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

• simfree 5y ago
  Perhaps Costa Rica if your ok with a standard of living the same as the locals? Most call centers there pay around $1000 a month for those with good English skills and an education, and their healthcare (universal healthcare) and education systems seem efficient and well ran.
• spdebbarma 5y ago
  You can use Nomad List[0] to get an idea of possible options. Eastern Europe, South America, South East Asia are all viable options with vibrant communities with people like you. [0]https://nomadlist.com/ https://nomadlist.com/
  • jonshariat 5y ago
    +1 for nomadlist, a great community has already done all the hard work on this subject.
• LylyChantylly 5y ago
  Connaissez-vous un pays où la température est constante annuellement à 26 degrés celsius ?
• fauk77 5y ago
  spain morocco
  • abdelhamidem 5y ago
    yep, morocco is a pretty good deal. Close to europe, most people speak english and/or french and you can easily live off 10k dirhams per month (1k usd) https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Morocco https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?cou...
  • abbub 5y ago
    I loved loved LOVED our three week stay in Morocco in 2019, and their cellular infrastructure was pretty decent (like, traveling all over we were never without cell service and at least some level of internet), but the internet in the places we stayed was pretty terrible across the board. Having said that, the food was so amazing that I'd be tempted to deal with the slow internet. :/
• hourislate 5y ago
  You would live incredibly well in Ukraine on $1000 a month. https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Lviv?displayCurrency=USD https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Lviv?displayCurrenc...
  • EB-Barrington 5y ago
    It should be noted, although Kyiv is doable for $1k, that would be mainly dependent upon securing cheap rent (somewhat difficult for someone new to the city). I would place Kyiv in the 4k per month bracket to live "incredibly well". Yes, this is a subjective measure). From your link: "Rent Prices in Lviv are 39.98% lower than in Kiev (Kyiv)" (in reality, in many scenarios the difference is greater than that). Info: securing a three year resident visa in Ukraine is very easy.
    • tluyben2 5y ago
      Lviv is a great city as well. I liked it better than Kyiv personally and I have spent many months in both.
• deleted 5y ago
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• muzani 5y ago
  Malaysia is very doable as a single person. Everyone speaks English, lots of good food. Coliving spaces were quite popular before the pandemic, where some entrepreneurs would rent an apartment and work together, but I don't know where you'd meet people like that. Foreign visas are also quite loose. You could get an entrepreneurship visa (see the MDEC site). There's a rapidly growing games and animation industry too, so you might be able to find people you'd like to work with.
  • 41209 5y ago
    How's safety. As far as I can tell America is more dangerous than most other places.
    • muzani 5y ago
      It's quite good. Violent crime is low, very unlikely to get kidnapped or stabbed. Robberies and mugging happens but I don't think it's much worse than average. Healthcare is up to West European standards and is part of the $1000/month. Coronavirus deaths per pop is at #100th rank or so. The current wave is very bad, with daily cases at about 6th globally, but KL area is about 80% adults fully vaccinated now. Roads are dangerous if you're driving. Corruption is lowish by Asian standards, high by Western standards. It's at a level where you can choose to bribe the nice policeman or report him, but you're unlikely to be arrested on skin color. We don't have many drug lords; organized criminals run government [1] or take on gov contracts. Would you like statistics instead of anecdotes? A lot don't exist past 2005 or so, and be aware that many official stats abuse statistics [2]. I'm sure you can search the stats yourself, I'm just here to provide a view. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/najib-razak-former-malaysian-prime-minister-found-guilty-in-1mdb-case-11595912007 https://www.wsj.com/articles/najib-razak-former-malaysian-pr... [2] https://twitter.com/dghisham/status/1427814223036370954 https://twitter.com/dghisham/status/1427814223036370954
    • michaelmrose 5y ago
      I was sure you were wrong. You are absolutely correct. https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Malaysia/United-States/Crime https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Malaysia/U...
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• Leftium 5y ago
  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 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. My place has a $50 monthly management fee, but that includes high-speed internet. (So I joke that I get free housing with my internet.) Of course, there is an opportunity cost because that deposit could have generated interest, but I figure the break-even point is 12% APY. (It is possible to lower the deposit by increasing monthly rent.) So it's advantageous to take out a bank loan at 2-4% interest to pay for the deposit. There is a small risk you won't be able to get your deposit back if the owner mismanages their finances. I believe the Korean government actually guarantees housing deposits up to $50,0000 or so. In Korea, the tenants actually do background checks on the landlords! The minimum deposit is usually $10,000, so landlords usually don't scrutinize tenants.
  • 41209 5y ago
    That seems like a very very good idea. I wouldn't do it unless I had a partner who is already a citizen , but I'll definitely keep this in mind. How much is rent if I didn't want to deposit that much ?
    • Leftium 5y ago
      The general formula to convert from housing deposit to monthly rent is $10,000 deposit equals $50 monthly rent. (Until recently it was $100 rent). It's possible to find lower, but $10,000 is usually the minimum deposit. Housing costs will vary greatly depending on location. $90,000 is in Gimpo, just outside of Seoul. Busan is probably half the cost of Seoul, and outside any major metro areas it's probably even lower. Also even within the same real estate market prices vary greatly depending on the neighborhood, type, and size of unit. Another major factor is distance to nearest public transportation (subway). Another thing to note is since monthly rent is usually more profitable for landowners, there is a movement away from the cheonsae system. However, I was still able to find plenty of options exactly one year ago.
• justinram11 5y ago
  A keyword that should pull up quite a bit of related information would be: "Digital Nomad" (though I'd think covid is still throwing a wrench into much of that). The most "stereotypical" answer is Thailand, which offers cheap internet, food, month-to-month accommodations, friendly to visa runners (hopping over the border for a day and coming back into country every X months to reset your visa), quite a bit to do, and is also pretty safe.
  • giardini 5y ago
    justinram11 says>"The most "stereotypical" answer is Thailand,:< But it's so bloody hot!
• cpach 5y ago
  There are probably lots of places. Maybe Cambodia, Guatemala, Romania, Portugal…? And lots of others. Best of luck with your games!
• dusted 5y ago
  staying out of major cities can make rent or buying a home an order of magnitude cheaper.
• keiferski 5y ago
  I recommend the Balkans, in particular the less touristic countries. Serbia, Bosnia, Albania, Bulgaria are all very inexpensive, safe, have reliable internet, and an abundance of cafes and co-working spaces. Most also have favorable visa conditions for Americans (e.g. Albania lets Americans stay up to a year on a tourist visa.) In terms of cities, I recommend Belgrade and Sarajevo the most. Going further east, Tbilisi (Georgia) and Lviv (Ukraine) are also very inexpensive yet safe and filled with interesting culture. Due to the Turkish lira collapsing, Turkey is also very inexpensive if you have USD. You can rent an apartment in central Istanbul for ±$400 a month.
  • giantg2 5y ago
    You list Ukraine as safe. How's the current thing with Russia?
    • keiferski 5y ago
      Lviv is in the western part of Ukraine, about 1,000km from the fighting in the east. Completely safe. For comparison, Lviv to Donetsk is a greater distance than Berlin to Paris or London to Milan, and only slightly less than New York to Chicago.
      • dougmwne 5y ago
        I have heard very nice things about Lviv from friends and family, small but very pretty and extremely cheap.
    • deleted 5y ago
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  • 41209 5y ago
    >Due to the Turkish lira collapsing That doesn't bold well for stability. Hungry did appear on my list, the rent seems very very low. Right now I'm trying to see where COVID-19 will be in a few months. If it's still not possible to travel easily, I might need to stay and save for a bit longer.
• gmorning315 5y ago
  Europe: Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania. Of these countries Romania and Hungary have the fastest internet speed. See this map and click NUTS-3 https://datavis.europeandatajournalism.eu/obct/connectivity/ https://datavis.europeandatajournalism.eu/obct/connectivity/ They seem to have faster internet speeds than some western countries like the UK and Germany. They seem lower on crime too: https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp?title=2021&region=150 https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp?title=2... Outside Europe there are lots of others, but I don't know about internet speed and crime rate. Just that the culture would be very different from the US. You can sort by monthly income here https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php
  • satellite2 5y ago
    Warning in Hungary though, with Orban's government if you are not perfectly white, straight and Christian you might want to avoid it.
    • bobthechef 5y ago
      Hah, that's quite the caricature. You should diversify the media you consume.
      • satellite2 5y ago
        Which media? Hungary's main opposition media was closed after 60 years of existence. The prosecutor general and constitutional courts have been taken over by the ruling party. Violences have exploded. I agree that sometimes it might be hard to detect when a government is slipping from a populist phase to outright fascism, but in this case the overwhelming amount of evidence makes it clearcut. And independently from any possible interpretation, when a government tell you explicitly that you are not welcome, ignore the warning at your own peril.
  • bingohbangoh 5y ago
    Vilnius can be done for $1k/mo. Rents would be $300-600, food is like $100, health insurance for non-schengen is another $200/mo. Nightlife is fun too, not expensive. Vilnius is not exactly progressive but largely chill on issues of race and alternate sexuality.
• burntoutfire 5y ago
  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 can possibly be gamed - there are loopholes that de facto allow you to pay insurance only once you need it (may be too hard to navigate for someone who's not a native speaker though). Btw the health insurance is "free" if you get any kind of job, even working couple hours a week. Also, Poland should be a great place to actually run your game studio company from, as the tax on "IT innovation" (should not be hard to include games in this category) is only 6% - everything after that ends up in your pocket (i.e. no further dividend tax etc is required). Assuming you won't be getting a car, public transit and Uber/taxis are affordable as well - a 5 km trip via Uber should perhaps be around $4. I suspect other countries in the region should have similar numbers. Healthcare system and tax incentives should definitely be the biggest differentiator.
  • vorpalhex 5y ago
    Is car ownership pretty affordable overall? (Insurance, fees, etc)
    • burntoutfire 5y ago
      Yes, very affordable. Yearly mandatory insurance, without any discounts for crash-free driving (as I doubt they'd honor insurance histories from foreign countries), is perhaps about $300. Mandatory yearly checkups are $30. Cars themselves are a bit pricier than in US - mostly due to VAT being higher than US's sales tax I guess. But, maintenance is way cheaper - there's plenty of cheap and skilled mechanics who will improvise fixes using scavenged second-hard parts (which they themselves will provide). Rebuilding an engine will cost you perhaps under $400 in labor, while I suspect it's in thousands of dollars in US. Gas is currently $5.5 per gallon. Most people drive cars with low fuel consumption, so they're easy to get on second-hand market. Also, if one is particularly stingy about fuel costs, it's popular to own cars fueled by LPG. LPG is currently $2.5 per gallon.
• kjaftaedi 5y ago
  Just FYI you will only be able to stay for 3 months in most places on a tourist visa. Most places do offer 6 month visas for artists and for things like what you are doing, but you should try and sort out this plan before you arrive at your destination, because once there you may find it harder to turn your tourist visa into something else. Either that or you will have to travel to multiple places that do not share the same travel restrictions.
  • achairapart 5y ago
    I remember the trick was to fly to another place and re-enter just a few days later to get another 3 month visa. Doesn't work anymore?
    • acjacobson 5y ago
      Depends on the country. It won't work in the Schengen because the visa waiver is 90 days within a 180 day stretch.
      • therufa 5y ago
        Not like anybody is checking this, I'm speaking from e experience. I had several coworkers over the years who used to live for much longer in Schengen countries without registration. In Austria this works moderately well so does it in Hungary, but of course it has some drawbacks too. Usually in countries where people tend to curb laws to their liking as well as "forget" to pay taxes (this is the case for Hungary) more often than not, this visa situation not a big deal
        • istorical 5y ago
          Yes, yes they are.
          • atatatat 5y ago
            Enforcement may be discretionary in some regions, but like all arrangements like this, don't stake your life on such.
• MauroIksem 5y ago
  Bangkok
  • optimalsolver 5y ago
    Only if you're a Gary Glitter fan.
• changemememe 5y ago
  Central Portugal: an hours drive to the beach and incredibly low cost of living at small towns. Amazing food and weather, very low crime rate, easy access to well connected international airports (Porto), easy access to regional tech hubs (Lisbon and Porto) Example: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Viseu https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Viseu
  • pelasaco 5y ago
    With 850 euros, you don't live well in Portugal.. you survive. Disclosure: I live part-time there and I love it.
    • EL_Loco 5y ago
      Do you have a family, by any chance? I've been thinking about moving to Portugal, some smaller town but not too far from Porto or Lisbon, but I don't really know how much a family would need. (I have a wife and 2 kids)
      • pelasaco 5y ago
        I have family, but they are based in Germany, but everything depends IMO if your kids are able to speak Portuguese or not. That for sure would impact your budget for education. Living in Setubal/Almada, you can plan a 700-800 euro/month rent, 300-500 for supermarket, 100-300 transportation and then education in case your kids need a private school. The costs with transport may vary if you have to commute daily to Lisbon, if you use car or not and etc.
        • EL_Loco 5y ago
          Hey, thanks for the reply! My kids are fluent in Portuguese and I would probably enroll them in public schools. So you think a 2500 monthly budget for a family of 4 would be doable? (I raised your estimates to account for emergencies, healthcare, etc - btw, sorry for bothering you)
• newusertoday 5y ago
  chiang mai, thailand, bali indonesia
  • miohtama 5y ago
    Don’t forget the new darling Costa Rica https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28179018 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28179018 Though looks like $1000 might not cut it.
• qwerty456127 5y ago
  I believe $1K/person is more than enough for great living (including a humble but nice room rent) in the majority of countries (including a number of the EU members, let alone the "third world").
  • 41209 5y ago
    I think 1k is a reasonable target for an American though. I strongly suspect I could get down to 500$ , but I don't want to push it.
    • Frazmatazz 5y ago
      The lowest median rent in the US is $725 a month in West Virginia and the internet access is not great.
      • bialpio 5y ago
        Do you by any chance know how it breaks down across different types of housing? Studio vs 1-bedroom vs 2-bedroom, townhouse vs single-family, etc? Any websites to find this kind of data that you'd recommend?
      • 8792588987 5y ago
        > The lowest median rent in the US is $725 a month in West Virginia and the internet access is not great I'll note this is not correct. I'm in Morgantown WV and the Internet is great. I'm paying in the low $30s for 200mbps with normal low latency and it's highly reliable, via Comcast. That'll go on up to 1.2gbps if I need it. Speedtest usually comes out to 180-230mbps depending on the test site. Most populated areas of West Virginia offer typical Comcast-style Internet speeds and prices. If you're living in the middle of nowhere, or a town of 2000 people, it's true that may be a different story. Starlink and local cable providers are your only serious options then.
  • Ekaros 5y ago
    Finland seems possible. On condition that you don't try to do it around capital. Ofc, the money left over from rent doesn't buy very high standard of living, but it's not impossible. I believe same applies to other countries as well, avoid the expensive areas and cities.
• alexitosrv 5y ago
  I suggest Colombia, you can find greatest rentals for less than 300 USD, and cheap cost of life and amazing food as well. Thinking in cities like Bucaramanga, Santa Marta, etc.
  • whymauri 5y ago
    ++ for Colombia. Healthcare is good for non-citizens, too. Depending on the city, it is high quality, IMO.
  • seeekr 5y ago
    How's the crime and safety situation in Colombia recently? Many years back a good friend of mine lived there for a significant amount of time and it seemed quite unsafe.
    • nicoburns 5y ago
      A lot, lot better than it used be. I went there in 2017 (or maybe it was 2018) and there were lots of places that Colombians from other parts of the country (or even other parts of the same city) were scared of, but we perfectly safe when you went there yourself. There are places you shouldn't go, but the safe places are pretty safe.
    • FabHK 5y ago
      Medellin is reasonably safe if you stay out of certain areas, and has "eternal spring" (close to equator, but high elevation). The homicide rate of Colombia is 5x USA, which in turn is 5x Germany, which in turn is 5x Singapore.
    • alexitosrv 5y ago
      I would say it's fairly reasonable. It's not like a war territory or anything like that. You find big areas that are pretty normal in terms of what to expect, only small crime, and to feel safe it's a matter of being self aware and reduce the attack surface. As it's in many other countries around the world, is more a question of being privy of where the shady neighborhoods or what are the avoidable zones around town. I am colombian and I live in Bogota, so I can answer more questions if you want. I love the Colombian caribbean coast, so that is why is my first recommendation to the OP, the weather is perfect almost all year round, and with a modest budget he can definitively have a moderate (and even higher) lifestyle with no much compromises.
• ews 5y ago
  You can live in some areas in Spain for under $1k/month (outside the main cities of Madrid and Barcelona). I lived some years in Andalusia and my budget was usually around 600eur/month. Not a luxurious life, but Spain has really good services/transportation/infra (including internet) and the weather is difficult to beat.
• mandeepj 5y ago
  India (City - Mohali) is also doable. For Rs. 5k (~$70), you can easily rent a room; that takes out the biggest expense part. For everything else, it's up to you, how much you want to stretch out. P.S. - I grew up in that city, before moving out at 26. I still visit though - 1-2 times a year.
• topicseed 5y ago
  Vietnam... Ho Chi Minh mainly, as it has great internet (except the couple of "shark attacks on submarine cables" each year).
  • aix1 5y ago
    > "shark attacks on submarine cables" I thought this was a euphemism for something but, no, an actual thing: https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2020/07/20/our-underwater-world-is-full-of-cables-that-are-sometimes-attacked-by-sharks/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissacristinamarquez/2020/07/... Who'd have thought...
    • topicseed 5y ago
      Nope, very real! You're working in your coworking space in HCMC, then all of a sudden all internet stops, friends miles away too. In the US/UK, one would mostly bet on Cloudflare, Akamai, AWS, GCP outages... There, it's either sharks, or some locals think it's an enemy country that's close by that's doing sabotage.
      • atatatat 5y ago
        Remote control shark in the catalog?! SHARKNESS
• walrus01 5y ago
  Lots of places in Pakistan and India you can do that on $1000 USD a month. If you don't do really well with hot weather you could pick a traditional hill station location (Murree, Darjeeling, Shimla, etc). They have lots of domestic tourism accommodation, I'm sure it wouldn't be impossible to negotiate month-to-month terms with some of the property owners there.
  • muhammadusman 5y ago
    how's the internet in those areas?
    • imstil3earning 5y ago
      I get better/more reliable internet on my phone in India than I do in my condo in Canada some days
      • lisperforlife 5y ago
        This. I moved to Canada from India and was appalled at the mobile internet infrastructure here. It is a ripoff.
  • sq1020 5y ago
    Curious about Pakistan. Are you from there? Which cities besides Murree would you recommend?
    • asadlionpk 5y ago
      I am from there. Hunza is a popular place to visit, the internet is not-so-great. Islamabad is awesome if you want balance between awesome internet and mountains. If you want the best food, go to Karachi.
      • IA21 5y ago
        > If you want the best food, go to Karachi. Come on man, don't mislead others like this. Everyone here knows you go to Lahore for good food :)
• reillyse 5y ago
  So I like this idea and I’ve spent a little time in other countries doing something similar. The one caveat I’d say is that although it’s cheaper to avoid major cities it can be quite isolating. Depending on the level of english in the country you go to (I assume you are an English only speaker) you might end up not having a meaningful conversation in the flesh for weeks. I spent about 2 months in Portugal doing something similar and even though I sought out English speakers my conversational ability decreased dramatically, it was very strange. By the end I was literally stumbling over words and unable to make small talk with people. I regained it after a couple of weeks, but I was definitely more in my own head than usual. In a small secondary city you have a much lower chance of meeting ex pats to talk to (depending of course on the country)
  • bingohbangoh 5y ago
    > Depending on the level of english in the country you go to (I assume you are an English only speaker) you might end up not having a meaningful conversation in the flesh for weeks. One should absolutely, 100% make a good faith effort to learn the language of any country you intend to long-term reside in. It's for your own health. For my two cents, it'll massively improve your standing in the community because you won't seem like some fly-by-night foreigner (common reputation of americans, which is fine when being somewhere as a tourist but not long term) and will allow you to have serious conversations with people or at least give you a reason to try and have conversations with people (who are generally nice about foreigners attempting to pick up the local language).
    • LurkingPenguin 5y ago
      > One should absolutely, 100% make a good faith effort to learn the language of any country you intend to long-term reside in. This is a good ideal but as an expat currently living in East Asia, reality doesn't always match the ideal. 1. Some languages take a dedicated effort to learn in any meaningful way. For example, unless you're a language maestro, you're not going to pick up Chinese with a casual effort. If you're working, have a family, etc., you might not be able to make the kind of concerted, consistent effort required to become proficient. 2. I've been to places where if the locals know you speak the language, they will treat you more like a local, which isn't always a good thing. 3. In terms of having serious conversations, keep in mind that language ≠ culture. In some places, the biggest barrier to overcome is culture, not language. Also, in my own experience traveling and living abroad, there really isn't a "fly-by-night foreigner" stereotype that's applied uniquely to Americans. In fact, as an American, in lots of places, locals will be really interested to talk to you because a) American pop culture is so well known globally and b) they don't encounter Americans nearly as frequently as they do nationalities who tend to travel more than Americans. For instance, in much of Asia, pre-pandemic there were a lot more Australians and Europeans than Americans. In lots of places, your "standing in the community" will be based on socioeconomic and residency factors. For example, where I live currently, the fact that I'm American, have residency through business ownership, live in a luxury apartment, etc. affects how I am perceived more than my inability to speak the language.
• ssijak 5y ago
  You can do it pretty much anywere. But yeah, Eastern Europe or SE Asia would be easier then Western Europe. If you wan't similar culture, go for Eastern Europe capital cities. In Belgrade where I am from you can get 10gbps internet at home where there is fiber, if no fiber then 200-300mbps cable. In Thailand and Bali I also experienced very good 4g internet and good fiber optic cable net.
• quantumBerry 5y ago
  Paraguay. Cost of living $300/mo in Asuncion. You can get permanent visa allowing you full rights to live and work for life by depositing 5k in local bank.
  • subpixel 5y ago
    Also, the best coffee I have ever had in my life.
• devops000 5y ago
  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.
  • rich_sasha 5y ago
    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.
    • devops000 5y ago
      Organized crime have international business operation bigger than us. They don’t care about you. It’s just a movie stereotype. If you go to Sicily you should more worry about you how much good food you will eat rather than organized crime :)
      • rich_sasha 5y ago
        I loved loved LOVED Sicily as a tourist. One of the few things holding me back from moving there would be the above concern.
    • mdp2021 5y ago
      You are probably not going to open a shop - so, I guess you will be basically "invisible" anyway.
    • lormayna 5y ago
      As Italian, I can say that there is not any risk about organised crime for a "normal" person, unless you are not going to open a shop. I would feel safer in Sicily than in some zones of Milan.
  • Dracophoenix 5y ago
• paxys 5y ago
  Rather than looking at entire countries as a whole you should consider the urban vs rural split. Major cities in Eastern Europe or Korea or even third world countries are still going to be a lot more expensive than, say, some random town 200 miles outside of San Francisco or New York. First decide what kind of lifestyle you are looking for.
  • tpm 5y ago
    Depends on what you count as major cities; the second biggest city in any EE country will be much cheaper than the capital. But in Eastern Europe you also get health insurance much cheaper than in the US.
    • Lionga 5y ago
      Not true for Romania, where Cluj is more expensive than Bucharest. Also not true in Germany where Munich is more expensive than Berlin. Probably not true in most countries.
      • ptudan 5y ago
        Is cluj really more expensive? Maybe for the average Romanian, but expat areas in Bucharest are the priciest in the country, last I checked. I'm half Romanian and have been considering doing what OP is doing for a while. Cluj was probably going to be my choice, in case I wanted to hire any students.
      • tpm 5y ago
        I don't count Germany into Eastern Europe; there are historical reasons why Berlin is cheaper than some western German cities. Certainly what I wrote is true for Czechia (Brno cheaper than Prague), Slovakia (Kosice cheaper than Bratislava), quite sure also for Hungary, probably Serbia, Bulgaria and Ukraine too.
        • boruto 5y ago
          Cheap? May be. But the care is terrible too. Me and my wife pay upwards of 1500 EUR per month. We are healthy young people. My recent experience with public health care in Germany shows how terrible it is.
• kaycebasques 5y ago
  One thing I'll mention for US citizens. Aetna's Mobile Healthcare Plan seems fairly reasonable. I'm paying around $300 a month total for coverage for my partner and me (most comprehensive coverage, highest deductible). Apparently it's still valid in the US so long as you spend the simple majority of your time outside of the US (i.e. 6 months abroad). https://www.aetnainternational.com/en/individuals/health-plans/mobile-health-care-plan.html https://www.aetnainternational.com/en/individuals/health-pla...
  • mysecretaccount 5y ago
    Wow, that is extremely reasonable. I'm looking to FIRE in the next year and live >6 months abroad, and as a single person, any amount of coverage for <$300/month is a godsend and will not eat into my retirement significantly.
    • LurkingPenguin 5y ago
      The problem you might run into is that if you're not spending at least 330 days out of every 365-day period abroad or, alternatively, don't establish bona fide residence in a foreign country, if you're an American citizen or permanent resident you will still be required to have health insurance that qualifies as minimum essential coverage under the ACA, or pay a penalty. These expat health insurance plans are designed for expats living abroad, not US residents who spend time (even a significant amount) outside of the US each year.
  • echelon 5y ago
    Is there something like this for domestic health insurance (ie. no time abroad)? Is there any risk they would drop you if you or your partner had a major illness or injury?
    • js2 5y ago
      An ACA plan + Federal tax credit if you're between 100% and 400% of Federal poverty level. https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/individuals-and-families/premium-tax-credit-flow-chart-are-you-eligible https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/individuals-and-fami... https://www.healthcare.gov/lower-costs/ https://www.healthcare.gov/lower-costs/
• ApolloRising 5y ago
  Easiest is probably Mexico or in small town usa in texas.
  • xtracto 5y ago
    It depends a lot on the type of "experience" OP is looking for, but Mexico would be very good if he is looking to still be close to US culture. My suggestion will be somewhere like Ensenada, La Paz (Baja) for the West side. Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Guanajuato for the center or Merida or Campeche for the east.
• greenie_beans 5y ago
  alabama or mississippi. it's not all bad if you know where to go.
  • selimthegrim 5y ago
    New Orleans too
• DanielHouston 5y ago
  You can comfortably live in Latvia on that budget, internet infrastructure is very good & cheap. I got by for years only speaking English.
• throw63738 5y ago
  Bulgaria, very nice country with forests, mountains and sea. Also sort of tax heaven. Or Georgia, very visa friendly. Do not go somewhere hot with too many distractions. It will ruin your productivity.
• nishnik 5y ago
  You can live in almost any city in India for less than 1k USD per month. In Bangalore (Tier-1 City), rent for a 1-bed-hall-kitchen apartment will be around 200 USD. Add 10 USD per month for high speed internet. Another 100 USD per month for a dedicated maid and cook. Add 200 USD for all kind of grocery. That will be around 500 USD per month of living expenses. You can live in Varkala/Goa (if you love beaches) and Dharmshala/Shimla (if you love mountains) for even less.
  • Markoff 5y ago
    yeah, good luck working with daily power outages
    • anujkk 5y ago
      It depends on the city. I am living in Mumbai since 2014 and faced power outage only once which was due to grid failure caused by some cyber attack. Otherwise, there is uninterrupted power supply 24x7x365.
    • johnmw 5y ago
      If you are planning on working in India, Hyperjuice[1] is your friend (or similar). [1] https://www.hypershop.com/collections/hyperjuice https://www.hypershop.com/collections/hyperjuice
  • amznbyebyebye 5y ago
    Which cities have the best weather and are safest? I’ve thought about relocating as an American born indian (abcd as the natives call it..)
• pythonbase 5y ago
  You can live in Pakistan. 1 USD equals to 168PKR at the moment and $1K per month would get you a good life in the metropolis of Karachi which has good internet and other amenities.
• wsc981 5y ago
  With my girlfriend and daughter I live in Thailand (Thai countryside) and we have a budget of about 50.000 THB per month, or about 1.300 USD. We own our house, so we don't pay rent and we don't have any loans. This budget doesn't include costs for health insurance, which I pay separately. I think a single guy could live on quite a bit less, but has to pay some rent. For about 250-300 USD per month you can get a decent enough place to live I'd wager (think: condo studio, 35 m2, gym, swimming pool). If you eat Thai food some of the time, food can be quite cheap (a meal without drinks could be had for about 1-2 USD in a typical Thai food stall or at a food court). If you buy foreign food things can get more expensive. Depending on where you live, coffee can also be had for 1-2 USD. Renting a scooter would be advisable for getting around a city, but would cost an additional 100 USD per month.
  • rwmj 5y ago
    Thai food is so good I don't know who wouldn't want to eat it all the time.
    • busterarm 5y ago
      I have a lemongrass allergy but I get by.
    • Markoff 5y ago
      yeah, I thought Chinese food is great and diverse as well, but you will get tired of it after eating it daily for year or two and wanna change, so have to switch at least to Korean, Japanese, Malaysian or Western (Big Pizza and Saizeriya FTW)
  • danenania 5y ago
    Can I ask how old your daughter is? Doing the nomad thing in cheaper, less developed countries seems a lot tougher to manage with kids, and even more so in the countryside. Gotta think about schools, pediatricians, dentists, finding play-mates for them, kid-friendly things to do, and so on. I'd be curious to hear about how you balance all that.
    • 5y ago
• acjacobson 5y ago
  As others have said you could do this in many places - including countries that are generally more expensive like Germany (350-450€ for a small flat in Leipzig). In practice the main challenge might be finding a short-term rental for as low as people staying a year or more, so factor that in to your search.
• rdevsrex 5y ago
  I live in South Africa now, with my wife and daughter, and while I could live in less than 1000 usd, it would be in dodgier areas of town. That said for a nice 3 bedroom pay ~700 usd, and food is like 250 per person. So from the sound of things, there are much better options out there.
  • bingohbangoh 5y ago
    Serious Question: are there parts of South Africa that aren't dodgy? After the recent riots in Kwazulu-Natal, it seems kind of wild.
    • sgt 5y ago
      Yes there are. Tons. I live in South Africa and feel completely safe. And I don't live in a security estate either. It's not as crazy as what you see on the news. It is however all about location.
      • bingohbangoh 5y ago
        What locations would you recommend that are safe?
        • sgt 5y ago
          Anywhere in the Western Cape, but I mean it doesn't just end there. I would be perfectly happy with many places in Johannesburg (like Bryanston), Pretoria, and also many rural locations. That is not to say security is not a serious concern in many of these places, but you can lower the risk substantially by choosing the right neighborhoods etc. Most of the crime happens in the dodgy areas (ironically - poor people suffer the most from crime).
• mysecretaccount 5y ago
  (Created a throwaway because I don't want my employer to somehow notice that I'm retiring in ~a year) This thread is highly reassuring to me. I spent six months traveling around SEA in 2014 on ~$1k/month. It was pretty easy to stick to that budget even with the cost of moving around. Seven years later, I had mostly assumed that a $1k/month existence was hard to come by unless you are willing to live in relative poverty - apparently that is not the case. Hopefully inflation and the post-pandemic travel boom do not change this much.
• freediver 5y ago
  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-visit/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/serbia-best-places-to... https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20170822-belgrades-floating-river-clubs https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20170822-belgrades-floati... https://theculturetrip.com/europe/serbia/articles/an-expats-guide-to-living-in-serbia/ https://theculturetrip.com/europe/serbia/articles/an-expats-... https://www.quora.com/What-is-life-like-for-American-expats-in-Belgrade-Serbia https://www.quora.com/What-is-life-like-for-American-expats-... https://www.quora.com/Why-are-so-many-foreigners-moving-to-Belgrade-Serbia https://www.quora.com/Why-are-so-many-foreigners-moving-to-B... https://yankee-in-belgrade.blogspot.com https://yankee-in-belgrade.blogspot.com
  • wil421 5y ago
    180 degrees from what culture? I’ve been to Belgrade a few times for work and worked with lots of Serbians for a number of years. They are more like the conservatives in the US. People move to Belgrade because it’s cheap and the food is awesome. I’ve partied at the Splavs and had a great time. Random people were much more friendlier than Germans (the Serbs told me they were robots). There are some resentments by the Serbs against Americans and NATO bombings. It did come up while I was there.
    • dbancajas 5y ago
      So if you're non caucasian it's a big NO?
      • wil421 5y ago
        Lol. All I can say is that if you’re Muslim or of African decent it’s not gonna be the same as a Caucasian. Many do not believe in political correctness. Not that Europe abides by that like the US does but also not something you’d see in the UK, France, or Germany. Even Indian coworkers had "issues" there. I have childhood friends who came to the US during the Yugoslav wars in the 90s. When I mentioned them my coworkers they would quickly point out the last name was Muslim and not Serbian. Also they would point out the one or two Albanians that worked with us.
• stnguyenvn 5y ago
  Anywhere in Vietnam, especially outside of Saigon. Good internet connection (I worked for companies in the US and EU with daily meetings for 4 years). I'd recommend Da Nang. A modern, clean city, with both beautiful beaches and mountains, and an international airport.
• shmde 5y ago
  1000USD is quite a big amount in India. You can live like a king with 150-200mbps, eat out frequently, go to pubs on weekends. Location Bangalore. The weather is mostly pleasant throughout the year.
• sureklix 5y ago
  Go to south west Turkey. Several kite surfing towns, food is very similar to Greek, people are super friendly, weather is fantastic. Internet is good enough. Finally, 1K USD a month is equivalent to a local mid-level engineer net salary.
  • inson 5y ago
    Eastern part is cheaper and less crowded.
• jonatron 5y ago
  Not quite $1k per month, but in the cheap areas of the UK you can rent for $620/mo, call bills another $230. After adding food, you won't be far over $1000. Just in case you wanted an English speaking country and could stretch the budget.
  • selimthegrim 5y ago
    How cheap is Norwich?
    • jonatron 5y ago
      Not the cheapest. Rent would be more like $900.
  • Doctor_Fegg 5y ago
    You can do it even cheaper than that: there’s a one-bedroom studio flat on Rightmove right now for $380pcm in Newtown, mid-Wales, for example. Newtown itself is ok but the surrounding countryside is gorgeous.
  • dmje 5y ago
    You'd be really pushed to live on $150/m food. That's £110. Even if you went veggie, super healthy, cooked yourself I think you'd struggle. And zero going out or booze...
• jl2718 5y ago
  I can nearly guarantee that there are many people living under $1k/mo within 10 miles of wherever you are. That’s the low-chaos option if you really want to focus. Such a question is common from people who are running away from an unhealthy situation unrelated to geography. If so, maybe cut that off prior to and independently of the move, and then probably move anyway.
  • ghaff 5y ago
    It depends where you are. You're almost certainly going to have car costs if you're not in some city--and for many cities you're going to have to put up with miserable bus service. I'm pretty sure you're not going to draw a 10 mile radius from SF, Manhattan, or Boston and get to $1K/month or it's going to be really miserable. Your statement's probably literally true but I assume it's mostly people living with family or other community.
  • tyingq 5y ago
    There would be a huge bridge trying to live on $1k/month in the US, assuming you were ratcheting down from some larger income. You wouldn't qualify for subsidized health insurance, for example, until that $1k/month was in place for a year.
  • 41209 5y ago
    >Such a question is common from people who are running away from an unhealthy situation unrelated to geography. If so, maybe cut that off prior to and independently of the move, and then probably move anyway. I have a ton of money saved up and I've never gotten a chance to live in another country. So why not. Worst come to worse I can always come back and proceed to work another 30 years.
    • jl2718 5y ago
      I say go for it, but maybe don’t bring anything with you, and don’t leave anything behind.
  • deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
• xupybd 5y ago
  Vietnam is crazy cheap. A big city will have great internet. The south is a little more western but really hot. The north is very nice too. Hanoi is a little more expensive. If you leave the country you can get another travel visa for 3 months. So if you take a small holiday every three months you can stay for a long time. Covid has the shut down but that won't be forever.
• huachimingo 5y ago
  In Latin America you can try Chile, we are doing OK with the pandemic compared to other countries, we are in opening phase now, housing can be not that cheap but you may try sharing an apartment/room/house. The south can be pretty nice and chill compared to the capital (see Canada vs US), but you have less services the more you are in rural areas. Dunno how the prices are there, though. Capital's downtown can be very calm compared to the hell of Santiago's (too much peasants on the road!), but in Santiago you have museums and All-the-nice-stuff(tm) like architecture and European-like roads, metro to everywhere,etc. It can feel like living in another country sometimes, but some things costs more. Same with Valparaíso or Viña, doesnt look that good but at least you have beaches and a lot of services. Beware our spanish dialect, we use lots of loanwords and nonstandard stuff sometimes...
• piyushpr134 5y ago
  If you are a developer, you can move to Bangalore. You can get a new job in a heartbeat. Salaries here for a senior dev can range between $60K to $120K. Living expenses depends on where you live and what you do. You can easily live here in $1K. A decent 2/3bhk (2/3 bedrooms, hall and kitchen) with all furnishing in a nice area would cost $400-500 along with maintenance. Rest is super cheap. $20 for really fast internet. $5 for all you eat 4g phone connection. Netflix here is also very cheap at $10. $200 for groceries would fetch all kinds of good fresh veggies. $150 for a maid to clean, wash and cook etc. Rest you can use up on ordering food (roughly $5-10 per meal)...huge number of eating out and ordering in options. Delivery apps are everywhere so no need to go out. Uber is there for going around. Medical is really cheap compared to USA. You can get really good insurance policy for say $300 per annum which will cover everything and then some. Weather of Bangalore is really nice. Never too hot
  • gilney 5y ago
    What about working visa?
• pavlov 5y ago
  You could live in rural Finland on $1k USD, although frugally. The upsides: lots of peace and quiet, excellent infrastructure, almost no crime, progressive Scandinavian values, almost everybody speaks English. The downsides: long dark winter, sparsely populated, quiet people don't actively seek interaction with newcomers. Probably not ideal unless you're serious about just huddling down to work.
• pelasaco 5y ago
  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!
  • bingohbangoh 5y ago
    Isn't Argentina currently under a strict lockdown?
    • pelasaco 5y ago
      I fail to find in the question, the time period when the user is planning to do it. I wasn't assuming he is planning to do it literally right now.
  • fernandopj 5y ago
    +1 about South of Brazil. USD 1k with BRL as it is, it's more than enough to get an entire middle-class apartment for yourself and pay for all utilities in any neighborhood. (I'd not recommend largest southeast cities because you could feel "back" in L.A. traffic). As I've experienced trying to rent a place in SF, in Brazil even largest cities are _waaay_ easier. You'd have to talk directly to an owner (since it would be difficult for you to prove income) but it wouldn't be a problem finding them and renting for less than a year. Language will not be a problem, there's a startup scene if you feel like talking shop, and plenty of places to see and visit. You'd have all the infrastructure to stay for a long time.
  • mlcruz 5y ago
    South of Brazil is alright, but as someone who lives in Porto Alegre it is not really 'safe'. By far the best place to live in Brasil is São paulo (state) countryside. Very safe cities, close to urban centers, not expensive at all. Santos is also pretty nice but 1k might fall short. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_S%C3%A3o_Paulo_by_HDI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_S%C3...
• liveoneggs 5y ago
  You can do this in Savannah, GA which is an excellent city for being a single artist.
• ww520 5y ago
  Barbados in Caribbean is really nice. It has some partnerships with Canada and is nomad friendly.
• ChemSpider 5y ago
  Rural Taiwan. Very good and affordable health care. Super fast and cheap mobile Internet.
  • cloudedcordial 5y ago
    Very good food, too. The downside of Taiwan is to learn the local language.
    • mdp2021 5y ago
      Which, unless I am terribly wrong, involves ideographic characters and not alphabetic. This should be a major obstacle.
      • robjan 5y ago
        The written language is Traditional Chinese.
        • mdp2021 5y ago
          Exactly. I can recommend the work for Shaolan, Chineasy, for having the basics for Chinese language ideograms - and she is from Taiwan. Unfortunately, if ideograms is all you have in the place, it will take quite some time and effort to be proficiently integrated.
  • contingencies 5y ago
    Having cycled much of it I would recommend the east coast around Taidong. Best pineapples ever.
  • mikeho1999 5y ago
    Actually, I would say anywhere in Taiwan other than Taipei, you'd be fine on $1k USD / month... so for those that would still prefer urban/city life, you should definitely consider Kaohsiung or Tainan -- both urban centers that are in the southern part of Taiwan. Weather may be a bit more of an issue though (especially in the summertime), but cost of living is still very very reasonable. Agreed on the language though -- Taiwan in general is a bit tougher to navigate for non-Chinese speakers. You may be able to get by with just English in Taipei, but in the rural areas or in the central/southern urban centers, it'll be a bit tougher.
• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• birdman3131 5y ago
  Is outside the US a requirement? if not I could point at a few cities in the us where that is doable.
• fluder 5y ago
  Ukraine — almost in any city. I recommend Kharkiv and Lviv.
  • adventured 5y ago
    Kharkiv would be difficult if you don't know Russian. English adoption is very low there.
• dougmwne 5y ago
  Lots and lots of places. Plenty of the world is safe, cheap and easy to live in for a few months. Do you have any specific time zone requirements? That makes a big difference if collaborating with anyone. The length of time you can stay on a tourist visa has a big impact. It is limited to 90 days in most of the EU where there are open borders. You would need to fully exit the schengen zone countries for 90 days to be eligible for another 90. This is one of the things that makes Croatia and Bulgaria popular, since they are within the EU, but outside schengen. A few countries are starting digital nomad visas, so if you want to stay longer you can look into those. Not sure what your vibe is, but check out Bansko, Bulgaria as a nice summer and winter destination with a good set of coworking spaces, extremely cheap cost of living and expat/digital nomad community. Lisbon and Chiang Mai are also very popular in the DN community. Really a lot of this would depend on the time of year for me since I like being places when the weather is nice. And an obligatory mention of health insurance in these covid times. Travel insurance can be quite cheap and the health care systems of other countries can have vastly reduced prices as well, just make sure you have looked into this and made a plan.
• ofou 5y ago
  Pichilemu, Valparaíso (Viña del Mar) or Santiago of Chile are actually pretty good, safe and cheap, and there's a Google node just a couple of streets of the port in Valpo. Chile is also 8th in the world in Fixed Broadband. source: https://www.speedtest.net/global-index https://www.speedtest.net/global-index
  • Ramiuz 5y ago
    Can confirm as a Chilean. Santiago gets more expensive as you approach the main part of the city (Which offers more amenities), but overall, living with 1k USD is very doable (specially with the actual conversion rate). Living in other regions will be MUCH cheaper, but they tend to be more simple (outside the tourists hubs).
• andi999 5y ago
  You also need to check on visa requirements. Usually you cannot stay longer than 3 month per half year in Schengen on a tourist visa. I read a while ago some countries have special arrangement with th le US, but either this expired or it is well hidden.
• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• JCharante 5y ago
  I would suggest Vietnam but I don't know anybody there with gigabit internet. If you consider best case 100mbps good then here's my pitch Move to a big city in Vietnam. Pay less than $400 for a 1 bedroom serviced apartment (they clean it ~3 times per week, usually they do your laundry). You can get vegan food pretty easily, it's hot in the summer but you can just stay indoors with AC or go to businesses with AC. Tons of mall and theathers. Movie tickets are $2-$4, double that for soda + popcorn. A cheap meal will be $2, even less if you have a light lunch (think bánh mì) for $1. I'd usually spent $5 per meal or more just to eat foreign food after getting homesick. You can live in a trendier part of town by paying slightly more and be within walking distance of trendy western cafes/restaurants. You can take a motorbike taxi (pretty comfy outside of rush hour) for $5 all the way across town (20km) and a lot less if it's a shorter distance. During rush hour I like to take a car and that'll be $10 for a 9km trip usually. Plane tickets to other cities will be $40 one-way for vacation/travel purposes. Cheaper hotels $20/night and visiting beautiful beaches is very accessible. Travel to nearby countries (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, China) for around $200 in airfare. It's a great staging ground for the area. You seem American, so you can get a 1 year tourist visa (just need to get out of the country every 3 months, use it to visit another country for a few days) without any additional documents (no financial documents, etc).
• nonameiguess 5y ago
  Lowest average rent by state in the US is West Virginia at $628. That means some parts of West Virginia must be much cheaper than that. $400 for food and utilities seems easily doable, but probably not healthcare, so you're likely going to have to be uninsured and pray you don't get sick or injured for 6 months. I'm guessing you'd sage on moving and travel expenses by staying in the US, but maybe not enough compared to some truly cheap countries. I had a good friend in college from Kazakhstan and her family had a 20 bedroom mansion there appraised at the equivalent of about $40,000 USD.
  • 8792588987 5y ago
    I'm in Morgantown, West Virginia. A university city (cities don't get very large in West Virginia, the state only has 1.8 million people; it has seen zero population expansion for 90 years). Sold my house not long ago, moved to Morgantown, and I'm renting now. My rent for around 900 sq ft is sub $700. Electric + water + Comcast is a combined $100, that covers all of my utilities. I'm under $800 for rent + utilities and under $1,000 for rent + utilities + food. Crime is low, as is the murder rate; I don't think there has been a murder here in roughly five years. The Internet is great (Comcast goes up to 1.2gbps here for $80/month, but I don't have a use for that). There's a decent bus system that goes to most parts of the city and is cheap to use. The area, and really the state in general, is overwhelmingly green; drive a short distance in any direction and you've escaped civilization. There's skiing an hour away in the Winter, and a few popular lakes within that distance as well. Oddly housing prices are higher than they should be for the income levels of the region, and it has been that way for a long time, so that's a downside (but this is relatively speaking, as you can buy a nice house here for under $400k; for anyone working in tech remote it's not expensive). It is a boring, docile, quiet region, and that's not everyone's cup of tea; the restaurants are lacking, and there's no consequential nightlife; the nearest relevant city, Pittsburgh, is 80 minutes away. In the US, university cities - which the US has a lot of - are often the hidden gems of combining safe (low crime, low murder rate) + a relatively low cost of living.
• hardwaregeek 5y ago
  Mexico is a great option. It’s extremely cheap, has great food, the language isn’t too hard to learn, and it’s a lot safer than people think, as long as you stay in specific areas.
  • erehweb 5y ago
    which areas?
    • hardwaregeek 5y ago
      I'm not an expert on all of the safe areas but the richer areas of Mexico City and Oaxaca are certainly safe.
    • hombre_fatal 5y ago
      I've lived across Mexico for almost a decade. You don't need to stick to specific places, there are just specific places to avoid that are hard to arrive at accidentally, like northern border towns. Petty crime is always on the table though.
• thegypsyking 5y ago
  Check out nomad capitalist youtube. I know the guy, he is incredibly nice and knowledgeable on this topic. Myself, I would recommend Mexico and Bali but I’m Eastern European so really bored of the area. Georgia (the country) would be much better than Poland and other suggestions here though.
• diegorbaquero 5y ago
  Colombia, even on Bogotá and Cartagena is super doable.
  • i-848181-neev 5y ago
    Came here to add Colombia to the list though I would suggest Medellin. Stayed there for six months. Inexpensive, friendly people, generally safe if you stay near the Poblado area and not flaunt your wealth. Use apps for just about everything and if you’re inclined, cook at home. Here’s a cost breakdown: Rent: staying at a 4.5/5 star hotel near Poblado runs you $400-500 USD, check with some of the newer hotels and avoid Booking.com (at least after your two week stay). Hotels will work with you If you try to negotiate long term pricing, some even have bigger and dedicated rooms. Check out properties with Caracol and AirBnB. The idea is if you negotiate pricing outside the platform, it’s often cheaper for longer term stays. Food: use Rappi to order your meals, it’s similar to Uber Eats (since discontinued in the country); half the cost of what you’ll usually pay in the US. Transportation: Uber, DiDi, Cabify. Loved the country and looking to return next year. Haven’t been able to obtain a visa yet.
• collaborative 5y ago
  No one has said this but one option also is to book an all inclusive hotel deal in Spain, Portugal Morocco, Tunis, Egypt, Greece, Turkey or Israel. These destinations have amazing value for money because of the volume of tourism And you won't have to worry about cooking or cleaning. Every day delicious buffets and room service :-) you could even keep switching hotel and do some lazy traveling. I do this once a year but only for a couple weeks because I have a family to come back to. I feel reborn each time
  • phonon 5y ago
    For $1000 per month? Links please?
    • collaborative 5y ago
      Yes, replied below. Just go on loveholidays and filter results.. I usually decide the country on the best deals to get more value. You can do the same in winter if you fancy skiing in Bulgaria
      • phonon 5y ago
        I don't see a price filter/sort in the results there. Can you show some examples?
        • collaborative 5y ago
          There is no filter in "hotel only" results, but what you can do is a "hotel + flight" search, which allows price filtering, and then do a hotel only booking once you've found an affordable/cheap option you are happy with. Don't forget to tick the "all inclusive" checkbox
  • gilney 5y ago
    Is this possible with a 1000USD/month budget?
    • 5y ago
• artem247 5y ago
  Ukraine fits the bill, you can rent a nice apartment in downtown part of town, internet is cheap and fast, food costs something like 3 times less then US, cities are walkable, you don't really need a car. Lviv or Ivano-Frankivsk for a more cozy atmosphere or Kyiv if you really want to live in a big city. Climate is on the other hand, winters could be cold and summers unpleasantly hot so in that regard Balkans could be better.
• bserge 5y ago
  Romania, some major city that's not the capital. The outskirts of Cluj are perfect, maybe Sibiu or Brasov. Access to all sorts of nature and activities, affordable housing (big apartments, could even find a nice detached house for less than $500), great food from around Europe, great selection of restaurants/fast food, easy access to the rest of Europe and the world, lovely people who will speak English enthusiastically (maybe not that well though) and of course great Internet for very cheap. $1000/mo without paying local taxes is enough for all of the above. In the cities, crime is very low if you're worried (the criminals moved west lol), bureaucracy is on par with Germany (OK that means it's shit), corruption is very low. Whole damn country is a hidden jewel of Europe. Just maybe not that affordable to locals heh.
  • contingencies 5y ago
    I second this, Romania is really lovely. North side of the Carpathians, with proximity to forest.
  • pedrogpimenta 5y ago
    I love your country, your people and your food. I've been several times and considered living there (ultimately, plans changed). By all means, promote it. But not with lies. Corruption is a big problem in Romania: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Romania https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Romania
    • sbalea 5y ago
      To be honest, you'll most likely encounter corruption if you intend to operate a business, especially if said business has anything to do with any level of government. As an ordinary resident you might have to deal with bureaucracy, but that's not different than in any other European country. I might have a rosy picture of the state of things, since I only come here on vacations and to visit family, but I was born and raised here and I think I can see significant improvements on this front.
  • sbalea 5y ago
    +1 on this. Gorgeous landscape, very fast and cheap internet and cell networks. Decent number of people speaking decent English, especially amongst the urban youth. Not as cheap as it used to be, but still cheaper than Western Europe.
• dvh 5y ago
  I live in Slovakia and I have spent €4112.09 in entire 2020 on everything (housing, food, hobbies, ...), I don't have a car so that could raise your spending (although you should not need one, you're be sitting on your ass making a game, mass transit is decent too). I also live in my own 1 room apartment so no rent, but bills are like 120/month (heating, water, maintenance, ...). Health insurance is €80/month. Internet costs €7/month for 80 MBit/s. Cheapest shared local lamp web hosting costs €3/month. Lunch in restaurant €5. Avoid capital and go to second or third largest city. If you are not white you will get stares.
• kzisme 5y ago
  Sort of a side tangent, but what is the best way to go about choosing a place (even in the US) to live? Aside from budget ofc.
  • system2 5y ago
    I would say it comes down to personal preference. I love nature, I would love to live near mountains with relatively safe animals around. Some might love being near the water, and some in city environment. To live in the U.S. for $1000 somebody really needs to stick to strict living because starbucks cost the same everywhere etc.
    • kzisme 5y ago
      That's fair - I've been working fully remote for ~5 years now and I'm trying to decide where to move (not under the same constraints as OP though)
• lormayna 5y ago
  Albania. It's still a developing country, but the climate is perfect, places are stunning and you can live with a lot less than 1k/month.
• tmprry 5y ago
  - Eastern Europe - Balkans (South-East Europe) - Portugal All cheap, decent healthcare and if you play your card rights you can avoid downsides (like heavy pollution mentioned). As a rule of thumb, check all the countries with an average monthly salary below 1k $. Bonus points if the average monthly salary in the capital city is below 1k $. Then sort out all the countries with heavy downsides (check HDI).
• bitcurious 5y ago
  Kiev is great. Cheap apartment about $500, coworking around $140, $300 for food with a decent amount of eating out at lower end places.
• rmason 5y ago
  Detroit - In 2021 30.6% of the city's population lives below the US federal poverty level. For a single person that's $16,000 a year. Pros - Large spirited startup community Negatives - High levels of crime. Snow and cold weather in the winter months.
• JoeAltmaier 5y ago
  https://www.goatsontheroad.com/15-countries-live-on-1000-per-month-or-less/ https://www.goatsontheroad.com/15-countries-live-on-1000-per...
• screye 5y ago
  You should check out touristy parts of India. Kerala backwaters or Himalayan towns of Dharamshala, Manali, Gangtok would also work. Alternatively, be basic and go to Goa. If there is one thing India has, it is good internet.
• retrac 5y ago
  Honestly, decent health insurance will be the biggest cost in many cases, whatever country you go to. The subsidized stuff is usually only available to citizens and permanent residents. A short-term visitor has to pay full up front. While healthcare costs in lower income nations are lower they're not trivial. Otherwise, even a high-cost country like Canada (or the USA) can just about be afforded on $1000 a month if you go out in the sticks and cook for yourself and take transit and walk. But non-residents are looking at that much again, for private health insurance.
• fridif 5y ago
  Solar panel + battery + 5g internet + tent + food + car + Bureau of Land Management campable land. Thank me later!
• NKosmatos 5y ago
  There many cities in Greece where you can live with 1k. Patras, Chania, Ioannina and other relatively small cities offer a good balance between cost of living and access to various activities. Try to avoid Athens and the well known islands & tourist places since rent is expensive. Greece is safer than other Eastern European countries (IMHO), has relatively good internet access, more sun, friendlier people and most people know English. There are many co-working spaces available and there are some government programs running for attracting digital nomads (tax exemptions, work visa…).
• nice_byte 5y ago
  Armenia. Internet service is good. Cost of living is cheap. Yerevan is a modern, safe, mid-sized city that is easy to get around. Lots of bars, restaurants if you're into that kind of stuff. There's a small tight-knit tech community. Downsides: language barrier can be a problem, but generally there's at least some degree of English knowledge among the younger population. If you happen to know Russian, it'll be even easier since most people understand it there. Also, with COVID, prepare for a LOT of people refusing to mask up or vaccinate. Better get your shots before going.
• qnk 5y ago
  I just came back from 2 months in Colombia with my wife and a 3 year old. You can definitely live off 1k USD in an intermediate city (not Bogota) with a very high living standards compared to the average colombian. Medellin would be my recommendation, very safe, unbeatable weather, access to high speed internet, a trendy startup culture and decent level of English-speaking people, non-stop daily flights to major US cities and same time zone as the US.
  • kilroy123 5y ago
    I don't know about _very_ safe but it certainly isn't how it used to be. Let's be real, you're in Latin America. It is safer than most Americans would think? Yes, but saying very safe is a bit of a stretch. Source: I lived in Medellin and spent years living in Latin America.
• finnjohnsen2 5y ago
  Forget Scandinavia
  • Ekaros 5y ago
    Not good living, but possible. I don't think it's impossible to find smaller studio for about 500€ in smaller towns. Ofc, living on 500€ is tough, but not impossible.
• tejohnso 5y ago
  Wouldn't this be very doable in the US, with a lot less hassle? Have you looked at rent prices in some of the smaller cities in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Utah?
• thegagne 5y ago
  Grandview, MO. There are homes for sale for as low as $80k, so you can not only live cheap but build equity. It’s a splurge on your budget but Google Fiber is available. Grandview is the poor side of town and many people live very cheap. The amenities of the KC area are nearby, many of them free. The parks are great.
• coolgoose 5y ago
  România :)
• nazgulnarsil 5y ago
  I have done a bit of cross checking of different quality of life metrics and from what I have seen Croatia/Slovenia, Portugal, and South Korea emerge as outliers on the tradeoffs between cost and quality of life. If you are English speaking Croatia and Slovenia become the winner.
• kuratkull 5y ago
  1000 USD = 850 EUR. You could get by in Estonia, though not very lavishly. An average quality rental apartment is ca. 400-600 EUR/month in the capitol Tallinn. So you'd have some money left for food and stuff. There's free public transport. But the average net-wage is around 1200 EUR, so you'd have to sacrifice some things compared even to the average Estonian. But you'd win in having a small IT friendly city to live in.
• koilke 5y ago
  Tokyo, you can find a decent apartment for around $600(cheaper alternatives exist) in the centre. Then maybe around $100 for utilities and the rest for food and entertainment(considering that you cook on your own). For housing market: https://www.homes.co.jp/chintai/tokyo/map/ https://www.homes.co.jp/chintai/tokyo/map/
  • Dracophoenix 5y ago
    How decent is "decent"? 80sqm?
• brunojppb 5y ago
  If you like living off around the beach with a stable weather year around (summer from January to December) and amazing food, have a look at this small town called “João Pessoa” in Brazil. 1k USD there you can leave quite comfortably, including rent and all living costs (way above the average there) I come from there and while I am living in the EU at the moment, I plan in retiring early and move back soon.
• jeroenhd 5y ago
  Assuming you're American, be aware that you might still need to pay some taxes to the US despite living abroad (as long as you're a citizen). Many countries have set up their tax law to make sure you don't get taxed twice because of the USA's weird tax laws, but it's worth taking into account!
  • dmarlow 5y ago
    Isn't the first 100k tax free?
• hirako2000 5y ago
  Indonesia. And outside Jakarta to save another 40% Philippines, same logic avoid the capital. Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar (not safe these days perhaps), Peru, Mexico, Chile, Ukraine, Belarus, Croatia, Bulgaria, C.replublic. All those countries will cost you far less than 1k usd per month, given you avoid the capital city center and other hot spot where rent is double price.
• delaaxe 5y ago
  Georgia (the country) is a good option. This video has other interesting alternatives: https://youtu.be/9aY8_DISMJ0 https://youtu.be/9aY8_DISMJ0
• hn-is-life 5y ago
  In order of increasing cost of living: Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania. Why these countries: * cheap (this is why Greece is not there) * Christian i.e. culturally closer to America than say Turkey or Albania or Bosnia) * 0-wokeness (if you are LGBTQ you will probably find it a bit more difficult, but Tinder/Grindr works so you can definitely find people for sex) * good internet for near 0 cost Probably best to pick the capital of each of them, or a large coastal (or mountain) town.
• villasv 5y ago
  Look for countries where the USD is in a 5y high. Brazil, for instance, was 2.5:1 a few years back... it's now 5.2:1. I imagine one or another G20 country that didn't handle COVID very well can be in a similar situation. This won't last forever, but it will last at least one or two years so it's a good opportunity for you.
• SavantIdiot 5y ago
  How long? I spent 4 months in Vietnam in 2007 in HCMC. Rent was $300/mo for a sweet pad down the street from the Ben Thanh market. Food was $400/mo, and I didn't cook much at all because street food is cheap and delicious. However, I'm not sure how this would work out long term, like decades. I couldn't commit to living in a country like that full time. The language barrier would be overwhelming, and I did get tired of friends vanishing after just a few weeks. I'm a het-dude, and the local women I dated really wanted families asap and I wasn't ready -- there are a lot of highly successful women there who I got on with w/o much of a culture barrier since they had studied in US/Europe; I wasn't there doing the creepy-US-dude-looking-for-boomboom thing. Not sure I could have made a life for myself there and been happy into old age. I can't imagine what long term healthcare would be like into my 80's as an expat in Vietnam.
  • Rezwoodly 5y ago
    Lived there for roughly a year. Short term I cant think of anywhere better, the country is within the OPs budget and offers metropolis cities, to tropical beaches. The food is good, and the culture is fascinating - if thats your kind of thing & are prepared to be open minded. Long term, I share the same sentiments and felt it was time to leave after a hell of a year. On reflection, that year was probably on of the best of my 30+ years on this planet. I sometimes think of doing it all again, going into an unknown culture and winging it. You learn a lot about yourself that way. Good luck to OP whichever country he chooses!
    • SavantIdiot 5y ago
      Right? The Vietnamese were really, really friendly. Constantly had people wanting to talk to me wherever I went, regardless which part of the country. At first I was scared there was an ulterior motive, but not in the slightest. They just wanted to talk. Contrast: I spent some time in Central America a few years ago, and I found a lot of people who were really unfriendly, or hostile. Mostly because I didn't speak Spanish. Whew did I get yelled at a lot. One guy at a Panamanian IT cafe called me out when I asked for the password in English. He shouted: "You come here with all your money and expect us to do everything for you and you can't even speak our language?" Yikes. Whoops. He was 100% right. TBH, because of that incident I'm still embarrassed to this day when I have to travel to a country for work and can only speak the few phrases I crammed on the plane, and then have to point or speak English.
• gamechangr 5y ago
  https://www.moneycrashers.com/inexpensive-countries-2k-month-low-cost-living/ https://www.moneycrashers.com/inexpensive-countries-2k-month... I posted this for living on $2k or less
• gamechangr 5y ago
  I posted This for $2k a month with some comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27468779 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27468779
• pvaldes 5y ago
  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.
• virtualwhys 5y ago
  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.
• quotz 5y ago
  You can do this in Greece, cities like Thessaloniki or Athens, or even some satelite towns there on the beach. Also Balkans, Sofia and Belgrade are beautiful and 1K goes a long way.
• chadcmulligan 5y ago
  If you're happy in a share house, you could live on that in Aus, albeit frugally. Though if you wanted to live outside the cities you could get rent down to $600AUD, and leave you $800AUD to live on, $200 a week for everything else is stacks.
  • user123456780 5y ago
    This was me for 10+ years from leaving home through uni to early career. I lived 2km outside of the Brisbane CBD in a really nice neighbourhood on less than 1000AUD a month. It was enough money that I could eat well, afford beer and go out on the town every now an again. The cost of share housing hasn't gone up by a huge amount either. I am currently renting out the down stairs of my house (its dual living) for $150 a week per room (2 rooms). Each room gets a 2nd study room as well. Again this is in a nice neighbourhood about 2.5km from the CBD.
• stereoradonc 5y ago
  India! Set up a base in a Tier II City in North India. Accomodation around INR 10-15K 1GbPS Broadband: INR- 4000 (+ taxes)- This is now GST so you'd consolidated bill. Excellent 4G services- INR 300 with 1.5-2 GB of data per month. You can also opt for PostPaid. Living expenses around 15-20K (including trips for groceries+ Uber/Ola- tide hailing). 24 hours electricity- around INR 708 per unit. If you run AirCon for the whole day, youd not exceed around INRO 10k. I am assuming you have yourself covered for Netflix etc. The cities are not exactly bicycle friendly- I ride a cycle to work- but you can negotiate your way around.
• deleted 5y ago
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• tester9 5y ago
  I have a 2 BHK apartment available for rent in Bangalore, India for $375. Internet access is great and it's located right next to many US companies that have branches in India like IBM, Oracle etc.
• ditegashi 5y ago
  Kosovo or Albania
• deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
• exochrono 5y ago
  My family has a simple apartment in the outskirts of Tokyo, and we've occasionally toyed with the idea of renting it to foreigners for for cheapish (~$400/mo). If you don't go too crazy with fancy dining or anything like that, then I think living in Tokyo for ~$600 / mo isn't an insane proposition. Here's the website we created if you're interested - https://mitakahouse.omardiab.com/ https://mitakahouse.omardiab.com/
• ConanRus 5y ago
  First, define "live".
• holoduke 5y ago
  It's all depending on your life style. Even in a low wage country you would need more than the average Joe makes in that country or you are used to Western standards. I lived Ukraine for some years. Many local Devs around me were making around 3k living a good life. But I needed much more. I wanted to travel a lot. I wanted to drive expensive cars. And I wanted to live in a fancy apartment. And I also didn't like to cook. So I went to restaurants and clubs a lot. I spend around 6k minimum a month. As a nomad you need to make min 8k a month to be sustainable and live good. As a developer not that hard to make.
• anm89 5y ago
  Hands down. Come to Medellin. Send me an email if you want some advice on specifics. Ive been doing the nomad thing for almost 5 years now and the quality of life / $ is unbeatable.
  • codethief 5y ago
    +1 I lived in Medellín for four months a few years back. I'm dying to go back! To add some numbers: Back in 2016, - a basic but delicious lunch at the restaurant at the corner used to be ~7,000-8,000 COP (~2-3€ back then) - rooms in shared apartments could easily be found for ~300,000 COP (~100€) per month (or even less if you're fine with very basic accomodation) - a nice spacious apartment in one of the high rises was (at least) 1,000,000 COP (so ~300€) per month USD and EUR have become stronger since then but at the same time the COP has seen some inflation, so I'm not sure what the current price level is. > Ive been doing the nomad thing for almost 5 years now and the quality of life / $ is unbeatable. What industry are you in? Is it only remote work that you do or do you (by now) also have people you collaborate with in Medallo?
    • anm89 5y ago
      Surprise surprise, I do software consulting. Most of the prices you list are still roughly correct in 2021. It is getting easier to spend more here but the deals are still around. I arrived back here for my fourth trip about a week ago with no plans to ever leave. My goal is to do a startup in the tourism sector here. If you are in town write me an email
      • codethief 5y ago
        Niiice, looks like you're living my dream :) > I arrived back here for my fourth trip about a week ago with no plans to ever leave. Which neighborhood are you planning to move to? > If you are in town write me an email Will definitely do!
        • anm89 5y ago
          I'm in Provenza bt I'm trying to move out towards Santa Elena/Retiro
• ilaksh 5y ago
  Lucked out and found a nice little apartment in a gated community in Baja California for $500. $1000 is pushing it a little but doable.
• mrleinad 5y ago
  Argentina. Living alone, you'll be ok with half that, so you'll have plenty.
• nine_zeros 5y ago
  I would have said India - but it appears that you want a quiet place. India is an adventure. I don't think I'd work if I go there for 6 months.
• WalterBright 5y ago
  I just watched a season of Alone where people lived for up to 100 days in the Arctic with no more supplies than a backpack. Of course, you'd have to get good at hunting and bwasting wabbits.
• chimen 5y ago
  Romania. You can get a decent flat for 200euros/mo. 1gb/s internet + tv channels is only 10 euro which is high quality stuff compared to other places. Corrupt country/political system but you shouldn't be disturbed by that.
• theodric 5y ago
  If you buy a house outright and don't blow tons of money every month on stupid crap you don't actually need like eating out and cinema and clubbing, you can add large swathes of the United States and Western Europe to the list. Ireland, for example-- perfectly feasible, just not in Dublin.
  • brokencode 5y ago
    If your primary concern is runway with the cash you have, I would not recommend tying up a massive amount in buying a house. A $200,000 house would be 200 months of runway at $1,000 a month. And it’s not like you can actually live there for free. You still have property tax, utilities, maybe repairs, maybe HOA. Then you also have less flexibility to move or scale down if you decide to go for a cheaper place. Every home transaction has a 6% fee just for the real estate agents on top of any other fees, and your house could also lose value.
• kuesji 5y ago
  maybe turkey. 1k usd equals to 8.5k try and it will buy you mid level living. for example you will pay $100-200 for housing. ( i'm living with $500 in izmir and my rent is $120 )
• iamnotwhoiam 5y ago
  South East Asia (except Singapore) certainly, but you’d need to wait for travel restrictions to end.
• tvalentius 5y ago
  1k USD in Bali, Indonesia is very doable with decent housing & a good internet connection.
• RyanGoosling 5y ago
  Buy a $5 house in Detroit? Live off Costco rice bags?
• nikisweeting 5y ago
  Medellin or Bogota in Colombia are both cheap and have awesome tech scenes with major language conferences, coworking spaces, meetups, great food, music, etc.
• JoiDegn 5y ago
  I just left Kenya which has a couple of things going for it: - $1k allows you to comfortably live a upper middle class life-style - It has a thriving tech scene, lots of interesting startups coming up (I know because I just had to close mine) and lots of techies looking for work. - $1k also pays the salary of a decent developer there - It is culturally very different to the US and offers interesting perspectives Things I did not enjoy: - A quite "negative" post-colonial mind-set. I struggled to deeply connect with locals because there is a big divide. This is a complicated topic imo. - Traffic in Nairobi is bad
• berbom 5y ago
  Egypt, it's not a good country to live in, but check Dahab (city in south Sinai), it's a good place for freelancers and tourist at the same time Not very popular but that's good because that makes it cheaper and quieter than popluar destinations
• Kosirich 5y ago
  Croatia, Istria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnJldCAW0rM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnJldCAW0rM
• slmjkdbtl 5y ago
  Parent's house.
• adakbar 5y ago
  I live in Jakarta, Indonesia. My monthly living expenses (adjusted from IDR to USD on current rate) 1. Apartment rent, 6 months contract at $1300 + $200 deposit, pay upfront, thus $250 monthly. It is a small apartment 1 common area, 2 tiny bedroom, and tiny balcony 2. Utilities, varying from $30 to $50, mine has 2 AC running almost 24/7, a PC with average 200 to 300 watt power draw, and 5 led light bulbs 3. Meals, 3 times a day for 1 person, $20 daily or $600 monthly (this amount considered fancy meal, you can get way cheaper meals like $2/each, way cheaper if you cook) 4. Internet, up to 100 mbps, $35 monthly. Internet quality like speed and stability will depend on area 5. Phone data, $7 monthly 6. Cigarette, I'm a heavy smoker (almost 2 packs a day), $4 daily thus $120 monthly In total: ~$1050 I don't count for entertainment, transportation (people mostly use Gojek or Grab), subscription Experience living in Jakarta from native perspective. - Language barrier, most people can talk in English, although not that fluent, hand gestures give you more power than talk - Poor pedestrian side road, if you like to walk - City full of concretes, green park almost non existent - Bad air quality - Noisy if your resident near big road or high way - Covid-19 related situation, Jakarta not the worse but people here tend to not care about this Alternative to Jakarta, I would recommend. - Bandung, cheaper living cost, small city, good air quality on most part, had lived there for 2 years - Bali, foreigner friendly, especially Ubud area for extra nature scenery, I don't recommend Denpasar Let me know if you have any question (email on my profile), as a fellow game dev I admire your dedication
  • 41209 5y ago
    Thanks for your response. The rat race can wait , I think 6 months focused on game dev will get my game to where I need it to be. And if not, at least I had some fun. Any big cultural shocks.
    • adakbar 5y ago
      Can't say much about culture shocks, Indonesian myself, but from my european friend who live in Jakarta for almost a year now said "people just late everywhere"
• daedalus2027 5y ago
  Uruguay
• OmarAssadi 5y ago
  I had been paying a little over $1,000 USD per month in Tomsk, Russia. I had about 125 square meters in the center of the city, right across from the main university campus, 600/600Mbps unmetered symmetrical fiber with a static ipv4 address ($10 a month from domru), unlimited 4g (a little over $10 from megafon), ordered delivery for literally every meal, and used taxi apps for all my travel. The bureaucracy and paperwork for existing is probably a fair bit more than what you’d be used to in the US - e.g., needing to register your residence every time you go to a hotel, go back to your apartment, etc. But, the process for actually getting stuff done, like getting an apartment or getting bank account, is actually pretty simple and something you can navigate easily on your own or with any Russian speaking friend. Healthcare was good too. I had a good experience at the state run hospitals when I, unfortunately, needed surgery; patient staff, quality work, and I didn’t even carry my wallet in and walked out paying nothing. Similarly, ambulances were another painless experience, not even asking for my insurance. FWIW: I think the typical “nomad” is often quite a bit more right-wing and concerned about taxes and money than I am (don't take offense, just an observation!). The city is fairly liberal for Russia, it’s young, has a nice academic scene, etc. I’m not sure I’d stay forever, but I don’t regret the years I spent there. It was a lot of fun, people were nice, the experiences were wild, and university was great. Downsides: - Access to foreign products, electronics, or even things as simple as English books can be lacking. - There's nothing anywhere near as convenient as Amazon, so be prepared for visits to actual stores when you need a cable or something and have fun navigating aliexpress, avito, and similar. - Racism is still a thing and even though actually getting my apartment was easy, finding a landlord willing to rent to an "Omar" was a lot harder ("for slavs only" is an unfortunately common thing in realty listings). Similarly, my Chinese friends experienced a fair bit of serious discrimination when the pandemic first began. If you're light-skinned and have a white-sounding name, I don't imagine you'll face any trouble, though. - Although Tomsk is significantly more liberal than many other areas, and I don't think anything particularly terrible would happen, it's probably not got the most vibrant of LGBT atmospheres on the planet. - Weather is just brutal. From the windchill of -51 I experienced to the 30+ summers. - Get an apartment with a boiler. Most people use city-provided hot water for showers, but that means every summer, you'll lose your hot water for a week or so while they do they annual maintenance otherwise.
• squarefoot 5y ago
  Not the exact thing you're looking for, but may be of interest. https://www.insider.com/italy-town-maenza-selling-one-euro-houses-near-rome-2021-8 https://www.insider.com/italy-town-maenza-selling-one-euro-h...
• Irongirl1 5y ago
  Teleport.org has a great website. It starts off with a set of selections and then returns options that fit your criteria. hth
• Volrath89 5y ago
  Colombia. Both in Bogotá and Medellin you will be able to live comfortably and the internet is pretty good in those 2 cities. I pay USD 387 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment relatively near the city center in Bogotá. Food is quite affordable a very good restaurant with entry, main course and a glass of wine would be less than 15. A big mac costs less than 5. The big advantage is the plummeting of the Colombian peso in comparison to the US Dollar. 1k USD is almost 4x the minimum wage, and most people make less than the minimum wage and survive so 1k USD for one person puts you in a strong upper middle class actually. The only caveat is that most people have poor English, so some Spanish is a must. Maybe in Medellin could be different since there is a huge number of expats there, but in Bogotá at least, most people won't speak English.
• m9731526 5y ago
  Come to Taiwan. My rent per month is about 336USD (live alone), I spend about 400USD per month on foods, and that's because I'm too lazy to eat out that I basically Ubereat everyday. (If you choose Taipei, the cost would be a bit higher, The point to live in Taipei is the convenience and it's more approachable to newcomers) There's a lot foreigners in Taiwan, so it won't be much trouble to blend in I guess. We have a excellent control over the pandemic, we welcome you as long as you respect the rules and are willing to self-discipline (especially in this pandemic). Here I got a Discord server that a lot of members are foreigners in Taiwan: https://discordapp.com/invite/zFBqpET https://discordapp.com/invite/zFBqpET
  • nerdwaller 5y ago
    As an outsider, do you have concern or daily impacts on your lift with the current China/Taiwan political issues? Maybe I’m misinformed but right now things seem a little more tense than they have been historically.
    • m9731526 5y ago
      Daily life is not affected at all, even economic is same or maybe better after Chinese tourists stop coming to Taiwan for general public. To be honest, the overall situation is usually better then I expected, international/domestics politics, economic, etc. Do war breaks out tomorrow? I don't know, it could be, but it never happened in these years even though they threaten every year to subdue us.
  • 41209 5y ago
    Great I was actually thinking Kaohsiung. How is it for an English speaker ? I really just want some place quiet and cheap
    • snicky 5y ago
      People are helpful in general and will try to talk with you, but their English will most likely be on a poor level. It's much easier to get around if you know at least a little Mandarin. Also, it's a total opposite of "some place quiet" :) All the major Taiwanese cities are very densely populated, busy and loud.
• strikelaserclaw 5y ago
  Also consider the culture of the place where you want to live, make sure you can find people who you can communicate with. I lived in Korea for 6 months for something similar to what you are doing and it was one of the most isolating experiences of my life.
• d_burfoot 5y ago
  The guys who built Notion did this in Kyoto. I'd imagine the cultural stimulation of Japan's historic capital helped them to be more creative: https://www.figma.com/blog/design-on-a-deadline-how-notion-pulled-itself-back-from-the-brink-of-failure/ https://www.figma.com/blog/design-on-a-deadline-how-notion-p...
• moltar 5y ago
  - Chiang Mai - Georgia - Ukraine, but not major cities - Vietnam, but can’t get into the country for a while probably due to corona - Serbia Just check Nomad List :D
• kryptonomist 5y ago
  Almost anywhere in France, except in big cities. Pros: -you get a free healthcare coverage. -cost of life is reasonable (again, outside of big cities where accomodation is expensive). -internet connection is good and cheap. -you will enjoy a few benefits after some paper work. Ex.: the RSA, which is around 500€ you get with very little conditions (not having any revenue, being at least for 3 months in France, having a regular visa, etc.). -you can legally start to earn money by being declared as auto-entrepreneur, with very little paper work (also with a regular working visa, and with some revenue cap). Cons: -language: better find some friend who can speak the language, especially when dealing with the administration. -check carefully where you settle beforehand, France is one of the most crime-prone country in Europe (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Crime_statistics https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...). To be honest, I would not recommend it because of the last point.
  • patricktlo 5y ago
    Sure, the crime rate is high for Europe, but in context it's not that far away from California[0]. But I think for European countries France is on the expensive side, but it's true that you get healthcare, and you can make do with 1k [0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/232564/robbery-rate-in-the-us-by-state/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/232564/robbery-rate-in-t...
• gjvnq 5y ago
  Brazil is currently very doable as 1k USD is about 5k BRL (Brazilian reais) which more than the living wage (calculated by a trade union group) and is good salary for a starting engineer or lawyer without experience. You will probably not be able to live in luxury areas but will be pretty doable even in large cities. Note that living even living in a large city things will be difficult without speaking Portuguese, but you can order pretty much anything to be delivered to your house so will be able to use Google Translate without relying on its speech related functionalities. You seem to be an American, so you will almost certainly require a visa before you can come here but I think it will be easy. A few recommendations: * Get a CPF number (SSN equivalente) as soon as you can, ideally even before arriving in the country. I think you can apply online and show the original documents at the embassy. (Seriously, almost anything e-commerce related will ask for your CPF but it is almost always optional in regular physical shops) * Get an RNE card as soon as you can. This way you can leave your passport safely at home. * Get a local phone number with mobile internet and install Whatsapp (almost anyone here uses it) * If you stay in Brazil for around a year you may owe taxes here. The good news is that the filing is electronic the bad is that it is still confusing.
• kentuckian 5y ago
  If you don't have any particular health issues I can easily recommend south Italy.
• pdamoc 5y ago
  Go to Buenos Aires. Programming is draining on the brain and you need a way to disconnect from your project in order to rest your mind. Tango will provide you with the much needed balance. This way, you can code during the day, socialize/move your body during the evening at tango classes or practicas and maybe have a great time at a milonga (tango party) once a week. When you get back to US, you will also come back with a great body skill.
• Markoff 5y ago
  Everywhere in Southeast Asia - Thailand, Malaysia, Philipiness, Indonesia, Vietnam plus you have great cuisine and no need to worry about cold weather much. Smaller towns in Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary should be also no problem, just forget about top 5 cities in each country, in Bulgaria/Romania maybe even bigger cities, just not capitals. I would more worry about long term visa situation than about cost. You also didn't define "living", one thing is sit at home most of the time, cook for yourself and just hang around city without travel, other thing is going to pubs 3 times a week, travelling on weekends etc. Entirely different budgets.
• kaboomman 5y ago
  I recommend Thailand. I don't live there anymore but I used to. It's very doable to live on $1000/mo if you don't live in the center of Bangkok (try Chiang Mai) and eat local food. You have the added bonus of a huge expat and digital nomad community, including many game developers, and no problems doing everything in English. Most things are no-hassle, no big deposits, etc, you just pay, and that's it. And nice beaches aren't far away.
• perryizgr8 5y ago
  India is perfect economically and internet-wise, but you may want to avoid major cities if $1000 is your limit. I pay ₹1200 ($16) for solid 300Mbps (up and down), with a 3TB cap. Food is cheap, even in Bangalore which is generally an expensive place to live. For example, you can have a nice nutritious breakfast (dosa and idli) for less than ₹100 ($1.50). Wanna go out for a movie? A top-of-the-line recliner seat ticket will cost you maximum ₹500 ($7). Rent is a problem in Bangalore, it is disproportionately expensive compared to other smaller cities. You can expect to pay ₹20k ($270) for a proper single studio apartment in a nice locality.
• smusamashah 5y ago
  Try Pakistan, I am from there. And if you really consider doing it don't go to any city other than Islamabad. And live as near the center as possible. You will get amazing views, safety and nearly everything you probably want. May be even drinks if you find the right contacts (rich class). We have good fiber internet, 50Mb for consumers from Nayatel. Food is great on general. Islamabad has best views, you better live in the E sector, that's where most foreigners choose to live anyway. And its most close to mountains and you will get amazing views throughout your stay. Also it's probably the greenest city. For rest of Pakistan, that's the real Pakistan. You will get a lot more stares, and will be more prone to everything that attracts attention. You can very easily live within 1000USD, in Islamabad, Pakistan.
• t312227 5y ago
  hi, imho. it heavily depends what you expect from "living", but you could easily live - read: rent a cheap room & eat healthy - with 1000 us$ which roughly equals 900 euro in a lot of cities within the E.U. out of my head - starting with the most obvious & startup-friendly ones # berlin (germany) # vienna (austria) and whole countries # nearly anywhere in the eastern part of austria # nearly anywhere in the cheaper parts of germany - more in the north # anywhere in the central to northern part of portugal - imho. inculding lisbon # nearly anywhere in greece # lot of parts of spain (north, south, islands ... definitly not in catalonia/barcelona or madrid) # in the cheaper parts of italy (south) east-europe: # nearly any country/place which was formerly known as "eastern-european" / behind the "iron curtain" br, t
• jbirer 5y ago
  I have lived in many countries thanks to my freelance career. I will give you a comparison of cities to choose from. Istanbul, Turkey: This will be your cheapest Europe option. People live on literal 300$ here. The food is amazing and cheap, the people treat tourists like kings (be careful for getting overpriced or scammed though), plenty of sights and nightlife, and you are surrounded by water (makes for a nice view while you are riding around) The cons are that there is high political repression (you can't speak about the govt) and the internet is censored and slow, you need VPN for anything sexual or political. Bucharest, Romania: Where I currently live. I live in a 300$/mo studio and my food utilities etc all comes down to 600$ per month max. I have 400$ left for hookers, adding to my travel budget, or medical stuff etc. It's a very liberal country and the people are very chill, lots of natural sights to see and awesome nightlife. The cons are that it's ugly (commie blocs everywhere) and can get dangerous in certain areas at night. Warsaw, Poland: I did not really enjoy this city, the people are cold and nationalistic, it was cold all the time and the public transport has very few English translations, but its cheap and has good nightlife. Berlin, Germany: Very difficult to survive with 1k a month here especially if you are not single. Has awesome nightlife and food though, people from almost every country in the world and its very diverse and free. Manila, Philippines: This was probably the most fun city I visited, great nightlife and beaches, you get your bang for buck for apartments and condos, and also the people are very friendly and helpful to tourists. English speaking rate is very high and it helps being more comfortable there. The crime rate is very high though so if safety is a consideration I would avoid (I have an adventurer personality, you may not, it's fine)
• tbronchain 5y ago
  Plenty of places you can do with $1k/month really. Of course YMMV but if you just want to focus on your game, I would definitely recommend checking out nomadlist.com and see what inspires you. If you can accept some underdeveloped [some parts may actually positively surprise you] countries, take a look at Georgia, it can be really affordable and give a fairly good quality of life. "Eastern Europe" (i.e Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bulgaria) can be a little more expensive but plenty to do with $1k. Also, it is actually a lot more developed than you may think. Oh and it's really safe! As a rule of thumbs if you keep your expenses low, if you can find a place on Airbnb for $500/month, you could easily go with the other $500 for monthly expenses. Even maybe save some money or have some fun!
• volkie 5y ago
  Turkey would be the best option because of the current exchange rates and inflation. I used to live in Izmir (most beautiful and "liberal" city in Turkey) before I move to UK. Here is a broad overview of our monthly cost for my family of three. If you are single, you can slash in half most of these. - Rent: $430 A secure and modern 3 bedroom flat in Karsiyaka (the most popular neighbourhood) - Utilities: $50 (electricity, gas, water etc.) - Internet: $13 for 100Mbps - Food: For $500 per month, you can eat like kings in Turkey. - Transport: It costs $0.5 to get to the airport by train from Karsiyaka. - Eating out: For $50, you can have a great dinner for two.
• angin_topan 5y ago
  Wouldn't any Southeast Asian country except Singapore suffice?
• Amasawa 5y ago
  I live in Argentina. I pay 10 dollars a month for 5-8 mbytes/s of download speed, 180 dollars for rent, 30 dollars for food (the kg of potatoes is worth 15 U$A cents) 15 dollars for gas, water and light services. And the rest for the occasional new necessity, furniture, going out with friends, adding up to 300 dollars a month. People here are extremely friendly to foreigners in the city of Buenos Aires. Just watch out for zones like Retiro, Plaza Miserere, and Flores. Orrr you could live in small town in some of our provinces. You could probably spend half the money on rent there and live off 200 dollars a month.
• dasKrokodil 5y ago
  Aren't there also places within the US where you could live off $1000 per month? I'm not asking to discourage you from moving elsewhere, just out of curiosity.
  • Wavelets 5y ago
    Absolutely there are places where it's possible. Just pick a small town in literally any state.
• maximumpeaches 5y ago
  You can also just buy a Cascade Camper van for $33k new, rent a WeWork for $300 a month, and park / live in whatever part of the US has the best climate. That's what I'm doing. You can sell the van after your sabbatical if you want. If you want to live abroad this wouldn't make sense, but it's definitely possible to live here on $1000 a month with this plan.
• onehair 5y ago
  Morocco, rent would be around 300$, same or less for food. These numbers are for a family of 3
• autorun 5y ago
  Argentina
• rcdwealth 5y ago
  Mombasa, Kenya, rental of the room would be just 50 dollars per month, and if you wish to spend time in hotel on the beach it would be US $400 per month, food would be like US $100 per month. Remember people live with US $100 per month. And you are on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
• deleted 5y ago
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• ellipticaldoor 5y ago
  Canary Islands, good weather and cheap rent
• gcj 5y ago
  Any medium city in Brazil, but I wouldn't recommend coming to this wasteland right now
• tmescic 5y ago
  Starting on January 1, 2021, Croatia started offering 1-year digital nomad visas. 1k USD per month is the average monthly salary in Croatia, so you should be fine (especially in smaller cities), unless you overspend by eating out every day. Here is a video of an American guy living in Split, Croatia (second largest city - very touristy and not that cheap) on $1,400 per month. He is spending $600 on food which means he eats out a lot. Locals spend way less than that on food. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkJSoBLHKaI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkJSoBLHKaI
• zomars 5y ago
  Sayulita, Mexico
• fsckboy 5y ago
  serious answer, I have no idea how feasible: Live on the street in LA or SF! There are tents and campers parked all over the place with people living in them, and just because they are currently populated mostly by the aggrieved doesn't mean you need to be aggrieved. The cost of a van/camper is not crazy, internet in LA and SF is easy to come by, cheap food is plentiful if you're willing to accomodate your diet... and there's no lock-in or insane sunk cost. "What could go wrong" for you in a country like Georgia has a lot of unkowns, vs in LA you'd pretty much know how to figure it out. Visiting friends and family, deciding to bail, etc. all easier.
• joelwallis 5y ago
  You can definitely live in Brazil with 1K USD/month. And nowadays it's even better because the USD-BRL rate is about 5-something. For a comparison, 1K USD is about what I spend every month to live - and I definitely don't cook beyond just breakfasts and some snacks/sandwiches. So I lunch in restaurants every single day, I live in a quite comfortable apartment, etc. - I mean, I'm not "stretching myself to spend as minimum as possible". In fact, 1K USD is about 4x the BR minimum wage, and about 2-3x the "common" income of people. I live in Fortaleza, a very sunny city which is close to some incredibly beautiful beaches. Search for "jericoacoara" on Google and you'll know what I'm talking about (Jeri tends to be a bit expensive tho, due to heavy presence of tourists - but not much). Fun fact: it's quite common to hear about gringos coming around and deciding to stay. You'll find some French and Italian restaurants in Jeri and/or Jijoca - and lots of gringos, of course.
• blopp99 5y ago
  Dominican Republic