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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?

#321

Post by pvaldes »

Take in mind that housing is typically more expensive for foreigners/tourists than for nationals in most countries

Because nationals have a social net of family and friends that tourists don't have. Because nobody knows you, so the landlord is taking a higher risk, and because locals have more information about the place (were to go for eat cheap, business or streets to avoid, etc...).

Being able to blend with the background can be a big advantage even if the place is a little more expensive. Your personal circumstances (food that you don't like, can't eat by religious reasons, etc) must be taken in mind also.

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

#322

Post by virtualwhys »

Chiang Mai, dirt cheap (as little as $100/month rent, wood floors, mountain view). Poor air quality, great local food.

Da Nang, Vietnam. Bit more expensive, $200/month rent on the low end. Friendly people, surprisingly even to Americans. Great air quality, decent enough waves in winter if you surf. Terrible local food, but certain areas cater to foreigners and there the food is excellent ($5 to $15).

Internet is solid in both locations.

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

#323

Post by input_sh »

salex89 wrote: post #288
freediver wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I meant culture of living. Things like cities with lots of parks and pedestrian zones, more walking/less dependency on cars, hidden coffee shops between old buildings, ability to live decently on a very small budget, free education and healthcare, generally easier to make friends, specially if you are a foreigner - things like that. I would not necessarily compare Serbians to conservatives in US (we are both generali…

I'm sorry, but as a Serb from Serbia, I cannot agree with the first part of your answer. Belgrade is not a pedestrian friendly city by no means, and you are dependent on cars more then in an average European city. I've spent some time in multiple, smaller and bigger, and those are not features I would associate with Belgrade.

Compared to the US it definitely is. Especially if you stay away from New Belgrade, I've always underestimated how much is there to walk between like two or three blocs there.

Other than that it's just an incredibly interesting city to walk through, even if you're inconvenienced as a pedestrian multiple times on that trip. You never know what you'll find behind the corner: a building that looks like it's falling apart, a gaze-inspiring brutalist building from Yugoslav times, or a modern-looking office. The only thing you know for sure is that you won't have to walk long before finding a café.

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

#324

Post by gaoshan »

freediver wrote: post #107

Serbia offers a 180 degrees different culture than most of what you experienced in US plus is very dynamic, cheap and great for young people. Couple of a links to get you started: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/serbia-best-places-to... https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20170822-belgrades-floati... https://theculturetrip.com/europe/serbia/articles/an-expats-... https://www.quora.com/What-is-life-like-for-Amer…

Have you actually lived in the US so that you personally know of this 180 degrees of difference? If so, which parts of the US? I ask because the differences between New York City, Tallahassee, Chicago, Columbus, Nashville, Kansas City, Austin, Taos, San Francisco, Boise, Hattiesburg, Denver, Portland, Bar Harbor, etc. are so wildly stark as to be like different countries on many levels (and I say this as someone who has lived in a number of countries from the US to Europe to Asia, and in a number of States as well)

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

#326

Post by nano-erud »

pelasaco wrote: post #130

If you want to have a great experience, I would suggest South of Brazil (something like country from Rio Grande do Sul or Santa Catarina), Buenos Aires in Argentina, or my favorite spot Montevideo, Uruguay. In the 3 options, you can live well with 1k USD and have one of the best times of your life, without a super huge cultural shock. Have fun!

I live in Uruguay, it's not an alternative, it is very expensive. Good quality of life, but you don't live well on that budget. You need up to 2k a month (one person) to live well. Brazil and Argentina are very insecure and economically unstable.

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

#327

Post by finance_astroid »

marvinkennis wrote: post #305
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…

Maybe I'm missing something here, and I just read the Wikipedia article you linked. If the landlord takes the cash and buys the property, then the cash is gone and there is no cash to get interest on. Does the landlord just pocket the property appreciation?

In a way yes. But its also using leverage to amplify your gains.

Say I get $90,000 to go buy a house, I spend the $90,000 and have 1 door. I get a tenant in it and they make a $90,000 down payment. I then go buy another house and get another tenant in it and they make a $90,000 down payment. I now have two houses and still have the same amount of money I started with, I can continue this cycle and as long as property appreciates I don't just get the property appreciation from one house I get it from all of the houses so (% appreciation * property value * number of properties).

Say it is a $100,000 property and it appreciates 3%. If I had just bought one house and put the money in an interest yielding savings account I would get some low % return. If I instead chained it to acquire 10 houses I would get $30,000 return, which is 30%. But if the value of the house goes down it works against me!

Obviously this ignores transaction costs, interest costs etc.

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

#328

Post by robjan »

mdp2021 wrote: post #204
cloudedcordial wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very good food, too. The downside of Taiwan is to learn the local language.

Which, unless I am terribly wrong, involves ideographic characters and not alphabetic. This should be a major obstacle.

The written language is Traditional Chinese.

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

#329

Post by postsantum »

et2o wrote: post #245
postsantum wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nomadlist is often way off on their estimates. I'd suggest using it for inspiration only and then see prices on Numbeo

Off in one direction or just randomly?

Too high. For example, for my home city there is a figure that would be the 90th percentile net salary

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

#330

Post by cortesoft »

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?

Risk… you are exposed to the risk of decreasing property values if you buy.
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