Money money money

[Spellbound]

Ok, we all know how may Future Expat's will want to know this !!!  The true cost of living in Thailand (Outside of BKK)

My thoughts, living in Korat, near Phi Mai

Decent 3 bed house built to Euro Standards inc AC etc etc etc 2 to 2.5 million (subject to design and personal taste) and 800k on deposit required for retirement visa.

Monthly Expenses: -

Power 2000, Water 400, Phone 700, UBC 1400, Food Family of (4) 9000, Clothes 1500, School Fees 1000, Car and Travel Expenses 3000, Health Ins 4000, Household Stuff 2000, Beer & Cigs 5000, Wife Allowance 10000, Holiday fund 5000, House Ins 1500, Airfare Fund 6000, Incidentals and General Expenses 7500 (TOTAL 60000 PCM)

I ask that, those of you that know and live there, is this a fair bet to have a good standard of living in the Thai Countryside, or is this way over the top, the reason I ask is, I have a friend who reckons he can live on 25k PCM. ( his demands aren’t  that great, but sure that must be near the poverty line)

Any one like to state Money requirements, and yes we all know we can spend X 10 if we had the money, but true values of a good standard of living in and around Cities and Villages would help many to decide how big their POT of GOLD need to be to last until they go to the LOS in the sky.

[Thetyim]

I could live like a king on 60k month.

You do not need that much out in the sticks.

The only figure you are under estimating is the car and travel .

[Brian]

Incidentals and General Expenses 7500

You've already given the wife 10,000 BHT. Beer and cigs have aleady spent 5,000... What more could you need.. Unless you also need to visit the girls (or boys/katoys) in the bars...  

Hang on I just realised... You gave the wife 10,000 Bht in one lump sum didn't you. That's why she's back in less than a week needing more.   :cool:

[ajahnlau]

Food 9,000 and wife 10,000? Should be able to give wife the 10 to buy the food. House ins. Why? First person I ever heard of in Thailand with it. Holiday fund 60,000 a yr.? Incidentals 7,500 for what? With no rent or lease payments one can live very comforably on 30 and that's not skimping before end of month. Average Thai could do it for15-20 and pay house and car payments.

[Thetyim]

OK , so we are all ageed then.

30K expenses for the month and  Errrh......

30K for the wifes family

[croftrobin]

Your pretty close but I think your low on a few factors

Your Power consumption estimate is low - if I use aircon for two bedrooms and a large living room (for average of 12 hours per day each)  - plus 2 fridges and a freezer, the pump for my swimming pool 24hrs, pump for water etc. my electricity is @ 6000 per month -and we don't have a huge house.

Food - Family of 4 - 9000 per month equates to only 75 baht each per day- its prettly low if you've a growing family with young children at school- like mine - who will eat like there is no tommorow !!

If your moving from abroad you will be used to western foods and such likes - these are at a premuim - eg cheese  - small choice and high price.

But yes 60k a month is fine - you will live comfortably on this  - but not like a king!!

[jayenram]

"The only figure you are under estimating is the car and travel "

And the beer!

[lopburi3]

There is now magic figure as we all are different.  I can see 2k as very low for electric if you want air conditioning.  Mine it up to 7k lately but have large home.  Should probably allow about 4k for that.  60k for vacation spending sounds reasonable if plan visit Europe or US for a yearly vacation.  That's not much more than car rental.  There will be many items needing repair almost daily in any house.  This will be a significant expense overall; although some months nothing.  For those on the cheap perhaps just letting it go is an option but most will spend on this.  You did not include car in house/visa price so if you intend to have one it is likely to be much more than 3k per month (by perhaps a factor of 10).

[francois]

hi'

whaow .. 60k a month, oh yeah living like a king ...

we , our little family are living with a good 25k a month and we miss nothing, alrighr, no ubc, no aircond, annd so on, like a lot of expat living here ...

as we are in town (Chiang Mai) we can have cable tv which enough ...

for the rest like it has been said, 30k for a living and a 30k for the family ...

may I had, we do have a good life

anyway, have a good day

[pschef]

Well you guys must be living a lfe of luxury, I have UBC and aircon. I would love to get 60.000 per month, we live in Chiang Rai province small village. I can live very well on 25k, and I miss nothing :laugh: Just shows the different values and the way people spend money, lets get real.,

Bye the way whats this 10.000 for wife, sounds a bit suspect to me. is she a gambler or a drinker?

[MaiChai]

I used to drive 120km a day driving kids back and forth from school, and we managed to live on 25,000 baht a month. Trouble is if the wife manages the finances, then it will cost more than if you managed it. Trouble is most country Thai ladies don't understand the concept of budgeting; they will spend and spend, particularly if they have relatives sponging off them. Whats the wife doing with 10,000 a month? Has she got an expensive "brother"? :laugh:

[Thetyim]

Why don't we have a poll on this.

We can then indicate our monthly budget anonymously

[jayenram]

OK, my house and pick-up are paid for. I receive Bht 35,000 a month pension. We (2 persons) live on this very well. We also have a/c and UBC, three telephones but fortunately, no family spongers.

[george]

I have added a poll in extension to this thread. Please join our poll Cost of Living in Thailand survey

[Thetyim]

George,

Any chance you could start the poll again and divide it into two.  One for living in BKK and one for in the Provinces ???

The 70 to 100k could be lost.

Cheers

[mrvietnam2001]

Wow, 60K a month. I couldn't do that. My deal was 29K for the house, 15K for the telephone, 14K elec, plus add the car, resteurants, housekeeper, gardener, net, water, a flight every 6 weeks or so, then add the cost of TWO computers and a Kliptch sound system ( 33K after shpping etc) that were wiped out during hellatious lighting storms ( Tot still insists on having telephone wires travel on top of the ground to the mountain top) in the course of only 8 months!

More than 120K/mo and definitely not like a king. Upper middle class by American standards, but not upper upper....just upper. Now add the boat.

Mr Vietnam

[wolf5370]

Why have the aircon on all the time? Why in every room? Spellbound's original post stated outside BKK - I can understand the reliance on a/c in a city where you would want the window firmls shut, but in the country, the best way to cool the house is to have all the windows open and let the air move through the house. If you climatize yourself, you can make do with using the a/c only in your bedrooms on the muggiest nights - a fan can be much better.

Also I wonder why more people do not use solar power. If you can get enough light in grey Blighty to run a household on modern cells, LOS must be easy as hel_l. A big outlay, yes, but no 10k monthlies. A deisel gen as a back-up perhaps just in case. Probably much fewer power probs too (brown-outs etc). Panels on the roof, and no eye-sore either.

Food. Learn to eat like the locals. My wife can buy enough to eat like a king for a pittance - however we do see some Thai-wifes just going to Robinson's/Lotus Tesco etc and buying what looks good on the box because "their husband's do not care about the cost so, no point in checking around". My wife would never allow the children to go hungry or eat crap (her version of it of course), so we eat well too - in the UK or LOS.

If you don't trust your wife to manage the housekeeping money, then a simple way around it: Give her a fixed amount (say 10% more than you want to pay for the food) and tell her to get the food and keep the change. Believe me, she will find a way to eat cheaply.

Use email instead of telephones where poss. especially for internatioinal comms.

Never get the wife a mobile!!!!

Water. In the country have a well dug (very cheap). Put in a solar powered pump and UV filter etc.

There are many ways - just got to think a bit first that's all.

[Eneukman]

I'm hoping to retire to LOS in 2 years time, probably living in Pattaya to begin with. Can anyone give me a rough idea of how much electricity would cost per month running say 1 aircon unit for 12 hours per day plus fridge, television etc. As eating out is cheap, I wouldn't be using much electricity for cooking etc.

Thanks,

Alan

[MaiChai]

You need to aclimatize Eneukman; most folks who have only use aircon at night in their bedrooms when its really hot (probably the hot season). Careful house design will ensure a cool house that does not need airconditioning in the day. Price of electricity varies; I think its based on the price of oil. Aircon eats electricity; an electric fan is much more economical. Extractor fans are a great idea; human bodies generate heat, and an extractor fan can suck this hot air out and replace it with cooler air. Mosquito covers on windows allow you to open them up at night; this should be reasonably safe if you have a wall around your house. Finally, if you build a house, make sure your bedrooms are large; small rooms are ok in a temperate climate, but in Thailand large rooms allow more air to circulate.

[Eneukman]

Thanks MaiChai,

I'll almost certainly be renting a studio room in a condo to begin with until I see how the finances go. The Yensabi Conodo in Pattaya appears from photographs to have fans as well as aircon so staying there may be an option to begin with.

Alan

[MaiChai]

Managed apartments and condos can be expensive places to live. What I mean is not the rent, its the service charges at inflated prices: electricity, phone, water, etc. Make sure you read the rates, and if you can, find out what the real rates are. We wouldn't want to worry you unduly, just be aware that Thais can charge whatever they want, and its up to you to decide whether whats being offered is good value, or whether you are being ripped off. Its probably best that you get yourself over here and work these things out for yourself.

[Kohn Ferang]

April, every Baht

Type of Expence Average Total

Auto Expense 367 11390

Rent             113 3500

Telephone 64 1979

Power/ internet 46 1420

Big C             27 845

Food, Snacks 22 676

Beer & Booze 155 4806

Market             6 180

Resteraunts 72 2234

Breakfast   36 1127

Special Occasion 7 230

Capitol Expences 6 178

Health and Dental 2 69

Clothing   5 149

Books & CD's 8 240

Hotels     120 3720

Muisc             12 375

Totals     1068 33118