It all comes down to your lifestyle.
Can you live in Bangkok cheaper than Phoenix? Yes.
Can you live in Phoenix cheaper than Bangkok? Yes.

Your health insurance might not cover medical issues when overseas, or you might have to prepay and get reimbursed when you come back to the USA.

I assume you already own a car? You can bring that car with you to Arizona. You could easily spend $2-$20 per day on taxis/subway in SE Asia, especially if you have some issues with walking long distances on uneven walkways.


I agree with what others said. Take a 30-60 day trip to SE Asia. Stay in a few cities for a week each. See how you feel. If you need some advice on which cities in certain countries, then just ask us.


Or worse :(

You're getting some misleading advice in this thread. You can live quite comfortably in N/NE Thailand for $1500-2000/month (many do so for less), including lodging, and no, you won't have to walk everywhere.

The problem is that the OP hasn't told us much about himself. For all we know he might have never been to SE Asia before.

I don't think the advice is misleading, it's just specific to a certain situation.

We're all just throwing out random ideas. $1500-2000/month is doable on probably 90% of the planet.

thats why agents are for. They make up for you if dont keep up with requirements.
The 120k gives u a decent 4% interest which will cover your rent. My girlfriend pays 260 euros and gets a large brand new studio with pool, parking, gym ,24 security in an area with 5 star hotels and golf course.
If retirement plan is still not a option no problem. My friend did the 3 months in, one week out for 8 years and never faced a single problem.

ibilik.com

Agree, and you can live in most of Indonesia pretty comfortably on $2,000 a month as well.

As someone already said you can do AirBnB for about $500 a month.
You can do 3 or 4 countries in SE Asia and then you can pick your favorite spot.
You can also do 1 week at the time at each city. For example you can do 1 week AirBnB in Bangkok, then week in Chiang Mai, week in Udon Thani etc.
Then do the same in Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia.
Not only you will find the place that you really like, but you will see some other cultures and places that otherwise you wouldn't visit.

For ages, my friend was asking me to go with him to SE Asia. I always refused because of the flight duration. However, I gave in in 2014 and went with him to Thailand for a weekend! :) Since then I've been going to Thailand as a starting point (twice a year), and from there to another country in SE Asia.

I love that region, food and people. It's different than what you have in US or in Europe. And the best thing is, that you get royal treatment for pennies on the dollar :)

You don't have to decide on one country, especially if you haven't been to any of them. Just go and get the feel. Then you can set for longer stay at one particular place.

And the air travel between most of those places is very cheap.

Sorry, if I sound here patronizing, but I have moved from country to country six times last 25 years and I've seen people going thru culture shock numerous times. It happens even when they moved to serviced apartments for $12000/mo at Marina Bay Financial Center or at Orchard Rd in Singapore (who knows, understands).

Major contributor to culture and other shocks (even worse than culture, as was mentioned) is the assumption that when moving from country to country - the life, chores, things you do - will be the same, or at least - familiar. This is fundamentally wrong assumption. Especially when moving to a country with completely different people/language/climate/food/history/etc.

If you go to a new place with open mind and low expectations (key factor) then most likely the trip/relocation will be rewarding and with new and rich experiences. If you move there expecting things will be the same - it will bring nothing but troubles.

It is the first time - the problem which can ruin everything. I seen number of recent reports that visa runners are stopped at Malaysian borders. I am reading several non-English forums and at least once a week there is 'help what can I do, I got denied entry at visa run, all my stuff is in KL!'.

Again, off topic. (You're good at that.)

OP asked how much it would cost him to live for 3 months in Thailand, Cambodia, or Vietnam. I didn't read anything that suggested he was worried about culture shock....but keep posting whatever extraneous information that is not applicable to the question that the OP asked.

You know, kind of how you suggested Phoenix when the OP asked about countries in SE Asia, lol.

And yes, I agree with you, patronizing is your strong suit.

Sure, I have seen expats experience culture shock living here in Indonesia, sometimes it's temporary and sometimes it persists and the expat decides to leave. I've also witnessed many expats come and thrive.

I think OP's primary question was about whether he could live somewhere in SE Asia "on the cheap," which is very possible in a handful of locations. OP is a single mid 40's male, I think he will do just fine in Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam or Indonesia. ;)

You have very selective reading and memory. If you scroll back and re-read, it was not not me who suggested Phoenix, however I did agree with it.

Good.

Sure, I agree with you - in grand generalization, one can live in most of SEA for cheap.

Devil is in details - what are expectations of living, if any? That details - limited mobility, necessity (or desire) to move to place to place only via car, ability/necessity/desire to access to Western quality medical care, and other things which we have not heard yet - these are factors in the equation. Don't you agree?

you can live in Europe with that amount of money

Huge factors.

(I'm the one that suggested Arizona in the first place)

Four pages already we are trying get from OP to list what are his expectations from the new place and except 'internet' was not said anything. Meanwhile these factors matter. Here is one practical example - for laundry, you:

a) are OK to wash them in sink by hand and hang them outside
b) are OK to use coin-operated laundry machine
c) would rather drop off and pick them up at laundry shop
d) you want to have washing machine inside your apartment
e) you want to have washing machine which uses hot water too, inside your apartment
f) you want dryer and washing machine (which works with hot water) inside your apartment

Depending on location some from above options are not available. At all. While other options carry their own price tag which might be very different tot the price tag you are used to at your home. A dryer running twice a week in Singapore burns electricity for $310/mo for an average family. Just dryer only. People who have 3br apartments and have 5 aircons running at 23C said that electricity bill is $900/mo.


Yes, in Thailand/Malaysia/Indonesia/Vietnam electricity costs will be cheaper, but again, here is one practical example how one simple factor can greatly affects costs.

The downside of winter is that it is high season in SEA and cost will be higher. In summer you can comfortable live for $20-25/day (hotel/food/scooter + some incidentals) if you have limited needs in a place like Siem Reap.

South Asia can be done in winter for less. Nepal e.g. is cheap - with monthly rentals for about $200. A maid/cook for about $100 and food cost about $300/month.

If you drink the cost goes up quickly - except for Vietnam where a draft beer is about $0.20 (or less) but the general cost of living is higher than surrounding countries.

Visa cost is also worth considering as these can add up if you want to stay over 30 days.

thx for the replies.
so do a test run before committing to 3months?

just by luck, found out one one of my Vietnamese friends is going to Vietnam at end of sept.

I'm thinking of tagging along:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia/...l#post28674600

I would say that calling English the primary language in Singapore is a bit of a stretch. There are really four unofficial languages in that town, and you will likely encounter all four on a regular basis, including the signage. You can certainly get by in English, but it may well not be the language you encounter the most when out and about. It also bears mentioning that aside from the remarkably good and cheap food in the hawker stalls, Singapore is prohibitively expensive by any standard.

English in the Philippines is probably more widespread than Singapore, but it occurs in an almost 50/50 mix with Tagalog in the form of Taglish. Even the newscasts and newspapers will split English and Tagalog in a single sentence. You will not have a problem communicating as long as you are patient and friendly, but it can still be difficult to understand and be understood if you are not a good communicator. It is very cheap and the people are probably the friendliest in the world. Unfortunately, traffic is unbelievable horrible and there is no viable public transit alternative.

Of all these places, Bangkok is probably the best option for someone who is not terribly familiar with life in SEA or in developing countries. Just make sure you get an apartment that is within walking distance to the BTS/MRT/BRT, because you will not want to drive or take a taxi on a regular basis due to the traffic (much better than Manila but still very unpleasant). There are countless shopping options, including access to western food. The food is extremely cheap and good. And if you do decide to travel around, it is a great hub to get cheap flights all over SEA. The city is developing rapidly and is much more advanced than many places in the west.

Vietnam and Cambodia are love it/hate it places that require a very open mindset and a willingness to embrace a different kind of lifestyle. I would definitely visit for a few weeks before you commit to several months.

I've only ever visited Manila, and I've got to say i was surprised, humbled and very very pleased at the widespread-icity of English throughout the sprawl.

But I wonder - and in a non-provocative way! - just how wide that spread is outside the city and in areas where someone seeking inexpensive living might find himself. Or herself.

100 a day live like a King. English is spoken everywhere. Singapore not on a 100 a day.
Have fun.

English is nationwide spoken. It is estimated that in the next decade there will be over 10 millions expat retirees in Philippines. Infrastructure is terrible though in province. Some cities doing better like Dumaguete which is among the top ten cities for retirees worldwide

The Philippines is probably the cheapest and easiest to get a retiree visa (least amount of financial commitment)

However English comprehension level is very high in the business area of Metro Manila and touristy destinations countrywide. English comprehension is not great in the provinces.

I have has been active in the Philippines with NGP work in the last 15 years.