Disposable Income

[andyinkat]

Reading across a number of threads the picture I build of expats living in LOS is of course diverse but there appear to be a couple of general traits.

One is that where people reveal their incomes or how much they brought to set up in LOS it tends to be - by my standards absolutely shedloads. What is this? Is it the case that most of you like to re-create or maintain your previous western standard of living with all the old creature comforts?

The second issue is that the great majority appear to like a regular drink or three. I wonder how much you spend on the amber necter, the water of life over a year. It must add up some.

I am fully aware that I am quite unfarang-like in maintaining a quasi-monastic lifestyle - no gadgets, no booze, just nice and simple, but I would be interested to know what the rest of you think about the standard of living you enjoy compared to your previous lives in farangland.

[Thaiquila]

Bully on you if you are happy living (maybe less than?) local.

I am curious though, can you quantify shedloads? In US dollars, pounds sterling, or baht, up to you. I have never heard the word shedloads before; it has a ring to it.

[walker]

Thaiquila is right...there is certainly a smug, self-righteous ring to the original post....nonetheless, a person should follow their own siren, and if that's a semi-monastic siren (an oxymoron, if I've ever heard one), swell. I'm living on about a third of what I was in the states and I drink a beer almost every day and the occasional Thai gin (surprisingly ok) & tonic. I guess the cost would run to 500-600 US dollars a year. If I can't afford that, I should go back to work......and as to volumetric quantities of cash, I keep mine in a silo, not a shed.

[duke69]

IF I wanted to live like a local Thai, I was killing someone in Europe and stay in jail for free!!!

I'm here and I live like God with the same money required in Europe to live like a "middle man".

[Up2U]

The Thai government have a yardstick - if you want to live here on (say) a retirement visa, you need 800 thousand baht per year. If you want to work here, a work permit requires that you earn 45,000 to 60,000 per month derending on nationality. And these are the minimum requirements to be legal.

Personally, I reckon on the 800k per annum as being borderline sufficient, as I have a wife and daughter to support. No excessive lifestyle, I seldom drink, no booze in the house. If I drink - it is at a bar, with friends.

My off-work clothing is shorts and thongs. My food is mainly Thai. I will buy a house soon, out of money kept outside the Kingdom.

When I retire I will start up a business to keep myself occupied - my wife's beauty salon is not my type of work. (And it makes very little money).

[ProThaiExpat]

I came to Thailand to retire and have a higher standard of living than I was able to have in my home country.

The fact that I found the love of my life here was only a bonus.

As far as lifstyle issues are concerned, I designed my own house, so I could live in what I consider comfort. I don't believe "going native" is a requirement, nor is learning Thai.

I don't drink or smoke, rarely eat beef anymore as it is so expensive here and virtually tasteless to me. Thai food is generally too spicy for me.

I don't frequent bars.

I live comforatably on 40k baht a month in the provinces and save more than that from my pension income stream. No health insurance.

I must be doing something right, because I have never been happier in my life, and I have lived a very colorful one at that. I don't have but a very few friends, nor have I ever. I could be considered a "loner" by "social types", or considered happy with my own company by others.

In answer to your questions, yes. I have re-created by western lifestyle here in Thailand, and would have done so in my home country had I not lost my modest fortune from the shenanigans of unlawful and immoral business executives. I don't drink.

[Stocky]

The second issue is that the great majority appear to like a regular drink or three. I wonder how much you spend on the amber necter, the water of life over a year. It must add up some.

I could have bought several breweries by now

[andyinkat]

Thanks, interesting replies so far - aplogies if I came over smug - that wasn't my intention. 'Shedloads' is slang for 'lots' and to clarify I guess I'm thinking of around 100k baht+ per month income as well as having your own property, and advice not to relocate to Thailand unless you have well over 2 million bt in savings.

The positions outlined so far seem to range between having a higher standard of living to that enjoyed in the west to downscaling a bit but still being comfortable.

[pnustedt]

Of course a lot depends on your life-style and where in Thailand you're going to live, but I think US$1,000 a month (or Bt40K) would be the min. provision. To achieve this over a long period you should work on a drawdown of 4% from your investment, therefore you would need an investment of Bt12 million.

[Ajarn]

The Thai government have a yardstick - if you want to live here on (say) a retirement visa, you need 800 thousand baht per year. If you want to work here, a work permit requires that you earn 45,000 to 60,000 per month derending on nationality. And these are the minimum requirements to be legal.

Not really true, except for the Retirement visa, or Resident visa, I think. Otherwise, the income/money requirements are only for a one-year visa extension stamp, as I recently confirmed with immigration. You can still get a stamp for 90,or fewer, days, depending on circumstances. And you can still get a WP, but it's validity is only as long as your immigration stamp

[Begs]

Personally, I reckon on the 800k per annum as being borderline sufficient, as I have a wife and daughter to support. No excessive lifestyle, I seldom drink, no booze in the house. If I drink - it is at a bar, with friends.

My off-work clothing is shorts and thongs. My food is mainly Thai. I will buy a house soon, out of money kept outside the Kingdom.

So what do you spend 800,000 baht a year on then?