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he doesn't spend too much on beer, he follows around all the happy hours so rarely spends more than 25-40 cents on beer. but yeah he could easily make a few adjustments and live just as well on $1000/month. Sihanoukville is a pretty cheap place.
Agreed - I think 1000/month is totally doable to live decently. As a matter of fact, the more integrated you become with the society the more that 1000/month will stretch.
Asia is definitely cheaper, safer and has better food. I specifically would choose either Thailand or Philippines. I'm currently working in Peru and it is cheaper than USA but more than Thailand.
If you can control yourself a lil bit $1400 is not that bad for a foreigner to live in Thailand but if you go to live in neighbor countries of Thailand- Burma/Laos/Cambodia there you have enough with $800 per month but a lot less fun.
If you can control yourself a lil bit $1400 is not that bad for a foreigner to live in Thailand but if you go to live in neighbor countries of Thailand- Burma/Laos/Cambodia there you have enough with $800 per month but a lot less fun.
meh, living in cambodia can be just as fun as thailand IMO. ive never lived there full time but have done a couple three month stints in the past in phnom penh (summer 2007 and winter 2008-2009). had a great time, although admittedly the lack of infrastructure was a bit of an annoyance and around 3 months is all i can handle before wantin to get back to civilization. was also spending a lot more than $800/mo, i think i avged around $1800-2000/mo. could have spent a lot less, but i like going out every night. prices have gone up a lot in PP in the past few years, so same lifestyle would be $2500/mo+ nowadays. :-/ but at least infrastructure is better now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tall Traveler
Asia is definitely cheaper, safer and has better food. I specifically would choose either Thailand or Philippines. I'm currently working in Peru and it is cheaper than USA but more than Thailand.
food in PI is better than latin america? have to disagree with you there.
food in PI is better than latin america? have to disagree with you there.
I had some good food in Manila. I'm working in a city of about a million in Peru and I struggle to find restaurants I like here. When I said the food is better in Asia, I was really talking about Thailand and Malaysia.
Hypothetical: if you managed to have what is a relative small (for Western standards) income of $1000 per month for a year, would you use it to travel through Latin America (South America, especially) or Asia (Southeast and South Asia - East Asia is more prohibitive)? In which one would you better be able to maintain a better COL for cheaper? Which one would it be easier to rent a place for a month or two? Which one would you prefer if you were completing an online program, and needed access to the internet on a frequent basis while traveling?
How much are your taxes? Will you maintain an apartment in the U.S. while you travel? How much debt do you have? When you consider these things it is nearly impossible to travel on so little.
I did when I did. $1,000 a month is plenty, but you would need to avoid a few high-cost areas like Taiwan, Korea, Japan. My wife and I together had no trouble on that income. It is cheaper, per month, to travel in the third world (hotels and restaurants and public transport) than to live anywhere in the USA.
The food is not at all crappy, it is what he local people eat, and in an American ethnic restaurant, the same thing would cost ten times as much.
Find a hobby that does not consist mainly of drinking or loud music, and you can have plenty of fun with very little expense.
I live in Bangkok on $700 a month. My 20 square meter apartment costs $160 (+ electricity markup) which is very easy to find, If you're willing to forgo the kitchen. Most of my meals are cooked at home using a slow cooker, blender, or microwave. I don't know how to cook, so I prepare very basic but healthy meals.
Here's my full list of expenses:
Rent $160 + $20
Food $200
Visa related $90
Internet $25
Electric (actual) $15
Water $3
Haircut $3
Public Transportation $20
Weekly business networking $30
USA Mailbox $20
Misc. $100
Subtotal $686
I go out two days a week, and spend the other five days working or on low-cost/free entertainment. $1,000 a month is easily doable in Bangkok, I would estimate 80% of the population lives on that amount or less. Add $100 a month for heavy air conditioner usage, another $100 a month for a kitchen, and $100-$300 per month if you consider yourself a more active, out and about type of person.
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