Living cheaply in other countries

[zboy1]

anamericaninbangkok, I'm going to have temp ban you for a few days, just so you can calm down. I know you dislike certain members here (as I do, too)...but I want to retain a level of civility and respect for each other on this forum. We've had problems in the past with civility, too, so I don't want it to be like that again.

Just because you dislike what someone has written on this forum, you don't need to engage in name calling and threats because you disagree with someone's opinions.

Like I said before...just use counter-arguments to make the other person look silly. That's always the best way to counter what someone has written that you find to be complete b.s.

[Ghost]

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[Hero]

Everywhere I've been in Asia, companies have 3-4x as many staff as a Western company would have

Yeah, I noticed that too. In a Philippine department store, they put a salesgirl on every square foot of floor. Most of them have nothing to do except just stand there.

[OutWest]

Everywhere I've been in Asia, companies have 3-4x as many staff as a Western company would have

Yeah, I noticed that too. In a Philippine department store, they put a salesgirl on every square foot of floor. Most of them have nothing to do except just stand there.

Help is cheap...so that pack in the sales help till they hit the point of diminishing returns...

[zacb]

I understand that if you have an income of $500 - $1,000 (£325 - £650) per month, you can live very well in SE Asia or L America, whereas in your own country it would not be much. And that kind of income is very achievable if your income is from doing something online.

So, why don't people in those non-western countries do the same?

In the Philippines, in a way, they are doing just that with all the call centers that have popped up.
However, for most SE Asians, it is very difficult to independently market themselves online...the culture gap is large.

$500 to $1000 a month...hmmm...not what I would call living well. I and my wife probablly are
thought to be "living well", but our monthly budget is more like the $2400 range. We do not have a house payment or rent, but we do have a full time helper included in that figure. We do pay for a lot of
extra groceries and related as we have guests very frequently.

Outwest

Where are you at exactly? It really depends. In Manilla, it seems $3000 is bare minimum, while areas of Mindanao can be had for around $500 a month. So it really depends.

[OutWest]

I understand that if you have an income of $500 - $1,000 (£325 - £650) per month, you can live very well in SE Asia or L America, whereas in your own country it would not be much. And that kind of income is very achievable if your income is from doing something online.

So, why don't people in those non-western countries do the same?

In the Philippines, in a way, they are doing just that with all the call centers that have popped up.
However, for most SE Asians, it is very difficult to independently market themselves online...the culture gap is large.

$500 to $1000 a month...hmmm...not what I would call living well. I and my wife probably are
thought to be "living well", but our monthly budget is more like the $2400 range. We do not have a house payment or rent, but we do have a full time helper included in that figure. We do pay for a lot of
extra groceries and related as we have guests very frequently.

Outwest

Where are you at exactly? It really depends. In Manilla, it seems $3000 is bare minimum, while areas of Mindanao can be had for around $500 a month. So it really depends.

We live about an hour from Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental province.- Part of Mindanao of course. I would have less than Zero interest in living anywhere around Manila.
We live pretty good where we are...and with that budget, there is no housing cost as our house is free and clear with no debt except repairs. We do have farming expenses, but those are separate.
Even in Mindanao, $500 will not get what I call living well...but you could get by. Surviving or getting by
is a lot different than living comfortably.


Outwest

[Hero]

Everywhere I've been in Asia, companies have 3-4x as many staff as a Western company would have

Yeah, I noticed that too. In a Philippine department store, they put a salesgirl on every square foot of floor. Most of them have nothing to do except just stand there.

Help is cheap...so that pack in the sales help till they hit the point of diminishing returns...

Hey, do you think that the owners of those department stores use those salesgirls as bait to lure in horny western guys like me?

[zacb]

I understand that if you have an income of $500 - $1,000 (£325 - £650) per month, you can live very well in SE Asia or L America, whereas in your own country it would not be much. And that kind of income is very achievable if your income is from doing something online.

So, why don't people in those non-western countries do the same?

In the Philippines, in a way, they are doing just that with all the call centers that have popped up.
However, for most SE Asians, it is very difficult to independently market themselves online...the culture gap is large.

$500 to $1000 a month...hmmm...not what I would call living well. I and my wife probably are
thought to be "living well", but our monthly budget is more like the $2400 range. We do not have a house payment or rent, but we do have a full time helper included in that figure. We do pay for a lot of
extra groceries and related as we have guests very frequently.

Outwest

Where are you at exactly? It really depends. In Manilla, it seems $3000 is bare minimum, while areas of Mindanao can be had for around $500 a month. So it really depends.

We live about an hour from Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental province.- Part of Mindanao of course. I would have less than Zero interest in living anywhere around Manila.
We live pretty good where we are...and with that budget, there is no housing cost as our house is free and clear with no debt except repairs. We do have farming expenses, but those are separate.
Even in Mindanao, $500 will not get what I call living well...but you could get by. Surviving or getting by
is a lot different than living comfortably.


Outwest

I guess would that be for basic (housing, transportation, food, etc.) essentials? Of course I would not call that living. But would that cover everything that I would need in order to live a lower middle class lifestyle (that I do here?) ? Would it be equivalent to 1,500 in a Midwest town?

[The_Adventurer]

$2400 seems excessive to me, for living in the Philippines. My friend lived there with a pension of around $1200 per month. He lived in a gated subdivision that looked like you were somewhere in San Diego. His rent was 12000php. Electricity approached 10000php because he had tons of computers and other tech constantly running. He had a car and a live in helper. I'd say he was living better than most Americans.

[zacb]

$2400 seems excessive to me, for living in the Philippines. My friend lived there with a pension of around $1200 per month. He lived in a gated subdivision that looked like you were somewhere in San Diego. His rent was 12000php. Electricity approached 10000php because he had tons of computers and other tech constantly running. He had a car and a live in helper. I'd say he was living better than most Americans.

It seems like if you lived frugal in the US (basics), you could live on what most people live on where I live (1,500), and still have some. Maybe I am missing something. What if I wanted to live in Davao, have a 2-3 bedroom house, occasionally go out, and invest the rest into investments? Would 2-3k a month do?

[OutWest]

$2400 seems excessive to me, for living in the Philippines. My friend lived there with a pension of around $1200 per month. He lived in a gated subdivision that looked like you were somewhere in San Diego. His rent was 12000php. Electricity approached 10000php because he had tons of computers and other tech constantly running. He had a car and a live in helper. I'd say he was living better than most Americans.

It seems like if you lived frugal in the US (basics), you could live on what most people live on where I live (1,500), and still have some. Maybe I am missing something. What if I wanted to live in Davao, have a 2-3 bedroom house, occasionally go out, and invest the rest into investments? Would 2-3k a month do?

2-3 thousand in Davao would get you by splendidly. Hard to say exactly, but somewhere around
600 might be like 1,500 in a midwest town...not all that much fun frankly....but some find it ok.

As to 2,400 being excessive, I guess it depends on how you are living. We entertain quite a bit...some people do not. We could live on less it is true. I think we spend more than 500 per month just on kitchen related- food and drink. Could we spend less? Certainly. That includes perhaps 2-3 hundred that my wife has in her pocket for girl stuff...shopping etc...all in all...adds up.

Outwest

[zacb]

$2400 seems excessive to me, for living in the Philippines. My friend lived there with a pension of around $1200 per month. He lived in a gated subdivision that looked like you were somewhere in San Diego. His rent was 12000php. Electricity approached 10000php because he had tons of computers and other tech constantly running. He had a car and a live in helper. I'd say he was living better than most Americans.

It seems like if you lived frugal in the US (basics), you could live on what most people live on where I live (1,500), and still have some. Maybe I am missing something. What if I wanted to live in Davao, have a 2-3 bedroom house, occasionally go out, and invest the rest into investments? Would 2-3k a month do?

2-3 thousand in Davao would get you by splendidly. Hard to say exactly, but somewhere around
600 might be like 1,500 in a midwest town...not all that much fun frankly....but some find it ok.

As to 2,400 being excessive, I guess it depends on how you are living. We entertain quite a bit...some people do not. We could live on less it is true. I think we spend more than 500 per month just on kitchen related- food and drink. Could we spend less? Certainly. That includes perhaps 2-3 hundred that my wife has in her pocket for girl stuff...shopping etc...all in all...adds up.

Outwest

I see. I was just worried about the basics. I live a lower class lifestyle right now (grandparent sand mom), and the most expensive thing I would spend money on would be tinkering and such adruino. Maybe some sport scard sand that. I am kinda frugal, so it seems like 1000 or so would be enough for a little entertainment. Then the rest can be invested.

[djfourmoney]

Zboy - you mistake the swearing with a temper tantrum. Frankly I am sick of the lack of manhood by some on this site and the bs information by guys like Xiongmao.

Also, Winston's post about a stripper is way out there. Is he truly serious? He asks the question of what we thought, we told him, and as is always the case, he gets pissed off when he doesn't like what he hears. Then...of course...he feels the need to make it personal and talk shit about my family.

C'mon, do you really think falling in love with a stripper in a matter of hours is the path to being Happier Abroad? For him to even bring this up says so very much.

Also, of all the guys on the board here, how many are truly Happier Abroad? Of the ones who are, how many are teaching English, struggling to get by on a lousy $500-$1000 a month? Probably way too many.

I am Happier Abroad. I'm living my life how I want it, doing what I want, when I want, and I have good life doing so. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail, but I keep my eye on the prize and I continue living the way many others dream of living.

At times my posts may be harsh but it's usually done in an effort to get guys to WAKE UP. Call it tough love for the brotherhood of man. The problem isn't always the outside world, sometimes it starts with you.

You have Winston thinking a stripper is the answer to his romantic woes. Please...

Xiongmao bitches (oops, complains) about the lack of intelligence of Thai women. Now I will admit that some are extremely limited upstairs. However, perhaps if he learned how to speak the language of the country he supposedly lives in, they would know WTF he's talking about when he's asking their name. He whines about the floods, which in Bangkok are not that bad AT ALL. If he were in a village like I was when the big floods hit here, he would know that the water was waist high, even above the top of some cars. I had to ride in a boat to get around in some places so why is he whining like a little girl about ankle or knee deep water? Where is your sense of adventure, really...

Much of what I'm hearing now on this board is whining, questioning why the women are so bad, why is America so bad, etc., instead of simply working on accomplishing the mission which is to get Happier Abroad. Asking WHY, WHY, WHY without simply going with your gut on an answer and proving it right or wrong does very little and leaves you spinning your wheels. Which is what it seems some guys are doing.

If I had a board like this when I first left to live abroad, I might have just sat on my duff and never went anywhere. I would have listened and though it was sooooo difficult to live abroad. It's not. I had nothing to go by though. I just did it, sink or swim, just like men did in the old days. Good or bad, they forged ahead. Maybe more guys on this board should do this.

The only reason I am here at this point is to get something from helping others here. Rarely do I get more than this from this site so Zboy or Winston or whoever else feels I'm more of a detriment than help to members and want to ban me, C'est la vie. If you like, I can make it easy on you and simply no longer post here. No worries.

Well put and I couldn't have said it better myself....

[tre]

anamericaninbangkok, I'm going to have temp ban you for a few days, just so you can calm down. I know you dislike certain members here (as I do, too)...but I want to retain a level of civility and respect for each other on this forum. We've had problems in the past with civility, too, so I don't want it to be like that again.

Just because you dislike what someone has written on this forum, you don't need to engage in name calling and threats because you disagree with someone's opinions.

Like I said before...just use counter-arguments to make the other person look silly. That's always the best way to counter what someone has written that you find to be complete b.s.

I hope he comes back. I like his NO BS approach to living abroad. He doesn't sugar coat anything and doesn't over-think it either, which is very good for those of us preparing to MOVE abroad IMO.

[djfourmoney]

$2400 seems excessive to me, for living in the Philippines. My friend lived there with a pension of around $1200 per month. He lived in a gated subdivision that looked like you were somewhere in San Diego. His rent was 12000php. Electricity approached 10000php because he had tons of computers and other tech constantly running. He had a car and a live in helper. I'd say he was living better than most Americans.

It seems like if you lived frugal in the US (basics), you could live on what most people live on where I live (1,500), and still have some. Maybe I am missing something. What if I wanted to live in Davao, have a 2-3 bedroom house, occasionally go out, and invest the rest into investments? Would 2-3k a month do?

2-3 thousand in Davao would get you by splendidly. Hard to say exactly, but somewhere around
600 might be like 1,500 in a midwest town...not all that much fun frankly....but some find it ok.

As to 2,400 being excessive, I guess it depends on how you are living. We entertain quite a bit...some people do not. We could live on less it is true. I think we spend more than 500 per month just on kitchen related- food and drink. Could we spend less? Certainly. That includes perhaps 2-3 hundred that my wife has in her pocket for girl stuff...shopping etc...all in all...adds up.

Outwest

I see. I was just worried about the basics. I live a lower class lifestyle right now (grandparent sand mom), and the most expensive thing I would spend money on would be tinkering and such adruino. Maybe some sport scard sand that. I am kinda frugal, so it seems like 1000 or so would be enough for a little entertainment. Then the rest can be invested.

Saving 101 is spending less than you have going out.

I don't pay rent, directv, landline, smartphone or broadband bills.

That's how I make $300-$400 a month work...

By the end of the month if I decide not to spend a penny, I would have $500+

As I understand it you're in long forgotten part of the country, so apps like Gigwalk might not help you but apps like Shopkick could, as long as you're near a few stores like Target and Walmart which seemingly every small berg has.

Rule #1 Stop being money on "bait" for women. IE, do you need a car? If public transport is good enough, then stick with that. Cars are money pits, if you're okay with that, then fine, but don't complain about the cost of gas, brakes, oil, tires, tune ups, air filters and the like and that's with a NEW CAR. At some point a used car is going to need some major (read:expensive) work done on it.

Rule #2 Reduce spending. As I mentioned above, with Shopkick if you are diligent, you can earn a $25 Gift Card from Target every month. That should cover things like toothpaste, deodorant, etc. Apply for EBT if you're working a low wage job and GR if you are unemployed and can't collect unemployment.

Rule #3 Find alternative income streams. This is also an opportunity to look at your options for passive income. There many things you can do, comment on popular culture, problems in the world, problems in America. Maybe a hobby you have, almost anything can generate an income if you think about it.

Also consider donating Plasma, I don't know how many times I have to suggest this. If you are an unfortunate boob you lives in a forgotten part of the United States; I don't know what to tell you. But that's $250-$320 for 3-4 hours of your time (twice a week).

What investments? Bitcoin is trading for over $1,000. You can get Quark Coins, some say the most secure 10 for $29.99 on Ebay. These will be debuting on the Chinese exchange sometime this week I believe. Otherwise silver, gold and other commodities are ideal.

Have you checked out early extreme retirement? - http://earlyretirementextreme.com/ or Mr Money Mustache? - http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/

Sigh... I would stop concerning myself with being frugal and stop looking for cheap places to live without understanding WHY they are cheap. Can you make $1,000 work? Yes in just about any country in Latin America.

$1,000-$1,200 would allow you to have most things people take for granted in the US. That would easily pay for housing, food (as long as you ate like a local), high speed internet, cell, clothes (more expensive in some places than others) and public transportation (such that it is).

The truth is however that your dating pool will be mostly the lower middle class/working class in whatever country you choose. Can you find a cute girl among that population? Sure, but you must maintain your "Gringo Advantage" by pretty much living like a Gringo, NOT A LOCAL.

That is unless you're like Falcon and just don't care what they look like.