[El Chinito loco]

This thread has been entertaining me like michael jackson eating popcorn gif but you really don't have to be a cheap charlie to live beneath budget in most SEA cities..especially Bangkok.

This is obvious advice but I suggest most guys out there keep tight track of your budget expenditures with some app or spreadsheet. It doesn't matter what income bracket you are in the point is to see what aspect of your lifestyle you are blowing the most money and to analyze why that is.

For guys going out often then going with _local_ friends and bottle sharing is key to saving money. Plus it will get you into some social circles you wouldn't otherwise have access to. Also, not drinking to excess and drinking a lot of soda water + lime to keep yourself level on long nights out.


If you don't know how then learning how to cook will also save you serious money too and keep your health intact. Eating out with local food is technically cheaper in Bangkok but a lot of the food is cooked in reused day old + oil while the food seller is picking their nose, ear, touching money, dogs/cats, their nuts/ass crack, etc.. while handling your food. Most expat restaurants/joints aren't that great anyways..it's rare that I find a place I really want to be a regular at these days especially when I know I can cook better than the crap they serve to tourists.

Finding a cheap but good place to live is also simple in most cities these days. The only thing you have to worry about is not getting cheated by some landlord when it comes to deposit. In a city like Bangkok it's ridiculously easy.

The longer you stay the cheaper things are. This is obvious but any 1.5k budget needs to factor in transportation costs to go from one country to the next on top of whatever living costs.

Public transportation is barely anything in most SEA cities it's not even worth mentioning. If you're paying out the nose then the problem is your logistics and not the city itself.

[Cyclone]

(12-09-2015 04:00 AM)GlobalMan Wrote:  

I don't understand the hostility going on, in this post, and in this thread in general.

Agreed.. keep in mind age differences have a lot to do with it and in general we dont know how old each other are. Of course any guy 30+ is going to be "over" having to restrain himself from spending money freely. But, any man could benefit from going into survival mode at some point in his 20's because it refines financial management in the future

(12-09-2015 05:12 AM)Fisto Wrote:  

(12-08-2015 05:46 PM)Cyclone Wrote:  

The fact that you're accusing me of eating <1000 calories worth of dogfood every day and "living like a dirty hobo" keeps me from taking your post seriously and hope no one else does either
We're on RVF to learn from other men, not act like brats when encountered with new data.
.

The passage into manhood? Give me a break. You're talking about a camping trip.
The only person acting like a brat is you for being questioned on your wild ideas about acceptable living standards.

.....camping trip?

a) what i posted are not my "acceptable living standards", but a temporary experience that allows for self-development in order to become a better man b) if you think what i posted are wild ideas then i'm not sure why you're on RVF as this is a forum for open-minded exchange of ideas/experiences. These breakdowns should be met with "huh, that's interesting" rather than hostility

(12-09-2015 05:12 AM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

I'm not sure if you're inferring that I said that, but if so I'd like to clarify: That is NOT how I live, and not how I intend to live abroad. I don't know why you equate my perfectly reasonable budget with being poor or "cheap" but that's not me.
If you're talking about Global Man, I don't believe he ever said or implied he lived like that either....so I'm really not sure why you're acting so hostile.

I think what he means is hes just worried that you might continue this lifestyle perpetually. and that you might become one of those $500/month hippie bloggers that at it for several years.. some members here just want to ensure you still offer value to the immediate society. Which does beg the elephant-in-the-room question, how long you plan to live this $1500/mo lifestyle ?
.

[Travesty]

I like the U.S. for what it offers but the girls' personalities are shit.

What I have realized what I want out of travel is to live 25%-35% less in expenses in a city center in a place that is a step or two better than I could get at the U.S..

This seems like my happy middle ground. Girls are impressed and I can tip everyone I encounter well without breaking a sweat. Nightlife and a nice restaurants on a weekly basis cause no pain.

Oh yeah, and custom suits.

[Menace]

OP,

I believe you have enough information. The answers are all tried and true, SEA basically. Surprised no one said Mexico, but I digress.

I'm curious about your plan to execute. What is stopping you from buying a plane ticket and leaving for one of these countries in one month?

Also, is there anything stopping you from scaling your business to $15,000/month? I'm not sure why you don't want to just wait a bit and make more money. Then all of these problems and questions become irrelevant.

[worldwidetraveler]

(12-09-2015 05:47 AM)Fisto Wrote:  

I can't stand cheap people. I've been unfortunate enough to travel with them and it's disgusting the way they pinch pennies, argue with cab drivers or waiters over a dollar, think it's cool not to pay for a poor girls cab fair of a few dollars and generally piss off the local population by acting as if everyone is trying to rob them of their life savings.

I don't understand the reasoning behind living that way. Even when I was broke I never had that mentality. No amount of money will change their attitude.

I also don't understand why someone would want to constrain themselves to 3rd world countries instead of focusing on making more money and living anywhere they want.

Guys like the OP do not have independence. They only think they do.

[whateverfuckit]

I don't understand what your issue is with the budget I laid out.

I've lived on roughly 1,500-2,000 per month for over 5 years. And guess what? I work roughly 15 hours a week doing it, on MY OWN TIME, doing something ridiculously easy (shipping packages and answering emails). I'm not slaving away in a job I hate.

I COULD make more, but then I would need to work more. My time is more valuable than any amount of money. I spend my days doing whatever the fuck I want.....can you say the same?

Work to live, don't live to work...

Also, It's not as though I don't have money in the bank. I do have about 15k in savings. Now, I know this isn't shit, but it's not as though I'm living hand to mouth.

As another member said, I really don't get the hostility and closed mindedness. Are you assuming I'm cheap? I'm not. I got an 11 dollar haircut yesterday and tipped the barber 3 bucks. That seems reasonable to me. Just because I don't blow my money on bottle service at clubs and I don't take girls out 2 week long vacations doesn't mean I'm cheap, or trailer trash.

I get the impression you assume I'm living in a trailer park, drinking Keystone Light beer. No, I live in a centrally located 1BR apartment in a fairly large city in the US. I drink imports. I'm not some low-class loser. I'm a man who owns his time.

As for WorldWideTraveler: I don't "constrain" myself. I've never been a materialistic person. I despise the attitude of the average American, getting ahead in the rat race, working themselves to death trying to get ahead. I follow the philosophy of the Four Hour Workweek: I don't want to retire at 60, or 50, or even 40. Why wait until you're old to enjoy life? I enjoy it now. I want to move to a third world country to EXPLORE. To ENJOY. To EXPERIENCE. I don't need to see Australia---it's more or less America with some interesting wildlife. I want to go somewhere completely unlike ANYTHING I can see/experience here.

Have you all lost your sense of wonder? The jadedness I see is disheartening. Maybe it's because I'm young and inexperienced. I'm certain I'll be written off as a fool, but enough people have spoken up in my defense that I know I'm not the only one that feels this way.

I OWN my time. You can have all the money in the world, but that's worthless without TIME. I'm sure some of you have far superior internet hustles than I, and can say you own time AND money, and that's fantastic---good for you. But I'd be willing to bet a large portion of the detractors here are working for someone else.

And stop mentioning some 500 a month loser. I make 3 - 4x that amount. I'm not some idiot who couldn't buy a plane ticket home if his mother had 1 week to live. If you can't understand the difference between some guy who only makes 500 a month selling eBook or apps, or whatever and a man with an internet business who chooses not to spend all his free time working, hit up another thread.

[Bushido]

Cyclone,

You're all over the place. In your first post you strongly attacked my suggestion that 1.5k-2k is a desirable range for lifestyle. Now you're saying that you were just giving examples of a temporary living experience (that seems to have lasted a long time if I might say so). What the hell are you actually advocating that people do?

Also don't get me started on hostility when you were the one who came out shaming guys who want to live decent lifestyles instead of scrimping and saving.

[jimukr104]

Quote:

As for WorldWideTraveler: I don't "constrain" myself. I've never been a materialistic person. I despise the attitude of the average American, getting ahead in the rat race, working themselves to death trying to get ahead. I follow the philosophy of the Four Hour Workweek: I don't want to retire at 60, or 50, or even 40. Why wait until you're old to enjoy life? I enjoy it now. I want to move to a third world country to EXPLORE. To ENJOY. To EXPERIENCE. I don't need to see Australia---it's more or less America with some interesting wildlife. I want to go somewhere completely unlike ANYTHING I can see/experience here.

Have you all lost your sense of wonder? The jadedness I see is disheartening. Maybe it's because I'm young and inexperienced. I'm certain I'll be written off as a fool, but enough people have spoken up in my defense that I know I'm not the only one that feels this way.

I OWN my time. You can have all the money in the world, but that's worthless without TIME. I'm sure some of you have far superior internet hustles than I, and can say you own time AND money, and that's fantastic---good for you. But I'd be willing to bet a large portion of the detractors here are working for someone else.

And stop mentioning some 500 a month loser. I make 3 - 4x that amount. I'm not some idiot who couldn't buy a plane ticket home if his mother had 1 week to live. If you can't understand the difference between some guy who only makes 500 a month selling eBook or apps, or whatever and a man with an internet business who chooses not to spend all his free time working, hit up another thread.

Yeah don't take that crap from Worldwide. He is jaded! , and he lived in EE for under 2k if I remember.

That being said..living good is often more expensive overseas since luxury costs a premium and living like poor Egor isn't a pussy attractant!

I do think it is interesting to budget the minimum you need..at first. Then you learn NOT to be taken to the cleaners.

* I spend between 2500 and 3 k a month living in NYC..so anything is possible! and I could spend 10k a month if I wanted to.

[Brodiaga]

Fresh intel from Cebu where I spent a couple of weeks:

Accommodation - I paid $38/day, day by day for a very nice airbnb near the main shopping mall (Ayala) with perfect logistics. For a longer term apartment in a slightly worse location, you can probably pay as little as $600 per month based on other reports.

Food - around 6-8 bucks per meal in nice restaurants in Ayala excluding booze. Much less in local street food places ($1-2 as far as I know).

Booze and going out - bottle of local beer around $1 at the 7/11, $2-3 in bars and $3 in clubs. Cocktails are not much more expensive than that. Club entry fees are small or non-existent, for example, $2 at the main club in Mango Square including one drink.

Transport - local taxi ride around $1-2 for 10-15 minutes. Around $6-7 for an hour, will take you outside Cebu City. Can buy or rent a motorbike and spend even less.

Services - Massage (i'm talking "clean" massage, not p4p btw) - $12-13 an hour including sauna at a nice place in Ayala, probably much less if you shop around. Haircut $2-3. Laundry around $4 for 3 kilograms.

Conclusion: as a long term resident, you can easily live on $1500/month, but need more if you want to stay in the nicest location, get top quality services and not deal with any BS.

[GlobalMan]

Delete

[iknowexactly]

Whateverfuckit had a pretty good hissy fit there.

Philippines might be good for you, every time I started to lose my temper everyone around me was horrified at my rudeness. It took me about six months to not BE SO IRRITABLE lozozlozlz.

Just because we're better at making money doesn't mean our manners are superior to theirs-- quite the contrary, their sensitivity in face to face socializing and decorum are superior to ours.

They are SUPER flaky but the worst ones can be screened out by various tech described elsewhere-- I started telling girls if they weren't exactly on time I wouldn't wait even 30 seconds. Usually flakes would cancel when they heard that. Others understood and showed up on time.

[GlobalMan]

(12-10-2015 12:37 AM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

Whateverfuckit had a pretty good hissy fit there.

To be fair to the guy, some of the stuff insinuated in this thread has been ridiculous.

[iknowexactly]

(12-10-2015 12:41 AM)GlobalMan Wrote:  

(12-10-2015 12:37 AM)iknowexactly Wrote:  

Whateverfuckit had a pretty good hissy fit there.

To be fair to the guy, some of the stuff insinuated in this thread has been ridiculous.

Shit, I'm 10x worse than he is.

[whateverfuckit]

I'm definitely open to the Philippines, but forgive my perception, I've kind of grown to think of it as a place to retire, based in no small part to iknowexactly (read a lot of your praise of the Philippines! I kind of have an image of you running around with a gray goatee and a pimp cane with a bunch of 18 year old Philippina girls lol)

Is this a good place for a younger man?

[GlobalMan]

(12-10-2015 01:37 AM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

I'm definitely open to the Philippines, but forgive my perception, I've kind of grown to think of it as a place to retire, based in no small part to iknowexactly (read a lot of your praise of the Philippines! I kind of have an image of you running around with a gray goatee and a pimp cane with a bunch of 18 year old Philippina girls lol)

Is this a good place for a younger man?

It's definitely a good place for young men as well. All ages can get what they're after in the Phils.

[Bushido]

I personally found social life in the Phils to be somewhat limited for younger guys. There just aren't that many foreign dudes to hang with regularly, especially if you get out of the big cities. And the provinces are the nicer parts of the country anyway. It would be dope if you could setup camp with some friends and share a big house though. Or if you are more hardcore, go native like BB does and hang out with the local guys. That isn't for everyone though and I think I'd feel isolated doing that for too long.

Overall, I think that if you are under 40 then Thailand is a better lifestyle choice in SEA. Just my 2 cents.

[Cyclone]

(12-09-2015 08:46 PM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

I don't understand what your issue is with the budget I laid out.
Also, It's not as though I don't have money in the bank. I do have about 15k in savings. Now, I know this isn't shit, but it's not as though I'm living hand to mouth.
As another member said, I really don't get the hostility and closed mindedness. Are you assuming I'm cheap? I'm not. I got an 11 dollar haircut yesterday and tipped the barber 3 bucks. That seems reasonable to me. Just because I don't blow my money on bottle service at clubs and I don't take girls out 2 week long vacations doesn't mean I'm cheap, or trailer trash.
I get the impression you assume I'm living in a trailer park, drinking Keystone Light beer. No, I live in a centrally located 1BR apartment in a fairly large city in the US. I drink imports. I'm not some low-class loser. I'm a man who owns his time.

These "assumptions" make them feel better about themselves
Which is understandable, but what i don't respect is the putting words into people's mouths either. I feel like a lot of people ITT would gain a lot from reading this book (including you just for kicks) BTW, having $15k in savings is pretty fucking good. now you need to put it in an index fund to really rake in the cash $$.

   

Here is also my topic which has graphical country stats - which i nearly forgot about - it includes cost-of-living as well as plenty of other variables that should help you in your decision. i know you wanted boots-on-the-ground info but the combination is really more than enough to get a feel for their headspace:
thread-51874.html

(12-09-2015 09:09 PM)dreambig Wrote:  

Cyclone,

You're all over the place. In your first post you strongly attacked my suggestion that 1.5k-2k is a desirable range for lifestyle. Now you're saying that you were just giving examples of a temporary living experience (that seems to have lasted a long time if I might say so). What the hell are you actually advocating that people do?

Also don't get me started on hostility when you were the one who came out shaming guys who want to live decent lifestyles instead of scrimping and saving.

No, a couple of you suggested that OP bump it from $1500 to $2000/mo.
Which I countered with my (extreme) example of being able to spend ~$250/mo in Vietnam while being quite happy. Was that hard to follow?
And now you bring up going "native like BB" route which is hanging with locals .. seriously, who's all over the place ?

We're not "shaming" anyone for living lavish lifestyles. it would just be nice if you just admit you haven't seen both sides of the coin.
.

[whateverfuckit]

Thank you for the input dream and Cyclone.

As for investing my money, I've considered it, but honestly it's my fuck you/rainy day fund. I don't want it anywhere it can't be leveraged immediately in the case of emergency. If my cars engine blows up I'll drop the cash 35% overnight. A hospital stay? 50%, easily. 15k is nothing, especially when you don't have health insurance. Then again, I'm young, so the odds are on my side.

Plus, keep in mind this is the feast time of year for me. January - March will be comparably very lean. I won't have much cash flow again until people start getting their tax returns. Overall, I like to stay ~10k, it makes it easy to sleep at night. But I'm also very humble, I know that this nest egg can be gone in the blink of an eye.

I think some of you guys are trying to tell me that, in your own ways. Not to slumber, but to work. Be the ant, not the grasshopper. Your words have not fallen on deaf ears.

[PeruLover12]

...

[whateverfuckit]

(12-10-2015 06:23 AM)The Ligurian Wrote:  

OP you have 6 pages of suggestions now.

Why don't you share your short list of where you are going?

Ha, to be honest, I was leaning towards Brazil before I started this thread. Roosh speaks highly of it, it's a warm climate, pretty much ideal on paper.

Someone mentioned a high tax rate, and no one else suggested it. So I'm conflicted.

And to be fair, I only have about 2 pages of suggestions, since a lot of the back and forth was bashing my reluctance to learn a new language and my low budget.

The consensus seems to be SEA though. Not where I had imagined, but now I know where to research. I've never fucked an Asian chick before (where I live, it's basically either black, white, or Hispanic). Could be interesting.

[PeruLover12]

....

[Bushido]

Cyclone, if you spoke to me like this in person I would snack your 120lbs ass into next year.

You twist my words at every opportunity. Maybe romanticising poverty appeals to you but I've been a poor student, a broke graduate and lived a spartan lifestyle (out of necessity) and never want to go there again. You seriously believe none of us have been there?

You think that none of us have considered these arguments before? You'll find that most of us believe in living below our means. I've read the Millionaire Next Door. It's an OK book, but I can bet that none of the guys featured in it were players. They sound like some of the most miserable people you'd ever meet. Clearly you are well on your way to emulating them.

For the record, I have plenty of local Asian friends. In fact, I have gone far more "native" than most guys ever will. My point is that having almost only locals as friends will not be sufficient for all but the most hardcore like BB. It's very isolating after a while. Again, you choose to tell lies as if people can't read previous posts.

OP I'm looking forward to the data sheets...

[whateverfuckit]

(12-10-2015 06:49 AM)dreambig Wrote:  

OP I'm looking forward to the data sheets...

I'm currently working on a datasheet on Adoption from a fathers perspective. I sent the rough draft to Samsamsam. Anyone else who would like to take a look and give me some tips/help me edit prior to posting it please PM me.

[Going strong]

(12-10-2015 06:28 AM)whateverfuckit Wrote:  

(12-10-2015 06:23 AM)The Ligurian Wrote:  

OP you have 6 pages of suggestions now.

Why don't you share your short list of where you are going?

Ha, to be honest, I was leaning towards Brazil before I started this thread. Roosh speaks highly of it, it's a warm climate, pretty much ideal on paper.

And to be fair, I only have about 2 pages of suggestions, since a lot of the back and forth was bashing my reluctance to learn a new language and my low budget.

Brazil without learning Portuguese? (and not knowing Spanish-Portunhol either) : once again, the language issue pops up.

Using logic, your criteria, and their own travel experience, most members here have said:

it's SEA all the way for you. The Phils, BKK or SGN. Bali maybe? Please note that SEA is not only about Asians women, you have lots of Western female backpackers to pick up in many places there... They might be described as "smelly hostels dwellers", which they often are, but... some are cute. You wouldn't have anything against a 22 years old blonde German looking for fun in Bangkok, would you? So, I'd say, give SEA a try!

[whateverfuckit]

(12-10-2015 09:16 AM)Going strong Wrote:  

Brazil without learning Portuguese? (and not knowing Spanish-Portunhol either) : once again, the language issue pops up.

Using logic, your criteria, and their own travel experience, most members here have said:

it's SEA all the way for you. The Phils, BKK or SGN. Bali maybe? Please note that SEA is not only about Asians women, you have lots of Western female backpackers to pick up in many places there... They might be described as "smelly hostels dwellers", which they often are, but... some are cute. You wouldn't have anything against a 22 years old blonde German looking for fun in Bangkok, would you? So, I'd say, give SEA a try!

I hadn't considered SEA before this thread, as I really only researched the countries Roosh wrote about. I bought his "Life's Work" package when he released that a while back, so SEA never popped up in my mind.

Given the overwhelming bias towards SEA, I think I'll go with that. The question now is, which country?

I'll have to do some more reading in other threads and come to a more definite conclusion.

One thing I'm deathly afraid of is lady-boys. I know it's probably over-played in media, but the thought of a dude who looks like a woman, and you can't tell the difference scares the shit out of me. I know Thailand has the worst rap for that, so that's probably one country I will cross of the list of potentials.