On 9/12/2025 at 4:55 PM, JakeC said:

60 baht water bill? Either I'm being ripped off or Simon isn't showering enough 😊 A dirty 'farang'? 😊

Maybe he uses the shower at the gym and pool. I've seen a few foreigners save money that way...

In my village on mains water, costs Bht 4 a unit (1000 l), and 5 for a unit of lekky. 3BB internet is Bht 749 for 1000/1000. AIS SIM card for mobile is 200 a month for 40Gb @ 25 Mb/s.

1 minute ago, georgegeorgia said:

i could easily live on 35k a month 

Either Pattaya or outskirts of BKk 

 

Example live in the Flybird condo easier if you own your own condo though 

 

You can't go to cafes a lot like S&P or Starbucks and pay 180b for a cappuccino 

Pretty easy to do. Nirun for 10k and 800 baht a day spending money. Any emergencies and your f@cked though.

1 hour ago, KannikaP said:

AIS SIM card for mobile is 200 a month for 40Gb @ 25 Mb/s.

AIS data SIM, 50gb/month at 15mbs for 1 year 2,200bht.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/pdp-i4910741928-s20689894662.html 

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

AIS data SIM, 50gb/month at 15mbs for 1 year 2,200bht.

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/pdp-i4910741928-s20689894662.html 

It's OK, but I would rather pay Bht 200 a month. Only really use it to listen to radio when I am on the road, and when out shopping...Google Translate 555

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4 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

Pretty easy to do. Nirun for 10k and 800 baht a day spending money. Any emergencies and your f@cked though.

Obviously you would have emergency money on the bank

We are talking about living costs 

22 hours ago, BritManToo said:

 

 

22 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I've switched to salt and vinegar.

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

Asymptomatic COVID?

1 hour ago, georgegeorgia said:

Obviously you would have emergency money on the bank

We are talking about living costs 

Most people don't have emergency funds. They spend it all and don't downgrade in time.

 

Probably nobody at Nirun has much of an emergency fund. Flybird, probably not at all. It's hand to mouth, scraping by. Big C Pattaya Klang food court stuff.

15 hours ago, still kicking said:

Only if you like Thai food.

I enjoy pad thai goong, pad siew gai, and mussuman curry.

 

Kep moo (pork rinds) are rich in collagen. Noi mai ( bamboo ) is an excellent zero carb source of fibre and minerals.

 

I still need my daily dose of Vegemite on toast.

16 hours ago, scorecard said:

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.

 

Why are the kids in charge of your house, if it is your house?

20 hours ago, Bundooman said:

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 am not sure which part of his comment you are disagreeing with, he is stating it is dirt cheap to live in Thailand and detailed his very cheap costs compared to the UK.

 

What is it he does not know what he is talking about?

On 9/13/2025 at 12:47 PM, Cat Boy said:

No, not at all. 50 baht is a normal price for local Thai food for the type of place that has many prepared foods on display, you pick out 2, they put atop a plate of rice and bring it to you at a table. Yesterday I paid 40 baht for just that. Delicious, freshly and satisfying. 

 

Pruteu, noodle soup, is generally between 40 and 60 baht, cheaper outside Bangkok. 

 

He's integrated, eating primarily local food and living in a Thai style room at a reasonable cost. Good quality of life and at a fraction of the cost (and stress) of retirement in his country of nationality. 

The first real ‘holier than thou’ response of the day😃

1 hour ago, HK MacPhooey said:

The first real ‘holier than thou’ response of the day😃

Huh?

 

Just stating a fact about the cost of street food at a local level in response to an earlier post.

 

What's your problem? 

12 minutes ago, Cat Boy said:

Huh?

 

Just stating a fact about the cost of street food at a local level in response to an earlier post.

 

What's your problem? 

It's extremely rare for a foreigner to eat at those places, even though the food is perfectly healthy. I don't think I have ever seen another foreigner in there. 99% are too busy paying 150 baht for the fish & chips at cheap charlies bar.

52 minutes ago, Mark1969 said:

It's extremely rare for a foreigner to eat at those places, even though the food is perfectly healthy. I don't think I have ever seen another foreigner in there. 99% are too busy paying 150 baht for the fish & chips at cheap charlies bar.

Perhaps a point well taken. 

 

I've never seen the point of moving abroad and living amidst another culture and clinging to habits from the old country. 

 

McDonald's for someand foreign (non-Thai) high end restaurants for others, and hanging out with farang just never interested me, quite the opposite. 

 

Likewise going back, I've never felt homesick for that country, 44 years spent there 20 years ago was far more than enough, there's a whole world to experience. 

 

That integration by no means makes me "holier than thou" as a previous commenter suggested, just bored with mediocrity and wanting something different. 

 

I could have never retired in the old country at 50 as I did here, my quality of life is exponentially better, though admittedly my Thai remains weak, still, I'd rather acclimate than cling to habits from the past that never served me well there then. 

 

Better to embrace change 

19 minutes ago, Cat Boy said:

Perhaps a point well taken. 

 

I've never seen the point of moving abroad and living amidst another culture and clinging to habits from the old country. 

 

McDonald's for someand foreign (non-Thai) high end restaurants for others, and hanging out with farang just never interested me, quite the opposite. 

 

Likewise going back, I've never felt homesick for that country, 44 years spent there 20 years ago was far more than enough, there's a whole world to experience. 

 

That integration by no means makes me "holier than thou" as a previous commenter suggested, just bored with mediocrity and wanting something different. 

 

I could have never retired in the old country at 50 as I did hear, my quality of life is exponentially better, though admittedly my Thai remains weak, still, I'd rather acclimate than cling to habits from the past that never served me well there then. 

 

Better to embrace change. 

The only problem with that is the happiest and most content guys I have known in Thailand don't integrate at all. My old neighbor ate exclusively at expat places and never set foot in a local market. He hung out at expat places and befriended only other english speaking tourists mostly.

 

It somehow shields them from the weirdness and energetic problems of the locals. Call it a longterm vacation mindset if you will.

 

In fact, I envied my neighbor for his ability to maintain a back home attitude here and not need or want to integrate. He had a knack for keeping true to what he was. He only dated other foreigners also, not Thai's. He did not last long here though, eventually relocating back to the USA.

2 hours ago, Cat Boy said:

Perhaps a point well taken. 

 

I've never seen the point of moving abroad and living amidst another culture and clinging to habits from the old country. 

 

McDonald's for someand foreign (non-Thai) high end restaurants for others, and hanging out with farang just never interested me, quite the opposite. 

 

Likewise going back, I've never felt homesick for that country, 44 years spent there 20 years ago was far more than enough, there's a whole world to experience. 

 

That integration by no means makes me "holier than thou" as a previous commenter suggested, just bored with mediocrity and wanting something different. 

 

I could have never retired in the old country at 50 as I did here, my quality of life is exponentially better, though admittedly my Thai remains weak, still, I'd rather acclimate than cling to habits from the past that never served me well there then. 

 

Better to embrace change 

 

So if you ate Italian food, Indian food, McDonalds, and a host of other foods from around the world you will also have acclimatised with Thai culture as Thai culture in cites is similar to cities around the world world in that they are cosmopolitan as far as dining is concerned. 

 

I can not see the point of moving from a first world country, living in a shack in the back of the beyond and living on 50 baht meals, the locals eat those as they have no choice, not because they want to, Thais with money eat better.

 

Give me international Phuket anytime.

 

Do you think when Thais go to work or study in the UK they eat shepherds pie, roast beef, fish and chips, soups and hot-pot, broths etc because they are in England , of course they do not, they mostly eat Thai food.

 

2 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

The only problem with that is the happiest and most content guys I have known in Thailand don't integrate at all. My old neighbor ate exclusively at expat places and never set foot in a local market. He hung out at expat places and befriended only other english speaking tourists mostly.

 

It somehow shields them from the weirdness and energetic problems of the locals. Call it a longterm vacation mindset if you will.

 

In fact, I envied my neighbor for his ability to maintain a back home attitude here and not need or want to integrate. He had a knack for keeping true to what he was. He only dated other foreigners also, not Thai's. He did not last long here though, eventually relocating back to the USA.

 

Do you think educated, professional Thais integrate with uneducated up-country women from Issan for example, of course they do not, they ask me why do so many farangs go with such women, my response is that is the only level of women they have come across due to the places they visit and the circles they mix with. 

 

That is not my attitude but the attitude of Thais, there is a very pronounced hierachical social division in Thailand which is clear to see.

 

22 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

So if you ate Italian food, Indian food, McDonalds, and a host of other foods from around the world you will also have acclimatised with Thai culture as Thai culture in cites is similar to cities around the world world in that they are cosmopolitan as far as dining is concerned. 

 

I can not see the point of moving from a first world country, living in a shack in the back of the beyond and living on 50 baht meals, the locals eat those as they have no choice, not because they want to, Thais with money eat better.

 

Give me international Phuket anytime.

 

Do you think when Thais go to work or study in the UK they eat shepherds pie, roast beef, fish and chips, soups and hot-pot, broths etc because they are in England , of course they do not, they mostly eat Thai food.

 

I have no idea what Thais choose to eat when the live, work or study abroad. 

 

Nor do I care. I can't imagine there's any uniform answer to that question. 

 

I eat locally because that's what I prefer, it's my choice, it's irrelevant if it costs 50 baht or 500 baht. It's what I enjoy the the way I choose to live. 

 

Not out of necessity. 

 

And back to the original OP and the thread from which this all began, that likewise seems to be the choice of that man. 

 

If others chose differently, in food, housing, or with whom the chose to socialize, it's of no consequence to me. 

On 9/13/2025 at 9:21 PM, Bundooman said:

don't know what this guy is talking about.

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

I hear that a lot. On closer inspection I usually find the foreigner has bought a house  (plus land), a car and a motorbike, insurances etc  and put all in the name of his wife. This usually accumulates to a couple of million baht. When this is done, it may be enough to feed the companions. 

 

The stories that are told here often leave out important parts. 

 

18 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.

He gives the impression to be rather "minimal", so he probably has chosen s.th. like Pacific Cross which starts under 40.000 Baht for inpatient at 61 with some deductible, and that's how old he looks to me. You paid so much either because you wanted everything covered, had a lot of preconditions or didn't look around. 

1 hour ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

Do you think educated, professional Thais integrate with uneducated up-country women from Issan for example, of course they do not,

Don't worry. They pay even more. Remember the story about the guy who didn't appear at his  jetset wedding and the court made him pay millions to the other site just for the damage done? Educated women and their family often expect a million upfront as a dowry. Having studied to then become a housewife may be enough. Your educated Thais don't want to lose face but keep their status, a cultural habit that might make them miss something.

 

Many of us met educated women. We may not have liked their expectations in each case.

13 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

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

 

It's like, some people like to say "FYI".

 

It's less "in your face". 

 

Just sayin...😀

Smile for the camera as you are going to be deported and banned for the next 10 years...  

8 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

Do you think educated, professional Thais integrate with uneducated up-country women from Issan for example, of course they do not, they ask me why do so many farangs go with such women, my response is that is the only level of women they have come across due to the places they visit and the circles they mix with. 

Most foreigners in Thailand are at the same educational and social level as Issan farm girls.

You think being white makes you special in some way?

 

The expats I've mixed with ...... postman, house painter, carpet layer, waiter, builder, oil worker, soldier ......

10 hours ago, Cat Boy said:

Better to embrace change 

Apart from sleeping with the locals ........ zero integration from me.

14 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

Why are the kids in charge of your house, if it is your house?

But it's not. it's my Thai adult son's house. I have a big bedroom with ensuite. The house is very clean, we have an excellent maid (her scope includes my room and ensuite and she cleans the kitchen and does it well). M y son's wife does quite a bit of cleaning also, The 2 teen girls actually keep their rooms clean. 

On 9/12/2025 at 4:55 PM, JakeC said:

Maybe he uses the shower at the gym and pool. I've seen a few foreigners save money that way...

 

That is what  some of the  first world homeless practice, to stay reasonably clean.

After all, why is displaying large numbers of Thai lottery tickets?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100-150 baht for haircuts,

 

I go to the local barber once every 3-4months.

Cost of haircut is 150-, including shampooing and sculp massaging.

While their regular price is now 200-, old time price offered to me, having been a regular for the past 15 yrs.

5 hours ago, Gknrd said:

Smile for the camera as you are going to be deported and banned for the next 10 years...  

 

For openly doing  a Thai-Only job, like lottery ticket vendor?