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-   -   Cheap country to wind away a year in. (https://britishexpats.com/forum/europe-55/cheap-country-wind-away-year-722282/)

uk_vette Jun 24th 2011 3:24 pm

Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 
Hello all,

I am after a bit of advice on European counties.
So no better place to ask than here.

I am thinking about taking a 1 year vacation, just to do nothing.
Lie in bed until I want to,
Go to bed when I want to,
Make BBQ all day long with a cool beer or 3
Go lie in the sun outside if I feel like
Live on some savings, , , ,

You get the general idea.?
Which country in Europe or EEA would offer value for my hard earned UKP.?
If I could get a beach close by, then thats even better, but thats pushing my luck.
I really just feel like being a lay about, and just do what I please for 1 year.

Some have said, Bulgaria, some have said other countries, east of Germany,
So where will it be.
I know it won't be any of the Scandinavian countries, as they are predominently expensive, and rather lacking in sun shine.

please give me your suggestions of which country, and why?
May be a 1 bedroom apartment, out of town, by a beach, by a lake? or any where.
I don't need any suggestions to get back to work, I will be just look after myself.

'Vette

Azarel Jun 25th 2011 5:38 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 
You could try Romania:

-Plenty of sun; hot and sunny from May till Sept. Winter is a bit chilly though.
-Beaches (not spectacular ones, but they're there if you fancy a weekend lying on them).
-Lots of English speakers.
-Language easier to pick up than others in the area (eg Bulgarian, Hungarian, etc) as it's a Latin-based language.
-Cheap beer (by European standards, a 50cl bottle is about 50p in the supermarkets, about a £1-£1.50 in bars.
-Romanians are into BBQs in a big way. Make a few local friends and you'll be invited to BBQs most weekends during the long summer
-Cost of living is low - my monthly bills (gas, leccy, water, phone, travelcard, council tax, etc) come to about £100 in total (not including food and rent).
-Don't know where you'd want to be based, but you can get a cheap 1-bed flat in Bucharest for about £250pm. Probably the same in Brasov (in the mountains) and Constanta (by the sea). Smaller towns would be cheaper.
-Lots of cheap places to eat.
-Great countryside, mountains, skiing, hiking, or just generally dossing around.
-Low crime
-As a UK citizen you don't need any permits to live here.
-If you're a single guy the dating scene is good.

the troubadour Jun 25th 2011 5:56 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 
Whatever happened to the gentle art of dossing? Should do a post on it. So refreshing some one wanting to do nothing and especially not to be obsessed in the making of money.
More power to you. Perhaps there isn't as much choice these days as 25 to 30 years before,but then you have East Europe open to you,although prices would appear not to be very cheap there now either.

Cannot tell you from experience but a friend returned from Romania,last year,speaking very highly of many aspects of it,with cheapness being one big observation.

Moldovia is another,but that is amost a provence of Romania anyway.

Besides as mentioned Bulgaria,unsure if there are really any countries that could be considered cheap.

Ray51 Jun 25th 2011 8:10 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 
Very interesting , I'll be watching for other replies on this thread .
Since the introduction of the Euro , many places which used to be reasonable , went incredibly expensive .
I remember well , some 5-6 years ago , on Costa Brava a bunch of Belgians telling me that they're not coming there again , too expensive .
A colleague tells me that decent new car in Portugal ( where he lives ) is 25% over BeNeLux price .
Croatia used to be quite reasonable , for what you could have ; the preferred currency was Deutschmarks and anything of importance was quoted/priced in them ; after the arrival of the Euro , there were months of chaos first ; once the dust settled , everything was re-priced so that what used to cost 1 mark now cost 1 Euro , from real estate to cars and what else have you ( although the Euro was launched at 1 Mark 96 , ergo : overnight many prices just doubled ) . Similar events happenned in neighbouring Slovenia and Italy .
Anyway , I'm told that Morocco is still reasonable ( in places , excl. Marrakesh ) and so is Turkey ; also South Africa ( except Cape Town ) , but maybe you still value your life and a few belongings ?

the troubadour Jun 26th 2011 8:35 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 

Originally Posted by Ray51 (Post 9455942)
Very interesting , I'll be watching for other replies on this thread .
Since the introduction of the Euro , many places which used to be reasonable , went incredibly expensive .
I remember well , some 5-6 years ago , on Costa Brava a bunch of Belgians telling me that they're not coming there again , too expensive .
A colleague tells me that decent new car in Portugal ( where he lives ) is 25% over BeNeLux price .
Croatia used to be quite reasonable , for what you could have ; the preferred currency was Deutschmarks and anything of importance was quoted/priced in them ; after the arrival of the Euro , there were months of chaos first ; once the dust settled , everything was re-priced so that what used to cost 1 mark now cost 1 Euro , from real estate to cars and what else have you ( although the Euro was launched at 1 Mark 96 , ergo : overnight many prices just doubled ) . Similar events happenned in neighbouring Slovenia and Italy .
Anyway , I'm told that Morocco is still reasonable ( in places , excl. Marrakesh ) and so is Turkey ; also South Africa ( except Cape Town ) , but maybe you still value your life and a few belongings ?

Indeed I can recall a time when Portugal and Greece where very cheap and one could live many months on the islands with little money.
The Euro did indeed raise the price considerably in all participating countries,which in turn I feel nullified the benefits such as open borders,speaking of course as someone coming from the North. I do appreciate than someone from the South may or may not take a different view.

Possibly South East Asia is one of the few places still left to doss out as travellers or to find a place to hang out cheaply for a longer term.
Cambodia comes to mind as does Thailand. India probably still possible and Sri Lanka.
Morocco as you mention was so cheap a couple of decades back but don't hear it mentioned much anymore.

But few places in Europe I suspect are left that it would be possible to live so cheaply,outside what was mentioned.

uk_vette Jun 26th 2011 1:46 pm

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 

Originally Posted by the troubadour (Post 9457648)
Indeed I can recall a time when Portugal and Greece where very cheap and one could live many months on the islands with little money.
The Euro did indeed raise the price considerably in all participating countries,which in turn I feel nullified the benefits such as open borders,speaking of course as someone coming from the North. I do appreciate than someone from the South may or may not take a different view.

Possibly South East Asia is one of the few places still left to doss out as travellers or to find a place to hang out cheaply for a longer term.
Cambodia comes to mind as does Thailand. India probably still possible and Sri Lanka.
Morocco as you mention was so cheap a couple of decades back but don't hear it mentioned much anymore.

But few places in Europe I suspect are left that it would be possible to live so cheaply,outside what was mentioned.

.
.
.
Needs to be Europe or EEA.

I am thinking Romania or Bulgaria ?
Some one said food is a problem to get in Bulgaria, don't know if it's true, ?
Vette (OP)

the troubadour Jun 26th 2011 3:13 pm

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 

Originally Posted by uk_vette (Post 9458069)
.
.
.
Needs to be Europe or EEA.

I am thinking Romania or Bulgaria ?
Some one said food is a problem to get in Bulgaria, don't know if it's true, ?
Vette (OP)

In that case i'd go for Romania firstly.

Ray51 Jun 30th 2011 9:20 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 
Hungary ?
Not in Eurozone and the currency is weak ; just avoid Budapest , except for an occassional outing .
But , depending on your actual budget , if poss. , I'd choose Slovenia over and above all others mentioned , anytime ( and there's a colony of Brits living in nothern parts there ) .

rozellem Jun 30th 2011 10:24 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 

Originally Posted by uk_vette (Post 9458069)
.

Some one said food is a problem to get in Bulgaria, don't know if it's true, ?
Vette (OP)

Wont be a huge problem to get, its just that its crap food, meaty/oily etc. God forbid you should be a veggie. Honestly like going back to the 70's. And everybody smokes, everywhere.

I would rent a little house on the coast somewhere in Turkey, or seeing that Greece is in a tight spot, you might get a great deal renting someones house on a island. Or Southern Italy or Sicily. As long as you stay away from the touristy spots, your money will go a long way.

Either way, I am jealous of you!:wub:

Ray51 Jun 30th 2011 7:42 pm

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 
have you considered Montenegro ? ( they call it Crna Gora )
A small , odd , pictoresque country by the Adriatic and quite a few Brits living there already ;
Richard Burton and Liz Taylor once got married there at Sveti Stefan , I think ;
I'm not advocating the place and I have no idea about CoL though , although I am told , that at least , you get away with all the tax implications , as it is not anywhere near EU membership , for many a year yet .
I'm told the food , basic as it is , is all natural and O.K.
Then there are other things , you might like to consider , like doctors , services , who knows...

uk_vette Jul 1st 2011 2:11 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 

Originally Posted by rozellem (Post 9466682)
Wont be a huge problem to get, its just that its crap food, meaty/oily etc. God forbid you should be a veggie. Honestly like going back to the 70's. And everybody smokes, everywhere.

I would rent a little house on the coast somewhere in Turkey, or seeing that Greece is in a tight spot, you might get a great deal renting someones house on a island. Or Southern Italy or Sicily. As long as you stay away from the touristy spots, your money will go a long way.

Either way, I am jealous of you!:wub:

.
Good idea, but Turkey is not in EU or EEA or Europe

Sorry.

V.

uk_vette Jul 1st 2011 2:14 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 

Originally Posted by Ray51 (Post 9467671)
have you considered Montenegro ? ( they call it Crna Gora )
A small , odd , pictoresque country by the Adriatic and quite a few Brits living there already ;
Richard Burton and Liz Taylor once got married there at Sveti Stefan , I think ;
I'm not advocating the place and I have no idea about CoL though , although I am told , that at least , you get away with all the tax implications , as it is not anywhere near EU membership , for many a year yet .
I'm told the food , basic as it is , is all natural and O.K.
Then there are other things , you might like to consider , like doctors , services , who knows...

Sounds a nce place, but it really needs to be in EEA Europe.
One of the Greek islands sounds good.
Might be able to pick up a 1 year rental for not too much money.
I have no plans to work in that year, just "doss" and "Time out"

V.

Rural Hungary Jul 5th 2011 9:56 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 
Hi, Hungary is quite inexpensive if you do not buy UK brand name foods items. Eating out is fairly cheap with many restaurants offering 2/3 course menus from 600 ft (about £2). Bottle of decent wine starts from around 500ft .
There is lake Balaton which is rather touristy in parts but to the West of there, close to the Slovenian border, there are many smaller lakes and spa resorts. Weather is great during the summer though winters are cold but short and it's not a damp cold as in the UK.

bronty Jul 10th 2011 9:14 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 
Have spent a few months in most of the european countries, and have thought about what you have in mind. From experience:
Left Italy because it was too expensive and they just never stopped talking, day and night they just never shut up, and loud, and have no respect for privacy.
Left France because believe it or not the the migrant communities are growing in numbers, regardless what anyone says, and I was getting scared to go out at night.
Liked the Netherlands but started to get home sick for mountains, in fact any little hill, got in the car and drove until I ended up in a place called Konigswinter in Germany. Beautiful, spent a lot of time just crossing the Rhein on the ferry/comp. Beautiful country and cheap to hang out, though no-one has the Brit humour. Austria was beautiful but couldn't afford anything nice.
My favourite place was Switzerland. Couldn't afford a lot of things, but found that if you don't have to eat in restaurants it was the cheapest place to stay (campsite from April till September) and off then villages in the boonies for room, just make sure it has a railway station.
Best bet is probably stick to a euro country, and if you pack up and move on, no worries with exchange etc. Don't select a place for a whole year, be flexible!
Like to know what you decide and how you get on. Good luck.

Ray51 Jul 10th 2011 9:43 am

Re: Cheap country to wind away a year in.
 
Try Slovenia ; maybe not the cheapest of all but can be very nice IMHO !


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