Who lives on 20k a month ?

[jwest10]

On 12/21/2024 at 6:54 AM, georgegeorgia said:

I'm getting straight to the point.

 

And even though I didn't write this in the Pattaya section this relates to Pattaya...but I want to hear from you guys in Isaan too and even in the Philippines 

Can you live on 20,000 baht per month if you own your own home /condo 

I am very very poor and will need to live on this 

I don't drink alcohol or smoke and will buy a small room in the Flybird Condo in Pattaya 

 

Please break down your budget for me and how do working class Thai people do it ?

Do they use Bolt or Grab?

Do they go to Starbucks?

 

So NO rent ,eg you own your own condo in the Flybird or Nirun 

 

Can you live on 20k, I have worked out I will only have 20,000 baht a month to live on 

I assume you have no Thai Family and if you have impossible!!!

[NorthernRyland]

3 minutes ago, Airalee said:

I agree about Hanoi.   I had to deal with the “shoe repair” guy scam on the street, an angry Samlor tour guide who pedaled my gf and I around the lake and then demanded double payment at the end even after a price was agreed upon, the cigarette lighter sellers who would follow you down the street with their basket of zippos and won’t take no for an answer so you just have to pretend they are invisible.

 

It’s night and day from Da Nang. 100%

Ditto got scammed by our first taxi, first time in the country that tried to change the price mid trip (we had him drop us off at the side of the street and we got a Grab). Thanks for the tip, maybe I need to give Vietnam a second chance.

 

I would be happy in Thailand but for example just a little while ago the neighbor burned all the leaves in this empty forest plot and it stinks like smoldering ashes and probably will all night. Then they keep burning until the whole region is engulfed in smoke and everything is ruined for us. Maybe I'll try Da Nang when it gets bad enough.

[Nick Carter icp]

3 hours ago, Airalee said:

Current photos of Da Nang (for those who are interested)

 

Note the cleanliness of the beaches.  Low amount of traffic etc etc

 

 

 

 

 

    That area is away from the main city , last time that I was there, they were building about ten high rise skyscrapers along the beach road .

   The city is chock a block with traffic and there's lots of human turds laying around the streets and on the beaches 

[Airalee]

9 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

Ditto got scammed by our first taxi, first time in the country that tried to change the price mid trip (we had him drop us off at the side of the street and we got a Grab). Thanks for the tip, maybe I need to give Vietnam a second chance.

 

I would be happy in Thailand but for example just a little while ago the neighbor burned all the leaves in this empty forest plot and it stinks like smoldering ashes and probably will all night. Then they keep burning until the whole region is engulfed in smoke and everything is ruined for us. Maybe I'll try Da Nang when it gets bad enough.

I guess you didn’t take Mai Lin taxi?  The green ones.  I have heard that all the others are scammers.  Now, all I have been using is Grab and there are so many of them that they are at my place within minutes.

 

I’d be happy with Thailand too but the tax situation is forcing me out and until things are 100% clear as to what the final verdict will be, I’m hedging my bets and spending half the year outside of the country both back in the US and in Vietnam.

[Airalee]

9 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

    That area is away from the main city , last time that I was there, they were building about ten high rise skyscrapers along the beach road .

   The city is chock a block with traffic and there's lots of human turds laying around the streets and on the beaches 

It’s about 3km from the city center (across dragon bridge) and they’re still building like crazy.  I’m not sure who is buying the places and some seem to have stalled (future ghost buildings?).

 

It will be great for downward pressure on the already low rents.

 

I’m not seeing much traffic but it’s not high season yet.
 

Haven’t seen any of these turds you’re talking about.

 

I think it’s pretty nice here myself.

[Nick Carter icp]

4 minutes ago, Airalee said:

 

 

I’m not seeing much traffic but it’s not high season yet.

 

   This is normal local traffic .

Try walking across those roads numerous times a day 

 

 

[Ralf001]

1 hour ago, newnative said:

    As another poster said, time to find another pool boy.  Our pool boy cleans and maintains our salt water pool 3 times a week for 1500 baht a month.  When we are away he also waters the garden.  Yes, we have a gem.  

 

Yea my pool boy comes twice a week, 2k a month.

 

20k is  "look at me look at me" bullsh1t posting.

[Airalee]

4 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   This is normal local traffic .

Try walking across those roads numerous times a day 

 

 

You just have to walk across in the Vietnamese way.  Slowly at a constant pace and they’ll avoid you.  That’s what I was taught in Hanoi.  It definitely took balls of steel but surprisingly, it works.

 

Hanoi traffic…

 

 

[Airalee]

10 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   This is normal local traffic .

Try walking across those roads numerous times a day 

 

 

I see that’s right up by the Big C.  Yeah….that area is busier but really no need to go there often.   Certainly wouldn’t be hanging out there.  Down by the beach where most expats hang out in the May Khe area it’s much more mellow.  There are also some underpasses to get across the beach road.

[Nick Carter icp]

5 minutes ago, Airalee said:

You just have to walk across in the Vietnamese way.  Slowly at a constant pace and they’ll avoid you.  That’s what I was taught in Hanoi.  It definitely took balls of steel but surprisingly, it works.

 

Hanoi traffic…

 

 

IMG_0194.mov

 

   Yes, it works......................until one time  it doesnt work and you are in a Vietnamese hospital 

[freedomnow]

You can live on it, but essentially its not living and its a ticking bomb on health care as its red-flagging you as someone who will not pay medical insurance.

[freedomnow]

3 hours ago, Airalee said:

Current photos of Da Nang (for those who are interested)

 

Note the cleanliness of the beaches.  Low amount of traffic etc etc

 

 

 

 

Do you get a lot of hassle from hawkers ? That was my exp in Viet Nam along with everyone trying to screw me down to everyday hot street food... Don't trust Viets at all.

Also, as soon as you go into the oriental culttures its generally isolating with them...Korean/Japanese/Chinese/Vietnam vs the Thais who strike up a bit of chat.

[Airalee]

13 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Yes, it works......................until one time  it doesnt work and you are in a Vietnamese hospital 

Ok.  Gotcha.  Da Nang has tons of traffic, it’s impossible to cross the street and there are human turds everywhere.

 

You should stay away.

[Caldera]

On 12/21/2024 at 6:54 AM, georgegeorgia said:

Can you live on 20,000 baht per month if you own your own home /condo 

 

It's easy enough to calculate an existence on that budget, even without owning a home - you'd rent a very cheap Thai-style studio apartment.

 

The question isn't really if you COULD do this, because clearly, you can. The question is how much you'd like it, and how it would compare to any alternatives you may have.

 

It's worth mentioning that you could just try it, even if your actual budget is much higher. About 20 years ago, I accepted a challenge by my Thai colleagues to "survive" on their salary for a couple of months - it wasn't really a problem, but not exactly enjoyable either. That was less than 20k baht back then and in Bangkok. Nowadays, at higher prices, I'd say 20k baht would probably be the minimum or you'd need to move to a 2nd tier non-touristy provincial town.

[Nick Carter icp]

2 minutes ago, Airalee said:

Ok.  Gotcha.  Da Nang has tons of traffic, it’s impossible to cross the street and there are human turds everywhere.

 

You should stay away.

 

   I didn't say that it was impossible to cross the street , and I also didn't say that there were human turds everywhere .

   But it is difficult and dangerous to cross the roads  , its not uncommon to see human turds on the streets and beach though .

   The constant noise from the motorbikes made iit unbearable for me 

[Airalee]

9 minutes ago, freedomnow said:

Do you get a lot of hassle from hawkers ? That was my exp in Viet Nam along with everyone trying to screw me down to everyday hot street food... Don't trust Viets at all.

Also, as soon as you go into the oriental culttures its generally isolating with them...Korean/Japanese/Chinese/Vietnam vs the Thais who strike up a bit of chat.

Not getting it at all here in Da Nang.  Even at the Son Tra night market, nobody was exceptionally pushy other than the foot massage places and the people selling the lobsters (you can read all the bad reviews about that place on yelp).  But in general, it is nothing like Hoan Kiem in Hanoi which is the only other place I’ve been in Vietnam.
 

Hanoi was completely different and just as you describe.

 

I’m not trying to sell anything here.  I’d prefer to be back in my luxury condo in BKK tooling around Thailand in my convertible.  But the unresolved tax issue in Thailand is forcing me out for 186 days a year.  I’m just presenting this as an option that is surprisingly pleasant (for me at least) and would be something for people on lower budgets to consider.  I wasn’t expecting to like Da Nang any more than Hanoi (a city that I wouldn’t want to live in)…but….what can I say.  It’s pretty nice.

[Airalee]

55 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

    That area is away from the main city , last time that I was there, they were building about ten high rise skyscrapers along the beach road .

   The city is chock a block with traffic and there's lots of human turds laying around the streets and on the beaches 

You said it right here.  Lots of human turds laying around the streets and on the beaches.

[Airalee]

3 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   I didn't say that it was impossible to cross the street , and I also didn't say that there were human turds everywhere .

   But it is difficult and dangerous to cross the roads  , its not uncommon to see human turds on the streets and beach though .

   The constant noise from the motorbikes made iit unbearable for me 

You seem incredulous that someone might actually like it in Da Nang.

 

You don’t.  Fine.  Up to you.

[Nick Carter icp]

5 minutes ago, Airalee said:

You seem incredulous that someone might actually like it in Da Nang.

 

You don’t.  Fine.  Up to you.

 

I don't find it incredulous at all that people like Danang  , I am just replying to your claims about there being minimal traffic in Denang .

   The huge amount of traffic in Demang is why I couldnt live there 

[Nick Carter icp]

On 12/21/2024 at 6:54 AM, georgegeorgia said:

 

So NO rent ,eg you own your own condo in the Flybird or Nirun 

 

 

    How much will you be paying for your Condo ?

If its 1.2 Million Baht , then that's the equivalent of paying  5000 Baht a month for the next 20 years .

   For how much longer do you expect to live for ?

Pointless paying for 20 years rent  when  you've only got another few years left .

   Could be better off renting a place 

[hotandsticky]

1 hour ago, Airalee said:

You just have to walk across in the Vietnamese way.  Slowly at a constant pace and they’ll avoid you.  That’s what I was taught in Hanoi.  It definitely took balls of steel but surprisingly, it works.

 

Hanoi traffic…

 

 

IMG_0194.mov

 

 

Even more steel balls required to do it in Saigon  -  but, yes, it does work crossing at a steady pace.

[Kinok Farang]

6 hours ago, Baht Simpson said:

20k a month? That wouldn't be enough to clean my pool. 😄

What kind of jerk posts things like this?

[novacova]

5 minutes ago, Kinok Farang said:

What kind of jerk posts things like this?

One that has very filthy pool who has trouble finding anyone to clean it. Probably uses the pool for the house waste water.

[scottiejohn]

53 minutes ago, Kinok Farang said:

What kind of jerk posts things like this?

Pompous boasting jerks!

[dcalaska]

You can survive on 20K B. 

90 % of Thais do it on less. Many do it on 10K or less.

[In Full Agreement]

8 hours ago, zhounan said:

I often live on 20k, the main reason is that I'm alone and not living a consumeristic life 

 

 

Can't spend it if you don't have it.

[kekalot]

I have a monthly budget of half of that (so 10k) but make quite a bit more.

Almost never break the budget and at the end of every month have enough to buy some pies from Pizza Company

[Cameroni]

 

Let's look at it in detail, put some meat on them bones:

 

 

Mobile phone 300

 

Internet 500

 

Water 130

 

Electricity 2600

 

Groceries 8000

 

Grab dinners 3200

 

Transport 3400

 

So yah, it can be done, IF you don't get health insurance, Netflix, luxury Euro foods and breads. 

 

But it's super-tight. I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

 

[Nick Carter icp]

1 minute ago, Cameroni said:

 

Let's look at it in detail, put some meat on them bones:

 

 

Mobile phone 300

 

Internet 500

 

Water 130

 

Electricity 2600

 

Groceries 8000

 

Grab dinners 3200

 

Transport 3400

 

So yah, it can be done, IF you don't get health insurance, Netflix, luxury Euro foods and breads. 

 

But it's super-tight. I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

 

 

   Seems like he will also need 2000 Baht a month for a visa , agents fees also clothes , haircuts, shoes , toothpastes brushes, soap etc