Agree. Have never lived in Europe, just visited four times, but it seemed expensive when we visited. However, I'll limit my comments to the US. As an American, the cost of living in the US is much higher compared to Thailand. My spouse has a Thai sister and a niece who are living in California and every Saturday they video chat on Line. Last Saturday his sister was complaining about how expensive everything is. One thing she talked about was how high the restaurant prices are in the US. She mentioned ordering pad thai at a restaurant and it was $18, about 575 baht. For comparison, we can get it here at a lot of places for around 60 baht. We even have a restaurant that will deliver it to our door for 60 baht--and it's delicious and good quality. Just one example, of course, but telling. The biggest difference, as I always stress, is keeping a roof over one's head, whether one wants to own or prefers to rent. Usually, that is the biggest, or one of the biggest, monthly budget items in the west--and usually the one posters don't mention when they are saying they can live just as cheaply in the US or Europe. When I was living in Virginia before my move to Thailand, keeping that 1 bedroom condo roof over my head, first as a renter and then as an owner, took well over half of my monthly income. That would not be the case in Thailand, and it leaves you more money to spend on other things or save.
