On 9/12/2025 at 2:47 AM, StayinThailand2much said:

Wow, where can I get such a health insurance?

He may be young but again how did get retirement visa? 50 baht meal is not palatable for me. Even a decent Thai meal costs more than 100 baht. My meal costs me 15-20K per month. 

@BritManToo But it needs something... a sunny side up fried egg at least. Grilled/baked tomatoes. It looks exceedingly dry.

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

33bht for a pork steak and chips ....... Lotus Fresh chips 75bht/kg, 2x pork steaks 42bht.

Food is cheap if you have a gas hob or air fryer.

 

Only snack. Call me when dinner is served.🙃🙃

2 hours ago, Kinnock said:

I'm lucky enough to have both .... she managed the refit of my Bangkok condo into a man cave, and with a woman as hot (and useful) as my Missus, no need to pay for pleasure.

 

You really can have it all in Thailand, just need to choose carefully after taking some extensive test rides 🙂

 

 

This is not a man cave. No sign of large stereo. No sign of charcoal bucket to grill fish, chicken, frogs etc. No sign of the 2 fridges for beers. This is a Western condo. Wifey must to spend all day cleaning.🙃🙃

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I've switched to salt and vinegar.

Lost my taste for hp and tomato sauce, dunno why.

New woopy weed?🙃🙃

7 minutes ago, Lucky Bones said:

This is not a man cave. No sign of large stereo. No sign of charcoal bucket to grill fish, chicken, frogs etc. No sign of the 2 fridges for beers. This is a Western condo. Wifey must to spend all day cleaning.🙃🙃

Give me time .... It's not finished yet. 

 

Fridges and pinball machine on order .... Will skip the charcoal grill though, I'm not hard-core enough for carbon monoxide.

21 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

Give me time .... It's not finished yet. 

 

Fridges and pinball machine on order .... Will skip the charcoal grill though, I'm not hard-core enough for carbon monoxide.

Cheers.🙃🙃

2 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

  299 Baht for  bottle of H.P sauce could be the reason why ?

Hellmans BBQ sauce is my current forte . 

MY H.P sauces can wait until I get some bacon

I regularly eat Japanese food at home and we use the brand Bulldog Sauce , which is the Japanese equivalent to HP Sauce , however it is prohibitively expensive here in Thailand at about ฿200 for a small bottle.

Recently on a shopping trip to Makro I found this ARO brand Tonkatsu Sauce at ฿27 for a 1lt bottle , they also have ARO Okanomiyaki (Japanese Pizza) Sauce same price.

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I've switched to salt and vinegar.

Lost my taste for hp and tomato sauce, dunno why.

Please tell me you've splashed out on a bottle of Sarson's or at the very least, Heinz malt vinegar. Don't tell me you are using the 10 baht clear Thai 'vinegar'. It's ok for pickling onions but not for chips.....

12 minutes ago, Keeps said:

Please tell me you've splashed out on a bottle of Sarson's or at the very least, Heinz malt vinegar. Don't tell me you are using the 10 baht clear Thai 'vinegar'. It's ok for pickling onions but not for chips.....

Heinz, but the label fell off 

What a crock of Sh*t this Brit is talking.

I too am a Brit. I have been here for 20 years.

I have never suffered financially for my relaxed, easy, yet happy lifestyle together with my Thai wife and 18-year-old daughter. 

If you don't swill beer every night, of spend your time at Girlie or Go-Go bars, if you plan your finances accordingly and sensibly,, depending on your income and if you integrate into Thai customs and culture -without trying to be a 'proper Thai', life is enjoyable, inexpensive and affordable.

I don't know what this guy is talking about.

My life is good - and with approximately a similar income - but for 3 people!

 

I just spent five months back in the UK as I bought an apartment there to rent out. It is a two bed, two bath flat 80 sq feet, 30 mins to London by commuter train, two mins walk to the station, it is now rented for 76,000 baht a month (I pointed this out to show how expensive the UK is).

 

Food is expensive.

 

I went to a restaurant with a friend, I had 6 beers, we had a single course meal each, she drank two cokes, bill was equivalent to 4,900 baht. Not a five star restaurant, it was in Chelmsford, Essex. 

 

Cigarettes (I smoke very occasionally with a beer) are 645 baht a pack.

 

Petrol more or less twice the price as it is here.

 

Costs here, house rent/mortgage is zero.

 

Three bed detached house on a private estate in Kathu, Phuket.

 

Service charge for street lights and maintenance, garbage collection, security guards etc, 6000 baht a year.

 

Water bill 100 baht a month for two people, two showers a day each with powerful water pumps, the meters are attached to the house hence no mark up in electricity or water bills.

 

Gas bottle for cooking is just over 500 baht every six months. 

 

Electric, 2500 baht a month, air con on all day and night when in the house.

 

Home wifi, super fast 650 a month including free film channels and TV channels.

 

Netflix about 500 baht a month I think.

 

In addition I just signed up with AIS unlimited data on my iPhone, paid one year in advance, 1800 baht for the year.

 

Food, hard to say, I buy 1.5 kg of filleted North Atlantic salmon every month, the price is down on a few years ago from 680 to 480 baht a kg from Makro, salmon steaks.

 

1000 baht a month on petrol for the car.

 

3000 baht a year for car servicing.

 

Home cooked meals eg massaman curry, spaghetti bolognaise,  made from the joints of NZ/AUS beef and lamb from Makro, I would not eat the local fatty meat hidden in street food and the like.

 

Tuna, veg, beer, vodka etc, inc in the total food bill of about 10,000 baht a month for two people. (It varies).

 

It is dirt cheap to live here.

 

I do not have medical insurance as I looked at the cost and the low amount of cover we get, I will pay cash if needed. I have over 2 million baht in instant emergency cash available and over 6 million baht in credit available. I am not saying this to show off but such an amount might be needed in an emergency before I can get back to the UK for free medical treatment. 

 

Someone might say in the UK we will not be covered for free medical treatment as we have lived away for years, this is a false rumour, as soon as we say the words "we have moved back to the UK" we are covered, they never ask anyway as we just show our NHS number which is permanent for life.

 

Proof of this is this year after being out of the country for 2.5 years I went back, I had to change doctors as I had moved area, I did this via the NHS app on my iphone and saw a doctor at the new surgery four days later, no questions asked.

 

I think when some people have to move back to their own country due to ill health etc later on in life, many of them will not be able to afford to rent or buy a house there.

 

 

15 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

Turn off the water unless wetting or rinsing. Don't just let it run the whole time. Get a toggle switch and turn off the refrigerator at night and when it's near empty. Don't leave chargers plugged in when not in use.

 

Develop a non-wasteful mindset and you will find that your utility bills are not an issue.

So good luck convincing 2 mid teenage girls that:

 

- Need to shower 4 or 5 times a day and shower must be turned on at least 30 - 40 minutes every shower. Their father (my Thai son) yells at them through their shared bathroom door to 'turn off the shower', but always ignored. 

 

- Both of their bedrooms need air-con on for at least 5:00 pm to 8:00 am, on 22-233 degrees, plus longer (most days) because they don't turn off their air-cons (as instructed almost daily) to turn off their air-cons when they leave for school, so both air-cons remain on until even 11:00 am - until their mother or father or me check their room and turn off their air cons. Plus on many hours during daylight hrs, on Saturday and Sunday.  Plus ceiling fans on soon as they come home from school and all night. Late at night son opens their bedrooms doors slightly and put his hand around the partly open door to where the switches are located and turns everything off but by morning a miracle has turned  all on again. They both get lectured every week-end re all of the above. All ignored. 

 

Plus they every often make pizza at home using the electric oven in our kitchen to entertain their friend but forget to turn the oven off when pizza cooking completed. Often 2 hrs later before oven is turned  off. More wasted electricity.

On 9/12/2025 at 6:57 PM, Zack61 said:

There are many great dishes out there for 50 baht

Only if you like Thai food.

18 minutes ago, still kicking said:

Only if you like Thai food.

 

18 minutes ago, still kicking said:

Only if you like Thai food.

Been here how long and still don't like Thai food? 🙃🙃

1 minute ago, Lucky Bones said:

 

Been here how long and still don't like Thai food? 🙃🙃

Thai food is overrated. I am back in the West, and my Thai wife cooks Western food. 

5 hours ago, Lucky Bones said:

Only snack. Call me when dinner is served.🙃🙃

 Thai son and his Thai wife had 'words' with son's mother. She came with us to Big C and sons' mother in law separately bought 2 X 5 kilo bags of very heavily discounted frozen french fries. She paid separtely to make a surprise for son's kids.

 

At home she quickly called her loud know-all extravert ladyboy son in Bkk. He instructed:

- Must all  be cooked immediately (all 10 kg) quickly after leaving the supermarket frozen cook cabinet.

-She did as instructed by her ladyboy son. First 200 grams consumed quickly by Mother in law (MIL),  rest of the 10 kg left on a metal tray on the kitchen table and of course went cold and soggy. 

- Kids all came from from school, just under 10 kg of french fries totally cold and soggy, kids not interested.

- Son comes home from work, MIL complains to my son about his kids not eating the french fries. Son says 'what happened'

- She shares that she coked the whole 10 kg quickly as instructed by phone by her ladyboy son. Son tries to tell her that the idea is to cook a small bowl of chips for a snack and stop, still frozen fries all stay in the freezer. She calls her lady boy son in Bkk and cries and tells him my son (MIL's son in law) has told her she did something wrong.

- Son's wife then comes home from school and discovers a tray of just under 10 kg of cold soggy french fries on the kitchen table. Son's wife immediately takes the tray with fries outside and throws them in the garbage bin.

- MIL cries again because both her daughter and my son refuse to take her back to BIG C so she can ask for a refund.  She now wants to go home upcountry.

- Next morning her daughter in law drops her at the bus station on her way to work.

- French fries never get mentioned again. No MIL visits for 3 months.

 

 

12 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I am a minimalist, I'm quite happy with living in a 35 sqm condo, no garden to look after, swimming pool, rubbish collection done. Next to no maintenance needed.

 

I don't have to worry about security. No thief is going to try breaking into condo apartments. They can't be cased beforehand, and no robber knows what might be waiting behind the door for them.

 

I live very comfortably, averaging 55,000 baht /month. Without a Thai GF, it would probably come down to 35,000 baht/month.

 

We have two dwellings, two cars, two scooters. In Australia, a motor home would be my only option.

 

IMO Thailand is a matter of attitude. If one enjoys the positives, and ignores the crap, it's a great place to retire.

35sqm....two of you sounds a bit cramped ....studio or one bedroom 

20 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 Thai son and his Thai wife had 'words' with son's mother. She came with us to Big C and sons' mother in law separately bought 2 X 5 kilo bags of very heavily discounted frozen french fries. She paid separtely to make a surprise for son's kids.

 

At home she quickly called her loud know-all extravert ladyboy son in Bkk. He instructed:

- Must all  be cooked immediately (all 10 kg) quickly after leaving the supermarket frozen cook cabinet.

-She did as instructed by her ladyboy son. First 200 grams consumed quickly by Mother in law (MIL),  rest of the 10 kg left on a metal tray on the kitchen table and of course went cold and soggy. 

- Kids all came from from school, just under 10 kg of french fries totally cold and soggy, kids not interested.

- Son comes home from work, MIL complains to my son about his kids not eating the french fries. Son says 'what happened'

- She shares that she coked the whole 10 kg quickly as instructed by phone by her ladyboy son. Son tries to tell her that the idea is to cook a small bowl of chips for a snack and stop, still frozen fries all stay in the freezer. She calls her lady boy son in Bkk and cries and tells him my son (MIL's son in law) has told her she did something wrong.

- Son's wife then comes home from school and discovers a tray of just under 10 kg of cold soggy french fries on the kitchen table. Son's wife immediately takes the tray with fries outside and throws them in the garbage bin.

- MIL cries again because both her daughter and my son refuse to take her back to BIG C so she can ask for a refund.  She now wants to go home upcountry.

- Next morning her daughter in law drops her at the bus station on her way to work.

- French fries never get mentioned again. No MIL visits for 3 months.

 

 

Sound like spoilt brats 

In my rent is double that and I don’t know what type of Health Insurance she has but my Health Insurance cost way more than that it doesn’t say what size conduit so it could be a shoebox I think he’s very low on his numbers TIT

4 hours ago, still kicking said:

Only if you like Thai food.

Totally false.
All Western dishes made with chicken, pork, pangasius, eggs, and even duck cost around 50 baht per person.
Obviously, it's better if you like rice.
Australian mutton is way too fatty. Never again.
Beef remains the exception, but living here you quickly learn to live without it.

 

Panga meunière par exemple.

 

This guy must be under 60 years old, if his health insurance is that low. I paid 350 dollars Canadian, worth,  for a 90 day

health insurance coverange, and I am early 70s. The company was MSIG  in Bangkok. good coverage of

400,000 baht, and i needed it 6 days after my arrival on my last trip to Thailand. Right now

it would cost me 500 dollars Canadian for 10 days out of country coverage, and over 1200 dollars Canadian for

30 days out of country coverage. It is more expensive after you have a heart attack. Just saying that it is 

very important to have medical coverage when you stay in Thailand.

Most on TikTok is bologna for the butterbrains.

 

This chap probably an A.I. character

5 hours ago, still kicking said:

Thai food is overrated. I am back in the West, and my Thai wife cooks Western food. 

I am sure many Thai ladies can, & do occassionally cook Western food but prefer to cook Thai food for themselves when in the West. I didn't mention any rating for Thai food. If you think it is overrated perhaps you could start a new poll/thread? Munch....munch....Enjoy.🙃🙃

6 hours ago, still kicking said:

Only if you like Thai food.

Only if you're too stupid to work a gas hob or air fryer.

This seems to be a trend running ones mouth off about Thailand, some using it generate income in order to stay. 

Hi Simon,

Thank you for you post,

I live in the provinces.

Don't take any notice of the moaners and they who know every thing on here.

All the very best and enjoy life.

4 minutes ago, Deerculler said:

Hi Simon,

Thank you for you post,

I live in the provinces.

Don't take any notice of the moaners and they who know every thing on here.

All the very best and enjoy life.

He's trying, but the room is too small and he is drinking too much. The food is not the very best. Any advice?

On 9/12/2025 at 4:44 PM, daveAustin said:

Why blab about it? Someone did something similar in Chiang mai years ago and the place got inundated with whinging boomer whiteys. Also highlighting visa agents isn’t the smartest move. Just enjoy your retirement and stf… be quiet. 

I don't think there's even a tiny risk of that happening with Nonthaburi, I have no idea whatsoever what would draw an expat to that area, other than a woman insisting on being there. 

5 hours ago, Stargeezr said:

This guy must be under 60 years old, if his health insurance is that low. I paid 350 dollars Canadian, worth,  for a 90 day

health insurance coverange, and I am early 70s. The company was MSIG  in Bangkok. good coverage of

400,000 baht, and i needed it 6 days after my arrival on my last trip to Thailand. Right now

it would cost me 500 dollars Canadian for 10 days out of country coverage, and over 1200 dollars Canadian for

30 days out of country coverage. It is more expensive after you have a heart attack. Just saying that it is 

very important to have medical coverage when you stay in Thailand.

He has expat insurance not travel insurance 

I like how you wrote " just saying that it is " 

May I ask you if that's a common phrase you use?

I remember a guy at work used to say "like" all the time !

"It's like " etc

Very interesting my dear Watson