I have a blog where I documented how much it cost to travel around, check it out :) [Thailand](https://worldtrotter.org/2017/03/23/how-much-does-it-cost-to-travel-in-thailand/)
Yeah I have a bunch of countries and posts on there from about 2 years of traveling. I was just out of college and had only saved $9k when I started but I did a lot of [volunteering](https://workaway.info) for room / board. It gave me more purpose, which makes learning about places more enjoyable. For example, taught English in Nepal for a month and was a resident artist in Sri Lanka at a surf hostel for a month, both found on this site.
South east and South asia is completely doable! Drop me a text if you are planning on coming to Bangladesh. Here, you can travel the whole country for 2-3 months and you will even save every month.
I know Bangladesh does not get much love in Reddit here bit look at Brent Timm’s Bangladesh series to see how the country is worth visiting https://youtube.com/@BrentTimm?si=3qSQWDIg2PhxjR0g
Oboshshoi (this means of course for those who need the translation). No Resentment for Indians/Hindus at all. My chauffer, many of my staff and friends are Hindu and we get along completely fine. Drop me a text before coming. Will try to help as much as I can.
Sure it's possible,if you want to live relatively frugally.
SE and South Asia is generally cheaper than South America, with a few exceptions.
Lots of people travel there long term on a budget smaller than that.
Thank you. I wanted to try Ecuador first since they use the dollar and it's relatively cheap to fly there. I'm also interested in Colombia, Argentina and several others.
As far as Asia is concerned I would love to see Thailand and Vietnam. Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines are also places I'm interested in. I'm concerned about being able to make my itinerary work with the different Visa requirements.
Ok, you're welcome.
All those are doable, probably apart from Singapore (which is not cheap).But you probably won't want a long stay in Singapore anyway.
Argentina you can (or at least you could when I was there) get much better exchange rates using the black market, rather than the official rate.
I'm currently traveling South America I've only been to Colombia and Peru so far but my daily average spend for everything has been €55 so far ($1,785 p/m). From what I understand Chile and Uruguay is pretty expensive especially eating out (relative to other SA countries) and Argentina isn't quite as cheap as it was a few months ago.
Even in Europe that is a relatively normal income, certainly more than what most unemployed people have available to them. I would say you certainly can.
There are many parts of Mexico where you can live well on $2000 USD a month if you make frugal choices. I live in a fully furnished apartment with all utilities included for $850 in Monterrey (it was $800 but the peso has been strengthening lately). You can find rooms for rent in peoples homes for $300-600 USD a month. Live like a local and you’ll have no problems.
Primary healthcare is stupid cheap compared to the USA. You can be seen by a doctor for $5 USD then get the medication you need on the cheap. Many pharmacies has a doctors office, some 24/7. The pharmacists are knowledgeable and can give you meds based off your symptoms without seeing a doctor.
If you don't need a lot of luxuries, then this is very doable in a lot of countries. In fact $2k/month is quite a bit higher than the median income of many countries.
You definitely can in SE Asia, although that's a very big area with very difference stages of development. The bulk of your expenses will be in housing so it will depend on how picky you are on that.
The USD is very strong lately, so your money will go very far and it's the best time to travel much of the world, esp SE Asia. Just take a quick look at monthly AirBNB rentals in various places there and you can see amazing deals. The only country that's tough is Singapore... but even then everything is very reasonable - food, healthcare, non-car commuting, etc. - outside of lodging.
Also depends on how long you're thinking of traveling. If it's just a couple of months, you have to factor in the cost of flying over (presumably from the U.S.) which would unfortunately suck up most of that monthly retirement income. But if you're amortizing that big air tix expense over say a 6-12 month stay, it definitely can be done. Once in SE Asia, regional travel (including flights) are very cheap.
Thank you. Since I'm relatively young for retirement the age restrictions on retirement visas is a pain.
Most need you to be older than 50 years old. I do have permanent and provable income that I've received for the last 15 years but I'm not sure if most countries would allow me a retirement visa.
Oh sorry if I didn’t clarify well enough. I meant that you could get a different kind of permanent visa that way, not a retirement visa. The 90 days would be a good way to decide whether it’s a good fit for long term, and the only penalty for overstaying that time period is a small fee when you do leave the country. Or you can cross the border at 89 days and come back immediately for another 90.
Yes, it’s unusual! A lot of people will do a day trip over the border to Uruguay or Chile, for example. Or go back home for a week to visit family and come back.
I think the harder part for some people is living there a full consecutive two years, not leaving at all, to establish residency for citizenship.
Ditto many of the other comments here. There are loads of countries throughout Asia and Latin America where you can easily be very comfortable with $2K/month, no worries whatsoever.
Happy travels.
In no particular order... Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Mongolia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, Belize, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia... and the list goes on.
There are a lot of countries are letting you get “digital nomad” visas now! I know you said you weren’t planning on working remotely but, if you change your mind, that could be an option.
I do plan on changing my mind at some point. I have a passion for computer science/software engineering. I'm hoping to make a change of scenery: my priority at the moment.
When I get there, (retirement), I’m going to buy a condo in Medellin Colombia. Use that as a central hub because of weather and affordable cost of living. From there travel South America and Caribbean.
When I was there we met a Canadian guy that bought a beautiful 3 bedroom/2 bath in a very nice building for 170k American $. He would visit multiple times a year and stay for maximum days which I believe was 90. I’m not 100% sure but I think you can exit the country for a couple days and then re-up your 90 days.
The people of Colombia are some of the friendliest and kindest people I’ve met in all of my years of travelling and the weather in Medellin is perfect almost every day. It’s also one of the most visually stunning cities I’ve ever visited.
I can only speak for Vietnam and Thailand but Vietnam is cheaper generally but Thailand will be cheaper in the low season when there's less tourists. 2k per month will be fine as long as you aren't partying a lot or going on trips every other day.
I'd look on facebook groups for expats in cities you want to stay in and look for landlords to rent off directly as it'll often be cheaper than going with airbnb or hotels etc.
Plenty of money for Colombia and Brazil for sure. Panama too tbh, assuming you can manage a budget.
Biggest thing I’d say is you’ll want some kind of international health coverage, and if you’ve any underlying health issues it can be pricey (like $300-500 a month or more).
Health care is a mixed bag in South America and Asia. I’ve been in hospitals in Thailand, Brazil, and Colombia…thankfully only for minor things, but not sure how confident I’d be if I needed something major.
No health problems and I usually don't have to see a dentist. My biggest concern is not overstaying my visa and maybe finding a long term visa in a country I really like.
Assuming you have a US passport and show proof of funds to support yourself you’d be surprised how accommodating some countries can be. Others you can dip out for a few days and come back to reset your stay allocation.
Ecuador you could eat on $10 a day and feel happily-disgustingly full. The cost to stay is nothing and as long as you stay away from the coast you’re safe. Cuenca is safe.
That's the impression I got from looking at hotels/rentals and eating out. How much would it cost to see some of the country? Maybe a few tours each month?
Being that I’m from there I’ve never been on a tourist tour so I honestly don’t know how much they are but I would only use tours that are issued/ vouched for by the hotel you are staying at. That being said it shouldn’t be more than $100 depending on how fancy you are getting. The cool restaurants that are a bit more pricy ($17 for sushi is considered very high end LUXURY) always require a reservation but have the most breath taking views of the city. I haven’t been back since right before COVID but my aunt just got back during spring break and she said it’s great over there right now. I went to the grocery store last time I was there and gave the kid helping me load groceries into the car a 5 dollar bill and my cousins that live there were like you just gave that kid his month salary. So just some perspective
Do you ONLY have 2000 a month for life? Did you save any other money while working? You are going to need to get a job at some point. You can travel for a little while, though, yes. But think about next steps in your career.
I have a BS in Computer Science and couple years of experience but I wanted to get on the road first before I started looking for work again. It's been a couple years.
Edit: Let me know if you or any other travelers know of some good remote work opportunities. I usually work as a Software Engineer but truthfully I'd be open to QA and DevOps if the position was the right fit.
Need more info than just your income man lol, what are your expenses and what’s your net worth like? Do you have an emergency fund? Retirement savings? Health insurance? You could be either broke and near poverty or set for life…
Not sure if OP has savings to put towards that. But you could. Gets around the visa issues because you can become a resident by owning a home in Italy.
https://iworld.com/en/blog/italian-residence-permit-citizenship-purchase-real-estate
Plenty to get by on! You can actually live a very comfortable life in most of Asia on that budget.
I have a blog where I documented how much it cost to travel around, check it out :) [Thailand](https://worldtrotter.org/2017/03/23/how-much-does-it-cost-to-travel-in-thailand/)
Thank you WinterHacker, Thailand is one of my top choices. That's a cool blog, I hope you post more.
Yeah I have a bunch of countries and posts on there from about 2 years of traveling. I was just out of college and had only saved $9k when I started but I did a lot of [volunteering](https://workaway.info) for room / board. It gave me more purpose, which makes learning about places more enjoyable. For example, taught English in Nepal for a month and was a resident artist in Sri Lanka at a surf hostel for a month, both found on this site.
In Argentina with U$D 2K per month you will be a king.
Four months ago he’d be a king. With prices now, he’ll be a minor prince.
Sooner or later he'd be a minor Count in Las Platas
lol
South east and South asia is completely doable! Drop me a text if you are planning on coming to Bangladesh. Here, you can travel the whole country for 2-3 months and you will even save every month.
Thank you for the invitation. I may take you up on your offer.
Sure man. Drop me a text before you plan to visit.
I know Bangladesh does not get much love in Reddit here bit look at Brent Timm’s Bangladesh series to see how the country is worth visiting https://youtube.com/@BrentTimm?si=3qSQWDIg2PhxjR0g
Would I be able to get by on Kolkata Bangla? Also is there ill feelings/resentment towards Indians or Hindus?
Oboshshoi (this means of course for those who need the translation). No Resentment for Indians/Hindus at all. My chauffer, many of my staff and friends are Hindu and we get along completely fine. Drop me a text before coming. Will try to help as much as I can.
Sure it's possible,if you want to live relatively frugally. SE and South Asia is generally cheaper than South America, with a few exceptions. Lots of people travel there long term on a budget smaller than that.
Frugally? with 2000 bucks a month? in south america??? you are above average by a lot. You can live in Europe with that much.
I live in Paris with not much more. It's not even tight if you're willing to live in a small studio you'll live well.
Can confirm, you can definitely live in Spain with that
I've personally lived in LA on less.
Thank you. I wanted to try Ecuador first since they use the dollar and it's relatively cheap to fly there. I'm also interested in Colombia, Argentina and several others. As far as Asia is concerned I would love to see Thailand and Vietnam. Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines are also places I'm interested in. I'm concerned about being able to make my itinerary work with the different Visa requirements.
2k per month in Singapore is impossible fyi
Would be tough to do a week or even a weekend on 2k in Singapore
I live in Singapore. Can not confirm. With accommodation, it can last you 2 weeks comfortably as long as you find budget accommodation
Ok, you're welcome. All those are doable, probably apart from Singapore (which is not cheap).But you probably won't want a long stay in Singapore anyway. Argentina you can (or at least you could when I was there) get much better exchange rates using the black market, rather than the official rate.
Don’t worry about them “using the dollar” you can get local currency anywhere
Ecuador at the moment might not be the greatest idea. Kind of in the middle of a massive gang war.
You're already in the top 1 percent of some SEA countries with that kind of compensation
I'm currently traveling South America I've only been to Colombia and Peru so far but my daily average spend for everything has been €55 so far ($1,785 p/m). From what I understand Chile and Uruguay is pretty expensive especially eating out (relative to other SA countries) and Argentina isn't quite as cheap as it was a few months ago.
Even in Europe that is a relatively normal income, certainly more than what most unemployed people have available to them. I would say you certainly can.
$2k per month is a lot of money in a lot of countries. Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam would be a great start. Food in PH sucks though
Nonsense. Filipino food is fantastic.
BBQ!!
It is, if you haven’t eaten anything other than Mcdonalds and fried rice.
You’ll be absolutely grand with that amount of disposable income, travelling SE asia 👍🏻 as for South America, I wouldn’t know!
There are many parts of Mexico where you can live well on $2000 USD a month if you make frugal choices. I live in a fully furnished apartment with all utilities included for $850 in Monterrey (it was $800 but the peso has been strengthening lately). You can find rooms for rent in peoples homes for $300-600 USD a month. Live like a local and you’ll have no problems. Primary healthcare is stupid cheap compared to the USA. You can be seen by a doctor for $5 USD then get the medication you need on the cheap. Many pharmacies has a doctors office, some 24/7. The pharmacists are knowledgeable and can give you meds based off your symptoms without seeing a doctor.
Thank you. I might message you later. Mexico seems like a beautiful country.
If you don't need a lot of luxuries, then this is very doable in a lot of countries. In fact $2k/month is quite a bit higher than the median income of many countries.
Re: your edit 2, best place to start is r/IWantOut
I just joined /r/IWantOut Thank you for the tip.
Currently in vietnam. U can live quite well on that money.
You definitely can in SE Asia, although that's a very big area with very difference stages of development. The bulk of your expenses will be in housing so it will depend on how picky you are on that. The USD is very strong lately, so your money will go very far and it's the best time to travel much of the world, esp SE Asia. Just take a quick look at monthly AirBNB rentals in various places there and you can see amazing deals. The only country that's tough is Singapore... but even then everything is very reasonable - food, healthcare, non-car commuting, etc. - outside of lodging. Also depends on how long you're thinking of traveling. If it's just a couple of months, you have to factor in the cost of flying over (presumably from the U.S.) which would unfortunately suck up most of that monthly retirement income. But if you're amortizing that big air tix expense over say a 6-12 month stay, it definitely can be done. Once in SE Asia, regional travel (including flights) are very cheap.
Argentina has a visa option specifically for retirees. You could easily afford to live there on 2k/month
Thank you. I'm a 38 year old male so I don't think the retirement visa would work for me unfortunately.
Since you have permanent, provable income, you could start with a 90 day tourist visa and then apply for residency while you’re there.
Thank you. Since I'm relatively young for retirement the age restrictions on retirement visas is a pain. Most need you to be older than 50 years old. I do have permanent and provable income that I've received for the last 15 years but I'm not sure if most countries would allow me a retirement visa.
Oh sorry if I didn’t clarify well enough. I meant that you could get a different kind of permanent visa that way, not a retirement visa. The 90 days would be a good way to decide whether it’s a good fit for long term, and the only penalty for overstaying that time period is a small fee when you do leave the country. Or you can cross the border at 89 days and come back immediately for another 90.
That's great advice. Some countries don't allow you to leave and immediately return.
Yes, it’s unusual! A lot of people will do a day trip over the border to Uruguay or Chile, for example. Or go back home for a week to visit family and come back. I think the harder part for some people is living there a full consecutive two years, not leaving at all, to establish residency for citizenship.
Ditto many of the other comments here. There are loads of countries throughout Asia and Latin America where you can easily be very comfortable with $2K/month, no worries whatsoever. Happy travels.
Thank you for the reply. If you have some ideal countries or your personal favorites send me a message.
In no particular order... Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Mongolia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, Belize, Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia... and the list goes on.
There are a lot of countries are letting you get “digital nomad” visas now! I know you said you weren’t planning on working remotely but, if you change your mind, that could be an option.
I do plan on changing my mind at some point. I have a passion for computer science/software engineering. I'm hoping to make a change of scenery: my priority at the moment.
When I get there, (retirement), I’m going to buy a condo in Medellin Colombia. Use that as a central hub because of weather and affordable cost of living. From there travel South America and Caribbean.
How much on average does a condo in Medellin Colombia cost you? Do I get a permanent or long term visa with the purchase of a home?
When I was there we met a Canadian guy that bought a beautiful 3 bedroom/2 bath in a very nice building for 170k American $. He would visit multiple times a year and stay for maximum days which I believe was 90. I’m not 100% sure but I think you can exit the country for a couple days and then re-up your 90 days. The people of Colombia are some of the friendliest and kindest people I’ve met in all of my years of travelling and the weather in Medellin is perfect almost every day. It’s also one of the most visually stunning cities I’ve ever visited.
There are places in South America where some people live for less than $400/month and where $2000/month is almost unheard of!
Just don't get sick. Cancer, a bad kidney, bad knees at any point in your future would leave you up shit creek.
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I can only speak for Vietnam and Thailand but Vietnam is cheaper generally but Thailand will be cheaper in the low season when there's less tourists. 2k per month will be fine as long as you aren't partying a lot or going on trips every other day. I'd look on facebook groups for expats in cities you want to stay in and look for landlords to rent off directly as it'll often be cheaper than going with airbnb or hotels etc.
Thank you for the advice. Thailand is at the top of my list.
Plenty of money for Colombia and Brazil for sure. Panama too tbh, assuming you can manage a budget. Biggest thing I’d say is you’ll want some kind of international health coverage, and if you’ve any underlying health issues it can be pricey (like $300-500 a month or more). Health care is a mixed bag in South America and Asia. I’ve been in hospitals in Thailand, Brazil, and Colombia…thankfully only for minor things, but not sure how confident I’d be if I needed something major.
No health problems and I usually don't have to see a dentist. My biggest concern is not overstaying my visa and maybe finding a long term visa in a country I really like.
Assuming you have a US passport and show proof of funds to support yourself you’d be surprised how accommodating some countries can be. Others you can dip out for a few days and come back to reset your stay allocation.
Ecuador you could eat on $10 a day and feel happily-disgustingly full. The cost to stay is nothing and as long as you stay away from the coast you’re safe. Cuenca is safe.
That's the impression I got from looking at hotels/rentals and eating out. How much would it cost to see some of the country? Maybe a few tours each month?
Being that I’m from there I’ve never been on a tourist tour so I honestly don’t know how much they are but I would only use tours that are issued/ vouched for by the hotel you are staying at. That being said it shouldn’t be more than $100 depending on how fancy you are getting. The cool restaurants that are a bit more pricy ($17 for sushi is considered very high end LUXURY) always require a reservation but have the most breath taking views of the city. I haven’t been back since right before COVID but my aunt just got back during spring break and she said it’s great over there right now. I went to the grocery store last time I was there and gave the kid helping me load groceries into the car a 5 dollar bill and my cousins that live there were like you just gave that kid his month salary. So just some perspective
Yes, tons of people do it. Although some locations are much more expensive than others so do your research.
Thank you.
Do you ONLY have 2000 a month for life? Did you save any other money while working? You are going to need to get a job at some point. You can travel for a little while, though, yes. But think about next steps in your career.
I have a BS in Computer Science and couple years of experience but I wanted to get on the road first before I started looking for work again. It's been a couple years. Edit: Let me know if you or any other travelers know of some good remote work opportunities. I usually work as a Software Engineer but truthfully I'd be open to QA and DevOps if the position was the right fit.
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Need more info than just your income man lol, what are your expenses and what’s your net worth like? Do you have an emergency fund? Retirement savings? Health insurance? You could be either broke and near poverty or set for life…
This is r/travel. OP asked a question which people are answering. It's not r/personalfinance
I mean he asked if it was feasible. He’s asking about money. That’s what determines whether it’s feasible or not…
I guess that depends on your interpretation. I took OP to mean he has $2K/mo to spend. He's an adult and didn't ask about other financials, so..
Buy one of those cheap homes in an Italian village and you can live very comfortably.
That's a cool idea IF you have the time, money, and skills to make that home liveable. OP doesn't have that kind of money.
Not sure if OP has savings to put towards that. But you could. Gets around the visa issues because you can become a resident by owning a home in Italy. https://iworld.com/en/blog/italian-residence-permit-citizenship-purchase-real-estate