Thailand still a destination of choice for money conscious expats

[wvavin]

Absolutely a rubbish survey! You need to be an absolute idiot to believe in such survey.

[marcusarelus]

2 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Here we go.

As I said 'if' you still have a house back home, the rest of the cost of living isn't cheap

Now you can pull the wool aggressively over your eyes and deny that, but basically you're doing an 'Elon Musk', and smoking something delusional

Tis you the wool puller.  The topic of the thread did not specify your trick addition.  Be fair. It would also be cheaper to live in the West if I had a million dollars in an American bank account but who would include that in a survey of comparing expenses.

 

It would be cheaper to retire in Monaco if I was the Prince of Monaco. 

[Scottie12]

Cost of renting a new house furnished in nice neighbourhood USD 180 !  Depends what you are accustomed to but this would rent you a shack in the areas I want to live in.

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, sandrew33 said:

"....$180 a month in nice neighborhood furnished..." 

 

That depends on one's subjective definition of nice and on what one finds as acceptable furniture. 

 

But 5,000 baht a month isn't getting you much in any place I'd consider nice. 

So you don't know much about Thailand.  Not my fault.  2 bdr new home in a quiet soi 2 blocks off of Sukhummvit, one hour from Bangkok 1 hour from Pattaya close to the gulf, shopping and good healthcare and schools.  Of course it's subjective I don't consider anyplace in the UK nice and that includes Buckingham palace.

[ronaldo0]

16 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Agreed, I'm here because I have a house (easy accommodation) and a kid (easy VISA).

Without those two items, I'd be in Vietnam or the Philippines with a better exchange rate and an easier VISA.

Yip I have wife and house here otherwise I would be out of here .

[james1995]

try not to think about money so much and think instead about how to increase your income.  this can be done in many ways, even for retired people.  having a budget of $1000 a month would still not be enough to generate a western income even if you lived in the cheapest country on earth.

[overherebc]

7 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Horses for courses.

 

In Thailand I rarely drink wine. I can afford it, and I certainly enjoy it, but I refuse to pay 5 to 10x more because of taxes for a bottle than in Australia. In Thailand I drink beer, which complements the food more IMO.

 

I am currently in Aus, so I a quaffing as much wine as I possible can before returning to Thailand permanently. Beer is way more expensive here, while wine is an absolute bargain (and the choice and quality is incredible).

 

It's all about adapting to your surroundings. The more you do, the longer, and better, you will survive.

 

 

NZ similar, last time we were there we made a valiant effort to empty the local store of good wine. 

Local super market meat shelf had 'expires tomorrow' deals on steaks etc at very low prices. Stick them in the freezer and fire up the barbie every evening.

Wouldn't fancy trying to buy a house there though. ??

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, Scottie12 said:

Cost of renting a new house furnished in nice neighbourhood USD 180 !  Depends what you are accustomed to but this would rent you a shack in the areas I want to live in.

Since you don't know the area and I'm not about to tell a bunch of Thai bashers I guess we will have to leave it to the ages. 

 

I've lived here for 5 years.  Nice professional neighbors. Helpful people.  Always say hi to the old fella (me) and offer food or a ride.  I was walking up the soi last week for exercise and a cute 18 year old girl on her scooter offered me a lift (I didn't know her).  Easy to get to in my town just ask for Ban Falang.   

[overherebc]

8 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

So you don't know much about Thailand.  Not my fault.  2 bdr new home in a quiet soi 2 blocks off of Sukhummvit, one hour from Bangkok 1 hour from Pattaya close to the gulf, shopping and good healthcare and schools.  Of course it's subjective I don't consider anyplace in the UK nice and that includes Buckingham palace.

The Germans beat you to that illustrious pile anyway. ??

[Orton Rd]

Thailand cheap, compare Sainsbury's or Tesco back home to Tops or Foodland!

[Orton Rd]

11 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Since you don't know the area and I'm not about to tell a bunch of Thai bashers I guess we will have to leave it to the ages. 

 

I've lived here for 5 years.  Nice professional neighbors. Helpful people.  Always say hi to the old fella (me) and offer food or a ride.  I was walking up the soi last week for exercise and a cute 18 year old girl on her scooter offered me a lift (I didn't know her).  Easy to get to in my town just ask for Ban Falang.   

How do you know she was 18 if you did not know her? Most of the buggers where we live would run a foreigner over rather than give you a lift!

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, Orton Rd said:

How do you know she was 18 if you did not know her? Most of the buggers where we live would run a foreigner over rather than give you a lift!

I can see why.  1.  You don't know enough about Thais to judge age.  2.  You call Thais "buggers"  3.  You don't know where to shop. 

 

Home to me is Thailand.  You?  I'd go back home as it's obvious you have not found happiness here. 

[hanssna]

15 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

How do you know she was 18 if you did not know her? Most of the buggers where we live would run a foreigner over rather than give you a lift!

Would rather run you over ? Do you choose to live in the worst place in Thailand, or are you just the most unlikable person ? 

[GalaxyMan]

I am continuously amazed at the attitudes I see displayed here in the forum vis-a-vis cost of living in Thailand. As many people have correctly pointed out, it's all about what standard of living you require. European/American standard of living costs about as much as it does in Europe or America. But why on earth would you want to live like that in Thailand? What's the point of being here? Just the weather, great food, and sex? That's pathetic. ?

 

I live in Maenam, Koh Samui. Big Chinese-style Thai house in Chinatown, 100m from the ocean, 7500 baht/month with a 5-year lease. I have to try to spend my ~$1,000/month pension. No need to pull from savings. I eat out every single meal. I have a background in the restaurant world, so I know food and insist upon eating good food, not the cheapest garbage I can find. I have a Thai girlfriend who has a good job and does not ask me for money. I've heard that's odd. Lucky me. As someone else pointed out, beer is far more suitable for the food and the climate than wine.

 

I come from Palm Beach, Florida, plastic-ville. I have a very good idea of what good living is all about. If I wanted to live like that, I'd have stayed there. I moved here from Lagos, Portugal. If I wanted to have that quality/standard of living, I'd have stayed there. But as good as Portugal can be, and Lagos is the best that Portugal has to offer, it's nowhere near as nice in so many respects as Thailand. The best part of living in Thailand is living in Thailand. We used to bitch in Florida about the northerners coming down from New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and screwing up our nice, laid-back Florida way of life by importing their bullshit northern ways that they were trying to escape from.

 

If your whole purpose in being here is to live as cheaply as possible because that's what you can afford, I feel for you. It's definitely getting more expensive, but still very affordable at a decent standard of living on US$1,000/month (30,000 baht). Cambodia is a s***hole. You couldn't pay me to live there. Their food doesn't hold a candle to Thai food. Haven't been to Vietnam yet, but many people that I talk to are telling me how expensive it, too, is becoming.

 

Life's a beach...?

[newnative]

2 hours ago, sitti said:

Thailand hasn't been a cheap country to live for quite a while now. Look at energy costs. Many other countries are a lot cheaper. 1000 baht bill used to mean something but now you can't even fill up full tank of gas/diesel with 1000 baht. If energy costs are high, naturally it raises the costs of everything.

 

At least in our case, our living costs in Thailand are more expensive than when we lived back in the US, except medical costs of course.

     Were you living  off the grid in a tent in the US?  As an American, I can't see how you could be living cheaper in the US otherwise.  It's easy to pick out a few things that are slightly cheaper in the US, such as milk and gasoline, but most surveys comparing the US and Thailand show the US to be more expensive.  Yes, gasoline and milk cost more here, but big ticket items like rent, utilities, and health care are a lot cheaper.  I'm happy to pay a little more for gas when I also pay a lot less for a doctor or dentist visit, monthly utilities, and keeping a roof over my head.

[BritManToo]

49 minutes ago, Scottie12 said:

Cost of renting a new house furnished in nice neighbourhood USD 180 !  Depends what you are accustomed to but this would rent you a shack in the areas I want to live in.

6,000bht, I was renting a really nice 2 bedroom, part furnished house 10Km outside of ChiangMai for that 6 years back.

And I was paying over the odds because all foreigners are rich.

 

[melvinmelvin]

52 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

So you don't know much about Thailand.  Not my fault.  2 bdr new home in a quiet soi 2 blocks off of Sukhummvit, one hour from Bangkok 1 hour from Pattaya close to the gulf, shopping and good healthcare and schools.  Of course it's subjective I don't consider anyplace in the UK nice and that includes Buckingham palace.

 

Buckingham Palace is OK if it weren't for the tenants.

 

[Orton Rd]

32 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I can see why.  1.  You don't know enough about Thais to judge age.  2.  You call Thais "buggers"  3.  You don't know where to shop. 

 

Home to me is Thailand.  You?  I'd go back home as it's obvious you have not found happiness here. 

she was probably in her 30's foreigners are hopeless at telling the age of an Asian women

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, Orton Rd said:

she was probably in her 30's foreigners are hopeless at telling the age of an Asian women

When I first came here in the 1960's I did date a lot of older women. 

[bkk6060]

21 minutes ago, GalaxyMan said:

I am continuously amazed at the attitudes I see displayed here in the forum vis-a-vis cost of living in Thailand. As many people have correctly pointed out, it's all about what standard of living you require. European/American standard of living costs about as much as it does in Europe or America. But why on earth would you want to live like that in Thailand? What's the point of being here? Just the weather, great food, and sex? That's pathetic. ?

 

 

Yes, some of us like the weather, food and lots of sex.

The American life style I live including ocean view and golf 3 times a week is about 1/3 of the US. Not even close to the same cost.

What's pathetic is a pension of $1000 a month.

What did you do all your life??

[GalaxyMan]

4 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

What did you do all your life??

Actually, that's none of your business, but I would suggest not judging books by their covers. 

[bkk6060]

1 hour ago, ronaldo0 said:

Yip I have wife and house here otherwise I would be out of here .

So you made a huge life mistake and your advice to others would be not get married or buy a house in Thailand, instead move to Vietnam?

[DrTuner]

2 hours ago, micmichd said:

Why should you have a better life than a somchai?

Because I'm worth it.

 

Always wanted to use that one, thanks for the opportunity.

[Jackin1960]

Grand Palace for tourist (non Thai) enter 500 TB plus long pants 200TB enter free to Thai people real price long pants 50TB if you buy them outside.

National Parks enter tourists 400-500 TB Thai Free to 20TB. 

I won't draw a list here but this is called DISCRIMINATION and if someone tried to do that here in the UK they would be shut down and very quickly find themselves in front of a judge. But I guess we can't compare a relatively civilised country with a third world country. Having said that it is cheap if you eat like a Thai and are happy in a motel otherwise it is not so cheap. 

[ronaldo0]

Just now, bkk6060 said:

So you made a huge life mistake and your advice to others would be not get married or buy a house in Thailand, instead move to Vietnam?

Getting married no problem as she can get into Vietnam fairly easy.

Buying property in Thailand , avoid like the plague . I bought 4 of them and lost money on every one when selling apart from one I live in . So yeah go to Vietnam !

[ChiangMaiLightning2143]

Bulgaria?
They do have the best Yoghurt.
A rubbish clickbait survey

[Pedrogaz]

Thailand is no longer cheap. Apart from housing and labour everything else is very expensive. I have been here a few years so I have lost track of the cost of living elsewhere, but on my trips back to the UK I cannot get over how cheap everything is, especially supermarket alcohol which is half the price of here...you can get a large can of beer for 75p or about 60 baht, and a nice bottle of wine for a fiver vs about 700 baht for anything drinkable here. What is getting me down is the constant revision of visa laws asking for meaningless bots of paper to be filed and never ever looked at again. It has become tiresome and I am going to look at Vietnam and Malaysia as alternatives, taking my Thai wife with me. I really don't like the direction the country is taking and the racism here against foreigners.

[freebyrd]

20 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Yes, if you're ok living like a somchai. Try to upgrade to euro standards and you're in a world of hurt.

I lived in TL for many years, 12 years in Cambodia and I certainly don't live like a Somchai. Any country is what you make of it as long as you're not obsessed where the nearest hospital is. Living here suits me fine now that I'm older and my priorities are rather different.

 

As the old sayings go, walk a mile in a man's shoes.... and One man's meat is another man's poison....

[freebyrd]

4 minutes ago, ChiangMaiLightning2143 said:

Bulgaria?
They do have the best Yoghurt.
A rubbish clickbait survey

I've a mate living there and he doesn't have a single bad word to say about the place. As my last post said, any country is what you make of it.

[FritsSikkink]

20 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Cambodia is still affordable.  Food is more expensive, but most other things are cheap. 

 

Vietnam is becoming more of a winner with no visa hassles and good fun.  A few years from now, Vietnam will be outshining Thailand.   The junta best stop defiling all that is good in Thailand if they want to keep up with Vietnam and Malaysia. 

Only the poor expats will have to move, people with money won't go there.