Kevin,
I've hired freelancers for multiple roles all over the world. I established a research center in Nigeria, paying $25/hour. It was a disaster. My South African colleague (originally from Zimbabwe) was overseeing their work. He told me to fire everyone, and rehire at $8/hour. The workers all thought I was a stupid American for overpaying, and they didn't actually have to work. At $8/hour, it was a success.
U.K. has worked well. I encountered mixed results in Pakistan. Hired a couple, a tech type to build and maintain websites, and his wife, a US law school grad, to do legal research. The tech type was fabulous, his wife cheated me. I reluctantly fired both.
India has been a mixed bag. My first CMS website, in Joomla!, was done by an Indian, who was fluent in English, but not Western business. An internet marketer with zero earnings was fabulous doing analysis of my clients' competitors' web presence. I gave up using cheap Indian banner ad folks, hired one from the U.S.
Eastern European tech types have been reliable, quick and inexpensive. Latin Americans have all worked out well, for me and my clients. I ran through US Virtual Assistants at one every six weeks, finally hired a client's US VA when, against my advice, he replaced her with his girlfriend. She was with me for three years and was fabulous. BTW, my client's girlfriend didn't work out (surprise?) and he wanted Pam back. She stayed with me until I stopped freelancing for two years.
The few Australians I've hired have done well. The Turk I hired to create another business website took my money and disappeared for a year. He had a psychotic break; I haven't had occasion to hire anyone else from Turkey. A Canadian was my default book editor, he had a psychotic break the same week as theTurk. He's better now, so I use him as a paid beta reader.
My needs in management consulting are all over the board. PhD Chemist, expert in bush piloting, rubber tree plantation expert, seaport designer, expert in US credit unions, PPT to online learning converter, photo specialist, the list is almost endless. In my author persona, I use a US editor of Indian heritage, a US cover designer who is a Native American, a US banner designer born in Cambodia, paid beta readers from the U.S., U.K. and France.
Country makes no difference. When I post a job I look at profiles; a 4.6 rating is superior to a 5.0, because 4.6 requires thought. Failures are irrelevant unless there's a pattern. As with almost all job posters, my posts rarely have 100% of the information needed to establish a firm price and a solid SOW. I encourage applicants to ask questions, and favor those who do. Fluency in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian or Portuguese is largely equal, except for editing or beta-reading. My best beta read came from a French woman. My default book cover designer, US, fired me as a client after I asked that the cover include a shirtless man. "I don't do pornography."
