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Ask HN: Where can I live off 1k USD per month?

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Re: Ask HN: Where can I live off 1k USD per month?

#161

Post by Leftium »

wodenokoto wrote: post #118
Leftium wrote: post #11

I live in Korea. Some months my total expenses are as low as $400 while living comfortably. If I spent $1000 in a month, I spent a lot of money. I'd say my average monthly living expenses are $600-$800. My main expenses are food/entertainment, and I eat out a lot (50% of meals). Housing is probably the biggest living expense. I take advantage of Korea's interesting rental system called Cheonsae: Basically, if you put…

I’m guessing this is outside of Seoul. It’s been a decade since I visited Seoul and while I remember it being surprisingly affordable, I don’t remember it being that affordable in Seoul. I can easily imagine somewhere outside Seoul/Jeju/Busan being surprisingly affordable

Correct: I'm in Gimpo, but it's not far from Seoul. Kind of like the Seoul metro area or a suburb. I can get to Seoul by public transportation (subway/bus) within an hour. And the fare is only $2-3.

And I was a little fast and loose with the KRW-USD conversion. I opted for the simple 1USD == 1000KRW, so the actual numbers are a little higher.

Re: Ask HN: Where can I live off 1k USD per month?

#162

Post by colinmhayes »

alexitosrv wrote: post #33

I suggest Colombia, you can find greatest rentals for less than 300 USD, and cheap cost of life and amazing food as well. Thinking in cities like Bucaramanga, Santa Marta, etc.

Colombia is a beautiful country, but I can't agree that the food is amazing. On par with British cuisine.

Re: Ask HN: Where can I live off 1k USD per month?

#163

Post by zucked »

keiferski wrote: post #17

I recommend the Balkans, in particular the less touristic countries. Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, Bulgaria are all very inexpensive, safe, have reliable internet, and an abundance of cafes and co-working spaces. Most also have favorable visa conditions for Americans (e.g. Albania lets Americans stay up to a year on a tourist visa.) In terms of cities, I recommend Belgrade and Sarajevo the most. Going further east, Tbilis…

I lived in Albania for three years - it's not at the level of the other countries on this list. It's firmly a developing country - water, electricity and other infrastructure are not great in the capital and degrade precipitously in the countryside and second-tier cities.

It's a great place if you're adventurous - if you're looking for stability, it isn't the place for you. Upsides are that Albanians love Americans (as opposed to the Serbs, who often harbor a grudge) and generally speak at least some english. Prices for things like coffee, etc. are low.

Albanians also have not been very good stewards of their environments, either - litter is a constant, nobody gives an "F" about rules and regulations, practically all the endemic animals have disappeared, and waterways, including beaches, are quite polluted. Cities are a hodgepodge of chaotic construction and barely-functioning infrastructure.

I lived roughly here: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3170299,19.8070025,3a,60y,24...

If that kind of scene excites you, perhaps Albania is for you.

Re: Ask HN: Where can I live off 1k USD per month?

#165

Post by echelon »

kaycebasques wrote: post #66

One thing I'll mention for US citizens. Aetna's Mobile Healthcare Plan seems fairly reasonable. I'm paying around $300 a month total for coverage for my partner and me (most comprehensive coverage, highest deductible). Apparently it's still valid in the US so long as you spend the simple majority of your time outside of the US (i.e. 6 months abroad). https://www.aetnainternational.com/en/individuals/health-pla...

Is there something like this for domestic health insurance (ie. no time abroad)?

Is there any risk they would drop you if you or your partner had a major illness or injury?

Re: Ask HN: Where can I live off 1k USD per month?

#167

Post by scottlamb »

UncleOxidant wrote: post #50
Leftium wrote: post #11

I live in Korea. Some months my total expenses are as low as $400 while living comfortably. If I spent $1000 in a month, I spent a lot of money. I'd say my average monthly living expenses are $600-$800. My main expenses are food/entertainment, and I eat out a lot (50% of meals). Housing is probably the biggest living expense. I take advantage of Korea's interesting rental system called Cheonsae: Basically, if you put…

> Basically, if you put down a huge deposit (like $90,000: 50% to 90% of the value of the property), you don't pay any monthly rent and get the entire deposit back when you move out. That's kind of a strange system. Any idea how it evolved there? Basically sounds like the landlord has to invest the money in such a way as to get a return that would be equivalent to rent but also safe enough so that they can return the…

> That's kind of a strange system. Any idea how it evolved there? Basically sounds like the landlord has to invest the money in such a way as to get a return that would be equivalent to rent but also safe enough so that they can return the deposit. I don't think I'd want to be a landlord there.

I was thinking the same, but here's another way of framing it: they're like real estate agents [1] in the US, except that instead of keeping a 2.5%–5% commission at every sale, they keep the capital gains. They may not need to invest deposits at all to make money.

To me renting under this system doesn't seem clearly better than buying. You're paying most of the money to buy the property, but it's not an investment. You can't come out ahead. But at least there's no risk or hassle of doing property maintenance.

[edit: no, I just saw yongjik's comment: "Under the 'jeonse' system, if the landlord becomes bankrupt, the renter is suddenly out of a large portion of their total wealth, and will be evicted by the new owner - without any money to find the next place. (There are insurances to protect renters but the risk is still there.)" I don't think I'd like to rent under this system at all.]

[1] and property managers who handle repairs and such, but that's probably not how they make their money at $50/month.

Re: Ask HN: Where can I live off 1k USD per month?

#168

Post by JCharante »

I would suggest Vietnam but I don't know anybody there with gigabit internet. If you consider best case 100mbps good then here's my pitch

Move to a big city in Vietnam. Pay less than $400 for a 1 bedroom serviced apartment (they clean it ~3 times per week, usually they do your laundry). You can get vegan food pretty easily, it's hot in the summer but you can just stay indoors with AC or go to businesses with AC. Tons of mall and theathers. Movie tickets are $2-$4, double that for soda + popcorn. A cheap meal will be $2, even less if you have a light lunch (think bánh mì) for $1. I'd usually spent $5 per meal or more just to eat foreign food after getting homesick. You can live in a trendier part of town by paying slightly more and be within walking distance of trendy western cafes/restaurants. You can take a motorbike taxi (pretty comfy outside of rush hour) for $5 all the way across town (20km) and a lot less if it's a shorter distance. During rush hour I like to take a car and that'll be $10 for a 9km trip usually.

Plane tickets to other cities will be $40 one-way for vacation/travel purposes. Cheaper hotels $20/night and visiting beautiful beaches is very accessible. Travel to nearby countries (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, China) for around $200 in airfare. It's a great staging ground for the area.

You seem American, so you can get a 1 year tourist visa (just need to get out of the country every 3 months, use it to visit another country for a few days) without any additional documents (no financial documents, etc).

Re: Ask HN: Where can I live off 1k USD per month?

#169

Post by dougmwne »

mdp2021 wrote: post #152
kodzoman wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I second this, I would add Croatia to the list if you stay out of Zagreb and Split and even seaside tourist towns are doable for $300 out of season (October to June). Also Croatia offers a digital nomad visa which means you don't pay most of the taxes there.

Which levels of security will you find in Croatia - including appropriate behaviour of public officers, such as the police? Also - how widespread is the understanding of the English language?

From what I understand it is very safe and fairly low corruption. English is widespread, especially in cities and costal towns with tourism. It is an absolutely gorgeous country, very Italian in character, but minus the chaos and cheaper as well.

Re: Ask HN: Where can I live off 1k USD per month?

#170

Post by nonameiguess »

Lowest average rent by state in the US is West Virginia at $628. That means some parts of West Virginia must be much cheaper than that. $400 for food and utilities seems easily doable, but probably not healthcare, so you're likely going to have to be uninsured and pray you don't get sick or injured for 6 months. I'm guessing you'd sage on moving and travel expenses by staying in the US, but maybe not enough compared to some truly cheap countries. I had a good friend in college from Kazakhstan and her family had a 20 bedroom mansion there appraised at the equivalent of about $40,000 USD.
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