Reading Time – 3 minutes

I live in Dubai.

One of the most common tropes people believe about Dubai is that it’s really, really expensive to live here.

Is that true?

The answer is not yes, and it’s not no.

I’ll be more specific in a minute.

I also live in Paraguay.

Most Westerners don’t even know what Paraguay is (which is one of the many reasons I like it; with the things coming to the world soon, I want to live in a place no one knows about or cares about).

Regardless, of the few people who know what Paraguay is, one of the most common tropes is that it’s a poor, disgusting, low-end shithole.

Is that true?

The answer is not yes, and it’s not no.

The answer to both of these questions is this: It depends on the type of lifestyle you want to live.

At the moment, in Dubai I live in an apartment I just moved to that has two bathrooms, a gigantic living room with vaulted ceilings, a kitchen that is so large that I will never use most of it, a huge bedroom (that once again I will never use most of), again with vaulted ceilings.

It’s a corner unit on the top floor of the building which is located just 15 minutes from the downtown core of the city.

The building is brand new, with gigabit fiber optic internet, a pool, a gym, and all the usual amenities.

My monthly rent in US dollars? Less than $1200.

In Dubai.

Is that expensive?

Let’s put it this way. Could you rent an equivalent apartment for $1200 in New York? San Francisco? Chicago? Paris? London? Singapore? Zurich? Sydney? Dublin? Oslo?

Of course not, not even close.

Dubai is ultra-cheap compared to most major world cities… if you live a cheap lifestyle like I do.

And that’s a big if.

If you didn’t want to live a cheapass lifestyle like I do (at this point in my life anyway; this will change later) then Dubai suddenly becomes one of the most expensive places in the world.

There are apartments in Dubai that are $60 million, no problem. There are individual houses on the Palm Jumeriah that are $100 million.

If you go to a nice restaurant in Dubai you’ll easily spend $350-$500 for just two people if they’re drinking alcohol. Do that several times a week, and you’ll spend shitloads of money on eating out.

So Dubai can be very, very expensive. And it can be super cheap. Both are true at the same time.

It depends on what kind of lifestyle you want.

Now let’s switch gears to Paraguay.

Is Paraguay a shithole?

If you’re a poor Paraguayan born and raised in Paraguay and earning well below the average income in Paraguay (which is only $400 a month), then yes, it’s a fucking shithole.

There are parts of some Paraguayan cities where people literally live in the dirt, with just four large planks of wood as the walls to their “house.”

It’s pretty gross.

But if you want to live a rich lifestyle, you can do that in Paraguay too.

If you live in a neighborhood like Ycua Satî, Mariscal Lopez, Carmelitas, and several others, you can live in a massive, high-tech mansion with a wall around it, have numerous servants at your beck and call 24/7, walk down the street in beautiful, peaceful, affluent surroundings, and go to fancy malls and fine restaurants equivalent (or in some cases, even better) to anything you’ll find in Southern California, New York, or London, and with one-tenth the crime rate.

And since Paraguay is booming economically, it keeps building new wealthy communities like this all the time all over the place.

Billie and I saw several of them under construction, many of them already completed, right on the river last year when we took a long boat ride looking at various properties.

I live in one of these wealthy communities myself, though once again, I choose to live a cheapass lifestyle right now because I want to focus on my work and my Mission rather than enjoy myself. I want to live a more sparse, spartan-like lifestyle at this point in my life (a concept that really confuses a lot of people in my audience).

So even though I live in the wealthiest neighborhood in the country I still choose to live in a really small one-bedroom apartment.

Costs me less than $500 a month. Because I’m a cheapass right now.

So is Dubai cheap or expensive?

The answer is, it’s both.

Is Paraguay a shithole or a really fancy place to live?

The answer is, it’s both.

It depends on you.

Most countries you will look at as possible non-Western living flags will fall into this category.

People on the internet will complain that this country is too expensive or that country is too shitty, when in reality, you could probably live in the “expensive” country very cheaply and/or live in the “shitty” country with a very pleasant, affluent lifestyle.

Keep that in mind when you look at other possible places to either live or use as international back-ups.

Instead of listening to people on the internet complain about these countries (the vast majority of whom have never even been to these places and know nothing about them), actually go there yourself. Spend at least a week there (popping in for 2-3 days and then leaving won’t cut it).

Check it out for yourself. See how “expensive” or “shitty” the country actually is if you go to the cheaper or nicer areas.

I think you’ll be surprised in most cases.

Leave your comment below, but be sure to follow the Five Simple Rules.