali is the best I have found, but that is just me. I lived in Phuket around 2 months this year, and I found the diving OK; but honestly, the diving in Bali was far superior using the metrics "healthy coral reefs" ... "very friendly and sincere people" (Thailand has become way too commercial, IMO) ... "reliable Internet (takes a bit of work to find it)"... "less expensive diving" etc. I can't comment further since I've only been in Indonesia and Thailand this year; but maybe I'll be over-the-moon over wrecks in Subic when I go to there!

Anyway, I tend to get bored in one place....... that is why being an "Internet Nomad" is such a great life for a diver

[kvm]

Need to Necro this thread. My company convinced me to help them open an office in Seoul, South Korea. This means that i'm not directly by amazing diving and that now I cant really be nomadic as I need to be in the office a couple times a week in seoul.

I can do stints remotely, and plan to get a cheap flight to Cebu in the next few months.

I've already been to Jeju to dive and it was great, but the diving itself wasn't amazing.

Do you guys know of 3 or 4 days trips I could do from Seoul for diving getaways? I can get direct flights from seoul (incheon or gimpo) to cebu, guam, phuket, and more but im trying to figure out good short trips I can do once a month. What do you guys recommend? My first on will be to Malapascua as cebu is a 4 hour flight for me and i've heard the diving is amazing, PLUS i can get away with doing it over a long weekend so the company doesnt need to be made aware

[Centrals]

Need to Necro this thread. My company convinced me to help them open an office in Seoul, South Korea. This means that i'm not directly by amazing diving and that now I cant really be nomadic as I need to be in the office a couple times a week in seoul.

I can do stints remotely, and plan to get a cheap flight to Cebu in the next few months.

I've already been to Jeju to dive and it was great, but the diving itself wasn't amazing.

Do you guys know of 3 or 4 days trips I could do from Seoul for diving getaways? I can get direct flights from seoul (incheon or gimpo) to cebu, guam, phuket, and more but im trying to figure out good short trips I can do once a month. What do you guys recommend? My first on will be to Malapascua as cebu is a 4 hour flight for me and i've heard the diving is amazing, PLUS i can get away with doing it over a long weekend so the company doesnt need to be made aware

You can't go wrong with Malapascua but the private transfer is at least US$100.00 each way.
Any flight from Incheon to Clark? Because Subic Bay(wrecks) is only an hr away by public bus.
Korean had invested heavily in Anilao and Puerto Galera over last several yrs. Both places are 3-4 hrs away from Manila.
Keep your eyes open for Cebu Pacific discount promotion. You probably had missed their P1 international ticket recently. Get register with them on line.
Phuket is waste of time unless you are going for a liveaboard.

[Quero]

I wouldn't discount Phuket, even without a liveaboard. There's some very nice local diving out of Phuket--it's certainly better than Jeju--and at some times of year, a better option than near-to-Manilla areas where you may be blown out by typhoons and not be able to dive at all. For a long weekend, Phuket is certainly doable, but it's without a doubt more expensive for hotels and dive services, on average, than the PI. Decision-making may depend on the time of year, what you're willing to spend, and how flights look to you. Get as many options as you can, and do include both the Philippines and Thailand.

In addition, you might be able to make it to Bali for a four-day trip (the flight is longer than what you want, though), and that would be worth your while. If it's the right time of year, you could also consider the east coast of the Malay Peninsula and dive at Tioman, the Perhentians, and Redang. Both Tioman and Redang have airports which you can access through Kuala Lumpur. For Tioman, you could also fly to Singapore and go overland and by ferry. Furthermore, there are very short liveaboards, both out of Thailand and out of Singapore (in the right time of year) that will take only 2 days, sometimes on a weekend (this is especially true for trips out of Singapore).

[Thalassamania]

Kona, on the Big Island might serves well, world class diving, lots of big critters, acceptable entertainment, good computer infrastructure, international airport (worst case is a half hour to Honolulu), best coffee on Earth.

[wmperry]

I've been nomadic with my wife and 16 year old son for 9 months after working remotely from Indiana for 12 years. St Croix USVI had decent infrastructure and small town vibe but big city drinking. Presently in Cozumel, which has way more tourists but it also has 5x faster internet (5+ megabit vs 1 if you were lucky in STX). Heading to France next. Maybe China or India after that.

For folks contemplating this, realize it may take some time to get the high speed Internet up and running. A lot of long term rentals go with the cheapest broadband to minimize cost while they have no renters. Okay for checking light email while on vacation but not something you want to download 4 gigabytes of customer logging data / crash dumps over. Jumping towns very 2-3 months could mean a lot of waiting-for-xyzzy-to-be-turned-on time.

Bummer you got tied down, but at least you are in the general area.

Good luck to anyone else looking to make the jump!

-bill

[Nishan]

Colombo, Sri Lanka.
World class wreck diving and some decent reefs right off the city. Lots of other interesting dive areas and great beaches within a few hrs drive from the city if you like a change. The worlds first purpose built aircraft carrier and other WWII wrecks within 6hrs driving distance. One hours flight away from the Maldives. Cheap (Air Asia) flights to Malaysia and Thailand for more diving options. A small but active local dive community. And a largish Asian city, good internet, good flight connections, decent nightlife, everything from 2000 yr old cities, mountain treks, surfing, whale watching and wildlife parks between 1-5 hrs drive.
If I was not born here I would move here

[DevonDiver]

I don't think that KK is much of a 'party place'. Internet at the outlying locations (sipidan/mabul etc) is non-existent.

Thailand: Pattaya / Phuket

Philippines: Subic / Cebu