I’ve long been a proponent of buying local. I like to meet with designers and programmers and feel that it has, up until now, been the best way to get a quality product.

However, I’m changing my mind. I’ve bid out several sites recently and have come to the conclusion that programming is, for the large part, programming. It doesn’t matter if it’s done in the U.S., India, or Romania as long as the functionality is there and the site is robust. I’ve bid out several projects recently and while part of me wants to use local talent, I simply cannot justify spending three to four times more on a U.S. supplier than one working overseas. In some cases the hourly rates in the U.S. are more than 10x higher. As one client said, “you could ask three of these suppliers to do the project, pick the best one and still come out ahead.”

So, where are you building your next site? As for me, I’m brushing up on my foreign language skills.