I’ve Lived Abroad for a Decade: Visit These 7 Cheap Hidden Gem Countries

G. Brian Davis
·7 min read
annshine / Getty Images/iStockphoto
annshine / Getty Images/iStockphoto

I moved abroad nearly ten years ago. I spent four years living in Abu Dhabi (UAE), another four living in Brasilia (Brazil) and I’ve lived in Lima (Peru) for the last year and a half. In that time, I’ve visited dozens of countries, sometimes for a month at a time.

Broadly speaking, there are three regions in the world where you can find an outstanding quality of life at a relatively low cost of living: South America, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. There are other regions where you can find a low cost of living, but they don’t necessarily come with the same quality of life.

Explore More: 5 Google Flights Tricks To Help You Land the Cheapest Holiday Airfare

Check Out: How To Start Investing In Real Estate – Even If You’re Not Rich

Here are a few of my personal favorite countries that balance high quality of life with low cost. The cost of living for each nation, sourced from Numbeo, was included.

Happy trails!

Trending Now: Suze Orman's Secret to a Wealthy Retirement--Have You Made This Money Move?

Bulgaria

  • Cost of living: 45.2% lower than the U.S.

For our first international trip from Abu Dhabi, my wife and I tried Skyscanner’s “Everywhere” search feature. Bulgaria popped up as one of the cheapest flight results. I turned to my wife Katie and asked, “What’s in Bulgaria?”

A lot, as it turns out. We enjoyed some cheap spring skiing not far from Sofia, then continued on to the second largest city, Plovdiv. Around Plovdiv we visited a few wineries to sample the local wares, and fell in love with Bulgaria’s signature red grape, Mavrud. Then we went on to the former capital Veliko Tarnovo, dramatically placed on a mountainside with the ruins of the old castle fortress from the Second Bulgarian Empire.

We never made it to the seaside resort towns of the Black Sea, but you can certainly enjoy those, as well. And despite the scars from the Soviet era, such as the hideous tenement buildings, the historic city center of Sofia offers plenty of old world charm.

Trending Now: 6 US Cities Where You Can Still Enjoy a Luxury Vacation for Cheap

Romania

  • Cost of living: 47.1% lower than the U.S.

Quick, can you name the five romance languages of Europe? Most people can rattle off the first four instantly — and never guess that the fifth is Romanian.

Bulgaria’s northern neighbor Romania is perhaps best known for its sprawling forested mountains of Transylvania and its vampire lore. But it also enjoys a rich history to rival any country of Europe, outstanding wines (try the Fetească Regală or Băbească Neagră), and gorgeous hiking and skiing.

Hungary

  • Cost of living: 43% lower than the U.S.

I’ll just come out and say it: Budapest is my favorite city in Europe, all things considered.

The hilly Buda side of the city with its castle grounds overlooking the Danube offers a surprising contrast to the flat Pest side with its more Eastern European feel and beautiful plazas; which makes more sense once you learn the history of the Austrian Empire controlling the Buda side of the city, giving it a more Western European feel.

Budapest offers a rich international food scene and a fun “ruin bar” nightlife scene. Check out Szimpla Kert as a classic ruin bar, with its over-the-top kitsch and slightly grungy vibe.

Speaking of grunge, much of Eastern Europe feels perpetually encased in the amber of the early 1990s, which only adds to the appeal.

Oh, and for fellow oenophiles out there — Hungary produces excellent white wines. If you enjoy dessert wines, try a Hungarian Tokay (or Tokaji) the next time you visit a wine shop with a strong selection.

Argentina

  • Cost of living: 47.8% lower than the U.S.

Argentina has had a rough few years of inflation, measuring in the triple digits. But the country’s fiscal woes have made it an affordable destination for American tourists.

When we visited in 2022, businesses had taken to writing their prices on whiteboards — so they could update them every day. Restaurants would print paper menus every day for the same reason.

But you no longer have to visit an underground “cueva” to score the “blue dollar” exchange rate. The government eased its restrictions on currency exchange, and you now get the real exchange rate with credit card purchases.

We spent most of our time traipsing around Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. We visited the bottom of the continent at Ushuaia, with its blue-green mountain lagoons, penguins and appropriate setting to Jules Verne’s “The Lighthouse at the End of the World.” In El Calafate, we watched from a boat as house-sized chunks fell off the monstrous Perito Moreno Glacier in its summer melt.

The nearby hiking haven of El Chaltén proved the highlight of our trip. Imagine a tiny Swiss mountain village complete with high-end restaurants and wine bars, plopped down in Patagonia and surrounded by jagged peaks and stunning vistas.

And, of course, we visited Mendoza, where we enjoyed some of the best wines in the world, many of which cost less than $10.

Chile

  • Cost of living: 45% lower than the U.S.

Argentina’s skinnier neighbor of Chile offers equally excellent wines, and easier access to the source, as several of the most famous wine regions sit within an hour of Santiago.

Chilean Patagonia also refuses to be outshined by its larger, louder neighbor. Visit Puerto Montt for great hiking, lakes and a volcano, but stay in the prettier sister town of Puerto Varas.

In the Lake District, try Pucon, home to the second most active volcano in the world. It smokes most days, and, at night, the lava lights up that smoke from underneath.

But our favorite destination in Chile was the Chiloe Islands. It’s hard to describe the rugged charm and beauty of these islands, from the houses on stilts standing over the waterfront (“palafitos”) to the rich local seafood, national parks and hikes.

Peru

  • Cost of living: 55.1% lower than the U.S.

Everyone thinks of Machu Picchu when they think of Peru. And don’t get me wrong, it’s breathtaking and deserves its reputation for a “magical aura.”

But there’s more to see, even within the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The salt mines of Maras, the “last living Inca town” of Ollantaytambo and Chinchero all make a good start.

Visit the Amazon rainforest one day, then the Andes mountains, then highest navigable lake in the world Lake Titicaca. After staying on the floating manmade islands, take another quick hop flight to the coast.

Peru attracts surfers from all over the world, with its abundant surf towns boasting long breaks.

And don’t skip over Lima, either. It enjoys a well-earned reputation as one of the best food scenes in the world, and sure enough, last year it scored not just the number one restaurant in the world (Central) but another three restaurants on the Top 50 list, per CNN. The cafe and cocktail bar scene are also world-class.

Thailand

  • Cost of living: 48.8% lower than the U.S.

Like Peru, Thailand boasts world-renowned cuisine. Just don’t ask for restaurants to serve the dish to you “Thai hot” like the locals eat. I made that mistake once, and spent the rest of the meal leaking tears from a beet-red face while assuring concerned friends that I wasn’t going into cardiac arrest.

Beyond the beautiful beaches of Phuket (where they shot scenes from “The Man with the Golden Gun”) lie towering rock formations that jut upward out of the sea. We did a tour of some of these, and in one case went inside one through a cave at the bottom. Inside was the collapsed interior of an island, which formed a mangrove lagoon surrounded by jungle-coated rock walls rising hundreds of feet.

On the mainland, visit ancient Buddhist temples such as the Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan, browse timeless bazaars like the Chatuchak Weekend Market, and visit the elephants at the Green Elephant Sanctuary Park — and a hundred other fun and fascinating sites.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: I’ve Lived Abroad for a Decade: Visit These 7 Cheap Hidden Gem Countries

Latest Stories