1 minute ago, Muhendis said:

Reading this OP, it's easy for me to understand why I am not living in Bangkok.

 

Whilst it is closer to my work than Pattaya I wont live in BKK as it is a traffic congested <deleted> hole.

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I'm not seeing it.

If I were in the 'global luxury' market, I wouldn't be living in Bangkok, or Thailand for that matter.

Probably Florida Keys, or maybe California. Somewhere in the Med, Malta or Gozo, Tuscany is nice, maybe Mauritius.

Somewhere in the Mediterranean no doubt, if I were wealthy I'd be spending only enough time in the US to visit family and friends and avoiding it the rest of the time. It's just not a fun place to be at this point in time as the attitude of most of the locals is quite sour bitter and you can see their frustration and disappointment.

 

Italy would be my top choice for at least several months of the year. I love that place. The food, wine and people, geography, architecture, heritage, and weather. 

There is no doubt that there is a lot of money in Bangkok and at the high end of the market things can be quite costly. However when it comes to luxury goods it's not a reasonable discussion, because the taxes are so insane that most Thais and 99.8% of foreigners avoid purchasing luxury goods and fine wine in Thailand ,due to the ridiculous and poorly thought out luxury tax structure.

 

If Thailand had some wisdom that would be lowered to 20% across the board and you would have an incredibly dynamic industry and the ability to attract truly affluent tourists. 

 

 

4 hours ago, Maxbkkcm said:

Well not really. Seller in luxuries mall get high paid

And for the other 99.99% of the workforce "Let them eat cake"

 

Will there be high end soi dogs, pots holes, air pollution, corruption and scams as well?

5 hours ago, ozz1 said:

This does nothing for the average Thai citizen and just proves that

Look, no red thumbs, where are they? asleep?

2 minutes ago, ezzra said:

Look, no red thumbs, where are they? asleep?

I take it back, they're awake alright.

5 hours ago, Maxbkkcm said:

It creates jobs though. Families are fed

M - People hate wealthy people.  How many people do poor people hire?  The wealthy is needed.  I don't give a crap that millionaires and billionaires have more money than I.

Repositioning high tariffs and inflation as a sign of luxury lol.

 

only part of that would be true is property prices rising as those are investments and not depreciating assets.

Is that something to be proud of,that a lot of rich chinese persons come to Thailand and make everything more expensiv😫

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I'm not seeing it.

 

I see it everywhere when I go to Bangkok. Those barely making 6 (usd) figures are not even in the top 15%. 

 

Porsches, Benz and Alphards everywhere, malls packed with shops selling extravagances (watches for example) that are priced more than my total net worth. 

People lining up at designer shops selling 50k+ handbags, billboards everywhere advertising condos and houses showing the price in huge numbers (like they're a good deal) "Starting from 50MB" or "45-130MB". I bet most are already sold out.

Restaurants selling dishes well over 3k per plate, Omakase at 10k+, all requiring advance booking because they won't have an empty table. Rooftop bars selling even a bottle of water for whatever they want, it doesn't matter, people will flock there and pay.

 

The idea of "farang is rich, Thai is poor" is outdated perhaps 15-20 years. There are millons of Thais way better off than the average farang that goes there with the mindset that they can do everything because it's cheap due to Thailand being "poor".

 

Thai owned wealth is blooming Bangkok and it's not showing signs of stopping anytime soon. 

13 minutes ago, FarangFB said:

 

I see it everywhere when I go to Bangkok. Those barely making 6 (usd) figures are not even in the top 15%. 

 

Porsches, Benz and Alphards everywhere, malls packed with shops selling extravagances (watches for example) that are priced more than my total net worth. 

People lining up at designer shops selling 50k+ handbags, billboards everywhere advertising condos and houses showing the price in huge numbers (like they're a good deal) "Starting from 50MB" or "45-130MB". I bet most are already sold out.

Restaurants selling dishes well over 3k per plate, Omakase at 10k+, all requiring advance booking because they won't have an empty table. Rooftop bars selling even a bottle of water for whatever they want, it doesn't matter, people will flock there and pay.

 

The idea of "farang is rich, Thai is poor" is outdated perhaps 15-20 years. There are millons of Thais way better off than the average farang that goes there with the mindset that they can do everything because it's cheap due to Thailand being "poor".

 

Thai owned wealth is blooming Bangkok and it's not showing signs of stopping anytime soon. 

These are people that don't have the ability to live in the west.

Western people wouldn't be living in Asia if they had loads of money, cos it's not that good.

9 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

These are people that don't have the ability to live in the west.

Western people wouldn't be living in Asia if they had loads of money, cos it's not that good.

 

I know some westerners that despite having the money to live in extremely luxury anywhere on the planet, chose Pattaya - and no, not just because of the girls. 

 

Safety, climate, good food, and lots of small things that are simply easier around here and would be a pain in the ass in the west. And they agree with me that wealth is abundant in Bangkok.

 

The ones yapping all the time about real estate prices, debt bubble, not sustainable and waiting for the crash are the ones financially on the lower end. I'm not glorifying myself here, sometimes I also catch myself thinking "who the hell would pay 10M for this sh**ty shoebox condo", and boom, all units sold.

"It's so funny in a rich man's world"...🥳😎👍

Bangkok is the most developed area in Thailand, it's basically the Shanghai of Thailand. You can live a comfortable "developed country"-like life by living in Bangkok. 

4 hours ago, FarangFB said:

I know some westerners that despite having the money to live in extremely luxury anywhere on the planet, chose Pattaya - and no, not just because of the girls. 

 

Safety, climate, good food, and lots of small things that are simply easier around here and would be a pain in the ass in the west. And they agree with me that wealth is abundant in Bangkok.

 

The ones yapping all the time about real estate prices, debt bubble, not sustainable and waiting for the crash are the ones financially on the lower end. I'm not glorifying myself here, sometimes I also catch myself thinking "who the hell would pay 10M for this sh**ty shoebox condo", and boom, all units sold.

Odd how all those guys that never visit bars, don't drink alcohol, never pay for sex all live in family friendly Pattaya. Mind you, how could you ever know how much money these former SAS operatives have?

 

Mind you,

I've only ever encountered one western person (50ish) that I knew to be extremely wealthy in Thailand, and he dressed like a tramp, lived in a 2,500bht/month Thai room (this was in Chiang Mai) and picked up street meat at Thaphae gate of a night..

4 hours ago, BritManToo said:

These are people that don't have the ability to live in the west.

Western people wouldn't be living in Asia if they had loads of money, cos it's not that good.

That is very true britman. I dont understand why it even needs to be said

14 minutes ago, angryguy said:

That is very true britman. I dont understand why it even needs to be said

I think it's middle/lower class western guys trying to big themselves up.

Almost everyone I encounter in Thailand barely has enough money to get a legit VISA extension.

23 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I'm not seeing it.

If I were in the 'global luxury' market, I wouldn't be living in Bangkok, or Thailand for that matter.

Probably Florida Keys, or maybe California. Somewhere in the Med, Malta or Gozo, Tuscany is nice, maybe Mauritius.

Gozo ? 

19 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Odd how all those guys that never visit bars, don't drink alcohol, never pay for sex all live in family friendly Pattaya. Mind you, how could you ever know how much money these former SAS operatives have?

 

Not the bar stool retired special forces, actual businessmen in their 60s. I don't know how much they have but judging by the properties they own and live in I'm sure they're getting by pretty fine. 

On 8/2/2025 at 12:57 PM, FarangFB said:

Restaurants selling dishes well over 3k per plate, Omakase at 10k+, all requiring advance booking because they won't have an empty table. Rooftop bars selling even a bottle of water for

 

18 course Omakase in Pattaya - 3500++

On 8/2/2025 at 4:13 PM, BritManToo said:

Odd how all those guys that never visit bars, don't drink alcohol, never pay for sex all live in family friendly Pattaya. Mind you, how could you ever know how much money these former SAS operatives have?

 

Mind you,

I've only ever encountered one western person (50ish) that I knew to be extremely wealthy in Thailand, and he dressed like a tramp, lived in a 2,500bht/month Thai room (this was in Chiang Mai) and picked up street meat at Thaphae gate of a night..

My experience too, but in Pattaya. He made his money as an entrepreneur in the UK, then invested in property across Southeast Asia. Not quite a billionaire, but worth around £400–500 million. Looks like a broke pensioner, but we hit it off. Great wingman despite the age gap. His Thai wife used to get annoyed with me for dragging him to the bars, but truth be told, he never needed much convincing.

On 8/1/2025 at 4:17 PM, jaywalker2 said:

Yeah, right, low wage jobs with no benefits 

As opposed to mo jobs and no benefits.

On 8/1/2025 at 8:03 AM, KhaoHom said:

 

I'm quite disappointed by Aussie and especially kiwi beef tbh.

 

The emphasis is on New Wealthy Individuals. I was in Central Embassy and the shoppers I  saw there were Thai . A few other Asians. Thais with money will buy in Bangkok , but foreign wealthy will not., they have it all at home and in nearby countries. Also there a limit of stock they can have on hand, sizes , colors . 
The foreign rich aren’t flocking to Bangkok. There’s nothing there for them. They’re used to California, Monaco, Cannes , Nice, Paris, where the hotel Palaces are and the world s famous chefs. Where they can dock their yachts and buy all the supplies locally. Or invest in wine country land houses like Clooney and Brad Pit, and have the fully qualified staff that they need to look after everything. Bangkok will never have that, could never give them what they need. Just the air pollution would frighten them away, no money can alter that.