Cost Of Living

[fredfromalaska]

r u also saying yr housing expense in chiang mai is comparable to sf . what u save there should take care of the rest.

[LinkPopularity]

What we did not expect was that some basic things will be dearer.

I compared a small tub of Nutella I bought at 150 THB, versus a pack of 2 gigantic tubs of it for around USD 8.

:jerk:

so no more

[OxfordWill]

agree 100% towels, for example, are expensive. You have to use the knock off thing useless ones from a little market if you want cheap. Otherwise its more expensive than back home. Silly! If you speak with people in the business of deciding how much a product gets sold for in a large store like tesco, big c etc you will find that the markup is also much larger than back home (on average). I know this because a friend did a thesis on exactly this comparing thailand to british Tescos. Of course if you want to live in a rice field then itll all be much cheaper, although I doubt you needed so many posters to point that out to you.

[canadianmonkey]

my house is about 30k cheaper than it should be rented out.(20k)

I have stopped eating farang food.. maybe 3 times a month.

I don't buy cheese anymore... eat almost always from street/farmer's market or 35baht restaurant and soups.

I don't pay for clothes or entertainement as i have everything i could ever need.

My only expense is gaz and dog food.. sometimes a 200-300 baht here and there(rare) and my gym/proteins(3500baht a month aprox)

Yet my life was cheaper in suburbs of canada in upper middle class areas.

Here hospitals are sick expensive, engines are horrible so they use a lot of gas if you try to start up in a hill or try to go fast quickly. which makes gas costs a lot in the long run.

Food is UNFILLING for someone in shape, you get hungry 5mins after a 30baht meal and if u go farmer's market, to get enough food to fill you (i eat 6 medium meals a day and mind you im only 75kg) it ocosts 100 up to 300 baht everytime(and thats just for myself, i have a gf too)

I asked my relative in canada, they eat upper class food every meal, tons of wine, good salmon and meats(not cheap there too)

3-4 meals a day.. and guess what, they're monthly food bill is LESS than mine for my tiny gf and i and we only eat thai food. no more wine.

and dear god when i wanted to eat decent food here, my bill trippled easly.. 1 subway.. 300baht+gaz, 1 dijon mustard like 150baht for nothing.. Salso for nachos.. 200baht for a small countainer + the bags of nacho seriously overpriced to 60baht. for 200baht back home i can buy 1.5L of salsa...

Food is insanely expensive here if you like to eat healthy (lol 35baht for a small bag of zukini,onions etc etc @ market thats just a side dish <deleted>)

Houses are insanely overpriced and expensive...

Gaz is about same price.

luxury items are quite more expensive and the profit margin is higher too.

Traveling around thailand is insanely expensive if you want minimum comfort... most of the VIP bus are either scams by agencys or old vip buses with cheap raisin bread.. the only decent VIP buses i have taken are from phuket to bangkok.. from anywhere to phuket its always some old trashy bus.. 30$ USD for a 12hrs hel_l ride.. sometimes 24hrs.

visa runs are insanely expensive..

Wifi in bangkok.. 200baht for like 30mins or 1hour... seriously? then u serve a 300baht frozen breakfast and a 100baht small apple juice?

i could go on for a while, thailand is FAR from being cheap. its more expensive than the west unless you enjoy living like a poor farmer, actually my granny lives on a woodland from not that much money in canada and her standard of living are far higher than a thai for the same ammount of $

i moved here thinking i could live my same lifestyle and save $ at the same time, but unfortunately the only addition to my life i have here is the sun and beautiful girls walking around.

dont get me started on cars.. 100hp for like 500 000baht... WHUT

Although it would be very cheap to live here if i built my own house, with enough land to have a couple cow's for meat and also be close to a decent city... then i would be able to eat free burgers and live off a very good life on 15k baht a month..

personally im gonna come back in thailand when i can pay a 10 mil house in $(furniture included) then live off 10-15k a month

Edited December 4, 2008 by canadianmonkey

[jdinasia]

I got the good full sized bath towels for 157 baht at Tesco and they were BOGO (Buy one get one free).

You just have to watch and know when/what to buy.

How the CanadianMonkey can make the claims he does is beyond me!

[fredfromalaska]

WHUT!

compared to west los is CHEEP!

[Bangyai]

I moved here thinking i could live my same lifestyle and save $ at the same time, but unfortunately the only addition to my life i have here is the sun and beautiful girls walking around.

Sigh.........lifes a bitch and then you die.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

WHUT!

compared to west los is CHEEP!

What part of Alaska you from fred?

[Ulysses G.]

i moved here thinking i could live my same lifestyle and save $ at the same time, but unfortunately the only addition to my life i have here is the sun and beautiful girls walking around.

I pay WAY less for accomodation and WAY less for food even though I am not crazy about Thai food. Of course, many imported items are more expensive, but I don't need many. I just don't see how anyway with any sense could not live more cheaply here.

[nopainnobrain]

I think that a lot depends on how often you bpai tiao puuying: once a day/week/2 weeks.

I could spend 500 and 5000 bahts a day.

[patklang]

I have noticed an increase in general living here but i expected it,like any other country,there is inflation.Current exchange rates dont help and also the stocks are still way down for me,but i live comfortable by my atandards.

I dont start crying if nutela is more expensive though lol.

fresh veg,fish,good quality meat are the main ingrediants for a heathy living so my quality of life is betetr.

[Ulysses G.]

I think that a lot depends on how often you bpai tiao puuying: once a day/week/2 weeks.

I could spend 500 and 5000 bahts a day.

If you were watching your pennies, that would not even be a consideration in Western Countries. Be thankful!

[lazygourmet]

my house is about 30k cheaper than it should be rented out.(20k)

I have stopped eating farang food.. maybe 3 times a month.

I don't buy cheese anymore... eat almost always from street/farmer's market or 35baht restaurant and soups.

I don't pay for clothes or entertainement as i have everything i could ever need.

My only expense is gaz and dog food.. sometimes a 200-300 baht here and there(rare) and my gym/proteins(3500baht a month aprox)

Yet my life was cheaper in suburbs of canada in upper middle class areas.

Here hospitals are sick expensive, engines are horrible so they use a lot of gas if you try to start up in a hill or try to go fast quickly. which makes gas costs a lot in the long run.

Food is UNFILLING for someone in shape, you get hungry 5mins after a 30baht meal and if u go farmer's market, to get enough food to fill you (i eat 6 medium meals a day and mind you im only 75kg) it ocosts 100 up to 300 baht everytime(and thats just for myself, i have a gf too)

I asked my relative in canada, they eat upper class food every meal, tons of wine, good salmon and meats(not cheap there too)

3-4 meals a day.. and guess what, they're monthly food bill is LESS than mine for my tiny gf and i and we only eat thai food. no more wine.

and dear god when i wanted to eat decent food here, my bill trippled easly.. 1 subway.. 300baht+gaz, 1 dijon mustard like 150baht for nothing.. Salso for nachos.. 200baht for a small countainer + the bags of nacho seriously overpriced to 60baht. for 200baht back home i can buy 1.5L of salsa...

Food is insanely expensive here if you like to eat healthy (lol 35baht for a small bag of zukini,onions etc etc @ market thats just a side dish <deleted>)

Houses are insanely overpriced and expensive...

Gaz is about same price.

luxury items are quite more expensive and the profit margin is higher too.

Traveling around thailand is insanely expensive if you want minimum comfort... most of the VIP bus are either scams by agencys or old vip buses with cheap raisin bread.. the only decent VIP buses i have taken are from phuket to bangkok.. from anywhere to phuket its always some old trashy bus.. 30$ USD for a 12hrs hel_l ride.. sometimes 24hrs.

visa runs are insanely expensive..

Wifi in bangkok.. 200baht for like 30mins or 1hour... seriously? then u serve a 300baht frozen breakfast and a 100baht small apple juice?

i could go on for a while, thailand is FAR from being cheap. its more expensive than the west unless you enjoy living like a poor farmer, actually my granny lives on a woodland from not that much money in canada and her standard of living are far higher than a thai for the same ammount of $

i moved here thinking i could live my same lifestyle and save $ at the same time, but unfortunately the only addition to my life i have here is the sun and beautiful girls walking around.

dont get me started on cars.. 100hp for like 500 000baht... WHUT

Although it would be very cheap to live here if i built my own house, with enough land to have a couple cow's for meat and also be close to a decent city... then i would be able to eat free burgers and live off a very good life on 15k baht a month..

personally im gonna come back in thailand when i can pay a 10 mil house in $(furniture included) then live off 10-15k a month

I feel sorry for you...

Yes, honestly!

[DP25]

Saw in Tesco the Nintendo Wii. Thought about buying one and saw the price was 12,000 Baht. About 50% more expensive than in the west! Just one more example

The reason video game consoles are more expensive than in the West is because most of them come with mod chips installed already, and they usually give you games as well. Perhaps some of your other cost of living estimates are off as well...

[MKAsok]

I compared a small tub of Nutella I bought at 150 THB, versus a pack of 2 gigantic tubs of it for around USD 8.

I know, isn't it terrible? With the exchange rate the way it is, I might even be forced to stop wiping my arse with Christian Dior scarves and go back to using toilet paper. Is there no end to the misery in this so-called 'Land of Smiles?'

[Ulysses G.]

Butt squirters are free!

[canadianmonkey]

I got the good full sized bath towels for 157 baht at Tesco and they were BOGO (Buy one get one free).

You just have to watch and know when/what to buy.

How the CanadianMonkey can make the claims he does is beyond me!

i had to buy a new baht towel this week. Your claims are quite exagerated. Good is stretching the truth as far as the moon.

There was NO baht towel under 300baht that didnt feel like sandpaper on my face.

While in canada for 150baht i can have a huge towel from walmart that feels as good as silk on my face.

The cooking supplies are LOL too. Spices are about 175% the price i had in canada, pans and plates of acceptable quality are quite overpriced... most of the average priced equipement just burns or breaks in a matter of days.

In canada i had a 'top of the line' blender.. could blend oatmeal quite easly..

i paid double the price here and that piece of crap cant even blend half of it in 10mins. I could go on and on forever...

[canadianmonkey]

Saw in Tesco the Nintendo Wii. Thought about buying one and saw the price was 12,000 Baht. About 50% more expensive than in the west! Just one more example

The reason video game consoles are more expensive than in the West is because most of them come with mod chips installed already, and they usually give you games as well. Perhaps some of your other cost of living estimates are off as well...

have to goto a small gaming shop. i had the Wii with 2 remote+nunchuck, 2 wheels+ mario kart, 5 games, wii sports for less than 15k and im sure i got ripped off (and it is chipped)

[patklang]

realy feel sorry for you monkey.its hard to exist isnt it,without all these things.sounds like you are one of those guys that you hate to live next door too.

[12DrinkMore]

My main expenses are women, beer and housing. It was the same in Farangland, but here I can afford it.

They are all MUCH MUCH cheaper than in Farangland.

All the rest of the western "basic needs" you can keep.

But at the end of the day, if you think it is too expensive, then stop moaning and go back.....

(silky towels on my face indeed, what a joke. Give me the 50 Baht sandpaper on my bum ones, people pay a fortune for a bit of dead skin removal and I get it FREE)

Edited December 4, 2008 by 12DrinkMore

[My Friend Same]

Agree with the OP 100%. Some people live in a world of illusion and think it's cheap here but not a chance and I aint just talking nutella. You get what you pay for and sure you can get cheap dumpy Apts. Electricity is outrageous so if you want AC you pay more than the rent for the dump, lol. Only things I see cheap here is street food, water and mass transit/taxis. beyond that, I can buy anything much cheaper in the US

[MJP]

I got the good full sized bath towels for 157 baht at Tesco and they were BOGO (Buy one get one free).

You just have to watch and know when/what to buy.

How the CanadianMonkey can make the claims he does is beyond me!

i had to buy a new baht towel this week. Your claims are quite exagerated. Good is stretching the truth as far as the moon.

There was NO baht towel under 300baht that didnt feel like sandpaper on my face.

While in canada for 150baht i can have a huge towel from walmart that feels as good as silk on my face.

The cooking supplies are LOL too. Spices are about 175% the price i had in canada, pans and plates of acceptable quality are quite overpriced... most of the average priced equipement just burns or breaks in a matter of days.

In canada i had a 'top of the line' blender.. could blend oatmeal quite easly..

i paid double the price here and that piece of crap cant even blend half of it in 10mins. I could go on and on forever...

I'll go with this.

Thailand's dam_n expensive now. Not just because of Sterling failure, it had become expensive at 65 THB/£1.

I can fill a trolley in Asda (that's Walmart) and in comparison to Tesco Lotus in Roi-Et I reckon it's 25% less at least (cheaper in UK). Not fancy falang stuff either.

Okay you can find stuff cheap if you really look around, but really Thailand has lost any competitive edge.

[jdinasia]

Agree with the OP 100%. Some people live in a world of illusion and think it's cheap here but not a chance and I aint just talking nutella. You get what you pay for and sure you can get cheap dumpy Apts. Electricity is outrageous so if you want AC you pay more than the rent for the dump, lol. Only things I see cheap here is street food, water and mass transit/taxis. beyond that, I can buy anything much cheaper in the US

Riiiiiiight .... you show me a 2 bedroom house with 2 AC units 100 meters from an excellent beach in a resort area in the US for less than 300USD a month (complete with a gardener, gated fence, etc etc) Show me a restaurant in the US in a beach resort where you can sit outside and feed 4 people with fresh seafood and drinks for less than $20?

[dumball]

I do not think canadianmonkey is so far out of line , he does tend to stretch things some what and rants on , but that is the Canadian way .

I first started visiting Thailand for the 6 winter months because the weather tended to be a little more gentle to my body , not because it might be less expensive , or for the cheap sex , or because i hated Canada or its government or any of the other trivial things many rant on about . I finaly moved here because i enjoyed it and slowly became acustomed to things i did not like and ignored them .

Cost of living staying within the bounds i had lived in Canada , cost me more money even without the convenience of my own transportation , $1,000.00 was sufficient in Canada and allowed me to save the air fare to fly to Thailand , same same in Thailand cost me $1,500.00 living in substandard accomodation than i had lived in my whole life .

Eating , well , in my 6 month stays i lost 2/3 kg and i am not by any means overweight , my doctor told me that it was because of vitamin deficiency in Thai grown food . I started taken vitamins he suggested and sure enough , no more weight loss .

Please try not to harp on to people the way some of you tend to do , if you are on a small pension or low income in both your previous country and Thailand , i think it is much easier to evaluate the differences as it AFFECTS YOUR PERSONAL LIFE STYLE . When you are millionaires as many of you proffess to be , i guess a dollar or six here or there makes no difference what so ever .

[Chaimai]

If you want to re-create Farangland in Thailand - why bother. Stay in your home country.

If you are doing a cost of living analysis don't forget to take into account water, electric, Council Tax (oops don't have that here), public transport costs, fuel costs.

Who the <deleted> cares what a tub of Nutella costs !!

After that, consider the wider issues like climate, culture etc.

If you want to live like a Farang and stay in Amari, Duisit hotels or rent for 20k p.m. and eat at westernised restaurants then you have to expect your budget to be higher.

I rent in a decent sized town for 2,500 baht p.m. fuel costs 200 baht p.w. food and drink (including eating out 5 times a week and visiting the local bar 5 times a week) 5,000 baht, haircut 40 Baht etc, etc

So you are happy to live like a poor Thai. Many of the rest of us are happy to live like upper middle class Thais. Your promoting your particular lifestyle makes no difference whatsoever to the reality of the cost of decent quality goods, but carry on with your inverse snobbery if it makes you feel better

Nowhere did I say I lived like a poor Thai. Nor am I promoting my lifestyle. All I am saying is that I found a 2 bed detached house with a 65 sq mtr lounge in a quiet soi for 2,500 Baht per month. OK, I chose to live 500+ km from Pattaya where I used to rent a 2bed detached bungalow for 7,000 Baht p.m.

I do not live a Thai lifestyle but I do enjoy the Thai cuisine and like the small restaurants.

My point is that you can live quite adequately for a lot less than you can in the west. If you want the trappings/luxuries/nutella then I would suggest that Thailand is not the place for you. They have nasty midgies that can bite you, the driving standard would not be tolerated in any sensible nation and the political arena is somewhat volatile.

I have friends with 6m Baht houses that are so westernised they could have been teleported from UK, Spain, Germany etc. Absolutely nothing wrong with that BUT they don't whinge about the price of towels or nutella !

I prefer my lifestlye - comfortable without being opulent - it means I can retain my European properties at least until, or if, I choose to build on my 25 Rai of land. Then maybe I will go for a 2,000 sq ft house. However, my budget will still be pretty much as I quoted above.

[dumball]

Agree with the OP 100%. Some people live in a world of illusion and think it's cheap here but not a chance and I aint just talking nutella. You get what you pay for and sure you can get cheap dumpy Apts. Electricity is outrageous so if you want AC you pay more than the rent for the dump, lol. Only things I see cheap here is street food, water and mass transit/taxis. beyond that, I can buy anything much cheaper in the US

Riiiiiiight .... you show me a 2 bedroom house with 2 AC units 100 meters from an excellent beach in a resort area in the US for less than 300USD a month (complete with a gardener, gated fence, etc etc) Show me a restaurant in the US in a beach resort where you can sit outside and feed 4 people with fresh seafood and drinks for less than $20?

You show me how many Americans live in that type of accomodation when they have to do a days work for a days pay , we are not all millionairs , self proffessed or not .

[Martian]

In 2003 I built a small 800 Sq. foot house for around $12,000 US on my wife's family's land in our hometown about 90 minutes from Bangkok. It was built by our brother-in-law and is plenty comfortable for the two of us until death do us part. It was our plan upon my retirement to live 6 months in each the USA and Thailand but recently having my job taken away after more than 22 years of service has caused us to rethink the overall plan.

My wife just arrived back at our house and I will be joining her in the near future to embark on some training and then to a local government school for a go at teaching. I sure am happy that my wife convinced me to build the house when she did because it has proven to be a real relief for her and for me to have a place of our own to retreat to, especially in the situation we find ourselves. She now wishes she wouldn't have built it right beside her family's house (as I recommended NOT doing) but it is where it is.

I have set up and placed the two of us on a budget that is slightly less than my teaching salary and although it won't allow a "western" level of living, we will be comfortable and have everything we need to live and be happy. If one is prudent about spending, doesn't require a large amount of luxury and can generally eat the local cuisine and be healthy/happy then Thailand absolutely has a far lower cost of living than the west.

My water, electricity and gas heating bill in the west can almost pay for my basic needs (not including optional choices) in Thailand. This is considering I already have my house, which is plenty big enough and comfortable enough for the two of us. All I need is a decent speed internet connection and basic transportation and I am happy. Simple living in Thailand is not for everyone and unless you can live simply and be happy, you will spend much more in Thailand than you need to.

It is an individual thing, I guess. I'm not going to Thailand to live a "western" existence, I'm going to experience a moderate Thai existence.

Regards to all!

Martian

[jdinasia]

Agree with the OP 100%. Some people live in a world of illusion and think it's cheap here but not a chance and I aint just talking nutella. You get what you pay for and sure you can get cheap dumpy Apts. Electricity is outrageous so if you want AC you pay more than the rent for the dump, lol. Only things I see cheap here is street food, water and mass transit/taxis. beyond that, I can buy anything much cheaper in the US

Riiiiiiight .... you show me a 2 bedroom house with 2 AC units 100 meters from an excellent beach in a resort area in the US for less than 300USD a month (complete with a gardener, gated fence, etc etc) Show me a restaurant in the US in a beach resort where you can sit outside and feed 4 people with fresh seafood and drinks for less than $20?

You show me how many Americans live in that type of accomodation when they have to do a days work for a days pay , we are not all millionairs , self proffessed or not .

HUH? Spending less than 300 dollars a month for a beach house sounds like a millionaire to you?

[Fatdog]

Agree with the OP 100%. Some people live in a world of illusion and think it's cheap here but not a chance and I aint just talking nutella. You get what you pay for and sure you can get cheap dumpy Apts. Electricity is outrageous so if you want AC you pay more than the rent for the dump, lol. Only things I see cheap here is street food, water and mass transit/taxis. beyond that, I can buy anything much cheaper in the US

Riiiiiiight .... you show me a 2 bedroom house with 2 AC units 100 meters from an excellent beach in a resort area in the US for less than 300USD a month (complete with a gardener, gated fence, etc etc) Show me a restaurant in the US in a beach resort where you can sit outside and feed 4 people with fresh seafood and drinks for less than $20?

JD, I have read a few of your posts in the past and I do not agree with very many of them, but this time I am 100% with you, not sure about the cost of living in the States, but compared to the UK living in Thailand is like night and day.

I have a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment with swimming pool and good security for 9k baht/month and can usually manage to eat out about 3 times per week and live well for 10/15k baht per week(not including rent) and this is in Bangkok.

There are things more expensive here I do agree, but that is a personnal choice if you want them ( I like cheese) But mostly Thailand is cheaper than the UK by a long way

FD

[Chaimai]

It is an individual thing, I guess. I'm not going to Thailand to live a "western" existence, I'm going to experience a moderate Thai existence.

Good luck to you Martian - and welcome to our planet

Seriously, you have highlighted something far more important than cost differential on HD televisions or western food products - that is QUALITY OF LIFE.

You cannot put a price on that. If you have it in the west then there is no need to come to Thailand. If you have found quality of life in Thailand then you live your life in accordance with your means or whatever budget you choose to work to.