COST OF LIVING in LAOS | 2024 FULL Breakdown After ONE YEAR in LAOS!

Join me as I Walk Through a Full Breakdown of our Cost to Live in Laos, after 1 year as an American Expat!
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At the beginning of 2023, my wife and I decided to leave America, and move to SE Asia, making Laos our home base.
My name is Javier, and my wife is Fon.
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[@retire_recharge_roam]

Thanks for Watching! Please Like, Comment, and Subscribe to support the channel.

[@ziaali5264]

So $1000 usd is enough ? To live in a studio for single person like myself?

[@retire_recharge_roam]

You can definitely survive on $1000 USD per month, but all depends on your personal situation. You can spend much more than that based on available choices for food, accommodations, etc. I’d also recommend making sure you have enough personal savings to cover 1-time costs and emergency situations. All this is our opinion, so I’d recommend taking an exploratory trip for yourself before making any decisions.

[@ziaali5264]

@retire_recharge_roam thank you for the reply ... I am coming in the winter to there visiting east Asia. By the way I don't drink, smoke, I am realy a minimalist . I am getting tired from the cold of canada .. got my pension .. will see. Thx again

[@LaoSoftware]

Good morning , Javier. Why did you choose to move to Laos? I plan to buy a house or build my house in Laos. It will be a homestead. I will grow my food and raise chickens before I retire in 2042.

[@retire_recharge_roam]

Great question! My wife is originally from Laos. After spending ~20yrs together in the US, we decided to retire and move to be closer to her family and live a slower pace of life. It sounds like you have a solid plan for your retirement!

[@Joe-kq1sg]

Happy Lao new year to you. You spent about $700 at home and outside a month on food, you’re eating good compared to the locals who average income probably about $200

[@retire_recharge_roam]

Hi Joe - You’re right. Our cost for food is higher than the average Lao local. It’s a shared cost for the family on the farm. I’d like to get to where we’re more self sufficient on the farm…still some work to do there! Thanks for the comment.

[@Hangover-ry9bo]

@@retire_recharge_roam How big is the family on the farm?

[@retire_recharge_roam]

Myself, my wife, her sister and brother-in-law, and her sister’s grandson (our grand-nephew)...so four and a half. It takes a village!

[@OppoA-kj7us]

OK. You've got loas wife.

[@retire_recharge_roam]

👍

[@LuvLaolife]

This is good information. Thank you for sharing and Happy Lao New Year!

[@retire_recharge_roam]

🙏 Happy Lao New Year!

[@winnerwinnerchickendinner8809]

Looks like the bulk of the costs I thought it would be energy consumption and any western standard items that needed to be imported in

[@retire_recharge_roam]

Electricity in Lao is one of the lowest rates compared to surrounding countries. It will still get expensive, though, if you run A/C all day! Imported western items will be high cost due to import tax, so sticking to local items is more cost effective. Thanks for sharing your comment!

[@vientianetv7384]

Electricity tariffs in Laos are among the lowest in the world because Laos is an ASEAN battery.... Laos' main export is electricity

[@retire_recharge_roam]

Ahh, yes. That makes sense. Thank you for that info!

[@vientianetv7384]

@@retire_recharge_roam The government of Laos gives a privilege to the population who switch to electric cars, since Laos imports very expensive fuels abroad... and Laos exports electricity...

[@retire_recharge_roam]

There are some great EV offerings in Laos. Good to know there’s a government incentive for EV’s. We did a video on EV’s not too long ago: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGSyqWtmmdt4ppYsi=8ERI8vT1D1vpF5wu

[@BadMedizin]

Love the store footage, nice touch! 👍

[@retire_recharge_roam]

🙏 🙏

[@RomeoUrsu-fy9qo]

I know plenty countries in Europe to live pretty good for $1800 per month…and I can even buy an older property and have a nice acreage of my own land with very fertile soil….and I can make my own stuff including alcohol for a super low cost.

[@retire_recharge_roam]

We’ve heard there are some great places in Europe. Thanks for sharing!

[@somchaypsp]

Thank you for your information… wishing you a best luck in Laos 🇱🇦

[@retire_recharge_roam]

🙏

[@bailey07071]

I thought you can't buy any land in Laos if you're not a citizen of Laos. unless you're buying it under a family member.

[@retire_recharge_roam]

You’re right! As a foreigner, I don’t own any land. There are land use right agreements and multi year lease options for condos, similar to Thailand. We live with Fon’s family, who are Lao. Check out this video for more background on our farm: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqLKl2Z-otJlaNksi=-osfYXJtGpZ4KNw2

[@havechopstickswilltravel2990]

Would you consider solar for your farm?

[@retire_recharge_roam]

Solar would be a fantastic addition. Either way (solar or electrical high voltage hard-line), we anticipate needing to invest in either the solar array install or bringing the concrete poles and cable for the high voltage. You bring up a good point!

[@Hangover-ry9bo]

@@retire_recharge_roam I have been told by a retired Mekong river commission officer that Loa has very good and realibale power supply. With the hydropowerplant they even export electicity. Is the power realy that reliable or are there outages?

[@retire_recharge_roam]

This time of year with temps exceeding 40C, it’s common to have brief power outages. Not sure whether they are planned “rolling” outages or a result of exceeding the capacity of the grid. For sure, there is a lot of power being exported via hydro power, but the local infrastructure is currently undergoing upgrading. To be fair, we’ve seen outages in the States during extreme heatwaves…so I wouldn’t consider what we see in Lao as any different.

[@lymswan]

WHAT LOCATION IN YOUR RESIDENT ? DO YOU HAVE BAD POLLUTION ? I HEAR THAT IN LAO THEY HAVE A LOT OF COAL MINE.

[@retire_recharge_roam]

Our farm is about 45km outside of the capital, Vientiane. I don’t know about coal…I think most of the energy production within the country is hydroelectric (dams), but there are mineral mines throughout the country. During the burning season, Laos experiences similar air quality issues as other SE Asian countries. Check out this video for more info: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpWnp52jepZ-h9ksi=_U71q9DSxvmv0dF8

[@lymswan]

@@retire_recharge_roam THAT WAS EVERYBODY SAID ON BURNING SEASON. BUT IN THAILAND WE STOP BURNING WITH THE BIG FINE. BUT, STILL MORE POLLUTION OUT OF CONTROL. IF, YOU LOOK AT GOOGLE COAL MINE. VIENTIANE HAVE TWO OF THEM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH STAY SAVE

[@DudeAdid-sn8yp]

Well done 👍🍷

[@retire_recharge_roam]

🙏 🙏 Cheers!

[@mangostickyrice555]

Thumbs up 👍 Javier…. Happy Pi Mai, I see that you hadn’t included housing, what would that run?

[@retire_recharge_roam]

We’ve seen costs for a furnished apartment run from $200 for a studio, to $1000 for a 3-bedroom. Check out this video for an example of a mid-priced apartment: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5vFo3inqdeEidksi=KDuy3fq8x-bAmfG5

[@SV-du2pf]

Great information and very informative. $1800 for all expenses and living comfortably is still cheap comparing to the western countries. My monthly expenses here in Toronto, Canada is around $4500, I wish it was $1800 😊

[@retire_recharge_roam]

Thanks for sharing! Glad it was helpful!