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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?

#431

Post by randycupertino »

bobthechef wrote: post #355
bingohbangoh wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It should be said that you will need to make some effort to learn the local language. People will know enough English for you to get by, but it will feel very isolating. Learning just a little bit of Polish will make a world of difference, especially if you need to talk with a plumber or doctor (they're very unlikely to know much English).

Doctors?

Generally most people over ~35-40yo won't speak English as it wasn't added to school curriculum until after the fall of the Soviet block.

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

#432

Post by xkqd »

bobthechef wrote: post #359
soared wrote: post #334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Visit Poland before making a decision. As an American their social culture can come off as very cold and rude.

That's because Europeans come across as cold and rude because Americans have a perpetual smile plastered on their faces. This causes Americans to come off as mentally deficient to Europeans.

Thanks for the chuckle!

Yep. European’s view the perpetual grin dimly, and doubly so in Poland where direct communication is how things are done. It’s honestly nice because in general people there mean business and don’t care to save face. don’t think you’ll be catching west coast vibes from anyone!

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

#433

Post by xkqd »

soared wrote: post #334
burntoutfire wrote: post #19

Poland is doable if you stay out of major cities. You can rent a studio for $300 (incl. all utilities). Food, if you cook, will cost you $200-$250 ($300-$400 if you don't cook and want to eat out only). Wired Internet and cell phone will be around $20. State-provided health insurance is about $120 per month (this is "socialized medicine", so it provides everything with no deducible, up to treating cancer etc.), but c…

Visit Poland before making a decision. As an American their social culture can come off as very cold and rude.

As far as working culture goes, it’s refreshing because there’s little tolerance for indirection and common corporate “colloquialisms”.

Certainly no song and dance to the way they do business.

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

#434

Post by phonon »

collaborative wrote: post #403
phonon wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For $1000 per month? Links please?

Yes, replied below. Just go on loveholidays and filter results.. I usually decide the country on the best deals to get more value. You can do the same in winter if you fancy skiing in Bulgaria

I don't see a price filter/sort in the results there. Can you show some examples?

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

#435

Post by xkqd »

burntoutfire wrote: post #101
vorpalhex wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is car ownership pretty affordable overall? (Insurance, fees, etc)

Yes, very affordable. Yearly mandatory insurance, without any discounts for crash-free driving (as I doubt they'd honor insurance histories from foreign countries), is perhaps about $300. Mandatory yearly checkups are $30. Cars themselves are a bit pricier than in US - mostly due to VAT being higher than US's sales tax I guess. But, maintenance is way cheaper - there's plenty of cheap and skilled mechanics who will i…

> if one is particularly stingy about fuel costs, it's popular to own cars fueled by LPG.

I’ll add that it’s been popular for the last decade, up to 15 years. So don’t think it’s going anywhere, anytime soon!

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

#436

Post by mywittyname »

jfrunyon wrote: post #189
Leftium wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe the system started when there were double digit interest rates (in the 80's?). Now interest rates are much lower, but Koreans got used to paying $0 rent and anything above that feels like they are being ripped off. One reason landlords like the system is because they can daisy-chain the purchase of multiple properties. They take the first cheonsae deposit and use it to purchase another property, then use th…

> they can daisy-chain the purchase of multiple properties. They take the first cheonsae deposit and use it to purchase another property And then they have to return the deposit eventually... how is this different from a Ponzi scheme? :P

With a ponzi scheme, there is no underlying investment. So the pool of capital never grows.

This Korean system should work in theory. People generally don't move very frequently. As long as there's a liquid market for investments in stocks & bonds, and the housing appreciates in value over the long term, it's not a bad system.

Seems pretty favorable to the landlords too. They get $90k up front for a $100k house. Which they could invest for an 8% or so return, which, in the first year is ~$550/mo in rent, compounded each year, minus maintenance. Yield wise, $7k on a $10k investment ($100k house - $90k from renter) is fucking amazing.

The fact that is has been around for so long suggests that it works in practice too. Yeah, maybe a black swan event causes a liquidity crunch. But so long as the government steps in to provide liqudity (low interest mortgages would work), then it shouldn't hurt too bad. Worst case, foreign investors step in to buy up the real estate.

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

#437

Post by X6S1x6Okd1st »

FabHK wrote: post #157
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…

Just for the record, I don't think that South Korea is particularly cheap. As OP demonstrates, one can live there for USD 1000/month, but that really holds for most countries. While the US is in the top 5% in terms of nominal GDP per capita, South Korea is in the top 15%. For cheap, yet comfortable and safe, I'd aim around the median, eg Indonesia or Georgia. ETA: Nomadlist suggests €1,925/mo for Seoul, €1,530/mo for…

Seoul & Jeju are probably the most expensive you could find.

If you want a big city you can still do Busan, daegu, ulsan etc

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

#438

Post by mywittyname »

rwmj wrote: post #176
Leftium wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe the system started when there were double digit interest rates (in the 80's?). Now interest rates are much lower, but Koreans got used to paying $0 rent and anything above that feels like they are being ripped off. One reason landlords like the system is because they can daisy-chain the purchase of multiple properties. They take the first cheonsae deposit and use it to purchase another property, then use th…

But why couldn't the renter use the deposit to buy a house instead?

Someone mentioned this elsewhere, but they can't. Housing in scarce and distributed via a lottery system.

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

#439

Post by kyawzazaw »

danenania wrote: post #380
wsc981 wrote: post #47

With my girlfriend and daughter I live in Thailand (Thai countryside) and we have a budget of about 50.000 THB per month, or about 1.300 USD. We own our house, so we don't pay rent and we don't have any loans. This budget doesn't include costs for health insurance, which I pay separately. I think a single guy could live on quite a bit less, but has to pay some rent. For about 250-300 USD per month you can get a decen…

Can I ask how old your daughter is? Doing the nomad thing in cheaper, less developed countries seems a lot tougher to manage with kids, and even more so in the countryside. Gotta think about schools, pediatricians, dentists, finding play-mates for them, kid-friendly things to do, and so on. I'd be curious to hear about how you balance all that.

Thailand is pretty developed though?

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

#440

Post by perfectstorm »

jt2190 wrote: post #232
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...

In the U.S. it’s not enough to have health insurance: You also need to make sure that the healthcare providers you care about accept it. Furthermore, there’s a wrinkle to watch out for where “renewing” a policy is actually “buying a new policy”. A new diagnosis under the current policy then becomes a disqualifying “pre-existing condition” when trying to get the new policy.

I thought pre-existing condition was outlawed by Obamacare.
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