Thailand Still cheaper than home

[madmen]

I changed to David Shield six months ago. The premium I paid as a 56 year old was USD 1,704 and at the time the premium for a 66 year old was USD 2,530 and for a 74 year old USD 3,540. That's for an overall coverage of USD 1.2 mio.
 
Sophon

Not to bad. Still well short by at least 50 %
For anything major. Thanks for sharing

[Crossy]

"Home" for me is the UK.

 

I'm still working, but :-

• I earn (and therefore save) rather more here (in actual $$ terms) than I would in the UK.
• I pay (very slightly) less tax here.
• We (OK SWIMBO) own a home on 1/2 an acre in a village (with countryside) about a 1 hour commute (if you time it right) from the capital's central business district. I hate to think what that would cost in the UK.
• 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).
• The weather is mostly fantastic, no yukky grey drizzly days (most days in the UK).

Right now things are good, of course the wheel could come off any time ...

 

[Bang Bang]

15 minutes ago, JAFO said:

The incentive should be take care of yourself not hedge poor living with insurance. Live life in moderation and you should live a good life. Sure anything can happen on any given day but to live in panic fear all the time

It's not you, sweetheart. It's the punk kid in his pickup arguing with his gf on the phone who makes a sudden turn into the road you are crossing and smashes up that beautiful body you took such good care all these year. That's what insurance is for.

 

Yes, it's a hedge. But a smart one against catastrophe. Same principle as auto insurance, even if you never drive more than 20kph. even on the highway (well, maybe that's not good).

 

Heck, if I had to be in some place for an extended period of time without health insurance then I would be in panic fear. But I guess you and I are different.

[JAFO]

29 minutes ago, Bang Bang said:

extended period of time without health insurance then I would be in panic fear. But I guess you and I are different.

Yes we are.

 

 

[madmen]

I changed to David Shield six months ago. The premium I paid as a 56 year old was USD 1,704 and at the time the premium for a 66 year old was USD 2,530 and for a 74 year old USD 3,540. That's for an overall coverage of USD 1.2 mio.

 

Sophon

I just noticed it's for coverage USD 1.2 million?

Is that a typo?

 

[Sophon]

19 minutes ago, madmen said:

I just noticed it's for coverage us 1.2 million?
Is that a typo?

Nope, the max cover per year is USD 1.2 mio so approx. THB 38 mio. For a few things there is a lower limit, e.g.  for organ transplants there is a lifetime limit of USD 250,000. 

 

Sophon

Edited January 6, 2019 by Sophon

[madmen]

Nope, the max cover per year is USD 1.2 mio so approx. THB 38 mio. For a few things there is a lower limit, e.g.  for organ transplants there is a lifetime limit of USD 250,000. 

 

Sophon

So let me get this right.

 

For approx 50000 baht a year you will be covered for 38 MILLION baht a year. HEALTH INSURANCE???

 

And that doesn't sound completely off the planet ridicules to you?

 

[Sophon]

Just now, madmen said:

So let me get this right.

 

For approx 50000 baht a year you will be covered for 38 MILLION baht a year. HEALTH INSURANCE???

 

And that doesn't sound completely off the planet ridicules to you?

 

No, because in Thailand it's very unlikely that the insurance company will have to pay out anywhere close to the maximum coverage, so the difference for the insurance company between having a limit of e.g. USD 1.2 mio or a limit of USD 0.5 mio will not be significant. I could have gone with the April My Health Plan instead that has an overall limit of USD 0.5 mio and similar premiums but with an option of 20% discount with a USD 1,000 deductible. If I just wanted coverage for catastrophic events I could also have gone with Cigna Global for a premium of USD 1,133 for a coverage of USD 1 mio, but with a significant deductible of USD 10,000.

 

It sounds like you have done no research in what health insurance costs in Thailand, and have some unrealistic preconceived notions based on what it costs where you come from.

 

Sophon

[vinegarbase]

Picked up a half gallon of organic milk in the USA for about 90 baht not long ago. How much are you paying in the 'cheaper than home' Thailand. Picked up an 18' New York Pizza for about 300 baht in the USA, cost about 400 in Thailand. Heck, I even picked up fresh organic coffee beans from Central America for less than I pay for Thai coffee. How much is gas costing you in Thailand for your car? It's about 60 baht a gallon now in the USA right now. Speaking of cars, how much would you pay for a car in Thailand compared to the USA? Condo? The terrible quality jail cells they are selling I could get a nice mobile home on a half acre in the countryside in the US for the same price. I hate to say this bluntly but if you are struggling to get by on $4500 USD a month when your rent it $1500 you are an idiot with money and could make some serious adjustments. Furthermore, how can you compare it's cheaper than home when you are barely even allowed to work a job in Thailand? 

 

The cheap Thailand thing is a myth. People think just because they ate pad thai on the street one time for 30 baht that suddenly Thailand is the cheap living wonderland. Granted there are some things that might be a little cheaper but overall I have found Thailand to be much more expensive than the USA for most important things. 

[madmen]

No, because in Thailand it's very unlikely that the insurance company will have to pay out anywhere close to the maximum coverage, so the difference for the insurance company between having a limit of e.g. USD 1.2 mio or a limit of USD 0.5 mio will not be significant. I could have gone with the April My Health Plan instead that has an overall limit of USD 0.5 mio and similar premiums but with an option of 20% discount with a USD 1,000 deductible. If I just wanted coverage for catastrophic events I could also have gone with Cigna Global for a premium of USD 1,133 for a coverage of USD 1 mio, but with a significant deductible of USD 10,000.

 

It sounds like you have done no research in what health insurance costs in Thailand, and have some unrealistic preconceived notions based on what it costs where you come from.

 

Sophon

USD. 0.5 MILLION is still 15 million baht!!

 

For 50 k baht a year!! They would be out of business in the first year

 

You are in LA LA land...

 

You bought travel insurance and not health insurance. Sorry to tell you. Quoting in USA dollars instead of baht should have woke you up

 

Tell me what plan you have and I will follow it through.

 

[marcusarelus]

14 minutes ago, vinegarbase said:

Picked up a half gallon of organic milk in the USA for about 90 baht not long ago. How much are you paying in the 'cheaper than home' Thailand. Picked up an 18' New York Pizza for about 300 baht in the USA, cost about 400 in Thailand. Heck, I even picked up fresh organic coffee beans from Central America for less than I pay for Thai coffee. How much is gas costing you in Thailand for your car? It's about 60 baht a gallon now in the USA right now. Speaking of cars, how much would you pay for a car in Thailand compared to the USA? Condo? The terrible quality jail cells they are selling I could get a nice mobile home on a half acre in the countryside in the US for the same price. I hate to say this bluntly but if you are struggling to get by on $4500 USD a month when your rent it $1500 you are an idiot with money and could make some serious adjustments. Furthermore, how can you compare it's cheaper than home when you are barely even allowed to work a job in Thailand? 

 

The cheap Thailand thing is a myth. People think just because they ate pad thai on the street one time for 30 baht that suddenly Thailand is the cheap living wonderland. Granted there are some things that might be a little cheaper but overall I have found Thailand to be much more expensive than the USA for most important things. 

I went to the bank to make our house payment for our new by the ocean house $400.  Same thing in the states costs $1200 (big down payment) that gives me $800 to buy milk. ????

 

I don't know about the important things but the largest budget item in almost any budget is housing.  

 

Sorry fella you are way off base.

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Thailand&country2=United+States&city1=Rayong&city2=Sarasota%2C+FL

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by marcusarelus

[madmen]

I went to the bank to make our house payment for our new by the ocean house $400.  Same thing in the states costs $1200 that gives me $800 to buy milk. [emoji16]

 

I don't know about the important things but the largest budget item in almost any budget is housing.  

 

Sorry fella you are way off base.

There is a difference. In the West seaside housing appreciates by multiples. In Thailand seaside is usually in towns with poor infrastructure and at the whim of heavily seasonal TOURISM

 

There is a reason why beside the sea houses in oz where I'm from are 2 million AUD and in Thailand they are a mere fraction.

 

In fact buying seaside here in a town without industry will appreciate sloooowly if at all

 

[Sophon]

24 minutes ago, madmen said:

USD. 0.5 MILLION is still 15 million baht!!

 

For 50 k baht a year!! They would be out of business in the first year

 

You are in LA LA land...

 

You bought travel insurance and not health insurance. Sorry to tell you. Quoting in USA dollars instead of baht should have woke you up

 

Tell me what plan you have and I will follow it through.

 

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

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by Sophon

[MarkyM3]

I still work in the UK but spend 4 or so months in Bangkok/Thailand each year at the moment, been visiting the country since 2005. 

 

From my purely personal perspective (no bashing intended, I have no axe to grind either way):

 

Property costs are cheaper, and certainly away from Bangkok and tourist hotspots. But I doubt I will put much into the Thai property market in future from a buying perspective due to the restrictions on legal land ownership, lack of tightly enforced laws etc. I prefer to keep my property assets in the UK. 

 

Utilities seem to be cheaper than UK but not sure it's a huge difference in my experience. I can't say for sure. 

 

Local taxes such as council tax - seem to be more of them here in the UK.

 

Groceries etc - a number of items do not seem particularly cheap to me (but notably excluding fresh produce like poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables). I guess it depends how you want to live, Thai style eating Thai food mostly then yes it's cheaper for sure. I'm often surprised at how much I've spent in Lotus or Big C on a basket of groceries (not necessarily imported foods which are of course heavily overpriced), for the equivalent basket of good purchase in the UK. Also, I miss the range and quality of non-Thai food available to me but a Thai living in the UK would have an equally valid point. No doubt, local food is great, cheap and plentiful so YMMV. 

 

Alcohol - possibly cheaper in the UK from 7/11, supermarket, bar prices are certainly cheaper. It's £5+ for a pint in Central London pub though it's going to be be better quality than Thai beer. 

 

Clothing - much superior range and value available in UK unless F&F is your thing (nothing wrong with that, shorts are great value in there). My gf bought a load of clothes to take back to Bangkok on her last visit to the UK and made precisely this comment to me as well. 

 

Transport - in Bangkok, way cheaper e.g. MRT, BTS, taxis. Flying - not necessarily so due to prevelance of low-cost airlines in Europe. 

 

Weather - I don't like cold weather so UK weather late September - end April isn't for me. Summertime is the reverse, just had a wonderful summer in the UK with temperatures in mid-high 20s for extended periods and plenty of sun. So it ain't always grey here, as some would lead us to believe. It's not always wall-to-wall sunshine in Thailand either, in fairness. But give me heat any day. 

 

Healthcare - comprehensive free healthcare in the UK. You never know when you will need it, as I've found out. 

 

I'm 47 now, if I decide to choose Thailand as a retirement spot I would probably look at wintering there mainly between late September and return to the UK perhaps at Christmas then again in early May and stay for summer. Best of both worlds for me. 

Edited January 6, 2019 by MarkyM3

[marcusarelus]

13 minutes ago, madmen said:

There is a difference. In the West seaside housing appreciates by multiples. In Thailand seaside is usually in towns with poor infrastructure and at the whim of heavily seasonal TOURISM

 

There is a reason why beside the sea houses in oz where I'm from are 2 million AUD and in Thailand they are a mere fraction.

 

In fact buying seaside here in a town without industry will appreciate sloooowly if at all

 

I guess you have never been to the East coast of Thailand.  It is the new industrial center of Thailand and housing is appreciating very quickly.  The new roadway is almost completed and construction has started on The 224-billion-baht high-speed railway project will connect Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-tapao airports on a 220km route. The route will end in Chon Buri province. 

 

Come to Thailand and have a look around before posting about things about which you havn't a clue. 

 

The East coast of Thailand is the industrial mega center because Thailand has an export based economy and everything is manufactured close to ports which are on the seaside (East Coast of Thailand).

Edited January 6, 2019 by marcusarelus

[Sophon]

And for further information the specifics for the plan I selected:

 

Thailand is in zone 5. Note that the premiums quoted are monthly premiums. You can choose to pay monthly or yearly, there is no difference in the cost.

 

Sophon

[marcusarelus]

9 minutes ago, MarkyM3 said:

I still work in the UK but spend 4 or so months in Bangkok/Thailand each year at the moment, been visiting the country since 2005. 

 

From my purely personal perspective (no bashing intended, I have no axe to grind either way):

 

Property costs are cheaper, and certainly away from Bangkok and tourist hotspots. But I doubt I will put much into the Thai property market in future from a buying perspective due to the restrictions on legal land ownership, lack of tightly enforced laws etc. I prefer to keep my property assets in the UK. 

 

Utilities seem to be cheaper than UK but not sure it's a huge difference in my experience. I can't say for sure. 

 

Local taxes such as council tax - seem to be more of them here in the UK.

 

Groceries etc - a number of items do not seem particularly cheap to me (but notably excluding fresh produce like poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables). I guess it depends how you want to live, Thai style eating Thai food mostly then yes it's cheaper for sure. I'm often surprised at how much I've spent in Lotus or Big C on a basket of groceries (not necessarily imported foods which are of course heavily overpriced), for the equivalent basket of good purchase in the UK. Also, I miss the range and quality of non-Thai food available to me but a Thai living in the UK would have an equally valid point. No doubt, local food is great, cheap and plentiful so YMMV. 

 

Alcohol - possibly cheaper in the UK from 7/11, supermarket, bar prices are certainly cheaper. It's £5+ for a pint in Central London pub though it's going to be be better quality than Thai beer. 

 

Clothing - much superior range and value available in UK unless F&F is your thing (nothing wrong with that, shorts are great value in there). My gf bought a load of clothes to take back to Bangkok on her last visit to the UK and made precisely this comment to me as well. 

 

Transport - in Bangkok, way cheaper e.g. MRT, BTS, taxis. Flying - not necessarily so due to prevelance of low-cost airlines in Europe. 

 

Weather - I don't like cold weather so UK weather late September - end April isn't for me. Summertime is the reverse, just had a wonderful summer in the UK with temperatures in mid-high 20s for extended periods and plenty of sun. So it ain't always grey here, as some would lead us to believe. It's not always wall-to-wall sunshine in Thailand either, in fairness. But give me heat any day. 

 

Healthcare - comprehensive free healthcare in the UK. You never know when you will need it, as I've found out. 

 

I'm 47 now, if I decide to choose Thailand as a retirement spot I would probably look at wintering there mainly between late September and return to the UK perhaps at Christmas then again in early May and stay for summer. Best of both worlds for me. 

Utilities 60% cheaper in Thailand and housing 90% cheaper. 

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&country2=Thailand&city1=London&city2=Rayong&tracking=getDispatchComparison

 

[sirineou]

This type of thread comes up on TVF with regularity.

The answer is always the same . Labor is less expensive in Thailand so Thai  labor dependant products and services are less expensive by that component. everything else is more expensive and of lesser quality from the west, do to scale of markets and taxation.

  If you have solved your housing needs in the US at a low property local. you can live for the same or less than Thailand. 

  Me and my Thai wife own two houses in Thailand and one in Florida, all our houses are mortgage free by now, and the property tax of out Florida home are very low under the primary residence homestead exemption act , Central A/C and heat 24/7 average bill $160 p/m, food very cheap, cars much less expensive than Thailand, top of the line medical for the family  from work now,  on medicare in three years.

   For me, monthly costs are about the same in FL than in Thailand, (not so at NYC where I work right now, where it costs me 1600 bht just to go to work every day .) 

So let's compare  Apples and Apples  and Oranges and Oranges, 

Having said all that, I still like living in Thailand more.

[MarkyM3]

15 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Utilities 60% cheaper in Thailand and housing 90% cheaper. 

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+Kingdom&country2=Thailand&city1=London&city2=Rayong&tracking=getDispatchComparison

 

I'm calling BS on the housing costs. Might be true for central London but not outside of there. I live 20 miles outside of London in a wealthy commuter town, 1 bed apartment, 51sqm, fully modernised. Present market value £275k or thereabouts, that link says it should cost £400k. Own another 2 bed apartment in York in northern England that I rent out. Bigger apartment with 2 balconies, river view etc. £200k present market value.

 

Also, would like to know what the current per meter square cost is in Bangkok - when I've been there recently and looking at advertised developments, did not strike me as great value.

 

Present utility costs for me in my 1 bed apartment - £12 per month for water, combined gas and electricy is about £40-45 per month and I work at home all week on a computer. My utility costs in a 70sqm apartment I rent in Bangkok are no cheaper than that, in fact the reverse, probably due to the amount of aircon I use. However, I got to pay council tax which is around £130 per month so if you factor that in then the picture changes.

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by MarkyM3

[madmen]

I guess you have never been to the East coast of Thailand.  It is the new industrial center of Thailand and housing is appreciating very quickly.  The new roadway is almost completed and construction has started on The 224-billion-baht high-speed railway project will connect Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-tapao airports on a 220km route. The route will end in Chon Buri province. 

 

Come to Thailand and have a look around before posting about things about which you havn't a clue. 

 

The East coast of Thailand is the industrial mega center because Thailand has an export based economy and everything is manufactured close to ports which are on the seaside (East Coast of Thailand).

Your just getting a new Rd nearly sometime soon?

 

You just proved my point.

 

Get back to me when all this new stuff becomes real. What town?

 

I bought Asoke 13 years ago huge condo off the plan for peanuts . The latest built condo is USA 1 million to 5 million dollars so I understand growth

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, madmen said:

Your just getting a new Rd nearly sometime soon?

You just proved my point.

Get back to me when all this new stuff becomes real. What town?

My point was you don't have a clue.  91% done as we speak.

 

Edited January 6, 2019 by marcusarelus

[madmen]

And for further information the specifics for the plan I selected:

 
Thailand is in zone 5. Note that the premiums quoted are monthly premiums. You can choose to pay monthly or yearly, there is no difference in the cost.
 
Sophon

I will check it out in front of the pc tomorrow. Smartphone to small for that chart

[madmen]

My point was you don't have a clue.  91% done as we speak.   

 

Ban Chang? No wonder you kept it a secret. It's a heavily polluted dump and good luck with the Rd being finished.. Ad another 4 yearsAnd the Thais working in the industry there will be sleeping in 3k rooms and not buying amazing houses 

Talk about Dreamworld !

 

 

Ban Chang is the poor man's Pattaya and that really says it all

The fact that you had to get finance as a retired farang absolutely proves it.

 

[GinBoy2]

This one of those topics which always descend into catcalling.

 

It's so full of variables, how you live, where you live, it's almost impossible to judge.

 

There are however a few guidelines.

 

Now I own homes, well my wife owns our house in Thailand, and we jointly own our properties in the US, spin that however you want.

But we don't have any mortgages, so that's off the table for us.

 

Then it comes to everyday expenses, that's when it gets tricky. 

 

Household utilities, I'll fess up, when when we are in Thailand I'm an aircon junkie, and PEA will run about ฿5K/month, and that's after the fact that we have solar running. My combined electric/gas bill for December in the US was $150.

Water. In Thailand the metered water is generally around ฿250/month, in the US we pay $40/month unlimited.

Internet, ฿1200/month for TOT fiber 200M, Here $85/month Midco 1Gig

Gas, well yesterday I paid $2.39/Gal, you can do the calculations of the cost in liters in Thailand, but it doesn't feel much different.

Car Insurance, more expensive for sure. We pay ฿18K/year for our Ford Ranger, I just paid yesterday $400/6 months for our Ford Escape.

 

Food, well double tricky. If you live like a farang, shop at Tops or the like, it's sorta on a par with your neighborhood Safeway. If you eating street food, well there is absolutely no contest.

 

Health care, that's impossible to judge, based on the variabilities of where you live. The Brits get it for nothing, and for the rest of us somewhere in between. 

I get healthcare through my wife's job, and we(she) pay's $120/month for the 2 of us

 

Back to housing, property taxes. Again difficult to judge since there are so many jurisdictions in 'farangland' I'm lucky, live in a zero State Tax jurisdiction, and only pay $2400/year in property taxes.

 

So my take on all of it, is that's impossible to make an across the board judgement. For us, I don't feel much richer or poorer when we're in the US, or back in Thailand

 

[totally thaied up]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

You bought travel insurance and not health insurance. Sorry to tell you. Quoting in USA dollars instead of baht should have woke you up

 

For someone that I thought does there homework on stuff, you are way off.

 

It is not travel insurance.

 

I have ACS Insurance from France and am covered for life. These rates you are seeing here are correct. I had a 220,000 baht gallbladder operation done three months ago. Did not cost me a cent. If you get in early enough and do not have any pre-conditions, it is a no-brainer. 

[White Christmas13]

5 hours ago, Bang Bang said:

I checked the rates for that too - only inpatient though because outpatient is trivial - and it's far less than the US. BUPA/Aetna is less than $2000/annum even in your 60's provided you've signed up before then.

Guess what I am in OZ I pay nothing ????

[marcusarelus]

27 minutes ago, madmen said:

Ban Chang? No wonder you kept it a secret. It's a heavily polluted dump and good luck with the Rd being finished.. Ad another 4 yearsAnd the Thais working in the industry there will be sleeping in 3k rooms and not buying amazing houses 

Talk about Dreamworld !

 

 

Ban Chang is the poor man's Pattaya and that really says it all

The fact that you had to get finance as a retired farang absolutely proves it.

Nonsense.  Perhaps if you ever visited Thailand you might be pleasantly surprised.  The Detroit of Asia has been here for quite a while.  I had a home there in 1968.  It has changed a bit for the better since then.  

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, White Christmas13 said:

Guess what I am in OZ I pay nothing ????

But you have to live in Australia.  Why did so many Aussies come here when the exchange rate was better? 

[marcusarelus]

27 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

This one of those topics which always descend into catcalling.

 

It's so full of variables, how you live, where you live, it's almost impossible to judge.

 

There are however a few guidelines.

 

Now I own homes, well my wife owns our house in Thailand, and we jointly own our properties in the US, spin that however you want.

But we don't have any mortgages, so that's off the table for us.

 

Then it comes to everyday expenses, that's when it gets tricky. 

 

Household utilities, I'll fess up, when when we are in Thailand I'm an aircon junkie, and PEA will run about ฿5K/month, and that's after the fact that we have solar running. My combined electric/gas bill for December in the US was $150.

Water. In Thailand the metered water is generally around ฿250/month, in the US we pay $40/month unlimited.

Internet, ฿1200/month for TOT fiber 200M, Here $85/month Midco 1Gig

Gas, well yesterday I paid $2.39/Gal, you can do the calculations of the cost in liters in Thailand, but it doesn't feel much different.

Car Insurance, more expensive for sure. We pay ฿18K/year for our Ford Ranger, I just paid yesterday $400/6 months for our Ford Escape.

 

Food, well double tricky. If you live like a farang, shop at Tops or the like, it's sorta on a par with your neighborhood Safeway. If you eating street food, well there is absolutely no contest.

 

Health care, that's impossible to judge, based on the variabilities of where you live. The Brits get it for nothing, and for the rest of us somewhere in between. 

I get healthcare through my wife's job, and we(she) pay's $120/month for the 2 of us

 

Back to housing, property taxes. Again difficult to judge since there are so many jurisdictions in 'farangland' I'm lucky, live in a zero State Tax jurisdiction, and only pay $2400/year in property taxes.

 

So my take on all of it, is that's impossible to make an across the board judgement. For us, I don't feel much richer or poorer when we're in the US, or back in Thailand

 

Every day expenses are a pittance why even talk about them?  Since Farang can't own homes in Thailand rent is really the only large expenditure one can realistically compare.  Thailand is 100% cheaper.  Utilities USA .18 Thailand .11  Australia .49

https://www.statista.com/statistics/477995/global-prices-of-electricity-by-select-country/

[White Christmas13]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

But you have to live in Australia.  Why did so many Aussies come here when the exchange rate was better? 

I came to LOS because of business I went back because I lost every thing (don't give me that crap you only invest what you can afford to lose) I had my heart reset (cardio version) last year and it cost me nothing 

and the hospital I went to was 1000 times better than the private ones in Thailand and yes i have seen

the hospitals in Thailand