Do you guys allow the current economic situation in a country decide whether or not you will visit?
I used to believe countries with failed economies, or experiencing a significant downturn would be cheaper but that's not always the case, sometimes it's even the opposite.
>>1071891
The only thing that will really make a difference is the exchange rate on their currency. Right now is a perfect time for Americans to visit Canada for example. Compared to 2 years ago it's 40% cheaper. Same thing with the yen which a couple of years ago dropped in value quite a lot. I often base my destinations on where I will get more for my currency than I would in other destinations or historically. Unfortunately I live in Canada and our currency is in the shitter right now so I probably won't travel much this year.
Usually economy of a country doesn't have immediate impact on travelers unless their currency is affected. I hear hyperinflation fucks with a lot of things though, it's why those articles came out half a year ago of living in Colombia for $200 a month.
>>1071898
Wow, yes the USD CAN exchange rate is the best I've seen it, BUT doesn't the price of local goods and services matter as well?
For example if you get 18 Mexican pesos for 1 USD at first that sounds like a good deal but if everywhere you go shops are charging 100 pesos for a bottle of water etc. it doesn't help you....it seems like pricing info is actually more important than exchange rates but I know of no concise place to get facts.
>>1071891
As a "digital nomad" (inb4 meme comment) I most definitely look for this. Countries going downhill financially are excellent to pick up nice apartments to stay in for months. Why pay £1000 for a studio in the UK when you can find 2 bedrooms in Spain for €300.
>>1071891
A terrible economy does not necessarily translate to cheap travel, if your country has decimated infrastructure you might find yourself paying out the ass for stuff that is commonplace in the 1st world.
>My country's economy is crashing
>It's now 3x more expensive to travel than it was 2 years ago
Just kill me pls
>>1072432
Russian?
>>1072432
Greek?
Yeah I've been using this cost of living map when planning journeys.
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/
It probably doesn't change quickly enough to account for fast devaluations though so you have to keep an eye on news or look at currency charts for that.
I also have a credit card which has no conversion fees so that way if there are any sudden devaluations in the local currency I won't lose out.
The $ and £ are thought to be highly overpriced right now, the Dollar especially, and are expected to be devalued soon like the Euro recently was. If you have savings in these currencies you can use BitGold or similar to try and preserve the advantage.
Russian Ruble and Brazillian Real are pretty cheap compared to Western currencies at the moment. This year Chinese Yuan will continue to be devalued which will result in their neighbors devaluing also and ultimately, it is expected, the West too.
I'm going to Russia for a month this April, and hopefully SEA next April. I've heard that hookers get better looking and cheaper during a recession, so I'm hoping the big one hits while I'm in Thailand next year.
>>1072571
Let's say you've got two weeks to spend $2,000;
Would you expect a huge quality difference between your lifestyle in China vs SEA?
>>1072571
Can you make money thanks to bitcoin?
>>1072622
only in 2013
>>1072614
This are the specific pages you want to look at:
http://www.numbeo.com/travel-prices/gmaps_rankings.jsp
http://www.numbeo.com/travel-prices/rankings.jsp
With that budget for that length you should be equally comfortable in either place. Unless you're staying in high end hotels and eating in fancy restaurants a lot the costs are very similar, though SEA is a little cheaper.
>>1072622
>>1072739
You can make money in almost anything so long as you know what is happening in the world and time your moves right. Right now I'm not so much trying to make money as hedge against the possibility of it losing a large chunk of it's value.
Bitcoin has doubled in value since China began to devalue their currency in August. It's used as a store of value but also as a way of clandestinely getting money out of the country after it imposes capital controls. It is volatile however, it's value depends a lot on publicity and stories of an exchange being attacked or country banning it will damage it's value so carries a lot of risk.
Bitgold is actually nothing to do with Bitcoin, it's a way to buy small amounts of physical gold without paying way above market cost. Gold has not seen any significant appreciation, it's flat over the last year. However, if there is no growth or there is a panic it is an excellent store of value.
Bitcoin and Gold both tend do well when there is uncertainty. With the world heading into a recessionary period there is a lot of fear that the next panic will be sparked, especially with 2008 so fresh in the mind. If there is a panic the central banks of the world would have to take unusual action (negative interest rates, cashless economies, helicopter money, SDR issuance). Since these steps would be so unusual that too creates uncertainty the same way quantitative easing did after 2008.
Gold and Bitcoin should both be good stores of value over the next couple of years as central banks venture into uncharted territory. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket - most people who conservatively hedge will only have 5-10% in Gold, 2-3% percent in Bitcoin - anything more than that is speculation. If a panic really kicks in you can possibly buy more if you're keeping an eye on the ball, but if not you will have preserved a significant chunk of your wealth because the Gold and Bitcoin will appreciate like crazy in a full blown meltdown.
Within reason. I still went to Greece as they were having their upheaval over the economy. Reading about it, I was warned of running into demonstrations/possible mobs with cops using tear gas and just to walk away from the situation when you see it.
I didn't encounter anything like that at all. Everyone was pleasant and everything was calm. I nabbed an awesome little place to stay for something like 40 bucks a night (and not a hostel either) and had a great time.
>>1073204
>I nabbed an awesome little place to stay for something like 40 bucks a night (and not a hostel either) and had a great time.
Do you recall the name of this place, or the city it was in? If they raised the price I will not go there.
>>1073204
since greece uses the Euro it doesn't really matter if their economy is crap unless they were kicked out
