Cheap/Affordable Places to Relocate to?

We can all see the rate that cost of of living is rising at a ridiculous rate. I'm really concerned about this and fear one day I will not be able to get by – I’m sure many of you would have a similar feeling. It’s a life I’m not sure I want to be part of so where do you guys think would be some good affordable places to move to could be?

Thanks

Comments

  • Sea Lake in Victoria

    You can still buy a house there for less than $100k.

    Years ago when the first home buyers grant came in you could snap up a property almost for free. The good old days.

    The only negative is that it's unlikely you will find employment (unless you WFH) and there is stuff all to do there.

  • +3

    Far too open-ended a question without any context or parameters. What budget, constraints, work, state, desires, needs etc…

  • +6

    good affordable places to move to could be?

    With your parents?

  • Turkey and India are cheap places to live in.

  • +1

    A shoe box (but in a nice area near shops).

  • +1

    Plenty of good paying jobs if you actually have any skills to offer, why not just work on improving yourself first and worry about relocation later if it comes to that?

  • +3

    Thailand or Vietnam would be pretty good I think.

    • I always imagined a life in a village near a rice field. Very lush and green setting, plenty of fresh air to breath. Sell up in AU, get a rice farm there, treat the locals well with respect and pay good wage rates… then enjoy the community life.

  • +2

    Cambodia or Laos are really cheap if you’re after trimming costs. Eastern Indonesia, like Flores, West Timor and the Maluku Provinces are also very affordable. But you have to give up a lot to live in all those places.

    • +1

      call me a pantsy party pooper but i feel it's a bit of false economy living in places with lower standard healthcare systems and higher levels of crime. i don't mind the odd holiday/backpacking trip but especially as you get older when your cumulative risk of heart attack/stroke/hit and run/stabbing increases you want to be somewhere where an ambo is going to get to you within 15min and have world class health care (which rules out sydney and melbourne at the moment)

      • i didn't realise getting stabbed was linked to age

        • no but the longer you live the more chances of getting stabbed, or get involved in any accidents

  • +2

    Coober Pedy if you don't mind dodging the mine shafts or Port Pirie if you excuse the smelter.

    There's always cheap places. Whether people are willing to actually move there is another thing

  • -1

    National park. Buy a cheap tent from kmart.

    "How long is a piece of string?"

  • +1

    Kyiv.

    • Chicken there is good.

  • One of the islands off Thailand - you can live on the cost of an oily rag, have a great climate, and a few other necessities of life thrown in for a very low (comparatively speaking) cost.

    • +1

      At the moment the cost of oil on that oily rag is getting up there.

  • +2

    We used to live in a box on side of road.

    • +2

      LUXURY!!!

  • +1

    Woop Woop.

    You get to choose which state.

    But seriously, compared to what?

    For some people in Sydney, moving to another suburb in Sydney will be a more than comfortable answer. Then again, you might need to talk about (as examples), Wollongong/Central Coast, Brisbane/Adelaide, a regional area such as Bathurst/Wagga Wagga.

    Whether or not those options are viable for you from a work, family, friends, lifestyle, etc. perspective also need consideration.

    • Woop Woop.

      Dats da sound of da poleece

  • +3

    I truly don’t understand the fear in the forums about inflation.
    Welfare is linked to CPI, the aged pension is linked to wages.
    Self funded retirees have substantial resources that have just been through the most absurd bull run imaginable.
    Workers get paid regularly, and will see wages grow if inflation continues.
    Interest on debts will rise, but the real world value of the borrowed amounts will fall. When I was earning $30k and a house was $200k in Sydney it looked like a lot to get a mortgage, yet not many years later I was earning double that, and a $200k mortgage looked manageable (of course, but then houses had risen, but that original mortgage was still $200k less a little in repayments)

    I agree it is annoying to see your favourite brand raise their price, but that means you have to select a lower cost alternative . That is how competition moderates inflation.
    If you are worried about asset price inflation making housing unaffordable, well, you are about 30 years too late in Australia.

    That said, I absolutely agree renting out the house in Sydney and living well in Bali or similar for a time when you retire is a great option. Might as well benefit from the extortionate housing costs.

    If we have 10 years of moderate inflation that grows wages while real estate stays flat, Australia as a country will be much better off.

    • +2

      Agreed with the last sentiments.
      We need to make property ownership more affordable and appealing to people born in 1990 or younger. And we can do so with some smart policies, none of which appeals to the rich 50-year-olds that work in parliament. The best we could hope for is a decade/10 years where house prices start falling and stalling, whilst wages grow moderately. That will cool the pot. But the pessimist in me doesn't see it.

      People doing remote work, or those in retirement, should absolutely weigh their options of being an ex-pat. By living somewhere like Bali, Thailand, Philippines, etc etc, whilst getting paid in AUD currency (rent/work/both).

      PS: I've heard Slovenia is just lovely.

      • There is plenty of Spain, Portugal and Italy that would also cost half what living in an Australian capital city costs.

        It's hardly a case of Sydney or the third world!

        • +2

          Um, have you been to some of these places? I have, and unless you have decent money, you'll get 2nd world quality housing.

          • @Mechz: Yes. And I can look at real estate online too.
            An average apartment in Sydney is about $500 a week. An apartment in Naples for 800€ a month, about half the cost, is not much different in quality.

            • +2

              @mskeggs: Your experience might be different to mine but I have never seen real estate pics online match what you see in person, ever.

    • while real estate stays flat

      Only possible if the government can increase supply exponentially.
      They need to bootstrap new city centres in strategic locations with great infrastructure: public transport, schools, shopping centres, parks, airports, harbour, etc.
      Maybe also push for more high rise and density and perhaps some mega structures.
      And why does most small towns and cities stay small for decades?

  • West of Albury looks okay. Corowa, Howlong, Rutherglen somewhere like this.

    30-40min to Albury and about 3 hours to Melbourne airport.

    Decent-ish houses for 400K

  • Where are you planning to work if you move to the middle of nowhere? If you WFH you'll need a good internet connection.

    • you'd be surprise to find most house in regional town has FTTP, unlike a mix of barely usable copper and coax in major metropolitans. But to be fair, it won't reach out that long a few km out of those town where you might end up with satellite.

      • Fixed wireless regional area user here. It's bloody awesome.

    • starlink?

  • A lot of country towns in SA have houses under 100k, if dont mind a 70-90min drive to work

    North of Adelaide, beyond Two Well has a lot of cheap houses and small towns.

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