I came to Thailand as a technical consultant about 30 years ago. I was astounded by how cheap everything was, compared to Australia.
I can still remember the president of the company I was working for taking a dozen people, including me, to a seafood restaurant in Rayong.
Including beer for everyone, AUD 70.
When I retired, I researched moving to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. I had worked in 3 out of 4 of those countries.
Thailand came out on top after 6 months of mulling options. IMO it still does, 12 years later.