Original article on www.vagabondjourney.com
“So, Gar. What is a ”less expensive“ country?”
I’m glad you asked that. A less expensive country is one where you can live cheaper than you are living now. If you are in the USA, that would be Mexico, Central America, most of South America, Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam), India, and several countries in Eastern Europe. For the more adventurous there are also large portions of Africa that would fall under the less expensive category. (I have not been to Africa nor have I read much about traveling there so I can’t speak with any surety about expenses there.)
When traveling, a person has three major expenses. They are food, shelter, and transportation. Of these three, a person must spend some money on food and shelter daily. This will be an ongoing expense that you can’t escape no matter where you are or how frugal you live. Transportation, on the other hand, is different: you don’t have to spend money on transportation everyday — or even at all if you just want to stay in one place.
Food Expenses When Retiring Abroad
For myself, I don’t find that I save much money on food, but it is possible. I prefer to eat whatever I want to eat when I want it. I eat a lot of yogurt. Yogurt in Mexico costs roughly $1.85 USD per liter. I eat a liter a day.
Don’t eat in restaurants that cater to tourists whether the tourists are gringos or domestic. Don’t eat in restaurants at all if you can avoid it.
Beer is about 10 or 11 pesos (about $0.85 USD) a bottle if bought in a grocery store. They are 15 to 20 pesos if bought in a restaurant. I drink two beers a day (well, okay, sometimes I drink three). To cut down on food expense further, don’t drink beer or alcoholic beverages.
