Cheapest Places to Live, and Ways to do It?

[WanderingSoul]

I've no idea what he's talking about either, what's a 'sideline'? Does he mean what it costs him on a date or something? Give him some tips on 300B dates Rio.

Find the sluttiest looking girl on TF who just got dumped by her farang boyfriend and take her to Coco Walk for 100 baht beers. Then tell her you are taking her to listen to country music at a different bar and when she's not paying attention shove her into a taxi and tell the driver to step on it lol.

Rio have you got a short term serviced apartment or what sort of deal?

I live in a condo right on Sukhumvit Soi 1. It is right next to my gym. My friend who owns the gym also owns the building so I get it for a lot cheaper. It's 25,000 a month if you pay the full price, but that is due to location, not how nice it is. It's a one bedroom condo that was furnished. Have a cleaning lady come up every couple weeks for 250 baht.

If I didn't have to come to Soi 1 to train everyday I would probably live somewhere else. But being less than a 60 second walk to my gym is worth it.

 

[Blunt]

Do they have 3G internet plans there? I have this 3G USB modem which has been great so far in the FSU, pretty much allows you to have solid internet access no matter your accommodation.

 

[Sourcecode]

I cant say officially.
But some EE countries will come out really cheap.
I found a couple decent apartments in budapest for around 3-350 a month. To me thats pretty good considering everything else in the city is rather cheap.

I really have no desire to live in southeast asia right now

 

[Roark]

I think it really depends on where you have a network of friends.

For example, I was just in Thailand all winter and I spent relatively little (6000 baht per month rent divided by two) but now that I'm in Korea I don't find myself spending much more. The main thing is because I had a friend here who wanted to rent out an extra room. In a country with no friends all you will get is what is advertised.

You might consider going home even. I'm going back to Vancouver to see my family this summer and enjoy the great summer weather. I doubt it will cost me much, staying with family and hanging out at friends houses and house parties.

You can also apply that principle to new places that you go to. Try to make a network of local friends as soon as possible, and hit up a language class as soon as possible. Private lessons are best for learning the language, but you can meet a good group of friends who can help you out from attending a class.

 

[Roark]

Nobody mentioned the Philippines. Why not? I haven't been there yet, but I am considering it.

Also, I imagine its possible to do well in Nicaragua for $1000 per month. Also haven't been there, but I've read their crime rate is somewhat low for an undeveloped central American country.

Bali? Trivandrum? Both places I have yet to see, but are cheap and on my bucket list. Would love to hear thoughts from those who've been to these places.

 

[Vacancier Permanent]

Yes it's definitely possible in the Philippines to live for under 1k but to have a really good time and comfortable lifestyle, I'd suggest to make that at least 1500 while 2k would be ideal to really be balling it.

 

[pitt]

I dont know if im the one who is too cheap or some of you guys just spend way too much money. I could live anywhere in Europe for 1500 dollars per month. Even in London, the most expensive city in Europe, i dont spend more than 1000 dollars per month and that includes accomodation, i also eat out nearly everyday.

In Portugal i could easily live on 600 euros per month. Of course it wouldnt be a luxury life but i will have enough to eat as much as i want, pay gym membership, travel to nearby cities, credit for my phone, to go clubbing once or twice a week.

In DR i was spending 1300 dollars per month and in my opinion, i was living BIG. This other guy who was rolling with me in DR got shocked when i told him that i was spending 1300 dollars per month, i guess he was probably spending 500 dollars per month because he is way too cheap.

 

[RichieP]

I dont know if im the one who is too cheap or some of you guys just spend way too much money. I could live anywhere in Europe for 1500 dollars per month. Even in London, the most expensive city in Europe, i dont spend more than 1000 dollars per month and that includes accomodation, i also eat out nearly everyday.

In Portugal i could easily live on 600 euros per month. Of course it wouldnt be a luxury life but i will have enough to eat as much as i want, pay gym membership, travel to nearby cities, credit for my phone, to go clubbing once or twice a week.

In DR i was spending 1300 dollars per month and in my opinion, i was living BIG. This other guy who was rolling with me in DR got shocked when i told him that i was spending 1300 dollars per month, i guess he was probably spending 500 dollars per month because he is way too cheap.

1000 dollars a month? London? and eating out nearly every day? I'd love to hear how that breaks down man. I lived there for two years and neither me nor any of my friends could even come close to a budget like that.

Could you give an rough breakdown of where you live/ how much you paid in rent, and your food + entertainment costs?

I'd love to live in London on that kind of money. Realistically I am struggling to do that in Bangkok though lol.

 

[pitt]

RichieP think about this - Many people in London live off benefits and the ones claiming job seekers allowance earn 50 pounds per week, thats 200 pounds per month which is equivalent to 300 dollars per month. I know many people who live on that budget and still do the regular thing, e.g. goes clubbing once a week, enough money to buy food, to buy credit, money for public transport and other related expenses. I havent lived on that sort of budget for years but when i was 16, i was living on that budget and i was doing just fine.

Right now, my rent costs 800 pounds per month, i share the rent with my brother, i could get a cheaper place but i love my flat. I pay 6 pounds per meal when i eat out and im not going to be breaking down every single expense because i dont really calculate all my expenses but i guarantee you that i dont spend that much money per month and i dont think im that tight with money, i usually do whatever i want to do.

I think you may have a spending problem, try to cut down your expenses and you should be fine.

 

[Belize King]

Plan on a long stay in Mexico for 3-6 months next year. Apartment in the middle class area near the university is between 300-600 and thats ballin. My boy got a spot for 80 bucks with 30 dollar utilities every two months. Street food and beer is cheap as hell. Only expensive expense is the cell phone. 1K in Guadalajara is living the good life. 1500 is ideal. I wonder if its the same in Mexico City.

If I can get the investment property I want, I would move to another country in a heartbeat. The only things holding me back is language and the military.

 

[WanderingSoul]

You can live anywhere in the world on $1,000 per month, it's just a matter of lifestyle. You can live in London, it will just depend on how much you spend on rent, food, and going out. Those are my 3 big expenses.

pitt, if you are paying 400 pounds a month for rent and eating out 1x per day at 6 pounds like you said, you must be spending more than $1,000US a month? That already comes out to $909 US dollars.

Here in BKK I live pretty cheaply when I'm not partying a lot. It's when I go out 3-4 nights a week that my money disappears.

 

[pitt]

You can live anywhere in the world on $1,000 per month, it's just a matter of lifestyle. You can live in London, it will just depend on how much you spend on rent, food, and going out. Those are my 3 big expenses.

pitt, if you are paying 400 pounds a month for rent and eating out 1x per day at 6 pounds like you said, you must be spending more than $1,000US a month? That already comes out to $909 US dollars.

Here in BKK I live pretty cheaply when I'm not partying a lot. It's when I go out 3-4 nights a week that my money disappears.

Yeah i probably spend around 1300 dollars per month when in London, but i truly believe that 1500 dollars per month should be an ok amount to live anywhere in the world.

 

[AlphaTravel]

RichieP think about this - Many people in London live off benefits and the ones claiming job seekers allowance earn 50 pounds per week, thats 200 pounds per month which is equivalent to 300 dollars per month. I know many people who live on that budget and still do the regular thing, e.g. goes clubbing once a week, enough money to buy food, to buy credit, money for public transport and other related expenses. I havent lived on that sort of budget for years but when i was 16, i was living on that budget and i was doing just fine.

There's no one living the good life on job seekers allowance in the UK unless they're scamming the government out of other benefits or got other stuff going on the side, i.e. cash in hand work, selling drugs, making cash online etc. It's a pittance. I've claimed job seekers many years ago and I could barely live off it and I didn't have rent, bills or food to pay as I was living with parents. Anyone who has any of those costs cannot live off 200 quid a month, let alone go out clubbing, eat well or spend money on anything that isn't essential.

People with minimum wage jobs, working 40hrs a week would make about 800 pounds a month and that's barely enough to survive in small cities let alone in London when you have rent, food, bills, transport etc to pay.

Thailand is definitely one of the best destinations for cheap living but it also has lots of expensive activities you can get caught up in, most notably the partying. It's often not that cheap in many bars for drinks and club entry fee and drink prices can be on the high side.

 

[samsamsam]

Without starting a new thread, I was thinking about this in a different way.

I have spent enough of my life working. I need to start thinking about my personal life/family matters. So some perspective from others would be appreciated.

What is the minimum net worth to live in country X forever? It is open ended and obviously with a lot of variables. Maybe you take on some non challenging work to fill in some dead time but basically you are on a stress free journey.

For example, let's say you need to live for the next 50 years.

100K, 250K, 500K, 1M? Where now, where in 2 years?

In this equation would be buying a place (if it can be safely done). That would lock down a potential issue. Without worrying about changing rents/currency exchange rates etc, you could be ok.

This is not a fully baked question, probably better that way so different thoughts can be provided without trying to control it.

Thanks.

 

[Valentine]

Without starting a new thread, I was thinking about this in a different way.

I have spent enough of my life working. I need to start thinking about my personal life/family matters. So some perspective from others would be appreciated.

What is the minimum net worth to live in country X forever? It is open ended and obviously with a lot of variables. Maybe you take on some non challenging work to fill in some dead time but basically you are on a stress free journey.

For example, let's say you need to live for the next 50 years.

100K, 250K, 500K, 1M? Where now, where in 2 years?

In this equation would be buying a place (if it can be safely done). That would lock down a potential issue. Without worrying about changing rents/currency exchange rates etc, you could be ok.

This is not a fully baked question, probably better that way so different thoughts can be provided without trying to control it.

Thanks.

As a bachelor, I could live indefinitely in Indonesia for $1k/month.

Multiply that by the amount of time you want to live. Multiply it by the number of mouths to feed.

$120k for 10 years as a bachelor isn't bad. But by the sounds of it you're planning for multiple decades, for a full family and buying properties which will significantly raise your buy-in.

Buying a place varies wildly there, if you get a penthouse in Jakarta it can cost 6 figures but if you want to live in the middle of nowhere you can get a place and do it up for 4 figures.

All in all for what you're asking you'll need high 6 figures to take care of a full retirement with a family + buying a house.

 

[Glass]

This is something I've been thinking about. I'd like to have an ayahuasca experience, and then do the exact same as you are planning, but in Colombia. Anyone have experiences living on $1200 or less a month in Medellin or know if it can be done? Other cities that intrigue me are Cali & Pereira.

 

[samsamsam]

Glass, I think probably 75% of the world's cities could be done on your budget.

I'd search, there are some threads about those cities, I think.

Check these links also.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/

https://nomadlist.com/

 

[newgame]

This is something I've been thinking about. I'd like to have an ayahuasca experience, and then do the exact same as you are planning, but in Colombia. Anyone have experiences living on $1200 or less a month in Medellin or know if it can be done? Other cities that intrigue me are Cali & Pereira.

$1200 a month is doable in Medellin, depending on how you want to live. If you rent out an unfurnished 1-2 bedroom in a Estrato 3-4 neighborhood, you would be paying about $200-600 a month on your housing and services. That leaves you a minimum of $600 a month for food. Keep in mind it's easy to find a large "menu of the day" lunch for $3. You won't be living like a king, but it's doable.

To really maximize your lifestyle you could buy a nicer place in cash and then have a minimal monthly payment while living in a high end area. If you want to live in Medellin you'll need a visa to stay more than 6 months anyway; one of the easiest ways to get the visa is buying a house.

 

[samsamsam]

newgame, just random curiosity - how much is a nice place in Medellin? Thanks.

 

[newgame]

newgame, just random curiosity - how much is a nice place in Medellin? Thanks.

It all depends on your definition of nice. I'd recommend checking out espaciourbano.com to get an idea of costs. If you have 150k USD to spend you could get a nice, medium-sized, 2-3 bedroom in a good area of Poblado. If you're looking for luxury in the best areas of Poblado you'll spend closer to 200-250k or more.