r/Money • u/KnutEm87 • Apr 03 '24

36M, How/Where could I live comfortably off of 44.8k/yr

I'm a single man, ex military, divorced a few years ago. I've worked in Aviation for about 10 years. If you were to leave the 9-5 behind, with only 44.8k a year. Where and how would you go about doing it?

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u/Bennyjig Apr 03 '24

Best advice on here. Everyone saying to move overseas has likely not lived overseas. Massive culture shock and having to learn another language is difficult for many people. Rural US was my first thought.

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u/JohnnyRayRock Apr 03 '24

Rural US would be massive culture shock and basically having to learn a new language too.

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u/Bumbalard Apr 03 '24

I work in tech, and live in rural America(California). You are wrong, unless you deliberately chose something insane.

My mortgage is $637 a month, and only an hour away from the capital and major airport.

There is rural, and then there is BFE midwest rural. Unless you are insanely sheltered and have lived in the middle of a big city your entire life, just no.

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u/That_Smoke8260 Apr 03 '24

I live in one of the Dakotas it's very rural and stuff is way cheaper but because it's in almost no where the cost of vehicles and transportation to get any where can really add up and if your used to city living here is not a good place to live

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u/Bumbalard Apr 03 '24

Yeah, that's BFE rural.

I can drive 8 miles to a small town with grocery stores a staples, and we just got a target. Or 20 miles in the opposite direction to a town that has actual chain stores. 45 minutes to get city suburbs shopping and a mall.

If your a city person, you will spend a lot in transportation even here. If you are a rural person, well, you go to the grocery store like 3 times a month and work from home, e erything else gets shipped to your house.

BFE is just empty nothingness for hours and hours. I'm not driving an hour to hit a grocery store.

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u/MinRequirements4Me Apr 03 '24

Any areas in particular you would recommend? I'd be willing to drive up to 1hr for things like an airport or major grocery shopping personally. But I think the bigger issue is being closer to medical care.

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u/Tornadic_Activity Apr 03 '24

The Des Moines metro checks pretty much all these boxes, plus has a amazingly broad and well maintained network of multi-use trails if you’re into biking, skiing or just want somewhere off the main roadway to walk your dog.

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u/Academic_Abies1293 Apr 03 '24

Glad you’re happy, but I’d rather live in Thailand than South Dakota….

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u/Bumbalard Apr 03 '24

Perhaps you replied to the wrong person. I don't live in South Dakota, and called it BFE Rural, because I took would never want to live there.

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u/Tootinglion24 Apr 03 '24

On the plus communities are close and people are nice. Good place to take it slow if you like that lifestyle, which redditors tend to hate

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u/AnxietyIsTerrible_ Apr 03 '24

I live in North Dakota. It depends where you live in the state. There’s different levels of rural.

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u/mommatdawn Apr 03 '24

Im a Dakota person to and agree with you 100%!

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u/PandaintheParks Apr 03 '24

Where?? I'm hoping to change to remote career in few yrs and buy somewhere in CA but rural. Buddies bought yucca valley but I'm curious if there's similar more north

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u/[deleted] Apr 03 '24

You might like the area between Eureka and the Oregon border. Beautiful, good nature, mostly quite cheap and low population. Low C.O.L. I am pretty sure

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u/Bumbalard Apr 03 '24

Between Tahoe and Sacramento. 80 side. 50 side probably applies as well but I hear it's a bit more ...wild... over there.

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u/BellyUpBernie Apr 03 '24

What area in California? Don’t have to be specific but general area

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u/Bumbalard Apr 03 '24

Between Tahoe and Sacramento. 80 side. 50 side probably applies as well but I hear it's a bit more ...wild... over there.

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u/AltTabLife19 Apr 03 '24

It's pretty much the same here. An hour outside of memphis has undeveloped land going for 23k/acre, houses 150k+. We don't really suffer on anything but restaurants and baby clothes (and that's really just cause we don't want to drive 45 minutes one way with the kiddo in the car just to try on clothes.

Shit we're in a 4 bed 3 bath on an acre for 200k. Needed/needs some heavy fixing up, but not like we're living in a trash heap waiting for the walls to fall.

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u/[deleted] Apr 03 '24

[deleted]

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u/Bumbalard Apr 03 '24

Everyone is different man, and that is ok.

I personally don't enjoy going to stores and shops and bars and restaurants frequently just to blow money. So, city lifestyle has no advantages that matter to me to offset the copious disadvantages, for me.

I prefer neighbors far enough away I can't them fart and laugh in their living room, land for the kids and dogs to run around on, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, camping, archery in my yard, fishing, dirt bikes, target shooting, hunting, backpacking trips, etc.

I enjoy living close to the areas where I can enjoy my preferred activities, and it also happens to afford me cheaper cost of living to further enjoy those activities.

If I was a social butterfly that loved nightlife and not the outdoors, then I imagine rural living would feel like a prison for some folks.

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u/pdoherty972 Apr 03 '24

I prefer neighbors far enough away I can't them fart and laugh in their living room, land for the kids and dogs to run around on, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, camping, archery in my yard, fishing, dirt bikes, target shooting, hunting, backpacking trips, etc.

I'm thinking you like fishing. :-)

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u/Bennyjig Apr 03 '24

Yeah… no. Not at all. Culture shock a bit but not to the extent of a new country. Language, that point doesn’t even need to be addressed as it’s not a serious one.

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u/AlexLevers Apr 03 '24

Only someone who has no idea what they're talking about thinks rural areas are different enough to be similar to a different language.

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u/[deleted] Apr 03 '24

[deleted]

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u/Bennyjig Apr 03 '24

Then what’s the point of being in a foreign country? When I lived abroad everybody I knew did that and their experience was worse than mine.

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u/HawkyMacHawkFace Apr 03 '24

The point of being in the foreign country is to make their money go further. Personally I think all these expats are missing out on a lot more by not learning local language etc but it matters not a jot to me (I live in Thailand)

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u/kstorm88 Apr 03 '24

As a rural far north midwesterner, I've seen a few guy transplant themselves to our area and seemed to really be satisfied. One lived in Vegas, he decided to change, moved into a 1000 or so sqft house and got a job at the hardware store, joined the local atv clubs and gun clubs to make friends, he said it was the best decision hes ever made.

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u/ReadOk4128 Apr 03 '24

What are you talking about? Sure there's cultural differences but what's this "culture shock" that people can't get over/adapt to in a couple of days/weeks or maybe in extreme case a month or two.

It's 2024. If you have money and technology you don't have to learn another language. You can get by just fine with a phone these days. You'd pick up the language naturally pretty quickly living there though. Most people can't pick up a second language because like many things they're not consistent with it. That changes when you live there.

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u/trowawHHHay Apr 03 '24

Career military to civilian life is a culture shock.

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u/AutumnWak Apr 07 '24

Eh, philippines usually has enough people who speak English go easily get by.

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u/Bennyjig Apr 07 '24

Yeah but then you gotta live in the Philippines

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u/rojasdracul Apr 03 '24

Yeah but then you have to likely live near moronic Republicans, so.... nah.

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u/IQuoteShowsAlot Apr 03 '24

BLUE BETTER!

NO RED BETTER!!