What is your average monthly expenses in Asia?

[jfmengels]

In https://github.com/sindresorhus/ama/issues/383, you said that money lasts longer in Southeast Asia, but I'm curious as to how much it costs. What would you guess to be your average monthly expenses? I'm keeping in mind that you don't buy a lot of stuff.

[sindresorhus]

Guesstimate:

• Rent: $553 _{48m² as central you can be in Bangkok. You can get something nice for half that if you're willing to travel 15-20 min to the city core of Bangkok. Even cheaper outside Bangkok, like in Chiang Mai.}
• Electricity: $117
• Water: $2
• Internet: $20
• 4G for phone: $18
• Food: $600 _{I eat out every day because food is so cheap here, and I often work from coffee shops.}
• Transport: $80 (Metro and taxis)
• Fun: $100 (Cinema, etc)

Total: $1490

The above is inaccurate as I have additional expenses now, like saving up for wedding and buying apartment.

[akashnimare]

@sindresorhus you could live a luxury life in India in around $800 🚀 .

[AchoArnold]

@akashnimare Luxury is subjective 😉

[akashnimare]

@AchoArnold true that 💯 .

[sindresorhus]

@akashnimare I don't care about luxury, but I do love Indian food, so maybe one day.

[akashnimare]

@sindresorhus from luxury, I mean a

chilling place + great culture + awesome local food

Indian food is 🔥 ❤️ .

[bharathvaj-ganesan]

@sindresorhus If you have time, Please visit India.

[JSterling8]

I don't get why everyone wants you to visit India. From someone who has lived in Thailand for about a year, and been around India for about a month in 2017, Thailand is FAR better. Like it's not even close. In India, 8 people tried to scam me in one day. In Thailand, nobody has EVER tried to scam me. India was such a rip off. I went to Goa, New Delhi, Agra, and Srinagar, and somebody tried to rip me off everywhere I went. If you're white, you're screwed. You're just seen as a walking ATM machine. Sad!

[bharathvaj-ganesan]

@JSterling8 See India is a diversified country, within Indian states itself there are n number of differences. From the places you have mentioned I see you have visited only few places where they will treat even other tourists as an ATM machine. Even i was screwed during my summer vacation to Goa. If you have visited any Southern cities, you would have not commented like this. The reason why we (techies) want Sindre and others to visit India is to give a presentation or speech to develop the Open source and develop the JS community. That's it. By the way I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused during your trip to India.

[theodesp]

Hey, I could argue that cooking from home could save you dollars. I could live with 150 euros per month (190-200$). Maybe you could give it a try.

[sindresorhus]

@theodesp True, but I don't even have a kitchen.

[lukechilds]

Depending on where you live in Thailand, cooking at home can be more expensive than eating out.

[sindresorhus]

Groceries are pretty expensive in Bangkok unless you go to the local food markets.

[lukechilds]

unless you go to the local food markets

And then deal with the consequences 💩

[franciscop-invast]

The first time I was in Chiang Mai, we had a good plate of noodles in a local market for the astonishing price equivalent of $0.80. Most foreigners I've seen like to go every day to the fancy and trendy cafes, which I will never understand, so much delicious local food!

[wzhudev]

Electricity seems to be quite expensive in southeast Asia.