Wednesday, November 27, 2013

25 of the Cheapest Places to Live in the World

Recently I came across this review on 'Top Lists' of the 25 Cheapest Places to Live in the World. It's always interesting to discover how cheap one can really live but it also makes one think - at what cost? Some of these places would be wonderful, I'm sure. Friendly people and beautiful locales but many also come with the price tag of high crime, corruption and weather that is, shall we say, not so great!

Have a watch and leave your comments below - which places would you consider? Which do you think are a complete joke, i.e. In your wildest most desperate times you wouldn't even consider them. Of course if you have first hand knowledge of any of these places then fill us in. Let us know the real story.

Early Retirement Tips To Follow

In this guest post by By Byron Jonas you'll learn some simple and easy tips for planning an early retirement. Sometimes work is the thing that is keeping you at a high cost of living. Have you ever thought about that? How much would you be spending on clothes, restaurants, heating or air conditioning if you were living on a beach in the tropics? In a place where all you need is a light shirt and pair of shorts? Where gentle trade winds keep you cool during the day and warm at night? You may be surprised to discover the Cheapest Places to Live could very well be the places you have been dreaming about!


When you talk about early retirement, many people do not think it is within their grasp. The truth is anyone can do it if they follow some proven methods to get there. A lot of the time people fail to follow some simple steps and they cannot quit working like they would. In this article, we have some hints and tips to help you reach your goals.

We are taught at a very early age to save money, but the truth is we never do. If you plan to retire early, than start putting away money as soon as possible. The more that you can put away the quicker you can reach your goals. Remember, it will take some time, but you can do it with a little work.





Forget trying to keep up with your neighbours or your family. Just because the neighbours buy a new vehicle, it does not mean you have too. It is great that neighbours and family are buying things, but you need to stay the course if you will ever reach the goal you have for yourself. Keeping up with others will just distract you from the goals you have set for yourself.

Use tax breaks to your advantage as well. Many times, you can get a break by opening certain savings or interest bearing accounts. Try to use these to your advantage when they become available. It does not happen all the time, so you will have to look for it.

Diversify the investments that you have right now. A good rule of thumb is not to risk everything on one endeavor. This way if something starts to falter for you, there will be other places that you can turn. Making sure you diversify is very important for long-term growth.

Any added cash that you get or earn should be put into the bank. This way you will not try to spend it and it can help you reach your goal much faster. It will also draw interest as well making you even more money.

When it comes to early retirement, the following tips above will get you off to a very good start. One of the keys is you must stay consistent in this process. Many times, we start off well, but over time we slow down. You must stay consistent if you want to reach your goals.




About the Author: Discover more from Byron and get the low down on early retirement tips and advice now in his comprehensive guide for Auzzies at http://glenvalesupportedliving.com.au/

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Places (Cities) with the Highest Income Inequality

During my morning read and review for cheap places to live I came across this slide show on the Huffington Post. Although this doesn't point directly to cheap places to live this list may give you some places to avoid if you count yourself in the 99% vs the 1%.

Cities with the Highest Inequality in the United States

10. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

9. Dallas, Texas

8. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

7. New York, New York

6. Athens-Clarke County, Georgia

5. Gainesville, Florida

4. Miami, Florida

3. Washington, DC

2. New Orleans Louisiana

1. Atlanta Georgia - the U.S. City with the highest income inequality.

Interesting to note that 8 of the 10 are in the south. What do you think? What does this say?


Source: Cities With The Highest Income Inequality http://huff.to/1ap2v07 via @HuffPostBiz



Wednesday, October 30, 2013

We're Back!

Well, if you been reading any of this blog you have noticed that we have been on hiatus for quite awhile. Our deepest apologies for leaving you without current information on Cheap Places to live for so long!

I'm not going to go into a long winded explanation and excuse but hope you can just forgive and forget and we can move on with our discussion.

A big thank you to the Cheapest Places readers, subscribers and visitors for leaving questions, comments and suggestions on our various 'older' posts. Seems like finding cheap places to live in Florida and California are still hot topics. But with all of the gridlock and total frustration with U.S. politics we're going to spend even more time researching cheap places to live abroad all over the world.

We're also digging deeper and looking further to find you free or at least cheap resources to help in your search. When you subscribe you'll get these free tips from time to time. We'll try and provide a good descriptive subject line. So, if you're not in the mood or not interested in that topic you can just delete it. Please don't mark it as Spam. That just hurst everyone who values the free info we send. If you're finding our information or e-mails aren't helpful, just unsubscribe. It's easy as we always place a link at the bottom of each e-mail. You can always come back to the blog and resubscribe at any time.

Live Cheap and Retire too

Sound like a fantasy? Maybe not. Can you scrap together $500 a month? If you're answer is yes you may be surprised to find that there are beautiful, safe exotic places that are ready to welcome you with open arms.

Please continue to be generous in your comments and suggestions. The Cheap Place community has turned out to be a great place to share cheap places you've visited or lived and the reasons you thought them great or not so much. 

So, thanks once again for being patient and sticking around. Get ready, get started let's Go... again!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Top Reasons For Visiting Other Countries

This guest post by By Paulette Short explores the reasons for considering places beyond your home boarders for a new place to live....


There are many reasons for visiting Panama and other countries. First of all, it is necessary for them to do this when they wish to experience different cultures. Venturing into other countries will let the person to open their eyes into how the different cultures around them are truly fascinating and interesting.

It is also a good thing that the person can easily experience a wide range of possibilities and resources. There are thousands of countries that one can go to for the sake of traveling. If the person can make the right choices, then it should be easy to enjoy their stay with their own experience for the destination's culture, adventure, and relaxation.

Growing as a person is actually possible with traveling. There may be things that the individual will want to get right now. However, there may be lots of changes to those desires once the person starts traveling. The person can get exposed to various cultures to learn more about what life is, what they are missing, and how to live it to the fullest.

It will definitely help the person have better social skills. This is because traveling the world means that this person will be constantly in contact with other people. They can be locals of the place where one is in or they can also be tourists. It might be difficult to do this initially but they will surely become good at talking to strangers over time.

Since they can talk to strangers now, it should be easy for them to make new friends. Remember that traveling the globe will allow the person to meet a lot of people, regardless of whether these people are interesting or dull. They should aim to establish lots of friendships in the place where they are planning to go to.

Aside from that, it is a good method for the traveler to meet people from every nationality. It might not be necessary for the traveler to go through with this but it can be a fun goal to aim for. If possible, the person should consider speaking to a person who came from a different nationality to make new friends.

It will be interesting to pay with different currencies as well. Remember that every country have their own currencies. The fun thing about it is that the person can handle dollars, pesos, rubles, euros, yens, and many other currencies. There are even different notes and coins that the person can easily take advantage of.

Being able to enjoy various climates is a nice thing as well. People living in the tropical country only get to enjoy to seasons. That is why they should try traveling to countries with four seasons so that they can experience winter as well. They will definitely be overwhelmed with their first time experiencing new seasons. They can enjoy various climates for their own good.

The person who are visiting Panama and any other countries does not need to have lots of things with them. They can even go traveling without their usual gadgets such as laptops and cameras. All they should pack are their clothes and money to be able to pay for their apartment rentals, traveling expenses, and basic necessities.


About Paulette:



Thursday, August 15, 2013

Retiring In Panama Has Many Advantages

Marla Mills takes us through the idea of living cheap on a pension...


The facets of pension might appear like a desire when surviving in a location with a top price of living. One thought is always to go on to a location that's more affordable. This will contain retiring in Panama. That is one place that's a pension haven for individuals round the world. But, there are always several items that persons will have to know before getting the following step.

There is a higher typical cost for basic items in the capital city than different regions in the nation. The range has expanded in worth throughout the years and now sets back the finances increasingly to purchase a home and normal things. This would not joke about this is not the best place for a modest place to live within this nation. An unobtrusive plan will be in a vicinity of 1,500 dollars to 2,000 for every month.

Several other places in the US could have a less expensive and a far more moderate budget. This is often about on average 1,000 per month. Yet another purpose to prevent the money town is the buying price of rents is more than different destinations. The price of book is one basis for raises in the price of residing for individuals in this area wherever they could retire.

The contrast in rent from the city to the rent for a waterfront property is several dollars. This will be a huge investment funds for individuals who need to point of confinement they are using every month. There is additionally the expense that should be incorporated for human services. These expenses will shift dependent upon the accessibility of specialists and if the range has a major medicinal office.

The cost of health care in the area will be half or more than the cost in the United States. However, this may not be the best reason to move to the area for retirement. Residency is also a factor that people are having to take into consideration. Delays in the issue of a travel visa can take weeks to months as there are backlogs and other problems.

Banking was after a major reason to retire in that country. But, measures have already been taken up to shore up many duty benefits lots of people after enjoyed. There's today a discussing deal in position which is intended to switch duty info on the wealth of residents. What this means is there's less basis for the location to be properly used as a duty dodge.

One of the finest benefits to be in this region all through pension could be the currency could be the US dollar. There's number danger of unsure what the trade charge will undoubtedly be from time to day. Persons can simply buy those items they want or the merchandise which are applied each day. Consuming at eateries can also be simple when income may be used.

The alternative to retiring in Panama depends upon inclination and needs. This will mean there are numerous elements that have to be recognized before settling on any sort of choice. Be that as it may, one viewpoint that ought not be disregarded is the hot and moist climate that stays for the duration of the year.




About the Marla:



Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The Cheapest Places to Retire in the U.S. for 2012

One of my closest friend's recently introduced me to a new book he discovered - the name speaks for itself, 'The Cheapest Places to Retire in the U.S. 2012 Edition'. The cool thing about this book is that a great deal of research went into it. So, it's not just another one of those subjective lists someone has put together to promote their particular community instead it's a fact based directory.

The author is Thomas Corley who is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Financial Planner.He runs a company called the Rich Habits Institute which is dedicated to helping people and organizations achieve financial freedom. He's accumulated literally thousands of hours of research into the many different locations around the United States that he found to be the cheapest places to live and retire. It's no lie to Tom has "crunched" a lot of numbers to come up with this list. In fact, he and his team have analyzed over 3,000 cities, towns and communities across the U.S. to come up with his Top 100 list. He looked at ten key relevant factors and then applied a proprietary scoring formula to each factor to determine which communities ranked highest as the best of the cheapest places to retire in the U.S.  The following factors were identified and used to create the directory:

Ten Key Retirement Factors -


  1. Lowest Housing Costs
  2. Lowest Property Tax 
  3. Lowest Sales Tax 
  4. Best Climate 
  5. Lowest Crime Rate 
  6. Lowest Income Tax 
  7. Closest to Major or Regional Metropolitan Areas 
  8. Closest to Hospitals 
  9. Closest to Airports 
  10. Closest to Beaches or Coastlines


If you look around on the Internet you'll see a lot of lists that claim to give you the top 10 or 100 but what sets this directory apart is the hard analytical data and the volume of work done to come up with an objective measure of 'cheap living'. Not only that but this list of the 100 cheapest places to retire is substantially different from the others based on the criteria that was used.

Now I keep referring to this as a list or directory but make no mistake it's not just a one page list of the top 100. Tom has gone a lot further to provide a full page of detailed analysis for each and every place on the list. You can get the highlights from his snap-shot 'The Good and The Bad' bullet points and you can dive in with detailed stats on the key retirement factors as well as a good narrative.

By now I hope you agree this sounds like a great resource to help you uncover a good place to retire on a limited budget.  But just to be sure we've worked with Tom to come up with a free 'Sneak Preview' of his book. This will give you a good idea of the content of the big book - how it is laid out and how valuable it could be to you if you are looking for that perfect spot to retire on a limited budget. To get the Free Mini-Book - just fill in the form below and we will send it directory to your e-mail box.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Living in California

Is California the Best Place to Live in the U.S.?

With its prime location nestled next to the Pacific Ocean coupled with mountain ranges all around and some pretty nice weather year round it is no surprise that many are living in Southern California. Since California joined the union people have exclaimed the virtues of California and called it the best place to live in the United States.

Living in Southern California

There are many benefits to the living in the southern half of this state. Job opportunities abound here. If you are in the Entertainment field, there are a wealth of studios and production companies to work for, but Southern California has job opportunities outside of the stereotypical 'movie business'. Yes, Southern Cal has a wide variety of professions to choose from - from accounting to advertising, to working with technology or opening your own business or restaurant, choices and opportunities abound abound.

Southern California is a hubbub of recreational activities. With the moderate temperature of the ocean water activities such as surfing, diving, and parasailing are at your fingertips. If you prefer grounded movement, there are bike trails and hiking trails all over the regions. If you like roller coasters and water parks, Southern California has several zoos, aquariums and theme parks to choose from.

Living in Northern California

Living in Northern California can be an amazing experience too, although it is significantly more expensive than it's southern counterpart. Like Southern California, Northern California has a range of job opportunities, including great advertising companies, educational positions and various technology fields. There are mountains to hike and some great city trekking to be done in cities like San Francisco. The weather is more moderate here, and the rainfall and fog are significant, but they go great with a nice cup of coffee from some outstanding coffee shops and restaurants up North. As an added bonus a trip to the woods and to the neighboring state of Oregon are not far away either.

The Cheapest Places to Live in California

Most people are surprised to learn that there are inexpensive places to live in California, but it's important to note that these places are often in hotter parts of the state.

The cheapest places to live in California include:

California City, with a population of about 15,000 it is located in Northern Antelope Valley and has affordable homes in the $200,000 range and low rents for apartments too.

Hesperia, California, which is a couple of hours from Orange county has a larger population of around 80,000 people and homes that are in the $200,000 to 300,000 range.

To the north of Los Angeles is Bakersfield, California with a growing population of 300,000 and affordable housing.

The most populated of these areas is Lancaster, California with over 500,000 people and lots of schools to accommodate this growing area.

The Best Place to Live in California?

There is some debate to where the best places to live in California are. Some automatically default to Los Angeles and San Francisco due to their popularity. San Diego's name has been emerging, for it is not as populated as the former cities and there are jobs, recreation and good food there too, for a little less on the pocket book. If the best place to live to you is where there is a low crime rate, then cities like Palos Verdes Estates or Saratoga, California may be what you are looking for although living in these spots does come with a higher price tag. Wherever you end up in this great state, I think you will love it.