Thailand still a destination of choice for money conscious expats

[FritsSikkink]

7 hours 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.  

"Sorry, worked for several very wealthy entrepreneurs over three decades in Asia, some worth  hundreds of millions of dollars."

They did good, how much did you make?

"somehow doubt the excited people with money you talk about learned Thai. "

Up to you, they did.

"Learning Thai over Chinese, Bhasa,"

Do you mean Bahasa Indonesia?

"My Thai friends tell me NOT to learn Thai over a more valuable language."

You can learn multiple languages, many people do.

Why would your "friends" advise you not to talk their language? 

 

[Rhys]

just passing through...

[GinBoy2]

20 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Elon................is that you ?

Oh come on, smell the roses!

[whaleboneman]

I find that this forum can be very useful sometimes. But when people start getting personal and making attacks it just gets childish. What is it with the male ego that makes us behave like this? 

[Paulinho]

12 hours ago, Cadbury said:

Vietnam is about half the cost of living to that of Thailand. Doesn't have some of those attractions Thailand is famous for but it is a whole lot cheaper, particularly for food and drink and most other things. Not so much so for rental unless away from the big cities.

If one is concerned about their budget then Thailand is just going to get harder and harder. For those who have flexibility to move Vietnam is a great option, Cambodia less so. 

Why is that (vn vs. CMB). 

 

Siem reap if outside backpacker area is great value and nice people. 

 

Where in VN would you suggest for a single person? I live and have bkk for many years. Saigon isn't an option too frantic. And beach type places aren't ideal for long term stay, are they? Na trang? Where in VN would you consider that isn't hectic like BKK but has some work and expat scene? 

[Trouble]

It seems to be surveys of this type mix a lot of apples and oranges.  It would be best to find out the respondents particular circumstances, i.e. working, retired, married, single, reason for living as expat, etc. and then classify things within those categories.  As the report said: "Moving for a new job is also among the most important motivations for the Expat Insider respondents."  So a working person would have a whole different list of factors than an expat on a pension.  As stated Thaivisa survey earlier this year revealed that many expats in Thailand are able to live on less than 45,000 baht per month."  I think many retired people live in various places because of their particular income levels and obviously for many older single male expats, Thailand is also a playground. So these surveys seems somewhat meaningless when they say Thailand ranks #4 for cost of living as each place might not offer the same "quality of life" for the same cost of living, it may just be cheap to live there. I often wonder what the quality of life is on about $1400 per month. Some expats I know seem to exist on their pensions, they do not live a very lavish lifestyle in Bangkok , but they make the best of it.  It's all a matter of what one can afford and how one chooses to live if your a retired expat.  Much different that a working expat.

 

[smudger1951]

Lived in LOS for ten years quite happily but came back home last year. I saw the pound drop 20% the day after the Brexit referendum result. It won't get better anytime soon. 

[ScammedInThailand]

On ‎9‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 7:31 PM, 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. 

'Defiling all that is good in Thailand....'' Oh hum - another deluded soul.

[Cadbury]

5 hours ago, Paulinho said:

Why is that (vn vs. CMB). 

 

Siem reap if outside backpacker area is great value and nice people. 

 

Where in VN would you suggest for a single person? I live and have bkk for many years. Saigon isn't an option too frantic. And beach type places aren't ideal for long term stay, are they? Na trang? Where in VN would you consider that isn't hectic like BKK but has some work and expat scene? 

Danang in preference to Na Trang. Plenty of expats there. mainly English school teachers I think.

[Jingjock]

19 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

Totally 100% right, those that believe that there country is cheaper, need to pull head out of sand, or go back home

[MaxYakov]

Thailand still a destination of choice for money-conscious expats

Edited September 9, 2018 by MaxYakov

[marcusarelus]

7 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

To throw in a little oil on the fire.
Of course the reality is. if you're old single you go to Thailand not for the cost of living, temples, weather, blah blah, but for the availability of cheap sex with young women.
It ain't that hard to figure out the motivation behind most guy's thought process!

I think that's a good thing.  Have you seen what happens to old guy alone in the States?  Awful life.  They get old too soon and happy to late.  I lived in Pattaya for 3 years and they were the happiest 3 years of my geriatric life.  I have seen the old guys in Florida trudging along the beach wearing black socks and sandals looking for sharks teeth and early bird dinners.  Oh god it's horrid.  Then they put them in a nursing home and the fire ants sting them to death.  Not for me.

[Nyezhov]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I think that's a good thing.  Have you seen what happens to old guy alone in the States?  Awful life.  They get old too soon and happy to late.  I lived in Pattaya for 3 years and they were the happiest 3 years of my geriatric life.  I have seen the old guys in Florida trudging along the beach wearing black socks and sandals looking for sharks teeth and early bird dinners.  Oh god it's horrid.  Then they put them in a nursing home and the fire ants sting them to death.  Not for me.

Exactly. I aint going to sit in a retirement community and play handball with my own poop thats for sure.

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Exactly. I aint going to sit in a retirement community and play handball with my own poop thats for sure.

Pattaya always gave me hope.  I watched from my barstool that old polish circus midget with red shoes and the beggar who crawled - yup crawled - the length of Soi Buakhow every day and the paraplegic guys who navigated around that handicapped unfriendly city they gave me hope to live with my minor aches and pains and courage to live for another day.  I know they make fun of us old guys but we have a choice to be a bagboy at Publix in Florida or a Hefner clone in Pattaya.  I made my decision.  You can carry your own darn grocery bags out the car. 

[Nyezhov]

7 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Pattaya always gave me hope.  I watched from my barstool that old polish circus midget with red shoes and the beggar who crawled - yup crawled - the length of Soi Buakhow every day and the paraplegic guys who navigated around that handicapped unfriendly city they gave me hope to live with my minor aches and pains and courage to live for another day.  I know they make fun of us old guys but we have a choice to be a bagboy at Publix in Florida or a Hefner clone in Pattaya.  I made my decision.  You can carry your own darn grocery bags out the car. 

Roger that. I have 387 temples to go to in between girls. Plus Im going to count lizards.

 

 

[utalkin2me]

Let's just put this whole notion it is not cheaper in Thailand to bed. 

 

Minimum wage more or less in Thailand about 300 baht per day. Monthly salary for 20 working weekdays: 6,000 baht.

 

Minimum wage more or less in the USA in a big city (BKK is a big city), let's say LA $11 per hour, so let's just call it $100 per day to make the math easy. Monthly salary for 20 working weekdays: $2,000 USD or about 65,000 baht. 

 

So, we have people in Thailand who necessarily need conditions to live under at the 6,000 baht per month level, and up to as high as you would like. 

 

We have people in the states who necessarily need conditions to live under at the 65,000 baht per month level and up to as high as you would like. 

 

What can we deduce?

 

That in Thailand you have the ABILITY to live anywhere from 6,000 baht per month to as much as you would like. 

 

You do not get that same option in the states. Your options start at 65,000 baht per month. There is a huge gap there in Thailand, where if people would like to, or need to, live cheaper, they can. 

 

So if you are having a bad month in Thailand with cash flow problems, you can ratchet down your spending if you would like. Not so in the USA! This makes Thailand cheaper no matter how much you want to base the discussion on your own spending habits. Of course you could live in Haiti on the same money you live on in the USA, but that doesn't say anything about the costs, it says loads about how you spend your money. 

 

I have been watching people aste money all my life. It is amazing to see for me. But again, just because you choose to live like this does not make a cheap country has equal expenses to your own!  For you effectively the costs are the same, but only because you choose not to take advantage of the HUGE potential savings that are there between 6,000 and 65,000 baht, give or take. 

 

Edited September 10, 2018 by utalkin2me

[BritManToo]

14 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

God forbid you end up in the hospital with a life threatening condition.  Happened to me a couple of weeks ago.  Glad I spoke Thai. 

Been in a Thai hospital a couple of times, never any need to speak Thai.

They can diagnose and treat without any real conversation, but there were usually plenty of English speakers around, one doctor had a dictionary for the hard words he didn't know the English for ('Streptococcal infection of the bile glands' and 'precancerous cysts in the liver due to fluke infestation'). But you probably already knew the Thai for those conditions.

[Henryford]

If you like wine Thailand comes last.

[BritManToo]

10 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

You own both houses/land in the US but your wife owns the house/land in Thailand.  That may make a big difference to some people. 

When (if) the divorce happens, he'll find she owns both houses so no difference at all.

[utalkin2me]

26 minutes ago, Henryford said:

If you like wine Thailand comes last.

Maybe check the airport shops?

 

I checked the vodka prices last time at swampy on my way in. Not as good as my home country, but quite a bit better than the 7-11 prices.

 

I am not sure how wine prices hold up? Although it sucks you can only grab 1 liter i believe, so may as well grab something with more kick ?

[yellowboat]

8 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Skilled expats can work here without any problem, unqualified "tourist" teachers is an other story. 

The opportunities since the green team seized power just do not exist as they once did.  They scared a lot of people off.  There were articles stating that large, foreign companies were not sending people to Thailand anymore.  It is just not a dynamic place anymore to work.  What projects the government is proposing will be dominated Chinese and Japanese consortiums.    Cambodia has needs and very relaxed working permit rules, so it is easier.   If you are looking for work, you go where you are needed and where it is easy, not where you think you want to live.   You go where you hear the word "yes" a lot.   I loved Hong Kong in my youth, but it has changed.  Most jobs in my industry are in finance and property.  Those industries do interest me at all.  Happily, I am getting calls to do some work there now, but it is not long term. 

 

If you know of some great industries that needs foreign talent, let's hear it.  Enlighten us.

 

I will tell you this.  Thai's greatest advantage is their patience.   Sadly, it is their biggest downfall as well.  The elites have been exploiting that attribute / weakness for a very long time. 

[yellowboat]

9 hours ago, whaleboneman said:

They forget that ganja is also cheap and readily available in Cambodia.

And it is really good too. 

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, yellowboat said:

The opportunities since the green team seized power just do not exist as they once did.  They scared a lot of people off.  There were articles stating that large, foreign companies were not sending people to Thailand anymore.  It is just not a dynamic place anymore to work.  What projects the government is proposing will be dominated Chinese and Japanese consortiums.    Cambodia has needs and very relaxed working permit rules, so it is easier.   If you are looking for work, you go where you are needed and where it is easy, not where you think you want to live.   You go where you hear the word "yes" a lot.   I loved Hong Kong in my youth, but it has changed.  Most jobs in my industry are in finance and property.  Those industries do interest me at all.  Happily, I am getting calls to do some work there now, but it is not long term. 

 

If you know of some great industries that needs foreign talent, let's hear it.  Enlighten us.

 

I will tell you this.  Thai's greatest advantage is their patience.   Sadly, it is their biggest downfall as well.  The elites have been exploiting that attribute / weakness for a very long time. 

IT is a growth market, needs a lot of people. In the building where I work are many international companies with a increasing number of foreign workers. In the buildings where our customers are the same story. Sorry there might be "articles stating that large, foreign companies were not sending people to Thailand anymore.", but in reality there are more and more foreign workers at the international companies.  

Edited September 10, 2018 by FritsSikkink

[marcusarelus]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

If you like wine Thailand comes last.

Actually that would be: Yemen. Alcohol is completely banned in Yemen as it is believed to be against the principles of Islam. ...

United Arab Emirates (In Sharja) ...

Sudan. ...

Somalia. ...

Saudi Arabia. ...

Pakistan. ...

Mauritania. ...

Maldives.

[Tiredofglasshalfemptyexpat]

On 9/8/2018 at 3:07 PM, keith101 said:

With the Aussie dollar still weakening against the Thai Baht its getting harder for those on a Pension .

Why would anyone come to live here and not do something about the FX exposure beforehand. Madness. 

 

First thing I did was bought a load of Thai assets that yield 6%+ .. now i don't care about the exchange rate. 

[marcusarelus]

14 minutes ago, Tiredofglasshalfemptyexpat said:

Why would anyone come to live here and not do something about the FX exposure beforehand. Madness. 

 

First thing I did was bought a load of Thai assets that yield 6%+ .. now i don't care about the exchange rate. 

I did too at 50 baht to the US dollar.  Now I cry when the dollar goes down relative the baht because of my pension and cry when the baht goes down relative to the US dollar because of my Thai assets. 

Edit

To be honest I kept my home in Florida till one year it had 4 hurricanes and that was too much even for a cracker like me and I sold out and moved the cash to Thailand - happened to get a good rate. 

Edited September 10, 2018 by marcusarelus

[freebyrd]

14 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

I lived in CM for 3 years and not much of a rainy season.  I lived in Saigon for 2 and that is a rainy season. 

 

I have lived in my current house for 5 years not Thailand. 

 

My x wives all wanted to destroy me.  They didn't.  Thailand was my ace in the hole. 

 

My x wives thought they got everything including my soul and that I would be devastated by them divorcing me.  I wasn't, Thailand was my ace in the hole.

 

If I didn't have a Thai wife I would rent a home or condo.  I lived here many years and that's what I did.  I didn't buy a home when I was a single guy in the States either.  What for?  Lease a car, boat, home.....

 

I spent 5 minutes at Immigration last year.

 

I have not contradicted myself.  I'm afraid you don't read or recall very well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have lived in my current house for 5 years not Thailand - So what was the BS about I came to Thailand in 1968? I asked you how long you had been in Thailand , not when you first visited! Now you're saying you haven't lived in Thailand for the last 5 years. At best it seems you are flexible with the truth and BTW, what the hell is "who a jai" Mr fluent Thai speaker? , it's hua jai ??. You are nothing but a used car salesman.

[freebyrd]

10 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

The old days were certainly different as people who came here had money to spend. No "begpackers", most people knew something about the country before they went to visit. There are Thai families who don't expect you to support them too, so that is "the luck of the draw", there will be enough people in Cambodia looking for free money too. Working for a tight fisted  Brit is a thing where both parties sign a contract, don't do it or leave quickly if you don't like it.

I had a wife and family to support and jobs in the fitness industry were hard to find. The contract I signed meant nothing in the mid 90's and I was given verbal promises that never came to fruition. People everywhere look for handouts but again, my experience was there were far more of them in Thailand than here.

Edited September 10, 2018 by freebyrd

[ThaiFelix]

On 9/9/2018 at 10:40 AM, GinBoy2 said:

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

Yeah but he didnt inhale!

[BritManToo]

31 minutes ago, Tiredofglasshalfemptyexpat said:

Why would anyone come to live here and not do something about the FX exposure beforehand. Madness.

Probably because we all have pensions that provide monthly incomes, but no savings.