Is It Really Cheaper In The Sticks?

[bunnydrops]

16 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Each to his own, Bangkok is a place I sleep for one night prior to getting the hell out of there.

I can do 3 days. CM maybe a week.

[moogradod]

10 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Apart from Bangkok, I have been to other big cities such as London, Madrid, Tokyo, New York, Chicago and Hong Kong. Too many people, I prefer the smaller cities.

While I have explored a fair bit of Bangkok, it simply does nothing to excite me.

Dont let me be misuderstood. I meant Bangkok and Tokyo only are emotionally and intensely attached to me. I  have visited quite a number of other cities for years, months or only days, such as Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Manila, Amsterdam, Rome, Venice, Zurich, Athens, Bruxelles, Köln, Geneva,, Sapporo, Kyoto, Vienna, Munich and many many others. About 180 all in all. I know because I made once a list for Tripadvisor.

 

On the other hand I have never been to North and South America, Africa, Australia, China (exept for a short landing on the old airport in Hongkong) and Indonesia.

[4MyEgo]

17 hours ago, recom273 said:

the guys that live out on the borders of Udon are brave, I wouldn't want to waste an afternoon doing the Makro run.

I live about 20 minutes from the local town which has basically everything one needs, i.e. Lotus and Big C, hardware stores, motor registry, schools and public hospitals etc etc, the later not for me.

 

Udon is an hours drive, Makro, Central and private hospitals that I would visit when need be. I make it a day out, first to Central for lunch in the food court, a short walk around and then onto Makro once a month.

[habuspasha]

5 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

I lived in mostly large cities: NYC, LA, SF, Seattle. Lived in a lot of areas with a fair amount of traffic noise, and always told myself I wanted peace and quiet when I stopped working. I'm shooting for a blue zone life style, which I believe can be replicated here in Thailand.

At this moment the AQI at Bangkok and Phuket is 57.  At New York City it is 27.  The noise on my balcony at Kata Noi is the sound of the waves.  The noise at my 5th floor window in NYC  is from the birds.

[Freddy42OZ]

19 hours ago, recom273 said:

Also think about value for money and quality of life linked to general peace and quiet.

 

Rental in BKK - 5000B for a two bed/living room/kitchen and bathroom on the balcony shoebox. Was OK for a while.

 

Rental in Hat Yai - 5000B for a two bed townhouse, new build, was great, nice neighbors until for the last 6 years - a loan shark and his gang, who walked in and stole the wifes bag, then after they moved on a gang of yabba dealers partying all night, guns were drawn outside the house with a rival gang, then a tobacco smuggling ring whose deliveries would show up all times of the night.

 

Life in a Khon Kaen village - Rent 5500B temporary rental while we build - 200m sq house in 1 rai of land, neighbor who isn't there most of the time, vegetable plot and hydroponic salad greenhouses makes enough to pay the rent in the cold season, far enough from the temple and headman's speaker system.

 

We never saw the need for a truck until we moved out here, but it was a good purchase, the wife made the downpayment with her buisness savings and makes it work enough to pay the installments, I pay 2500B/month for petrol.

 

We don't need to go into town so much but we make our own indian food, pizza, bacon, muffins and crumpets. Mango trees in the garden. Rice is pretty much free, multiple people give us 10kg as a gifts, which is free to mill, We cook burgers. Japanese curry / dishes, Pasta and salad at least once a week  - We keep Guinea fowl and spend time hunting down the eggs. KKC is only 20 mins away.

 

If its the right place for you, then its the right place - Saying that, I couldn't live more than 15-20km from town - the guys that live out on the borders of Udon are brave, I wouldn't want to waste an afternoon doing the Makro run.

 

What can I get for 35K-50K a month out in "the country"?  

 

[recom273]

Just now, Freddy42OZ said:

 

What can I get for 35K-50K a month out in "the country"?  

 

Idk, have never seen any places like that. Like someone else says, cheap rentals are available, but not so much high priced rentals. 

[LaosLover]

In Chiang Mai, you'd be a gated community. Take a look at 66 Realty for options.

[transam]

1 minute ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

What can I get for 35K-50K a month out in "the country"?  

 

A chauffeur included..............????

[recom273]

2 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

I live about 20 minutes from the local town which has basically everything one needs, i.e. Lotus and Big C, hardware stores, motor registry, schools and public hospitals etc etc, the later not for me.

 

Udon is an hours drive, Makro, Central and private hospitals that I would visit when need be. I make it a day out, first to Central for lunch in the food court, a short walk around and then onto Makro once a month.

The furthest reach of Khon Kaen province would be an hour and a bit away from either UT or KKC, which is not for me. We have one small town near us, but not much else apart the builders yard.
 

I am not a lover of going into town, central, chain restaurants and the like, I prefer to go to Makro at 7.00 am before the rest of the world, breakfast at McD’s and home by 9.30. 

[moogradod]

8 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

What can I get for 35K-50K a month out in "the country"?  

 

If you mean rental only there is no such thing in the countryside I know. Nobody with that much money around. But if you would have it you would for sure not like to rent in a vicinity without even a taxi nor a restaurant and maybe one single supermarket (there is one single Big C - very small version) in Sikhio and this is in the "City" - the real countryside is then some more 15 km drive even from that "center".

[TigerandDog]

20 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

First of all, we don't call it the sticks. We call it living in the countryside.

 

Interesting that you should mention healthcare. The countryside is no place for someone looking to lead an unhealthy sedentary life style which requires taking a long list of medications and frequent visits to the doctor just to stay alive. It's for people who like to stay active, eat home cooked garden fresh food and have healthy gut microbiomes because they work with and stay connected to the soil. Besides supporting a healthier lifestyle, and keeping medical expenses to a minimum, there are plenty of other savings to be had as well.

 

For starters, produce from the vegetable garden and fruit orchards significantly help keep food costs down. This also allows you to regularly splurge on gourmet foods such as imported fruits and vegetables, coffees, nuts, seafood, condiments, etc., which you otherwise might only be able to afford occasionally.

 

As far as the comment about there being nothing to do, there's plenty to do in the countryside. You have just as much access to on-line and streaming services, can stay just as current on world affairs with newspaper subscriptions, order just as many books from Amazon, and do as much on-line shopping as you can anywhere else in Thailand, or in the world, for that matter.

 

True, your "entertainment" activities are more limited in the countryside, but who needs all that diversion and distraction anyway? You want a chance to grow philosophically and spiritually, commune with nature, enjoy peaceful living, you've come to the right place. 

 

You save money in other more subtle ways as well. It's a lot cooler out in the countryside than in an urban environment. I really notice this whenever I travel to a large city. With good cross-ventilation, you can dispense with not only air con, but even fans, so you can save a lot on electricity. Your wardrobe doesn't have to be quite as snazzy as might otherwise need to be in the big city, so there too you can save money. Instead of paying for a gym membership, you end up doing push ups and sit ups and riding your bike on back country roads, which saves a lot of money as well. Labor costs for things like lawnmower repairs, body work on a car, home repair, septic tank pumping, electricians, bicycle repair are still lower than they are in more urban areas. Parking is almost always free, you're less likely to be ticketed by the cops out in the countryside, and if you get into car trouble of some sort or need a ride back home because you got a flat tire on your bicycle, somebody will probably help you out for free or a small gratuity.

 

"we don't call it the sticks. We call it living in the countryside."

 

So when you use the term "we" you are speaking for everyone are you? I live in "The Sticks" of CM Province. I've also be known to refer to "The Sticks" as "The Boondocks or Boonies" but NEVER the countryside. Where I come from, the countryside is a term that is generally associated with pommy snobs or someone who wants others to think they are more important than everyone else.

[bbko]

18 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

The only thing that's cheaper is the rent and yeah you need your own transportation, so it's really no cheaper.

 

Everything else is the same price.

Yes, I live on Pattaya's Darkside and it's very easy to find 30b watermelon, 25 baht fruit drinks, 40b meals, etc.  

[Gecko123]

1 hour ago, TigerandDog said:

"we don't call it the sticks. We call it living in the countryside."

 

So when you use the term "we" you are speaking for everyone are you? I live in "The Sticks" of CM Province. I've also be known to refer to "The Sticks" as "The Boondocks or Boonies" but NEVER the countryside. Where I come from, the countryside is a term that is generally associated with pommy snobs or someone who wants others to think they are more important than everyone else.

"the sticks" seems to generally carry an uncomplimentary connotation, although perhaps more so in the US and Canada than in other English speaking countries. It's also the type of word you could use in a self-deprecating way as in "What    (am I) are we doing living out here in the sticks?" without causing offense, but if someone not from the area says something like "Why on earth are you living out in the sticks?" (implying that you live in an undesirable location) that could cause offense.

 

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/stick

stick noun (COUNTRYSIDE) the sticks [ plural ] informal disapproving

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sticks

sticks plural  : remote usually rural districts regarded especially as backward, dull, or unsophisticated

 

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/stick

 

If you say that someone lives in the sticks, you mean that they live a long way from any large cities.

[informal, disapproval]

He lived out in the sticks somewhere.

 

https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/stick

the sticks informal : an area in the country that is far away from towns and cities

• We live way out in the sticks. [=the boonies, the boondocks]

 

https://www.quora.com/What-does-sticks-mean-in-slang 

What does 'sticks' mean in slang?

It simply means you’re referring to someone - or to a place - a bit isolated, a bigger bit of one-mindedness, adamant about maintaining a particular lifestyle without any outside interference.

It could also include a crude mindset, a hillbilly attitude that can be either “gosh darn” friendly or else “puff up” antagonistic. “Backward” comes to mind; so does “ignorant.” Although they might be intelligent, by standard measurements, they have a mindblock that has created a membrane between themselves and others who are talking about them.

At any rate, it’s not a complimentary word to throw around, alluding to a deep lack of formal education but a hefty dose of family education, hardly ever to the understanding of those beyond the “sticks” boundaries. It’s growing up and growing old in a comparatively backward part of the country.

 

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/the_sticks

the sticks (uncountable)

1. (Canada, US, informal, derogatory) A remote, rural area; a place that is removed from civilization such as the boondocks.

Edited September 16, 2023 by Gecko123

[LaosLover]

if I never call the sticks the sticks again after this implausibly stern upbraiding, would that make your day?

 

Also, the term hillbilly: thought up in New Jersey by a booking agent for The Carter Family.

 

So neither pro nor neg-hillbilly, just something catchy for the concert poster.

Edited September 16, 2023 by LaosLover

[Sticky Rice Balls]

22 hours ago, LaosLover said:

which I found at Maya Mall Rimping

sigh   i used to be a Chef there..one of the many reasons i quit was about how they priced things there..if i made stg for 60 bt they would want 300 for it.....thus throwing out alot of food where my goal was to make original items all could afford to buy and try....I just go to Kasem to get my western mustard and other farang items..again...keeping it local..they make quiche/baked goods

[Sticky Rice Balls]

3 hours ago, LaosLover said:

In Chiang Mai, you'd be a gated community.

gotta keep those grubby commoners out!   how much for the Ivory Tower condos???  

 

asking for a Hiso friend ????    you may be able to see my tent from your balcony tho

[Kalasin Jo]

On 9/15/2023 at 3:21 PM, connda said:

I call it The Sticks and The Boondocks.  And I live out here. 

Me too.????. Same when I lived in rural France. Yeah it's alot cheaper except for the need for a car unless in a Mueang.  But it needn't be an expensive new model. And I've found I used a car only once or twice a week even in the sticks/ boonies/ countryside. We have a beat up pick up 18 years old. Fine for short runs. I wouldn't dare drive to Pattaya in it though!! The locals do love their massive shiny new beasts with all the bells and whistles though. 1.2 million and way up brand new. The massive tyres alone must cost a fortune  to replace. Still, very handy in the current rains heading down mud tracks. Ours isn't up to that as I found out to my cost once. How do they afford them?

 

Round here cash is still king although some of the newer shops do accept phone scan payment. Cash being king is a problem when the nearest ATM is not yards/ metres away and just round the corner, but several kms, there's only 1 and it's often empty for days on end, necessitating a 60 km round trip.

[arick]

Last time I checked the prices in macro Topps lotus are exactly the same all around the country. However in the countryside we don't have to spend money on gas and tickets going to the supermarket cuz the trucks come to your house and you just have to walk out and purchase it yourself so you're saving money on petrol. And to order street food is like 30 30 baht to 40 baht. And you're not tempted to go and buy junk food from the McDonald's or pizza or restaurants

[arick]

And the squash and mangoes and bananas grow on the trees outside my house I don't have to worry about getting any of that stuff it's all for free and I guess if I go fishing in my pond that's for free if I want to cut up my horse I guess I could have free meat too

[jingjai9]

What I do not like about the countryside in Thailand is the poor infrastructure; it can be bothersome to navigate roads with holes and more holes, pass dilapidated or unpainted houses and see dry, parched yards with no life, or walk in villages or stroll along country roads with buffalo feces abound. I find this to be the norm in rural areas around Thailand. Experiencing this on a daily basis can be depressing. 

Also, I do not feel as if I can walk freely in rural areas as I never know if I will encounter a dog protecting its turf. Some people carry sticks for protection to ward off aggressive canines. To me this is the Thai equivalent of arming yourself in America if you drive or walk through rough neighborhoods (cars are susceptible to car jackings). I know people in America who keep guns in their cars because they commute to work and pass through rough neighborhoods. They are afraid of problems if they are forced to sit in their cars during a long traffic light or traffic jams. Neither situation sounds relaxing and the former certainly does not conform to a positive image of the pastoral life.

I post this as this may be one aspect of rural life that is not often articulated. Yes, there are  many wonders of nature, but there are many other considerations. 

I do not wish to demean life in the country as many people are quite happy living a rural life. I merely want to share my sensibility concerning rural life in Thailand. Perhaps it is cheaper, but there are non-monetary costs for people who share my sentiment.

[brianthainess]

On 9/15/2023 at 3:23 PM, connda said:

What cops?

We have cops, they control the kids/parents coming out of schools 3+ up on a motor bike with no helmets, waving them out, while he wears a helmet with a cam, never stops any.

Ps I live up "In the Jungle" according to my friends. 

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by brianthainess

[mikebike]

34 minutes ago, jingjai9 said:

What I do not like about the countryside in Thailand is the poor infrastructure; it can be bothersome to navigate roads with holes and more holes, pass dilapidated or unpainted houses and see dry, parched yards with no life, or walk in villages or stroll along country roads with buffalo feces abound. I find this to be the norm in rural areas around Thailand. Experiencing this on a daily basis can be depressing. 

Also, I do not feel as if I can walk freely in rural areas as I never know if I will encounter a dog protecting its turf. Some people carry sticks for protection to ward off aggressive canines. To me this is the Thai equivalent of arming yourself in America if you drive or walk through rough neighborhoods (cars are susceptible to car jackings). I know people in America who keep guns in their cars because they commute to work and pass through rough neighborhoods. They are afraid of problems if they are forced to sit in their cars during a long traffic light or traffic jams. Neither situation sounds relaxing and the former certainly does not conform to a positive image of the pastoral life.

I post this as this may be one aspect of rural life that is not often articulated. Yes, there are  many wonders of nature, but there are many other considerations. 

I do not wish to demean life in the country as many people are quite happy living a rural life. I merely want to share my sensibility concerning rural life in Thailand. Perhaps it is cheaper, but there are non-monetary costs for people who share my sentiment.

Sounds like u wouldn't like rural anywhere. 

[Umlungu]

On 9/15/2023 at 4:19 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

It is cheaper, absolutely.

 

 

Does this place accommodate your man cave, IT station, office and sofabed?

[captainjackS]

On 9/16/2023 at 6:57 AM, BritManToo said:

And many things are more expensive.

Usually nowhere to rent so you have to buy/build in someone elses name.

exactly.   woman+house can make a huge difference compared to renting a condo / apartment in the city.

[toofarnorth]

On 9/15/2023 at 3:21 PM, connda said:

I call it The Sticks and The Boondocks.  And I live out here. 

Call it the sticks if you want but it's Styx. 

[Irish star]

On 9/15/2023 at 3:42 PM, Lacessit said:

Cities such as Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai are much cheaper to live in than Bangkok. It's unarguable rents are lower.

Medications may be more expensive, massages are lower cost. It all depends on what one wants.

In the village I can have a 1 hour massage for 120 baht. In CR, 200 baht. I have yet to see any in Bangkok for less than 300 baht.

CM an CR are not the sticks try KK or Bueng Kan as examples , you spend more on alcohol because so damn boring I wasted 4 years in Isaan I will never get back 

[bignok]

KK is a sizeable city. Not the sticks. Yasothon is the sticks.

[473geo]

To me rural living provides the option to live cheaper 

 

For example free fish in the rice paddies and waterways just now in the wet season, mushrooms, crabs and papaya for somtam and of course home grown rice 

As mentioned previously door to door selling of local produce is popular

In reality there is little need to go to supermarkets if one follows the local seasonal menus, including insects and Ants 

Lately by way of example live pork prices dropped so pigs were killed on the farm and sold fresh same day 140 baht kg 

Later in the year ponds will dry up and at the correct level will be pumped out and fish sold maybe one or two ponds a week around us for 10 weeks or so

Mango season of course plus other fruits, melons, pumpkin selection of home grown vegetables such as string beans, egg plant, cucumber, and one that looks like a cucumber but isn't don't know the name

 

I understand if the above is not for you but as I say the option is there to experience the Thai rural self sufficiency diet 

 

[connda]

On 9/15/2023 at 4:32 PM, LaosLover said:

I just bought a big fresh Longan Juice next to the Nimman1 Mall. It was 40 baht.

I can go into the back yard, pick a blender full right now, add some ice and - Free!  ❤️

However if you're too lazy (like me) and simply want someone else to do it, I can drive about 500 meters to the local village coffee and fruit shake stand.  20 THB.  Which is the point.  Is it cheaper out here? 

Yep!  ????

[connda]

2 hours ago, toofarnorth said:

Call it the sticks if you want but it's Styx. 

Our new AI friend ChatGPT disagrees.

❓"ChatGPT.  Which is the correct phrase?  "Out in the sticks," or "Out in the Styx" when referring to a place far out in the country-side?"

????  Answer:

The correct phrase is "out in the sticks" when referring to a place far out in the countryside. "Out in the Styx" is not a common expression and is likely a variation or misspelling of the former phrase.