Was the original blog entry really anything to do with American advantages? In my opinion, this response is miles off-track and I'm surprised it got enough votes to appear on the front page.
In the comments on that HN entry, I saw people getting stuck on the schools mentioned or the count of Twitter followers. They're largely irrelevant.
The key message is: if you can't leverage your network of contacts (through background/education and a social media starting point) to create a single major venture, you can still incrementally create yourself passive revenue.
The reason the original post got all this attention is not because it suggested an alternative plan (nice try, a fail though), but because it was really emotional about the unfairness of inequality between US and non-US citizens (specifically programmers). That's what so many people are really concerned about.
What exactly was emotional about Max's post? Or about US vs non-US differences? Was it that puny and barely irrelevant line about Bulgaria? It's a shame that something like that or the 400-follower figure left anyone missing the point. You're the only person that's seemed too concerned about the country of origin issue. Most are talking about MFA, followers, 400 projects, etc.
Being in the US has its advantages, but there are definitely downsides too.
When you're going to look at Max' suggestions you actually stand a better chance at doing that from a country where the cost of living is lower than in the US.
Things like rent-a-coder and the mechanical Turk thrive on that difference in cost of living, it's a cynical form of outsourcing, but it definitely does seem to fill a need.
Russia - and most of the former eastblock - are in between two worlds, the cost of living is fairly high, and the opportunities are less prevalent. That makes for a challenging situation, but I've seen quite a few people overcome those challenges and do very well for themselves.
The cost of living for software developer in the US is one of the lowest in the whole world.
Stuff that software developers care the most (such as Fast Internet, computers, safe environment, cars, etc.) cost less than in most of the world.
Broadband access - Sure, the US is better than most of the world, but pretty mediocre compared to the western world.
Computers - I'll give you that one, gadgets are pretty cheap in the US, you'll have to go to parts of Asia to beat that.
Safe Environment - It doesn't matter if you mean crime or natural disasters or corruption, Canada and most of Europe beats the US on this point.
Cars - Remember that the US is built such that it requires everyone to have a car. There are many places elsewhere where you really don't need one, which cuts your costs for transportation by a lot.
Housing - You forgot this one, perhaps because the US has the most expensive housing in the western world? Compared to the average salary it's pretty ok, but we were talking about the absolute cost of living, not the relative cost of living.
Tax Burden - It's definitely lower than average compared to the rest of the western world, but it's also nothing special.
I live in the UK. Recently I ran numbers to move to other places because Im fed up of the political climate and in no position to make changes.
Anyway; the US was the most expensive move. Im staying here because the UK is close to the cheapest option but there were other places a lot cheaper than the states.
Hehe, I am truly amused. The three items Romansnitko listed at the end are the true secret mental power of the US, even though it must be commonly thought otherwise. American culture is all about making you feel like you suck, you just get with the program and make something of yourself. I will buy you a beer if you make it here.
"Let me first say, that I'm from Russia and I'm a self-educated programmer, I want to live in US (or Australia, or Canada). Good enough? So I guess I'm the target audience ..."
You're only the target audience if you roughly fit the demographic, and you've given up on the shiny path (either before or after trying).
You don't give the impression that you've given up, so ... he wasn't talking to you. :)
dammit, I knew it. Nobody talks to me!
But seriously - I don't think there's such thing as "giving up", because "there are no final decisions". One day I'm giving up, the next day I have a plan. It's dangerous to convince one that he indeed gave up. Or so I believe now.
Would you clear this up for me? That's what I got from the official website "To Qualify for the H1B Visa Program, you must work in a specialty occupation: IT, Computing..." Good. I have a Bachelors degree, but in an unrelated field. Would that be a problem for authorities as long as it's not the problem for the company?
In the comments on that HN entry, I saw people getting stuck on the schools mentioned or the count of Twitter followers. They're largely irrelevant.
The key message is: if you can't leverage your network of contacts (through background/education and a social media starting point) to create a single major venture, you can still incrementally create yourself passive revenue.