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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?

#501

Post by LurkingPenguin »

mysecretaccount wrote: post #95
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...

Wow, that is extremely reasonable. I'm looking to FIRE in the next year and live >6 months abroad, and as a single person, any amount of coverage for <$300/month is a godsend and will not eat into my retirement significantly.

The problem you might run into is that if you're not spending at least 330 days out of every 365-day period abroad or, alternatively, don't establish bona fide residence in a foreign country, if you're an American citizen or permanent resident you will still be required to have health insurance that qualifies as minimum essential coverage under the ACA, or pay a penalty.

These expat health insurance plans are designed for expats living abroad, not US residents who spend time (even a significant amount) outside of the US each year.

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

#502

Post by jbirer »

I have lived in many countries thanks to my freelance career. I will give you a comparison of cities to choose from.

Istanbul, Turkey:

This will be your cheapest Europe option. People live on literal 300$ here. The food is amazing and cheap, the people treat tourists like kings (be careful for getting overpriced or scammed though), plenty of sights and nightlife, and you are surrounded by water (makes for a nice view while you are riding around)

The cons are that there is high political repression (you can't speak about the govt) and the internet is censored and slow, you need VPN for anything sexual or political.

Bucharest, Romania:

Where I currently live. I live in a 300$/mo studio and my food utilities etc all comes down to 600$ per month max. I have 400$ left for hookers, adding to my travel budget, or medical stuff etc. It's a very liberal country and the people are very chill, lots of natural sights to see and awesome nightlife. The cons are that it's ugly (commie blocs everywhere) and can get dangerous in certain areas at night.

Warsaw, Poland:

I did not really enjoy this city, the people are cold and nationalistic, it was cold all the time and the public transport has very few English translations, but its cheap and has good nightlife.

Berlin, Germany:

Very difficult to survive with 1k a month here especially if you are not single. Has awesome nightlife and food though, people from almost every country in the world and its very diverse and free.

Manila, Philippines:

This was probably the most fun city I visited, great nightlife and beaches, you get your bang for buck for apartments and condos, and also the people are very friendly and helpful to tourists. English speaking rate is very high and it helps being more comfortable there. The crime rate is very high though so if safety is a consideration I would avoid (I have an adventurer personality, you may not, it's fine)

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

#503

Post by tbronchain »

Plenty of places you can do with $1k/month really. Of course YMMV but if you just want to focus on your game, I would definitely recommend checking out nomadlist.com and see what inspires you.

If you can accept some underdeveloped [some parts may actually positively surprise you] countries, take a look at Georgia, it can be really affordable and give a fairly good quality of life.

"Eastern Europe" (i.e Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bulgaria) can be a little more expensive but plenty to do with $1k. Also, it is actually a lot more developed than you may think. Oh and it's really safe!

As a rule of thumbs if you keep your expenses low, if you can find a place on Airbnb for $500/month, you could easily go with the other $500 for monthly expenses. Even maybe save some money or have some fun!

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

#504

Post by volkie »

Turkey would be the best option because of the current exchange rates and inflation. I used to live in Izmir (most beautiful and "liberal" city in Turkey) before I move to UK. Here is a broad overview of our monthly cost for my family of three. If you are single, you can slash in half most of these.

- Rent: $430 A secure and modern 3 bedroom flat in Karsiyaka (the most popular neighbourhood)

- Utilities: $50 (electricity, gas, water etc.)

- Internet: $13 for 100Mbps

- Food: For $500 per month, you can eat like kings in Turkey.

- Transport: It costs $0.5 to get to the airport by train from Karsiyaka.

- Eating out: For $50, you can have a great dinner for two.

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

#506

Post by MrRiddle »

asadlionpk wrote: post #418
MrRiddle wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would anyone in their right mind go to Pakistan? Straight up dangerous for women, most places are dangerous for men as well. Sure they have nice mountains, but you have those in much safer places as well. When someone recommends Pakistan I feel like they’re saying: “Sure, Hell is a bit hot but it has great view”.

Stop watching CNN too much :) Pakistan is perfectly safe option and is a fast-growing economy with a significant IT industry.

I have coworkers from Pakistan, only women who doesn’t wear a headscarf is very rich and lives in gated community. She told me she definitely can’t go outside that gated community or she would be assaulted. YouTube videos display mostly men in the streets. If I can’t go somewhere with my wife the way she is, guess what, I won’t be going there, nor western women should neither.

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

#507

Post by boruto »

tpm wrote: post #275
Lionga wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not true for Romania, where Cluj is more expensive than Bucharest. Also not true in Germany where Munich is more expensive than Berlin. Probably not true in most countries.

I don't count Germany into Eastern Europe; there are historical reasons why Berlin is cheaper than some western German cities. Certainly what I wrote is true for Czechia (Brno cheaper than Prague), Slovakia (Kosice cheaper than Bratislava), quite sure also for Hungary, probably Serbia, Bulgaria and Ukraine too.

Cheap? May be. But the care is terrible too. Me and my wife pay upwards of 1500 EUR per month. We are healthy young people. My recent experience with public health care in Germany shows how terrible it is.

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

#508

Post by 41209 »

muzani wrote: post #456
michaelmrose wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was sure you were wrong. You are absolutely correct. https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Malaysia/U...

The thing I mentioned about statistics applies. Crimes are underreported in Malaysia. I get the impression they're overreported in the US. Sometimes it's fairly innocent e.g. a lot of people feel the police are the last resort. People are known to "settle" accidents. Even burglaries; you can have a gentleman's agreement that the robbers will inform all their friends that this house has been robbed and there's nothing…

Being in a major American city, I'd argue crime it's under reported here too.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/after-san-francisco-sho...

Of course this is going to depend on the city, but for example when I went to Europe, I felt so at ease compared to living in America.

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

#509

Post by Amasawa »

I live in Argentina. I pay 10 dollars a month for 5-8 mbytes/s of download speed, 180 dollars for rent, 30 dollars for food (the kg of potatoes is worth 15 U$A cents) 15 dollars for gas, water and light services. And the rest for the occasional new necessity, furniture, going out with friends, adding up to 300 dollars a month. People here are extremely friendly to foreigners in the city of Buenos Aires. Just watch out for zones like Retiro, Plaza Miserere, and Flores. Orrr you could live in small town in some of our provinces. You could probably spend half the money on rent there and live off 200 dollars a month.

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

#510

Post by EL_Loco »

pelasaco wrote: post #139
changemememe wrote: post #22

Central Portugal: an hours drive to the beach and incredibly low cost of living at small towns. Amazing food and weather, very low crime rate, easy access to well connected international airports (Porto), easy access to regional tech hubs (Lisbon and Porto) Example: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Viseu

With 850 euros, you don't live well in Portugal.. you survive. Disclosure: I live part-time there and I love it.

Do you have a family, by any chance? I've been thinking about moving to Portugal, some smaller town but not too far from Porto or Lisbon, but I don't really know how much a family would need. (I have a wife and 2 kids)
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