Thailand Still cheaper than home

[dreaming]

4 hours ago, sirineou said:

I was "the Iron man" until age 57, run marathons, played tennis for hrs in the hot sun, never a sick day in my life. Then at a routine physical a heart murmur was detected, upon further diagnosis  it was discovered that I was birt with an abnormal Aortic heart valve.  Open heart surgery,  aortic valve replacement $240, 000 . Thank god I had good insurance.

Everyone is healthy until they are not. I sincerely hope your luck holds up.

As far as consumer goods go, I already said that I can only talk about the US,  Do to scale of markets, consumer good are less expensive in the US and of better quality. 

 

Thats where most of us would jump on the first plane back home and get treatment for free. (not sure how it works in USA)

[elgenon]

15 hours ago, Sophon said:

Again you show that you have done no research.

 

No, I didn't buy travel insurance I bought health insurance and more specifically the David Shield Essential plan. The premium is based on the health care costs in the country you live in, and even though health care costs in Thailand have gone up a lot over the last few years, it's still a lot cheaper than in many countries. For the same coverage I would for instance have to pay USD 4,572 if I were living in Japan. The reason the premiums are quoted in USD is because the insurance is not provided by a Thai company but rather by a EU based company specializing in providing insurance for expats.

 

Because health care costs are still relatively reasonable in Thailand, the insurance company can provide a higher coverage without raising the premium by a lot. They can do that since only maybe 1 claim in 10,000 would excede e.g. 3 mio Baht. As an example April International have two plans called "My health Thailand", one with a THB 3 mio coverage limit and one with a THB 16 mio coverage limit. Despite the significant difference in coverage the premiums for me as a 56 year old would be USD 1,704 for the lower limit plan and USD 2.130 for the higher limit plan. So a relatively small difference in premiums because very few claims would actually exceed THB 3 mio. That being the case, how many claims do you think would exceed THB 16 mio?

 

For general information this is the health insurance comparison table my insurance broker (AA insurance) sent me. It's from last year, so the numbers may have changed a little:

Sophon

 

Sophon- Can you please PM me with your broker info. Could I get the plan in m 70s?

[elgenon]

3 hours ago, heybuz said:

that's where you went wrong, old chinese doctor said heart only got so many beats forget exercise take nap instead. lol

Trump says you have only so much energy, so don't exercise. 

[Sophon]

15 hours ago, HuskerDo said:

Th

 

Thanks Saphon. Question... The charts you posted for David Shield don't go beyond age 64. Is that the age limit he'll only insure to or is there another chart for later ages? Thanks!!!

You can see the premiums for ages up to 74 in the table from my insurance broker in post no. 43. The insurance guarantees lifetime renewal, however unfortunately you can only sign up for the plan if you are 65 years old or less.

 

Sophon

[moreem]

22 hours ago, 55Jay said:

About the same for me I reckon.   Me and the wife (no kids anywhere) do fine on about 78,000 baht cash and credit expenditures each month.  Live modestly but not wanting, then cut loose when we go on holidays abroad.  Life would be very different if we lived where I'm originally from (Southern California).  

 

Quality of life is a different thing than economics for me though.  I don't like where we live and wouldn't shed a tear leaving Thailand altogether.  For me, there's no substitute for the home turf on the Pacific Ocean - fishing, boating, pleasant weather.  Thailand doesn't do it for me, although Andaman Sea side would probably be alright. 

 

so sad for you to live somewhere only because of economy. some people must have a sad life around here.

 

 

[Sophon]

50 minutes ago, Sophon said:

You can see the premiums for ages up to 74 in the table from my insurance broker in post no. 43. The insurance guarantees lifetime renewal, however unfortunately you can only sign up for the plan if you are 65 years old or less.

 

Sophon

 

2 hours ago, elgenon said:

Sophon- Can you please PM me with your broker info. Could I get the plan in m 70s?

Sorry, just rechecked my policy and the maximum age you can join the David Shield plan is 64 (not 65 as I previously stated).

 

Sophon

[Toosetinmyways]

3 hours ago, elgenon said:

Sophon- Can you please PM me with your broker info. Could I get the plan in m 70s?

https://davidshield-group.pissedconsumer.com/review.html

[bomber]

23 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Housing and young women (18-32) are much more expensive in the UK than in Thailand (about x10).

Nothing else much matters when comparing the costs.

 

I'm not sick, so I don't care about hospitals or insurance.

not sure what the prices are for UK hooker's are these days but they aint x10 more than thailand,x1.5 - x3 would be nearer the mark,lets hope you dont need to visit a hospital anytime soon as it will cost you much more than x10 the UK price

[BritManToo]

10 minutes ago, bomber said:

not sure what the prices are for UK hooker's are these days but they aint x10 more than thailand,x1.5 - x3 would be nearer the mark,

I was thinking more the price of supporting a wife or girlfriend 20-40 years younger than myself.

Paul McCartney tried it, and it cost him 20 million pounds.

My girlfriend is considerably cheaper and comes with two legs.

Edited January 7, 2019 by BritManToo

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, bomber said:

not sure what the prices are for UK hooker's are these days but they aint x10 more than thailand,x1.5 - x3 would be nearer the mark,lets hope you dont need to visit a hospital anytime soon as it will cost you much more than x10 the UK price

By the pound or by the hour? 

[bojo]

The part about two legs was a bit below the belt, but I have to admit, from what I could gleen from the press at the time, that Heather Mills was a right cow, (I think that would be an apt description), so I can quite see where the none too favourable comment came from......

[Rimmer]

A flame has been removed .

 

[rumak]

6 hours ago, thailand49 said:

Yes, depends!  I understand you one word!

I go by the belief " the grass is never greener "  Depends for me if you are younger working and depending on ones personality?  Material wise it all makes sense but can a person put how they grew up, mentally does the different culture and thinking won't bother the person.  

I was told once prior to moving here " they think backwards and that is being kind "  if a person can live in a bubble and not have the culture bother you it works but if you live with 100% Thais, deal with their school system and the product that is being push out etc etc.. then it works but if I had to do it all over again I would continue to visit and never burn my bridges so I can go home.  

What I thought I was fed up in the U.S. I now really appreciate even the smallest of things I took for granted.  

Now if everyone just STARTED each post with the words :  IT IS MY OPINION THAT.......... , and by some miracle could understand that everyone does not live or think the same..... or value the same things , maybe the name calling , etc would calm down a bit.(not saying you have done that) Just making a point.

 

in simpler terms:  different strokes for different folks  

[Lacessit]

7 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

  https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php

 

Cost of living index USA 19. UK 18, Australia 9, Switzerland 3.  Wait for it.......Thailand 60

Interesting stuff. I know i can live in Thailand more cheaply than Australia. Although the Philippines is apparently better than Thailand.

But but but -what about the quality of life? I understand food in the Philippines is dreck.

Edited January 7, 2019 by Lacessit

[madmen]

Interesting stuff. I know i can live in Thailand more cheaply than Australia. Although the Philippines is apparently better than Thailand.
But but but -what about the quality of life? I understand food in the Philippines is dreck.

Australia a bit different to the rest. Free Medicare. Free meds on PBS. RENT assistance whether you share or rent alone
Plus a bigger pension with subsidies back in
Plus a dollar is a dollar and not getting slaughtered here

Shop at Aldi Veges and fruit around the same price as here but much better quality.

Meat is real meat and can be bought and stored in the freezer when marked down

Wine and cheese at a fraction.

Rent is the big one but if you stay out of cities eg up north in WA YOU may even qualify for a petrol subsidy

Owning my condo in BKK means no rent so very comfortable but if the AUD keeps tanking like predicted I will sell it and kill on exchange rate and go back to oz and come here as a tourist.. Sounds good actually

[GinBoy2]

14 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Interesting stuff. I know i can live in Thailand more cheaply than Australia. Although the Philippines is apparently better than Thailand.

But but but -what about the quality of life? I understand food in the Philippines is dreck.

This where you get into the subjective, vs objective.

 

Now I could say, objectively that it would cost me less to live in Alabama than in in San Francisco. Then subjectively I would need to quantify in which I would prefer to live.

 

That is the question that gets asked on TVF Ad Nauseum, with the justification of the objective question.

 

The problem is there is no definitive answer to the subjective question

Edited January 7, 2019 by GinBoy2

[Naam]

4 hours ago, moreem said:

On 1/6/2019 at 4:19 PM, 55Jay said:

About the same for me I reckon.   Me and the wife (no kids anywhere) do fine on about 78,000 baht cash and credit expenditures each month.  Live modestly but not wanting, then cut loose when we go on holidays abroad.  Life would be very different if we lived where I'm originally from (Southern California).  

 

Quality of life is a different thing than economics for me though.  I don't like where we live and wouldn't shed a tear leaving Thailand altogether.  For me, there's no substitute for the home turf on the Pacific Ocean - fishing, boating, pleasant weather.  Thailand doesn't do it for me, although Andaman Sea side would probably be alright. 

 

so sad for you to live somewhere only because of economy. some people must have a sad life around here.

it's so sad that some people's view is solely based on their individual perspective. for others (like the Mrs and my[not so]humble self) living in Thailand "because of economy" means living a very comfortable life because we can, e.g. afford the luxury of four domestic employees, i.e. totally out of question in a first world country with a better infrastructure but sky high taxes which are living expenses. and that is just one example which is not sad especially when both husband and wife are septuagenarians.

 

unfortunately... living free of income tax is impossible for our U.S. American friends.

[Naam]

25 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Interesting stuff. I know i can live in Thailand more cheaply than Australia. Although the Philippines is apparently better than Thailand.

But but but -what about the quality of life? I understand food in the Philippines is dreck.

please don't insult "dreck"

[BritManToo]

28 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

But but but -what about the quality of life? I understand food in the Philippines is dreck.

I mainly eat Mexican when I'm there, great Burritos and Tortillas.

And the German sausages are good too.

OK, so I'd have a pork adobo once a week, but that was about it for local food. 

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

Australia a bit different to the rest. Free Medicare. Free meds on PBS. RENT assistance whether you share or rent alone
Plus a bigger pension with subsidies back in
Plus a dollar is a dollar and not getting slaughtered here

Shop at Aldi Veges and fruit around the same price as here but much better quality.

Meat is real meat and can be bought and stored in the freezer when marked down

Wine and cheese at a fraction.

Rent is the big one but if you stay out of cities eg up north in WA YOU may even qualify for a petrol subsidy

Owning my condo in BKK means no rent so very comfortable but if the AUD keeps tanking like predicted I will sell it and kill on exchange rate and go back to oz and come here as a tourist.. Sounds good actually

You keep beating this drum, which has a BS rhythm.

[Nyezhov]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

But but but -what about the quality of life? I understand food in the Philippines is dreck.

I didnt know they spoke Yiddische in Oz...

 

 

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

I didnt know they spoke Yiddische in Oz...

 

 

We're bonzer at languages. We like borrowing from them.

[madmen]

You keep beating this drum, which has a BS rhythm.

what a brutal comeback [emoji23]

 

Just a simpleton who can barley even put more than a few words together to form a sentence

 

Show me where I'm wrong? Take your time now forest it's not a trick question [emoji137]

 

Over to you.

 

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, madmen said:

what a brutal comeback

Just a simpleton who can barley even put more than a few words together for a sentence

Show me where I'm wrong? Take your time now forest it's not a trick question

Over to you.

Show me any pub in Oz where you can buy a decent meal for less than 3-4 times the price in an equivalent restaurant in Thailand. Show me any pub in Oz where a schooner of beer is not double the price here. Show me an apartment with a swimming pool in any capital city in Oz where a week's rent is not the same as a month's rent in Thailand. Yeah, I know - go live in Dubbo for the cheap rent.

Simpleton? You can't even spell the word "barely" correctly. Go troll somewhere else.

[Ashto]

On 1/6/2019 at 6:56 PM, Crossy said:

I get medical from my employer, but I also get Thai "30 Baht" (I forget the proper name) which I can continue for a pretty nominal fee when (if) I retire (and coverage never expires due to age).

I’d love to know more about this. 

[Naam]

9 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

11 hours ago, Lacessit said:

But but but -what about the quality of life? I understand food in the Philippines is dreck.

I didnt know they spoke Yiddische in Oz...

Dreck is integrated in Yiddish like many other German words and grammar.

[marcusarelus]

11 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

This where you get into the subjective, vs objective.

 

Now I could say, objectively that it would cost me less to live in Alabama than in in San Francisco. Then subjectively I would need to quantify in which I would prefer to live.

 

That is the question that gets asked on TVF Ad Nauseum, with the justification of the objective question.

 

The problem is there is no definitive answer to the subjective question

Subjective. I like America/Australia better than Thailand and diss Thailand at every opportunity.

 

Objective.  It costs 54% less to live in Thailand instead of America and 13% more to live in Australia than America.

https://www.worlddata.info/cost-of-living.php

 

[Crossy]

53 minutes ago, Ashto said:

I’d love to know more about this. 

If you are working and are (you should be) paying into the Thai Social Security system you should have a card giving you access to treatment at a nominated hospital (my card is purple). I've never used it as I get separate medical anyway.

 

When you retire / stop work you can maintain access to the healthcare system by making a small  monthly payment, I don't recall how much but it's peanuts compared to full blown medical insurance. Of course the treatment will be of a similar level to that given to the locals but it's a handy back-stop to maintain in the event that insurance becomes non-available.

 

[theguyfromanotherforum]

10 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Owning my condo in BKK means no rent so very comfortable but if the AUD keeps tanking like predicted I will sell it and kill on exchange rate and go back to oz and come here as a tourist.. Sounds good actually

 

I wanted to buy a condo in Bangkok for the longest time. No doubt I would have made money if I bought 5 years ago - 30% on the currency exchange alone.

 

However, I am skeptical when it comes to selling. I see condos on the market for over 1 year on average (comparing to 2 weeks in Toronto where I own a condo) and I am not even sure if they actually do get sold. I also think there is some tax to be paid if you own a condo for less than 5 years. Then there is an issue of transferring money back home.....

 

 

[Lacessit]

29 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

 

I wanted to buy a condo in Bangkok for the longest time. No doubt I would have made money if I bought 5 years ago - 30% on the currency exchange alone.

 

However, I am skeptical when it comes to selling. I see condos on the market for over 1 year on average (comparing to 2 weeks in Toronto where I own a condo) and I am not even sure if they actually do get sold. I also think there is some tax to be paid if you own a condo for less than 5 years. Then there is an issue of transferring money back home.....

 

 

Sorry, you are quoting me incorrectly. Another poster said that.