When I went a year ago you did not need an approval letter.

You can get banh mi in Vietnam for around a dollar. And it’s delicious.

Sounds legit. I never rented in Thailand but I knew a guy living in a serviced apartment in Ko Tao for $200 usd/month.

Airbnb is pretty much always overpriced now.

In most of SEA you can get a meal for $2, maybe even $1. Most travelers don’t really cook much. IMO it’s only worth cooking there if you’re craving western food since western food at the restaurants there can get a bit pricey comparatively.

Not somewhere I’d stay more than a few nights but visit Huacachina while you’re there. It’s a little oasis town in the desert. You can go sandboarding/dune buggying and there’s a wine/pisco tasting you can do that’s pretty fun. Very touristic but a fun place to spend a couple nights.

Have you considered freelancing? I don’t work in tech so idk how the salary would compare but it’s generally very compatible with traveling and there are definitely projects in tech you can work on.

I met two Americans that fled Ukraine at the start of the war when I was in Budapest and they seemed pretty normal. Only really got to know one of them but according to him Kiev had an amazing underground techno scene and iirc he was mostly living there due to low cost of living. He was perfectly respectful to me and the other girl in our hostel dorm and we all got along pretty well. I never went to Ukraine so I’m not really disagreeing with you about the majority of them but I wouldn’t say it’s every single one or that that’s the only reason an expat would’ve chosen to go there.

There was a guy at my hostel in Thailand who got drunk and bragged about hiring a 16 year old hooker.

easily yes. i spent $2000 in a month in colombia and i was eating out every meal, taking taxis everywhere, and going out almost nightly. (tbf was staying in hostels, but apartments aren’t necessarily much more expensive)