The Price Of Living In Thailand

[sgunn65]

Iwent back to the UK ofr a couple of weeks recently and will compare some of the things I have bought recently

Ciggies UK 356 baht Thai 63 baht

Bottle of Heinekin UK 200 baht Thai 60 baht (both in bars)

Thai meal for two UK 2000 baht Thai 200 baht

TOp of the range honda UK smaller engine UK 1.8 mill Thai 1.46 mill

40 inch TV UK 40000 Thai 38500

Pr combat trousers UK 2500 Thai 350

2 storey extension including western kitchen and bathroom UK approx 4 million Thai 200,000

Small bottle of water UK 40 Thai 8

2 nights hotel in capital UK 35000 Thai 5000

Good quality wooden pool bed UK 15000 Thai 4400

Scale and polish teeth UK 4000 Thai 700

Haircut in good salon UK 2500 Thai 500

Taxi from Heathrow/Suvarnabhumi to centre of city (approx same distance) UK 3500 Thai 400

These are all things I have purchased in Bangkok, London or Kan.

All prices are relative to income so the real test is how much something costs as a percentage of your income not the actual price. I did find that when I was in UK I did not turn a hair at paying 15 pounds for a round of drinks as i probably have not lived here long enough.

[PattayaParent]

So I just did a check on car prices, of the same model, from Car Prices UK and the Thailand Toyota website:

Toyota Yaris: prices shown are bottom of the range and top of the range

UK price

GBP 8,295 to 14,095

UK price in Baht

THB 560,000 to 884,463

Toyota Thailand Price

THB 524,000 to 699,000

Actually looks like UK is more expensive . . . . .

And don't forget you've got to get the car to move.

Petrol 4X the price in UK.

Insurance 3X the price in UK.

Road tax ??????

[clausewitz]

Petrol 4X the price in UK.

Insurance 3X the price in UK.

Road tax ??????

Petrol is 4 times more expensive here than in UK .

You crack me up.

[ashacat]

I think a few of these examples are pretty unfair.

For example.

Cars. If you compare a larger selection of cars, I think that you will find that Thailand is actually more expensive than the UK and Europe (mainly because of tax of course).

Drink. I tend spend about the same amount on drinks in Thailand as I would in the UK. Kilkenny: 225 here and about 190 in the UK. Bottle of beer (decent bar) around 150 here and around 180 in the UK. Glass of wine 250 here and maybe 180 in the UK. I haven't spent 60 Baht for a bottle of Heineken for a long time, although I am sure you still can.

Haircuts. I spend 1,500 here in Thailand for a "quality" of haircut that would cost about 1,200 in the UK.

Designer clothes. These still seem to be cheaper in the UK. Especially since alot of the shops in the UK are willing to heavily reduce prices in the sale season as opposed to 10-15% "sales" lasting 12 months!

Despite the above, obviously Thailand is cheaper than the UK and Europe. Just wanted to add my 2 pence worth.

Edited April 22, 2008 by ashacat

[hanibal7]

How anybody can say that its cheaper to live in uk is beyond me.

housing/renting

tax on wages

taxes in general

car insurance

raod tax

food(thai v farang)

tv license

labour for repairs to house/car etc

motorbikes( cannot drive in uk due to bad weather)

speeding fines

clothes (designer v anything to wear in thailand)

booze

private health

private schooling

i could go on for another 10 mins but anybody bored here can work the costs out.

i rest my case

happy,happy early retiree

[a2396]

I have been banging this (often unpopular) drum in a few threads here and on Phuket info.. Thailand is not cheap for those that dont wish to live a Thai lifestyle. If you want to live a relatively normal middle class western lifestyle with western quality of goods and services, they cost more here than they do in the west. If you downsize and live in a little 15k a month Thai home, badly wired, badly plumbed, badly tiled in ugly cheap thai style, exist on rice and local dishes, etc etc then sure you can live much cheaper, but your not comparing apples and apples often. When I see a relatively well off 50 year old guy riding around on a mio when back in the west he would be driving a beemer then you have to accept theres trade offs.

This is why I have been saying for a long time that Phuket trying for the 'high net worth' residents is a tough sell.. For a high net worth type lifestyle its actually far more expensive here than back in the west. Sure getting a maid is cheap but it takes a lot of cheap laundry to make up the many 100k USD difference that driving an SL Merc costs.

I am not in the high net worth spending brackets, but after a few years living here Thai style I have got bored with that way of living and have attempted to upgrade to only what I would consider a 'normal' life, I accept I cant (and the roads would have no use for) own the kind of cars I used to, but even minor upgrades to living standards start becoming many multiples over basic existence.

Tourist places, such as Phuket are no doubt more expensive than other locations in Thailand. Where I live in Issan, I rent a 3br 2ba newly constructed house, in a new subdivision with security, for 10,000 bht. I mostly eat Thai food. I think that is one of the advantages of living here. Food cooked as you wait, from fresh ingredients. Back home, mid-level restaurants served micro-waved slop for $10 + per plate. Many street food choices here cost only 25-30 bht, about one US dollar. I ride around on a Mio, because it saves me money and I actually enjoy it. I could never afford a "beemer" now or at any time in my life, although I did own a new Audi once. AND, we haven't even discussed the ladies. LOS is crawling with gold-digging women. who definately require considerable scrutiny, but at least I have some choices. Back home, I'd be lucky to find some overweight sow, with plenty of "attitude". As for the Mercedes, I'll have to wait until the next life.

[bendix]

I base the comparison not on just on it costs to maintain my lifestyle, but what I can save for the future too.

I not only have a better quality of life here (based on type of accommodation, meals out, the little perks like driving to and from work in a nice car etc) than I would in London, but I'm also able to save around half my takehome salary here. That would simply be impossible in London.

For me, there is no comparison.

[Viper]

I recon if you sum it all up, we are better of living in Thailand in the long term, as long as we eat traditional thai meals from the BBQ's in the streets and or at the local Thai restaurants, and live in the traditional way of the Thai folk, buying are copied clothing from local market. Indeed it is possible to survive on low income low budget, and when we feel the need to treat our self's to luxuries we should be prepared to pay overly excessive prices.

For me there is no justification on price of imported goods as most if not all consumer goods are imported from China, who are pretty much our close neighbor. I think the reason is basically the Thai government choose to charge duty on the goods that are beyond any fairness of product type, in addition to high rent for shops, equals high retail goods prices. Luxuries are charged at 20% value of the goods. Toys are charged at 60% the value of the goods etc. In UK duty on imported toys are 0-4.7% duty.

Ok i agree sunshine is free in Thailand, but the price of electric to pay on aircon when we need to cool down for a sleep can be quite expensive. My electric bill has just risen from 3000 baht to 5000 baht per month I pay 4000 each quarter in UK. My conclusion is to get out of bangkok, dont buy and luxuries and just live the rest of my life like the normal Thai country folk live

[bikerlou47]

Ive just spent 4 months in the UK where I hardly spent a penny - Not because im a cheap Charlie but because retail goods and the general price of living seems far cheaper now-a-days.

I have recently noticed that electrical items and sundries etc have increased in price significantly! Price of Xbox 360 live 19000 baht and in UK 12500 baht. Mobile phones, washing machines, LCD TV's, Sun Glasses, Super market food etc etc, all cheaper in England. I can only assume that customs charges on imported goods are subject to high duty and taxes.

I wrote a small article that can be seen at www.lifeofriley.org this article was written last year now prices are higher especially fuel.

A few prices that I have chacked out in the last week,

Coffee at Starbucks is about 35 USD/lb

New Zealand steaks are about the same 35 USD/lb

Gas is about 4.50 a gallon

Non alcoholic beer is about 3.00 USD for a small can or bottle (my girl loves it)

Bottom line if you would like to have a car and live a life similar to your home country it is much more expensive here.

[LivinLOS]

Cars. If you compare a larger selection of cars, I think that you will find that Thailand is actually more expensive than the UK and Europe (mainly because of tax of course).

Drink. I tend spend about the same amount on drinks in Thailand as I would in the UK. Kilkenny: 225 here and about 190 in the UK. Bottle of beer (decent bar) around 150 here and around 180 in the UK. Glass of wine 250 here and maybe 180 in the UK. I haven't spent 60 Baht for a bottle of Heineken for a long time, although I am sure you still can.

Designer clothes. These still seem to be cheaper in the UK. Especially since alot of the shops in the UK are willing to heavily reduce prices in the sale season as opposed to 10-15% "sales" lasting 12 months

Re clothes.. If you want nice stuff you dont buy the Thai market junk.. I do buy T shirts from the market but they shrink, XXL is about a UK L and they are good for a few washes before they are not to be worn out.. Conversely I have UK stuff that I can still wear 5 years after buying it..

Drinks.. I usually drink Blackthorn @ 150 baht a can.. >2GBP for a tinnie.. Less than a pint.. About break even ??

Cars, and thats new cars and ASEAN only.. Look at a german car, or look at second hand 2 and 3 year old cars.. A tiny fraction of the Thai price.

[DP25]

yeah, that is why i didn't think they manufactured cars in Thailand, although I do remember now having heard about the Japanese complaining about business regulations last year. There must be an awesome number of Cops/Generals driving around in brand new cars which were "misplaced".

You joking? Thailand is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world these days. They manufacture about 1.3 million per year right now, about the same as Italy, and almost as much as the UK. Factories are being built that should increase it to over 2 million in a few years, surpassing both. They're not gonna get up there in numbers with the US, Japan, China, or Korea any time soon however.

And yeah, they make the parts here too.

[LivinLOS]

housing/renting

My last place was 70k a month.. Trying to replace that I looked at all kinds of stuff even 140k a month for a 2 bed terrace house !! was way more then a UK rental for the same quality.. You dont find much of western build levels for under 50k here on Phuket. My mother spends less to rent a nice seaview house in Devon !! Plus she qualifies for rent assistance, medical care, etc etc etc

tax on wages

taxes in general

I dont work.. No tax except VAT.. Heres the sales tax on imported items like wines and stuff I post into the country often is higher, where there its all in the high street without import dutys calculated by stubborn thieving customs agents.

car insurance

Well I am about 8k to insure an old VW golf.. The golf is 'worth' here about >200k but in UK would be 500 quid tops.. So the insurace would be cheaper and the car about 5X cheaper !!

raod tax

agreed, but then look at the roads.

food(thai v farang)

Home cooked is about break even, just did a basic weekly shop of bits in carrefore and it was >5k.. Nice cheeses, pates, peaches, salamis, etc.. Sure some staples are cheaper but thats easily wiped out on a couple of 400 baht goat cheeses.

tv license

You mean the UK's free TV v the 1500 baht UBC ???

labour for repairs to house/car etc

Agreed, much i can and would do myself. In fact Thai wormanship being what it is I often do here simply so that i know its done right !!

motorbikes( cannot drive in uk due to bad weather)

Your joking right ?? Priced up big bikes here v Europe ?? 2 or 3x the price !!

speeding fines

If your pay them.. I have a way that I dont ever have to.

clothes (designer v anything to wear in thailand)

Cheap crap is here cheap.. Good stuff same or more.. I end u buying a lot on the internet and shipping it in.. Shoes etc too. I also buy lots of gear on Bali as the quality seems much better in the surf shops and actually lasts a while.

booze

What you mean nice wines ?? Good brandys ??

private health

private schooling

Healthcare free.. Schooling of a adequate level free..

i rest my case

Me too !!

[LivinLOS]

I am not trying to paint some doom and gloom scenario.. I readily agree that if your prepared to compromise the level of your living standard down to Thai style or high end thai style, you exist cheaper here then you can bare minimum exist back in the west..

But the idea of it being cheaper for the well off to relocate here or cheaper even to maintain what I consider a pretty normal western lifestyle here.. I dont think so. To make it cheaper you essentially have to lower your expectations on quality.

[ashacat]

But the idea of it being cheaper for the well off to relocate here or cheaper even to maintain what I consider a pretty normal western lifestyle here.. I dont think so. To make it cheaper you essentially have to lower your expectations on quality.

Agreed.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

If you had bought a place you would not be worrying about the rent going up, which it will keep doing.

[zorro1]

This thread has no meaning what so ever, its extremely vague in its attempt to establish a lifestyle connection between thousands of people all with different values. It achieves nothing at all. There are even some posts saying yeah its cheaper if your in Issan. Well I can tell you its cheaper to live in the outback in a tent in oz and shoot the odd roo for tucker but so what? The question is which country gives your more options? Can you pay 60 bht for a beer in the heart of London? NOPE. Can you pay 300 Bht for a guinness in BKK? YES but you have an option. Same goes for food and water and shelter which are the necessities. Apparently you can get a room in BKK for 500bht according to some posters, so can you get one in London without sharing with 6 others? NOPE.

Thailand offers you many more options, satisifying the super wealthy or the desperately poor

[LivinLOS]

If you had bought a place you would not be worrying about the rent going up, which it will keep doing.

No and I wouldnt have made the 300% return on my assets on 5 or so years that I have done either.. So a modest 10m baht home would have lost me 30m baht in asset appreciation !!

The 70k a month rent (to rent a 25m valued villa I may add) that I did pay looks pretty tiny next to that 30m baht I have generated !! If I had bought the 25m baht villa, which I should point out has since been destroyed in a landslide losing the owner everything with no insured cover !!! I would have 'lost' out on 75m baht in asset appreciation !!

Renting for the 3 years I lived there

70k x 36 +- 2.5m spent

25m approx 250% lost return over the 3 years = 62.5m lost in asset appreciation

So I lose about 60 million baht to buy over the period !!

Buying

25m out.. total investment lost

Rent free tho, after the maintenance which was probably about 10k per month or about 360k for the 3 years.

Doesnt look so good when you actually study the numbers for what really happened to me does it ??

Thats without the ability to simply walk away or leave the country or have total freedom !!

Edited April 22, 2008 by LivinLOS

[Heng]

Folks should also consider that many people will not be able to increase their income levels (as their needs increase: children, schooling, and of course all the people who suddenly decide that they'd rather own than rent...I see it in the eyes of my older tenants when they move out, it's the "I'm getting tired of moving, mommy" look) once they relocate here. The last thing you want to do is join the crowd that hangs onto every single tenth of a point of forex fluctuation with white knuckles.

[Naam]

Ok i agree sunshine is free in Thailand, but the price of electric to pay on aircon when we need to cool down for a sleep can be quite expensive. My electric bill has just risen from 3000 baht to 5000 baht per month I pay 4000 each quarter in UK.

hmmm... and in winter you wear a furcoat and a cap in your UK home and therefore you don't spend any penny on heating?

[Naam]

Haircuts. I spend 1,500 here in Thailand for a "quality" of haircut that would cost about 1,200 in the UK.

all over the world a haircut combined with a blowjob is more expensive than a haircut without.

[Naam]

I have been banging this (often unpopular) drum in a few threads here and on Phuket info.. Thailand is not cheap for those that dont wish to live a Thai lifestyle. If you want to live a relatively normal middle class western lifestyle with western quality of goods and services, they cost more here than they do in the west.

and i am banging for the umpteenth time the drum that i live a much more comfortable lifestyle in Thailand than in my home country and my cost of living is in comparison to Germany "zero, nada, rien, niente, zilch, null" as it's paid for by the income tax i save.

[Gary A]

Haircuts. I spend 1,500 here in Thailand for a "quality" of haircut that would cost about 1,200 in the UK.

all over the world a haircut combined with a blowjob is more expensive than a haircut without.

I really didn't know a haircut with BJ was commonly available in the UK. Here in the village a haircut is still 25 baht. It recently went from 20 to 25 baht. Of course I am a big tipper and give the barber 40 baht. (No BJ included).

A big bottle of Archa beer is still 35 baht at my favorite watering hole but I expect it to go up to 40 baht soon. Again I am a big tipper and always give her a tip that makes the beer at least 40 baht per bottle.

My Nissan pickup truck suffered a broken back window. The Nissan dealer replaced the rear window, washed the truck and re aligned the head lights for a whopping 1,308 baht. I had raised the front of the pickup so the lights aimed a little high. The replacement window was OEM and had the heating strips included.

Repaining a puncture in a tire cost me 35 baht. We also have a trash pickup. They pickup twice a week. That service will no doubt go up in price too. This year it was 100 baht for the entire year.

[Naam]

Here in the village a haircut is still 25 baht. It recently went from 20 to 25 baht.

We also have a trash pickup. They pickup twice a week. That service will no doubt go up in price too. This year it was 100 baht for the entire year.

these fancy costs explain why you live in a moderate home with slightly less than 16 aircons

Edited April 23, 2008 by Naam

[Gary A]

Here in the village a haircut is still 25 baht. It recently went from 20 to 25 baht.

We also have a trash pickup. They pickup twice a week. That service will no doubt go up in price too. This year it was 100 baht for the entire year.

these fancy costs explain why you live in a moderate home with slightly less than 16 aircons

With the high cost of living here, one must scrimp somewhere, so a smaller house is the easiest way for me.

[waza]

Excellent pionts. I cant afford to live in Thailand at the moment, but as a tourist, I can say that prices are not that cheap in Thailand. I can rent a three bedroom house in Aus for the price as a Hotel in BKK, beer and farrang food is the same price. Health care is free here, and the price of goods, electrics, clothes ect are cheaper in Aus. But taxi and Bar girls are about 25% of the cost in Aus. But if you take in the airfares, travel insurance ect it is much more expensive to live as a tourist in BKK, than to live in Aus for a month.

[LivinLOS]

Folks should also consider that many people will not be able to increase their income levels (as their needs increase: children, schooling, and of course all the people who suddenly decide that they'd rather own than rent...I see it in the eyes of my older tenants when they move out, it's the "I'm getting tired of moving, mommy" look) once they relocate here. The last thing you want to do is join the crowd that hangs onto every single tenth of a point of forex fluctuation with white knuckles.

Anther good point.. There I can make 100's of k per annum.. here I just spend..

[zorro1]

Excellent pionts. I cant afford to live in Thailand at the moment, but as a tourist, I can say that prices are not that cheap in Thailand. I can rent a three bedroom house in Aus for the price as a Hotel in BKK, beer and farrang food is the same price. Health care is free here, and the price of goods, electrics, clothes ect are cheaper in Aus. But taxi and Bar girls are about 25% of the cost in Aus. But if you take in the airfares, travel insurance ect it is much more expensive to live as a tourist in BKK, than to live in Aus for a month.

Waza Waza Waza what are ya saying mate?? where can you rent a 3 bedroom house in Sydney city for less than a hotel? where? Anyway I got good news for ya. If you have a toss its TOTALLY free no 25 % NO AIRFARE no nothin

[ade100]

Thailand is simply the most expensive country I have ever lived in, anywhere in the world. The price of Champagne is astronomical and further more, the financial analysts and not expecting an imminent decrease in the Champagne prices.

I understand there are one or two novelty items available very cheaply in the country, such as noodles, pineapples and elephants, but this is inconsequential when managing the household budget. One has to focus on the essentials, the basics, the “cant-live-withouts”, and of course, as with any civilised household, Champage is top of the list.

Back home on the French Riviera, the cost of living with a fraction of what it is here.

[icequeen]

If you can catch the special offers in places like Macro electrical goods can be as cheap or cheaper than UK.

Last week I bought a 26in LCD tv from Macro for 9,900b, next day it was priced at 16,900b - one of the rare occasions I am in the right place at the right time

A friend bought a fridge freezer from there on a similar special offer 5,900b

Both were good makes as well, will definately be going there next time I need to replace anything electrical.

[a2396]

I recon if you sum it all up, we are better of living in Thailand in the long term, as long as we eat traditional thai meals from the BBQ's in the streets and or at the local Thai restaurants, and live in the traditional way of the Thai folk, buying are copied clothing from local market. Indeed it is possible to survive on low income low budget, and when we feel the need to treat our self's to luxuries we should be prepared to pay overly excessive prices.

For me there is no justification on price of imported goods as most if not all consumer goods are imported from China, who are pretty much our close neighbor. I think the reason is basically the Thai government choose to charge duty on the goods that are beyond any fairness of product type, in addition to high rent for shops, equals high retail goods prices. Luxuries are charged at 20% value of the goods. Toys are charged at 60% the value of the goods etc. In UK duty on imported toys are 0-4.7% duty.

Ok i agree sunshine is free in Thailand, but the price of electric to pay on aircon when we need to cool down for a sleep can be quite expensive. My electric bill has just risen from 3000 baht to 5000 baht per month I pay 4000 each quarter in UK. My conclusion is to get out of bangkok, dont buy and luxuries and just live the rest of my life like the normal Thai country folk live

Fortunately, I'm old enough not to be interested in playing with toys, unless live ones in short skirts.