best cheap safe country to live in?

Question

I'm expecting my first child this fall. Can anyone recommend a nice country where I can find work and live in that's outside of the US & other than Canda? I'm looking for:

1) English speaking country-
I'm Asian & hoping for a place that isn't hostile to foreigners

2) Safe for women

3) VERY cheap apartments & childcare-
In America, a 1 bedroom averages about $600 including bills. And then there's childcare, which costs just as much. That alone is already way too much for a single mother who is completely on her own. I'm looking for a country where those expenses would be about half of that.

4.) Somewhere tourist-y
So I can find employment easily, work my butt off to save money & come back to the US one day and raise my child decently.

Some people have suggested Tunisia, Thailand, Phillipines, Malaysia. Opinions? Other reccomendations?

Answer 1

TUNISIA

I am an American living in Tunisia and I love Tunisia very much!

Situated on the Mediterranean Sea, it is the northernmost African country, and the smallest of the nations situated along the Atlas mountain range, bordering Algeria, to the west, and Libya to the south east.

The country is so full of history (has been under the rule of Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Berbers, Ottomans, Beys, and French; played a significant part in WWII, was the center of the ancient world with Carthage as the capitol, etc) and it has so many beautiful places to visit! It is unlike any other Arab country in that is has a lot of greenery. There are also many historical ruins in just about every part of the country you go to.

The mountain region is breathtaking! There are fantastic views and an the atmosphere is reminiscent of an old town in Switzerland. Absolutely gorgeous! The coast is marvelous. The Sea is clear and picturesque. The midland and south are terrific because they offer you the chance to peek into a forgotten society - one that holds fast to tradition. I have been all over Tunisia and have visited most cities and have loved everyone because they each have their own special charm.

The people are so warm and hospitable. They instantly welcome you as one of their own and treat you like family. Tunisia is also a very safe place. There are not many places in this world where a women can walk the streets alone in the middle of the night without fear. Yet I often take late night walks and have never had any problems and have never felt fearful. Tunisia on a whole is a very safe country. I have lived in Tunis and Monastir and have visited other parts of the country without any problems.

$1 is equal to 1.314 TDN
http://finance.yahoo.com/currency?u

Things are pretty reasonably priced here in Tunisia. Let me give you some examples.

A 1.5L bottle of mineral water costs .400TDN ($.30), but most people buy them is cartons of 6. Just a way to not have to go to the store all the time to buy water. A 1L bottle of coke is 1TDN ($.76), while a 1.5L bottle is 1.500TDN ($1.14).

Taxi rides are pretty cheap, but if you want to save on that you can always walk. A taxi ride is usually around 3TDN ($2.28) depending on how far you are going and what city you will be in.

Food prices will depend on what type of restaurant you want to go to. A fast food place will cost you about 3TDN ($2.28) per person if you buy a coke along with your sandwich. An actual restaurant will run you anywhere between 20-30TDN total($15.22-$22.83) for 4 people, including drinks, and many times dessert as well.

Housing is cheap too, depending on what city, where in the city, and how big a place you are looking for. Rents run anywhere between 150TDN-500TDN ($114.14-$382.73). Water and Electricity bills come every 3 months, and those depend on how much you use. I'll use ours as a reference. Our last water bill was 8 TDN ($6.13) and our last electricity bill was 35TDN ($26.81).

Child care depends on where you take them, but can run anwhere from 25-50TDN a month ($19.15-$38.30)

Tunisia is definitely geared towards tourism. I suggest you check out the Tunisia section under travel http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/index;_ylt=Ajvu_tkLcfQ.OLPZ1SISVG7sy6IX?sid=396545482

Here's links to photo albums I have on Tunisia. Feel free to look at any others I have if you want.

Monastir (where I live) - a Sea coast city
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jamie_hassen/album/576460762326455859

Hammam Bourguiba - a Mountain city
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jamie_hassen/album/576460762326464997

Djerba - The largest island off the coast of North Africa
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamie_hassen/sets/72157594505054775/detail/

Feel free to look at any of my other photos of Tunisia as well:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jamie_hassen/albums/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamie_hassen/

I also wrote an introductory blog about Tunisia on my 360 page. If you're interested in looking at it:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-5ksVjU47eqs_12qDwPwirmLXqHA-?cq=1&p=764

And here is a blog I did about our recent trip to Djerba (an island off of the Southern coast of Tunisia)
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-5ksVjU47eqs_12qDwPwirmLXqHA-?cq=1&p=1787

If you have any other questions, or if I can be of more assistance, feel free to contact me. I can give you other websites concerning Tunisia, as the Tunisia tourism website is now badly out of date.

Answer 2

To meet all the 4 criteria you have given, I would strongly recommend the following countries in the order written.

1. India
2. Phillippines }
2. Costa Rica } ..... a tie.
3. Venezuela
4. Thailand
5. USA. California in particular.

All others fall by the wayside.

Congratulations on expecting a first lil' one. You will be happy if you choose one of these. The $ goes quite far in these countries except #5, hence it is the last. You have already mentioned that.

In items 1,2 and 3 - you get help to look after your baby and if you are native English speaker then you can earn a good living by being an Accent Trainer or a American Culture trainer. They are in great demand.

Check out Monster.com for availability before you take a major step.

Answer 3

Hi Boo, Good morning dear friends,
Being in the Tourism & Travel sector,for many years, I visited sevral countries through out the world, I had also a lot of opportunities to discuss the life standards with many foreigners who I met in Tunisia.
I suppose that Tunisia can meet your criterium,if you are atempted by this option go and visite the web sites above and the one below to have a clear idea about the country where the life is just wonderful.
www.tunisiamedia.com/links/index.html
www.tunisiaonline.com
www.tourismtunisia.com
You will have many links in these web sites where you can have anwers to your eventual questions.
Again if you ever dicide to choose Tunisia,be free to email me for specific details or information. Good luck to you.

Answer 4

You pretty much described the Philippines in your inquiry. Very affordable living, lots of tourism, reasonably priced house help that absolutely love children, English is widely spoken.

Saving money will however be difficult in any of the countries you mentioned. Usually high wages go together with expensive cost of living, etc. (low wages go with low cost of living.....)

Answer 5

Having travel a lot and i meaned working, i saw a lot of countries,lifestyles,jobs..etc. i can suggest for you something like Oklahoma. yes amazing isn't it? let's see the facts., on the caribbean islands the cost of living is high and the quality of live comparing to here is not to good (thinking of your baby) England is super expensive , everybodt knows that the euro cost like $1.25dls and forget to buy a house there. South america well.. you dont want to go there., Countries like philipines,korea,japan have different cultures,currency,laws if you were single i say give a try .. but with a baby, sorry no.
I have family on Arizona, Atlanta,Oklahoma,Boston,New York ,Canada and in Puerto Rico., and we agreed that a good place to live right now could be Oklahoma 1, Georgia 2,
Norh Carolina 3 ,talking about jobs,taxes,security,facilities, etc.
I know is not easy but believe out there is really hard.

Answer 6

move to england or ireland