Insane U.S. restaurant prices -- is it kind of crazy NOT to eat out everyday in Thailand?

[Jingthing]

I was looking at a repatriation option in the low cost midwestern small city of Springfield Missouri. (Lots of good things about it for retirees such as cheap rent but probably not a good fit for me being as it's the buckle of the bible belt.)

 

There is a recommended Thai restaurant there -- ironically called Everyday Thai.

 

In flippin' Springfield Mo for chrissakes, not NYC or LA!

 

19 dollar tom yum goong? Plus add tax and 20 percent tip. Everyday? Really? More like every MONTH.

 

Everyday Thai

www.myeverydaythai.com/#menu

 

Made me think it's kind of crazy NOT to eat out (or get delivery) everyday in Thailand.

 

A satang for your thoughts.

 

 

[save the frogs]

no need to cook at home in thailand.

in the west, you need to be quite well off to eat out daily. 

 

 

 

[fredwiggy]

This is a menu from one of the excellent places in the San Antonio area, who make Thai food as good as you'll get here. They're from Korat. Would rather be there paying more than living here and paying less, and eventually will be.............https://thaispicesa.com/menu/

[EVENKEEL]

8 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I was looking at a repatriation option in the low cost midwestern small city of Springfield Missouri. (Lots of good things about it for retirees such as cheap rent but probably not a good fit for me being as it's the buckle of the bible belt.)

 

There is a recommended Thai restaurant there -- ironically called Everyday Thai.

 

In flippin' Springfield Mo for chrissakes, not NYC or LA!

 

19 dollar tom yum goong? Plus add tax and 20 percent tip. Everyday? Really? More like every MONTH.

 

Everyday Thai

www.myeverydaythai.com/#menu

 

Made me think it's kind of crazy NOT to eat out (or get delivery) everyday in Thailand.

 

A satang for your thoughts.

 

 

When I visit Calif yearly we don't eat in Thai restaurants because for some reason they're very pricey. On the road we would pick Japanese or Vietnamese joints for meals, 

 

I was watching utube and Dominican Republic seems like a place to check out.

[lamyai3]

10 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Made me think it's kind of crazy NOT to eat out (or get delivery) everyday in Thailand.

 

Completely agree. Eating out is an expensive luxury in the west, but often the best choice out here. 

[HappyExpat57]

23 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

no need to cook at home in thailand.

in the west, you need to be quite well off to eat out daily. 

 

 

 

I became disenchanted eating at restaurants when I observed a cook chopping vegetables, stopping briefly to vomit in a white bucket next to her, then going right back to preparing someone's food. Not MINE after seeing that!

[save the frogs]

11 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

I became disenchanted eating at restaurants when I observed a cook chopping vegetables, stopping briefly to vomit in a white bucket next to her, then going right back to preparing someone's food. Not MINE after seeing that!

 

ther'es a place i started going to.

i sit right next to the cook, so if they do sth crazy I can see it .... 

ah well .... such is life ... we cannot expect perfect cleanliness at all times

what's the alternative? cook at home every day? that's exhausting ... unless you have a maid .

 

[StandardIssue]

I think restaurant prices would be pretty low on my list if I was considering return to USA. IMHO, there are things to like about each, but I get bored and tired of both if I spend too much time in either spot.

 

Best thing to do is snow bird Thailand. Especially when considering life in a town that experiences winter. In my old age US winters can be brutal and climate change is making things even more unpredictable.

 

My advice: Forget about restuarant prices and consider some other more important things. Healthcare, air quality, long term assisted care available? conveniences,  etc.

[Andre0720]

Now that I know that Thai food is made of bad cheap oils, heated to a toxicity point, and then refined sugar is added to make it eatable, I cook and eat eat at home with good oils and good ingredients.

 

One thing is certain, the availability of fresh and good sea food and chicken is just astounding.

 

Just buy good oils, Olive and coconut oil, perhaps avocado oil also, and sesame oil for added flavour.

 

 

[HappyExpat57]

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

 

ther'es a place i started going to.

i sit right next to the cook, so if they do sth crazy I can see it .... 

ah well .... such is life ... we cannot expect perfect cleanliness at all times

what's the alternative? cook at home every day? that's exhausting ... unless you have a maid .

 

It depends on your priorities I guess. I haven't eaten at a restaurant for months. Having diabetes makes my diet important. I have my glucose under control, to the point that my doctor sent me a message saying to keep up the good work after recent blood work.

 

My favorite saying in Thailand - "Up to you."

[HappyExpat57]

1 hour ago, StandardIssue said:

I think restaurant prices would be pretty low on my list if I was considering return to USA. IMHO, there are things to like about each, but I get bored and tired of both if I spend too much time in either spot.

 

Best thing to do is snow bird Thailand. Especially when considering life in a town that experiences winter. In my old age US winters can be brutal and climate change is making things even more unpredictable.

 

My advice: Forget about restuarant prices and consider some other more important things. Healthcare, air quality, long term assisted care available? conveniences,  etc.

I visit family and friends annually in the US. What I spend on ALL my utilities including phone and internet is less than anyone there spends on just their WATER bill. It's just insanse how much the cost of living is over there, and it's attributable to greed. About half the homeless in US are working but cannot afford a stable home. Poverty is a man-made construct.

[henryford1958]

My tgf hadly ever cooks. Most nights she gets Grab food deliveries 100-150 baht ($3-5), hardly worth the effort of buying ingredients and cooking.

[MalcolmB]

2 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

This is a menu from one of the excellent places in the San Antonio area, who make Thai food as good as you'll get here. They're from Korat. Would rather be there paying more than living here and paying less, and eventually will be.............https://thaispicesa.com/menu/

Why don’t you leave then.

Thailand has good airports and daily flights.

You only live once and you don’t have long to go.

[KhunLA]

When playing single parent, kid & myself, we ate dinner everyday outside the house.   First 10 years here in TH.  Same 5 different restaurants during weekdays, and the night market during weekends.   How I met and got to know my wife, as her sis was an excellent cook, and serving up food at the night market.

 

Last 15 years, winded that down to rarely eating out now, especially last 8 yrs with move from Udon Thani, good food town, to PKK, as limited restaurants with AC, or anything worth leaving the house for.

 

To much time on my hands now, not to shop and cook for ourselves  2nd & present house having full kitchens help quite a bit.

 

If living out of a box apartment or condo, at a better food town, I'd be dining out most of the time.

 

I peek at menus at some of the places I use to regularly eat at in the USA, and some blowing prices now. 

 

2 - 3+ times the price I use to pay, and my last job's salary haven't changed that much.

[Patong2021]

Cheap price does not deliver healthy or high quality meals in Thailand. Even the better quality restaurants are obsessed with frying with palm oil, and the excessive use of salt and sugar.  I try not to eat out, opting for salads, and steamed vegetables when I can. When I do eat out it, I go for foods I don't want to prepare at home like fish or beef.  Few restaurants offer steamed or grilled vegetables. It is always fried with a high sodium fish or shellfish sauce. Even when I ask for a grilled fish, it's like pulling teeth.  The better quality restaurants charge western prices, but  that's what it costs to have properly made meal. 

[fredwiggy]

27 minutes ago, marin said:

Fred for over a year I have read you are going back to America with your daughter. So many times, up to 3 or 4 times a week.  But you are still here and writing paragraphs. Do you really have a plan to go? 

Yes, likely the end of next year, as it will take awhile to re-establish into another rent to own home, her in an English school and moving all my things to another country. If I could do it earlier I would. Moving isn't easy unless you already have a place in another country, and are by yourself with no attachments here.

[MalcolmB]

It ain’t rocket science Fred.

You book the tickets online and pack your bags.

Arrive, buy a house or rent one if you have no money, buy a car and drive her to school.

It would take me about about 3 days.

Stop procrastinating, spending hours on AN everyday and just do it. 
 

All the best and I wish you happiness with your new life.

[TedG]

54 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

I visit family and friends annually in the US. What I spend on ALL my utilities including phone and internet is less than anyone there spends on just their WATER bill. It's just insanse how much the cost of living is over there, and it's attributable to greed. About half the homeless in US are working but cannot afford a stable home. Poverty is a man-made construct.

How much is their water bill?  I’m only spending $45/monthly.  

[fredwiggy]

1 minute ago, TedG said:

How much is their water bill?  I’m only spending $45/monthly.  

Mine back in Texas was $35 a month including garbage pickup and hasn't changed much in 7 years. 

[impulse]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I was looking at a repatriation option in the low cost midwestern small city of Springfield Missouri. (Lots of good things about it for retirees such as cheap rent but probably not a good fit for me being as it's the buckle of the bible belt.)

 

On the flipside, where are you going to find a Bass Pro Shop in Thailand?  Before they became a national thing, Springfield, MO was a pilgrimage for fishing/hunting fans.  Like Sydney and Kearney NE for Cabelas.  If I was anywhere nearby, I'd carve out a day to shop there and get a nearby hotel.  Nowadays, every big town has one or more.  But they're not the same.  Today, they're more like clothing stores that also have sporting goods.

 

And I point out the BassPro and Cabelas more to focus on the activities I just don't find in Thailand.  Fishing, hunting, real camping, etc.

 

[TedG]

5 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Mine back in Texas was $35 a month including garbage pickup and hasn't changed much in 7 years. 

I’m paying $45/month. 

[Harrisfan]

5 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Didn't I just say not to concern yourself with others you don't know? You have a lot of problems in your life and you don't even recognize this. That in itself is a major problem. Anyone can be happy here buying women, not having to raise children, and get drunk every day to blur out their so called happy life.

Life has daily situations to deal with. There are no problems. You can only live one day at a time as their is nothing else. 

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, HappyExpat57 said:

I visit family and friends annually in the US. What I spend on ALL my utilities including phone and internet is less than anyone there spends on just their WATER bill. It's just insanse how much the cost of living is over there, and it's attributable to greed. About half the homeless in US are working but cannot afford a stable home. Poverty is a man-made construct.

Homelessness is a deliberate western government policy.

[MalcolmB]

Just now, BritManToo said:

Homelessness is a deliberate western government policy.

Why?
What is the benefit to the “government” 

 

[ElwoodP]

Bickering and of topic posts mostly removed.

Please stop while you still have the ability to post.

[Harrisfan]

7/11

Fruit stalls

Fried chicken

Shakes

Restaurants

Cafes

 

Yes its great Jing. Even good book stores.

[HappyExpat57]

55 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Homelessness is a deliberate western government policy.

THe west does not have a monopoly on keeping people poor. Let's face it, the Chinese are really at the helm here and they need cheap labor to finance their beamers and yachts.

[BritManToo]

14 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

THe west does not have a monopoly on keeping people poor. Let's face it, the Chinese are really at the helm here and they need cheap labor to finance their beamers and yachts.

I think you'll find there is no homeless problem in China.

Poor and homeless are two different problems, the second entirely created by government policy.

[FritsSikkink]

4 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

I became disenchanted eating at restaurants when I observed a cook chopping vegetables, stopping briefly to vomit in a white bucket next to her, then going right back to preparing someone's food. Not MINE after seeing that!

Try a good restaurant for a change.

[NickyLouie]

4 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

I became disenchanted eating at restaurants when I observed a cook chopping vegetables, stopping briefly to vomit in a white bucket next to her, then going right back to preparing someone's food. Not MINE after seeing that!

 

Probably smelled your BO , hope you took a hint