Trip Back Home

[lannarebirth]

When I was a kid in the early 60's I paid 75 cents for a bleacher seat at Candlestick, then would work my way in to the box seats. Fond, freezing cold memories.

[jonniebkk]

When I was a kid in the early 60's I paid 75 cents for a bleacher seat at Candlestick, then would work my way in to the box seats. Fond, freezing cold memories.

You're dating yourself Lanna

Bleachers at the new park cost $ 27.00!!! The bleacher seats are really great at the new ballpark, however, as it's not that big a field and the seats are low and just off the field (and if you turnaround, you have an unobstructed view of SF Bay, the Bay Bridge, and the East Bay Hills. Next time, I will probably get bleacher seats!

[Ulysses G.]

Another comparison I can offer was a restaurant that was basically full had on their menu "2 eggs any style, with bacon and toast" for $ 14.00 ( B 448). So basically, 2 fried eggs, a couple strips of fancy bacon and toast for 15 bucks...and the place was full. Apparently there is no recession in San Francisco!

That is for the trendy and stupidly rich.

My guess is that you could get a good breakfast for about $3 dollars if you go over by the bus station a few blocks away.

[altman]

i had to go back to the usa for a couple of weeks last august.

the 'dollar tree' or similar stores were a treasure as they had many things cheap. $1 each. so i bought those and brought them back here. trader joes had cheap wines so i drank as much as i could while there. i brought back the single malt scotch.

the mexican food, pizza, and bbq rib places were my favorites to pig out in. nothing comparable here.

some friends wanted to go out and have a real thai meal. and asked me, who hadn't been to the states for years, to recommend a place!!?? the price of that was a shocker! forgot exact prices but i could have eaten thai food here for a week (month?) on what that meal cost. and it would have been far far better here.

clothes are not as cheap here as one might expect.

accommodation is cheap here and very very dear there.

medical care is far far superior here than in the states. i can walk into chiang mai ram and without an appointment see a specialist within minutes for which i will be charged about 200 baht for his services. that just will not happen, regardless of your medical plan or health care coverage, in the states. and medical coverage costs a monthly fee which you will pay whether you use it or not. in thailand, if i get the sniffles, i go to the hospital and have it taken care of. then i forget about it.

recently thaksin brought his manchester city team to play in bkk. seats cost, (i think), 500 baht max. beer chiang would have been about 40 - 60 baht per large bottle in the park (if they sell it). chicken satay maybe 20 baht. a day in the ball park maybe 600 baht. moto-dops would find a way to do it for less.

anyway there's my 2 cents, now devalued and inflated to 1.25 cents, worth.

[thailand_tom]

this is what i been saying ..Thailand is not cheap..also you are living in one of the most expensive areas in the united states..sf..very expensive compared to other cities in the united states..i moved back here a year ago..i really do not want to go back to Thailand..

[jonniebkk]

Well folks...I'm signing-off from the USA and will be heading to the airport in a couple hours for the flight back to Thailand. It has been a great trip and I had a great time doing and eating things that are not available in LOS. As to the theme of op, yes, many prices are much more expensive than in Thailand and many things are the same, or even cheaper. There are many things that are not available in either country respectively at any price. Overall, it's pretty easy to say the Thailand has a generally lower cost of living for anyone wanting a comfortable place to live...but you do give up many things, especially in infrastructure. Having lived in LOS for a decade now, I am feeling a very strong pull to return to the USA. I am in the fortunate position where finances are not really a factor...it's more where I enjoy myself more. I have enjoyed and experienced many things in Thailand and don't regret for a minute the time I have spent there. However, I ask myself the question: Do I want to spend the next 30 years of my life there? That is the question I will be pondering over the next few months.

One final price comparison. I did get to pop into a neighborhood dental clinic and inquire about pricing for dental services. I was almost bowled over by the prices the receptionist quoted me. Mind you, these were "rack" rates for a walk-in customer and not prices charged for dental plan or insurance clients I'm sure. You may also be able to get a discount for cash upfront. Anyway, here are the prices:: Initial (first-time) oral exam and cleaning/polishing $ 190.00 (B 6080) and semi-annual exams/cleaning $ 160.00 (B 5120). In Pattaya (and Bangkok too) the most one would pay for a cleaning/polishing would be $ 32 (B 1000) and in Pattaya, my nice farang oriented clinic charges $ 16.00 (B 500) for this. Just be sure to brush and floss your teeth religiously in America because a porcelain filling at this clinic would cost you from $ 240-$ 450 ( B 7680-B 14,400) depending of size/number of surfaces. For fillings in Pattaya, I pay around $ 16-$ 47 (B 500-B 1500). The quality of work I get done in Thailand seems to be fine and I don't know if there is anything more to the services provided in the US or if it's just the higher MDs fees and office costs that accounts for the astromical difference.

If I do return Stateside in the future, I'll still visit LOS at least once a year and I'll be sure to have my dental work done then!

[jfchandler]

Thanks for your many posts and diligent hard work for TV while traveling....

Have a safe trip "home"....

I'm due to go back for two weeks starting in mid June....

[Tinkelbell]

Hi John,

Have a safe trip back to BKK.

Thanks with appreciation for the time and effort in which you had spent on gathering the pricing comparison on this great threads. It's very helpful with our daily life.

Tink

[Tinkelbell]

quoted..........."Matthew (hubby) is thinking seriously about Hawaii, Maui......."

Teacup,

Why Hawaii -Maui ? May I ask?

I'm sure your hubby might have some good reasons for relocating in Maui.

Compares expensive places that we had been to; San Francisco, Oahu, Maui, NY. From my own experience, NY and S/F are about the same on housing and grocery. Oahu costs a little more, Maui (in '06 ) even on top of Oahu.

[AmeriThai]

Well folks...I'm signing-off from the USA and will be heading to the airport in a couple hours for the flight back to Thailand. It has been a great trip and I had a great time doing and eating things that are not available in LOS. As to the theme of op, yes, many prices are much more expensive than in Thailand and many things are the same, or even cheaper. There are many things that are not available in either country respectively at any price. Overall, it's pretty easy to say the Thailand has a generally lower cost of living for anyone wanting a comfortable place to live...but you do give up many things, especially in infrastructure. Having lived in LOS for a decade now, I am feeling a very strong pull to return to the USA. I am in the fortunate position where finances are not really a factor...it's more where I enjoy myself more. I have enjoyed and experienced many things in Thailand and don't regret for a minute the time I have spent there. However, I ask myself the question: Do I want to spend the next 30 years of my life there? That is the question I will be pondering over the next few months.

One final price comparison. I did get to pop into a neighborhood dental clinic and inquire about pricing for dental services. I was almost bowled over by the prices the receptionist quoted me. Mind you, these were "rack" rates for a walk-in customer and not prices charged for dental plan or insurance clients I'm sure. You may also be able to get a discount for cash upfront. Anyway, here are the prices:: Initial (first-time) oral exam and cleaning/polishing $ 190.00 (B 6080) and semi-annual exams/cleaning $ 160.00 (B 5120). In Pattaya (and Bangkok too) the most one would pay for a cleaning/polishing would be $ 32 (B 1000) and in Pattaya, my nice farang oriented clinic charges $ 16.00 (B 500) for this. Just be sure to brush and floss your teeth religiously in America because a porcelain filling at this clinic would cost you from $ 240-$ 450 ( B 7680-B 14,400) depending of size/number of surfaces. For fillings in Pattaya, I pay around $ 16-$ 47 (B 500-B 1500). The quality of work I get done in Thailand seems to be fine and I don't know if there is anything more to the services provided in the US or if it's just the higher MDs fees and office costs that accounts for the astromical difference.

If I do return Stateside in the future, I'll still visit LOS at least once a year and I'll be sure to have my dental work done then!

Thanks for the interesting thread!

I agree, dental costs in Thailand are a bargain in comparison to the same in the U.S. I don't prices are higher in the U.S. due to "anything more to the services provided". Indeed it's the higher professional fees, higher staff wages and benefits, higher office costs, and higher legal insurance rates. Price for price, for what you get, Thailand offers a better bargain in dental services.

Although not a dental matter, when I had an MRI scan done a few years ago (I've had two done in Thailand), the clinic provided cold water or orange juice to drink. The scan itself was equal in high quality to anything in the U.S. When I was finished, they hailed a taxi to the door, three staff members escorted my wife and I with a large umbrella (for shade from the sun) to the taxi, and gave us a farewell wai. And the price in comparison was a true bargain. When was the last time that kind of service happened to anyone in the U.S.?

[teacup]

quoted..........."Matthew (hubby) is thinking seriously about Hawaii, Maui......."

Teacup,

Why Hawaii -Maui ? May I ask?

I'm sure your hubby might have some good reasons for relocating in Maui.

Compares expensive places that we had been to; San Francisco, Oahu, Maui, NY. From my own experience, NY and S/F are about the same on housing and grocery. Oahu costs a little more, Maui (in '06 ) even on top of Oahu.

FOR US, San Francisco is not that expensive, only the skyrocketing in housing price. We can find many good asian cuisines much cheaper & more readily available than Seattle. We used to have a house there in South San Francisco hill overlooking the airport, in which later we sold it in 1993 - too many problems w/ the renters and being in another state didn’t help much in managing the property properly.

Why Maui-Hawaii?

Good question and it’s something we’re planning to find out for sure, sometimes this year.

In our opinion, the place has many advantages over Thailand

1 - being still in the US, so my husband can own land

2 -less problem in mail forwarding, banking, and custom issues etc.

3 -housing and infrastructure standard are much better

4 - not too close to my family

5 - Matthew can still be able to work there if chooses to (his profession is prohibited in Thailand as a foreigner)

6 - in additon to: I'm more comfortable w/ using english over thai on daily basis, and better dealing w/ people in the english speaking environment.

And among other things…..

As for choosing Maui over Oahu

Oahu is too crowded for us and a bit too hot, VS in Maui we can live up the mountain which is much cooler and better view. I know Maui is abit more expensive but we will have a bigger lot than Oahu.

Well it’s not certainly set in the stone yet, just “may be” at this point. However thailand is not out of the picture yet, just the runner up for now.

What about you? Aren’t you thinking about going back to Thailand for good in the near future?

TC

Edited May 21, 2008 by teacup