Making Money In Thailand ?

[johnson36]

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6.61% interest. 1 year, 2 year or 3 year fixed bond.

Also 6.40 % Sixty-Plus eSave is an online savings account available exclusively to the over 60's. It offers a high rate of interest with penalty-free easy access to your money, using our Online Services.

http://www.coventrybuildingsociety.co.uk/savings/home.aspx

[youthnasia]

So, johnson36, do you have kids (if so how old are they?) and how old are you?

Will 150,000 pounds be your total assets if you sell your home?

What line of work are you in?

I think more info will help with responses.

[bendix]

I have a pet theory that rising house prices in the UK (started by Thatcherite policies in the 1980s) combined with higher divorce rates has significantly contributed to a rising farang 'underclass' in Thailand. It has left people thinking that they are lot wealthier than they are; it has encouraged many (dare I say) illequipped people to flee their lives and seek a new life in places like Thailand, and those people erroneously feel much richer than they are.

Sadly, those same people are likely to be unable to budget, unable to resist dipping into capital, unable to resist the feeling that they are on a long-term holiday and unable to resist the more expensive charms that Thailand has.

They are ideal targets for the more conniving of Thai's feminine class.

And - in the worst cases - they become broken, transforming themselves into Pattaya Jumpers.

I blame Margaret Thatcher.

[gharknes]

invest your money in a singapore bank and get 10% locked up for 6 months........tax free

[chillout]

invest your money in a singapore bank and get 10% locked up for 6 months........tax free

Any links to substanciate this?...

[bendix]

None whatsoever. It sounds ridiculous. Singapore is a low interest rate jurisdiction. 10% my arse.

[ArranP]

I have a pet theory that rising house prices in the UK (started by Thatcherite policies in the 1980s) combined with higher divorce rates has significantly contributed to a rising farang 'underclass' in Thailand. It has left people thinking that they are lot wealthier than they are; it has encouraged many (dare I say) illequipped people to flee their lives and seek a new life in places like Thailand, and those people erroneously feel much richer than they are.

Sadly, those same people are likely to be unable to budget, unable to resist dipping into capital, unable to resist the feeling that they are on a long-term holiday and unable to resist the more expensive charms that Thailand has.

They are ideal targets for the more conniving of Thai's feminine class.

And - in the worst cases - they become broken, transforming themselves into Pattaya Jumpers.

I blame Margaret Thatcher.

Bendix, your a positive fellow aren't you! never the less in some cases I dare say you may be right.

[bendix]

Bendix, your a positive fellow aren't you! never the less in some cases I dare say you may be right.

Positive? No, not really. Not on this subject.

I find it kinda tragic.

No offence to anyone, but thirty years ago, noone except the seriously wealthy had the kind of disposable income a new class has in the UK.

A whole sub-class find themselves footloose and fancy free. They see they have equity of 100k in their house and their wife has pissed off with the milkman. They feel rich. They come here for a holiday for some well-deserved rumpy-pumpy and think that this is the life. They go home. They get depressed. they miss the rumpy pumpy. They remember how cheap it was in Thailand. They remember their swagger down Beach Road. They remember how handsome they were. They remember their equity. They think that instead of being small people in Peterboro, they can be poo yai in Pattaya.

And so it goes . .. down and down and down.

And then?

Poverty. No hope. No woman. No option. A hatred of their environment. A hatred of themselves.

And a one way express journey to a Pattaya pavement.

[johnson36]

Sadly, those same people are likely to be unable to budget, unable to resist dipping into capital, unable to resist the feeling that they are on a long-term holiday and unable to resist the more expensive charms that Thailand has.

They are ideal targets for the more conniving of Thai's feminine class.

And - in the worst cases - they become broken, transforming themselves into Pattaya Jumpers.

I blame Margaret Thatcher.

I am the original poster

Is what you say above aimed at me Bendik ? because I am already married to a Thai, dont think it will be a long term holiday and will not end up a Pattaya jumper as I dont like the place.

PS: is that avatar your real photo ? because you sound about 100 years young

[johnson36]

So, johnson36, do you have kids (if so how old are they?) and how old are you?

Will 150,000 pounds be your total assets if you sell your home?

What line of work are you in?

I think more info will help with responses.

Im 36 yrs old. My wife is 25 yrs. I dont have any kids yet and im not planning to have any in the next 5 years or so. Yes 150k would be my only asset at the moment ! Which is why I would want to invest it to get maximum interest with no risk. 6.61% or 6.56% monthly interest 1 or 2 year bonds sound good for most of the money, probably 120k and the rest in a instant access internet account with around 6.3% interest.

By the way am only looking to rent a very modest house / bungalow with 1 or 2 bedrooms and 30 minutes or so out of town.

I am not looking to rent a millionares pad like most of you probably own.

By the way some of you talk unless someone has several properties rented out + 1 million £'s / 2 million US dollars in the bank and a monthly income in the hundreds of 1000's bahts then its not possible to live anywhere else in the world other than the place you were born.

[bendix]

[/u]Is what you say above aimed at me Bendik ? because I am already married to a Thai, dont think it will be a long term holiday and will not end up a Pattaya jumper as I dont like the place.

PS: is that avatar your real photo ? because you sound about 100 years young

No, not aimed at you at all. In fact, if you read my other posts in this thread I tread a careful middle ground on your case.

I'm talking about about a general trend i've noticed.

In your instance, you have a wife already. I personally would be wary of doing what you're doing at 36 cos i think it's a hel_l of an adjustment to live on 52k a week, particularly in Bangkok. I also think that 35-45 is your peak earning years and another five years in the UK might make all the difference in the world to you.

I seriously doubt you will make a good living in Bangkok (no offence intended).

But, hey, good luck to you.

PS .. I'm 42.

[Sir Burr]

PS: is that avatar your real photo ? because you sound about 100 years young

No, that's not Bendix, unless he has an uncanny resemblance to Stalin.

[palm]

Im 36 yrs old. My wife is 25 yrs. I dont have any kids yet and im not planning to have any in the next 5 years or so. Yes 150k would be my only asset at the moment ! Which is why I would want to invest it to get maximum interest with no risk. 6.61% or 6.56% monthly interest 1 or 2 year bonds sound good for most of the money, probably 120k and the rest in a instant access internet account with around 6.3% interest.

By the way am only looking to rent a very modest house / bungalow with 1 or 2 bedrooms and 30 minutes or so out of town.

I say the very best of good fortune to you. Can't you do anything more productive though with that spare cash, rather than just sticking it into a saving account?

I know you state 'no risk', but a return of just 6% or so a year is more 'saving' than investing. If you have good reliable contacts in your home country, maybe there is something you can export from Thailand to back home that would make you a good income.

[johnson36]

I know you state 'no risk', but a return of just 6% or so a year is more 'saving' than investing. If you have good reliable contacts in your home country, maybe there is something you can export from Thailand to back home that would make you a good income.

I would definitely be exporting back to Uk, ive not looked really hard yet so I dont know what it would be.

Shouldnt be too hard though. I managed to find out that motorhomes were cheaper in Germany than UK and ive been importing and selling them for 7 years now.

Edited July 18, 2007 by johnson36

[Heng]

^ That's how 'losing one's shirt in the LOS' can start out. It's easy to suggest "just become an entrepreneur" when one is lucky enough to have already 'made it' but let's not forget what the high double digit failure %'s are for most startups (and those are usually the rates for countries where you are able to communicate with near perfect clarity with the locals, have a fairly transparent justice system, can count on the police to help you, etc.).

Now, it's another issue entirely if your spouse is an experienced business person in this part of the world. Or perhaps your spouse's family already has business infrastructure in place for you to try out a few things without having to risk too much of your capital in the setup...

Again, I'm not saying it can't be done. People do it all the time. More than a few of my foreign friends have established modest to moderately successful businesess here. Overall though, I'd still say that most fail miserably.

[ArranP]

Bendix, your a positive fellow aren't you! never the less in some cases I dare say you may be right.

Positive? No, not really. Not on this subject.

I find it kinda tragic.

No offence to anyone, but thirty years ago, noone except the seriously wealthy had the kind of disposable income a new class has in the UK.

A whole sub-class find themselves footloose and fancy free. They see they have equity of 100k in their house and their wife has pissed off with the milkman. They feel rich. They come here for a holiday for some well-deserved rumpy-pumpy and think that this is the life. They go home. They get depressed. they miss the rumpy pumpy. They remember how cheap it was in Thailand. They remember their swagger down Beach Road. They remember how handsome they were. They remember their equity. They think that instead of being small people in Peterboro, they can be poo yai in Pattaya.

And so it goes . .. down and down and down.

And then?

Poverty. No hope. No woman. No option. A hatred of their environment. A hatred of themselves.

And a one way express journey to a Pattaya pavement.

I'm 36 and have been planning to come to Thailand for some time now, financially I am ready.

But I'm not so concerned about the money side of things, I'm more concerned with what I'm going to fill my time with, up to now I've been used to working 9 to 5 every day.

I've passed by RYA Skippers course and Open Water Diving, but I am at a loss with what I am going to do with all that time every day.

This is my biggest concern at the moment.

Edited July 18, 2007 by ArranP

[Penkoprod]

Im 36 yrs old. My wife is 25 yrs. I dont have any kids yet and im not planning to have any in the next 5 years or so. Yes 150k would be my only asset at the moment ! Which is why I would want to invest it to get maximum interest with no risk. 6.61% or 6.56% monthly interest 1 or 2 year bonds sound good for most of the money, probably 120k and the rest in a instant access internet account with around 6.3% interest.

One word you ommited in your calculation is ................. TAX though

Penkoprod

[johnson36]

Im 36 yrs old. My wife is 25 yrs. I dont have any kids yet and im not planning to have any in the next 5 years or so. Yes 150k would be my only asset at the moment ! Which is why I would want to invest it to get maximum interest with no risk. 6.61% or 6.56% monthly interest 1 or 2 year bonds sound good for most of the money, probably 120k and the rest in a instant access internet account with around 6.3% interest.

One word you ommited in your calculation is ................. TAX though

Penkoprod

offshore

[samran]

Im 36 yrs old. My wife is 25 yrs. I dont have any kids yet and im not planning to have any in the next 5 years or so. Yes 150k would be my only asset at the moment ! Which is why I would want to invest it to get maximum interest with no risk. 6.61% or 6.56% monthly interest 1 or 2 year bonds sound good for most of the money, probably 120k and the rest in a instant access internet account with around 6.3% interest.

One word you ommited in your calculation is ................. TAX though

Penkoprod

offshore

and m 99% sure that if you repatriate that money into Thailand in the year that it is earnt, then you pay tax on it. 183 days per year in Thailand and you are subject to Thai tax laws. I mean, it is income isn't it?

[johnson36]

Im 36 yrs old. My wife is 25 yrs. I dont have any kids yet and im not planning to have any in the next 5 years or so. Yes 150k would be my only asset at the moment ! Which is why I would want to invest it to get maximum interest with no risk. 6.61% or 6.56% monthly interest 1 or 2 year bonds sound good for most of the money, probably 120k and the rest in a instant access internet account with around 6.3% interest.

One word you ommited in your calculation is ................. TAX though

Penkoprod

offshore

and m 99% sure that if you repatriate that money into Thailand in the year that it is earnt, then you pay tax on it. 183 days per year in Thailand and you are subject to Thai tax laws. I mean, it is income isn't it?

So are you saying that my interest that I get on money in the UK which I can take from an ATM in BKK is all taxable in Thailand?

Are you telling me that the wealthy people on here are paying Thai tax on the interest on the savings, I would think alot of you have large savings earning alot of interest, that would incure a lot of Thai tax.

Does this mean that someone who gets a large pension from the UK has to pay thai tax on it ? its income isn't it ?

[samran]

So are you saying that my interest that I get on money in the UK which I can take from an ATM in BKK is all taxable in Thailand?

Are you telling me that the wealthy people on here are paying Thai tax on the interest on the savings, I would think alot of you have large savings earning alot of interest, that would incure a lot of Thai tax.

Does this mean that someone who gets a large pension from the UK has to pay thai tax on it ? its income isn't it ?

To clarify.

from: http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html

Taxpayers are classified into "resident" and "non-resident". "Resident" means any person residing in Thailand for a period or periods aggregating more than 180 days in any tax (calendar) year. A resident of Thailand is liable to pay tax on income from sources in Thailand on a cash basis, regardless where the money is paid, as well as on the portion of income from foreign sources that is brought into Thailand. A non-resident is, however, subject to tax only on income from sources in Thailand

Thailand taxes income earned offshore if it is repatriated into Thailand in the year that it is earned. Many retirees get around this by not repatriating the income derived from interest in the year that it is earned, but by stashing it to one side and bringing last years interest income, which isn't taxable. These deferred transfers are defined as 'savings' for the purposes of the tax legislation and aren't taxable.

One of the ways to prove that you qualify for an extension of stay is to...da dam...show that you and your wife combined earn more than 40K per month in income. Showing a tax return is the best was of proving verifiable income. You can bring it in by ATM if you want, but you are going to have to report at least 40K of it to get your extension of stay

[number6]

ok u can live on 50k baht a month but dont expect to much - if you dont drink wine dont want odd

nice steak - happy with fan (my elec bill alone is about 5k a month mostly for aircon) a small car

would probably be ok and my advice is unless your happy in sticks out of city places are

not well suited to forangs

oh and medical bills and trips and

well i find it difficult to live on 100k baht a month and i dont live like a king but i live well

have sat TV good car eat out well sometimes butm ostly in cheaper thia places etc

and it gets more expensive the longer you stay - you start missing a few bits - odd

bottle of good wine etc

[number6]

So, johnson36, do you have kids (if so how old are they?) and how old are you?

Will 150,000 pounds be your total assets if you sell your home?

What line of work are you in?

I think more info will help with responses.

Im 36 yrs old. My wife is 25 yrs. I dont have any kids yet and im not planning to have any in the next 5 years or so. Yes 150k would be my only asset at the moment ! Which is why I would want to invest it to get maximum interest with no risk. 6.61% or 6.56% monthly interest 1 or 2 year bonds sound good for most of the money, probably 120k and the rest in a instant access internet account with around 6.3% interest.

By the way am only looking to rent a very modest house / bungalow with 1 or 2 bedrooms and 30 minutes or so out of town.

I am not looking to rent a millionares pad like most of you probably own.

By the way some of you talk unless someone has several properties rented out + 1 million £'s / 2 million US dollars in the bank and a monthly income in the hundreds of 1000's bahts then its not possible to live anywhere else in the world other than the place you were born.

your taking the hump a bit mate - most are giving good advice - 150K simply aint anough and dont think your going to make

money here - you might and my cap of to you but for every 100 who try 50 scratch a living 49 fail and 1 makes it

up to you but dont think 150k is anywhere neough unless you can work here and your wife can as well in some form of

decent jobs earnign say 40k a month between you

sorry stop kidding yourself and listen a bit to those whove lived here for years and years

[samran]

your taking the hump a bit mate - most are giving good advice - 150K simply aint anough and dont think your going to make

money here - you might and my cap of to you but for every 100 who try 50 scratch a living 49 fail and 1 makes it

up to you but dont think 150k is anywhere neough unless you can work here and your wife can as well in some form of

decent jobs earnign say 40k a month between you

sorry stop kidding yourself and listen a bit to those whove lived here for years and years

Top advice. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but another 5-10 years in the UK will make all the difference to allow you to do it properly. If you hanker for anything - even just one or two things - from back home, then your dream of having a Thai cost of living goes out the window.

Things that you take for granted at home, health insurance (NHS), etc you have to pay for it here.

[Jersey_UK]

[quote name='youthnasia' post='1424918'

By the way some of you talk unless someone has several properties rented out + 1 million £'s / 2 million US dollars in the bank and a monthly income in the hundreds of 1000's bahts then its not possible to live anywhere else in the world other than the place you were born.

your taking the hump a bit mate - most are giving good advice - 150K simply aint anough and dont think your going to make

money here - you might and my cap of to you but for every 100 who try 50 scratch a living 49 fail and 1 makes it

up to you but dont think 150k is anywhere neough unless you can work here and your wife can as well in some form of

decent jobs earnign say 40k a month between you

sorry stop kidding yourself and listen a bit to those whove lived here for years and years

I agree with both statements!

But I suspect the failure rate for Mr Farang in Thailand is perhaps due to the calibre of those who venture forth and / or the lifestyle they seek..........IMO nothing wrong with boozing and whoring 24/7 - just really hard to generate income in between.........which is why I used to travel to Thailand for up to 6 months each "session"

£150k? it is more than many / most and IMO COULD finance a venture to provide both a lifestyle and savings , same as it COULD finance in the UK (or elsewhere)...........but no guarantee it will in either country.

FWIW (very little!) in your shoes I would spend 6 month or a year going to school learning the lingo (and to read and write) - maybe a bit of English Teaching part time.......whilst keeping yer capital safely in the bank.

After maybe a year of living locally (I haven't done a year in ONE go), speaking a good chunk of the lingo (I don't) and having also spent the year looking around at possible ventures to get into / talking to folk, Thai and Farang (Me 24/7 on a barstool ) you will be in a far better position to decide for yourself whether it is your long term interests to stay in Thailand or whether in fact you are better off returning to Farangland.........IMO an income of B50K on it's own is simply not enough to save / build up capital for the future.....but it is IMO a good enuf start.......but I appreciate that opinions / future desires will vary on this view.

Whilst work (IMO anywhere) is rarely fun fun fun ........having a decent pot to later piss away / invest does often come from a lot of hard work over many years, as well as luck ................

IMO a move to Thailand does not have to be a one way all or nothing trip............coming back after a year (or moving somewhere else) is NOT a failure, just something that didn't go as hoped for - time for "Plan B"

[SamuiWatch]

You sound like you don't have to be convinced by anyone - I think you've secretly made up your mind - you just haven't fully accepted it yet.

Socrates said something like " Its not because things are difficult that we don't dare. Its because we don't dare that things are difficult "

He could have said it with you in mind.

You are already an international trader, you know the wrinkles of import and export and you only have to remember that half the world gets its stuff from Thailand simply because its one of the cheapest places on the planet. There is almost NOTHING you cannot buy in this place - ask any designer company!

And if you are eBay savvy then what are you waiting for? You will earn more money buying cheap Thai stuff and posting it all over the world than operating a simlilar business in the UK - because postage here is cheap - its a third-world country for crying out loud. And for that matter, WHO will know WHAT you are earning - and who cares anyway? Certainly not the Thai government because you are simply an exporter buying up all their production - why would they want to put a brake on that? They'd love another million like you and the Thai ecomomy would just rocket therough the roof. Nowhere does it say in the Tax Code that you HAVE to repatriate your earnings back to Thailand - you're spending stacks with them already. Furthermore, if you are doing a lot of trading, you should also be able to get an export license meaning you can either buy stuff tax-free or get a tax rebate back from the Thai exchequer himself! You probably will not even need a work permit because what you do cannot be described as a job as such. You could then have any earnings paid into any one of a million off-shore banks around the world and repatriate whatever you like, whenever you like. Take your laptop.

One last thing, someone above mentioned health insurance - if you have fair health now - it means you will not be refused or have to pat penalty rates. Once you have the policy you are at the same time protecting your income source - because you will be able to work without interuption from ill-health. Whatever else you do in Thailand - do that - please. If you are 'youngish' now - the premiums will be low. If you take it out now your rates do not automatically go up when you are older. Shop around - get that vital health insurance - and GO!

Bon Voyage

LOL

[Mike45]

So, johnson36, do you have kids (if so how old are they?) and how old are you?

Will 150,000 pounds be your total assets if you sell your home?

What line of work are you in?

I think more info will help with responses.

Im 36 yrs old. My wife is 25 yrs. I dont have any kids yet and im not planning to have any in the next 5 years or so. Yes 150k would be my only asset at the moment ! Which is why I would want to invest it to get maximum interest with no risk. 6.61% or 6.56% monthly interest 1 or 2 year bonds sound good for most of the money, probably 120k and the rest in a instant access internet account with around 6.3% interest.

By the way am only looking to rent a very modest house / bungalow with 1 or 2 bedrooms and 30 minutes or so out of town.

I am not looking to rent a millionares pad like most of you probably own.

By the way some of you talk unless someone has several properties rented out + 1 million £'s / 2 million US dollars in the bank and a monthly income in the hundreds of 1000's bahts then its not possible to live anywhere else in the world other than the place you were born.

your taking the hump a bit mate - most are giving good advice - 150K simply aint anough and dont think your going to make

money here - you might and my cap of to you but for every 100 who try 50 scratch a living 49 fail and 1 makes it

up to you but dont think 150k is anywhere neough unless you can work here and your wife can as well in some form of

decent jobs earnign say 40k a month between you

sorry stop kidding yourself and listen a bit to those whove lived here for years and years

I am not in Thailand so I probably don't know anything......but I agree 150K GBP/308K USD is not enough unless you can be earning more somehow in Thailand.

That brings me to my question......How much is enough without earning more in Thailand?

[joeuk1]

My advice to the OP .

Sell your house for the 150k put the money on deposit so that you cant touch it and the the 150k will give you your needed monthly income . To live well in Bkk imho opinion 40k plus rent is more than enough , that gives you a 12k condo it wont be anything too flashy but you will find somewhere ok to live as a starter home for the 12k .

Some months you wont get through the 40k and that will give you some savings , and it wont be long before you will get on your feet . Re selling the house in the uk look at all outgoing cost and cost of moving to Thailand flights etc its important that you hold onto as much of the 150k as possible .

You must have furniture , and many things in your house that you wont be taking to Thailand , sell them for the best possible prices that you can get for them and that money will be your float , money to start your little buisness in Thaland money for a rainy day . If you can sit tight in uk for the moment and pull in another 10k sterling saving and selling things you now no longer need that will give you 600k in a Thai bank acct a nice position to be in with the 50k coming every month .

Future .

I have seen many houses for sale new builds in Bkk for 2-3 million baht , WHEN you save and earn the money to buy your own home in Bkk the 50k you have coming from uk every month will be more than enough for you and your wife to have a happy enjoyable life .

Go for it .

JB

[ArranP]

So, johnson36, do you have kids (if so how old are they?) and how old are you?

Will 150,000 pounds be your total assets if you sell your home?

What line of work are you in?

I think more info will help with responses.

Im 36 yrs old. My wife is 25 yrs. I dont have any kids yet and im not planning to have any in the next 5 years or so. Yes 150k would be my only asset at the moment ! Which is why I would want to invest it to get maximum interest with no risk. 6.61% or 6.56% monthly interest 1 or 2 year bonds sound good for most of the money, probably 120k and the rest in a instant access internet account with around 6.3% interest.

By the way am only looking to rent a very modest house / bungalow with 1 or 2 bedrooms and 30 minutes or so out of town.

I am not looking to rent a millionares pad like most of you probably own.

By the way some of you talk unless someone has several properties rented out + 1 million £'s / 2 million US dollars in the bank and a monthly income in the hundreds of 1000's bahts then its not possible to live anywhere else in the world other than the place you were born.

your taking the hump a bit mate - most are giving good advice - 150K simply aint anough and dont think your going to make

money here - you might and my cap of to you but for every 100 who try 50 scratch a living 49 fail and 1 makes it

up to you but dont think 150k is anywhere neough unless you can work here and your wife can as well in some form of

decent jobs earnign say 40k a month between you

sorry stop kidding yourself and listen a bit to those whove lived here for years and years

I am not in Thailand so I probably don't know anything......but I agree 150K GBP/308K USD is not enough unless you can be earning more somehow in Thailand.

That brings me to my question......How much is enough without earning more in Thailand?

How much is enough? that probably is a good question.

For me, enough is:

Capital 300,000 GBP invested to return 6% minimum, ie. £18,000 per year, or £1,500 per month (97,500 baht). However some funds have been doing 40-80% a year.

UK property holdings, 10 houses at a market value of £1,096,000 exposed to a UK housing market, historical trend since 1970 rising at 100% every 10 years, hopefully. ie long term capital appreciation to out pace inflation.

Monthly rental income, currently £4,550 per month (also rising at inflation) to cover a mortgage debt of £816,000 @ 6.25% ie. 4250 per month, leaving currently £300 per month, converted into baht is = 19,500 baht.

Total worth over the years will be

1. Long term capital appreciation on £1,096,000 @ 100% every 10 years

2. 117,000 bath per month.

So long as interest rates don't do anything silly. personally I expect them to go up another quarter to half percent then dip next year. hopefully inflation will report well by then.

Additionally, alas that is not enougth for me to come thailand and to let go completley of western ties. I will still continue my work, but only six months per year, with the other six months (winter months) in thailand. My work is contracting (temporary) in SAP (computer business software), and pays approx £140,000 (before overtime) per year ie. over six months can save £60,000.

Will keep this going for a few years, before making a decision to cut ties all-together and stay in thailand or return to the UK. Hopefully would know better by then.

I'm 36.

So currently approx 150,000 baht per month so long as I'm fairly safe over the longer term. But I don't know what do to with all that time!

Edited July 18, 2007 by ArranP

[bendix]

That brings me to my question......How much is enough without earning more in Thailand?

Everyone will have a different answer. I suspect many would fix around this point: House paid for. Car or two paid for. Plus around 100,000 baht a month. That should give not only a very good standard of living but - more important for a farang - quality of life. The two are very different in my opinion.

Anything over that would be a bonus.