I am currently working grocery at Whole Foods Market in Columbia, MD. 

. :)I enjoy Bible reading, holistic alternatives to conventional medicine, fashion, cats, Whole Foods, and working with dementia sufferers. 

I would take those reports with a huge grain of salt.

I'm sorry , but for those like @Marco Santarelli that specialize in selling out of state, of course they are going to point out the negatives in southern California, saying that  "California is very expensive and the numbers don't make sense here" is a very simplistic statement, so take it with a grain of salt! 

From cooking large quantities of food in advanced for the week to when I'm going to make my phone calls the next day.

(I'm biased for lots of great-weather west coast cities, so take it with a grain of salt when you're drinking my Kool-Aid lol)Hope to meet you in person soon Mike!

Taiwan for example seems like a tight and dense city with great transportation, welcoming culture, and low food / everyday costs.

I get $5000 in August and $5000 in January, which will go straight into the reserve funds.So right now for instance, I currently pay around $600/month in rent not including utilities, so my financial aid pretty much goes to paying rent and food with some left over.

But having income from your wealth rather than sitting on equity is also awesome - it didn't take me long before I wanted to pull that equity and put it to work.Anyway, you've got some food for thought here- good luck!

Something like this 1, or this 2Invite food trucks I am not sure if the area has enough traffic for a food truck business, but I want to try to invite them to try it out during the lunch hour.