British family leaves UK for Thailand for lower costs of living

[brianthainess]

1 minute ago, KannikaP said:

You do not pay Income Tax on NI contributions, or payments to private pension schemes.

You pay that tax when you receive the pension payments if it takes you over the personal allowance.

The NI contributions are still taken direct from your wages. 

[ravip]

A determined British mother has relocated her family to Thailand to escape the worsening cost of living crisis in Britain. 

 

This is something I find very difficult to understand.

Thousands, maybe millions of people from the developing countries are migrating to the developed countries. Some areas in Australia, UK, Canada for example, you see more Asians/foreigners than natives. ALL of these people are not living illegally or on state handouts - most are living a very good life, with good jobs.

 

So why are the natives from these countries moving out to 'escape' from the cost of living in their own countries?

[Liverpool Lou]

9 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Given they are not receiving a pension, and sun drenched villas are not cheap, one wonders how they are financing their "new life".

No need for you to wonder about something that is their business, and their business alone.   Have you made public the specifics of how you finance your existence here?

[Liverpool Lou]

7 hours ago, Jingthing said:

What visa?

What work? 

What business of yours?

[John Drake]

42 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No need for you to wonder about something that is their business, and their business alone.   Have you made public the specifics of how you finance your existence here?

 

If they want this story to be "their business alone," then maybe they shouldn't have gone to the press to publicize it. See the notice at the bottom of the story from which this AN topic originated? It reads: "Do you have a money story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing money( at)gbnews.uk."

 

  https://www.gbnews.com/money/cost-of-living-crisis-move-thailand-energy-bills

[Liverpool Lou]

6 hours ago, gravity101 said:

Another one of these Daily Hail articles.

Evidently, not.

[proton]

1 hour ago, BuddyPish said:

And another dinosaur with preconceived ideas about how to generate income.

World's changed a lot since you were young, mate.
Jog on

 

 

Drop shiping is just being a parasite, is that what you do?

[proton]

26 minutes ago, Seppius said:

Not read the whole thread

 

I would say almost certainly she has got a social media that pays her well, or her partner does, bet she has a fruitful TikTok account, young and switched on could easily make £2/3K a month

 

That wont last tik tok already slashed payouts this year

[Liverpool Lou]

6 hours ago, spermwhale said:

I'll say this too: This is shoddy reporting. This is written by Asean Now

That is shoddy commenting...and you'd be wrong; it was originally a GB News report.

[Seppius]

7 minutes ago, proton said:

 

That wont last tik tok already slashed payouts this year

 

https://medium.com/@hazelnguyenlitc/the-lowdown-on-how-much-tiktok-pays-creators-in-2024-c4a2ae52fe49

 

They made a few new tighter rules, but It's still paying $20-$40 per million views if you meet the requirements, some are saying TikTok Shop is the new Amazon

 

https://seller-th.tiktok.com/account/register

 

Plus endorsement/influencer money from product promotion

 

I have 25K followers on TikTok, but can't get in front of the camera (too old), so it's not classed as original content

[worgeordie]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Jessica has applied for a visa with the Thai Immigration Bureau, signalling their intent to make this a long-term move.

 

Going to relocate here and does not have a visa yet , she and her partner

are under 50 ,what kind of visa are they going to get for long term stay here.

hope it works out for them , but they might be posting on here in 18 months

too hot ,Thai drivers ,etc etc ....

 

regards Worgeordie

[MrJ2U]

3 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Does Britain pay dole to people overseas? 

I don't think they do.

 

A lot of people come to Thailand thinking it's cheap and easy going.

 

They don't last long.

 

I wonder what type of Visa they'll expect to get?

 

That's another hurdle.

[norfolkandchance]

5 hours ago, Drumbuie said:

 

The Telegraph article from which you're quoting the "25% of pensioners are millionaires" factoid is somewhat misleading. 25% of over 65s ( remember the pension age is moving upwards as fast as the Tories can manage) live in a household whose *combined wealth* - including the house - is over £1 million. But a 3 bed semi in the London suburbs now costs over a million quid, so that's not surprising.

In poorer areas of the UK the average life expectancy is less than 60 years. 

 

As for a pint costing £2.10 - what are you drinking? Milk?? 

 

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/bulletins/distributionofindividualtotalwealthbycharacteristicingreatbritain/april2018tomarch2020

 

 

Move to Southern Italy. A large beer in my local bar. €2.

[Graham8888]

7 hours ago, MarkyM3 said:

While I agree with the sentiment of your post regarding this family, got to say you obviously live in a different part of the UK to I (I live in Surrey and part year in Bangkok). Sounds like you are in Scotland judging by the persistent references to it?

 

Beer is £6.50 - £7.80 a pint in central London. In Surrey, it's around £5.50 for a pint of Peroni. I can't recall anywhere I've paid £2.10 for a beer in the UK in many years. I've previously live in northern England btw (York and Newcastle). Perhaps you might pay £2.10 in a WMC or similar..... 

 

Hospital - referred for cortisone injection in mid April, was told last week I would have to wait another 2 months potentially. Managed to secure a cancellation for next week by ringing every day. Meanwhile, still waiting for an appt for xray/MRI for keyhole surgery. My experience of the NHS as far as hospital treatment goes is non-urgent stuff can take ages. All depends on where you live.

 

Uni fees are minimum £9k per year in England, not exactly cheap. No free prescriptions in England. 

 

Your comments about the cost of rent and home ownership are a bit blase as well. Not everyone is a retired pensioner - like this couple. 

 

Agree on supermarkets 100%. Quality and choice is notably better in UK and if you want to eat cheese, decent meat etc. more expensive in Thailand as well.  

 

Living costs in Bangkok aren't that cheap for decent condos these days but better value than UK. Bear in mind a room in a shared house in SE England would set you back minimum £750/month in my area (as relayed to me direct). In London it could be approaching £1k and you'd be interviewed for it.....

 

As for this family....their long-term economic, schooling and home ownership options are limited unless they have skillsets that can land a work permit for decent-paying work. Or they need to buy an Elite visa for long-term stay. More likely, they are operating as digital nomads, online teachers, bloggers or whatever. I suspect the story is mainly hype and they'll move on soon enough. 

I agree with most of the above - but if you are young and ready to take the plunge- why not?? Not everyone wants to live paying a mortgage for 25 years saving for a pension they might never see - if it doesn’t work out at least you have done it

i live partly in Thailand and only return when i have to for business.

my son is 19 and living in Thailand and works online - yes legally. It is cheaper here - £2.10 a pint - that is not the average price which is what is quoted for other bills / costs in the uk

next time you’re staring into your pint down the “club”’ think of the excitement of travel and taking calculated risks 

[norfolkandchance]

4 hours ago, ignore it said:

Personally I'm looking forward to her posts on ASEAN NOW

She'll go straight to Mod.

[BritScot]

9 hours ago, theblether said:

Here we go again. Another chance for the nutter brigade who haven't lived in the UK for decades to start ranting. Let me annoy you - 

 

20% of British pensioners are millionaires. NHS free, education, free, university - free in Scotland, limited fees in England. Prescriptions, free in Scotland, Bus passes, free. 

 

8.5% increase in the UK pension. Re NHS - contrary to the drivel you read - I was referred to the hospital for an ECG a week past Thursday and had the scan on Monday - two business days. 

 

My gas and electric bill for the last quarter - £330. The most expensive in my family was a millionaires seven-bedroom house, £1100. Supermarkets are cheaper than Thailand. Fruit is bizarrely cheaper. Meat is higher quality and cheap 200 baht a kilo for chicken breast. 

 

£2.10 a pint in my local bar. 

 

Where are we more expensive? Rent and petrol mainly. Rent isn't an issue if you own your house, just as we have been encouraged to do for the past 50 years. Street food us cheaper, but every UK town has an all you can eat buffet these days for a tenner. 

 

Have at it with your growling. And this family is in for a shock when they see the reality of school fees etc in Thailand. 

 

Nice to see someone on here who has taken off the rose coloured glasses.  To the man in Surrey (a very beautiful part of the UK), try Witherspoons its very cheap for food and booze, try some of the clubs. Booze in the shops is far cheaper than Thailand and more on offer. Wine, whisky, rum and bourbon never mind the beer quality. We left Thailand in 2019 and back then and headed back to the UK. I did the comparison in costs and it worked out far more cheaper to live in the UK. fuel is more expensive but in the UK I don't drive 60km a day on school run in a 3lt ford Everest, the education is far better in the UK and the opportunity for my children is far better. My daughter plays violin, horse ridding lessons 3 times a week and plays football for her school. I think it is very selfish when expats drag their children to thailand. I did shop in Tops and Big C as I refused to buy meat with flies crawling all over it. Do I love Thailand Yes, do I miss Thailand Yes and I miss my house in Thailand. However a month a year on holiday in Thailand is OK for now (4 months would be better). Yes I hate getting high energy bills but we are still better off because my children's future is high on my priority list. Oh and health care in Thailand is risky and very expensive (my car and big bikes were my health insurance in Thailand and that worked out well as I sold them when we left). My wife and children have private health care in the UK which is cheap, I'm to old and broken so just have NHS which is better than nothing. My car is also far cheaper in the uk than Thailand (top spec CX5 made in Japan (£36,000) far more expensive in Thailand.

[spidermike007]

9 hours ago, theblether said:

Here we go again. Another chance for the nutter brigade who haven't lived in the UK for decades to start ranting. Let me annoy you - 

 

20% of British pensioners are millionaires. NHS free, education, free, university - free in Scotland, limited fees in England. Prescriptions, free in Scotland, Bus passes, free. 

 

8.5% increase in the UK pension. Re NHS - contrary to the drivel you read - I was referred to the hospital for an ECG a week past Thursday and had the scan on Monday - two business days. 

 

My gas and electric bill for the last quarter - £330. The most expensive in my family was a millionaires seven-bedroom house, £1100. Supermarkets are cheaper than Thailand. Fruit is bizarrely cheaper. Meat is higher quality and cheap 200 baht a kilo for chicken breast. 

 

£2.10 a pint in my local bar. 

 

Where are we more expensive? Rent and petrol mainly. Rent isn't an issue if you own your house, just as we have been encouraged to do for the past 50 years. Street food us cheaper, but every UK town has an all you can eat buffet these days for a tenner. 

 

Have at it with your growling. And this family is in for a shock when they see the reality of school fees etc in Thailand. 

 

No, labor. Anything labor related is downright stupid. 

 

When was the last time you had a car repair and what did it cost? When was the last time you had a plumber to your house and what did that cost? What about the electrician, what did he charge? 

 

[john donson]

the private school alone will be a loss, as a start...

 

work permit ?

[StayinThailand2much]

59 minutes ago, Graham8888 said:

my son is 19 and living in Thailand and works online - yes legally.

 

Glad to hear that he got a work permit for this kind of work.

[In Full Agreement]

4 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

If you are so miserable you can always go back home to the s5it hole you left behind,

 

 

 

Took until page 5 for the first "if you don't like it go back to your home country"    

 

This time however we get to enjoy the added   <deleted>hole  comment.

[Terry Juhlin]

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

What visa?

What work? 

Yeah Thailand is cheaper if you're making more money than the average Thai.

Otherwise, not so much. 

At least they didn't move to Russia.

I’d sure like to know what visa they are planning to apply for …

[John Drake]

Seems like a lot of people in Britain measure inflation by the cost of beer.

[Nick Carter icp]

1 hour ago, Graham8888 said:

 

next time you’re staring into your pint down the “club”’ think of the excitement of travel and taking calculated risks 

 

   Yeah, you can go to another Country and drink a beer in a pub somewhere else 

[Hugh Jarse]

9 hours ago, rocketboy2 said:

Good luck to them.

But will they still be here in 5 years time. doubtful.

can't see any mention of how they will fund there new life. 

Maybe the have rental income from the uk. That way no need to work like many exiles do.

 

[fulhamster]

9 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I understand that Jessica wanted to leave the UK to be somewhere warmer. But Thailand?

Isn't there any place in Europe with better climate and cheaper living than the UK?

 

UK passports are not so welcome in Europe since the Brexit shambles

[fulhamster]

11 hours ago, Jingthing said:

At least they didn't move to Russia.

They could be in Phuket.....

[fulhamster]

5 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Pension contributions are tax-free in UK.

And the pension is frozen from day 1 if you are in Thailand

[OneMoreFarang]

53 minutes ago, fulhamster said:

UK passports are not so welcome in Europe since the Brexit shambles

I know with the EU is was all much easier.

 

But I guess it should still be possible from someone in the UK to live i.e. in Spain.

I guess (just a guess) that this is easier than living in Thailand. 

[Neeranam]

12 hours ago, theblether said:

Here we go again. Another chance for the nutter brigade who haven't lived in the UK for decades to start ranting. Let me annoy you - 

 

20% of British pensioners are millionaires. NHS free, education, free, university - free in Scotland, limited fees in England. Prescriptions, free in Scotland, Bus passes, free. 

 

8.5% increase in the UK pension. Re NHS - contrary to the drivel you read - I was referred to the hospital for an ECG a week past Thursday and had the scan on Monday - two business days. 

 

My gas and electric bill for the last quarter - £330. The most expensive in my family was a millionaires seven-bedroom house, £1100. Supermarkets are cheaper than Thailand. Fruit is bizarrely cheaper. Meat is higher quality and cheap 200 baht a kilo for chicken breast. 

 

£2.10 a pint in my local bar. 

 

Where are we more expensive? Rent and petrol mainly. Rent isn't an issue if you own your house, just as we have been encouraged to do for the past 50 years. Street food us cheaper, but every UK town has an all you can eat buffet these days for a tenner. 

 

Have at it with your growling. And this family is in for a shock when they see the reality of school fees etc in Thailand. 

 

I missed your posts. 

[BritManToo]

10 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I know with the EU is was all much easier.

 

But I guess it should still be possible from someone in the UK to live i.e. in Spain.

I guess (just a guess) that this is easier than living in Thailand. 

Nope, it's harder for Brits to live in the EU, compulsory health insurance, bank balance checks, income checks. Pension increases will go in the next few years.

Thailand is easy in comparison. PI is even easier, and you get pension rises