The great thing about being in love with travelling in the third world is that you can do it for a lot longer than if you were travelling in developed countries. The main reason for this is that they are so damn cheap. In fact, some people realise that it is possible to earn a lot less and live a lot better just by moving to one of these countries. An entire new wave of ‘digital nomads’ or ‘location independent professionals’ are shunning their expensive lives in the US, UK, Canada or wherever and moving to places that afford them a luxurious existence at a quarter the cost. Here’s where they are moving.
Thailand – This is a hugely popular destination for working nomads. The visa restrictions are light (last I heard you could just take a bus trip across to Cambodia every three months to renew though that may have changed), the rent is cheap for a great place and other costs are minimal. The Thais are among the most friendly people you will ever meet and Bangkok is also a travel hub so you can get most places in one air hop. Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket are the most popular areas for the lucky foreigners who call Thailand home and even internet speed are reasonable!
Indonesia – The digital nomads tend to congregate on the island of Bali though there are some in other places including Jakarta. You can get a luxury two bedroom condo for $150 a week (cheaper if you wait till you get there and scope out the situation first for a few weeks) and a personal maid or driver can be had from around $100 per month. Internet isn’t cheap, but there are plenty of mobile broadband options. Oh, and have you seen the beaches?
Philippines – Another Asian paradise that is starting to get its fair share of location independent professionals, the Philippines only real draw back is that a visa run has to be done by air or sea. Manilla is a massive and exciting city with almost anything you could want and the other areas of the country include a lot of tropical paradise! Property is cheap to rent and the cost of food is practically nothing. The locals are friendly and a vast amount of them even speak English (though you will get more play if you actually try to learn some of the local lingo).
Argentina – This is a real gem that is comparatively unknown among the digital nomad set (though that is changing). Buenos Aires is a modern and beautiful city with most of the conveniences you would get in a first world city. The internet is fast and the rent is cheap. Probably better if you can get by in Spanish (take a course when you get there). Full of beautiful people, Argentina is a great place to spend a few months… or years.
India – This one is more popular with British folks who are trying to escape the (extortionately) expensive place that is their homeland as well as enjoy some sun and warmth. Many of the long term expat crowd head to somewhere like Goa (and old sea trading post from the colonial days) which is practically a beach resort. The bureaucracy in India (like many developing countries) is terrible, but the costs of living there are through the floor.
In most of these places, it’s not a stretch for a single person to be able to get by on $10,000 per year including accommodation, food – the lot. If you want to spend more, the opportunity is always there – it really depends on how hard you need to party. If you are smart, you might even figure out ways to have an income that doesn’t require you to be in any one place. Many digital nomads make their living through consulting, websites or investing. Whichever way they do it, they sure have an enviable lifestyle.
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Great ideas!
But the 3rd world is not the only place that one can live cheaply & there are drawbacks as well.
We’re a digital nomad family that has been traveling on 4 continents, 32 countries & over 175,000 miles (most overland) since 2006.
Our total living/traveling costs for all 3 of us, has just been 25K a year or 23 dollars per day per person!
We’ve been in mostly “expensive” Europe so far & have lived better & cheaper than friends did in SE Asia.
We’ll be wintering next winter in Asia and will have to compare, but can already attest that it’s really easy to live large on little ANY where if one picks more rural areas and lives like a native.
These are some great places to based out of.. and so exciting! We look forward to integrating them into our location independent living at some point. However, if one wants to live a mobile lifestyle or live much more affordably – you don’t have to leave your own country to do so.
Currently, we’re living for far less than a quarter the cost of our previous stationary lives, without ever having to depart our own country and established communities of friends & family. We’ve been able to secure great work opportunities, keep our existing clients and experience a life of full time mobility.
How? By getting an off-grid capable home on wheels that affords us a life rich in experience for little cost. The two of us spent a combined $14k in 2009 for our lifestyle (which includes fuel for our 13k miles of travel, camping fees, auto/rv/health insurance, mobile internet, etc.)
Considering becoming a nomad doesn’t have to be a ‘permanent fixed home’ vs ‘conquer the world’ proposition. Check out recent blog post we made on this topic: http://www.technomadia.com/2010/01/the-domestic-nomad/
– Cherie