Post: #1

Hey guys.

Although I'm 99.9% certain this has been covered before in another thread(s), I wasn't able to find it in my search.

Basically, I'm interested in knowing which countries allow one to live comfortably on 1,500 USD per month. Expenses should include long-term (6+ months) lodging, NOT 1 week trips, or other "tourist" prices. I have an online business (selling on eBay and Amazon) that allows me location independence via using Amazon to fulfill my orders. To re-stock, I merely need to order my inventory and have a family member ship the items to an Amazon warehouse.

Anyways, if this has been covered before, please feel free to just drop the appropriate link(s) and I'll check them out. On the off chance it hasn't been discussed, well, lets talk about it!

Post: #2

I would say lots of places in Asia. The north of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, it all depends on how much you'd like to party though. You can have a nice life in Bangkok even, but you will be tempted to spend a lot more then 1500 a month.

Post: #3

nomadlist.com
numbeo.com

Post: #4

(12-05-2015 08:02 AM)Jungle Wrote:  nomadlist.com
numbeo.com

Thanks for the links, but I'm looking for a more "boots on the ground" perspective. Sites like the above tend to be giving advice from the perspective of a math nerd who's focused on crunching numbers, rather than real life experiences. I'm certain there are dozens of members here who are far better qualified to answer this question than some math wiz from Wisconsin. (No offense intended towards any math geniuses on the forum!)

Post: #5

I came across this article a while back, http://nomadphilippines.com/best-place-t...-a-nomad/. The apartment they mention is around 400 a month. And that might be a bit expensive for Chiang Mai. Just an example of what you can get, but there is so much around. If I would have 1500-2000 incoming in online business, I would have left The Netherlands a while back.

Post: #6

Best is all relative, once we know your needs then we can better answer your question.

Post: #7

In most of southeast Asia and eastern Europe you could be quite comfortable with that.

Post: #8

Vietnam - still likely the cheapest country I've had the pleasure of travelling. Could live here.
Cambodia - Although infrastructure can be an issue
Mexico in 2nd tier cities
Guatemala
Nicaragua
Panama - If you cook your meals and don't drink much
Colombia - outside Bogota depending on COP value
Peru - if you don't drink much
Bolivia
Argentina if you don't eat out or drink much, use the blue dollar, and are a good negotiator

Post: #9

Serbia and Bosnia.

Post: #10

(12-05-2015 10:44 AM)bootyhuntah Wrote:  Vietnam - still likely the cheapest country I've had the pleasure of travelling. Could live here.
Cambodia - Although infrastructure can be an issue

You found Vietnam cheaper than Cambodia?
I always thought it was the other way around, but I haven't been to Viet.

Post: #11

(12-05-2015 09:36 AM)Afarang Wrote:  Best is all relative, once we know your needs then we can better answer your question.

Yes, very true. To be honest, I expected someone to post a link or two to threads that had a hundred plus posts in it already, so I didn't want to waste anyone's time typing up a bunch of stuff only to ignore this thread in favor of the one I was linked to.

My needs/preferences:

I'm pretty easy to please. I'm 25, self-employed, I don't make much money, but my expenses are minimal. My current expenses are as follows:

$550 month rent. Includes utilities.
~$300 month food costs. I cook mostly.
~150 month car care/insurance/gas
~150 month entertainment
~150 month misc

Things most important to me in a new host country are:

-Warm climate.
-High speed, reliable internet access (can't run a business online without it)
-Able to reside legally with minimum hassle/expense/paperwork
-Attractive, feminine women (pretty much goes without saying around here)
-Commerce: Able to shop, acquire food, clothing, etc with relative ease.
-Women aren't flakes. I don't mind putting in SOME effort, i.e. I don't need constant one night stands, but I don't like said effort to go unrewarded. So places like Columbia will be off the list of potentials.
-Women aren't iPhone/Android phone zombies.
-Relatively safe. Note that I'm not looking for a place where there's 0 danger ever---if I wanted that, I'd go live out in the countryside. However, I would like to live in a place where I won't be targeted due to my race or foreigner status (I'm a white American)

Things that would be nice to have, but not mandatory:
-Access to online shopping like Amazon.com
-Easy lays (ONS, etc)
-Able to use plastic at many places

I've never been abroad, so if some of my preferences are unreasonable/silly, feel free to educate me.

Post: #12

relevant /thread-18230.html

I appreciate that you searched, some folks don't do that. I have looked a bit myself and they are scattered pieces floating around on rvf. But there isn't a master thread.

Also, once you find an area of interest then it will probably be easier to do country specific budget searches.

Post: #13

(12-05-2015 03:23 PM)... Wrote:  Serbia and Bosnia.

Can you elaborate on this? Have you spent time there? I am very interested in the former Yugoslavia and I rarely see stuff on here about it. If you want to PM that would be fine, unless others are interested.

Post: #14

(12-05-2015 07:19 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  relevant /thread-18230.html

I appreciate that you searched, some folks don't do that. I have looked a bit myself and they are scattered pieces floating around on rvf. But there isn't a master thread.

Also, once you find an area of interest then it will probably be easier to do country specific budget searches.

Much appreciated Sam.

This is definitely helpful.

Also forgot to add: I don't speak any language other than English. I know, I know, self-improvement and all that....but I don't think the value of laying girls for the amount of effort required to learn a new language, and I could never see myself in a LTR with someone who isn't at least conversational in English.

So a population with at least passable conversational English is also needed.

Thank you all for your advice an input. It's much appreciated!

Post: #15

(12-05-2015 08:45 PM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 07:19 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  relevant /thread-18230.html

I appreciate that you searched, some folks don't do that. I have looked a bit myself and they are scattered pieces floating around on rvf. But there isn't a master thread.

Also, once you find an area of interest then it will probably be easier to do country specific budget searches.

Much appreciated Sam.

This is definitely helpful.

Also forgot to add: I don't speak any language other than English. I know, I know, self-improvement and all that....but I don't think the value of laying girls for the amount of effort required to learn a new language, and I could never see myself in a LTR with someone who isn't at least conversational in English.

So a population with at least passable conversational English is also needed.

Thank you all for your advice an input. It's much appreciated!

Afraid of "the amount of effort required to learn a new language"??

Like, learning (easy-language, you'd pick it up in 3 months) Spanish would be too much effort for you?

I'm guessing you're under 30 years old...

Some Latin language for you, then...


Anyway, it is a bad omen, my friend. You plan on going through life without ever putting in that kind of moderate effort?

Post: #16

(12-05-2015 10:20 PM)Going strong Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 08:45 PM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 07:19 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  relevant /thread-18230.html

I appreciate that you searched, some folks don't do that. I have looked a bit myself and they are scattered pieces floating around on rvf. But there isn't a master thread.

Also, once you find an area of interest then it will probably be easier to do country specific budget searches.

Much appreciated Sam.

This is definitely helpful.

Also forgot to add: I don't speak any language other than English. I know, I know, self-improvement and all that....but I don't think the value of laying girls for the amount of effort required to learn a new language, and I could never see myself in a LTR with someone who isn't at least conversational in English.

So a population with at least passable conversational English is also needed.

Thank you all for your advice an input. It's much appreciated!

Afraid of "the amount of effort required to learn a new language"??

Like, learning (easy-language, you'd pick it up in 3 months) Spanish would be too much effort for you?

I'm guessing you're under 30 years old...

Some Latin language for you, then...


Anyway, it is a bad omen, my friend. You plan on going through life without ever putting in that kind of moderate effort?

I already stated I'm 25, and I have been self-employed since I was 19.

How do you take me being lazy or unwilling to "put in....moderate effort"?

I simply said it's not worth learning a language to get my dick wet. I'm willing to travel, to have an open schedule (being self-employed) to live abroad....but I do not like the task of learning another language. If you think that's just a deal breaker, well, I'll let you get back to conversing with all your multi-lingual friends in Spanish, Russian, Portragese and Pig Latin then.

Post: #17

Colombia?

Post: #18

(12-05-2015 10:43 PM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 10:20 PM)Going strong Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 08:45 PM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 07:19 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  relevant /thread-18230.html

I appreciate that you searched, some folks don't do that. I have looked a bit myself and they are scattered pieces floating around on rvf. But there isn't a master thread.

Also, once you find an area of interest then it will probably be easier to do country specific budget searches.

Much appreciated Sam.

This is definitely helpful.

Also forgot to add: I don't speak any language other than English. I know, I know, self-improvement and all that....but I don't think the value of laying girls for the amount of effort required to learn a new language, and I could never see myself in a LTR with someone who isn't at least conversational in English.

So a population with at least passable conversational English is also needed.

Thank you all for your advice an input. It's much appreciated!

Afraid of "the amount of effort required to learn a new language"??

Like, learning (easy-language, you'd pick it up in 3 months) Spanish would be too much effort for you?

I'm guessing you're under 30 years old...

Some Latin language for you, then...


Anyway, it is a bad omen, my friend. You plan on going through life without ever putting in that kind of moderate effort?

I already stated I'm 25, and I have been self-employed since I was 19.

How do you take me being lazy or unwilling to "put in....moderate effort"?

I simply said it's not worth learning a language to get my dick wet. I'm willing to travel, to have an open schedule (being self-employed) to live abroad....but I do not like the task of learning another language. If you think that's just a deal breaker, well, I'll let you get back to conversing with all your multi-lingual friends in Spanish, Russian, Portragese and Pig Latin then.

So, if you have been working hard all of your adult life (congratulations on that, man), why are you seemingly afraid at the thought of learning some easy language, like Spanish that everybody learns in 3 months, or 4?

I'm saying just so you lose fear at learning a foreign language like Spanish. It's no big deal man. Go to the Managua thread here. There, RVFers explain how all American men should dedicate a couple of months of their life to go game chicks in Central America, and learn Spanish in the process, all that for a few hundreds.

Anyway, if you think the non-expensive paradise you are looking for exist in any English-speaking country... good luck to you! Only the Philippines, and outside of Manila because of the cost of accommodation in Manila...

One other thing, the Latin quote above is everything but Pig Latin. It's Cicero's purest Latin.

Post: #19

(12-05-2015 10:52 PM)Going strong Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 10:43 PM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 10:20 PM)Going strong Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 08:45 PM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 07:19 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  relevant /thread-18230.html

I appreciate that you searched, some folks don't do that. I have looked a bit myself and they are scattered pieces floating around on rvf. But there isn't a master thread.

Also, once you find an area of interest then it will probably be easier to do country specific budget searches.

Much appreciated Sam.

This is definitely helpful.

Also forgot to add: I don't speak any language other than English. I know, I know, self-improvement and all that....but I don't think the value of laying girls for the amount of effort required to learn a new language, and I could never see myself in a LTR with someone who isn't at least conversational in English.

So a population with at least passable conversational English is also needed.

Thank you all for your advice an input. It's much appreciated!

Afraid of "the amount of effort required to learn a new language"??

Like, learning (easy-language, you'd pick it up in 3 months) Spanish would be too much effort for you?

I'm guessing you're under 30 years old...

Some Latin language for you, then...


Anyway, it is a bad omen, my friend. You plan on going through life without ever putting in that kind of moderate effort?

I already stated I'm 25, and I have been self-employed since I was 19.

How do you take me being lazy or unwilling to "put in....moderate effort"?

I simply said it's not worth learning a language to get my dick wet. I'm willing to travel, to have an open schedule (being self-employed) to live abroad....but I do not like the task of learning another language. If you think that's just a deal breaker, well, I'll let you get back to conversing with all your multi-lingual friends in Spanish, Russian, Portragese and Pig Latin then.

So, if you have been working hard all of your adult life (congratulations on that, man), why are you seemingly afraid at the thought of learning some easy language, like Spanish that everybody learns in 3 months, or 4?

I'm saying just so you lose fear at learning a foreign language like Spanish. It's no big deal man. Go to the Managua thread here. There, RVFers explain how all American men should dedicate a couple of months of their life to go game chicks in Central America, and learn Spanish in the process, all that for a few hundreds.

Sorry I seem to be giving you the wrong impression.

I have NEVER worked "hard" in my adult life. I've worked SMART my entire adult life.

A good metaphor is the parable of the Mexican Fisherman. If you haven't read it, I HIGHLY recommend it. I'll include it at the end of this post.

I took Spanish in high school, and I didn't care for it. I'm not good at learning languages. Also not good at math. For me, PERSONALLY, it isn't worth the effort to get laid. I can get laid without learning it, and I'm happy with that. I'm a fairly deep/intellectual person, so the thought of having an LTR with a girl who doesn't speak English doesn't appeal to me AT ALL. Having to try and discuss philosophy in Spanish is simply not appealing. Therefore, I would only be learning it to get laid....which I don't believe is worth it. I understand that much of the forum values learning languages, and I don't knock it....but for me, it's not my thing. Just like some guys are happy trying to find girls in America, Canada, England, or Australia instead of going abroad----everybody has a different way of getting what they want. Let's just agree to disagree. That said, I will check out that thread you mentioned. Link?

Now, back to topic...

Do you have any ideas that meet the above criteria? Is there something in my list that's unreasonable? I've never traveled abroad, so I defienetely understand I may be looking for a pipe dream. I'm here to be educated, not to act like a know it all.

Here's the parable I mentioned:

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. "Not very long," answered the Mexican.
"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs ... I have a full life."
The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.
"And after that?" asked the Mexican. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."
"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.
"Twenty, perhaps 25 years," replied the American.
"And after that?" the Mexican asked.
"Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?"
"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."

Post: #20

For what its worth, I was renting a nice 90m2 apartment for $300 in Shenyang, China from 2009 to Feb of this year. The girls there *were* insanely into foreigners from 2009 to 2013 (I mean much easier than even the Philippines) but starting 2014 they started being more picky. Could still pull from there maybe and could make good money teaching English privately. Go on some dating sites of whatever country to gauge interest.

I'm in the Philippines now and surprisingly it is more expensive than China for a western lifestyle. I have been paying 150 to 250 just for electricity at my house where in China it was like 10$/month. O.o

Post: #21

(12-05-2015 06:54 PM)azulsombra Wrote:  

(12-05-2015 10:44 AM)bootyhuntah Wrote:  Vietnam - still likely the cheapest country I've had the pleasure of travelling. Could live here.
Cambodia - Although infrastructure can be an issue

You found Vietnam cheaper than Cambodia?
I always thought it was the other way around, but I haven't been to Viet.

I'd say it's pretty close between Cambodia and Vietnam, but the value is far higher (in VN) considering the much higher food, beer, coffee, infrastructure, and lodging quality. Women are maybe a wash, but I probably prefer slightly VN girls too. I could live on $30 a day there no problem. Also it is home to possibly the cheapest pint of beer I've ever had, around $0.16 each from a bia hoi, though this was 3 years ago now. That place was in Nha Trang. What a pleasant surprise of a country in aggregate.

Post: #22

(12-05-2015 11:01 PM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  I took Spanish in high school, and I didn't care for it. I'm not good at learning languages. Also not good at math. For me, PERSONALLY, it isn't worth the effort to get laid. I can get laid without learning it, and I'm happy with that. I'm a fairly deep/intellectual person, so the thought of having an LTR with a girl who doesn't speak English doesn't appeal to me AT ALL. Having to try and discuss philosophy in Spanish is simply not appealing. Therefore, I would only be learning it to get laid....which I don't believe is worth it. I understand that much of the forum values learning languages, and I don't knock it....but for me, it's not my thing. Just like some guys are happy trying to find girls in America, Canada, England, or Australia instead of going abroad----everybody has a different way of getting what they want. Let's just agree to disagree. That said, I will check out that thread you mentioned. Link?

Now, back to topic...

Do you have any ideas that meet the above criteria? Is there something in my list that's unreasonable? I've never traveled abroad, so I defienetely understand I may be looking for a pipe dream. I'm here to be educated, not to act like a know it all.

OP, you are confusing me a bit.

A few key points.

1) You have said you have never traveled abroad.
2) You say you never needed another language to get laid, you only needed English. But that is a "no duh" because you have not traveled.
3) People abroad will appreciate it if you knew some of their language, a little vibe I am getting is the arrogant American, I apologize if that is wrong vibe I am picking up, but it seems like it a little.

Sounds like you do well financially, I think you need to make some trips to scout.

Everyone's preferences are different. No matter what you are told on this thread, you may not like what they like. And even a brief scouting trip can be misleading, you go for a few days get lucky and have a great time. You go back longer and you cannot recreate the magic.

Any chance you can share a bit about your business? Help out some bros?

Thanks.

Post: #23

Thailand is an obvious choice. That's where I'm at now - Bangkok specifically.

I have found a 1BR rental for $250/month. It's a brand new condo with gym and pool. Doubt you can find better value anywhere in the world for accommodation. Dishes at the local supermarket food hall are around $1.50.

My condo deal was through some on-the-ground connections though. For this quality you should probably expect to pay more than this in general.

And on that note I'm off to the gym...

(12-05-2015 11:01 PM)randomguy Wrote:  The girls there *were* insanely into foreigners from 2009 to 2013 (I mean much easier than even the Philippines) but starting 2014 they started being more picky.

Story of the whole continent.

Post: #24

(12-06-2015 01:49 AM)samsamsam Wrote:  OP, you are confusing me a bit.

A few key points.

1) You have said you have never traveled abroad.
2) You say you never needed another language to get laid, you only needed English. But that is a "no duh" because you have not traveled.
3) People abroad will appreciate it if you knew some of their language, a little vibe I am getting is the arrogant American, I apologize if that is wrong vibe I am picking up, but it seems like it a little.

Sounds like you do well financially, I think you need to make some trips to scout.

Everyone's preferences are different. No matter what you are told on this thread, you may not like what they like. And even a brief scouting trip can be misleading, you go for a few days get lucky and have a great time. You go back longer and you cannot recreate the magic.

Any chance you can share a bit about your business? Help out some bros?

Thanks.

To be fair, I'm making some assumptions based on the testimony of others.

It's been said in various places around here, RoK, etc that what you get at home is about what you'll get abroad, give or take (looks wise). I assume that will hold true for me. I'm no uber-player, but I do ok. Unless what I've read is a load of horse crap, I'd be willing to stake that I can do well if at least a portion native population is conversational in English.

I get the feeling you/the forum is trying to root out a troll. You won't find one here. Part of the reason I haven't really posted for the past 18 months is because I know of this forums distrust of new members. I was a lurker for about 2 years prior to the creation of this account, and the only reason I registered is so I could use the search feature.

But I digress....

I really don't understand why you (that's you as in the forum in general, not YOU) have such an obsession with learning a new language.....I get that America is NOT the center of the world, and I get understanding the culture you are trying to acclimate to, but I don't get why EVERYONE on the forum NEEDS to subscribe to the world-view that learning other languages is NECESSARY to be apart of the forum culture. Apologies if I'm incorrect in the assumption, but this is strongly the impression I get.


As for posting a "how to" thread, I think you strongly overestimate my financial acumen. 1,500 a month is nothing...and this is divided year round. Note that I don't actually make 1,500 every month, but my total income yearly is roughly 1,500 per month. About 40% is November-December sales alone. Aside from that, I did try to post a thread a couple months ago about the best Travel Credit and Debit cards. I was largely dismissed.

Post: #25

Think of the language barrier as a barrier to entry for your competition (other English-only-speaking guys).

That language barrier also slows the girls from becoming Westernized. Because we all know Western girls are the cream of the crop