Living In Pattaya

[soundman]

There has been plenty of discussion in "General topics" as to the living cost in Thailand. With this comes a plethora of information ranging from people living in a card board shack in Isaan to high flyers in Bangkok.

Many people I bump into ask me what it would cost to set yourself up / live in Pattaya. I would love to be able to answer them a little more accurately & cite some examples. I would be interested to know what people are spending to live in Pattaya.

Things like rent (if you own your condo - the approximate amount a mortgage would be if you had to borrow the money).

Utilities.

Transportation.

Food.

Alchohol.

Entertainment / Socializing. Etc.

& any other regular costs of living that I haven't though of.

Cheers, & thanx heaps.

Soundman.

[CHdiver]

It all depends of what you need. But there are much cheaper places then Pattaya.

I think between 20'000 Baht and 400'000 Baht a month, everything is possible.

You know; a Condo is from 5'000 to maybe 100'000 Baht

Aircon from 0 to 5000 Baht

Water from 0 to 300 Baht

A Bahtbus from 5 to 150 Baht

A Beer from 20 to 300 Baht

A Meal from 30 to 3000 Baht

Socializing from 500 (short time) to several million Baht

Health Insurance from 12000 Baht a year

btw. they have, right now, nice Camembert Cheese for a reduced price at Care 4

Ah, what I want to tell you, it's just not possible to answer your question.

[soundman]

It all depends of what you need. But there are much cheaper places then Pattaya.

I think between 20'000 Baht and 400'000 Baht a month, everything is possible.

You know; a Condo is from 5'000 to maybe 100'000 Baht

Aircon from 0 to 5000 Baht

Water from 0 to 300 Baht

A Bahtbus from 5 to 150 Baht

A Beer from 20 to 300 Baht

A Meal from 30 to 3000 Baht

Socializing from 500 (short time) to several million Baht

Health Insurance from 12000 Baht a year

btw. they have, right now, nice Camembert Cheese for a reduced price at Care 4

Ah, what I want to tell you, it's just not possible to answer your question.

I know anything is possible however, let me re-phrase then.

What are your monthly expenses? (If you aren't afraid to share with the world... )

Thanx,

Soundman.

PS. Good tip for the health insurance. Didn't think of that. What company are you with? Sounds like a reasonable price. Good coverage?

[Humphrey Bear]

When I am home:

Utilitiess - 5,000 to 7,000 per month (water, electric, telephone, gas bottles)

Transport - 800 for me, mo'bike petrol for my wife, say 500 per month

Food - 12,000 per month for me (max), 5,000 for wife and kids

Drink - included in food

Social - depends. If we take a trip to Chiang Mai - 40,000. If we sit at home - 0

Clothing - 500 per month for me, 500 per day for the wife

Gold - Nothing at the moment, 'cos it's too ###### expensive. (Wife disagrees)

Health - Allow 20,000 per month because Toxin's 35 baht gig was a complete con.

If I was still renting - 20,000 per month.

[soundman]

When I am home:

Utilitiess - 5,000 to 7,000 per month (water, electric, telephone, gas bottles)

Transport - 800 for me, mo'bike petrol for my wife, say 500 per month

Food - 12,000 per month for me (max), 5,000 for wife and kids

Drink - included in food

Social - depends. If we take a trip to Chiang Mai - 40,000. If we sit at home - 0

Clothing - 500 per month for me, 500 per day for the wife

Gold - Nothing at the moment, 'cos it's too ###### expensive. (Wife disagrees)

Health - Allow 20,000 per month because Toxin's 35 baht gig was a complete con.

If I was still renting - 20,000 per month.

On first reading I was going to say that 20,000 per month on health sounded a tad expensive & then I thought back to what my family spent last year.

Family health insurance 53,000B.

Un-claimed doctors visits for colds / flu's -about 25,000B.

(new baby on the way, due in three weeks ) add another 25,000B in un-claimables, ultrasounds etc.

Medicines, vaccines, vitamins & other stuff. 25,000B.

That's over 10,000B per month for a young family with no hospital stays, accidents or specialist charges such as optical or dental in the last year.

Of course I expect the younger single man in Pattaya would get away with a lot less than this barring any major accidents or mental illness.

Soundman.

[expatgaz]

Have my own place so no rent,I do though have wife & kids.I reckon on 120,000 a month.

EPG.

[booman]

I've got a house, car, big freekin dogs, wife and child. Paid for the house and car, so living expenses are pretty reasonable. Food is inexpensive, going out to restaurants and golfing is real inexpensive compared to elsewhere. If I could just stop buying electronic toys...

There is a complete spectrum of "exceptable" living standards. Western style will be much more expensive than a modified Thai-style. No real answer I'm afraid. I actually work outside of Thailand but I still call Pataya my home.

[soundman]

I've got a friend from Aussie that is planning to base himself in Pattaya for a twelve month to indefinate stint. He works offshore & makes reasonable money. He is asking me to help him with his budget, rather than make a mistake of getting a 40k per month condo & finding he can't afford anything else.

Single, 35y.o., likes to party a little. No investment income. Approximately 4 week on 3 week off rotation. Doesn't want to live like a pauper, but knows how to budget.

What are we looking at per month? Ballpark? 60k?

Soundman.

[booman]

I've got a friend from Aussie that is planning to base himself in Pattaya for a twelve month to indefinate stint. He works offshore & makes reasonable money. He is asking me to help him with his budget, rather than make a mistake of getting a 40k per month condo & finding he can't afford anything else.

Single, 35y.o., likes to party a little. No investment income. Approximately 4 week on 3 week off rotation. Doesn't want to live like a pauper, but knows how to budget.

What are we looking at per month? Ballpark? 60k?

Soundman.

Yeah that'd cover unless he gets seriously hooked on a girl. Prices tend to spiral at first before things can settle down.

[Rimmer]

Just so happens that I log every expense on the computer by item by day, maybe 'cos of my accounting background.

My actual average over seven years is 59,740 baht a month.

[Humphrey Bear]

When single I had a studio-condo for 12k. When I was in Pattaya I reckoned on spending about 8k a day. On a 4/3 rotation that works out at over 100k per month.

My rotation was three months / one month.

He doesn't need to spend 40k on a condo - 20k would get him a good place with adequate security. He should go the condo route rather than a house, as he will be away quite a bit.

But remember the deposit and last month's rental. He should commit to a year and negotiate the rent - I would not go over 15k, but I'm a tight bastard.

Or he can go to the Penthouse Hotel and rent one of the Babylon Suites. I used to. (So I'm not really so tight-fisted, am I?)

[expatgaz]

A single bloke on that rotation I would figure on;

1.Condo rent 15k

2.Shagger 4 times per week at 2k a pop 32k per month

3.drinking /socialising 7 days per week 2k a day 60k per month

4. food 1k a day gives 31k per month

5. incidentals 20k per month

This gives 158k per month.The guy is a young single bloke,I can't see him doing it much cheaper than this.Its 5k per day.

EPG.

[soundman]

So it seems the SWM can live a reasonabliy good life in pattaya for about 60K - 70k per month.

Rent 10 - 15k

Utilities 5k

Food 5k

Beer / Entertainment 30k

Hobby 10k

Extra's 10k

Lets talk about the married, have house, car repayments, 1-2 kids scenario. What's the feeling out there? My guess is 60 - 100k?

Soundman.

Soundman.

[soundman]

A single bloke on that rotation I would figure on;

1.Condo rent 15k

2.Shagger 4 times per week at 2k a pop 32k per month

3.drinking /socialising 7 days per week 2k a day 60k per month

4. food 1k a day gives 31k per month

5. incidentals 20k per month

This gives 158k per month.The guy is a young single bloke,I can't see him doing it much cheaper than this.Its 5k per day.

EPG.

I would agree with those figures, but hard to sustain. I'd only manage two weeks per month like this. & you forget the time he is on the ship.

FYI my short 2 day holidays in Pattaya end up avg, about 7k per day not incl. hotel or family!

Cheers,

Soundman.

[jbaldwin]

I own a condo in Pattaya and spend about 60,000 baht per month.

The overall cost will vary greatly but roughly I think the cost of living in Pattaya is about 40% of th cost of living in the Uk

[Forkinhades]

I own a 2 bed house, car

and spend around 70,000 baht per month

[stevemiddie]

I own a 2 bed house, car

and spend around 70,000 baht per month

I own 70,000 baht and spend about 2 baht a day. At that rate of expenditure I will eventually run out of money in 95 years and will have to consider relocating back to the UK.

[Jingthing]

About 40K baht a month including needed trips to the US every year, single, owning condo, not running aircon much (cool breezes where I live), eat at least half Thai food local style which I love, gave up wine (probably the one thing where I feel kind of deprived but I just can't stomach the price for that here), no need for car or moto (find me on the baht bus).

Edited July 1, 2007 by Jingthing

[idle44mins]

single guy; 45 yo; rental house (2 br-1br-1lr-kit-carp-120m2-2ac); job in Chonburi; company car; motorbike; 1 evening out per week; mobile phone; landline; city cable;

Monthly expenses: THB 26,500 - THB 27,500

[marcklein]

the 20000THB one guy mentions sounds reasonable for a thai. But It looks like you dont have a phone, no health insurance and you seem to eat Thai food right ? And as you mentioned this is if you stay home but you forgot to mention costs for cable tv hence you will be watching thai tv i presume. There are many small costs that where not mentioned. Nothing wrong with all that dont get me wrong.

If an expat had a salary of roughly 2000 Euro net and he wants the same life style and at least a part of the social security in Thailand as he had in Germany for example then he will also need 2000 Euro or roughly 100000THB.

Cost of living is only cheap for a thai and somethings are obviously cheaper also for us but if you dont have at least 50K - 60K its better and safer to stay where you are

Edited July 2, 2007 by marcklein

[Jingthing]

the 20000THB one guy mentions sounds reasonable for a thai. But It looks like you dont have a phone, no health insurance and you seem to eat Thai food right ? And as you mentioned this is if you stay home and why come to Pattaya to stay at home. Nothing wrong with that dont get me wrong. If an expat had a salary of roughly 2000 Euro net and he wants the same life and at least a part of the social security in Thailand as he had in Germany for example then he will also need 2000 Euro or roughly 100000THB.

Cost of living is only cheap for a thai and somethings are obviously cheaper but if you dont have at least 50K - 60K its better to stay where you are

How incredibly judgmental. It all depends on an individuals specific situation, priorities, and what their quality of life and options would be in their home country (or another expat destination).

[marcklein]

the 20000THB one guy mentions sounds reasonable for a thai. But It looks like you dont have a phone, no health insurance and you seem to eat Thai food right ? And as you mentioned this is if you stay home and why come to Pattaya to stay at home. Nothing wrong with that dont get me wrong. If an expat had a salary of roughly 2000 Euro net and he wants the same life and at least a part of the social security in Thailand as he had in Germany for example then he will also need 2000 Euro or roughly 100000THB.

Cost of living is only cheap for a thai and somethings are obviously cheaper for us also but if you dont have at least 50K - 60K its better to stay where you are

[Gary74]

30,000 Baht/month is OK lifestyle

50,000 baht/month is good lifestyle

70,000 baht/month is very good lifestyle

It all depends on your lifestyle. After awhile, you get tired of buying pussy, booze and the life in the bars/go-gos. And everybody tends to slow down or die young around age of 60.

Edited July 5, 2007 by Gary74

[suiging]

Golf's the problem. No matter how I try to stay on a budget in Patters, the lure of the greens is too much for a simple man. Now if I had one arm or a modicum of will power, I could be very happy on 50 to 70 k.

[soundman]

Golf's the problem. No matter how I try to stay on a budget in Patters, the lure of the greens is too much for a simple man. Now if I had one arm or a modicum of will power, I could be very happy on 50 to 70 k.

What does it cost to have an hobby, such as golf in Pattaya per month? Or restoring motorbikes, or playing with aquariums for that matter?

Soundman.

[Jingthing]

Golf's the problem. No matter how I try to stay on a budget in Patters, the lure of the greens is too much for a simple man. Now if I had one arm or a modicum of will power, I could be very happy on 50 to 70 k.

What does it cost to have an hobby, such as golf in Pattaya per month? Or restoring motorbikes, or playing with aquariums for that matter?

Soundman.

Depends if you are buying a farang goldfish or a Thai goldfish ...

[suiging]

Now golf is far more complex an issue.

You see I'm crap. So golf balls are expensive. Then I drink like a fish and the 19th Hole..............well let's not even go there.

Keeping little fishes.....bah humbug. No booze, women and golf balls in that accounting. Childs play.

[Shagwell]

Interesting topic. You lot live very well. The essential for me was to learn to speak Thai very well which enables me to meet girls who aren't expecting a hand-out in the morning whatsoever. I also don't drink alcohol and stick to Thai food almost religiously.

My total spending is 15k/month:

Pattaya condo near Carrefour with wireless internet: 5000.

Motorbike: 2400.

Phone top-ups: 1500.

Girls: Only meals.

Gas: 1000.

Utilities: 2500.

[bikerlou47]

Is Thailand Really an Inexpensive Place to Live?

Many people from around the world consider moving to Thailand some come here looking for work others come here to retire, since I have retired here I will limit this discussion to the expenses I have experienced during my 30 month stay. I will use baht through out this document leaving the conversion to you.

Cost of Housing

Rent

I found rent can range from very little to very expensive depending on your location for a nice place in the Pattaya area I paid about 25,000 baht. But it is possible to find a place for 3000 baht a month and you would get what you paid for a very sub standard living condition. Also keep in mind rents can go up and they certainly will go up if the baht gains strength and your home currency weakens as the case of the USD.

Buy

After living in Pattaya for 6 months it became apparent that this was not the place for me and I began to search for a new location. I found a very nice place about 2 hours north east of Bangkok and rented there about 3 months to make sure it was to my liking during this time I paid 20,000 baht a month for a substandard house in a very nice development

At the end of these 3 months a 3 year old house came up for sale and I purchased it for 3.4 million baht which included furnishings.

There are advantages to buying in Thailand as there are in many countries, but in addition there are no property taxes in Thailand.

I feel very lucky to have found this house in this development, because I have looked at other houses that are extremely expensive and you still would not have a home like you would find at home. For instance I looked at a place for over 11 million baht and it had no kitchen and no place to park your car! In general a Thai house is not what you would expect to find in your home country and yet you can easily pay much more!

When buying there is also an important issue it may be difficult to purchase a home in your name. Thailand has strict rules about foreign ownership of property.

Cost of Food

Thai food

Thai food for the most part is quite inexpensive especially if you are cooking at home and buying from a Thai market. I find this to be a very small part of my budget.

Foreign food

Buying food that you would find in your home country is a completely different story, food can be very expensive and most probably you will have very little choice. Also if you live in a remote area of Thailand as I do you will have to travel to get to a market that sells food from other countries. This part of your budget will be more than you will find in your home country.

Alcoholic Beverages

If you are like me and enjoy a good beer you will have a problem Thailand’s brewery families have such a control on this market that they have imposed a hefty tax on beer from other countries for instance you can easily pay 5 or 6 USD for a Budweiser in a grocery store if you can find it! So what are you left with? No real choices. Near where I live I can buy a German beer for 150 baht. Singha will cost about 70 baht. Buying the local beer is still expensive when compared to USA. Where it might be cheaper is when you go to a bar since there is very little markup in most places.

Wine can also be expensive it is difficult to find a decent bottle of wine for 600 baht.

Transportation Costs

Car

I bought a truck here and paid about 800,000 baht which may be lower than you would pay in the USA but there are factors to consider. I have no air bag on the passenger side, I have no seat belts in the rear seating area and who knows what other safety features are missing when compared to a car bought from a car in Europe or USA? As an example are the doors reinforced? I doubt it!

Used cars and trucks just don’t seem like a good option here because the resale value is very high, after making comparisons I found it a much better idea to buy new.

Car rental

You can rent a used pickup for about 20,000 a month.

Gas

It is more expensive here than in the USA by about 40 cents a gallon but it is cheaper here when compared to Europe. For high test it is about 30 baht a liter.

Train

You can go many places by train and it is very inexpensive.

Bus

The same is true for bus.

Safety Issues

In all modes of transportation you will be putting your life in more danger here than in a developed country. There may be safety standards but if there are they are not enforced. Drivers on the road have no training and for the most part anything goes. Truck drivers and bus drivers are probably the worst. So it may or may not be cheaper here for transportation but there are many traffic deaths!

Medical Care

Hospitals and Doctors

The cost of medical care in the USA is the highest in the world so of course it is cheaper here, so the real factor to consider is the quality of care received.

If you are in a hospital you may receive quality care but it is dependent on the hospital. The quality of care can differ greatly between a government hospital and a private hospital and the same is true for doctors.

There is the Bamrungrad hospital in Bangkok and I believe it is the only certified hospital in Thailand. People come to this hospital from all over the world for its excellent care and reasonable cost. There are other very good hospitals in Thailand but they are few and far apart.

A month ago I was visiting a friend at a government hospital and watched the rats playing in the water as it flowed from the washing machines.

Medical Insurance

This can cost about 40,000 baht a year and will cover many expenses incurred in Thailand and other countries with the exception of the USA.

Emergency services

For the most part there are none if you don’t have anyone to take you to a hospital chances are you are not going to get there unless you are extremely lucky. There is a 911 type service here 1669 but if your condition is critical you will probably die waiting for help!

Utilities

Electricity

We average about 1000 baht a month which is very cheap but this is with very little air conditioning, we use fans mostly. Asia in general uses many energy saving devices such as fluorescent bulbs and on demand hot water units.

Water

Very cheap just don’t drink it! You will have to purchase potable water and it is quite inexpensive when you buy it in 30 liter bottles it is about 20 baht.

TV

If you receive every option via SAT the price is 2100 baht, but the TV is not very good HBO and the other movie channels are all edited you can not receive and unedited version, words are changed and scenes are eliminated for sex and violence. For the same money TV is much better in USA

Internet

For 512k ADSL service you will pay 769 baht, and you will never receive 512k maybe average about 300k. So far this year we have lost internet service for several days on 3 different occasions, do not even think about asking for a prorated bill you will have to pay the full amount every month whether you received the service or not.

Police and Fire Protection

Almost non-existent, I have to relate this story to give you an idea of what you might expect for police protection. A few years ago they passed a helmet law for motorbikes and my girl made sure that everyday we put on our helmets. This one evening we went out and I put on my helmet and she asked why was I putting it on she said the “police don’t work in the night”. In most cases this is true unless you live in one of the tourists areas.

I have another friend who owns a bar and a fight broke out between some farangs the police were called and they did arrive but only watched, when my friend asked why they did not help to break up the fight they said they did not like to get involved when it comes to farangs!

As far as fire protection is concerned for the most part your house will burn to the ground and again forget any emergency services.

If you live in Bangkok, Pattaya or a tourist area you may find better police and fire protection.

Entertainment

This varies greatly depending on what you are looking for, we all know the reputation of Thailand when it comes to this subject and again when in Bangkok or a tourist area you will find that it will live up to the reputation. But when you are away from these areas it can be a completely different story.

Here are a few examples of G rated entertainment:

Movies- 200 baht -English sound tracks are only in tourist areas.

Tennis court rental – 50 baht an hour

Bowling - 80 baht a game

Horse Racing 10 baht minimum bet 20 baht admission

National Park entrance fees 400 baht (with Thai driver license 40 baht)

Zoo -100 baht admission

Horse Riding 500 baht an hour

Elephant Riding 400 baht for 30 minutes

Banks

I can not say enough bad things about the Thai banking system. If you are not at the exact bank location where you opened your account you are will not have complete access to your monies. Every time you use the ATM you will be charged 20 baht. And maybe there are some farangs that receive interest in their accounts but I know of no one.

In conclusion the answer to this question really depends on your life style, one can stay here for very little money if you want to live as a Thai person, your housing will be Thai style your food will be Thai food and your life will be as a Thai person would live.

If you come here as a retired person that means you are over 50 years old and as we know the older you get the more important it becomes that you have good medical care. The average life expectancy of a Thai male is about 68 which is shorter than most developed countries. The lack of emergency services and good medical care in most parts of the country can certainly have a detrimental effect on your length and quality of life.

As an example take a look at a conservative sample monthly budget of a retiree who does not keep a house or vehicle in his home country. If you travel back home once a year the cost of a roundtrip ticket could add about 5000 baht a month to the following budget.

Housing 20,000

Car- 20,000

Food – 15000

TV – 1700

Electricity -1000

Internet 650

Medical Insurance – 3000

This comes to over 60,000 a month does not include alcohol, clothes, entertainment, travel etc.

Thailand visa requirements state that you must show at least 65,000 baht a month income which translates to about 1800 USD a month. Can you live on this amount? The answer is probably you can, but will your life style be better than in your home country? When everything is considered including the lack of choices of food and drink, the lack of quality parks and public recreation, the lack of police and fire and emergency services, the dangerous road conditions you just may be better to stay home!

I have tried to limit this discussion to cost and money and you may get the impression that I am looking to leave Thailand and you could not be more wrong!

In the next article I will talk more about the affairs of heart and less about the wallet!

[JimmyCA]

For a young guy like that 50 - 80k plus 20k appartment