Where In World Is Cheapest Place To Live In ?

[obsession]

What about the availability of women in India and Korea? I like to change ladies frequently. Indian women are my favourite and I looked up a Korean dating site once and the women were gorgeous. Thanks.

[Naam]

Well no one has mentioned an obvious choice!! australia good cheap living if you stay out of the big cities, especially Queensland if you are prepared to live inland,lots of over 50,s villages where a 3 bedroom aircon bungalow wil cost you the same as in Huahin, cost of living is cheaper too, kingprawns 8bucks a kilo , scotch fillet was 9 bucks a kilo yesterday,house rentals are cheap, and flights to thailand or Singapore are very cheap, add great medical care, perfect weather,fantastic fishing,golf is cheap too, no soccer but you got the lions, bronco,s ,Cowboys and Titans to keep the arm chair sportsman happy, most of the natives speak english,good choice of beers , and best of all, Distilling your own Hooch is LEGAL!!, stainless steel stills are on sale, and its pretty easy to get a visa Nignoy

it is easy to get a visitor visa. check the limitations and demands for a retiree visa (last changed december 1999) and you start to vomit.

-minimum investment AUD 500,000

-aussie health insurance no matter if you have a better one

-fancy income tax

-permission required to buy a home (can take up to six months)

-every two years health check and if you are very sick you are on the next plane home.

end of 1998 we bought a beautiful lot in the hills near Mooloolaba, Queensland. after finalizing negotiations with a construction company laws concerning retirees were changed and we said "up yours".

edited: permission required to buy an existing home.

Edited April 12, 2007 by Dr. Naam

[Naam]

What about the availability of women in India

go to India and weep.

[terry57]

Sounds like a good life Nignoy, I do the same, 6 Months OZ 6 Months Thai. Looks good where you live, I guess I'm just a city man, cheers mate.

im an ozzie from perth,

but i must admit queensland is stunning part of australia, especially north queensland and the daintree area.

6 months thailand 6 months queensland could be the perfect solution.

[terry57]

What about the availability of women in India

go to India and weep.

must agree with you there DR naam,

you would have to 1 hard core dude to want to live in india.

[Naam]

What about the availability of women in India

go to India and weep.

must agree with you there DR naam,

you would have to 1 hard core dude to want to live in india.

i speak based on experience. have since many years a home in Pune and a condo in Mumbai. whenever i spend a few days in India i sleep like a baby, i.e. every two hours i wake up and cry.

these are the nights. much more terrible are the days!

p.s. India was the country of my dreams since i was a little boy. it would be still the country of my dreams if there were no Indians in India.

OUCH! why do you always hit me on my head with hard objects my beloved wife?

[Nignoy]

Well no one has mentioned an obvious choice!! australia good cheap living if you stay out of the big cities, especially Queensland if you are prepared to live inland,lots of over 50,s villages where a 3 bedroom aircon bungalow wil cost you the same as in Huahin, cost of living is cheaper too, kingprawns 8bucks a kilo , scotch fillet was 9 bucks a kilo yesterday,house rentals are cheap, and flights to thailand or Singapore are very cheap, add great medical care, perfect weather,fantastic fishing,golf is cheap too, no soccer but you got the lions, bronco,s ,Cowboys and Titans to keep the arm chair sportsman happy, most of the natives speak english,good choice of beers , and best of all, Distilling your own Hooch is LEGAL!!, stainless steel stills are on sale, and its pretty easy to get a visa Nignoy

it is easy to get a visitor visa. check the limitations and demands for a retiree visa (last changed december 1999) and you start to vomit.

-minimum investment AUD 500,000

-aussie health insurance no matter if you have a better one

-fancy income tax

-permission required to buy a home (can take up to six months)

-every two years health check and if you are very sick you are on the next plane home.

end of 1998 we bought a beautiful lot in the hills near Mooloolaba, Queensland. after finalizing negotiations with a construction company laws concerning retirees were changed and we said "up yours".

edited: permission required to buy an existing home.

Well I came out here on a 12 month work contract in 1996, liked what I saw, brought my wife out to queensland, my contract was extended for another 12 months I applied for australian citizenship, my contract ran out but we were allowed to stay because I had bought a house on the darling downs(28000dollars),and my citizenship application was still being processed, it was approved in early 1999,I am 90% disabled, in february 2000 we decided to sell our darling downs property and retire to the coast, by that time I was 58 years of age never had problem, we aint rich, no mention of investing 500,000 dollars( didnt have 500,000 cents when I retired), jeez we hardly had a pot to wee wee in.since I have been here, I have had a pacemaker fitted, new knee and hipjoint,Laser surgery on my eyes, which was not deemed financially viable by the national health in UK, also the shrapnel from my bomb injuries, which I recieved serving my country in 1968 were removed from my spine and arms on the public health scheme here in Queensland, I dont know why you had such difficulty maybe it was your attitude there are lots of europeans retiring to our area and they buy houses straight off the net before they move here Nignoy

[terry57]

What about the availability of women in India

go to India and weep.

must agree with you there DR naam,

you would have to 1 hard core dude to want to live in india.

i speak based on experience. have since many years a home in Pune and a condo in Mumbai. whenever i spend a few days in India i sleep like a baby, i.e. every two hours i wake up and cry.

these are the nights. much more terrible are the days!

p.s. India was the country of my dreams since i was a little boy. it would be still the country of my dreams if there were no Indians in India.

OUCH! why do you always hit me on my head with hard objects my beloved wife?

1st trip to india 1988

2nd trip to india 2002

3rd trip to india 2005

4th trip to india = NEVER

thank you very much DR Naam, and i know exactly what your saying.

[terry57]

Well no one has mentioned an obvious choice!! australia good cheap living if you stay out of the big cities, especially Queensland if you are prepared to live inland,lots of over 50,s villages where a 3 bedroom aircon bungalow wil cost you the same as in Huahin, cost of living is cheaper too, kingprawns 8bucks a kilo , scotch fillet was 9 bucks a kilo yesterday,house rentals are cheap, and flights to thailand or Singapore are very cheap, add great medical care, perfect weather,fantastic fishing,golf is cheap too, no soccer but you got the lions, bronco,s ,Cowboys and Titans to keep the arm chair sportsman happy, most of the natives speak english,good choice of beers , and best of all, Distilling your own Hooch is LEGAL!!, stainless steel stills are on sale, and its pretty easy to get a visa Nignoy

it is easy to get a visitor visa. check the limitations and demands for a retiree visa (last changed december 1999) and you start to vomit.

-minimum investment AUD 500,000

-aussie health insurance no matter if you have a better one

-fancy income tax

-permission required to buy a home (can take up to six months)

-every two years health check and if you are very sick you are on the next plane home.

end of 1998 we bought a beautiful lot in the hills near Mooloolaba, Queensland. after finalizing negotiations with a construction company laws concerning retirees were changed and we said "up yours".

edited: permission required to buy an existing home.

Well I came out here on a 12 month work contract in 1996, liked what I saw, brought my wife out to queensland, my contract was extended for another 12 months I applied for australian citizenship, my contract ran out but we were allowed to stay because I had bought a house on the darling downs(28000dollars),and my citizenship application was still being processed, it was approved in early 1999,I am 90% disabled, in february 2000 we decided to sell our darling downs property and retire to the coast, by that time I was 58 years of age never had problem, we aint rich, no mention of investing 500,000 dollars( didnt have 500,000 cents when I retired), jeez we hardly had a pot to wee wee in.since I have been here, I have had a pacemaker fitted, new knee and hipjoint,Laser surgery on my eyes, which was not deemed financially viable by the national health in UK, also the shrapnel from my bomb injuries, which I recieved serving my country in 1968 were removed from my spine and arms on the public health scheme here in Queensland, I dont know why you had such difficulty maybe it was your attitude there are lots of europeans retiring to our area and they buy houses straight off the net before they move here Nignoy

maybe the aussie immigration dont like klingons.

sorry about that DR Naam but you set yourself up for that one.

[KireB]

The cheapest place to live in is the place where you earn the most!

[RusT]

The cheapest country to live with a similiar 'standard' to Thailand? My experience is limited to Asia so I can only offer a candidate from within the region. The assumed criteria is low cost of living (cheap across the board while offering good value for money), food (quality of local food and produce plus variety of int' food), services/infrastructure/convenience, compatibility with the local people, women (attractiveness and availability) and general vibe of the country (scenery, culture etc).

Taking all of the above points into consideration, to my mind there isn't any country in Asia that can top Thailand at the moment in terms of the "whole package". Some obvious contenders are The Philippines; more expensive (although not greatly) and very ordinary local food compared to Thailand, India; cheap but single blokes are going to struggle and let's face it the locals drive most people insane, Malaysia; more expensive and some people may be uncomfortable with the religious aspect, Laos/Camobodia; cheap for the basics but certainly not acrooss the board and most people would likely perfer a higher quality in the area of services/infrastructure/convenience.

As I see it Vietnam will increasingly become a real challenger. It's already cheaper than Thailand and at the rate the country is devloping the gap in the quality of services/infrastructure/convenience will start to narrow, most farangs dig the vibe of the place, the scenery and the locals in general. Single blokes will not suffer. I would say the outlook is getting better for the place all the time.

In another 5 years I think Laos/Cambodia will definitely be worth another look.

Would be very interested to learn of countries outside of Asia that can match or top Thailand using the said criteria.

[Naam]

maybe the aussie immigration dont like klingons.

sorry about that DR Naam but you set yourself up for that one.

how could they have known that i am a klingon? i always wore sunglasses and drank my blood wine out of a tea cup!

[Naam]

Well I came out here on a 12 month work contract in 1996, liked what I saw, brought my wife out to queensland, my contract was extended for another 12 months I applied for australian citizenship, my contract ran out but we were allowed to stay because I had bought a house on the darling downs(28000dollars),and my citizenship application was still being processed, it was approved in early 1999,I am 90% disabled, in february 2000 we decided to sell our darling downs property and retire to the coast, by that time I was 58 years of age never had problem, we aint rich, no mention of investing 500,000 dollars

Nignoy,

we are talking about two completely different cases. you had a job in Oz, a residence and work permit and applied for citizenship. my wife and me were trying to obtain a retiree visa.

info:

A Retirement Visa allows retirees to spend some of their retirement years in Australia.

You may apply for an investor Retirement Visa if you meet the following criteria:

are 55 years of age or older

are sponsored by an Australian State or Territory Government agency

have no dependent children or other dependent family members other than a spouse

are married or in a de facto relationship, your partner has no dependent children or other dependent family members

have a minimum assets legally owned and lawfully acquired by yourself, or yourself and your spouse, capable of and available to transfer to Australia of:

A$500,000 if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia;

OR

A$750,000 if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia

have a minimum net income stream (for example, pension rights) that can be accessed for yourself or yourself and your spouse of:

A$50,000 annually if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia

A$65,000 annually if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia

are able to make a minimum designated investment of:

A$500,000 in your name or your name and your spouse name if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia

A$750,000 in your name or your name and your spouse name if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia

you must have held all of the assists listed above for 2 years prior to lodging your application, unless the assists are related to superannuation and/or inheritance

have evidence that you, and your spouse if applicable, hold a private health insurance package that meets Australian Department of Health and Ageing (DHA) guidelines during the period of the intended stay in Australia

have no intention of working full-time in Australia (you, and your spouse if applicable, will only be allowed to work up to 20 hours per week while in Australia)

are of good health and character

Edited April 13, 2007 by Dr. Naam

[Naam]

As I see it Vietnam will increasingly become a real challenger. It's already cheaper than Thailand and at the rate the country is devloping the gap in the quality of services/infrastructure/convenience will start to narrow, most farangs dig the vibe of the place, the scenery and the locals in general. Single blokes will not suffer. I would say the outlook is getting better for the place all the time.

In another 5 years I think Laos/Cambodia will definitely be worth another look.

Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia have been mentioned several times. however, nobody mentioned whether these countries have schemes for retirees. do they?

[Nignoy]

Well I came out here on a 12 month work contract in 1996, liked what I saw, brought my wife out to queensland, my contract was extended for another 12 months I applied for australian citizenship, my contract ran out but we were allowed to stay because I had bought a house on the darling downs(28000dollars),and my citizenship application was still being processed, it was approved in early 1999,I am 90% disabled, in february 2000 we decided to sell our darling downs property and retire to the coast, by that time I was 58 years of age never had problem, we aint rich, no mention of investing 500,000 dollars

Nignoy,

we are talking about two completely different cases. you had a job in Oz, a residence and work permit and applied for citizenship. my wife and me were trying to obtain a retiree visa.

info:

A Retirement Visa allows retirees to spend some of their retirement years in Australia.

You may apply for an investor Retirement Visa if you meet the following criteria:

are 55 years of age or older

are sponsored by an Australian State or Territory Government agency

have no dependent children or other dependent family members other than a spouse

are married or in a de facto relationship, your partner has no dependent children or other dependent family members

have a minimum assets legally owned and lawfully acquired by yourself, or yourself and your spouse, capable of and available to transfer to Australia of:

A$500,000 if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia;

OR

A$750,000 if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia

have a minimum net income stream (for example, pension rights) that can be accessed for yourself or yourself and your spouse of:

A$50,000 annually if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia

A$65,000 annually if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in a regional/low growth area of Australia

are able to make a minimum designated investment of:

A$500,000 in your name or your name and your spouse name if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia

A$750,000 in your name or your name and your spouse name if you have indicated to your sponsoring state or territory government agency that you do not intend to live in regional/low growth area of Australia

you must have held all of the assists listed above for 2 years prior to lodging your application, unless the assists are related to superannuation and/or inheritance

have evidence that you, and your spouse if applicable, hold a private health insurance package that meets Australian Department of Health and Ageing (DHA) guidelines during the period of the intended stay in Australia

have no intention of working full-time in Australia (you, and your spouse if applicable, will only be allowed to work up to 20 hours per week while in Australia)

are of good health and character

We have English friends on a normal military pension who used to visit us twice a year here on Bribie, last june they retired here permanently,we discussed this thread with them this morning, the only capital they have is invested in the purchase of their little retirement village bungalow which they paid 90,000 dollars,they have the same medicare insurance as we have ,I still firmly believe you might have a bit of an attitude problem!! and rubbed the authorities up the wrong way, we were encouraged to purchase property while we were still on a contract that was due to run out,we were encouraged to apply for citizenship in the knowledge that we were going to retire, I just cannot understandthe difficulties that you have had, my war injuries get recognised and treated here, not neglected like they were in UK.Nignoy

[SoCal]

As I see it Vietnam will increasingly become a real challenger. It's already cheaper than Thailand and at the rate the country is devloping the gap in the quality of services/infrastructure/convenience will start to narrow, most farangs dig the vibe of the place, the scenery and the locals in general. Single blokes will not suffer. I would say the outlook is getting better for the place all the time.

In another 5 years I think Laos/Cambodia will definitely be worth another look.

Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia have been mentioned several times. however, nobody mentioned whether these countries have schemes for retirees. do they?

What kind of scheme are you looking for? In Vietnam, you can get a six month multiple entry visa no problem, and every six months you just need to give it to a travel agent with $90 (US) for another one. No need to leave the country. Nothing special for retirees that I know of, but the normal situation isn't all that difficult. Pretty easy to get residency also if you want to go that way. I believe you only have to reside in Vietnam for two years, or automaticaly eligible with work permit or marriage to a local.

[j_cheung]

maybe the aussie immigration dont like klingons.

sorry about that DR Naam but you set yourself up for that one.

how could they have known that i am a klingon? i always wore sunglasses and drank my blood wine out of a tea cup!

Perhaps, you forgot to cover your sagittarean crest that time?

[Naam]

What kind of scheme are you looking for? In Vietnam, you can get a six month multiple entry visa no problem, and every six months you just need to give it to a travel agent with $90 (US) for another one. No need to leave the country. Nothing special for retirees that I know of, but the normal situation isn't all that difficult. Pretty easy to get residency also if you want to go that way. I believe you only have to reside in Vietnam for two years, or automaticaly eligible with work permit or marriage to a local.

what about bringing in a 40' HC container with 60m3 of my belongings (as i did here in Thailand)?

and very important! what is the income tax situation?

[Hawkup2000]

An outsider: not THE cheapest but what about Martinique? They are members of the european union so if you are european you don´t need to worry about stuff as visa or permits. You have the same rights as the natives. The island is also cheap if you compare to other islands in the area. Caribbean is nice but they dont have pad thai and Luk thung.

Edited April 13, 2007 by Hawkup2000

[ray23]

Well I'm not considering leaving I can undertand the comment about the language I study it as well. The sad part this is the only country in the world you can use it.

[JimsKnight]

India's supposed to be good and the andaman isles, they are reputed to be an excellent getaway.

On women, well I've heard first-hand that they stick to their own (hindu to hindu) and the caste system compounds this further. Vietnam, visas are easy (and have been for a long time:)), it has more 'respectability' on some levels. On girls, this can be hit and miss.

If you can get your own apartment then its better as guesthouses and hotels ask for marriage certificates if you want to share your room with a vietnamese girl! A bit like the 1950s and 1960s in England!

New Guinea and places around there may be the last places globalisation will hit, so perhaps there is worth a look. The weather will be brutal though (on the equator!) and plenty more exotic diseases lurk about!

[KhunMarco]

Ok a quick update about the situation in Argentina

1st the serious stuff ...women cough cough

The little pervert here had a brief introduction to a dating site just to get an idea... boy oh boy, a mix of Italian-Spanish hot mamas ...nugh said

Housing: It seems to be the biggest problem, not only for foreigners: it's a selling market, long term rentals(2 years contr.) require a local guarantor or pago adelantado (pay in advance 1 or 2 years), short term contracts (6 months ) are very expensive (compared to Thailand). Many Argentinian rent their home short term to expats or tourists and go to live in cheaper places. Compared to Thailand is very difficult (similar to Italy I must add, a big mess)

Visa, very relaxed rules, easy to get a retirement visa or even a work permit, if you want to stay as a "tourist" 90 days permit to stay, extensible 90 days to the imm office (25-30 USD), than you teorically have to do a visa run to Uruguay and back the same day, rinse and repeat ad libitum, but in reality you can overstay as long as you want paying a 30USD fine when you exit the country. (no black list)

Lifestyle, well it's called Paris of south America for a reason, lot of choices, great night life, did I mention las chicas portenas... great food, no need a car,climate similar to Rome but seasons are reversed ,overall, not as cheap as Thailand

Ps. All the infos refer to BA and are from the net, I've never been there... still considering

Edited April 13, 2007 by KhunMarco