My goal is to find place abroad to live. Obviously, the first priority is to find city where I would love to live in. I love travelling and new experiences, but it can get tiring. Constantly moving is fun at the beginning, but I would like a place to spend at least a few months a year. Where I can have a routine, rather than constantly stuffing my face with food because I am only going to be there for a few days/weeks (for my other YT channel).

I don’t enjoy carrying clothing for Summer and Winter because I don’t know where I will end up during my travels. Having a place that is central to the areas that I tend to travel to would be ideal. And for me, it doesn’t have to be huge. Whatever, I end up buying, I plan to remodel to meet my needs. Actually, I have very few needs. Fast internet, a decent gym, a place to sit to work on my laptop, and a real bed. I hate sofa beds. And where I can continue to work on learning Russian.

Sure, I could rent it to generate some cashflow while I am traveling but that is not my main focus.

BUT, the primary reason is this. If you own a place, you have your biggest expense locked down. Depending where you buy, your costs of ownership will not be very high. Things like internet, etc. are nothing compared to costs in the West. So no matter what, your housing cost is fixed. Some will say they would just move to continue to pay the same amount in rent. But that could mean possibly moving to a worse location or to a smaller place.  Rent is the also one thing that can be changed quickly. Sure, if you have a lease but once the lease is up, the landlord can charge whatever. For example, in Georgia last year (2022), I was here when the border was flooded with Russians the rents surged. I have heard things have calmed down some. But still, I don’t want to be subject to changes like that.

As a side note, I don’t plan on buying on the top floor of building because I don’t want to deal with roof leaks. Or the first floor in case of flooding. 

Some may say other costs can also change quickly, well yes and no. If you are earning in Dollars or Euros I think these currencies will hold up alright against others. So if the country you are living in is hit by massive inflation or currency devaluation you will be ok if you are holding/earning either of those currencies. I may be completely wrong about this, but  your currency will adjust and maintain its strong buying power. And generally, food costs and other expenses are always less than your rent/housing costs. So I feel strongly that if you can control for your biggest expense, you will have a stable situation. If you are able to own a place and generate $1k/month in passive income then life is pretty easy in like 90 percent of the world. I am generalizing, but hopefully you get the point.

Finally, for now, there are places though where the cost of owning vs renting are just out of whack. Where it doesn’t make sense to buy. So you need to adjust accordingly. Places like Thailand seem to have very bad purchase vs rent