[Dantes]

Schlep,

1500 per month is a good base if you can supplement it with other income. Have you looked into online work? I know a girl who does medical coding and is able to work remotely.

[Schlep]

^ No I do not have any other source of income at the moment. Just my 401k and my 20 year pension when I turn 65. 500$ month. I know I can get a job in Cebu working in a call center for 300$ a month. But, do not want to be tied down anywhere.

[Akwesi]

One idea might be to go to SEA in Oct./Nov. when you said you are leaving, and then head to Ukraine when spring comes around. Ukraine is very affordable right now, most things cost less than half even compared to Poland (if you are outside Kiev). You can live on much less than $1,500 there.

[Vronski]

(07-24-2016 06:01 AM)Akwesi Wrote:  

You can live on much less than $1,500 there.

You can live on less than $ 1,500 everywhere in EE, but it doesn't mean that you'll have an enviable lifestyle.

As a side note, $1,500 is also a very low budget for Bangkok. It's a quite pricey city when it comes to dine out in nice venues, party, ect.

To quote Suits (and it's very true for second-tier Ukrainian cities):

(07-23-2016 08:18 AM)Suits Wrote:  

If you're satisfied staying in most nights (and avoiding all the Western styled nightlife altogether), $1500 will buy you a comfortable lifestyle for one person outside of tier one cities. But it won't be elegant and it's not going to attract women to you.

[Schlep]

@ Akwesi
@Vronski

I think you were reading my mind about Ukraine. I have a three week vacation coming up in September. As of now my plans are to fly into Kiev. Then visit some smaller cities in the east. Kharkiv and Sumy. Then return home for a month. Then set off on my new life.

[Barron]

Try approaching.

[Cambodian Creamsicle]

Disagree with Vronski. $3300 per month is ballin out in Ukraine. I have a nice one bedroom in the center of Kiev for $650. Metro costs 10 cents. Food is dirt cheap. You can get a streak dinner at Riccola for $6.

$3300 converts to over 80,000 grivna. The average salary is around 8,000 gr. So you're telling me making literally 10 times the average local salary would not be living large? $1500 is enough to live comfortably.

[Schlep]

^ you still going to be in Kiev in September? If so you want to meetup sometime?

[WeekendCasanova]

(07-24-2016 01:21 PM)Cambodian Creamsicle Wrote:  

Disagree with Vronski. $3300 per month is ballin out in Ukraine. I have a nice one bedroom in the center of Kiev for $650. Metro costs 10 cents. Food is dirt cheap. You can get a streak dinner at Riccola for $6.

$3300 converts to over 80,000 grivna. The average salary is around 8,000 gr. So you're telling me making literally 10 times the average local salary would not be living large? $1500 is enough to live comfortably.

Yeah. I haven't lived in Kiev for an extended time, but I spent two months there (one month in Feb, one in July), and both cases my expenses were less than $2,000 (Canadian), and I ate out every night, drank a lot, visited high-end venues, went on a trip to Odessa, paid for ladies' cabs, food as well, and to be honest, I had a hard time spending money to reach my budget.

3000 euros is more than you need to have a nice life in Kiev/EE. Obviously, if you visit strip clubs with their 300UAH cocktails or look for professionals, your costs will increase.

[scotian]

Nice data sheet, +1 from me, Sammythebiker wrote a similar one where he rehabbed cheap houses in a rust belt state and he also did quite well.

I think that $1500 is an ok amount of cash for a budget but you'll want to stay away from the big mega cities like BKK, Manila or Bogota so your money can go farther. Here's an example of my monthly budget in Cali, Colombia where I stayed for about 3 months over the past two years:

Rent: 400
Gym: 35
Food: breakfast (2), lunch (5), supper (8, could be 5)=about 12-15/day
Cheap dates 3X/week: (8 beers, 2 meals, girl's taxi)=75
One big night out/week: (bottle at club, food and taxi)=70
Maid service once a week: 7

That adds up to $1382/month, you could spend the other $118 on miscellaneous things like hookers and blow or whatever type of entertainment you're into. Also, you could cut some of those costs by cooking at home, not going on dates so often (or going on cheaper dates) or living with a roommate. One cost I did without during my last three month trip to Colombia was cell data because I didn't bother getting a SIM card, 99% of the girls have Whatsapp on their phones (I try to avoid poorer girls who don't have smart phones). Although it could be annoying having to find WIFI while out, I am a creature of habit and always hang out in the same places where I had their WIFI passwords in my cell.

[Vronski]

(07-24-2016 03:06 PM)WeekendCasanova Wrote:  

Obviously, if you visit strip clubs with their 300UAH cocktails or look for professionals, your costs will increase.

That's a sneaky statement. So anyone who has a budget of 100 € +/day in Kiev is necessarily someone who visit strip clubs and look for whores ?

I can post the menu of maybe 30 restaurants in Kiev where a dinner for two costs at the minimum 60 €. And I'm not even talking about high-end venues as Stefano, where the cheapest decent wine is at 30 €, and where main dishes are between 25 and 40 €.

Also you talk about 300 grvs cocktails in strip bars, but as you've been in "high end venues", you should know that a cocktail in a "posh hipster" venue like Mozgi or The Bar costs about 180 grvs (7 €), which is admittedly cheap by western standarts, but can seriously impact your budget if you are a thirsty party-goer.

Furthermore, we were talking about living permanently and having a good lifestyle in Ukraine - which means a two or three weeks winter vacations to some exotic country with your 8+ GF to escape the winter and the dull atmosphere, buying nice clothes when you want to, dining out in good restaurants four times a week, partying hard in some high end club or bar when you feel like it, having one or two weekend breaks in spring to Georgia or wherever, spending one month in Odessa or Batumi in summer, ect ect - which is not a lavish lifestyle, but just a "good lifestyle". And with a budget of 3000 €/month, I don't think you can have such kind of lifestyle.

Anyway I'm done with this endless discussions about the cost of life in Ukr. If you guys feel that you have a great lifestyle with 30 €/day, good for you.

[WeekendCasanova]

(07-24-2016 04:14 PM)Vronski Wrote:  

Anyway I'm done with this endless discussions about the cost of life in Ukr. If you guys feel that you have a great lifestyle with 30 €/day, good for you.

Who said 30/day?

[Vronski]

(07-24-2016 04:27 PM)WeekendCasanova Wrote:  

(07-24-2016 04:14 PM)Vronski Wrote:  

Anyway I'm done with this endless discussions about the cost of life in Ukr. If you guys feel that you have a great lifestyle with 30 €/day, good for you.

Who said 30/day?

(07-24-2016 03:06 PM)WeekendCasanova Wrote:  

my expenses were less than $2,000 (Canadian), and I ate out every night, drank a lot, visited high-end venues, went on a trip to Odessa, paid for ladies' cabs, food as well, and to be honest, I had a hard time spending money to reach my budget.

My bad, 2000 $ Canadian is about 1350 €, so we talk about a budget of 45 €/day that you had a hard time spending. Once more, good for you.

[Akwesi]

(07-24-2016 04:14 PM)Vronski Wrote:  

Furthermore, we were talking about living permanently and having a good lifestyle in Ukraine - which means a two or three weeks winter vacations to some exotic country with your 8+ GF to escape the winter and the dull atmosphere, buying nice clothes when you want to, dining out in good restaurants four times a week, partying hard in some high end club or bar when you feel like it, having one or two weekend breaks in spring to Georgia or wherever, spending one month in Odessa in summer, ect ect - which is not a lavish lifestyle, but just a "good lifestyle". And with a budget of 3000 €/month, I don't think you can have such kind of lifestyle.

Do you think all these requirements have to be met for a former chocolate factory worker to be happy with his lifestyle?

[LINUX]

(07-24-2016 02:10 PM)Schlep Wrote:  

^you still going to be in Kiev in September? If so you want to meetup sometime?

I'll be there August, and maybe September, until I hit up Belgrade and Moscow. I'd be happy to throw a beer back and smoke a cigar with you.

(07-24-2016 04:14 PM)Vronski Wrote:  

That's a sneaky statement. So anyone who has a budget of 100 € +/day in Kiev is necessarily someone who visit strip clubs and look for whores ?

That's not what he implied. Come on. Try to get along with people. We have a good community here in the travel section and people travel, live, and spend money differently. We're all just trying to enjoy life here.

[jimukr104]

Quote:

Do you think all these requirements have to be met for a former chocolate factory worker to be happy with his lifestyle?

Agreed. Right now with the currency devaluation in UA , I would say living on 1500 is enough. It is probably the = of making 75k before taxes in the US, when you minus foreign consumer goods purchases. These a usually purchased very seldom.


I see apts going in Ukraine for under 500 bucks. In Brooklyn you get a dumpy apt for 1600 or more. The type a gals an American expat would be dating isn't going to think about expensive restaurants , except 1 or 2 times year for special occasions.

In UA high end is usually for the Elite business men and politicians and criminals, which often include the 1st two groups. No one on this forum can probably compete with those from that class. Even if you have a million or 2.

[Vronski]

(07-24-2016 05:11 PM)LINUX Wrote:  

(07-24-2016 04:14 PM)Vronski Wrote:  

That's a sneaky statement. So anyone who has a budget of 100 € +/day in Kiev is necessarily someone who visit strip clubs and look for whores ?

That's not what he implied. Come on.

Well, ok, I hear you, but that's what I understood ...... instead of saying "obviously, if you visit strip clubs with their 300UAH cocktails or look for professionals, your costs will increase", it would have been more appropriate and less insinuating to simply say "obviously, if you ask for bottle service in clubs or dine out every day in posh restaurants, your costs will increase", no ?

(07-24-2016 05:11 PM)LINUX Wrote:  

and smoke a cigar with you.

As a side note, and still about cost of life, as I already said in the Ukraine thread, if you're a cigar smoker, bring your own stock. They are outrageously expensive in Ukraine (western prices x3).

[lavidaloca]

For me I find the ideal amount for life abroad to be around $4,500 Canadian per month. Which in a typical time would be roughly $3,750 USD. I can comfortably do it on $3,000 CAD a month. $4,500 seems to be my ideal lifestyle. More than that I don't see a ton of advantages. The marginal benefit becomes petty low in my opinion.

I usually find if you have 100 USD or more after paying apartment per day to live on you can live a very good lifestyle. You can still go big and get bottle service at higher end clubs in most places people on the forum are talking about especially if you split with a friend(s). Easy answer is to do what I do. Have 2 days of "low cost days." I.e. you spend screw all and just hang out with friends in the house, wander around aimlessly etc. Then you have 2 nights where you can spend 200 USD a night per week which is more than enough. With that if I so desired I'm sure I could go to a high end restaurant on a Saturday night followed by a night of clubbing because I don't drink much.

The problem is for me if your budget is only $1,500 a month and your rent is say $750 even if you spend nothing in a night your budget for another night only doubles to $50 aside from rent. The difference is huge because you can keep your rent costs pretty similar. Guy one despite having 2.5 times the budget and ends up having 4x the spending power because rent is $750 for guy 2 leaving him with $750 in spending.

I get that spending on girls in terms of clothes can get outrageous pretty quickly if she wants the Ferrari's equivalent of clothes. But practically speaking 99% of girls aren't going to expect you to be buying her Louis Vuitton purses.

[Beirut]

The difference between vronski and weekend is age. Im closer to vronskis i assume

Weekend did very well in kiev with the college girls in college bars where drinks cost very little.

The kind of girls me and vronski would mostly go for arent gonna be there, and our expenses will be higher.

So basically both are right. With regards to the OP i think vronski may be more of a reference since op is 40 years olds.

[Schlep]

Kinda have a stupid question for you guys. As you can see I'm getting ready to embark on a journey that I'm extremely excited about and have planned for in great detail. I have read every word on all the travel threads on different countries on more then one occasion. Taking notes and constantly adding and subtracting countries I want to visit.

One thing that is important to me in my journey is to keep my budget at 1,300 - 1,600 month. Also, to make friends. I feel like I'm a good looking guy and know that I will succeed with woman in the countries I visit. It my take me a little while to crack the code of the country but, eventually I will succeed. I'm currently trying to learn Spanish, then concentrate on learning Russian.

Like I mentioned before I have only been to the Phils on two different occasions. Other then that I'm an arm chair world traveler. From my limited experience and knowledge of the travel treads this is what I'm confused about. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Capital city of a country

1. You always want to fly into the capital city to save money on airfare.
2. The percentage of english speakers is always alot higher in the capital city.
3. More cool guys to hangout with in the capital cities.
4. More things to do.

2nd and 3rd tier cities of a country

1. Cheaper cost of living.
2. More of an exotic factor and less tourists.
3. Lower percentage of english speakers.
4. Only locals to hangout with.
5. Less exciting things to do.

A good example is to fly into Bogota. Stay for acouple days and then go to Barranquilla (visiting the festival in feb. Sounds awesome) I'm only an English speaker, is it worth it to go to a place like Barranquilla. Or just spend the extra money and stay in a place like Bogota. ( if I'm only going to be in a country for a month). Just trying to get an idea of the levels of english speakers around the world. I'll be in Kiev soon and I'm really looking forward to my trip but, not really sure what to expect.

[worldwidetraveler]

(07-25-2016 01:20 AM)Schlep Wrote:  

A good example is to fly into Bogota. Stay for acouple days and then go to Barranquilla (visiting the festival in feb. Sounds awesome) I'm only an English speaker, is it worth it to go to a place like Barranquilla. Or just spend the extra money and stay in a place like Bogota.

Shlep, first of all, congrats man!

It may take some time, but you don't need to feel like you have to schedule things out. Stay in Bogota until you get bored. You are not on any schedule now.

Also, the more you travel, the higher the costs. The longer you stay in one location, the lower your expenses. You'll find a happy balance once you get going.

Just enjoy and everything else will work itself out.

[Schlep]

^ thanks WWT
guess your right. Just kinda stressed out a little bit and probably over thinking everything.

[LINUX]

Like worldwidetraveler said, don't overthink things. Stay long durations of time, when traveling solo. An apartment in Barranquilla, Bogota, and Cali isn't that much of a price difference to be honest. I stayed in Bogota for $500 a month and $350 a month in Cali. Plus you can travel places via bus for dirt cheap. And you also want to be in a place to make the most of your gym membership. At your age, you gotta realize everyone around you is going to go downhill, so you need to figure out a way to make your body go uphill.

The more people you meet from the forum, the better it will be for you financial wise. I know guys practically in every major country that I want to visit. And most of them are willing to split a 2 bedroom apartment with me, and sometimes even 3 bedrooms. And for those guys I consider my friends, they know they can always crash at my place free of charge for a few nights.

But, you have to be one of those guys that people enjoy being around. You've got have tact, clean up after yourself, not leave shit in the toilet, etc. There is something going on all the damn time in some country out there and a lot of guys looking for someone to join them on their journey.

[The Black Knight]

My end goal is $5000/month USD POST-tax. Or 60k/year POST-Tax.

$5000/month generally means:

1) You can live virtually anywhere in the world with good logistics; including first world locations (albeit more modestly). You also have enough to return home if needed or desired.

2) You have extra money for travel expenses/eating out/luxury/whatever every month.

3) You build savings (you need this if dealing with real estate).

4) You have leftover money for investments.

5) If you want a family, you have extra disposable income to work with.

I hope you got some liquid savings set aside OP. I can't imagine getting a 30k property with 800-900 rents in a shit part of town not being without some potential major headaches in the future. I admire your hustle though and just going for the dream! I feel the energy!

That said: I cannot emphasis enough the borderline nightmare, in both headache and expense, it is to deal with a shitty tenant in a tenant friendly jurisdiction. I probably won't ever buy a property again in a non-landlord friendly (usually libtard) state on general fuckin principle. Most libtard states give WAY too many rights and protections to shitty people; rights and protections you ultimately have to pay for via higher taxes and loss income (repairs, lengthy eviction processes, absurd leasing rules, etc). A bad and poor (meaning no money to extract via lawsuit) tenant can wipe out a year's worth of a property's net income easily. Way more easily than you can imagine.

In a bad neighborhood, the odds of you getting a bad tenant increase a 100-fold. Make sure you screen HARD and know how to LEGALLY discriminate against potential tenants. Failure to do so can be very costly in the end.

[worldwidetraveler]

(07-25-2016 01:34 AM)Schlep Wrote:  

^ thanks WWT
guess your right. Just kinda stressed out a little bit and probably over thinking everything.

Completely understandable. This is huge change for anyone.

It's going to be a learning experience. Nobody here can really tell you how much you will need. You won't even really know until you figure out your lifestyle. More times than not, you won't need as much as you think.

There is a huge difference from vacationing and living overseas. You spend much more on a vacation trying to relax and get everything in. You don't need to do that while living there.

Worst case scenario is you live in a location, like the Phils, and just bank enough money until you feel comfortable moving on.

I know you have your 401k as a backup and that is great. Hopefully you won't need to touch it.

In any case, you still got out of that shit hole that made you unhappy.

Not a bad thing at all!