Why not code for others? Or create services people like?
If i would live in a country that is not Switzerland i could easily live from one Website i have and the Adsense income on there. The website is simple and needs barely maintaince, but i managed to make something, that already exists in several variations, so simple and that people started to use it.
Sounds simple, but in reality it isn't.
You need a big portfolio and a very good reputation before people actually hire you to do some coding, unless you charge <$5/hour ... The bottom side of the market is full of people from india, china, students making beer money,... The top side of the market is full of big-portfolio, big reputation coders. It's pretty hard to make a living if you live in a country where you need at least $15-$20/hour to make ends meet.
As mentioned i am from Switzerland so i see your point.
I can barely work for anything not from Switzerland or maybe Sweden as they have for me unrealistic ideas about my loan.
I did some Websites when i was younger for small companies around me, simple Wordpress installations with a little modified themes for easily 500. Most people found that price ok and my portfolio was growing in a natural way. I also referred people (and still do) to my Github. Most understand barely anything from looking at it, but they see enough stuff that they get the impression that i know my shit. Next to that i also have dummy projects (or visual experiments) which i like to link. Frankly, without any kind of Portfolio its hard to find a job anyway.
Personally i've never seen a big issue with cheap indians or chinese as most people seem to think they wont be able to do proper work anyway. What is wrong on one site, but clearly the worse communication leads to worse results.
I still think you should create something people want, instead of trying to mine pennies somewhere. Or create your own penny mining site!