https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/ Notes from a freelance web & app developer and digital nomad — cloud, AI products, and the nomad life. en https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/three-internships-one-year/ https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/three-internships-one-year/ I did three software internships back to back in 2024 — Bosch, Sirma, and GyanGrove. Here's what each one was really like, what I actually learned, and how they led to my first full-time job. Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/college-side-gig-to-founding-engineer/ https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/college-side-gig-to-founding-engineer/ How I went from a broke second-year college student to a part-time founding engineer at a US startup — earning real money, shipping real code, and learning what classrooms don't teach. Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/quitting-my-job-to-freelance-full-time/ https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/quitting-my-job-to-freelance-full-time/ Why I left a stable full-time software engineer job to freelance — the real reasons, the fears, how I got my first clients, and what I'd tell anyone thinking about going freelance. Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/best-places-for-digital-nomads-2026/ https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/best-places-for-digital-nomads-2026/ A freelance developer's honest ranking of the best digital nomad destinations in 2026 — Da Nang and Bali in detail, plus Bangkok, with real notes on wifi, cost, cafés, coworking and community. Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/how-i-work-as-a-digital-nomad-freelance-developer/ https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/how-i-work-as-a-digital-nomad-freelance-developer/ My real working system as a digital nomad freelance web and app developer — how I find cafés and coworking spaces, structure my day across timezones, and ship client work from anywhere. Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/supabase-vs-firebase-2026/ https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/supabase-vs-firebase-2026/ Supabase vs Firebase in 2026 — Postgres vs NoSQL, pricing and lock-in, real-time, auth, and AI features — with a clear pick for each kind of project. Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/building-an-ai-chatbot-with-openai/ https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/building-an-ai-chatbot-with-openai/ What it actually takes to ship a production AI chatbot on the OpenAI API — streaming, RAG, tool calling, cost control, and the guardrails the tutorials skip. Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/nextjs-vs-react-for-startups/ https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/nextjs-vs-react-for-startups/ A no-hype breakdown of Next.js vs plain React for early-stage startups — SEO, speed to market, hiring, and cost — with a clear default and the cases where it flips. Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/how-i-reduced-aws-costs-40-percent/ https://www.elayabharathi.com/blog/how-i-reduced-aws-costs-40-percent/ A practical, field-tested playbook for cutting an AWS bill by 40% — right-sizing, Savings Plans, storage tiering, and killing the idle spend nobody notices. Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT