Best places to live with a low-cost of living?

[7thLetter]

Thinking of moving out of my parents place pretty soon, just turned 25. It's been difficult making the decision with all the attachments I have when it comes to living here and in this specific area. Especially with the pandemic & economic disaster going on, my decision has came to a halt. Hopefully I'll make the decision by the end of this year.

I currently live in Canada, in a decent but expensive city. All I'm looking for in a new potential place to live if I move out is a gym, internet, grocery store with good food, and to live around nature. My ideal budget is under $500/month.

I've been thinking the best place for me to move to would be Bali in Indonesia. It's low cost, with gyms, and some pretty beautiful sights of nature.

Anyone know any other best low-cost places to live or have experience living abroad? Or does anyone have any experience living in Bali?

[mmKay]

live in your car / van. Only real men are capable of pulling that one off ?

[7thLetter]

@mmKay I don't have a car/van. And I don't even have my actual driver's license yet so I guess that's not an option 

[flowboy]

2 hours ago, mmKay said:

live in your car / van. Only real men are capable of pulling that one off ?

Seen plenty of real women do that too though

[flowboy]

I've been researching the same thing recently.

- Bali seems good

- Thailand seems good

- India too. Kerala is supposedly a state with plenty of nature. Bangalore seems a good option for Westerners who like city and startup vibe.

@7thLetter  I think what you need is nomadlist.com to get a nice overview and comparison - it's what I used

Edited January 8, 2021 by flowboy

[Yamak9889]

Just now, flowboy said:

- Bali seems good

 

I upvote this ^

[7thLetter]

@flowboy So it seems like Bali is the best option so far. Thailand definitely is another good one too.

Another thing I like to consider when visiting or moving to a new country is crime rate. I’m sure Bali is fairly safe right? Google says there’s a bit of crime but it probably depends on the area.

Thanks for the website.

[flowboy]

@7thLetter Varies widely by city. The site has an indication for that

Also by country, of course. I don't know about that, I've only been to ridiculously safe countries.

[Joker]

I've been living in Taipei, Taiwan for the last three years. I would highly recommend it. Not quite as cheap as somewhere like Indonesia, but I rent a decent apartment with public swimming pool and gym for around $600 usd a month. You could go way cheaper if you are prepared to live somewhere not as nice . 

Benefits of living here: 

- Affordable for a big city

- One of the lowest crime rates in the world 

- City surrounded by mountains and nature

- Amazing and cheap public transport system. 

- Very convenient for almost everything you would want (similar to Japan)

- Friendly local people and a chilled out vibe compared to most major cities. 

- Taiwan hasn't been affected much by Covid. Life has been mostly normal here for the last year. 

 

Cons of living here: 

- Food not so great (in my opinion) but some disagree 

- Language barrier can be slightly difficult at times, but most people speak at least some English. 

- Small expat community. Maybe this is a positive thing ? I don't know. 

 

Let me know if you want any more info. 

[mmKay]

check out Poland if you want an European country

[AlwaysJoggin]

I suggest looking into Uruguay seems like a chill country and alot of nature, idk if you done alot of traveling or not but if you haven’t and you are 25 get ready for some cultural shock than may damage your ego and might make you want to go back to your parents where it’s safe and fuzzy and familiar, so travel around maybe see couple of countries experience and explore, and don’t look for place just for its cheap that’s bad idea Unless you really can’t afford too idk good luck

Edited January 9, 2021 by AlwaysJoggin