Hey there, I’ve been living abroad for ~15 years and am offering accurate, detailed information, advice and encouragement to those interested in traveling, which is a very attainable and comfortable lifestyle. I like talking about this stuff and have plenty of free time.
tldr is get a passport, secure $500 USD in monthly income, buy a plane ticket.
Take it from there without financial or societal pressure; get access to better healthcare, great food, world wonders and innumerable other benefits.
Please ask me any questions(visas, jobs, health care) in the comments, messages, or in the travel community.
Have a good one!
How many of these countries are safe for queer people?
Considering how many comfortable queer travelers I’ve known, everywhere I’ve been across the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe(~30 countries) is safe for queer travelers.
Everywhere I’ve been has queer culture, and importantly everywhere I’ve been has comfortable queer travelers, even in conservative countries like China and Morocco.
I won’t speak to the countries i haven’t been to, and many online “safe” lists I’ve looked at when asked similar questions are impractical and focused on i-heard-onces and legal technicalities to create content rather than provide useful information.
Queer culture is more of a fact of life and history in most countries than in the US; queerness in general isn’t as spotlighted or othered from holistic culture.
As for participation, everywhere has countless groups, forums and message boards to connect with people you’re looking for.
In forestry I knew a bunch of people who worked contracts over the summer and spent the other six months in Costa Rica. They got all their dental work and eyecare done there as well, claimed it cost about $400/month to live comfortably.
What countries within this budget have you seen that would be easiest for an American to integrate into?
tldr: Easiest is Thailand. Second easiest are the rest of SEA and CASA, nowhere is particularly difficult.
Integration depends much more heavily on motivation, interests and personality than nationality. With an open mind and basic tolerance/respect, you’ll integrate anywhere I’ve been within these budgets, and I say that because I’ve seen every nationality integrated everywhere I’ve been.
Wherever you choose, there are locals and expat groups who’ll help you integrate. You can learn and explore, which I like to do, or as I also like to do, you can sit inside, watch TV or play games, and go out for the great food when you’re hungry.
If your budget is $500 a month, all of Southeast Asia(SEA) and Central/South America(CASA) are pretty good bets.
Thailand is probably still number one in terms of convenience/modernity/friendliness, with great food, very affordable housing, super friendly people, health care rated higher than the US, easy to order everything online including high electronics. There’s really no point against it except maybe the heat, but everywhere has AC and with 40 million travelers in Thailand a year, the heat is not rough enough to keep people away from its countless advantages.
Spanish is easier to learn, so Peru, Panama, Colombia are also great candidates that are cheaper to travel to for US Americans at the outset.
Really, interests and personality are huge here. Tell me climate, budget, hobbies and it’ll be easier to recommend a country to begin traveling in. It’s often easier for US Americans to tell me what they want to escape: financial instability, debt, healthcare costs, gun violence.
What are you looking for?
Guess I can’t eat 🤷
Why not?
Are you in the US? I hear grocery prices there are crazy.
If it’s a dental thing, health care abroad is advanced and affordable.
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$500 a month covers your cost of living(rent, utilitiies, data/wifi, groceries) and also your transportation costs depending on your habits.
