Top 10 Best Places To Live Well on $1,000 Per Month

My Favorite Travel Gear: ✈️

Digital Nomad Tools: 👩‍💻

Living Abroad: 🌍

Watch next: 👀

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:39 - 10th Place
3:38 - 9th Place
6:26 - 8th Place
7:52 - 7th Place
10:11 - 6th Place
12:16 - 5th Place
15:04 - 4th Place
17:27 - 3rd Place
19:18 - 2nd Place
23:13 - 1st Place

Cost of Living Websites Referenced:
* Expatistan
* Nomad List
* Numbeo
* Teleport
* Personal records and travel expenses

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👱🏻‍♀️ About: Kristin Wilson is the author of Digital Nomads For Dummies, the host of Badass Digital Nomads Podcast, and known as Traveling with Kristin on YouTube. She's traveled to more than 60 countries and has been helping people move overseas since 2005.

PS: This video is for entertainment purposes only and is not consulting or advice. Video descriptions may contain affiliate or refer-a-friend links for products I use and recommend. Thanks for supporting the channel!

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#bestplaces #costofliving #top10

[SimeonToko]

10 - 00:39 - Serbia
09 - 3:38 - Thailand
08 - 6:26 - Philippines
07 - 7:52 - Peru
06 - 10:11 - Bulgaria
05 - 12:16 - Albania
04 - 14:05 - Nicaragua
03 - 17:26 - Argentina
02 - 19:18 - Mexico
01 - 23:13 - Vietnam

[KingRhinoBudapest]

Im an American who has lived in Budapest, Hungary for 5 years. I spent 3 months living in Belgrade, Serbia and then was back shooting a Serbian TV series. Absolutely fell in love with the country and it's people. Belgrade is absolutely AMAZING! Incredibly cool city. Food is spectacular. Awesome music and nightlife. And, for as cheap as Hungary is for the cost of living, Belgrade was probably 50% cheaper than Budapest.

[newtondelmar]

I have been living in Cancun (not the touristy part) Mexico for almost 4 years now.
I have a furnished 375 sq. ft. apartment in a decent area for $350 USD...and that includes EVERYTHING...water, elec, internet.
(Sometimes my landlady brings me her chicken mole on Sundays !!)
There is a nice Walmart for groceries about 1 mile away...the local fisherman have a small fleet about a mile in the other direction where I can sit on the beach and buy super fresh ceviche and mango salsa :))
The Mex. Peso when I arrived was about 21 per $...now, it is 17.25 P per $...
So it has gotten a bit more expensive over the last 4 years but it is NOT because of gentrification...it is the Peso getting stronger internationally.
My rent has not increased and a 20 ounce Tecate Red is still 18 pesos :))
BTW...my USA SS check is $987 per month...I have never managed to dip into my savings in
nearly 4 years :))

[wahoowahoo]

Sold my house in New York..
Moving in the Philippines in 2 months with my wife and kids..
We did a trst run and l8ved there for 6 months, and its a YES YES YES for me and my family...See you soon Philippines 🇵🇭
Sooo excited...
We cant wait... ❤❤❤

[vittorianesse]

I’m done with living hand-to-mouth on $5, 000/month in Australia. I’m gone!!!! 😭😭😭

[janerikkvarsten]

This list is okay for a limmited period as a long stay tourist, but the requirements for a residence visa, retirement visa is too high, and the age requirement for a retirement visa in many coutries is 50 years plus, so that's out of the league for many travelers. But in Europe i would say Albania is the best bet, and Georgia because they give one year out without hazzle and you can simply do a borderrun and get a new year, but Serbia requires 50.000 Euro investment, and you can doo it in property, so if you can rack out 50.000 Euro you can get a residence permit by investment, but serbia is not a good country to stay only doing borderruns, and the same with Thailand. If you ain't over 50 years old in Thailand, then a 20 year Elite Visa for 30.000 USD is your option, then you can live there.

So what is the best coutries to stay long term and live cheaply in without ending up in problems with the visa requirements

1. Phillipines; you can enter on a 30 day stamp, and extend for 30 days, then 30 days, get a letter from an agent, and extend for 90 days, keep on extending untill you have done it for 36 months, then doo a visarun, and start over, stay forever without requirements.

2. Vietnam; Get a 90 day tourist visa, then apply for a new 90 day tourist visa and to a borderun, apply again for 90 day tourist visa, do the same and continue forever.

3. Georgia; One year stamp on arrival, do a borderun and get another year, and do it over again, so here you can stay within the budget forever.

4. Albania; One year stamp on arrival, do a borderun and get another year, and do it over again, so here you can stay within the budget forever.


5. Cambodia; Get a business visa, get an agent to fix it, and make shure that you have som transactions in "your firm", open a bankaccout and use the business card as a bank card and pay a creative accountant to handle the buracracy for 500 USD a year for you. In that package you get renewals of the visa and the rest of the this sorted, after five years you can apply for Cambodian Citizenship for 3000 USD.

6. Nicaragua; If you are over 30 years and have an income of 1000 USD, the get a residence permit, stay for five years and apply for Nicaraguan Citizenship.

7. Argentina, 300 USD income required for a residency card and a Citizenship in three years, and you have to deliver two tax returns, but this is the fastest way to dual citizenship.

8. Turkey, temporary residence for 1000 Euros income, stay in turkey for 7 years and you become Turkish, and they also handle borderuns as far as i know, but please double check this one.

9. Ecuador, requirement 600 USD income for a residency card, and it take only three years to get an Ecuadorian Citizenship. This is probably the best second citizenship in the world when it comes totravel if you pair it with a western citizenship. Just check the map and you will be amazed with this one.

10. Nepal, you get a studentvisa on yoga, it cost about 200 USD, and you "join a year programme" and get a visa that way, and it can be renewed forever, this one is shockingly easy.

This is my top ten list of coutries where you can live for 1000 USD a month and not get a problem with the visa as well, you can accually do it with these coutries :)

[tidy]

It's pretty bad that we need to go elsewhere in the world to retire. It is far too expensive in Canada to retire.

[najbrzi]

Moved to Serbia, city of Belgrade from USA!
Absolutely love it 👍🙂!

[Adobomonster]

Underrated perk about the Philippines is that more than 90% of the population speaks English.

[Vladimir-jcxx]

Very comprehensive analysis - Kristin! When we realized that we cannot afford in US a lifestyle we wanted during our retirement - we’ve put together our own Top 10 list (we did a lot of research and travelled to each of those countries before making our final decision). Our Top 10 list was almost exact replica of your list with exception of Serbia and Nicaragua (we have considered Malaysia and Ecuador instead). Last year we retired to Bulgaria because it is the cheapest country in the world that is both EU and NATO member, have very friendly people, beautiful nature, very convenient location, and super-fast Internet. My wife and I spend approximately $1, 200 per month on quite lavish lifestyle. We love huge selection of local premium wines ($3 - $7 per bottle), local seasonal organic produce for price that is 1/5 of what we used to pay at Whole Food in US. Actually, for the place to live in Bulgaria we have considered all cities you’ve recommended: Sofia, Plovdiv, and Bansko, but finally chose a coastal town Saints Constantin and Helena – suburb of Varna. This town is considered one of the best places to live in Bulgaria because of beautiful beaches, parks, pools with a warm mineral springs water (making it all year-round attraction), and excellent infrastructure. There is no perfect place for everyone, and time to time some things makes us crazy here in Bulgaria – but in general we are very happy with our choice of country

[banicata]

A few corrections - minimum wage in Bulgaria is not 800 euros per month, it's around 800 leva per month, so around 400 euros. Also, there is no Aldi in Bulgaria, Lidl is everywhere though

[godscommandmentsaretruthis]

So many beautiful places to choose from. I just sold my house in Virginia and am getting ready to move to Brazil. The southern part is very European and has super low crime. The cute little Germanic towns of Gramado, Canela, and Nova Petropolis in the "Serra Gaucha" are amazing.

[zaptosmedia]

At almost all of those places 1000 USD are not enough to live. Good luck with 1k in Serbia or Mexico. You would have to go to a remote village, but then you can live anywhere for 1k. It is just not 2018 anymore and a 1k budget is almost nowhere enough anymore.

[marnelson]

Retired in Nicaragua in 2004. Best place where we can afford both a surf and mountain home due to low costs!

[ghung]

I used to focus mainly on affordability but after getting robbed in Mexico i believe you should weigh safety as well

[ellisz]

Love your list. Mexico scares me. I've been there recently (Mexico City, Tijuana, Puerto V) and crime is a lot worse than you imply. Don't go out after dark. Even during the day, be very very aware.

Never considered Vietnam. Thank you for the list.

[richardsteinbergmakingknives]

I don't know about the other countries, but the Philippines has gone up significantly. Triple you estimate for rent and food has gone up as well. In fact, it's gotten so expensive that many expats are going elsewhere. I understand Vietnam is still affordable and has a better infrastructure.

[martypoll]

I retired to Thailand in 2017. I lived in central Bangkok for 6 years in the Phra Khanong district in a 50 sqm condo for about $750/month (in 6 years the rent never changed). There was a decent gym and gorgeous swimming pool. It was next to the BTS train station. I can also vouch for the low cost of health care in BKK. There was a dentist office right outside the door to my condo bldg. Excellent modern care with cleaning at $30 and I got a crown for less than half what it cost me in the US. I went to a nearby hospital emergency room for a kidney stone attack and the total cost of treatment was $75 without insurance. I do have Thai insurance for a little less than my insurance costs previously in the US. Transportation is cheap. BKK is a very international city with great restaurants, parks, concerts, and festivals. I take advantage of the small but good salsa dance community. Of course actual costs, like in any country, depends on you lifestyle and how much to are willing to adapt to the local culture.

You can live in Bangkok for much lower but that will require living a bit further than the city center. While the overall cost of living can be low there are costs to get and maintain a long term visa. More realistic costs for long stays is probably $2000/month. Retirement here is relatively easy. The biggest visa problem is that there are few long stay options for people under 50 years old.

[baileycaful]

16:37 I've been to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and I have to say I was way more impressed with Nicaragua than I was with Costa Rica (albeit I spent a lot more time and went to more places in Costa Rica than I did in Nicaragua). Nicaragua is truly a hidden gem in Central America. I'd definitely go back to Nicaragua again to explore more of the country.

[markrush]

I lived in Buenos Aires Argentina for 10 years. This is my experience for 1500 to 2000 dollars you can live a very comfortable lifestyle. I just returned from a 4 month stay in Buenos Aires in the San Telmo neighborhood. I rented a fully furnished one bedroom apartment for 650 US dollars per month that included all the utilities, including the internet. I never spent over 2000 US dollars a month. But you will never know when an emergency might come up.