Living a happier life on far less money? Here's where.
Meanwhile, teacher Nathan Edgerton wrote in 2011 that he was living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he was sharing a house with a friend for just $70 per month.“I eat out for every meal, even though it's generally at cheaper Thai restaurants.I have plenty of money to go out drinking with friends and to train at a kick-boxing gym.I can do all this easily for under $700 per month,” he wrote.
“Chiang Mai is a great place to live, but you could live pretty much anywhere in Thailand with similar expenses,” he added.
For Spanish speakers, there’s Latin America. Brian Fey has been living “frugally” in Mexico since 2004 and it has become more and more popular with expats. “Where I live there are people from Argentina, France, Belgium, Germany, Canada, the USA, Switzerland, Chile, etc,” he wrote.
Getting six-month or longer-term visas is fairly “easy” for people from most nationalities, he wrote. Fey added that despite the negative news stories about violence in Mexico, “it is quite safe and there are millions of expats from other countries. Some areas have concentrations of expats: Ajijic, San Miguel de Allende and Patzcauro".
He added that while renting is generally good value, there are also a large number of expats looking for house-sitters, so a responsible person “could live for free all year in very swanky places”.
Eastern Europe is also a popular choice. Mircea Goia voted for Romania, where he said you can live easily for under $1,000 per month, including food and rent, in part because the average monthly salary is only about $575 and even lower in smaller cities. Goia posted his answer in 2013.
“Real estate prices have dropped dramatically as well, thanks to the global crisis, so you can buy a cheaper home/apartment/land,” Goia wrote. Those who wish to rent in the capital, Bucharest, should expect to pay around $200 to $500 per month, he said, adding that “people are friendly towards foreigners” and many know basic English.
Whereas Chinmaya Patanaik, suggested “one of the most beautiful cities in the world”, Prague, Czech Republic, where the cost of living is lower than other western European cities.
“With $1,000, you can live quite comfortably. You can get a decent one-bedroom or a studio apartment with $400 or less. This also includes expenses on utilities such as internet, heating, electricity etc. The internet connection is very fast. I pay around $30 per month for a 100Mbps connection.”
Patanaik added, that although summers can be hot ”you can cool off with a traditional Czech beer for just $1.50.”
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