Thailand still a destination of choice for money conscious expats

[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.

That's not true for Cambodia.

[freebyrd]

3 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

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

I have money and I live and work here just fine thanks.

[bkk6060]

10 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

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.

You say Thailand is no longer cheap and the reasoning you give is the price of booze??

Wow....

[freebyrd]

3 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Cambodia now tightening up work permit and visa rules to keep out undesirables.

 

Not as easy as it once was to stay there.

And that's a good thing for hard working folk like me that live here. Undesirables should never be welcomed anywhere IMO.

[yellowboat]

18 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

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

So what if they are poor ?  Is that something to be disdained ?  Are you saying Thailand is for the wealthy ?  

 

Cambodia is a lot more fun now than Thailand.  Less rules.  Cambodians want to speak English.  

 

Malaysia has a higher standard of living and They speak English.

 

Vietnam is now catching up Thailand, and there are fewer visa worries, as well as, "big misunderstandings"

 

People with money are not that excited about Thailand either. 

 

 

[yellowboat]

33 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

You say Thailand is no longer cheap and the reasoning you give is the price of booze??

Wow....

Yeah, he might actually want to have fun which Thailand aint, but was before the green team took over.  Thailand is terrible for alcohol now a days, price and selection.  Costs are much more than Cambodia, Vietnam and even China.  Malaysia is more expensive though. 

[bkk6060]

Housing is about the same cost in Vietnam and Cambodia as here.

Food is about equal.

Sex and golf from my experience were more in Vietnam and Cambodia.

I found Cambodia a filth hole with no clean up, poor infrastructure and a low quality of life.

Vietnam is not far behind.  Both 3rd world low end and boring.

 

 

[bkk6060]

1 minute ago, yellowboat said:

Yeah, he might actually want to have fun which Thailand aint, but was before the green team took over.  Thailand is terrible for alcohol now a days, price and selection.  Costs are much more than Cambodia, Vietnam and even China.  Malaysia is more expensive though. 

OK.

I just find it interesting how many brag and think a place like Cambodia is better then here, because you can buy a beer for 50 cents. I guess if booze is the life blood of ones existence.  I am glad it is not mine.

[yellowboat]

6 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Sex and golf

Gotcha,  some prefer booze some prefer the above.

[Thingamabob]

Chav heaven.

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, Pedrogaz said:

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.

1.  Housing is the largest category of expenses by far.  2. Last change in Visa that effected retired men (majority of expats) was a quarter of a century ago.  I spend 5 minutes a year at immigration.  Maybe you should hire me as a consultant?  Malaysia, now there's a place especially for those who like watching lesbians get caned. I'm not into stuff like that.  I spent a couple of years in Vietnam and that was enough. 

 

Edited September 9, 2018 by marcusarelus

[FritsSikkink]

30 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

So what if they are poor ?  Is that something to be disdained ?  Are you saying Thailand is for the wealthy ?  

 

Cambodia is a lot more fun now than Thailand.  Less rules.  Cambodians want to speak English.  

 

Malaysia has a higher standard of living and They speak English.

 

Vietnam is now catching up Thailand, and there are fewer visa worries, as well as, "big misunderstandings"

 

People with money are not that excited about Thailand either. 

 

 

If you live hear learn the local language. That is expected from foreigners in your home country too.

I know loads of people with money who are excited.

[FritsSikkink]

22 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Thailand is terrible for alcohol now a days, price and selection. 

If you live in the sticks (because it is cheap there) you probably can't get a decent selection. In other parts of Thailand you can.

[BritManToo]

19 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

OK.

I just find it interesting how many brag and think a place like Cambodia is better then here, because you can buy a beer for 50 cents. I guess if booze is the life blood of ones existence.  I am glad it is not mine.

Beer is 50c in Vietnam too, Saigon Green 450ml bottles, available for that price in many bars.

[marcusarelus]

14 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Chav heaven.

The big similarity between Philippines and Thailand is the Thai women want to stay in Thailand and so do Philippine women.

 

Since my wife and all her family live in Thailand are you saying they are Chavs?  Or me?  I don't drink, smoke or live in the UK?

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

You say Thailand is no longer cheap and the reasoning you give is the price of booze??

Wow....

I can buy a 700ml bottle of Vodka in Tesco Lotus for 160bht, cheap as chips.

Edited September 9, 2018 by BritManToo

[marcusarelus]

5 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

If you live in the sticks (because it is cheap there) you probably can't get a decent selection. In other parts of Thailand you can.

Lazada has stills for sale.  I am sure for cooking or medicinal purposes only. 

[freebyrd]

43 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Housing is about the same cost in Vietnam and Cambodia as here.

Food is about equal.

Sex and golf from my experience were more in Vietnam and Cambodia.

I found Cambodia a filth hole with no clean up, poor infrastructure and a low quality of life.

Vietnam is not far behind.  Both 3rd world low end and boring.

 

 

It's what you make it. My quality of life here in Cambodia is better than it was in Thailand.

[freebyrd]

2 hours 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. ?

 

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...?

Cambodia is a s***hole - in your opinion. I have lived here quite happily for 12 years, many others have for much longer. Thai food is available quite readily here and Khmer food is as good in its own way. Khmer people are also preferable to Thais, but that's just my opinion.

 

One man's meat is another man's poison....

Edited September 9, 2018 by freebyrd

[CharlieH]

Overly negative Thai remark removed.

 

11) You will not post slurs, degrading or overly negative comments directed towards Thailand, specific locations, Thai institutions such as the judicial or law enforcement system, Thai culture, Thai people or any other group on the basis of race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

[AsiaHand]

On 9/8/2018 at 2:59 PM, khwaibah said:

Bar fine can be had for 300 baht.?

The cost of drinking is higher  then places in The EU or The US but to make up for it, the poon is good while very cheap. 

[utalkin2me]

5 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.

MAn, where did you live, in the Texan plains? Out there by David Koresh with no water? ?

 

Where I am coming from a one bedroom box is $1500 a month. Done. Conversation over. Although i do believe you in that there are very cheap places in the us, i just do not particularly want to live in any of them. 

[utalkin2me]

I just honestly can't believe there are people who maintain it is not cheaper here in Thailand. I suppose if you need imported cheese and wine everyday it is. That is just not how i do things i suppose.

 

I am trying to be open minded here but i would honestly have a hard time spending more a month here than back in the US...

 

My car costs (insurance, repairs, gas and the cost of the vehicle) are 100% gone because their transport. 

 

My grocery bill is a joke, but i eat thai food. Khao man gai is 30 baht. I mean cmon, seriously? 

 

Rent. Idk, how can you guys even compare it? I suppose if you lived deep in tha mississippi bayou or something. Otherwise it is like a five to one prosect as far as i can tell.... 1500 in the usa turns to 300 a month here. Plus if you own there is no property tax and the annual fees in condos are like 500 bucks lol. 

 

Going to the doctor. Another joke. Can't even compare costs, as much as 5 or 10 to one. 

 

The list could go on. Idk what you guys are doing. My monthly "nut" as we used to call it is so small here i almost laugh at it. I can make that much standing on my head. In the states i am working 9 to 5 and taking wknd shifts and just paying my bills, until someone goes to the hospital then i am screwed. 

 

Rant over. I am open minded and nonjudgemental, i just dont know how you guys do it. I would havemto try so hard to spend as much here as i do stateside.

[FritsSikkink]

29 minutes ago, freebyrd said:

It's what you make it. My quality of life here in Cambodia is better than it was in Thailand.

Why couldn't you make it better in Thailand?

[yellowboat]

44 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

If you live hear learn the local language. That is expected from foreigners in your home country too.

I know loads of people with money who are excited.

Sorry, worked for several very wealthy entrepreneurs over three decades in Asia, some worth  hundreds of millions of dollars.   None of them could speak an Asian language.  I cherish the hard work it took and my abilities to speak a major Asian Language, but somehow doubt the excited people with money you talk about learned Thai.   Learning Thai over Chinese, Bhasa, Korean or Japanese is highly doubtful.  My Thai friends tell me NOT to learn Thai over a more valuable language.  

[freebyrd]

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

Why couldn't you make it better in Thailand?

I worked for a tight fisted  Brit in Thailand and lived in an apartment where I paid B4,500 a month (1994 - 2001). Here I work for a Khmer, much higher salary and better all around treatment. I live in a 2 bedroom house, no palace, $400 a month and have a Khmer wife who doesn't nag me for anything and whose family don't expect me to support them.

 

I enjoyed my years in Thailand but IMO it was a far more welcoming country then (1988 - 2001).

[marcusarelus]

2 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Sorry, worked for several very wealthy entrepreneurs over three decades in Asia, some worth  hundreds of millions of dollars.   None of them could speak an Asian language.  I cherish the hard work it took and my abilities to speak a major Asian Language, but somehow doubt the excited people with money you talk about learned Thai.   Learning Thai over Chinese, Bhasa, Korean or Japanese is highly doubtful.  My Thai friends tell me NOT to learn Thai over a more valuable language.  

The only Thai person who told me not to learn Thai was a bar girl trying to rip me off. 

[freebyrd]

3 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Sorry, worked for several very wealthy entrepreneurs over three decades in Asia, some worth  hundreds of millions of dollars.   None of them could speak an Asian language.  I cherish the hard work it took and my abilities to speak a major Asian Language, but somehow doubt the excited people with money you talk about learned Thai.   Learning Thai over Chinese, Bhasa, Korean or Japanese is highly doubtful.  My Thai friends tell me NOT to learn Thai over a more valuable language.  

 

4 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Sorry, worked for several very wealthy entrepreneurs over three decades in Asia, some worth  hundreds of millions of dollars.   None of them could speak an Asian language.  I cherish the hard work it took and my abilities to speak a major Asian Language, but somehow doubt the excited people with money you talk about learned Thai.   Learning Thai over Chinese, Bhasa, Korean or Japanese is highly doubtful.  My Thai friends tell me NOT to learn Thai over a more valuable language.  

I worked for a hotel chain in Thailand, the first thing I did was to go to school to learn the language. The MD who circa 1995 had been in Thailand 25 years, couldn't speak any Thai.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

If you live hear learn the local language. That is expected from foreigners in your home country too.

I know loads of people with money who are excited.

I don't think learning the local language is expected of many foreigners staying anywhere on a 90 day permit (or less).

Edited September 9, 2018 by BritManToo

[utalkin2me]

4 minutes ago, freebyrd said:

I worked for a tight fisted  Brit in Thailand and lived in an apartment where I paid B4,500 a month (1994 - 2001). Here I work for a Khmer, much higher salary and better all around treatment. I live in a 2 bedroom house, no palace, $400 a month and have a Khmer wife who doesn't nag me for anything and whose family don't expect me to support them.

 

I enjoyed my years in Thailand but IMO it was a far more welcoming country then (1988 - 2001).

I bet Thailand was awesome back then. I got here too late for many things, but just in time for others.