Cheap cities

>>1240736
Depends on where you're from, among other things. You could get by very comfortably in a secondary/non-resort town in Thailand, for example ($1K/mo would be doable but tight in foreigner favorites Chiang Mai, Bangkok, or best-wired islands). But the authorities are ambivalent at best about digital nomads and you won't qualify for legal residence of more than six months per year on tourist visas and exemptions. Overstay is expensive and raises the risk of getting banned from re-entry. It would be pretty easy to divide your year between Thailand and Cambodia or perhaps Thailand and Vietnam (which offers the cheapest food in Southeast Asia, with plenty of healthy options), but the cheaper you go, the more "third-world"/culture shocking it gets. Vietnam is pretty intense/in your face, and Cambodia is still quite poor and messed up.

>>1240754
Hmm, thanks for the input anon.

I think I could mind the culture shock, but it would be much easier if I had someone with me. I'd be doing this completely alone. Is there anywhere I could meet people to pair up with and do this? I'm too scared of meeting a creep to just search for people online.

>Depends on where you're from, among other things.
London, UK. Originally Eastern Europe.

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there are many options that fit that criteria, it comes down to
- what kind of place you want to live in
- how well would you fit in with the locals, ie would you be an obvious anomaly there (arguable, but i personally think this is important, especially if alone)

i drew this line, from Baltic to Adriatic sea, I'd say these countries are all viable options

>>1240759
>Originally Eastern Europe.

do you wanna go back there or not? it seems the least culture-shocky.

>>1240736 (OP)
First you need travel medical insurance, because without it you would be literally trapped in a 3rd world country unable to leave without paying. So deduct that from your $1000/month salary first.

https://nomadlist.com/budget-cities#

Indonesia scratch off your list since there's sort of coup going on there right now and shit will hit the fan. India scratch off your list since the air is toxic in most cities.

India it's actually quite expensive there to live (not be a tourist) when negotiating shit like monthly rent/food/insurance/whatever. A local can get away with cheap living but as a foreigner you'll get ripoff prices anywhere you go and stuff like an air conditioned room that's clean and not full of roaches is expensive unless you go way outside cities. Wherever you go check it's air quailty index first http://aqicn.org/city/india/mumbai/us-consulate/ and note the history, today in Mumbai outside the US consulate it's only semi-toxic while a few days ago it was like sucking directly on a diesel exhaust pipe.

Bishkek is dirt cheap, like $500/month but weather sucks in the winter. So is Romania it's extremely cheap and not a 3rd world shithole unless you go to the gypsy camps.

China scratch off your list, toxic air and food.

Taiwan is good, one of the best places in Asia and completely safe.

>>1240759
Lonely planet forum, plus all those women only travel pal sites. What do you do online because you could prob meet people in those countries that do similar shit and work remotely, that's what I did

>>1240759
not the anon you're replying to

well I have never been to SEA but I have heard that people just meet other people in public places when visiting cities, staying in motels etc. Facebook is also a pretty good way to avoid meeting creeps as you have many of their personal info and you can assume what they are like and back up when something goes wrong.

>>1240771
Oh I forgot, there's a bunch of resources for nomad workers like cities with drop in offices you can rent for like $2 a day or whatever to get decent internet

This one is a good curated list https://github.com/lukasz-madon/awesome-remote-job plus those job boards are good too, if you're British you can work for Deal Dash or other remote companies and make more money.

Just have a backup plan if you laptop is stolen or breaks, like using backups on dropbox or something (or better, tarsnap as it's encrypted).

>>1240769
Thanks anon.

Eastern Europe is pretty cheap, don't know if I want to go back there but I'd give it a go. I already really dislike where I live right now so I don't think I'd feel any worse.

>>1240771
>travel medical insurance
I'm most worried about getting sick and being unable to come up with enough money. I'm generally really healthy but you never know what may happen.

>Bishkek
I like it already kek
>Taiwan
Seems pretty cool too!

I do online captioning and transcribing shit. I also sell stuff on eBay here and there. It's pretty stable but I need to find something else eventually as those sites could easily just go down, along with my income.

>>1240772
Yeah I heard that too, and it's probably true, but since I tend to keep to myself a lot, it might take me a while to really meet people. I'd prefer to "fly off" with a buddy too, rather than meet people only once I'm there.

>>1240777
Thanks for the resource!

PP or SHK in Cambodia you can get by very cheap, I've known westerners living off $300 a month for everything

>>1240839
You should also get a VPN then
Just make your own it's simple https://blog.trailofbits.com/2016/12/12/meet-algo-the-vpn-that-works/

For remote work I use the sites jobspresso.co and weworkremotely.com both of which have some good non scam links. A friend of mine also worked for Zapier, they're remote, pay $70k USD per year to just answer emails.

>>1240851
>A friend of mine also worked for Zapier, they're remote, pay $70k USD per year to just answer emails.
Gawd damn, will have to check that out.

I don't have any skills though, really. I worked a junior web dev job for a few months but really hated it, and I'm not good enough to get a remote job with that.

I'm great at writing but with no qualifications or education (at all) to prove it, can't really go with that anywhere either.

>>1240856
The trick is finding some online service and learning everything about it just so you can do support. This is non technical, just have to know where settings are and shit. Like knowing a Shopify app or knowing Wordpress.

Then it's sitting in front of a laptop sending people links to the site documentation (which you also maintain, as a good writer). That's it. Pretty chill/easy job esp if it's a good service that sells to other businesses and not the vast public who are clowns that will rage.

If you're female you will be hired because they always want "diverse" workforce you can exploit so always send in a picture or link pics to these jobs. https://zapier.com/jobs/hr-peopleops-admin-march-2017/ but only if you're interested $1k a month is more than enough to live off in most places like Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Central Asia, South America ect.

>>1240863
How would I go about finding support jobs for that? All of them want qualifications seems like

Yeah that's one advantage. I probably got my web dev job due to being a woman lol.

What I really like currently with my online job is I don't have to speak to anyone. I don't have to go to stupid meetups, I don't have to pretend I care about a company, I'm not constantly pushed to "improve my skills and climb up the ladder". I just want to be left the fuck alone, really. I think I'd rather make a small amount of money and be "free", than make a lot and have to commute or lick my boss's ass.

It's great news that I can survive with my small income out there in the world.

>>1240759
Guy who wrote about SEAsia here. You should do some searching around for 'coworking spaces' in the various places you're curious about. There are tons of them, some cheap, some less so, but all with communities of global laptop hobos around them. Some include cohousing spaces too... Some friends of mine, software people, just spent a few extremely enjoyable months at Roam Ubud in Bali... it's too expensive for you, but it's not the only game in town.

You may also be interested in Nomad Pass, a sort of social network for digital nomad types... again, a lot of these people are fairly high-end, so it may not make sense for you and your job. But they probably have tips.https://nomadpass.com

>>1240885
>Nomad Pass
Cool, I just signed up, don't know when I'll receive an invite code though.

I only make $1k now but I do plan to increase that, whether it's through selling more on ebay or discovering something else. Hopefully I can stumble upon more ideas.

OP - Great thread, I'm in an almost identical situation and it's been really useful.

>>1240876
Most of those jobs require bullshit meetups and shit which is why I quit doing them as I also just want to make money and unplug.

Ko Lanta Thailand has good internet and hotels for $15-30/night. You hav e to do Visa runs in Thailand when it runs up, usually people go to Laos for this.

>>1240897
Hey anon, what's your situation like? What city are you currently in?

>>1240898
Yeah, I want my job to be just part of my life ya know. I do work several hours but I want to be able to keep it separate from my personal life. With a "real" job you're chained to your city, to your schedule, to your boss. To everything. And people seem to flip out when you tell them you don't want that. The way I see it is I have one life, and I'm pretty lucky I was born a healthy human in a first world country, so using this luck I should propel myself into what I really want to do rather than waste it in an office.

>>1240906
Alternative is you can work for these shitty startups remotely then quit after saving up $100k or so. Zapier has a handy free guide to help you lie your way through any interview https://zapier.com/learn/customer-support/

I also once got a P/T job doing easy customer service just advertising myself on HN. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14023200 somebody hired me as official "handholder" for some Shopify app, paid $30USD per hour in bitcoins. I worked only 4hrs a day.

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>>1240839
>Bishkek
>I like it already kek
Not who posted Bishkek originally, but apart from the evil cold in the winter, it's a charming, friendly place. It's quite an attractive city for a Soviet developed place, has a good social scene, a US funded university where English is widely used, and apart from the ubiquitous Plov (it's not bad, it just gets repetitive) the food is from all over Asia and mostly excellent.

Oh, and Kyrgyzstan is jaw-droppingly beautiful, the people are legend-tier, and winter skiing at Karakol is the mutt's nuts. In the summer, despite being a thousand miles+ from the nearest ocean, you can head to some spectacularly located beaches at Issyk Kul. Osh and Fergana can be a bit dodgy, but that shouldn't dissuade you from visiting. You can also play Chinese border guard lotto at Irkeshtam - if your paperwork is in any way wrong, you've no chance of getting in to China, but curiously if you have no paperwork, just passport, your chances are about 50/50...

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>>1240986
Other Bishkek highlights include it's parks, which are unmissable on a sunny day. If you're looking for entertainment you can head to Panfilov park which has it's original Pripyat-style amusement park, hot/cold "Banya" baths, and cheap tasty street food. There are other quieter parks for chilling out in peace too. The flowers around the parks and city are spectacular, thank the Kyrgyz Army for planting them. The parks and open spaces are a really nice part of Bishkek city life, and you'll probably find yourself drawn to one on a near daily basis if you have the available time.

Shopping wise, there are regular supermarkets, numerous "western" branded stores familiar to any city, department stores which carry an interesting range of goods. or just blow your mind and go to Osh or Dordoi bazaars, where you'll find everything that exists anywhere ever. Well, nearly.

Transport: The roads are chaotic, not in the greatest of condition, but doable. Taxis are cheap, buses are stupidly cheap, marshrutkas are insanely cheap, and trolleybuses are so cheap you'll never even notice paying. Not too far outside the city the spectacular countryside opens up and you're off into wonderland in a few footsteps away from the road.

I said it's social scene is good - despite it's very high muslim population, alcohol is very widely and openly consumed by a large part of the population in most places. Expect it to be a part of a lot of meals if, or rather when, you visit a Kyrgyz family - because you will get invited, and you should accept. They're great hosts. Bishkek has plenty of pubs, bars, karaoke, restaurants and nightclubs, as well as some good theatre (if you speak Russian or Kyrgyz, if you don't it can still be a very interesting night), and a Philharmonia where you can get your Orchestral fix. We all need one occasionally...

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>>1240736
You'd have to keep moving due to visas etc, you won't qualify for any really long visa.

Because you can't effectively rent apartments etc in most cities, you'll spend a lot of time in hostels/cheap hotels which is more expensive.

It's doable but you'd be quite tight in a lot of places.

SEA is obvious, you can do ok in say, Vietnam on $40/day. A less obvious choice is Eastern Europe, Poland is quite cheap, especially anywhere but the capital.

Google for and check the global cost-of-living website, it's literally what it was designed for.

>>1240759
There are a lot of female teacher expats in Thailand. Link up with one. I can't speak for Vietnam, but maybe a teacher would travel with you while school ia out in Thailand

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>>1241052
Accommodation is cheap (i'll use dollars to illustrate) - for a quick visit even the highest-rated hotel on dear old Tripadvisor is $30 - $50 a night, though you'll pay significantly more for the few formerly grand Hotels and International chains that exist. Decent, comfortable apartments can be got for a couple of hundred dollars a month with ease, hostels and homestays can be as low as $6 a night, with a meal for another 80 cents or so.

It's a very safe city by Western standards, though avoid any large political protests in the Ala-Too square / White House area if you ever see one - things have turned sour on previous occasions, and the locals don't fuck around when they're angry and want to make a point against those in government. Otherwise take the same limited precautions you would anywhere else in the world safety-wise; booze makes people more vulnerable, safe taxis are cheap, putting the 2 things together to get home after you've had a few is recommended but that's about it. If you look like a total tourist, you might get the "Fake Police" stop you for a check and a bribe / theft opportunity; Politely refuse, tell them you're calling your embassy, and conspicuously call the nearest Kyrgyz passerby over for assistance. Your so-called police (they're not BTW, but do have some acquired uniforms) will fuck off immediately, they're not liked by the Bishkek populace, and your simple act of highlighting your concern at being stopped will get you help. I said the Kyrgyz are good people and they certainly are when you get trouble of any kind.

I feel I've overstated the problem quite a bit - it's more a be-aware-this-can-very-occasionally-happen thing, and way less of an issue than the Parisian gypsies, or muggings in any Western capital for example.

The traffic police are corrupt as fuck tho - keep $2-3 dollars with your licence if you do drive. They won't be targeting you as a visitor, everyone gets it...

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>>1241065
Can't thinks of much else right now - it's a city which doesn't yet get the recognition it deserves in the wider world. and the same can be said for Kyrgyzstan as a whole. It has a particularly liberal visa regime, and people from many countries qualify for either visa-free entry or very simple visa-on-arrival.

Basically, I can't recommend the place enough, sound like a Kyrgyz Tourism shill, and think anyone who wants to experience life "somewhere else" should give it some really serious consideration.

>>1240736
dothan alabama but only if you had a card paid for

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>>1240909
That's not a bad idea too. $100k could last me for a long time in a cheap city.

>>1240986
>>1241052
>>1241065
>>1241071
Thanks! It does sound like a good option to explore. I've never even considered Kyrgyzstan before, it's just so...foreign sounding I guess lol.
I'm also learning Russian so it would be useful. The infrastructure looks very Soviet (which I find weirdly appealing) and the nature seems stunning.

Nomad List gives it a $534/m which is awesome, but apparently it's not female friendly and internet is bad :/
https://nomadlist.com/bishkek-kyrgyzstan

>>1240754
Romania

>>1241142
>apparently it's not female friendly and internet is bad :/
I've plenty of single female travellers all round the country, so draw your own conclusions there. Landline internet is awful to non-existent but Bishkek itself has 4G at cheap prices from several providers.

Taiwan is pretty cheap. Brits get 90 days there visa free, don't know about others.
Very safe, polite people, excellent internet and good food. It's basically a budget version of Japan.
Con: humidity like you wouldn't believe.

Hong Kong could be OK at 1K if you don't mind living in a 6ft by 6ft room next to an Indian restaurant on the a 14th floor in an apartment block in Kowloon.
It's actually a very nice city, in a businesslike and laissez faire way.
Humidity: moderate.

Guangzhou makes for easy visa runs. to HK But the tourist visa is only 2 months, and you need to leave for a day between those two. There are also issues with Facebook and Google in the mainland, so not really an option unless you want somewhere to hole up and write reams of content.
Humidity: low.

Bangkok: best quality living for the price in Southeast Asia. If only they had a more lenient visa policy.

Manila: it's a dump, and I don't say that lightly. A dump. Terrible internet too. Only upsides are that the Philippines are very very cheap and have a basically open-ended, locally renewable tourist visa. Didn't notice many mosquitoes while I was there, but this may have been a coincidence.

Kuala Lumpur: goodish internet, basically an uglier, worse value and lower quality city in every way compared to Bangkok. I like Chinatown. If you're female, the gawky muslims and pajeets with no concept of personal space will make you uncomfortable.

Singapore would not be comfortable at 1K. But you should keep it in mind for when you move up in the world. New York or San Francisco tier living at maybe half the price.
Humidity: didn't notice it on my daytrip.

I'd recommend Mexico or South/Central American countries, e.g. Peru
The main advantage with respect to SEA is that you don't need visa for 3 or even 6 mothns (Mexico). That's how often you'll have to do "visa run". Compared to 30 days (15 in some places) in SEA this is pretty good. Also, the language is a big plus.

>>1241233
Taiwan sounds great then, out of all of those cities. Looks beautiful too. It's one of my goals to learn Chinese too so it could be a good opportunity.

Thanks for the run down on all those cities anon!

>>1241237
South America could also be cool. I speak intermediate Spanish already so it won't feel like dropping into a complete alien world.

Any other South American countries good for my situation?


So far I've got
>Eastern Europe
>South East Asia
>South America

I feel like EE would be the most depressing, South East Asia the most culture-shocky, and South America the most dangerous.

>>1241071
what's the visa situation like in kyrgiztan? so most EU countries get a free 60-day visa on arrival, but how easy is it to do visa runs to keep that going?

>>1240906
Tiny female working remotely for a London company making about £1000 a month as a copywriter/online community manager. Moved to Stockholm about a month ago but struggling to get a resident number because of working for a foreign company.
My company don't want me to work remotely forever so my contract will expire in August.
Just want to be able to live somewhere and work remotely and not be bothered or have to do too much corporate dick-sucking.

>>1241431
I hope this doesn't come off as rude, but wtf are you doing in Stockholm with £1000/month? You can barely scrape by on that, can't you? Why not go somewhere a bit cheaper? Not even talking about Asia or some other 3rd world country, just anywhere else in Europe.

Can you tell me about your expenses/living conditions? Genuinely curious.

>>1240759
As a digital nomad girl you'd be in really high demand if you went to a place where there's a community, like Chiang Mai. The Facebook and Reddit groups are always bitching about how it's impossible to find a girl that's able to fit into their lifestyle.

So just go to a place like Chiang Mai or (better yet) Bali, you'll meet some guy to hang out with really quickly. Y'all will be able to split expenses and keep it cheaper that way too.

>>1241431
Damn, like the other anon said, how are you surviving in Stockholm for £1k /month?

I'd be absolutely miserable if I were forced to go back to commuting and working a traditional office job. Before this I worked in a startup with an open office and as an extreme introvert, it was hell.

>>1241441
I'm terrible at meeting people let alone meeting them in a foreign country. I wish I'd just found a boyfriend already and could travel with him. Or a sister or anything. I'm completely alone and none of my friends want to do this, they're scared of leaving their normal jobs (and rightly so I guess).

>>1241499
Actually easier to meet them in foreign country, not harder, as a femanon. As been stated you will be in demand, and stand out. Guys will chat you up. I have witnessed solo female travelers end up chatting it up with a guy on a plane within Thailand and end up with a travel buddy

>>1241564
>I have witnessed solo female travelers end up chatting it up with a guy on a plane within Thailand and end up with a travel buddy
That would be pretty cool hah. Any friendships/relationships made traveling would probably be really good as everyones excited to be traveling and looking to just enjoy life.

>>1241431
Also anonette, do you have any plans on what to do once your contract expires? Do you have another job lined up?


Also I probably should have mentioned this but I am quite material. Not too much, but I like stuff like doing my nails or having nice clothes. From what I've seen, this is hard to do while traveling or living in SEA isn't it?
Ideally I'd like somewhere I can settle down for longer than just a few months.

>>1241573
>Also I probably should have mentioned this but I am quite material. Not too much, but I like stuff like doing my nails or having nice clothes. From what I've seen, this is hard to do while traveling or living in SEA isn't it?
Not in Thailand. Every city if any size has at least one giant multi story mall. Chiang Mai has several. Let alone the markets

Singapore is easy, as well,but outside of your budget

>>1241574
Really? I got the idea that these cheap cities were livable in only if you ate out a lot, rented bad hotel rooms and worked in public areas. I would like to buy and cook my own food, and rent my own apartment. I wouldn't mind working in a public space though.

>Singapore
How much would Singapore cost per month on avg.? If I wanted all the things above. I don't mind if the apartment is extremely tiny, as long as I can cook in it.

>>1241577
You know all those pictures of those super nice theaters with couches and beds? Most of those are in South East Asia. And Thais and Singaporeans are especially image conscious.

Check this link, and these aren't the only five malls in Chiang Mai, there are more, just the 5 this site rate as the best http://www.chiangmai.bangkok.com/shopping/5-malls-in-chiang-mai.htm

Singapore is on the level of living in a first world city, but half the price of San Fran or NYC, still not cheap by any means, but cheaper than comparable cities

>>1241577
Nah, you can get nice apartments cheaply in Chiang Mai, and cooking is definitely on the menu, with fresh, cheap ingredients readily available at markets and grocery stores. One of the biggest tourist things to do in Chiang Mai is tp take a Thai cooking class

>>1241577
Never been to Thailand, but I have lived in a couple of third-world countries. I think that idea you have comes from americans who don't know how to cook, and are used to eating out all the time, even in their own country.

While you may not have all the conveniences of the first world when it comes to cooking, it is certainly doable. For ex: in some countries (according to my experience) buying processed or prepackaged food at the supermarket was a lot more expensive than buying the same thing fresh from the market. Sometimes it's a pain in the ass, sometimes it's ok. In Morocco, for instance, buying a can of tomatoes or beans was waaaay more expensive than buying fresh tomatoes or dried beans.

When it comes to rentals, you can find awesome flats, but be prepared to haggle to death, because they will expect you to pay a lot more since you're a foreigner.

>>1240839
>I'm most worried about getting sick and being unable to come up with enough money. I'm generally really healthy but you never know what may happen.

The other day I cut my foot, and I forgot to put neosporin on it until a couple days later. Now I'm on oral antibiotics because of an infection. With insurance it was cheap (like $3), but just be careful anon. This can happen to anyone.

>>1241434
This. Op, if you're set on Sweden for a bit.. Try somewhere cheaper like Gothenburg or a country ass coastal town. They're still beautiful and the people are awesome if you're clearly not a third world social benefit stealer lol.

Also, you write like you're pretty similar to me. If you end up in Spain/Portugal I wouldn't mind picking your brain about your lifestyle. I'm of the same mindset that I'd rather live a little simpler than work more days a week. Last year in my high-paying industry before I go back to school to maybe learn something IT-related so I can eventually work less and do more shit that I care about.

Since it sounds like you're into health, a lot of SEA is out of the question. When I was looking into places where I could just live healthy, simple, and read a book all day without burning through too much money, I narrowed it down to Mexico, Argentina, Ukraine, and Portugal. Even more countries if you're vegetarian and decent meat doesn't matter to you.

>>1240771
>Taiwan
Real estate eats up a lot of money though, if you want a decent apartment it'll cost a fair amount (food is dirt cheap though). $1000 a month is doable, but you'll have less left over than Romania or SE Asia.

On the plus side, last time I checked you can sign up for Chinese lessons and get a visa. You could always just reenter every few months and avoid that, but since it's an island you'd have to fly which ramps up costs.

>>1241581
Those look great!

>Singapore is on the level of living in a first world city, but half the price of San Fran or NYC, still not cheap by any means, but cheaper than comparable cities
NomadList says Singapore is around $4k a month, with San Fran & NY coming around $4.8k. I was surprised to see London listed as $3.3k, considering how much I spend on transport.

>>1241598
OP here, I'm not Sweden Anonette.

If you want to do IT things, you might end up working a lot. Remote IT jobs are hard to come across unless you're senior level. Junior dev jobs are very easy to find but you'll most likely end up in a startup, which does not value your free time at all. Seriously, stay away from startups. I worked in one for 3 months and they honestly expect you to practically give your life away to the company and act like you live and breathe for it.

>Since it sounds like you're into health, a lot of SEA is out of the question.
Oh man, that's a shame.
I'm not a vegetarian but I don't mind eating veggie more often. I just need a nice gym with weights, and basic fresh food I can prepare.

South America sounds kinda appealing now, but I'm worried about whether it's too dangerous (and this might just be a stereotype, dunno).

>>1241600
>if you want a decent apartment it'll cost a fair amount
I don't mind a tiny apartment, but I don't want one that's falling apart lol.

>On the plus side, last time I checked you can sign up for Chinese lessons and get a visa.
Sweet, I love languages so I would love to do that anyway. Wouldn't they be very expensive though?

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>>1241408
Kazakhstan isn't too much of a pain to enter as it's on the main trade route northwards, Uzbekistan isn't hugely reticent to allow people visas, and you could grab the 3(?) night sleeper train to Moscow from Bishkek for a visa break. Official entry to China from Kyrgyzstan is generally easy as well, it's one of the few countries the Chinese maintain a (mostly) open border crossing with, that also permits free trade. The tourism bureau in Toktogul can usually arrange tourist passes for the Torugart Pass crossing with about 3-4 days wait. They claim 2 but it's never that quick. If you get into China, you HAVE to go and see Tashkurgan, it's one of the last remnants of the old western provinces, and will give you a sense of being in a timewarp like nowhere else I've seen.

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>>1241615
>had to throw in a Tashkurgan pic

>>1241609
>I don't mind a tiny apartment, but I don't want one that's falling apart lol.
Well most of the cheap apartments I've seen are kind of dingy and sketchy on the outside, but quite cozy and well maintained inside, so it shouldn't be too tough to find a small apartment that fits in your budget.

>Sweet, I love languages so I would love to do that anyway. Wouldn't they be very expensive though?
I don't think so, no. It's a reasonably popular thing to get a student visa for studying Chinese a few times a week, and then (illegally) tutor English to kids on the side. Looking into it apparently you need to study for 15 hours per week if you want the visa now, but if you want to learn Mandarin anyway it would be a good way to stay in the country for long periods of time and have more legitimacy than just being a tourist. Anyway it shouldn't be too expensive, from what I understand school in Taiwan is a lot cheaper than USA or a lot of other places, and since you only need to be doing it for 15 hours a week it shouldn't be too much.

>>1240736
Mexico City is literally the cheapest Latin American capital, and with decent infrastructure (more than decent by Latin American standards) $1000 a month is more than enough to have a good life in a small apartment in the nice neighbourhoods. Only places like Sao Paulo and Panama City have better infrastructure, but those are much more expensive and with bland food, albeit with better women.

>>1241052
>>1240986
I've stayed around a week in bishkek and confirm, the city is comfy af, food is good and cheap, and the people are chill, you'll meet people who would be interested in striking a conversation with you in english, i've stayed in interhouse bishkek, the staff and the guests were brotier, in short it's my favorite major city in central asia

>>1241598
Thailand has some of the best and most affordable health care, hence why it's a popular medical tourism destination

>>1241625
>albeit with better women.

bit of an understatement, dontcha think? Mexicans, both men and women, are pretty awful, if one judges them by their appearance. Stay away from that country if you're looking for romance, or just stick to expats. The country is great in regards to everything else, except on this one (rater important) aspect.

>>1241602
>NomadList says Singapore is around $4k a month,


That's BS, from someone from Singapore you could get by comfortably, with a small decent apartment, for $1.5K Singaporean dollars. Which is a little more than $1K USD.

>>1241640
>>1241602

This is 500 SGD, mind you, fro apartments. There is also the roommate route. But that Nomad list showed the prices for apartments in the center. That's like showing what apartments are in Manhattan and extending it all of NYC. Singapore has excellent public transportation, as well.

https://www.iproperty.com.sg/rent/property/0-500_price/

>>1241602
Even then, everything still applies except you living in Sweden! My throwaway is [email protected] if you take me up on my offer for a drink one day. I don't even know if I'd find you attractive so it's not like I can have an ulterior motive.

>
Thanks for the IT advice. Giving up a lot of your time is already the case in my industry (marketing) with the difference being that it'll always be like that. I figure with IT at least the day could come where I can work remotely some day? Funny enough start ups are really my only option if I want to work in Europe without knowing the local language.

>health in SEA.

Don't get me wrong; of course you can live healthily over there but their local good isn't the best for the lifestyle. And if you shop at grocery stores, everything is frozen/shit quality.

South America will likely be fine. Most women are okay but it's all just about shitty luck, sometimes. It also depends how white you look. Parts of South America are pretty white/not brown so it's not as hard to blend in as you might think.

I think the biggest thing for females in SA is the machismo culture. Guys will holler at you and if that kind of thing bothers you (like men whistling at you and saying harmless sexual compliments) then it'll wear you down over time.

You're more likely to get robbed than raped, and even then... Chances are really not that high. And if you're really that worried, all you have to do when you leave a hostel is ask if anyone wants to join you to x place. Bigger groups never get robbed.

>>1241636
You don't work out at the doctor's office, though. Or do your groceries there. Or eat a low carb/high protein meal there.

>>1241625
What? Mexico city has beautiful women. They're basically white. And taller than the rest or the country.

I guess this deserves a separate thread, but are there remote jobs in the US that a Swedish and English speaking Swedish citizen with a background in hospitality customer service can do?

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>>1241642
>>health in SEA.
>Don't get me wrong; of course you can live healthily over there but their local good isn't the best for the lifestyle. And if you shop at grocery stores, everything is frozen/shit quality.

Have you eve been to SEA? Frozen food in grocery stores? I was amazed by the lack of frozen foods. So much so I took a picture. This is a grocery store on Phuket Island, somewhere in the vicintiy of Bangtao and Surin Beach.

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>>1241652
Let alone the fresh food at the markets

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>>1241645
>You don't work out at the doctor's office, though. Or do your groceries there. Or eat a low carb/high protein meal there.

There are gyms all over the place. And meat is a big part of most meals. There salad "larb" is really nothing but minced meat

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>>1241645
>Or eat a low carb/high protein meal there.

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>>1241654
>There are gyms all over the place.
As a matter of facts, a lot of apartment complexes have gyms on-site. Let alone the fact that Muy Thai is the national sport and a popular past time.

>>1241652
I've spent a lot of time in each of the countries, actually. Even the smallest, random towns. Phuket probably isn't OP's number one choice.

>>1241654
Cooked in tons of salt and literally the worst quality ground meat. Most foods are deep fried and there aren't much veggies in main dishes (I usually ordered an extra plate of veggies everywhere I went)

>>1241657
You mean a treadmill and a couple of dumbbells? That's the case in most condos anywhere else in the world. And as if the national sport being muay Thai somehow trickles down into everyone being healthy?

Listen man, I get your points but I said what I said for a reason. You can be "healthy" in any country but you'll still be limited to the quality of the food in that region. Ie I could eat fish and chicken in Philippines but the chicken isn't healthy and the fish in the cities are farmed.

You have to go out of your way to eat a healthy diet in southeast Asia and that's why I didn't recommend it. I didn't say it could've be done.

Anyway, no need to derail OP's thread. Sorry!

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>>1241714
But Mexico/Mexican food are better alternatives? The obesity rates for women are higher in all of those countries (no stats on Ukraine) than any country in SEA with the exception of Malaysia. Talking about the lack of fresh foods and such, I just think you are overselling a place like Mexico and under selling SEA, as far as health. Singapore is ranked as one of the healthiest countries in the world. http://www.worldobesity.org/resources/world-map-obesity/#country=

I'm not even saying SEA, or specifically Thialnd is the healthiset place in the world, I am just saying to imply it is any way diffiicult to live a healthy lifestyle is wrong. It was easier for me to healthier there than at home in the USA, or when I lived in Spain, Norway, Italy, or the Gulf. Even if for your other reasons you feel like those other choices are better, that's fine. But it is not particularly worse than any first world country. Especially when you break down the economics of a healthy lifestyle.

>Most foods are deep fried and there aren't much veggies in main dishes (I usually ordered an extra plate of veggies everywhere I went)

I reckon this could be a concern if you are eating nothing but street/ethnic food all the time. As if first world restaurants, and other fare aren't readily available in Thailand. As well as fresh ingredients to cook your own food. And Singapore is known to be a foodie haven, with every kind of cuisine imaginable.

>>1241714
>Anyway, no need to derail OP's thread. Sorry!
And you are right. I wasn't trying to over promote Thailand or Singapore, more just bringing it up from where I felt you were being overly harsh.

>>1241625
Might consider that too then.

>albeit with better women.
Forget the women, what are the men like lel?

>>1241634
Nice, I can't believe I hadn't even heard of Bishkek till this thread. Makes me wonder how many cities people are ignoring like this.

>>1241640
>>1241641
>a little more than $1K USD.
Wow! I really expected it to be higher. Do you know of any sites that are more accurate with their cost per living listings?

>>1241642
Alright I'll shoot you an email if I ever end up around Spain (pls don't kill me lel)

>I figure with IT at least the day could come where I can work remotely some day?
True, but you can do other stuff to end up working remotely much quicker. With your marketing background you could get involved in ecommerce -- I'm trying to open up some dropshipping stores but I'm pathetic at marketing so it's not working lmao. If you're good in that area you can make a killing.

And it's true, startups are pretty much your only option when breaking into tech. When I was looking for jobs, Germany had a TON of openings and visa sponserships. If you ever reach that point, here's a really cool site to find people hiring in tech around the world: https://whoishiring.io/

>I think the biggest thing for females in SA is the machismo culture.
I kind of like machismo types lol. I don't like the greasy "ayy girl" attitude that it usually brings, but coming from Eastern Europe I'm kinda used to that.

>>1241714
>You mean a treadmill and a couple of dumbbells?
As someone who hails from /fit/ and prefers the gym to her own home, this would be nightmare hah. I've always hated how my love for travel and the gym clash. It's insanely difficult to keep up that lifestyle AND travel, since I don't just try to be "healthy" as in eat vegetables and run from time to time, I have a whole gym regime and count macros and all that stuff.


Thanks for all the advice so far, anons, it's helping me a lot!

>>1241727
>>You mean a treadmill and a couple of dumbbells?
>As someone who hails from /fit/ and prefers the gym to her own home, this would be nightmare hah. I've always hated how my love for travel and the gym clash. It's insanely difficult to keep up that lifestyle AND travel, since I don't just try to be "healthy" as in eat vegetables and run from time to time, I have a whole gym regime and count macros and all that stuff.

http://chiangmaibest.com/gyms-and-fitness/

http://www.embracechiangmai.com/index.php?page=supermarkets

And this doesn't include all the markets. Ask yourself why Chiang Mai is routinely rated one of the best digital nomad destinations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiCq3KixERs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZH7VMm5QOc
^^^You did mention the lack of cooking here. This women explains why. You can cook if that's your thing. But most don't because eating out is cheaper than groceries. Not that groceries are expensive, that eating out is so cheap. If you bake you will likely have to get a toaster oven. Though many places have stove tops. Most don't have full kitchens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v61xbAJoQVI

>>1241726
Nah, fair enough. Re your Mexico point I'd argue that it's more affordable to cook your own good food in Mexico then Thailand. I'll gladly pay more to eat well but it was cheaper to eat shit in Thailand than it was to eat well. At least I could eat for the same price in Mexico.

>>1241727
Nah, I literally go out of my way to not step on ants when I'm hiking so you'd probably be safe. Shoot me an email anyway cause I'm usually traveling for 4-8 months a year. I'm in Spain now but will be in the UK by June

Thanks for that site recommendation btw. I'd probably be in Berlin working for a startup right now if the salaries weren't so shit.

As for ecommerce, if you're as bad as you claim at marketing just pay a service to take care of it. You basically just need articles written so you show up on google searches for whatever your niche market is. That's obviously the simplified version but if you're sure about your product, it's so worth it to pay that one-time fee to set everything up.

If you don't mind the machismo, SA might just be for you. I appreciate the passion there, too... But cheating is pretty rampant in that culture.

Lastly, my points about Thailand definitely apply to you. You know the struggle of wishing you had more time but needing to hit the gym while you're "on vacation". It's a lot of work but definitely doable - I've come to love finding gyms in different parts of the world but well-equipped gyms are pricey in even the poorer countries of the world. I'd count Thailand out for the cost of drop in passes alone.

Anyway, good luck with your search. Hit me up and maybe we'll meet some day - sounds like we'd get along.

>>1241733
>I'd probably be in Berlin working for a startup right now if the salaries weren't so shit.

what are Germany startup salaries like? I was hoping to get on that train...

>>1241727
>Wow! I really expected it to be higher. Do you know of any sites that are more accurate with their cost per living listings?


The best is to talk to locals, or look inline at the lifestyle you want to live and rpice piece by piece or look at blogs. The most expensive thing in Singapore is rent. Especially if you live in the center, which may be desirable for you, but living 30 minutes outside of the city can save you literal thousands in rent, as well as using public transportation over owning a car. Everything else is cheap to reasonably priced. Alcohol is kind of expensive compared to the USA.

>>1241733
>I'll gladly pay more to eat well but it was cheaper to eat shit in Thailand than it was to eat well

I can agree with this, but as stated here >>1241732
>Not that groceries are expensive, that eating out is so cheap.

It's not that cooking is so expensive, it's just the it's so easy/tempting to eat out, as it's sooooo cheap.

>>1240736
I haven't seen much talk on this, but consider visa considerations and how long you can legally stay and how easy visa runs are.

>>1240736
Minneapolis

>>1240736
I'm sorry OP, but $12k/year isn't a salary that buys you those things in any country in the world. It's an international poverty level annual salary. Fact.
You need to live off another human being, or get a job to build savings. 12k/year is what you should be investing, not living off of...WTF.

I suggest you might live on a boat because marina life can be pretty inexpensive. The bonus is that you're likely to meet some friendly boat types who might take you in as crew and/or marry some early retired dude who finds your tiny self cute. I also suggest you find somewhere not too expensive for that, or move out and anchor for free, and use MetroPCS for your "fast internet." My sibling uses his in lieu of a monthly internet bill. It's certainly fast enough to stream movies and anything else if you can get 4G.

>>1241652
It's fucking meat, anon. I don't know why americans are so horrified by the thing they eat more of than any other country, it probably has to do with their mix of sexual hangups and perversion, or their mix of prohibition and boozing
Fucking bipolar is the only word

>>1241743
It's enough to live in a hotel and eat every meal in a (shitty) restaurant in pretty much all of South Asia, other anon.

>>1241748
What the hell are you talking about. I thought it was cool. Your projection is showing

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>>1241625
>mexican women are pretty awful
I object.

Hi Op

I've got a small amount of experience in this so I'll contribute to the discussion. I currently work as a freelance content writer for affiliate marketers, creating shit articles about shit supplements and other assorted shit. This nets me roughly 4k USD monthly, and even at this level of reliable income, I've encountered rough spots in SEA while working.

It's essential that you have a reliable client base that you can depend upon I wouldn't recommend leaving your own country to work as an elancer unless you're able to work from home and support yourself in the UK. Having an emergency fund with enough $$ to get you back home and into accommodation is also a must in case you fuck up severely and need to bug out (this I learned the hard way).

That being said, I'd strongly recommend Thailand as a place in which you can live for under 1k GBP monthly. Many expat English teachers are paid 40k baht monthly, which is about the same. I personally love the gritty vibes in BKK, and it's only a short couple of hours flight to places like Samui, Phangan, or Phi Phi.

/trv/ may shit on Thailand as babby's first travel experience but it has extremely modern infrastructure right next to godawful underhighway shit slums, excellent internet, low prices, and is newbie-friendly. It's also home to a massive network of digital nomads and is a convenient base of operations from which to foray into other SEA countries and do the nomad circuit. It also has the mod cons and modern convenience you seem to desire.

You may want to consider content writing if you're already performing pajeet-level transcribing and captioning. Content mills and other exploitative content generation sources are currently paying between 2c to 4c per word, which is enough to earn a few hundred extra pounds per week.

Other than that all I can say is best of luck m8 and remember to keep your fucking boots laced, because it's incredibly easy to be distracted by the easygoing lifestyle and fuck up big time.

>>1241782
can you elaborate maybe on some low level content writing opportunities?

>>1241786
Sure, I'll list off a few shit content mills that you may be able to make some money through. Keep in mind that these sites are generally exploitative and offer awful rates. Generally you'll need to sign up and do a number of jobs for shit per word rates before you can access the (relatively) higher rates around 3c to 6c per word.

http://futurecontent.co/content-writers/
https://www.skyword.com/create-for-skyword/
https://www.crowdcontent.com/author/sign-up/step/1
https://www.textbroker.com/
https://www.scripted.com/become-a-scripted-writer
https://www.contentrunner.com/why-content-runner
https://www.getawesomecontent.com/

Some of those are godawful shit, some are actually pretty selective in who they take on board. I'm not sure, I haven't used any of them in a long time, and only really dipped my toe in the content mill industry a little.

A couple of them will ask you for your portfolio site so they can examine your work. I strongly suggest creating one, as it's a far more lucrative way to gain new clients- just build a simple wordpress blog with a themeforest theme for around $40 USD and put some work up on there along with rates.

If you'd like to aim for 10c-40c per word, you'll need a professional looking portfolio site and a strong cross platform social media presence. There are many networking sites that help shit writers build social media connections through which to spam their shit articles to get noticed by shit affiliate marketers who sell shit.

Use waveapps to get paid. Or use payoneer to get paid, and pull your money out anywhere in the world with a prepaid mastercard that circumvents your local tax laws.

Can't get bylines? Easy. Create a new wordpress in a microniche and write 10-20 articles, publish them on your new "X microniche news site". Byline yourself and link it to your portfolio site. Be smart and monetize your microniche site through amazon affiliate and clickbank affiliate wankery

never, EVER, work without pay in advance

I think the most important part of the thread is OP answering how they live in London (or anywhere in UK for that matter) on $1k/month

i don't buy it

>>1241071
So what's the internet situation like in Kyrgyspelling?

I make more money than the OP, but I need fairly juicy internet. IE I can work in Thailand, I can not work in Indonesia. Need to do Skype. Need to UL and DL a couple hundred megs a day.

>>1241786
Student Loan Hero hires content writers, they pay real money too. Also any "developer evangelist" type job is typically writing a blog and doing nothing else.

>>1241801
I live with the parents so I don't need to pay rent.

>>1241743
12k/year is enough to live in most places in europe (except for Scandinavia)

>>1241591
What do you do for insurance while living abroad? How much?

>>1241743
>$12k/year isn't a salary that buys you those things in any country in the world
lol, it's a good enough salary in most parts of the world. throughout most of africa, south america, south and east asia, and eastern europe it is enough to live comfortably. you might have some trouble in other places, but even in most of western europe and north america you can live on that. i made this much in fucking canada and managed to keep a high speed internet connection and eat well in an admittedly dingy apartment.

>>1241645
>>1241775
>>1241639
I never said that Mexican women, especially in Mexico City, are ugly. Honestly, you would get a great surprise in the quality of women there, American propaganda is bullshit. On the other hand, Panama City has a ton of Colombianas and Sao Paulo is, well, full of Brazilians. Only cities in Argentina like Cordoba can compete with Colombia and Brazil imho.

>>1240736
>I'm a tiny girl lel.
I won't traffic you, come live with me.

>>1242279
where?

>>1240736
wow, I make what you make in 8 hours in like 90 minutes laying in bed writing code

Also as mentioned Chiang Mai is probably the tech hub of asia for expat startup types, you'll meet a ton of remote workers there and founder type shills. I consider it the SF bay area of asia.

Another option for you would be to go to school. If you can make 12k a year, you can easily, EASILY, live in Germany and attend free university (yes, it's actually free). You just need to cover living costs which is low in most parts of Germany. Classes are all taught in english too, and afterwards they offer you citizenship (plus, you can work P/T in Germany while going to school there).

>>1240771
a coup in indonesia?
hang on,let me take a look outside....

>>1240736
>Also where it's safe and I won't be trafficked, I'm a tiny girl lel.
You can come live with me in my upscale Miami beach condo ;)

>>1243224
> If you can make 12k a year, you can easily, EASILY, live in Germany and attend free university.

Sweden anonette again. Is this true? Because that would be amazing for me. Hoarding degrees like the edu-pocalypse is coming.

>>1243304
I assume you already have a bachelors, so then a Masters would cost you about 2k euros/year. But then you'd be a student, so you would qualify for govt. assistance, which is a decent amount. Net gain overall.

Thing is, you have to either choose a degree in english (limited options) or get your german up to C1 to enroll in a regular german-speaking program.

>>1243224
>Another option for you would be to go to school. If you can make 12k a year, you can easily, EASILY, live in Germany and attend free university (yes, it's actually free). You just need to cover living costs which is low in most parts of Germany. Classes are all taught in english too, and afterwards they offer you citizenship (plus, you can work P/T in Germany while going to school there).

German here, most of this is bullshit. 12k may work in some areas if you live a miserable life and it will be impossible in some bigger cities. Most classes are taught in German, there are some English programs, but it depends on the program and the university. Not all programs are for free, some of them do cost a bit, though not nearly as much as in the US or UK. I don't know much about getting the citizenship, but it's definitely not going to happen automatically once you finish your studies.

>>1243206
LONDON

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i live close to a second tier city in indonesia
with $1600 aus a month,that about $2k USD.
i live really well on this,I llive in a nice house,(maid)eating in restaurants,boozing,going on excursions,scuba diving,mongering etc..etc,
so you could easily cut those expenses in half..
only problem here for you might be slow or intermittent internet.

is this in indonesia?

>>1243223
>writing code
web dev? or something else?

>>1243224
Hmm. I would consider that, but I doubt 12k is enough for Germany. I don't even know what I would study, and I don't want to study for the sake of it. It sounds like just endless studying and wageslaving just to live in a similar environment as I am now.

>>1240736
Go to Salamanca in Spain. Beautiful city, and very low cost of living even by Spanish standards.

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>>1243314
.

>>1243649
oops,
yeah my bad...
i meant to type 'about $1k us
thanks anon

>>1240844
The correct answer is Ho Chi Minh, cheap if you want it to be while also having western amenities. Cambodia is fine short term but will get jarring pretty quickly due to corruption, poor health standards etc.