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These are travel indexes for travelers, not expats. But since sometimes expats are also travelers... 2016's cheap travel in Asia tips.

31 Asian cities by price: Backpacker Index for 2016

Costs for each city
One night in the cheapest bunk at the least expensive hostel with a good location and good reviews, or half the price of a double hotel room in places where there are no hostels
Two public transportation rides per day
One paid/famous attraction per day (Every city is loaded with free things to do for budget-conscious travelers, but here we take the average cost of a major attraction in each city for each day.)
Three “budget” meals per day (We took our minimum meal price and added 20% to make it more realistic for a longer trip.)
Three cheap, local beers (or two large beers) each day as an “entertainment fund.” Non-drinkers might have dessert and coffee or attend a local music performance instead, so this is a general benchmark that should be proportional for each city.
http://www.priceoftravel.com/2060/asia- ... ker-index/

3-star travel Index 2016 - a step up from the backpacker range.
http://www.priceoftravel.com/4138/asia- ... expensive/

This does NOT feature a 'Dangers and Annoyances' section - the persistent beggars of Kathmandu or the sell-you-drugs-in-order-to-bust-you scams of Goa or the very very very friendly beach boys of Si Lanka who are drawn to single male travellers of - er - an aesthetic demeanour.

Well, such a listing would be quite a deal it itself - does any reader here fancy writing some or all of it?

mammothboy2 wrote:This does NOT feature
the very very very friendly beach boys of Si Lanka who are drawn to single male travellers of - er - an aesthetic demeanour.

Cheers for the heads up.

Many countries are in my list.

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Not surprising to see Vietnam at the top of the list. Accommodation, food, transport and beer are all quite cheap still. This is usually reflected in the quality, but often you get surprising good value. For example, they have an airport bus that goes to District 1, offers free wi-fi (that works) and costs 20,000 vnd (less than $1).

This does NOT feature a 'Dangers and Annoyances' section

Would have to agree with this sentiment. The cheapest (and biggest) cities in Asia are best avoided if possible. or as few nights as possible before moving on, especially if you're a "seasoned" traveller who's lost interest in temples, monuments and museums.

Some of the places on the list aren't too bad, but Colombo, Delhi, Manila, Mumbai, Jakarta, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul and Hong Kong should probably actually be paying the tourists to visit them, instead of the other way around.

sigmoid wrote:Not surprising to see Vietnam at the top of the list. Accommodation, food, transport and beer are all quite cheap still. This is usually reflected in the quality, but often you get surprising good value. For example, they have an airport bus that goes to District 1, offers free wi-fi (that works) and costs 20,000 vnd (less than $1).

This does NOT feature a 'Dangers and Annoyances' section

Would have to agree with this sentiment. The cheapest (and biggest) cities in Asia are best avoided if possible. or as few nights as possible before moving on, especially if you're a "seasoned" traveller who's lost interest in temples, monuments and museums.

Some of the places on the list aren't too bad, but Colombo, Delhi, Manila, Mumbai, Jakarta, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul and Hong Kong should probably actually be paying the tourists to visit them, instead of the other way around.

Why Hong Kong ? Always wandered around 24/24 and safe as houses. I lived there for a while and loved it. Always open and not dangerous at all. Nice place and nice people.

Cities in Asia suck .
Unless you like scamming locals , hot weather and heavy traffic stear clear .

Retardedwaitress wrote:Cities in Asia suck .
Unless you like scamming locals , hot weather and heavy traffic stear clear .

OTOH if you like to go out at night, or you want 24/24 living, then better be in a city than the boonies.
When I was younger I really appreciated HK, Tokyo and Bangkok because you could stay up all night - not so much now.
However, it still seems weird crashing out at 10pm after a "late night" in the provinces. But then you get up early...

Why Hong Kong ? Always wandered around 24/24 and safe as houses. I lived there for a while and loved it. Always open and not dangerous at all. Nice place and nice people.

Well, glad you enjoyed it. Not sure why you ever left. Big cities can be fun for a while when you're younger, especially if you grew up in a small town.

Anyway, it's not a matter of safety or danger with that list of cities (Colombo, Delhi, Manila, Mumbai, Jakarta, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul and HK), but of having millions of people living on top of each other with all of the resulting annoyances, noise, pollution, and overcrowding.

Plus, what does HK have as an attraction? Disneyland, I think... Anything else?

Same with the other ones. Colombo, Delhi/Mumbai, Jakarta, and Beijing you might have to pass through on your way to somewhere more pleasant, but why would anyone fly to Taipei or Seoul for a holiday?

i loved living in HK in the 80's
of course might not have felt that way if i was on a budget