Happier Abroad Forum Community

Hi! I'm a new member, my introduction thread is here: viewtopic.php?t=23905


I searched around the topics and found an old thread that had the costs associated with living in Philipines. However, that thread was last updated in 2008 and much has changed since then.
My hope with starting this new thread is to detail my plans and the anticipated costs associated with my travels. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Here is my timeline:

December 2015 - Graduate
April 2016 - Travel to Nigeria (1 month)
May 2016 - Travel to Asia (5 months)
November 2016 - Return to United States and resume working.

The month to month living expenses in Nigeria are negligible due to quite a bit of my family working and living there.

I am most concerned with the month to month living expenses in Asia. Ideally, my travels will take me to China, Japan, and Philipinnes. I am having difficulty preparing a budget for these months as I just don't know what to expect. Any help would be tremendously useful.

Here's a list of what needs I have:

1 bedroom apt (I understand that in Japan, this is prohibitably expensive. Will accept roommates, not sure about China/Philipinnes)
Internet
Food
Entertainment (Free entertainment such as going to the beach, buying books, taking hikes, actually physically exploring the country. Little to no shopping or buying of things except food)
Transportation (Ideally, I'd like to walk everywhere, but I know in some places, that's not safe or advisable)

I'd prefer to stay somewhere safe, where my person will be free from molestation. I currently have $20,000 USD towards this trip. Is this excessive? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

I found Winston's sticky and compared the current exchange rate. It hasn't fluctuated that much. I'll use that as a guide. Thanks for reading.

Excluding accommodation I spent around $25 a day while I was living in China and Thailand last year. It's not that cheap anywhere these days.

Accommodation was $250 a month in China, and $360 in Thailand. I just notice the place I stayed in in Thailand have increased their prices 20% - lol that's a Thai thing, tourist numbers go down so they INCREASE prices.

20,000 should be more than enough for a 6 month tour of Asia and Africa. Japan is the only expensive place but even there you could probably find reasonably placed hostels... If you want to do it cheaper skip Japan and hit Thailand or the Phillipines.

Inflation in PI per year is roughly 5-10%, depending on the product or service, food tends to have a higher inflation rate than other things but inflation is constant and noticeable here year to year. Just add 5% to costs on that 2008 list up to the year you plan to visit and that should contain the rough estimates of current prices for the most part.