Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

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Devon
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Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by Devon »

Good video from American in Bangkok. He thinks these days in Thailand you need close to $2000 US to live reasonably well. $1000 is doable (perhaps) but $2000 is where its at. Everybody's miles will vary but the thing to keep is mind is that world is getting wealthier, rapidly. How long before $2000 is the bottom line in places like the Philippines? It has the fastest growing economy in Asia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyRtV5yAuLk
El_Caudillo
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by El_Caudillo »

As a bottom line I'd need about 1500 USD in China and Taiwan...1200 in Indonesia and just as way of comparison 1000 in Argentina - but I'm better at living cheaply there. I'm talking about being single and living in an apartment in a big city. In Argentina I'd be in a shared house.
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droid
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by droid »

I'm making it with around $600 in vietnam haha, $350 small flat in a really nice area + $100 Groceries and eating out + $10 gas lol + others
But that's because i haven't done a lot in the last couple months. With some light traveling to other cities I was spending about $800.

But if one really wanted to squeeze the pennies here, you can get by with a $100 room in an not so nice neighborhood and getting cheaper food etc.
Probably the absolute minimum would be $300/month, an order of magnitude below $2000, but obviously not that comfortable for most westerners.

The thing is that AAIB has a family so that's a whole different story.

It is true though, that real estate is getting crazy in Asia. Locals have options, but places that are more modern and above 100m2 are very expensive, pretty much there is no ceiling as to how much you can spend in accommodation. I've seen listings for $2000 - $5000/month in China
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Traveler
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by Traveler »

If you get outside of the major cities in third world countries the cost of living can be a lot lower.

Winston:
"If you live in Manila, yeah it's expensive. But I've lived in Angeles City for years spending $400 a month."
viewtopic.php?t=12559&start=30

American in Bangkok lives in Bangkok plus he has a family to support.
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HouseMD
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by HouseMD »

Having a nicer place and more money makes you more desirable and makes sealing the deal easier. A girl sees a high rise view, premium shower, and marble countertops and those panties drop. But you can certainly get by on less if you just want to GTFO the West and live elsewhere.
zboy1
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by zboy1 »

2,000 U.S. dollars is what most English teachers can expect to receive in salary in China. You can live comfortably with that here, except in the expensive Tier 1 cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing. You will need closer to 2,500-3000 in those places.

With 2,000 U.S. dollars, you can live like a king in most of S.E. Asia. First world Asian countries such as Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, require Western standards of salary, so you won't be able to live comfortably in those places with that kind of salary.
Rock
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by Rock »

zboy1 wrote:2,000 U.S. dollars is what most English teachers can expect to receive in salary in China. You can live comfortably with that here, except in the expensive Tier 1 cities like Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing. You will need closer to 2,500-3000 in those places.

With 2,000 U.S. dollars, you can live like a king in most of S.E. Asia. First world Asian countries such as Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, require Western standards of salary, so you won't be able to live comfortably in those places with that kind of salary.
Actually, Taipei stands out from other developed world Asian capitals for being significantly cheaper if you know how to achieve value for money there. I could live comfortably in Taipei for $1,000 - 1,200 per month.
El_Caudillo
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by El_Caudillo »

[quote] Actually, Taipei stands out from other developed world Asian capitals for being significantly cheaper if you know how to achieve value for money there. I could live comfortably in Taipei for $1,000 - 1,200 per month. [quote]

Sure, but without paying rent? Or maybe you could living in a shared house. Back in NZ one thing I really miss is going out for breakfast like I did in Taipei. I used to spend $3.70 USD for a decent coffee and sandwich at a cafe. Here, it's not so much that the coffee is expensive, but the sandwich is going to be about $6 bucks at least.

I've earned $2000 dollars a month in China a couple of times, in 2004 in Wuhan - in fact I think I got around 2500 - I just couldn't spend that cash! I came out of an academic year there of 10 months work with 16000 USD. That allowed me to visit Europe, North America and South America for the first time. I didn't like the city of Wuhan much though.

Fast forward to 2007 in Shanghai, I got about 2000 USD - but I could blow that quite easily as I had a bunch of mates who went out boozing often. I also worked somewhere without easy subway access, so caught taxis to work. I had a two bedroom, two bathroom place in Pudong for 400 USD - it was in an old building - but I bet that's hard to come by these days!

It's interesting to read that Zboy reckons you need 2500 - 3000 to live in Shanghai or Beijing to live well these days, wow...those place have just gone up and up in price. I wonder if it's worth trying to live in those cities unless on a nice expat package, there are so many other options out there
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momopi
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by momopi »

Speaking of Shilin area of Taipei, it's expensive to buy property, but relatively cheap to rent.
britishguy19
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by britishguy19 »

droid wrote:I'm making it with around $600 in vietnam haha, $350 small flat in a really nice area + $100 Groceries and eating out + $10 gas lol + others
But that's because i haven't done a lot in the last couple months. With some light traveling to other cities I was spending about $800.

But if one really wanted to squeeze the pennies here, you can get by with a $100 room in an not so nice neighborhood and getting cheaper food etc.
Probably the absolute minimum would be $300/month, an order of magnitude below $2000, but obviously not that comfortable for most westerners.

The thing is that AAIB has a family so that's a whole different story.

It is true though, that real estate is getting crazy in Asia. Locals have options, but places that are more modern and above 100m2 are very expensive, pretty much there is no ceiling as to how much you can spend in accommodation. I've seen listings for $2000 - $5000/month in China
What sort of things do you buy for groceries for that cheap? I'm guessing you eat a lot of noodles and rice or something.
Moretorque
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by Moretorque »

He doesn't eat, Droids an android but you do have to plug him into the wall every once in a while....
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Yohan
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by Yohan »

It depends where in Thailand and what kind of accommodation you expect.
USD 2000,- are about THB 70.000,-.

As we own our condominium unit in Pattaya (about 80 m2) we pay only maintenance fees and no rent, thb 70.000,- is fine for me and wife for all our daily needs.

Accomodation is not expensive in Pattaya, plenty of choice.

However some guys are acting without self-control, they spend too much for girls, expensive dinners, need a car etc. and their money is quickly gone. This depends really on your personal life-stye.
MrMan
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by MrMan »

'The bottom line' is the bottom line on a company balance sheet, and it takes into account costs and expenses, interest payments, etc. This is after tax income.

So, $2000 a month left over after you pay your household income, payments on loans, and taxes would be fine. Per year, which is what annual statements show, no that's not so good.

If you are talking about salary, $2000 a month would be rather small for my family, but if I were a single young man, with no obligations to pay down on in the US, that might be okay in a place like Thailand, especially if housing were included. One thing you need to keep in mind, though, is if you are going to get married and have a child, that might not be enough for everything you want (e.g. English schools for the kids.) You may need to get some side business going to earn income.
droid
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by droid »

britishguy19 wrote:
droid wrote:
What sort of things do you buy for groceries for that cheap? I'm guessing you eat a lot of noodles and rice or something.
The thing is groceries cost about one fourth what they cost in the west, it's incredible. Processed imported foods are more expensive of course, but one doesn't really need that. Some of the snack brands manufacture in Thailand so those are cheap too, i.e. Snickers bar for U$0.50 at the counter. Vegetables are probably the cheapest, which is a good thing i.e. tomatoes for U$0.50 per kilogram.
I spend $15-20 at the supermarket and come out with huge bags of varied food for the week lol

Eating out in restaurants is cheap too, you can stuff yourself with indian curry and naan, or pasta, for $6.
The only kind of 'expensive' things are Sushi and Korean BBQ dishes, at about $10-20, whereas ironically, in America you have all-you-can eat sushi buffets for $10 bucks.
1)Too much of one thing defeats the purpose.
2)Everybody is full of it. What's your hypocrisy?
Kradmelder
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Re: Is $2000 US per month the new bottom line in Asia?

Post by Kradmelder »

Yohan wrote:It depends where in Thailand and what kind of accommodation you expect.
USD 2000,- are about THB 70.000,-.

As we own our condominium unit in Pattaya (about 80 m2) we pay only maintenance fees and no rent, thb 70.000,- is fine for me and wife for all our daily needs.

Accomodation is not expensive in Pattaya, plenty of choice.

However some guys are acting without self-control, they spend too much for girls, expensive dinners, need a car etc. and their money is quickly gone. This depends really on your personal life-stye.
Johan how can you house a family of 4 in 80m2. My pool is bigger than that. I know japs are used to small spaces but 80 m2??? And 3 bedrooms? I just paced out a bedroom. Over 15 m2..
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