Where To Live In South East Asia For $1,000 Usd Per Month

[happysanook]

Geno Bkk did u even read the thread responses??

yes it seems several are doing, when I read and reply it seemed most thought you could not do it, I did not read the last few post. I am shocked that many are doing it, if you owned your own place a small condo or townhouse I could see doing it without to much trouble. would it be easer to do it in Cambodia or about the same?

i've actually lived on less than $500. my house now is 1500b a month...(mango farm included). but I'm 70km outside cm.

only difference in the city (cm), would be I pay 3500 (bills and internet included) for apt. when im staying there. small apt, but clean and quiet...TV, fast internet, aircon...

go out to the movies or something like that a couple times a week. read books, play on internet. play guitar. spend time with women who aren't money grubbing pros..comes out usually to under 500us.

im not sure what other people are doing. yes if u have rent a 3bdrm house, have a family, car, expensive gf or pros, drinking, eating a western diet, going out daily etc... it will get expensive fast...

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[mrdome]

It's not so much of a question of where can anyone do it because prices are super low but are you the type of person willing to stay within budget month after time and resist all those budget-busting temptations. Those with fewer - and cheaper to fulfill needs - clearly are a shoe in for this, obviously.

[Angelo99]

pretty much anywhere in thailand other than the touristy islands...depends on how u live. I can easily live off about half that if I wanted. apt or small house.. 5k or less. food, 6k or less. internet 1k. visa fees figure average 2k per month. that's 500usd ...then whatever extras u require... eating out, drinking, gf...etc...

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Yeah but add on transportation costs, toiletries/household items, medical costs, unforeseen/emergency costs, any sort of entertainment besides watching tv or wandering around the village and you can't realistically get by for $500. Even if you never bought any new clothes and gave yourself a bowl cut and could get by for say $750, it would be a miserable life. Doing nothing, have no social life or relationship (unless she supported herself or helped support you and why not, you're a real catch!). Forget having a family or taking a trip anywhere.

One motorbike accident or illness and you're screwed. Why not just save up until you could live realistically.

You could get by in Laos or Cambodia much better for $1000 and if that's all you can really afford, I'd look there. You won't have money to do anything so I'd think Laos would be a better place as it's cheaper than Cambodia and more laid back plus you're close to Chiang Mai if you need a decent hospital or something (not that you'd be able to afford it on that budget).

[happysanook]

pretty much anywhere in thailand other than the touristy islands...depends on how u live. I can easily live off about half that if I wanted. apt or small house.. 5k or less. food, 6k or less. internet 1k. visa fees figure average 2k per month. that's 500usd ...then whatever extras u require... eating out, drinking, gf...etc...

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Yeah but add on transportation costs, toiletries/household items, medical costs, unforeseen/emergency costs, any sort of entertainment besides watching tv or wandering around the village and you can't realistically get by for $500. Even if you never bought any new clothes and gave yourself a bowl cut and could get by for say $750, it would be a miserable life. Doing nothing, have no social life or relationship (unless she supported herself or helped support you and why not, you're a real catch!). Forget having a family or taking a trip anywhere.

One motorbike accident or illness and you're screwed. Why not just save up until you could live realistically.

You could get by in Laos or Cambodia much better for $1000 and if that's all you can really afford, I'd look there. You won't have money to do anything so I'd think Laos would be a better place as it's cheaper than Cambodia and more laid back plus you're close to Chiang Mai if you need a decent hospital or something (not that you'd be able to afford it on that budget).

i have a fine life... food, women, rented house on a mango farm, get around on a motorbike, go out a couple times a week to a movie or to eat.... play guitar, read books, internet, watch movies....what else do you want?

yea, if you want to start a family, or have a huge modern house with a swimming pool and like to rent women regularly, drink a lot, take regular "holidays", join a gym, want an expensive gas guzzling SUV, regularly buy your clothes at the airport shopping plaza hip shops...etc.. etc.. i could go on and on... $500 or $1000 isn't going to cut it....this is impossible to determine as it depends on how the person likes to spend his extra-curricular money.......

i'm talking about the basics of living... o.p. wasn't too specific on other needs/wants.

only thing i forgot was medical costs which you mentioned... impossible to even guess this unless you want to count insurance...in which case figure +2000-4000 baht p.m... .which still puts it at about $600...

[genobkk]

interesting post on the subject. Thanks guys

[MarkCyr]

Although it's possible to live on $1K a month in Thailand or the Phils, most guys I know who've taken the leap too early with that kind of budget in mind end up like the guy living below the Nana BTS staircase. Why? Because it's waaaaay too easy to go out every night, and those "occasional" nice dinners out add up quickly. So unless you're really settled and married with a stable home life, then expect that you WILL spend more than you think you will.

With that in mind, I would say that if you are prone to fall off of the frugality wagon, then the Phils is a better option. Daily living there can be cheap, and even eating western food every day (which you have to unless you don't mind having an angioplasty every 3 years from the fatty pinoy food) won't come close to what you'd spend in an active western-oriented lifestyle in Pattaya or BKK. And for me, more than the money, the fact that you don't have to do visa runs all the time is a huge plus in the Phils.

[lovelaos]

pretty much anywhere in thailand other than the touristy islands...depends on how u live. I can easily live off about half that if I wanted. apt or small house.. 5k or less. food, 6k or less. internet 1k. visa fees figure average 2k per month. that's 500usd ...then whatever extras u require... eating out, drinking, gf...etc...

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Yeah but add on transportation costs, toiletries/household items, medical costs, unforeseen/emergency costs, any sort of entertainment besides watching tv or wandering around the village and you can't realistically get by for $500. Even if you never bought any new clothes and gave yourself a bowl cut and could get by for say $750, it would be a miserable life. Doing nothing, have no social life or relationship (unless she supported herself or helped support you and why not, you're a real catch!). Forget having a family or taking a trip anywhere.

One motorbike accident or illness and you're screwed. Why not just save up until you could live realistically.

You could get by in Laos or Cambodia much better for $1000 and if that's all you can really afford, I'd look there. You won't have money to do anything so I'd think Laos would be a better place as it's cheaper than Cambodia and more laid back plus you're close to Chiang Mai if you need a decent hospital or something (not that you'd be able to afford it on that budget).

I personally find Laos more expensive than Thailand for day to day living. Farang food, petrol, cost of transportation, gym membership, all more expensive.

beer, fags, visa and women however are all cheaper.

[Ulysses G.]

You can do it fairly easily in Thailand, if you want to. But it depends on what things you think you have to have.

It would be fairly easy for me as I have lived here a long time and know my way around. However, if I did, I could only have a beer every now and then and would have to be very careful about what I ate and not much fooling around.

[tutsiwarrior]

I manage a household in rural central Thailand with 4 kids (2 in school and 2 toddlers) and 5 adults on USD5000 per month and that includes USD2000 to the wife for her expenses...the working adults do farm work and what they get every month is for their beer and cigarettes and the ladies look after the house and the kids and are low expense...we do a weekly shop at the local tescos and at the market that runs about USD200...then there are the utilities and I run the AC in the bedroom about 12hrs per day but otherwise cheap...we got an old 12 seater Nissan Urvan but mostly use motorbikes for daily transportation...the wife's family (or part thereof) were always part of the package...

this is all offset, of course by my big expatriate salary as an engineer and we got money in the bank for the times that I don't work...I remain quiet, cool and comfortable and the money is a small price to pay...until I get too old and sick and can't work and then...?

but the wife sez: 'relax, tutsi...there will always be vodka fer you to drink and food to eat...' and I believe her...we completely ran out of money and credit once and she was: 'ho, hum...'...that would have been grounds for divorce in the west...

[necronx99]

I manage a household in rural central Thailand with 4 kids (2 in school and 2 toddlers) and 5 adults on USD5000 per month and that includes USD2000 to the wife for her expenses...the working adults do farm work and what they get every month is for their beer and cigarettes and the ladies look after the house and the kids and are low expense...we do a weekly shop at the local tescos and at the market that runs about USD200...then there are the utilities and I run the AC in the bedroom about 12hrs per day but otherwise cheap...we got an old 12 seater Nissan Urvan but mostly use motorbikes for daily transportation...the wife's family (or part thereof) were always part of the package...

this is all offset, of course by my big expatriate salary as an engineer and we got money in the bank for the times that I don't work...I remain quiet, cool and comfortable and the money is a small price to pay...until I get too old and sick and can't work and then...?

but the wife sez: 'relax, tutsi...there will always be vodka fer you to drink and food to eat...' and I believe her...we completely ran out of money and credit once and she was: 'ho, hum...'...that would have been grounds for divorce in the west...

What does the wife do with 60k baht per month?

[tutsiwarrior]

oh, I believe that her and a brother are trying to set up a food stall out where he lives...his wife is one of the best cooks I've seen anywhere and I've thought about a business with her as well but the enterprise requires a business sense and my wife ain't worth a shit in that regard...when we get down to our last USD20000 I'll haveta lay down the law with regard to her allowance...we still got some dough so no worries at present...

[cobbler]

oh, I believe that her and a brother are trying to set up a food stall out where he lives...his wife is one of the best cooks I've seen anywhere and I've thought about a business with her as well but the enterprise requires a business sense and my wife ain't worth a shit in that regard...when we get down to our last USD20000 I'll haveta lay down the law with regard to her allowance...we still got some dough so no worries at present...

Too late then,I'd be doing something now.Careful ,do you want to be old and broke???I live with my wife and we live here on 30,000 to 40,000 bath a month.

[tutsiwarrior]

oh, I believe that her and a brother are trying to set up a food stall out where he lives...his wife is one of the best cooks I've seen anywhere and I've thought about a business with her as well but the enterprise requires a business sense and my wife ain't worth a shit in that regard...when we get down to our last USD20000 I'll haveta lay down the law with regard to her allowance...we still got some dough so no worries at present...

Too late then,I'd be doing something now.Careful ,do you want to be old and broke???I live with my wife and we live here on 30,000 to 40,000 bath a month.

oh, I figured that bein' old and broke was always in the cards when livin' in Thailand and then when thai immigration came for me I'd pretend to be incontinent...they wouldn't want anyone shittin' all over the place when they took me down to the immigration jail...then, I would be laying in my own feces in prison and someone from Amnesty International would come and take a photo and then I would be released with an apology to return home to Suphanburi and to mind my own business...a quick shower and some clean clothes and OK...

[necronx99]

oh, I believe that her and a brother are trying to set up a food stall out where he lives...his wife is one of the best cooks I've seen anywhere and I've thought about a business with her as well but the enterprise requires a business sense and my wife ain't worth a shit in that regard...when we get down to our last USD20000 I'll haveta lay down the law with regard to her allowance...we still got some dough so no worries at present...

Too late then,I'd be doing something now.Careful ,do you want to be old and broke???I live with my wife and we live here on 30,000 to 40,000 bath a month.

oh, I figured that bein' old and broke was always in the cards when livin' in Thailand and then when thai immigration came for me I'd pretend to be incontinent...they wouldn't want anyone shittin' all over the place when they took me down to the immigration jail...then, I would be laying in my own feces in prison and someone from Amnesty International would come and take a photo and then I would be released with an apology to return home and to mind my own business...a quick shower and some clean clothes and OK...

Good to see someone thinking ahead and covering all bases for a change.

[tutsiwarrior]

oh, I believe that her and a brother are trying to set up a food stall out where he lives...his wife is one of the best cooks I've seen anywhere and I've thought about a business with her as well but the enterprise requires a business sense and my wife ain't worth a shit in that regard...when we get down to our last USD20000 I'll haveta lay down the law with regard to her allowance...we still got some dough so no worries at present...

Too late then,I'd be doing something now.Careful ,do you want to be old and broke???I live with my wife and we live here on 30,000 to 40,000 bath a month.

oh, I figured that bein' old and broke was always in the cards when livin' in Thailand and then when thai immigration came for me I'd pretend to be incontinent...they wouldn't want anyone shittin' all over the place when they took me down to the immigration jail...then, I would be laying in my own feces in prison and someone from Amnesty International would come and take a photo and then I would be released with an apology to return home and to mind my own business...a quick shower and some clean clothes and OK...

Good to see someone thinking ahead and covering all bases for a change.

an all too realistic scenario, I'm afraid...spare a thought for our falang brothers that are old and sick and cannot work and have no money for a thb400k or thb800k extension of stay and have lived here for years supporting families and etc. and now are on years of overstay and any bastid could denounce you to the cops and yer arse would then be grass...

[Hooters]

It can be done in Thailand easily.

You can rent a house in chang Mai's outskirts for 3-5000bht a month. food is 20-30bht a meal

either have basic medical insurance or pay as you go the chances of getting violently ill (hospitalization) or getting hit by a bus are extremely rare and if I was under 40 I wouldn't bother myself.

getting a girl once a week and drinking weekends only could all fit in the budget.

[bendix]

I love when these threads degenerate into people criticising others for the way they spend their money, like there is some kind of universal rule. It a poster wants to give his wife a 60k allowance every month, that is entirely his right.

[necronx99]

I love when these threads degenerate into people criticising others for the way they spend their money, like there is some kind of universal rule. It a poster wants to give his wife a 60k allowance every month, that is entirely his right.

Ditto the flip side. If you don't party excessively and like Thai food and can do without an aircon riddled manse on the beach, life does not have to be expensive.

Consume, and be dam_n conspicuous about it, is not a mantra that suits everyone.

[happysanook]

I love when these threads degenerate into people criticising others for the way they spend their money, like there is some kind of universal rule. It a poster wants to give his wife a 60k allowance every month, that is entirely his right.

I dont see anywhere in the thread people critisizing. merely stating that some of the luxuries that won't be possible on a g.

yes, 60k to the missus will put u over budget, op.

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[cobbler]

oh, I believe that her and a brother are trying to set up a food stall out where he lives...his wife is one of the best cooks I've seen anywhere and I've thought about a business with her as well but the enterprise requires a business sense and my wife ain't worth a shit in that regard...when we get down to our last USD20000 I'll haveta lay down the law with regard to her allowance...we still got some dough so no worries at present...

Too late then,I'd be doing something now.Careful ,do you want to be old and broke???I live with my wife and we live here on 30,000 to 40,000 bath a month.

oh, I figured that bein' old and broke was always in the cards when livin' in Thailand and then when thai immigration came for me I'd pretend to be incontinent...they wouldn't want anyone shittin' all over the place when they took me down to the immigration jail...then, I would be laying in my own feces in prison and someone from Amnesty International would come and take a photo and then I would be released with an apology to return home to Suphanburi and to mind my own business...a quick shower and some clean clothes and OK...

And eat what??

[cobbler]

I love when these threads degenerate into people criticising others for the way they spend their money, like there is some kind of universal rule. It a poster wants to give his wife a 60k allowance every month, that is entirely his right.

Yes you're right.I just feel sorry for a guy who is obvoiusly going to be stuffed very soon,left with nothing especialy when it didn't have to be that way.You can make money here with the right wife,and not big capital.It seems so sad to see guys go down the drain when it didn't have to be that way.

[4evermaat]

Well, I lived in BKK on $1,000 USD a month from 2002-2005...but I'm not sure it's possible anymore.

Well, certainly is IS possible...many, many Thais live for much less...but the question is, how much are you willing to "live like a Thai"??

We're talking: living in a working class Thai apartment building (no more than 5k baht a month, and you better invest in a fan, because if you have aircon with that, you're not gonna be using it much!!)...internet...you probably don't want to spend more than 1.5k baht a month on that...expect SLOW, intermittent service.

For the 5k price, you are not gonna get a kitchen. Plan to eat most of your meals out (you can get a little gas stove--though your apartment agreement will forbid it--to cook the occasional bowl of Mama, if you want), and make sure those meals are THAI, on the street or in cheap food courts...in other words, 40-50 baht a meal, NO farang food allowed.

Here's the kicker (for most farang males): you're going to have to SERIOUSLY curb your pussy intake. Maybe 3-4 ST's a month? That's 3-4k gone. Do an LT, and it's 2k...you get the picture. Of course, if you can do without such things (yeah, right), you can limit yourself to 30b large bottles of Chang bought at the 7-11 and consumed in your "loom"...

Don't forget health insurance...the most basic Thai BUPA (Blue Cross) is about 12,000 a year, and that will only cover surgery and hospital stays, not doctor visits. If you're young and healthy, not a big deal...

DO forget frequent visits to your home country...that would eat up a huge chunk of several months' budget.

So yeah, you could do it in BKK...but, do you really WANT to?

It depends on what you define as 'live'. If you mean 'exist' then there are many places in the world. To 'live' on $1000 a month would be vey difficult for me.

Easily in Thailand or Cambodia;

Phuket ( where i live)

2 bedroom house with air con $400

food for one includes going out 2-3 days/week $300 eating a mix of thai and Farang

phone, internet, cable tv $40

electric $20-50 depends on if u use the air con

Leaves ya a few extra $$

I live here on $2,000/month with my daughter BUT her school is $800/month and it costs me about $150./month in gas to take her to school

food for both of us runs about $ 600/.month includes housing items/cleaning stuff/shampoo/soap etc etc.

of course if ur a heavy drinker/bar goer $1,000 wont do it

U will need to own ur own car or bike (or preferable both)

Insurance for car $350/year full coverage

Medical; the price of $12,000 is way off. I used to have the BUPA Platinum coverage for my daughter and myself ( 10years old and 54) was less than 60,000 baht/year out patient only and no dental

Cambodia same as above but rent for a small 1 bedroom in PP or SHV $250-300/month

Beer;

Thailand 7/11 35 baht bar 60-125 baht

Cambodia 7/11 $1 Bar $.65 drafts up to $2/bottle/can

Cocktails

Thailand 100-150 baht inn bars

Cambodia $1.50-2.50 in bars

Cigs, no idea as don't smoke

i've actually lived on less than $500. my house now is 1500b a month...(mango farm included). but I'm 70km outside cm.

only difference in the city (cm), would be I pay 3500 (bills and internet included) for apt. when im staying there. small apt, but clean and quiet...TV, fast internet, aircon...

go out to the movies or something like that a couple times a week. read books, play on internet. play guitar. spend time with women who aren't money grubbing pros..comes out usually to under 500us.

im not sure what other people are doing. yes if u have rent a 3bdrm house, have a family, car, expensive gf or pros, drinking, eating a western diet, going out daily etc... it will get expensive fast...

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I think as other posters have eluded to it all boils down to wants. Basic living of a semi furnished studio apt w/electric can be had for under $100/mo. i've seen unfurnished places away from the major towns for $35/mo (concrete, electrical outlets, running water, and door. You can buy a portable a/c unit for $2-300 new if your place does not have one.

But you can find furnished places for $100-150/mo outside patong/pattaya fun areas. Inside the fun areas you can find them, but you gotta look hard. Add $100 and the search becomes easier. Rent motorbike $100/mo or less if you know the right people. $100-200/mo. for food, more for meat eaters. Decent landline Internet (9Mb/1Mb up ) can be gotten for $30/mo. Wireless prepaid packages vary from $5-30. Alcohol, short-time girlfriends, tours and other fun stuff: budget accordingly.

Visa: $175-200 + postage to/from consulate for non-imm multiple entry B/ED/O. It may be more for the letter of invite you pay for as you make friends, this cost can reduce significantly. you will need to make visa run every 90 days = $30-70 x 4 = appx 360 days + 90 you got with the first entry. 14-15 months total from 1 non imm.

I do it with long term gf. My friend does it and he lives in patong and usually has a new gf every couple of hours/days MAX.... But he's been doing this on tourist visas for appx 10 years. According to him, thailand's got the best mix of women and infrastructure to relax. Best to bring money from the outside: savings, freelancing, passive income, etc...avoid relying on thai-based income. Teaching english is an exception. Neither of us have any plans to return to a western country anytime soon.

I suggest bringing 2-3 times your monthly anticipated budget and see how quickly you burn through it. leaving or curbing western attachments will greatly improve your mobility here.

Isnt $12,000 / yr considered poverty level in usa? i tried living in usa on less than $1000. its possible, but very difficult to save any money unless you live off grid and/or live out of your car/van/truck. Or if you do some sort of workshare/internship where housing expenses are paid. Or very reliable roommates. or on some type of govt assistance.

"2nd best time to plant a tree is today." Sent from ThaiVisa app.

[tutsiwarrior]

livin' on the road in the US can be a drag even when ye got a van to sleep in...there are always cops with: 'say, pardner you can't sleep here and haveta move along...' doesn't apply to folks with gigantic RVs that park in designated RV parks...in the 70s and 80s I was all up and down the west coast in my battered '66 VW van just trying to mind my own business and every time here came the cops with: 'say, pardner...'

with my last funds I've thought about ending my days in a newish Ford Econoline van, big enough for all my needs just cruising the 101 highway that I know the best from LA to Vancouver BC; totally self contained (pull up to a university to shower in the athletic facilities twice per week) and enjoy the freedom of the road in my last days as an old hippie...but here come the cops and: 'move on pardner...' even when I was outside of town, then the tourist gas station owners and the restaurant owners complain when I was minding my own business, and to go further up the road where people can't see me...

get yerself a mattress and a down bag and a little Coleman stove to heat water and do one pot meals...you can always shit in the woods...yer biggest expense is on fuel for the beast...I wanna die on a promontory on the Olympic peninsula in Washington overlooking the crashing surf in me red Ford Econoline van and me deck chair...it's my right!...then, to clean up the cops can just push the whole mess over the cliff and into the ocean...no muss, no fuss...

[4evermaat]

livin' on the road in the US can be a drag even when ye got a van to sleep in...there are always cops with: 'say, pardner you can't sleep here and haveta move along...' doesn't apply to folks with gigantic RVs that park in designated RV parks...in the 70s and 80s I was all up and down the west coast in my battered '66 VW van just trying to mind my own business and every time here came the cops with: 'say, pardner...'

.........

In hawaii, they are still pretty lax about it. I met a guy who did the "split-year" thing where he lives for 6 months in Cali, and 6 months on the Big Island during the winter. He buys a mini-van, adds a bed/coziness to it, and then sells it before he leaves. Thailand would be a great candidate for the split year thing.

I suppose you could also stay in one of the many tent cities that the conspiracy theorists have talked about have sprung up in droves since the housing bust.

[HaruHaru]

Salb city, California.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slab_City

[wolf5370]

Fairly easy in CM. Just looking at the minimums (ignoring the rediculous - e.g. shacks): Nice part-furtnished (or even fully furnished) house on a moo bahn on the outer ring road (Hang Dong for example) can be got for 5k/mo upwards, food (depends what you like to eat) can be got from 100baht a day (food hall X 3), bills: electric is the biggest service charge and depending on whether you need aircon or not (I have aircon but rarely use it) can be from 1000 to 4000 baht a month, water less than 500 baht/mo, gas (if you cook at home - cheaper to eat out in food halls) 50baht/mo, odd bottle of Leo (beer) 42baht at 7-11 (about 30baht if you buy it by the box at Macros), travel can be cheap if you learn the fixed songtaew routes - i.e. not the red ones, though they are cheap in town too at 20 baht (yellow songtaew from Hand Dong road to the city centre is 20baht - 10bat if you just want to go to Big-C/Macros/Shopping Mall).

Other things like medical insurance, schooling, luxury purchases etc are down to your own discretion and can be very cheap to very expensive.

[bendix]

Having just returned from a few days in Phnom Penh, I reckon a $1000 budget is easily manageable, and much more so than in the major cities in Thailand.

I'm not sure I would want to do it - I would want a budget 2 or 3 times that much, but it could easily be done.

I found several places on the waterfront offering large jugs of the local draft beer for as little as US$2 all day long. Khmer beergardens even cheaper.

[ozzydom]

Having just returned from a few days in Phnom Penh, I reckon a $1000 budget is easily manageable, and much more so than in the major cities in Thailand.

I'm not sure I would want to do it - I would want a budget 2 or 3 times that much, but it could easily be done.

I found several places on the waterfront offering large jugs of the local draft beer for as little as US$2 all day long. Khmer beergardens even cheaper.

Spot on bendix, air-con room at Paragon on Riverside $15, all you can eat brunch $3 , western style dinner $5.

Thats your accom and 2 meals and $10 a day left in your pocket,decent Guest Houses at $8 and noodle or Khmer type meals leaves you $20 in your pocket.

There used to be a saying , "Live like a Prince in Cambodia on $1000 a month.for $1500 live like a King".

As bendix says, beer at $2 a jug,cigs at 30 cents a pack,visa at $1 aday, ST female company $10.

A roof over your head, belly full and lifes little luxuries all on $1000 a month.

[siam2007]

with basic insurance (which covers the absolute minimum and only a small portion of an illness), visa fees, living in the province with a small rent on a house, max two persons, no kids, no car, maybe a small motorbike then you can live on a 1,000 bucks in the Philippines. Obtaining a Visa is much easier there then in LOS.

yes, 1000 usd will do in the Philippines, if you can cope with horrible food, high criminality, zero infrastructure,typhoons, earthquakes, total lack of decent medical care ( with the exception of superexpensive Manila and Cebu), hig priced hotels, and so on.I lived in the Philippines for 2 years and I gave up.1000 usd will give you a much nicer life in Thailand, period. ( people are more interesting in the Philippines, but this is a different story...)

agree with most you say.

the most disturbing thing - and this is not to underestimate - is indeed the lack of decent medical care, and if you are able to get it, you pay inflated prices, it's almost like in a Bazaar. and you have no means to avoid that (excpept flying to Singapore, KL or BKK if you have the chance to). BTW, Bumrungrad opened a branch in Manila recently, if I remember that right. Anyone has experience with them there ? I am sure they can not do the "Bazaar-alike-bargaining" as other hospitals do when a foreigner approaches.....

oh and yeah, sadly sadly the food s*cks big time.... US-junkfood crap whereever u go

[morocco]

with basic insurance (which covers the absolute minimum and only a small portion of an illness), visa fees, living in the province with a small rent on a house, max two persons, no kids, no car, maybe a small motorbike then you can live on a 1,000 bucks in the Philippines. Obtaining a Visa is much easier there then in LOS.

yes, 1000 usd will do in the Philippines, if you can cope with horrible food, high criminality, zero infrastructure,typhoons, earthquakes, total lack of decent medical care ( with the exception of superexpensive Manila and Cebu), hig priced hotels, and so on.I lived in the Philippines for 2 years and I gave up.1000 usd will give you a much nicer life in Thailand, period. ( people are more interesting in the Philippines, but this is a different story...)

agree with most you say.

the most disturbing thing - and this is not to underestimate - is indeed the lack of decent medical care, and if you are able to get it, you pay inflated prices, it's almost like in a Bazaar. and you have no means to avoid that (excpept flying to Singapore, KL or BKK if you have the chance to). BTW, Bumrungrad opened a branch in Manila recently, if I remember that right. Anyone has experience with them there ? I am sure they can not do the "Bazaar-alike-bargaining" as other hospitals do when a foreigner approaches.....

oh and yeah, sadly sadly the food s*cks big time.... US-junkfood crap whereever u go

Sounds like SE Asia is not for you.Stay in the States