Exploring the cost of living for retirees in Thailand

[JohnNThai]

8 hours ago, ezzra said:

Charming if you don't care for the horrendous pollution that is going there for good number of months, the rest of the article is very generic one and cover the very basics, there are a lot more to retiring in Thailand than what the article panned out.

Same can be said for Bangkok as well.

[fellcor]

2 hours ago, bignok said:

Rai has awful AQIs. Nice town though.

Yes currently it's quite bad. If one stays indoors with a Xiaomi purifier, it's quite ok, with a few hours of exposure when travelling or errand running.

 

This year much worst than the last. I think I will head to the south next year when the burning season comes again. Just to stay for a month. I never stayed in the south before so it will be challenging for me. 

[KannikaP]

7 hours ago, mikebell said:

The 1st thing I would have factored in for UK retirees is the frozen state pension.  Mine is exactly half of the current rate at 360 a month after working 39 years.

Why did you tell 'em?

[sidjameson]

Article reads like chatgpt.

[LaosLover]

1 hour ago, CanadaSam said:

 

$3000 for a fairly luxurious life.

 

 

I live a luxurious life on that budget, but I like to spend more.

 

In Chiang Mai, the low end of a luxury apartment with pool, ac, internet etc toss in is prob 25K a month. A meal with a glass of wine is prob 800 baht in a nice, not luxurious, restaurant.

 

So after rent, you can spend about 2,500 day. Two of us live very happily, ordering in from Starbucks on that.  Decent if your vice is weed and you can get the local 100 baht a gram price. A little tight if your vice is a girlfriend with a long story.

 

We budget $4,800 a month (includes health insurance of $800 for 2). Every couple months when the baht piles up, we fly down to Bangkok and eat at some prime restaurants.

 

Spent $250 at Lanna (Northern food as nouvelle as it gets) and then alternated with going to an Unagi restaurant (like $70, a third the price in New York or Tokyo). To be able to eat in a 4-5* restaurant a couple of times a week is a dream come true.

 

I love the passive-aggressive emoticon below pretending he don' unnnnerstannnn what I'm saying. 

Edited April 22, 2023 by LaosLover

[KannikaP]

7 hours ago, mikebell said:

Could you PM me with the details - how long/procedures/why you need to do it again?

You tell DWP that you are PERMANENTLY back in UK, and simply 'forget' to tell them when you leave next time.

[chalawaan]

Just go to www.numbeo.com 

Job done. 

[proton]

3 hours ago, Srikcir said:

From personal and unscientific perspective, I find that Bangkok Metropoliton Area is itself 30-40% more expensive across the board than the southern parts of the province, ie. Bang Khun Thian, Bang Bon, Bang Khae. Perhaps explained in part by very few expats and lesser demand for foreign products..

Prices in central Rama 2, big C and 7/11 are the same. Housing might be a bit cheaper but not by much. The so called tradesmen are certainly not cheaper and just as clueless. Quite a few trendy cafes opening up recently with sky high prices, went once that was it.

[fellcor]

39 minutes ago, chalawaan said:

Just go to www.numbeo.com 

Job done. 

Hm it's a reference since it has many variables listed but the numbers are way off in many ways.

 

Example would be water. A 20L bottle of water cost 15 baht in a rural village say 20km outside the city. The prices stated therein is nowhere near this amount.

 

Considering most of Thailand is rural, even the city center of say korat, the figures are best taken with a lot of buffer that has been inclusively considered.

 

A good starting point for the normal guy googling. But not applicable once more factors are considered.

[K2938]

4 hours ago, fellcor said:

This year much worst than the last. I think I will head to the south next year when the burning season comes again. Just to stay for a month. I never stayed in the south before so it will be challenging for me. 

One month will not be enough to escape.  Think more like three months really if you want to protect your health

[Xonax]

Where can an elderly retiree find a premium health insurance for only 30-60,000 Baht per year. This is definitely not possible and will also not cover existing conditioner, for which treatments will have to be paid seperately.

[Lemsta69]

5 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

$3000 for a fairly luxurious life.

Three grand a month in Bangkok won't buy you luxury, heck it will barely get you an apartment. Luxury is 98 Wireless, Lambos and Wagyu steak, breakfast at the Mandarin Oriental.

[fellcor]

1 hour ago, K2938 said:

One month will not be enough to escape.  Think more like three months really if you want to protect your health

Thanks for the concern and research, since I have easily another 30-40 years to go, I probably save on the first few months and only go in April. This is my third April in Chiang Rai and from my experience, this month is the worst.

 

The local government raised the ban for burning in may, so I think it does coincide with your chart that may is indeed the month for return.

[mikebell]

16 hours ago, KannikaP said:

You tell DWP that you are PERMANENTLY back in UK, and simply 'forget' to tell them when you leave next time.

But don't the DWP ask for details?

[mikebell]

17 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Why did you tell 'em?

I didn't think I would live till I was 80!

[mikebell]

18 hours ago, BritScot said:

Go back to the uk for a while, get your pension back up then go back with a smile.

What sort of 'arrangements' are necessary?  Surely the DWP need proof?

[LittleBear57]

On 4/22/2023 at 7:48 AM, nigelforbes said:

If you can swing it, it would be worth your while to return for a few months and get it uprated. I did that a couple of years ago and may well do that again next year.

Do you actually get the increase backdated. Say if you return next year would you be able to get the 10% rise for this year? I have tried to find this out by phoning without success.

[nigelforbes]

19 minutes ago, LittleBear57 said:

Do you actually get the increase backdated. Say if you return next year would you be able to get the 10% rise for this year? I have tried to find this out by phoning without success.

No, it's effective as of the date of your arrival.

[Gknrd]

Is this a YouTube digital nomad BS site now.  

[Henryford]

19 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

This post can be answered very easily, for all parts of Thailand:

 

$1000 a month for a reasonable existence (going out only once or twice a week).

 

$2000 a month for a comfortable lifestyle.

 

$3000 for a fairly luxurious life.

 

Above amounts include everything for one foreigner, (and perhaps a girlfriend who also has a job), EXCEPT medical insurance (for which an older person really requires to self finance).

This should be the standard reply to any of the hundreds of "cost of living" posts. The only caveat is does that include rent? I presume it does. If you own your condo knock off $3,4,500.

[Mike Teavee]

On 4/22/2023 at 8:02 AM, msbkk said:

Comprehensive insurance plans can cost several times more in older years. As this article is for retirees the quoted figures are way too low.

Way too low, my last renewal (Age 56) for 3.5Million cover with 100k deductible & no outpatients was 30K, I can only dread thinking what it will be when o hit 60. 

[Hanuman2547]

21 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

This post can be answered very easily, for all parts of Thailand:

 

$1000 a month for a reasonable existence (going out only once or twice a week).

 

$2000 a month for a comfortable lifestyle.

 

$3000 for a fairly luxurious life.

 

Above amounts include everything for one foreigner, (and perhaps a girlfriend who also has a job), EXCEPT medical insurance (for which an older person really requires to self finance).

Everyone's lifestyle is different.  I could live pretty well on $3000 a month, although not luxurious, in Bangkok as my house is paid off.  For some people, that wouldn't even cover their rent in Bangkok.  

[Celsius]

On 4/22/2023 at 4:45 AM, webfact said:

Rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center ranges from 15,000 to 30,000 THB ($470-$940) per month.

Ah this old chestnut. Yes rent a place where you can't swing a cat, no oven, no bathtub, no nothing comparable to back home. I'm guessing these retirees will be livin' the dream eating noodles and street food. 

 

Thailand is great when you're young. Hard pass for a retirement.

[BritManToo]

9 minutes ago, Celsius said:

Ah this old chestnut. Yes rent a place where you can't swing a cat, no oven, no bathtub, no nothing comparable to back home. I'm guessing these retirees will be livin' the dream eating noodles and street food. 

 

Thailand is great when you're young. Hard pass for a retirement.

Back home it was cold and wet so my house was the only place I could sit all day. 

Here it's warm and sunny and I can spend all day outside, so I no longer need a big house. 

Edited April 23, 2023 by BritManToo

[BritManToo]

On 4/22/2023 at 8:02 AM, msbkk said:

Comprehensive insurance plans can cost several times more in older years. As this article is for retirees the quoted figures are way too low.

It's mainly Americans  obsessed by health insurance. People from other countries usually don't bother. 

[JustAnotherHun]

28 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

It's mainly Americans  obsessed by health insurance. People from other countries usually don't bother. 

They prefer to set up a tearful go-fund-me page in case.

[NoshowJones]

22 hours ago, BritScot said:

Go back to the uk for a while, get your pension back up then go back with a smile.

Yes, but don't tell them.

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, mikebell said:

But don't the DWP ask for details?

What details? As KannikaP says, just leave the UK and come back. Do you think that out of millions of OAP state pensioners all the ones who have changed addresses have notified the DWP?

[BritManToo]

42 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

They prefer to set up a tearful go-fund-me page in case.

Seems to me lots of people who purchased health insurance end up the same way. 

So might as well save the insurance premiums. 

 

Did you ask @simon43 how his health insurance worked out? 

[JustAnotherHun]

22 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Seems to me lots of people who purchased health insurance end up the same way. 

So might as well save the insurance premiums.

Maybe. But following the discussions in insurance topics it seems to me the main point for many is to buy an insurance as cheap as possible.

The more important is to read the fine prints of such companies very carefully.

I know different people who got very expensive treatments in Thailand or even were taken back to Germany with crazy expensive emergency flights - all fully payed by their insurances.