Modest drinker, no p4p, 60k month. Where can my friend afford live?

[Mike Teavee]

14 hours ago, Dene16 said:

Anyway there was simply no children there. Also you could see that around 35/40% of the units where empty which at the time made me think at the time it was expanding at too great a pace.

The Maldives (Laguna Beach Resort 3), whilst being a very nice condo resort with awesome pools, isn't exactly in a prime area (I described it as the "4rse end of nowhere" when I did 5 days there) so it's going to be quiet at the best of times, visiting off season you're going to find it very quiet. 

 

[Mike Teavee]

8 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That budget is junk, IMO. Visa agents do not cost monthly. They are only needed 4 times a year, and prices vary, food costs way more than that, Not everyone owns a m'bike, alcohol intake varies depending on the individual, don't need a phone.

Not everyone lives in a condo, and I paid 5,000 a month for a room in Pattaya, 15,000 for an all included hotel room in Chiang Mai.

My monthly cost not including insurance and visa deposit was average 30,000 baht.

If you watch the video, he explains quite clearly that the 1,500b for an agent is amortised over the year... As you do with annual expenses when setting a monthly budget.

 

 

Your costs are just that, "Yours", no one else is going to have exactly the same costs as you, living in a 5K room or a 15k hotel room is my idea of hell, I'd rather stay in the UK than do that but that's just Me.

 

The point of the video is to give people an idea of what kind of expenses they can expect & anybody with an ounce of common sense would know to tweak the numbers as appropriate

 

 

 

 

 

[JimTripper]

 

13 hours ago, NextG said:

Neither geriatric nor in Pattaya. It’s you who is being judgmental about someone with a 60k budget. 
It’s you who is writing long and rambling posts about nothing, other than what is in your imagination. The same crashingly dull statements time and time again…
 

no, it's you ????

[scubascuba3]

40 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

don't need a phone

Come on, get up to date, life is better with a smartphone, i appreciate the elderly resist it, but shouldn't, embrace it

[Olmate]

50 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Come on, get up to date, life is better with a smartphone, i appreciate the elderly resist it, but shouldn't, embrace it

Trying to find a yarn in a pub  nowadays is a mission, most guys stuck in their phones! 

[jaideedave]

17 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I've been to England, Scotland, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, Malta, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, China, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Canada, USA ..... How about you?

USA,Canada,Mexico,Tahiti,Moorea,Many Caribbean islands,UK,Norway,Holland,Iran,Iraq,Egypt,Libya,Malaysia,Cambodia,Laos,Philippines,Vietnam,China,Australia,New Zealand.I may have forgot a couple and the ME sh_t h__les were for work.

[JimTripper]

39 minutes ago, jaideedave said:

USA,Canada,Mexico,Tahiti,Moorea,Many Caribbean islands,UK,Norway,Holland,Iran,Iraq,Egypt,Libya,Malaysia,Cambodia,Laos,Philippines,Vietnam,China,Australia,New Zealand.I may have forgot a couple and the ME sh_t h__les were for work.

do you keep a little black book with a running list? ????

[scubascuba3]

39 minutes ago, jaideedave said:

USA,Canada,Mexico,Tahiti,Moorea,Many Caribbean islands,UK,Norway,Holland,Iran,Iraq,Egypt,Libya,Malaysia,Cambodia,Laos,Philippines,Vietnam,China,Australia,New Zealand.I may have forgot a couple and the ME sh_t h__les were for work.

Yawn, no one was looking for a pis*sing contest

[JAFO]

19 hours ago, NextG said:

It’s you who is being judgmental about someone with a 60k budget. 

Actually you continue to dig yourself deeper into a hole.  I never once judged anyone on 60K baht a month.  If that works for the person then great.  My point was I have worked and lived here for many years and if someone is going to toss out "Live Comfortable" on 60K baht a month, it would be prudent for the OP to know exactly what that comment means so he could convey that info back to his friend who is asking and considering moving.  You took it all personal. Your idea of comfortable could be a 180 of what that individual envisions his life to be on 60k baht. Its a big move, a long transition. I couldn't have imagined when I was thinking of moving here and I asked that question and a few said Its GREAT.. I live on 20K, 30K, 40K a baht a month without knowing what that really means.   

 

To many times people come here only on the financial perspective. Sure...its cheaper in comparison to their home country in most cases but what do they give up/gain? Its the hidden longer term things that cause issues such as disconnect from their home country, lack of social interaction, language barrier, visa rules, transportation, traveling around isn't as easy as most think it is unless you have a built in tour guide to start etc. This tends to be the undoing of many who come here and a great number move to tourist locations that support a larger foreigner community but that in itself has it's own issues.

 

Based on the few who posted its a comfortable life for them...Outstanding.  They have acclimated and make it work. Not all meet that same end game. As I said, if all one has is 60K baht to live on monthly, that can be a challenge. Who knows what the financial outlook looks like. Look at the many UK posters who go on and on about it now that it tanked. Any change the Thai gov't mentions about taxing etc sends the audience into a whirl wind fit.  I have read the threads from time to time.  Is that comfortable?  Having no savings or reserves puts any person at risk and to the video posted, It was a good laugh as are many of the You Tube vloggers.  You cannot look at living here entirely on the cost savings. 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2023 by JAFO

[NextG]

32 minutes ago, JAFO said:

Actually you continue to dig yourself deeper into a hole.  I never once judged anyone on 60K baht a month.  If that works for the person then great.  My point was I have worked and lived here for many years and if someone is going to toss out "Live Comfortable" on 60K baht a month, it would be prudent for the OP to know exactly what that comment means so he could convey that info back to his friend who is asking and considering moving.  You took it all personal. Your idea of comfortable could be a 180 of what that individual envisions his life to be on 60k baht. Its a big move, a long transition. I couldn't have imagined when I was thinking of moving here and I asked that question and a few said Its GREAT.. I live on 20K, 30K, 40K a baht a month without knowing what that really means.   

 

To many times people come here only on the financial perspective. Sure...its cheaper in comparison to their home country in most cases but what do they give up/gain? Its the hidden longer term things that cause issues such as disconnect from their home country, lack of social interaction, language barrier, visa rules, transportation, traveling around isn't as easy as most think it is unless you have a built in tour guide to start etc. This tends to be the undoing of many who come here and a great number move to tourist locations that support a larger foreigner community but that in itself has it's own issues.

 

Based on the few who posted its a comfortable life for them...Outstanding.  They have acclimated and make it work. Not all meet that same end game. As I said, if all one has is 60K baht to live on monthly, that can be a challenge. Who knows what the financial outlook looks like. Look at the many UK posters who go on and on about it now that it tanked. Any change the Thai gov't mentions about taxing etc sends the audience into a whirl wind fit.  I have read the threads from time to time.  Is that comfortable?  Having no savings or reserves puts any person at risk and to the video posted, It was a good laugh as are many of the You Tube vloggers.  You cannot look at living here entirely on the cost savings. 

 

 

I didn’t even bother to read what looked like a large amount of waffle. 
I know A LOT of people who have survived very nicely on such a budget for very many years. That’s real life,rather than speculative waffle. 

It’s not that they don’t have more to spend. One particular acquaintance drove a Porsche at home, but that was their monthly spend in Thailand. 
So instead of your interminable waffle, perhaps you can post your ‘real life’ figures. The ones to which you might adhere. 

[NextG]

4 hours ago, JimTripper said:

do you keep a little black book with a running list? ????

Do you ever have anything  intelligent to post, rather than sneering childlike idiocy?

Do you actually have something to contribute to this thread? 

 

Since you are actually living in Pattaya, why don’t you provide an actual breakdown of your costs. 
 

You don’t because you don’t appear to have any kind of ‘normal’ life at all. 
 

Normal people go shopping, exercise, make normal friends. Cook for themselves. Explore the region.
 Not just hanging around the centre complaining about ‘bikies’  and not wanting to carry groceries in the heat’. You don’t have a any kind of life at all. So instead, you hang around the forum making snarky comments. Make yourself useful and post YOUR budget. 
 

Edited October 8, 2023 by NextG

[JimTripper]

43 minutes ago, NextG said:

Do you ever have anything  intelligent to post, rather than sneering childlike idiocy?

Do you actually have something to contribute to this thread? 

 

Since you are actually living in Pattaya, why don’t you provide an actual breakdown of your costs. 
 

You don’t because you don’t appear to have any kind of ‘normal’ life at all. 
 

Normal people go shopping, exercise, make normal friends. Cook for themselves. Explore the region.
 Not just hanging around the centre complaining about ‘bikies’  and not wanting to carry groceries in the heat’. You don’t have a any kind of life at all. So instead, you hang around the forum making snarky comments. Make yourself useful and post YOUR budget. 
 

your projecting again. have you considered therapy or meditation?

[NextG]

1 hour ago, JimTripper said:

your projecting again. have you considered therapy or meditation?

How about, as a Pattaya resident, contributing to the discussion with regard to the 60k budget?

[Mike Teavee]

8 hours ago, JAFO said:

Having no savings or reserves puts any person at risk and to the video posted, It was a good laugh as are many of the You Tube vloggers.  You cannot look at living here entirely on the cost savings. 

I honestly thought the Video was a decent look at how somebody could approach breaking their budget down for a life in Pattaya, anybody who takes it as "Gospel" when it comes to retirement budgets & doesn't tweak it according to their needs should probably think again before retiring anywhere, never mind Thailand. 

 

I do agree about food costs though, we eat at home a lot & I'm a very fussy eater so we spend approx. 30,000b pm (2 people) on groceries (includes 6-8K for Beer & Wine as eating at home means I don't go out drinking too much), live with my long term partner so 0 cost (save for the odd tip/lady drink) on girls.

 

I would say that my monthly costs are more like 150K pm but this includes expenses (Investments) in the UK of approx. 30K pm, so 120K on average, this is below what I'd planned/budgeted for (100% due to the fact that I did 1 extra year at work before retiring) so I'm comfortable with it. 

“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six , result happiness.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery”

 

I think I could easily live (a Single) life here on 60K, but if I had the choice I would probably carry on working until I could afford another 20-40K.

 

End of the day it's "Too Each His Own", I know (older) guys who have a much more "Livelier" life than I have on less than 1/2 of what I spend ???? 

 

Edited October 8, 2023 by Mike Teavee

[EVENKEEL]

This talk of living on 60k is about essentials only I'm assuming. Furniture, car, mb, travel, will come out of savings, again I'm assuming.

 

If me I would splurge on rent, nice pool, gym with steam and sauna, steps to the beach, near a 7. 

[thaibeachlovers]

22 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Come on, get up to date, life is better with a smartphone, i appreciate the elderly resist it, but shouldn't, embrace it

I spend far too much time on the internet as it is, in a soulless on line existence, and I'm not going to spend more time on line with a stupid phone. ( I call them stupid phones because IMO they make people stupid ).

My 20 year old mobile allows me to make calls and that's all I want a phone to do.

[JAFO]

On 10/8/2023 at 2:53 PM, NextG said:

I didn’t even bother to read what looked like a large amount of waffle. 

Because its reality and you are in denial,  it really is that simple.  Again if one wants to make a decision entirely on the financial aspects disregarding everything else, then OK.  But I think tenured expats that have lived here know its a much bigger picture. 

 

Keep on the rose colored glasses Next Gen, apparently you "Live Comfortable" and more power to ya. 

 

As for my idea of living comfortable here. Its all about balance. I do not think anyone wants to live with constraints and have to wait and worry for that next pension check to hit their bank acct. Ideally in these current times, I think 75 to 100K baht a month is comfortable number leaving some reserves for those odd times.  But again that is my perspective.  As some have posted, they only spend 30k bht a month but it appears their life style is pretty much home life. 

 

Again, goes back to the OP and his friend.  What does he expect. No waffle here.  Just facts and reality which you seem to clearly struggle with.

 

 

 

 

[JAFO]

17 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

anybody who takes it as "Gospel" when it comes to retirement budgets & doesn't tweak it according to their needs should probably think again before retiring anywhere, never mind Thailand. 

Absolutely agree Mike.  Moving abroad anywhere is a big move. It has many implications to the individual.  The YT vloggers can be very jaded or not really truthful.  I have watched a few that friends have sent me links to and most I cannot watch in their entirety, some are < 1 min.  About 8 years back I met a real nice guy from the states on a vacation trip down south with my wife and his plan was to live on an extremely small amount of money and then spend time on YT being a Vlogger to subsidize his living income.  I watched a few vlogs early on and they were pretty bad ( as many are).  I kept in contact with him via messenger and a year or so after he messaged me and bailed back to the states hoping to find employment as the money he budgeted monthly was not enough. But again, different strokes, for different folks.  ????

[NextG]

3 hours ago, JAFO said:

Because its reality and you are in denial,  it really is that simple.  Again if one wants to make a decision entirely on the financial aspects disregarding everything else, then OK.  But I think tenured expats that have lived here know its a much bigger picture. 

 

Keep on the rose colored glasses Next Gen, apparently you "Live Comfortable" and more power to ya. 

 

As for my idea of living comfortable here. Its all about balance. I do not think anyone wants to live with constraints and have to wait and worry for that next pension check to hit their bank acct. Ideally in these current times, I think 75 to 100K baht a month is comfortable number leaving some reserves for those odd times.  But again that is my perspective.  As some have posted, they only spend 30k bht a month but it appears their life style is pretty much home life. 

 

Again, goes back to the OP and his friend.  What does he expect. No waffle here.  Just facts and reality which you seem to clearly struggle with.

 

 

 

 

Read it this time… and I can confirm that it’s the same interminable waffle from an ‘armchair expert’ seemingly frightened of his own shadow. 
Reality is the people who are actually doing it. You are just waffling on about how you IMAGINE that others are living and presenting your imagination as reality. What a ???? 

Grow up, discard your diapers and allow yourself to grow a pair. Real life, not just your imagination. 
Nowhere in the OP is it written that his friend has no other assets than the stated 60k income. So your tedious rambling is again just a product of your limited imagination. 
 

The OP asked for places where a 60k budget would afford a good life. The question has been answered by some. ‘Armchair experts’ can waffle on as much as they like. “Tenured expats” are exactly the people I have described. You are not one of them, yet you waffle on as if you know something. You do not. You only imagine how much you need for YOUR lifestyle. 

[georgegeorgia]

Bottom line is if your a single male even with a Thai GF living in a rented apartment in ndet 15k a month you can live on less than 60k a month !!!!!

 

If your in Pattaya though you will get less than a 1 bedroom

 

 

[bignok]

On 10/9/2023 at 9:24 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

I spend far too much time on the internet as it is, in a soulless on line existence, and I'm not going to spend more time on line with a stupid phone. ( I call them stupid phones because IMO they make people stupid ).

My 20 year old mobile allows me to make calls and that's all I want a phone to do.

New phones have great cameras, internet. Travel Thailand and plan from phone. 

[NextG]

19 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Bottom line is if your a single male even with a Thai GF living in a rented apartment in ndet 15k a month you can live on less than 60k a month !!!!!

 

If your in Pattaya though you will get less than a 1 bedroom

 

 

One bedroom within 15k entirely possible. Look beyond tiny new builds and you can find spacious apartments within that budget. When I was looking, I was offered 110 sq. m. for considerably less. Though wasn’t impressed with their electricity unit cost. 

[balo]

On 10/10/2023 at 7:33 PM, NextG said:

One bedroom within 15k entirely possible. Look beyond tiny new builds and you can find spacious apartments within that budget. When I was looking, I was offered 110 sq. m. for considerably less. Though wasn’t impressed with their electricity unit cost. 

Plenty of places , I rented a 2 storey house in NaJomtien for 12 000. Even had my own garden.  That was 10 years ago, but my guess is you will find similar rent today.