Many expats live in Thailand on less than 45,000 baht a month

[madisongy]

daim, if I'm going to be complete, I need to include my US based healthcare insurance..........heavily subsidized from former employer, so only pay 6500 for that.   So pushes me up just past 70,000.   GF parents get 5000.   Travel is significant about once every other month.   So ALL in, including the non-essential travel will push me past the 100,000 mark.   

When I first looked at this, I could not imagine what you would have to do to exceed 100,000 per month..........guess I've figured it out.   

[Jingthing]

4 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

The thread is about "Many expats live in Thailand on less than 45,000 baht a month."

 

What do prices in Africa have to do with it?  Try an African war zone cheap housing I bet.  But nothing to do with the thread. 

You're absolutely right. It does not.

But it is true that a very significant portion of expats in Thailand are attracted to the relative affordability here. I'm one of them and have no problem saying that.

There are other alternatives in the world that offer good livability and affordability as well. I'm not really aware of any in Africa though. I did check out the requirements for South Africa and I couldn't qualify. 

[JaiLai]

42 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

You're absolutely right. It does not.

But it is true that a very significant portion of expats in Thailand are attracted to the relative affordability here. I'm one of them and have no problem saying that.

There are other alternatives in the world that offer good livability and affordability as well. I'm not really aware of any in Africa though. I did check out the requirements for South Africa and I couldn't qualify. 

SA is going down the sh****r pretty quick.

 

It's another Zimbabwe waiting to happen....

[Jingthing]

10 minutes ago, JaiLai said:

SA is going down the sh****r pretty quick.

 

It's another Zimbabwe waiting to happen....

Definitely there are issues there but like I said I couldn't qualify so didn't get that far.

[Nyezhov]

11 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

Pork, seafood and chicken are generally of far lower quality in Thailand. But, who cares when it's doused in chillies and deep fried. 

Really? I find the chicken here to be far more flavourful, as well as the prawns. Squid is squid. I think a steamed snakehead is quite yummy also.

I dont eat salmon unless its smoked .

[Kerryd]

10 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Everything you mentioned is cheaper in Africa.

 

When you moving?

Why the **** should I move anywhere ? It would seem (to most) that I am quite happy right where I am.

 

Yes, there are cheaper places in the world to live, just as there are more expensive places. So when are you moving ? 

Many years ago I did a bit of an informal survey of different places around the world that I might like to live in one day. Included on the list were places like Peru, Bolivia, Belize, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Paraguay, Ecuador and Brazil. (Hmmm, no African countries on that list, or Middle Eastern, or European.)

I then made up a checklist and tried to rate those places based on various factors such as the stability of their government(s), level of Healthcare, their Infrastructure (roads, rail, power), education systems, visa requirements and other things I thought might indicate how hard (or easy) it would be to retire to one of those places.

I even went to all the Embassies/Consulates that were available to collect information (the internet was just a wee baby back then and there wasn't a lot of info available.)

 

I then scored the list best as I could and tallied the numbers. It was very unscientific and probably more based on "gut feeling" than anything else. The results were as I mentioned above. There were some really cheap places I could go and some that were more expensive.

Did I want to trade off cheap visa requirements for a place that had piss-poor infrastructure ? Or trade off cheap food prices for lousy healthcare ? Or settle for low "cost of living", low standards of healthcare, poor education systems and rampant corruption for cheap housing costs ?

 

Once again, it boils down to what your "standards" are and how much you are willing to trade off in order to be comfortable with your choices. For me, Thailand was the top choice. Not the best in every category and not the worst.  

(Note: "cheap sex" was not a consideration at all and even if it was, Thailand probably would not have scored higher on the list, or lower.)

And the point to all of this was, just because some people find it hard to live here while spending 100,000+ per month does not mean that people who spend 45,000 a month (or less) are "struggling to get by".
I've known a few people that pretended they were "HiSo" and blew money like they were lottery winners - until they went broke and had nothing to show for it (and had to return to their home countries with their tails permanently tucked between their legs, or move to a tiny village in Nakhon Nowhere, never to be seen or heard from again.) 
Probably a few of them still log in to TV now and then (when they can find some free WiFi signal) to post about hard it is for them to get by on less than a million per month and how anyone that isn't spending that much "must be struggling to get by".

 

(In other words - you can bet that a lot of the "rich" people posting on TV are full of ****.) 

[suzannegoh]

On 10/8/2018 at 10:05 PM, marcusarelus said:

The thread is about "Many expats live in Thailand on less than 45,000 baht a month."

 

What do prices in Africa have to do with it?  Try an African war zone cheap housing I bet.  But nothing to do with the thread. 

He's probably giving you guff because he's a corporate expat making better money here than back in his home country and he has a hard time relating to people who choose their locale based upon cost of living rather than the amount that they can earn in the country.  There are forums and publications for corporate expats but ThaiVisa isn't one of them.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-10/want-a-21-000-pay-raise-hsbc-recommends-you-move-overseas?srnd=premium-asia

[cheeryble]

But it does make sense to many western Incels.
I'd rather have 10 years of plentiful sex and die, than live to 100 with none at all.
Which is effectively (and unfortunately) how a lot of western men are forced to live these days.
 
Totally different for a woman who can have casual sex any time she wants, no matter how she looks, or what her income.

Are you 90 by any chance?


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[3NUMBAS]

out in the boonies you can live on very little .depends on your priorities for a nice life

[xylophone]

23 minutes ago, 3NUMBAS said:

depends on your priorities for a nice life

And that is the crux of the matter in a nutshell!

[off road pat]

1 hour ago, cheeryble said:

 

Are you 90 by any chance?


Sent from my iPad using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

Edited October 17, 2018 by off road pat

[KiChakayan]

Hope I won't get clobbered for reactivating this topic. But I reckon it is interesting that this survey came up some months before the "Letter of income" fiasco. With 50% of the surveyed population being under 65k, if I had been a TI executive, I too would have gone to the embassies to question the value of the documents they issued.

[upu2]

Looking at some of the monthly salaries stated in this thread I have to wonder how and why would you accept such low salaries? I understand anyone who wants to stay in Thailand but Bht40 - 50k a month is an insult to anyone

[Sheryl]

Hope I won't get clobbered for reactivating this topic. But I reckon it is interesting that this survey came up some months before the "Letter of income" fiasco. With 50% of the surveyed population being under 65k, if I had been a TI executive, I too would have gone to the embassies to question the value of the documents they issued.

 

Bear in mind for those married to a Thai the requirement is 40K not 65k. The survey does not distinguish between those on extensions for retirement vs those on extensions for marriage. Nor does it distinguish incomes 40-44k from those between 25-43k.

 

 

[lamyai3]

16 hours ago, KiChakayan said:

Hope I won't get clobbered for reactivating this topic. But I reckon it is interesting that this survey came up some months before the "Letter of income" fiasco. With 50% of the surveyed population being under 65k, if I had been a TI executive, I too would have gone to the embassies to question the value of the documents they issued.

One of the great injustices of this was that only a small number of embassies were penalised in this way, in spite of claims at the time that the new rules would be applied to all. With hindsight it all seems to have more to do with singling out certain countries for punishment. 

 

Regarding the 45000 baht in the OP, this is currently worth about £1200 in the UK, and many people live on that much or less over there as well. 

[Alsyapal]

Surely it depends on what you spend rather than what income you have.  My friend lives on under 25k with his wife.   But they do have a small rice farm and own their own house in the North East of the country.  They live a simple life but  are happy and they are even leasing a car.

Edited August 21, 2019 by Alsyapal

[meand]

My ac bill alone is almost half of 45k

 

got three units running all day and night. 

[Inn Between]

This has got to be the most meaningless poll I have ever seen. LMAO

[georgegeorgia]

45,000 baht a month , many pensioners live on less than this in Australia 

[Sticky Wicket]

2 hours ago, meand said:

My ac bill alone is almost half of 45k

 

got three units running all day and night. 

Utter garbage

When my family visit they tend to leave the AC on 24/7

That's 4 powerful ACs in the bedrooms + the living room full blast in the evening

Add pool pump etc , the most my bill has been is 12k

 

You must be getting ripped off or have the oldest AC units ever!

[suzannegoh]

1 hour ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Utter garbage

When my family visit they tend to leave the AC on 24/7

That's 4 powerful ACs in the bedrooms + the living room full blast in the evening

Add pool pump etc , the most my bill has been is 12k

 

You must be getting ripped off or have the oldest AC units ever!

Maybe he has a 1000 sqm house.

[CPH]

This is a good site for comparing price of living different places in the world.

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

[PatOngo]

I'd be happy if I was ONLY paying 45,000 baht in tax every month....I pay a lot more than that!

[jumbo]

1 hour ago, PatOngo said:

I'd be happy if I was ONLY paying 45,000 baht in tax every month....I pay a lot more than that!

I just call that being uninformed about taxes

[PatOngo]

4 minutes ago, jumbo said:

I just call that being uninformed about taxes

Enlighten me! 

[Angry Dragon]

On 8/5/2018 at 10:11 AM, Tradewind777 said:

You can rent a room in BKK for 3000baht and if you cannot live on 1000baht a day you need lessons in money management or pull your head in and live more modestly.

that's not living, that's just surviving.  not much of a life IMHO

[georgegeorgia]

Well how do thai people live on 20k a month?

 

 

[DrTuner]

I think the point is 100% of that 45k is money that would without the farangs never see Thailand. It's pure income for the country.

[DrTuner]

6 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

45,000 baht a month , many pensioners live on less than this in Australia 

I suspect most of the 45k and under are indeed pensioneers that came for the low cost (that's not so low anymore with the exchange rates and inflation). If they own their condo, it's plenty. 

[PiBret]

Nobody asked me to take part in this poll.