@heyitshaas was totally intrigued with the fantastic $15 US dollar per night hotel I found in Bangkok in a great location minutes walking distance from the subway. The place has a gym, a swimming pool, on sight five dollar an hour massage, and a 24 hour restaurant that will bring the food up to your room. The room itself is spacious with AC, good wifi, TV, daily house keeping, and even a bathtub with supplied bubble bath soap.
@heyitshaas was so impressed he was considering leaving his job and traveling sooner realizing how affordable it can be if you travel smart. He asked if I was going to stay a month as it's such a good deal. I replied no, as I'm now in a very nice place in Chiang Mai Thailand for $6.50 US dollars a night! But that is not all that was discussed. Here is the conversation below.
@heyitshaas: Good that you found this place! also a very good deal, did you book yourself in for a month?
It Makes it tempting to leave the Netherlands sooner, that's just a great deal.
@world-travel-pro: No, I stayed a week. Was planning on staying 3 days, but I got comfortable with my bubble baths and hanging out with @fitinfun who lives down the street. I back logged a bunch of Steemit posts while I was there. So now my time is not so taken up with doing post these days. In these parts of the world the locals often pay around 100 dollars a month in rent. $300 is considered luxury at a place like this, which is about what they charge for a month.
Us from the west don't even realize how wealthy we are. About 6 billion people on the planet live on 10 dollars a day or less! Think about that for a moment....
@heyitshaas: It's crazy how many people live on less, and here in the Netherlands there are so many people complaining, first world problems, that's why I connect so well to fellow travelers they understand the world better.
@world-travel-pro: Yes I definitely feel a kinship to you too. In the first world it's a whole other world!
I couldn't imagine living in the US without a car. Which means gasoline, car insurance, car repairs, and possibly car payments which alone are often more than 10 dollars a day. It's literally a whole other world of expense, spending, and earning.
I live on about $10,000 a year total. I think I live like a king. But that $10,000 in the USA, I'm well below the poverty line.
Today I went bowling, ate out three times, went to two coffee shops and had two cappuccinos for 75 cents each and got an hour long massage for under $25. That's including my $6.50 hotel. I see this as a good deal for life, where I see living in the west a bad deal for life.
Look at it this way. Compare Albany New York my home town to where I am now in Chiang Mai Thailand.
Eating out quality food 3 times = $60 vs $6
Massage= $100 vs $4.50
Bowling 3 games and shoe rental= $25 vs $3.75
2 Cappuccinos = $8 vs $1.50
Hotel = $50 vs $6.50
Total= $243 vs $22.25
This is why I refuse to live in first world countries long term. I simply see it as a bad deal, and my quality of life goes down drastically or my bank account.
Now I just need to turn this into a steemit post. Consider it a steemit post just for you! lol
Have a great day Haas.
@heyitshaas: Back in Amsterdam now, I haven't even been hear a full year and the house prices went up like 20% its getting more expensive to live here but harder to earn more therefore the group of people that barely get by is getting bigger. Respect your decision to live another way.
@World-Travel-Pro: Thanks Haas. I remember living in the states, I was working around the clock and it was a constant financial struggle with endless bills, I was miserable and stressed out, just when you start to get ahead, you get hit with a $1,000 + car repair, medical expense, or home repair. When I was back in the states a few months ago, I saw nothing has changed or it's gotten worse for anyone middle class or less which is like 95% of everyone. I plan on turning our conversation into a post soon.
I think it should be seen by more people who feel trapped in a "bad deal" as the "only deal". Which I'm living proof is not the case.
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