Seems you need to do some reading and research before embarking on such adventure. Moreover - if you decide to spend 3 month in Asia, I would suggest first to go on trial Asia trip for a month, moving from place to place and spending 10 days in in one place to get some understanding.
Originally Posted by
snail
no public transportation (buses) in major SE asia cities?
Short and direct answer - outside of Singapore and Hong Kong (which are outside of your price range) public transport is for poor people who do not have money to buy/move by car. So they have to endure buses/trains where they are available (in most cases they simply don't exist). Public transport in most (all) places is not clean (to be polite in this expression) and in number of places do not have air conditioning either. Also crime - pickpocket and bag/backpack snatching is common thing.
Seriously, why don't you start reading wikivoyage on relevant cities/regions to get some understanding? Then come here to ask specific questions.
Originally Posted by
snail
just thought any major US city would be relatively expensive compared to SE asia for the winter?
You need to make a list what is important for you in terms of priority and only after that things can have price tags, like:
- language barrier
- access to quality medical care
- ability to move from place to place and using what means
- ability to eat familiar food
- lodging requirements (noise/amenities, etc)
- social life
- internet connectivity
- environment (air/water quality, access to parks/nature/beaches)
- etc, etc, etc
Otherwise going to Asia with 'oh, let me go live in Asia for three month because I hate winter in US' - culture and other shocks are guaranteed.