Bali.

Internet is rocketing ahead. Rockstar living for backpacker budgets. Sunshine year round it makes me crave cold weather again.

Internet is progressing fast:
We're getting 10Mbps internet, 4G and fiber internet this year. All for around $20-30/month. I wrote more about the new providers and services in my Bali Blog here. Internet in Bali.

I operate a Bali Villa Rentals in Jimbaran, Padang Padang, Bingin and Uluwatu web-based villa rental/hospitality management business and we run cloud-based apps, social media management/digital marketing tools, receive inquiries via email/Twitter/Airbnb, do Skype/G-Hangout conference calls, and do content management on a 5Mbps line. Our backup is a 4G hotspot from Samsung or XiaoMi phones.

Weather is balmy:
There are basically two seasons in Bali. Sunny and rainy. The rain is intermittent and goes from December til February. Then it's sunny, 27 degree days and warm for the rest of the year.

Beaches are pretty awesome.
There's a plentitude of beautiful beaches around Bali. Some are good for surfing, swimming, some are good for diving, snorkeling and spearfishing. There's a few hundred beaches around the circumference of the island. Most are still 'undiscovered' by outsiders.

South East Asia is a great region for weekend trips.
You have Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia and Laos. It's rich in cultural activities, shopping and there's tons to see. It's cheap to fly to anywhere in Asia from Bali via AirAsia.

Far enough from civilisation:
Similarly, most MNC have offices in Singapore, Bangkok or Hong Kong which are 2, 4 and 6 hours away from Bali respectively.

Low cost of living + incredible value:
You pay $200/month for 2 bedroom house in a good neighborhood, a maid is $60 a month, food can be had for $5-10/meal at restaurants, <$1 if you cook yourself.

Tropical lifestyle capital:
Bali has a massive hospitality industry that's enormously competitive. What that means is top-flight French cuisine for 1/3 the price of major cities, 2 hour spa treatments for $20, pool villas for sub $100/night, and bargain prices for artwork/fashion/crafts. There are thousands of restaurants and hotels. Bali rivals any major city I've been to in terms of diversity and sophistication in dining, nightlife and design. It's home to some of the world's best beach lounges and clubs. An endless list of sporting activities, yoga, water-sports.

Tech Community:
Plus there's a growing niche of digital nomads as well. The locus seems to be centering around Ubud, at Hubud: Ubud Coworking Community Space Here's an article written in BBC. Forget Silicon Valley, meet Silicon Bali

Exchange Rate:
The Indonesian rupiah is the weakest it's ever been in 10 years and likely to remain relatively weak against the dollar. So that means, your $1000/month will go even 10-20% further.

We write a blog about our part of Bali here. Bali Villa Rentals in Jimbaran, Padang Padang, Bingin and Uluwatu