Cheap Places to Live

[freeazabird]

I currently reside in the US and would like to experience a change of pace by living abroad for 6months to a year. I want to live somewhere cheap, with a slow pace of life, good food, friendly people, and where I hopefully won't need a car. Any suggestions? I'm open to anywhere.

[chouchouu]

Italy. I remember our friends were renting a two bedroom place that was in a medieval town in southern Tuscany for 350 euros a month. I'm guessing you would need someone fluent in Italian to bypass the holiday rentals.

[rachael talcott]

I have a friend who moved to Greece a few years ago, and she says it's incredibly cheap if you're willing to live like a local. 

[GrowingTheGreen]

Costa Rica.

Amazingly beautiful country.  Cheap.  Relatively stable.  If you get sick of the beach, then go live up by the rain forest.

Only caution would be to make sure you bring a GPS.  Addresses and street names don't seem to be a concept there!

[Eric]

Depends on what you want and how cheap.  Do you want to be able to learn the local language?  Here's a recent thread discussing places to retire to after only saving for 2 years, so they're definitely cheap places:

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/where-would-you-retire-if-you-only-had-two-years-to-save-and-invest/

But you're probably not going to be able to stay in any one country for longer than 90 days because of visa requirements (it wouldn't be worth it to apply for permanent residence).  So considering you're looking at stays of up to a year, you're going to want a combination of countries.

So look at something like Mexico, Guatemala, & Belize, or Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.  Or if you want to go to Asia, somewhere like Thailand, Malaysia, & Philippines.

Also read here for some more inspiration:
http://frugalvagabond.com/2015/08/08/retire-abroad-july-2015-774/
http://frugalvagabond.com/2015/12/03/retire-abroad-december-2015-879/

Only caution would be to make sure you bring a GPS.  Addresses and street names don't seem to be a concept there!

Couldn't the OP just ask directions?  I can't really see myself looking at a GPS as I'm walking around a town. :P

[tobitonic]

I'd go with one of the five "blue zones." Three have already more or less been mentioned in this thread (Sardinia in Italy, Ikaria in Greece, Nicoya in Costa Rica). It'll be a bit of a mindbender if you do, though: they live longer, happier, and healthier lives than most Americans, but retire much later and with far less money than your average American, never mind your average Mustachian.

[iamlindoro]

Also read here for some more inspiration:
http://frugalvagabond.com/2015/08/08/retire-abroad-july-2015-774/
http://frugalvagabond.com/2015/12/03/retire-abroad-december-2015-879/

Thanks!

Another cool resource is http://www.nomadlist.com, which allows you to filter locations based on a ton of criteria, including cost.  Once you've got basic cost of living down, as Eric mentioned, you've got to sort out the realities of visas, medical care, lodging, communications, etc.  You haven't mentioned the budget... how much are you hoping to spend per month?

[NinetyFour]

Following.

[chouchouu]

Depends on what you want and how cheap.  Do you want to be able to learn the local language?  Here's a recent thread discussing places to retire to after only saving for 2 years, so they're definitely cheap places:

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/where-would-you-retire-if-you-only-had-two-years-to-save-and-invest/

But you're probably not going to be able to stay in any one country for longer than 90 days because of visa requirements (it wouldn't be worth it to apply for permanent residence).  So considering you're looking at stays of up to a year, you're going to want a combination of countries.

So look at something like Mexico, Guatemala, & Belize, or Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.  Or if you want to go to Asia, somewhere like Thailand, Malaysia, & Philippines.

Also read here for some more inspiration:
http://frugalvagabond.com/2015/08/08/retire-abroad-july-2015-774/
http://frugalvagabond.com/2015/12/03/retire-abroad-december-2015-879/

Only caution would be to make sure you bring a GPS.  Addresses and street names don't seem to be a concept there!

Couldn't the OP just ask directions?  I can't really see myself looking at a GPS as I'm walking around a town. :P

I have GPS on my phone, I've found it infinitely useful when living or travelling in new countries. There are apps you can use that tell you how to get from A to B using public transport. When I'm travelling I'll download the route when I'm connected to wifi and then screen shot it so I'm not using roaming charges. In my city they also have a function for cycle routes.

[Exflyboy]

We are currently studying places to stay in Thailand for our upcoming vacation. We will be travelling by train between Bangkok and Chiang Mai and stopping along the way.

Talk about inexpensive.. Holy Cow. My Wife is finding numerous apartments in chaing Mai for $17 per WEEK!!!!!!

Meals out for $2 to $3..

Train travel is like $30 for a sleeper overnight.

Place looks beautiful too.. albeit humind!

[The_path_less_taken]

Also read here for some more inspiration:
http://frugalvagabond.com/2015/08/08/retire-abroad-july-2015-774/
http://frugalvagabond.com/2015/12/03/retire-abroad-december-2015-879/

Thanks!

Another cool resource is http://www.nomadlist.com, which allows you to filter locations based on a ton of criteria, including cost.  Once you've got basic cost of living down, as Eric mentioned, you've got to sort out the realities of visas, medical care, lodging, communications, etc.  You haven't mentioned the budget... how much are you hoping to spend per month?

iamlindoro,

What a great link! Dunno that I agree with all of their little bar graphs....they have Anchorage, AK as just med/low fun and come on: if you like outdoors stuff it beyond rocks.

But it was pretty interesting seeing places that aren't even remotely on my radar like Moldavia or Agadir.

Thanks!

[iamlindoro]

What a great link! Dunno that I agree with all of their little bar graphs....they have Anchorage, AK as just med/low fun and come on: if you like outdoors stuff it beyond rocks.

Yeah, I have the same feeling about some of the "safety" ratings, too (I think that in a lot of cases, perfectly safe places are shown as more dangerous than they are).  The COL info can also be a little bit questionable (I prefer to do more detailed research using Numbeo and talking to people who are living there for my own series, linked above), but all things considered, it's a pretty fun way to find new places you hadn't considered.

[Greenroller]

Following as well

[limeandpepper]

We are currently studying places to stay in Thailand for our upcoming vacation. We will be travelling by train between Bangkok and Chiang Mai and stopping along the way.

Talk about inexpensive.. Holy Cow. My Wife is finding numerous apartments in chaing Mai for $17 per WEEK!!!!!!

I agree Thailand is lovely and affordable, but are you sure it's $17/week and not $17/night? If it really is $17/week, mind sharing the websites for these awesome deals? :)

There was a guy who posted here recently who lives in a small town in Thailand (one that should be cheaper than Chiang Mai) and was paying $150/month rent with the help of local connections who found a nice place for him.

And I was there not that long ago. Admittedly I didn't look around for longer-term accommodation, but I did see signs for monthly prices at guesthouses here and there, the cheaper ones are perhaps $200/month.

[expatartist]

Some good resources here, particularly Nomadlist - good variety of options!

[spokey doke]

following too

[Exflyboy]

We are currently studying places to stay in Thailand for our upcoming vacation. We will be travelling by train between Bangkok and Chiang Mai and stopping along the way.

Talk about inexpensive.. Holy Cow. My Wife is finding numerous apartments in chaing Mai for $17 per WEEK!!!!!!

I agree Thailand is lovely and affordable, but are you sure it's $17/week and not $17/night? If it really is $17/week, mind sharing the websites for these awesome deals? :)

There was a guy who posted here recently who lives in a small town in Thailand (one that should be cheaper than Chiang Mai) and was paying $150/month rent with the help of local connections who found a nice place for him.

And I was there not that long ago. Admittedly I didn't look around for longer-term accommodation, but I did see signs for monthly prices at guesthouses here and there, the cheaper ones are perhaps $200/month.

Well that was my reaction too.. We shall see. Heck even at $17 a night I don't think I'll be burning any of my Holiday Inn loyalty points..:)

[limeandpepper]

Well that was my reaction too.. We shall see. Heck even at $17 a night I don't think I'll be burning any of my Holiday Inn loyalty points..:)

It's probably a simple misunderstanding. Some online booking sites you may put in a week's stay, but the prices that they show are still per night. It's only when you click "book" that it shows you the total price of per night x 7. Well, that or your wife has stumbled upon some obscure goldmine of an accommodation provider!

As you say, $17/night is still cheap! And we were able to easily find places under that price when we were there, as we're happy with basic rooms as long as they're clean and safe. But just had to point out this per-week-rate may not be correct here, as $17/night vs. $17/week could be a significant difference to some people. As a side note, I did stay in a place in Thailand that works out to be less than $20/week, but it was in a rural area outside of Chiang Mai, the room was pretty much just a bed and had paper-thin walls with newspaper stuffed in the cracks (we could hear the couple in the adjacent room talking - and they weren't being loud), and it required sharing a bathroom with other residents. Not sure if I'd stay there long term, but was happy with it as a short-term stay as we spent most of our time outside anyway. :)

[CientoUno]

Been living in Thailand for about 1.5 years now-- I rent a small house for $150/month, eating out is $1-2, life is super relaxed and teaching English as supplemental income (if you want) can get you around $1,000/month on average. Feel free to ask me anything! I also lived for 2 years in Madrid, Spain before this and I can say that was quite cheap as well. But Thailand is a whole other level.

[freeazabird]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

To the prior poster in Thailand, what sites do you recommend I check out for rentals? Also what sites for teaching English?

[Public Hermit]

Been living in Thailand for about 1.5 years now-- I rent a small house for $150/month, eating out is $1-2, life is super relaxed and teaching English as supplemental income (if you want) can get you around $1,000/month on average. Feel free to ask me anything! I also lived for 2 years in Madrid, Spain before this and I can say that was quite cheap as well. But Thailand is a whole other level.

Thanks for your post.

How are the living conditions in your house in Thailand? Does your house have modern day plumbing/running water? Utility costs? Do you speak Thai? What is your total monthly budget? What are the downsides of living in Thailand? How is the quality of health care and what does it cost?

[2lazy2retire]

Been living in Thailand for about 1.5 years now-- I rent a small house for $150/month, eating out is $1-2, life is super relaxed and teaching English as supplemental income (if you want) can get you around $1,000/month on average. Feel free to ask me anything! I also lived for 2 years in Madrid, Spain before this and I can say that was quite cheap as well. But Thailand is a whole other level.

Thanks for your post.

How are the living conditions in your house in Thailand? Does your house have modern day plumbing/running water? Utility costs? Do you speak Thai? What is your total monthly budget? What are the downsides of living in Thailand? How is the quality of health care and what does it cost?

You should check out "Curry Cracker" - they are currently in Thailand and give a detail breakdown of costs

[FrugalFan]

Only caution would be to make sure you bring a GPS.  Addresses and street names don't seem to be a concept there!

Couldn't the OP just ask directions?  I can't really see myself looking at a GPS as I'm walking around a town. :P

It's not that simple! I lived in Costa Rica for years doing field work. There are street names but no street numbers. Even on official documents, an address for a business will be listed as "across from the church" or similar. People use "100 m" to mean one block, regardless of the size of the block. So, their directions will say something like "600 m and then turn left and it's in 300 m on your right". They'll often also give directions in relation to landmarks that no longer exist, like "in front of the old movie theater". Finally, there is something we came to call the Costa Rican runaround. We figured out over time that people are too polite to say "I don't know" so they will always give you directions, often to places that either don't exist or are on the complete opposite end of town. It's pretty funny in retrospect, but it took us a while to figure out. And it was a bit frustrating when we needed to buy equipment or supplies; something that would have taken us 30 minutes here would inevitably take hours over there. We had to adjust. And this was pre-GPS days.