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

Post by devops000 » Thu, Aug 26, 2021, 7:16 PM UTC

rich_sasha wrote: post #62

devops000 wrote: post #57

Southern Italy. You can live in a small but beautiful village in the south (e.g Sicily) or any seaside village during autumn/winter. If you like mountains you have to go north (Dolomites) but it’s harder to find a small village for 1k/month in winter. Obviously living in big city like Milan or Rome costs around 1500-2000€/month for living.

Honest question: if you’re a long-term visitor, do you get affected by the organised crime at all? My general impression is that tourists are fine, but business owners are in the receiving end of the nastiness. Digital nomads feel like something in between.

Post by Leftium » Thu, Aug 26, 2021, 7:18 PM UTC

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…

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Aug 26, 2021, 7:19 PM UTC

pzduniak wrote: post #65

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…

That 6% tax is... complicated. Bug fixes are not innovation IIRC - I just end up paying 19%, which isn't that much anyways.

Post by willcipriano » Thu, Aug 26, 2021, 7:20 PM UTC

pie_flavor wrote: post #71

glitchc wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I'm putting 90% of the value, why don't I just add another 10% and buy the property outright? Are there restrictions on who can buy a house/apartment in Korea?

You perhaps missed that you get the whole deposit back. The landlord doesn't keep it. You could buy the property outright, or you could live somewhere for essentially free, as long as you don't value the interest on that cash more than you value the place you're staying.

Post by wtk » Thu, Aug 26, 2021, 7:22 PM UTC

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…