美語情景對話 第1052期:Living on the Cheap 在物價低的地方生活

Todd: So I'm here with Dan, and he lives in Bali, Indonesia. And he's talking about slow travel, which is the concept of living in a foreign country for a long time to experience the culture and the lifestyle. Dan, can you talk a little bit about the cost, like if somebody wants to really do this, how much money do they need for housing, transportation, food, things like that?

託德：今天我們請到了丹，他生活在印尼巴厘島。丹之前介紹了慢旅行這個概念，即在外國生活一段較長的時間，以體驗那個國家的文化和生活方式。丹，你能談談花費嗎？如果人們想體驗這種慢旅行，那在住宿、食物等事情上大概要花費多少錢？

Dan: Well, when I quit my job four years ago, I had a mantra in my head. And I always said, all I need to be happy in life is a thousand bucks and a backpack. And I thought, if I could really simplify my life and take away all the overhead cost of car payment or a mortgage on a house or student load debts, credit cards, things like that, all I would need is a thousand dollars of income a month in order to own my time and to spend my time going to anywhere I wanted. I think realistically in places in Southeast Asia, if you want to move around every two or three months or go visit friends at another city, you're going to want at least $1,500 to $2,000 a month. And that's going to give you, I would say, a quite luxurious lifestyle. Obviously, you could come here to Bali and live for $700 a month and you could do the same in Nha Trang like we're talking earlier, maybe even easier in Vietnam. But the real cost come in is when you want to explore and move around internationally. So if you're living in Nha Trang and you'd like to visit a friend in Bangkok every three months or something like that, you're going to want more like 1,500 to 2,000 a month.

丹：我四年前辭職時，我一直在腦海中對自己重要一句話。我一直在說，在生活中保持開心只需要1000美元和一個揹包。我認爲，如果我可以簡化我的生活，去掉所有雜項開支，比如汽車貸款、房屋按揭、學生債務、信用卡費等，那我想支配自己的時間、去任何我想去的地方，每個月只需要1000美元的收入。我的理想目的地是南亞，如果你想每兩三個月換個目的地或是去其他城市看望朋友，那每個月至少需要1500美元至2000美元。這種水平的收入能確保你享受一種非常奢華的生活方式。顯然，在巴厘島每個月700美元的收入就足夠了，你還可以在我們之前談到到的芽莊享受這種生活，可能越南的生活費用要更低一些。你在各國之間的移動纔是真正需要花錢的地方。如果你生活在芽莊，你想每三個月去曼谷看望朋友，那每個月需要1500美元至2000美元。

Todd: So could you like break down the cost? So what kind of cost are we talking here? Like how much would you pay for housing? How much would you pay, you know, for food every month? How much would you pay for health insurance? Things like that.

託德：你的花費是怎麼分配的？我們這裏提到的是哪種花費？比如，房租大概多少錢？每個月購買食物的花銷有多少？健康保險之類的花費呢？

Dan: Sure, I mean, if we can make like a vast generalization across Southeast Asia in general. I know it's a huge place but in most places for a furnished apartment, for a solo traveler, you're going to look at anywhere from $250 to $750 a month. So let's just ballpark it and say $500. You know, in a place like Manila, you're going to get a great apartment for $500. In a place like Bangkok, you're going to get even better apartment for $500. And again, you have to commit to a month at least to get these kinds of rates. But if you're willing to do that, stay for few months, you're going to get really good advantage there. Let's take Bangkok as an example. $500, you're going to have a great apartment. For another $500, you are going to eat like King Midas. And then let's say your internet is $30 a month and your health insurance in $120 a month. We're at about $1,200 a month now. And I'd say, on top of that, it's all about the most dangerous habit for your wallet on the planet, and it is travel. So if you decide that you want to go home for Christmas and you want to go home for Thanksgiving as well for Americans, you know, that's going to kill your piggy bank. But if you don't travel so much, you could easily stay in a place like Bangkok for $1,000 to $1,500 a month.

丹：我指的是南亞的普遍情況。我知道南亞非常大，不過就獨自旅行者來說，大部分地區帶傢俱的公寓，租金大概是一個月250美元到750美元。我們取個大概的數字，假設一個月租金500美元。像馬尼拉這樣的地方，一間不錯的公寓大概一個月要500美元。曼谷的話，500美元可以租個更好的公寓。基本上這種費用至少要付一個月的。但是如果你願意多待幾個月，那你就會得到優勢。以曼谷爲例，500美元可以租到一間很好的公寓。就飲食來說，每個月花500美元你可以吃得像邁達斯國王一樣好。假設每個月的網費是30美元，健康保險是一個月120美元。現在我們一個月需要1200美元。除此以外，還有在這個地球上對你的錢包來說最危險的習慣——旅行。因爲我們是美國人，如果你計劃在聖誕節和感恩節回家，那你的存錢罐可會少一大筆錢。不過如果你旅行的次數不多，在曼谷這樣的地方一個月1000美元至1500美元足夠了。

Todd: So, what about like a, you know, going out having beers and thinks like that? Like are there certain habits that you have to kind of curtail or keep down so that you save money?

託德：那出去喝杯啤酒之類的呢？爲了節省開支或是存錢，你沒有需要限制一下的習慣？

Dan: Well, it really depends where you live. So, in the Philippines you could go out and party every night and it won't make a dent in your wallet. Whereas in places like here in Bali, you had to be really careful because beers can be $7 for one cocktail. So if you go out to the club and you order 4 cocktails, and you meet a cute girl and you buy her 2 cocktails, that could easily turn into a $50 evening, and that's going to kill your traveler's budget. So generally in Southeast Asia going out for social drinks isn't a big impact on your wallet because booze here is relatively cheap. But definitely that can have a big impact.

丹：這要看你生活在哪裏。在菲律賓，你可以每天晚上都去參加派對，這不會花費你太多錢。但是在巴厘島這種地方，你就要格外謹慎了，因爲啤酒或是一杯雞尾酒可能要花掉你7美元。如果你去夜店點4杯雞尾酒，然後你遇到了一個非常可愛的女孩，你請她喝兩杯雞尾那一個晚上的花費可能高達50美元，這會大大增加你的預算。通常來說，晚上在南亞外出喝酒不會使你的錢包有太大損失，因爲這裏的酒水相對便宜一些。但是也可能會讓你花掉一大筆錢。

Todd: Alright, thanks for the advice.

託德：好，非常謝謝你的建議。

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重點講解：
1. take away 從…中減去；從…中扣除；
例句：Take away this number from that, and tell me how much you have left.
從那個數目中減去這個數，告訴我結果是多少。
2. in order to 爲了；以便；目的在於；
例句：In order to reduce friction, the moving parts of a machine are often oiled.
爲了減少摩擦，機器的可動部件常常塗上潤滑油。
3. break down 分解；將…分成若干部分；
例句：The accountant is breaking down expenditure.
會計正在列出開支細目。
4. on top of 另外；加之；除…之外(還)；
例句：On top of that, the most important thing is to grow.
除此之外，最重要的還是公司發展。