Spain 🇪🇸 it’s magical there but it was a little boring and empty in off season. Also that siesta time is really hard to get used to. As an early bird it is such a struggle with the late nights and then empty/closed shops in the afternoon. But it’s still a pleasure to visit each time. Once my visa ends here I’ll be in Southeast Asia for a while so I’m planning for that while working full time and trying to learn business skills.
My brain is completely fried and overstimulated. I have to start disconnecting and doing nothing to reset it or find any activity that requires zero thought and zero information consumption. Full time travel planner, first time business owner, full time case manager associate, and trying to have a social life 😵. That’s hectic.
Living in Southeast Asia is a great opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs and remote workers. This is my next plan with an indefinite timeline but likely will go until May 2025. The cost of living is much lower and safety is higher than the us. Access to affordable healthcare and very low chance of getting shot.
Australia is safe and comfortable and I’m doing well by not eating out (the food isn’t good here anyway), skipping alcohol/sugar, and riding my bike 3x a week to commute with work from home Thursday and Friday. My phone/internet is just $15 ($10usd) a month now due to a promotion I found.
Health insurance is $126 ($100ish usd) and includes doctors, scans, and blood tests. Also includes specialists but most you have to pay extra (like a co-pay). Hospital is covered after $500 deductible. The ambulance is free for everyone but that makes it really difficult to get help because people call for anything.
Mental health/therapy/nutrition advising is all free through my work which is a huge benefit that I only just discovered. Plenty of groceries can be found at very low prices if you buy and cook that day and then freeze as meal preps.
My gym weekly membership which includes Pilates and other classes + sauna + 24 hour access and multiple gyms within 10 mins walk is $16 a week (was $24 but I got it back down to the lower price through bargaining).
Life is good here but expensive unless you can find all these shortcuts to cut bills. Fuel is so expensive 🥴 but the trains and buses and my bike are efficient within the city and the train route is short and direct from my house to Gold Coast. Just one stop to change trains.
Car registration costs $800 a year which is craaazy to me. Also we don’t need much electricity because the weather is good 90% of the time in Brisbane and most people hang their clothes on a line outside. Electricity is quite expensive here and the sun dries clothes really quickly. I wrote this article as a Facebook post but it does have some useful information to share for those wondering about the cost of living long term in Australia and how to reduce the costs.