[Neo]

I wanted to get some input from the members on the forum who are living the long term traveling lifestyle. I know the amount depends on lifestyle and location, but let's assume the location is SEA, EE, or central/south America, and I'd be living within my means.

What ballpark of savings did you guys have before making the jump? And what sort of monthly income were you earning on the road(passively or actively)?

[WestCoast]

I will watch this thread. My on question is how old you are?

IMHO there is no reason to leave until low 30's since your value as a man won't be at its peak. Keep doing both (preparing for future, saving, gaming on the side). If you can do it earlier that's sweet though!

I'm starting a fourth and fifth stream of income (another biz) by end of year so just keep on finding viable sources.

When you're in your 30's you can bounce, may as well set up and lock down a spot in your 30's where age dating discrepancies are not frowned upon (ie: non-western country).

Finally, from traveling experience once you clear about 4K a month you're living decent abroad. So 3-5K passive and you're definitely home free since you'll do other things for money anyway

[roid]

I spend about 3K a month living in 3rd world shit hole.

[Vacancier Permanent]

A good number to shoot for is about 3-4K a month as that would give some good options to free your time so you can focus on your biz to get you over 5K a month. At which point you would be sitting pretty nicely in about 90% of the world.

[scandibro]

Yeah, I'd say 4K is a good minimum estimate, but it all depends on your need for comfort, if you have debt and so on. Then again, you can easily spend 10K a month almost everywhere. All depends on what kind of lifestyle you want. My experience is that about 5K is the sweet spot where you won't really need to think about how you spend your money in most non-western/non-japan countries.

[WestIndianArchie]

Kill 2 birds with one stone.

Make Money while you travel.

I did the math, even when saving to the max and going to the cheapest places, the dwindling bank account will eventually rear its ugly head.

You can always fly back here and rejoin the rat race, but the experience of others has shown how truly horrible that is.

so before you head off, build some marketable skills, so that you can get work, or better yet do something entrepreneurial.

[scandibro]

5K is the sweet spot for me. Outside the west, that budget allows me not to think about how I am spending.

[Magyarphile]

(11-03-2013 01:48 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

Kill 2 birds with one stone.

Make Money while you travel.

I did the math, even when saving to the max and going to the cheapest places, the dwindling bank account will eventually rear its ugly head.

You can always fly back here and rejoin the rat race, but the experience of others has shown how truly horrible that is.

so before you head off, build some marketable skills, so that you can get work, or better yet do something entrepreneurial.

This. Even if you have a 6-figure job in the U.S, going traveling every year for a couple months is not financially feasible in the long run. Its better to find work where you want to be. White-collar Americans are more valued abroad than they are on home soil anyways. A lot of high paying tax-free gigs in the middle east, just check out the job boards...

[bacon]

Maybe its just me but these 3-4k estimates seem high for long term travel.

For one thing once you stay in a place and move away from hotels your housing costs go down a lot. 500 dollars a month is going to get you comfortable housing in most of LA, SEA and i suspect EE. If you dont look on the internet (which targets westerners with deep pockets) and use the local newspaper or walk in neighborhoods you might want to live looking for rental places you will find nice local housing thats affordable.

Then the issue of food. Many countries have great street food(thailand,mexico etc) which cuts down on your dining expenses. Aditionally you could cook at home so no need to spend money at expensive restuarants which are still much cheaper than back home. Also the cost of food products is usually chepaer for instance vegetables/fruit is often 10cents to the dollar what it costs in the US here in Mexico.

Alcohol costs are far less.

Driving/car maintance no need as most countries have cheap taxis,bus services, walkable layouts.

If you ask me a single guy should be able to live quite comforable for under 2k a month unless he has a drug habit and even that is cheaper to maintain in many countries than back home.

[DVY]

2-3k/month in most 3rd world countries. 4-5k/month in something a little pricier (big cosmopolitan cities).

Also you should be stashing 1-2k/month in savings. There should be a buffer so mentally you ALWAYS in a good mood.

[WestCoast]

I think I need to go down to Mexico and visit bacon so I can demonstrate how quickly one can spend $4-5k in a month.

We'd probably both end up in a Tijuana Mexican prison but whatever #yolo

(Semi-serious comment as I plan to go back to Mexico shortly)

[worldwidetraveler]

(11-03-2013 02:57 PM)bacon Wrote:  

Maybe its just me but these 3-4k estimates seem high for long term travel.

Yeah, it sounds more like vacation mode. I always found the longer I settle into a location, the lower my expenses.

[Neo]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the responses.

[WestCoast]

@ Neo

In your shoes I would definitely take some time to find out where you're going to locate. Based on my own research/travels/meeting people etc you want to pull the trigger some time in your 30's if possible. Its going to take some time to adapt to the new game environment no matter where you go and you want to be sure you're going to a place you're going to like long-term. (I am sure this can be done in your 40's as well but we're splitting hairs)

Instead of doing some sort of 1month stint where you hit up 5 countries in a row. Instead try to do 2 weeks straight in each spot (minimum) and see the +'s and -'s of each place.

Lets say you like Asian chicks, then for sure don't waste any vacation time in SA/EE. Same deal if you prefer white/latinas just avoid the places you know you wont like. Travel with a purpose. The care free simply "seeing the world" is actually detrimental because you'll gloss over everything and it feels like you never really understood any single spot. Better to immerse and then make a decision.

Once you have the places you're interested in on lock then you can spend the last year before you depart finding a viable and decent second source of income. At this point you start making sizable investments for visa/dual citizenship reasons.

Start going on ex-pat forums and contact as many people as possible. Develop some sort of network and $100 says you'll find someone who had a similar occupation and did the same thing you're trying to do. None of us are special snowflakes so there is someone out there who had similar work experience that did the same thing.

Once you're set up that way you can get ready to pull the trigger. I think it was Temujin who noted somewhere on this forum that the dumb move is to take these mini vacations over and over again because its not long-lasting. You end up becoming more bitter every time you return. I would agree with that, didn't even leave the country this year for non-work purposes.

So TL;DR: Strategically choose the cities based on your preferences. Maybe do 5-10 of them and you'll find 1 you'll love and that can be your base. Luckily for all of us on the forum, you can get a good idea for what each place has to offer right at your finger tips.

(obviously this is all biased as it is pretty much my strategy ha)

[iknowexactly]

(11-03-2013 01:48 PM)WestIndianArchie Wrote:  

Kill 2 birds with one stone.

Make Money while you travel.

I did the math, even when saving to the max and going to the cheapest places, the dwindling bank account will eventually rear its ugly head.

You can always fly back here and rejoin the rat race, but the experience of others has shown how truly horrible that is.

so before you head off, build some marketable skills, so that you can get work, or better yet do something entrepreneurial.

I'm back in the USA saving up with a shit ( relative to my education) job and it is indeed painful. One mistake I've made and hope not to again is to not figure out how to keep making money once I quit a day job.

I'm so tired from working (making over 10k/month) that I have no desire to do entrepreneurial stuff.

That's how they keep you in line.

Another thing is, I see moving to somewhere just because you can get the prettiest girls is pretty servile and beta.
The US is the best place for me to pursue my intellectual goals-- sitting around in Manila is going to be a fucking snooze-- just to get young pussy? I am still trying to resolve this conflict, one problem is living in both places and moving twice a year wastes something like 10k, which is a lot when you're avoiding work.

[pheonix500000]

Roosh said it was impossible for him to spend more than 2500 a month and that's including everything. In countries in EE he said you can do it comfortably for 1500 so it depends on where you want to go.

[Brosemite]

(11-03-2013 07:54 PM)pheonix500000 Wrote:  

Roosh said it was impossible for him to spend more than 2500 a month and that's including everything. In countries in EE he said you can do it comfortably for 1500 so it depends on where you want to go.

There are times when I prefer to make my own meals or just eat smaller portions as restaurant food & overpartying will make me fat. I even eat a very small breakfast nowadays because my lunch will normally be a good sized portion not to mention I don't want to start mornings with a food coma in a 20-25 minute commute (metabolism sucks as you get older with regards to a typical "big breakfast"). So I understand that logic.

[Nemencine]

(11-03-2013 07:35 PM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

Another thing is, I see moving to somewhere just because you can get the prettiest girls is pretty servile and beta.

really?

(11-03-2013 07:35 PM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

The US is the best place for me to pursue my intellectual goals-- sitting around in Manila is going to be a fucking snooze-- just to get young pussy?

seriously?



Well, if you say so, IKNOWEXACTLY.... may the force be with you.....

regards,

Nemencine

[Brosemite]

(11-03-2013 07:35 PM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

Another thing is, I see moving to somewhere just because you can get the prettiest girls is pretty servile and beta.
The US is the best place for me to pursue my intellectual goals-- sitting around in Manila is going to be a fucking snooze-- just to get young pussy? I am still trying to resolve this conflict, one problem is living in both places and moving twice a year wastes something like 10k, which is a lot when you're avoiding work.

It's funny you say that. Because if I had all the money in the world right now, I would be living here in the US just taking more university classes while unemployed, banging emotional broads, and just studying languages. Especially with 24 hour computer labs & libraries at my disposal, I'm in a pretty good locale where I'd get to meet those intellectual goals myself.

With regards to learning languages, I'm more of a Type A visual learner so would probably take more Portuguese/Spanish or some Russian classes while spending time writing context sentences & conjugating verbs with the academic resources & facilities I have before heading out to a foreign country so that I'd have a better foundation for full immersion. There's also a great deal of entertainment options & international networking in my locale.

So with this point, I can see where you are coming from though it mainly depends on your situation, goals, and what city you're in (Def not DC or Toronto tho lol).

[pitt]

(11-03-2013 02:57 PM)bacon Wrote:  

Maybe its just me but these 3-4k estimates seem high for long term travel.

For one thing once you stay in a place and move away from hotels your housing costs go down a lot. 500 dollars a month is going to get you comfortable housing in most of LA, SEA and i suspect EE. If you dont look on the internet (which targets westerners with deep pockets) and use the local newspaper or walk in neighborhoods you might want to live looking for rental places you will find nice local housing thats affordable.

Then the issue of food. Many countries have great street food(thailand,mexico etc) which cuts down on your dining expenses. Aditionally you could cook at home so no need to spend money at expensive restuarants which are still much cheaper than back home. Also the cost of food products is usually chepaer for instance vegetables/fruit is often 10cents to the dollar what it costs in the US here in Mexico.

Alcohol costs are far less. Want bottle service at a club Ive had a bottle of absolute vodka for 20 bucks in peru and 50 bucks in mexico.

Driving/car maintance no need as most countries have cheap taxis,bus services, walkable layouts.

If you ask me a single guy should be able to live quite comforable for under 2k a month unless he has a drug habit and even that is cheaper to maintain in many countries than back home.

Exactly.

People who are aiming to make 4-5k per month passively, won't be travelling any time soon.

I live in DR and I spend around 950 bucks per month and I can afford to spend way more but there is no need to for me right now. My life is built on minimising my expenses without being frugal, I don't see a reason to drive, I don't go out to bars because I prefer day game, i drink alcohol once a week max, sometimes 2 times in a month. All these guys saying they spend 4k or 5k per month, please tell me, what are you doing with your money?

I think 2 thousand dollars a month would give me a comfortable lifestyle anywhere in Latin america or the Caribbean.

If you guys can learn anything from me, take this, don't live to impress other people or women, your life will be less expensive if you take that advice.

[WestCoast]

^ will disagree heavily with this.

If you've got your life in order getting to that 7 handle in your early 30's is no where near out of reach. Make $100K save half wait a decade, boom you're good to go by low 30's and you're at the prime of your life. $3K passive on 5% returns. No where near impossible.

Second why travel hard in your 20's those that have been out there know being very young looking is actually a handicap for top tier girls out in SA. Why would I want to go when I can't pull the highest quality? Would be foolish. Observe the culture and you'll always find the hottest chicks are always with dudes in the 30-40 bracket.

If you can pull it off for life already, then yeah no problem pull the trigger. But when I've been out there trying to get some play it's actually a negative to be young looking. A big one. Here in america the money range is late twenties, so may as well ride it through the peak in the USA goin up the food chain while the cash flow is helping you.

Finally @iknowexacly I got no idea how leaving the country for better chicks is beta. If you never have to work again for a living why in the world would you stay in the USA? You're well traveled you know better than that.

Caveat: if you're really pulling 8-10's at all times in the USA. You're in the top 1% in looks and status/money/game so you got no reason to leave. (keep this realistic and don't tell me a dude whose a 6 at his peak is gonna get a 9 with game, that's just bullshit. Hell you need game to get same level/slightly above in the USA nowadays). I'm no where near the 1% in looks and never will be so may as well take the 2 point bump up in quality when I can fully reap the rewards.

[worldwidetraveler]

(11-03-2013 10:24 PM)WestCoast Wrote:  

Finally @iknowexacly I got no idea how leaving the country for better chicks is beta. If you never have to work again for a living why in the world would you stay in the USA? You're well traveled you know better than that.

Caveat: if you're really pulling 8-10's at all times in the USA. You're in the top 1% in looks and status/money/game so you got no reason to leave. (keep this realistic and don't tell me a dude whose a 6 at his peak is gonna get a 9 with game, that's just bullshit. Hell you need game to get same level/slightly above in the USA nowadays). I'm no where near the 1% in looks and never will be so may as well take the 2 point bump up in quality when I can fully reap the rewards.

I think claiming it is beta is kinda silly. I say do what you want regardless of the reasons.

But, some people are interested in more things than women. That will reflect on where they want to live. I had the same type of thoughts going on in my head as IKE. There is so much I enjoy doing in the US that there really is no reason for me to leave (vacations are another thing though).

Women isn't enough to keep me entertained.

[worldwidetraveler]

(11-03-2013 09:59 PM)pitt Wrote:  

If you guys can learn anything from me, take this, don't live to impress other people or women, your life will be less expensive if you take that advice.

Good advice for everyone. Less expensive is relative.

Be true to yourself and fuck the rest.

[Bushido]

(11-03-2013 10:24 PM)WestCoast Wrote:  

^ will disagree heavily with this.

If you've got your life in order getting to that 7 handle in your early 30's is no where near out of reach. Make $100K save half wait a decade, boom you're good to go by low 30's and you're at the prime of your life. $3K passive on 5% returns. No where near impossible.

What % of guys in their 20s are earning above 100k in this economy? I personally don't know anyone like this. You make it sound easy but I think you will find the majority of guys here aren't on that. Especially the ones who have to ask about savings.

[WestCoast]

^ I present you the search function: Canadian oil sands.

If you're not working 60 hours a week in your 20's you have no right to complain about money.

You have energy in your 20's use it for the right purpose and run night game for ONS game in the meantime.

Shit when I was 22 I cracked 120 hours a week many times. Canadian oil sands has better hours than that. By your late 20's hours are easier pay increases. Don't sit around finding yourself with all your youthful energy pursuing cash flow negative activities.