Could you afford to live in the UK compared to Thailand?

[Chongalulu]

48 minutes ago, edwinchester said:

It used to be excellent but the present Govt seem determined to run it into the ground. Friend of mine back in the UK has recently been told there's a 2 year wait for the prostate surgery he desperately needs.

Crikey! I can’t hold it in all night ,let alone for 2 years! ???? 

[micmichd]

4 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Depends on your nationality, mode of transport to UK, and how many kids you have.

I'm German, and I don't have anything in GerMoney anymore except my pensions that I worked for. I actually disgust GeeMoney, and I have no kids to feed nor a scrounging wife over there. Fortunately. 

[Antiparovian]

3 hours ago, Excel said:

It generates clicks and clicks = money.  It's all our faults for opening this nonsense in the 1st place as it encourages more of the same. Just slapped myself on the wrist for doing it again????

Well said that man !

[Antiparovian]

Comparing Brighton and Pattaya !!! Ludicrous nonsense and utter tripe. I will make a mental note never to read Asean Now "Opinion" again.

[huangnon]

37 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

What intense heat and humidity? Chiang Rai is cooler than most other parts of Thailand.

I live in Rayong, E. Thailand.

[Chongalulu]

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

Not if your annual income is less than £12500. Can you live on that in Brighton, or even Pattaya?

I immediately spotted that and was going to use it as an example of a generally poor level of this article. No analysis of council tax ,utility bills either,nor motoring. We’re I to move back to my own house in U.K.it would cost me £600 month just for the first two . 

[thurien]

3 hours ago, Bim Smith said:

After 9 years in Thailand I just spent 7 weeks in the UK. I couldn't wait to get back home to Thailand. No amount money would I ever want to live in the UK again. I spent three time what I would normally in Thailand and had absolutely nothing to show for it. The price of everything is insane. Blessed to call Thailand my home.

you talk and write like a Thai already...

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Stargeezr said:

In the UK you can live near the ocean, but can you take a dip in the ocean year round?

I always did when living in Cornwall.

Cheap steamer, swim in the sea all year round, big waves and rain not a problem.

[jonbeen]

Not read thru the replies, but I tell you this,Thailand feels like a prison

 Yes far cheaper,but cheap and nasty,Id be long gone except for my mutts,take em with me?  could not afford it all

 

[BritManToo]

4 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

This article above should be asking how many people wasted their money, sold their house and assets and now do not have a pot to wee in on return to the UK and would their meagre income now from wasting their life's money now give them a life !

Sadly, I wasted my UK home in a divorce, no choice on my part.

Should have just killed her, would have been out by now and the house would still be mine.

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, jonbeen said:

Not read thru the replies, but I tell you this,Thailand feels like a prison

 Yes far cheaper,but cheap and nasty,Id be long gone except for my mutts,take em with me?  could not afford it all

 

My life as an old guy in Thailand is way beyond my wildest dreams.

Much younger woman in my bed every night, 2 kids, nice house, fast internet, big TV, cheap cannabis.

Having been in prison, Thailand is nothing like it (unless you like having sex with other guys).

[sawadee1947]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

personally I think I will save my monthly running costs and remain in the land of smiles.

If this is the result of your survey......why you wrote all the stuff????

I would have told you even without your survey that it's more expensive in Brighton.????????????

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

We, therefore, decided to look at the comparisons between living in the UK and Thailand

There is no comparison... 

[Thingamabob]

Yes, easily, but I far prefer living in Thailand. 

[Thingamabob]

38 minutes ago, thurien said:

you talk and write like a Thai already...

It's not just the price of everything. It's also, surely, the PC culture which has become predominant ?

[Old Croc]

Reading this thread I saw it as a cost of living exercise between two cities, not what most fills the needs of every individual. There would never be consensus there.

Numbeo is the world's biggest cost of living database with millions all over the planet feeding in information about the cost of most basic daily items from housing rent to a can of coke.

It is not  another opinion survey where a couple of thousand Americans pick their favorite place to retire. (Mexico, because it's close to get back to family, Indonesia because they once had a magic honeymoon in Bali or UAE because she loved the shopping when on a stopover)

If you don't think Brighton (or Pattaya) are good comparisons for your decision about repatriation, compare your Thai city with the place you would return to. Numbeo is very comprehensive. You can even help expand their database by contributing.

Keep in mind this is about living costs, not weather, how many houses you own in the UK nor if you can run home to mummy's basement to save costs. The thread specified retirement so it's not about work opportunity. It's about the price of stuff, not how much you earn. 

No matter how much some posters want to skew the data to favour their personal circumstances or preferences it's about the basic costs of everyday life. (I just had a mechanic spend about 3 hours working on a problem with the car, he asked for the equivalent of $AUD12. I gave him a 25% tip to $16. Try that in Brighton)    

 

I've used Numbeo many times to compare various places and have always found, without exception, that overall Thailand is much cheaper than any other place I would think of retiring to. 

Edited August 15, 2022 by Old Croc

[jonbeen]

1 hour ago, edwinchester said:

It used to be excellent but the present Govt seem determined to run it into the ground. Friend of mine back in the UK has recently been told there's a 2 year wait for the prostate surgery he desperately needs.

There are ways around this,cheap excellent health care,prostate surgery done in a flash ,Ive had it done,but it means India

[Harveyboy]

4 hours ago, Bim Smith said:

After 9 years in Thailand I just spent 7 weeks in the UK. I couldn't wait to get back home to Thailand. No amount money would I ever want to live in the UK again. I spent three time what I would normally in Thailand and had absolutely nothing to show for it. The price of everything is insane. Blessed to call Thailand my home.

yep same here im currently in CDG airport paris after 7 weeks in Europe ..cant wait to get back to LOS

[shackleton]

I retired in Thailand knowing all the facts and figures ????

Going back  to UK is not going to happen????

[thaiowl]

4 hours ago, Bim Smith said:

After 9 years in Thailand I just spent 7 weeks in the UK. I couldn't wait to get back home to Thailand. No amount money would I ever want to live in the UK again. I spent three time what I would normally in Thailand and had absolutely nothing to show for it. The price of everything is insane. Blessed to call Thailand my home.

Have to agree. Have lived in Thailand for 32 years and went back to the UK in July. The UK seems so frantic and angry these days, and the traffic is terrible, which is rather ironic considering Thailand's traffic problems. I was happy when I landed back in BKK.

[Millcx]

Yep - No Problem “:0)

[RayWright]

4 hours ago, 2baht said:

Try finding jellied eel in Thailand! ????

Them were the days...

[overherebc]

The problem is with the hookers you meet in uk. They really don't love you and all they want is your money.

????????

[edwinchester]

46 minutes ago, jonbeen said:

There are ways around this,cheap excellent health care,prostate surgery done in a flash ,Ive had it done,but it means India

Unfortunately my friend back in the UK is a pensioner and doesn't have the funds for a trip to India. Was told he could have a privately funded op, probably by the same surgeon within a month but that would cost 10 to 12  thousand pounds. Badly let down by the NHS imo.

As an aside I'd seriously consider a trip to India should I ever need such an op as I've read some excellent reports on what is available in the way of treatment.

[NoshowJones]

5 hours ago, wombat said:

Why would you want to live in UK?

It wouldn't be from choice from what I read.

Here is something else for you to read, I had a recent 3 month stay in the UK, I had planned for about 6 months, to stay that long my life savings would have dwindled enormously, my electricity cost was a real shock.

As soon as the stupid Thai pass and insurance scam was lifted, I booked my flight back to Thailand at four times the cost of my flight from Bangkok.

Unless you are very well off financially, and/or have your own home in the UK. I strongly advise you to give the UK one big miss.

You may live in a country ruled by an unelected soldier with an average Thai IQ and his Junta, but you are still better off here in Thailand.

[foreverlomsak]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Of course, if you are retired you probably do not pay tax.

Depends on your income, e.g. I currently have 2 works pensions and am not taxed as I am below the Personal Allowance, however my DWP pension will put me over the allowance and therefore I will be taxed.

[NoshowJones]

5 hours ago, scotsdude said:

Have had to live in both countries the past couple of years due to covid... A weekly grocery shop in the UK is far cheaper than in Thailand.... The only things cheaper in Thailand is rent and fuel... For a retiree with no family committments living on street food maybe it's cheap but not if you have to raise a family and education fees come into the equation..... There's pro & cons in both countries... 

But much more Cons in the UK than here in Thailand. Council tax, other taxes, and TV licence etc, spring to mind.

Also as you have mentioned, rent and fuel costs. So the Cons are much higher in the UK.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, huangnon said:

I live in Rayong, E. Thailand.

Yes. worked there for a while, was like a sauna.

[peterfranks]

5 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

You may live in a country ruled by an unelected soldier with an average Thai IQ and his Junta, but you are still better off here in Thailand.

You have brought up that now probably 100 times, in about every thread you enter, regardless if it is related or not.

 

Can you please tell us how this affects your life in Thailand?

[Lacessit]

17 minutes ago, overherebc said:

The problem is with the hookers you meet in uk. They really don't love you and all they want is your money.

????????

You think hookers are different in Thailand? Please elaborate.