Real Cost Of Living In Hua Hin

[cliveval]

My husband and I are planning to come to Hua Hin in two years time and would appreciate comments on the real cost of living there. We plan to join a golf club, we eat out once or twice a week, will rent a house and buy a car. From what I can find we should be okay on $400 a week as we are not extravagent.

[justwilliam]

I believe your biggest variable will be rent. You need to provide more information before the "locals" can offer good advice. For example, do you want to live near the beach, or back in the hills, or in the town centre, or 5-10 miles north or south? Are you looking for a detached house, or a town house? How many bedrooms/bathrooms? The rent will vary enormously, from a minimum of about $300 per month, to well in excess of $1,000 per month.

And the car; will you purchase outright, or will you need to make payments from your $400 per week?

Eating out is very inexpensive if you stick to the local foods and the local cafes. But if you want to eat Western food in a Western atmosphere 2-3 times per week, Hua Hin is not at all inexpensive.

I have no idea about golf clubs.

Please provide a little more info, and you will be surprised at how valuable the responses will be.

(and without wishing to appear impertinent, I am wondering how you managed to settle on Hua Hin as your preferred destination without already knowing the answers to these questions).

[FarangFatal]

Better take a real good look about he place, seesm there is more going on that meets the Faragn Tourists eye1 I like it there, the little night action zone is fun. Now it is very popular with the Euro folks on account of the cheap houses... Will you out live the new house you buy, cheap living is fine with lots of great little Thai places. Just get the hel_l west of the rail road tracks and out of the tourist zone and its lovely. The gulf of Thailand is very dark water, about like Pattaya so water sports are a suck. I would look into some issues with housing that occur in most of Thailand but seems poor little Hua Hin is caught up in a bog that is very painful! Lovely place, tis really as shame.

[yosithezet]

I would look into some issues with housing that occur in most of Thailand but seems poor little Hua Hin is caught up in a bog that is very painful! Lovely place, tis really as shame.

"caught up in a bog"???

[Shotime]

I would look into some issues with housing that occur in most of Thailand but seems poor little Hua Hin is caught up in a bog that is very painful! Lovely place, tis really as shame.

"caught up in a bog"???

I'm interested too. What bog?

$400 a week? If both of you play golf, and you want to buy a car and rent a house, that's impossible. Are you serious?

"(and without wishing to appear impertinent, I am wondering how you managed to settle on Hua Hin as your preferred destination without already knowing the answers to these questions (?))."

The same way they figured that $400 a week was adequate given their lifestyle.

Edited December 5, 2008 by Shotime

[cliveval]

Thanks for the replys

The car would be brought cash, golf membership paid up front. 3 bed house would be fine looks like we can get 1 for around 15 -20000 a month. We thought of Hua Hin because of the golf but what do you mean stuck in a bog?

Thanks

[Shotime]

It still sounds a little close, but you could do it.

I have a friend who just bought a house there, and I remember some story about a development problem, but your not buying anyway. I think that's what he's talking about.

[PeaceBlondie]

Several of us are unsure about the bog remark.

If car and golf membership are paid up front, that saves on the monthlies. 3 bedroom farang house for 15-20K, away from the beach, might be findable, without an agent. But you might need an agent, who gets commission.

This is a weird time to be asking what Thailand will be like in two more years. The new hospital might be finished, and might even be staffed by then.

[hhfarang]

Cliveval,

There have been some good advice and points well made in the previous posts here. It really depends on you and your lifestyle and expectations. Since you mentioned dollars as your salary currency, I will assume the you are from the U.S. as am I. Unless you are unusual, most Americans expect/require a little bit higher standard of living than the average European or most other nationalities, frankly, because we are spoiled from living in the U.S. Many may take issue with this statement but I have found it to be true. I have lived in Hua Hin for many years and most of the Americans I know require more monthly income to live like they want to than do many Europeans or Britains.

I know people who live here in Thai neighborhoods in small townhomes, eat primarily Thai food and do not travel or go out much and manage to live on half what you are talking about. I am the other extreme. I have a pension that is about the same as what you mentioned your budget to be and we run out of money before the end of the month so my wife has gone to work to help out. I came when the baht was 44 to the dollar expecting to have plenty of money to live at a very high standard on that amount of money. I built my own home (paid up front) so I don't pay any rent, however I do have a car payment of around 15,000 baht per month. I had problems building the home and ran through my savings so I never bought a golf membership (which I believe now go for around 200,000 per person or more depending on the course).

Even though I love the game, I haven't played in over two years because it is very expensive here and I simply can't afford it. Even with a membership there are still costs as the membership only includes green fees (most places caddies are mandatory and in this heat you may want an electric cart, especially in the summer). Also, the costs you're expecting for golf could end up being higher than you predict even with a membership. If you are like me (or like I used to be when I could afford it) I get tired of playing the same course over and over. Even though several courses here give a discount if you have a membership at another course you still have to pay a greens fee so if you like variety in your golf, take that into consideration while doing your research.

We eat out about once a month at a foreign restaurant. The rest of the time we eat at cheap Thai places or make our own food at home. I stay home most of the time in an effort not to spend any money. I go out with friends about once a week during the daytime and have a few (Thai) beers. I haven't been able to leave the country in over three years to see my (92 year old) Mother or the rest of my family or friends in the states because I simply can't afford the travel.

When my wife has time off for a vacation we drive up north to Issan to where her familly lives and a week long trip like that stretches our budget to the maximum or overloads it and a week in Issan is a very cheap holiday!

Medical care is another consideration. While it is cheap here compared to the U.S., there isn't really very good medical care in Hua Hin a the moment for anything major. We've had a couple of more major medical problems and have had to go to Bangkok where there are very good hospitals but you need to either have health insurance that is accepted here or a couple of million baht in the bank as a backup medical policy. Depending on your age, you may not be able to get a local policy or it may have severe limits on it.

Again, as I said, I know people who are able to live on half what you are talking about, but it all depends on your expectations of a lifestyle. I feel trapped and like a prisoner here as I can't afford to leave and my life savings are tied up in a house that will not sell in the current economic climate. You don't want to push your budget to the limit or spend all your savings in the move because you may decide it's not for you or the exchange rate could change dramatically so that you get less baht if you are paid in dollars (while I've been here it went from 44 to the dollar to 30.5 to the dollar, lately it has gotten better and is back to over 35 to the dollar). Make sure you have enough to comfortably travel if you want and can cover any health emergency should one arise.

I applaud your decision to rent at least for a year until you decide whether you like it or not, but rentals can run from 15,000 for a very modest home or apartment in a questionable neighborhood to well over 50,000 baht per month for a more comfortable home or town home in a nice community. I would say don't burn your bridges, come try it for a while but don't totally commit like I did until you know that you like it and have enough money to live in the style you are expecting.

If you have more specific questions about living here or the costs, I will be happy to give you my opinions and answers if you want to PM me.

Good Luck

[hhfarang]

I'm guessing the "bog" comment has to do with the problems in the real estate market here, especially in Hua Hin lately. Hua Hin has been a boom town for the last four years and building has gone out of control. There have been cheats, scandals, violence, unscrupulous builders and real estate agents and a lot of bad publicity in that sector in particular.

One only has to look through the real estate threads here and on other forums to see what I mean.

[H2oDunc]

Maybe the " bog " referal has to do with when it rains it resembles a bog, ie everything damp and waterlogged. Id recommend going a little further south and having a nicer living for a quarter of the price, ie 3 bed- 3 bathroomed 2 storey big garden private estate which had a pool for 5000 a month. I predict the next big thing in HH will be instead of every other shop being either a golf shop or a property shop in between will be mobility scooter and zimmer frame shops.

[cliveval]

Thank you for these comments. How far south are you talking about? And do you know where the best dive sites are? I have checked out Ko Samui islands and they seem lovely.

[H2oDunc]

Hi Cliveval, Its around 300km south of HH. Its called Chumphon and for me is one of the hidden jewels of Thailand. It has some beautiful, unspoilt beaches. Very nice people and good access for moving around. HH is a couple of hours, Ranong is an hour away and its easy to get to the islands in the gulf and Phuket and Krabi on the other side are again easy to get to. There is some excellent diving around Chumphon but very few people dive there. Most people go to Koh Tao to dive. There are a lot of dive sites arond Tao and its one of the cheapest places to get certified to dive. Its well worth a look and it could save you some money. Remember if you go to Samui or KPG then you wil pay more and spend a lot of time getting to Tao to dive anyway

If moving to Thailand is your plan I woud recommend going to look at Chumphon as it is cheaper than HH by far and has everything a frang needs to enjoy this beautiful country.

[Burgernev]

Nice 3 bed bungalow with garden, off-street parking etc near'ish to town 15-20k should be ok.

Ditto with private pool 24-30k approx.

Good Luck

PS: Ignore the 'bog' thing, he's a known troll, banned from the local forum a number of times. Has a personal problem with the local real estate people.

[pothai]

Nice 3 bed bungalow with garden, off-street parking etc near'ish to town 15-20k should be ok.

Ditto with private pool 24-30k approx.

Good Luck

PS: Ignore the 'bog' thing, he's a known troll, banned from the local forum a number of times. Has a personal problem with the local real estate people.

Chumpoon is great location, easy for all the South and of course if you need border run to Ranong....what about Cha am...20 mins North of Hua Hin. Much cheaper than Hua Hin, closre to the golf courses and quieter in the weekdays, although quite a large Expat community growing....Not many options of quality rentals but there are a few with/without pools in your price range....if you like seafood this is definatly the place, great/cheap restaurants or if you cook at home can buy fresh crab/prawn etc much cheaper than anywhere I know from the fishing market..take a look....as well as Chumphon

[yabaaaa]

Be careful down Chumphon way here there has been a lot of flooding??

[lazygourmet]

Nice 3 bed bungalow with garden, off-street parking etc near'ish to town 15-20k should be ok.

Ditto with private pool 24-30k approx.

Good Luck

PS: Ignore the 'bog' thing, he's a known troll, banned from the local forum a number of times. Has a personal problem with the local real estate people.

Chumpoon is great location, easy for all the South and of course if you need border run to Ranong....what about Cha am...20 mins North of Hua Hin. Much cheaper than Hua Hin, closre to the golf courses and quieter in the weekdays, although quite a large Expat community growing....Not many options of quality rentals but there are a few with/without pools in your price range....if you like seafood this is definatly the place, great/cheap restaurants or if you cook at home can buy fresh crab/prawn etc much cheaper than anywhere I know from the fishing market..take a look....as well as Chumphon

[TGIR]

We moved here over two years ago when the baht was 44-1 to the dollar also. Paid for house and car. We sold the house we built in Hua Hin and moved to Cha Am. Lots less traffic and irritation. If you don't go out at night that much or eat out a lot, Cha Am is worth looking at. Yes it's quiet and we like it that way. The traffic in Hua Hin and south is horrific. I'm happy to be closer to Bangkok by 1/2 hour as well. We currently manage on about 65,000 baht a month and aside from twice weekly golf and four or five days at the range (120 bht to 300 bht a day) we don't spend a lot. We eat out probably once a week or so and splurge at the new Villa Mkt. to the tune of about 2,000 bht a month. Cha Am has a nice little store for english speaking/eating people, and a very nice day market where my Thai wife shops not less than every other day. There is a little fishing village next to our condo and the wife eats at the noodle shop there a lot for about 30 baht a meal. I prefer mac and cheese and spaghetti.....never got into Thai food that much.

Golf is the reason I chose to live here, over the objections of my wife, but honestly we couldn't afford to stay in California after I retired so here we are.

We have a membership at Palm Hills. If you play twice a week your best bet is to pay your green fees up front in November. If you don't join in November you'll have to wait until the next Nov. comes around. Until then member green fees are 400 baht per round each. Caddy is 250 each. We share a cart; I walk 15 holes and then take over the cart from the Boss to finish. The cart is 650 and I would prefer not to use it but am 64 and find on the hot days I am ready to ride after 14 or 15 holes. We have selected our own caddies who we ask for each round and tip 250 per caddy. It's difficult to know who tips what, but 200-300 seems to be normal around Palm Hills. Oh, I forgot, the annual green fee payment is 15,000 per individual. I don't know what the current membership cost is as we got ours from a property purchase we shared with friends who don't golf.

Other courses in the area vary in cost from 1,200 bht per round at the Royal course downtown to over 3,500 at the new courses. I've heard Lakeview individual memberships are going for about 250,000 bht. Don't know about Majestic as it is overpriced and we don't play there. When I inquired last year they wanted about 360,000 bht per individual for membership. I'm not sure you can buy memberships yet at Black Mountain or Banyan.

If you don't mind driving there are cheaper places to play around Ratchaburi but we've opted to play locally to save the cost and time of driving.

I hope you've check out car prices as they are a lot higher here than they were in the States. Costs vary by vehicle model with no reasonable explanation for price differences. I paid 20K for a Mazda Miata in Ca. and it would cost 60K over here. I paid about 26,000 for a Ford Escape in Ca., paid about 40K here for the same thing. Honda and Toyota are very popular here and there are local dealerships for Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Chevrolet.

You are wise to rent until you've been here awhile. Don't expect standards like you're used to. The issue with housing is there are no building codes to speak of and lots of people have had problems with builders & developers who could have done a better job. Enough said on that issue as things seem to be headed in a better direction and you'll have plenty of time to check that out later. Do not abandon your plans to rent as in this area you really need time to get settled in. Renting a condo for a few months might be the best thing you can do, even better than a house so you have time to look around. There are good choices in condos and you'll get a good product without worrying about taking care of the gardening, pool etc. that renting a house will entail.

Personally I think the name Clive would suggest you're from a European country rather than the U.S. Would you mind letting us know which? That way you can get the right people giving you advice.

Good luck

[justwilliam]

I'd like to give you a little more of our personal experience, which may be helpful. We were in your shoes about 2 years ago, looking for somewhere to rent in Hua Hin.

We had been living in Phetchaburi for 3 years, which I liked very much. But my (Thai) wife's family were there, and eventually we felt we had to get away from them.

We were close enough to HH that we could spend plenty of time looking around. We started with the web, and found that rents were in the $1,000 range for the kind of place we might like. Too much for us.

Then we visited agents, at least 15 of them, and generally found they were asking about $750 for the same kind of place. Still too much.

Finally we did what everybody in the know advises, and spent some days just driving up and down the sois looking for "For Rent" signs.

This way we found a very nice house in Khao Takiab, 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2,000 sq ft, clean, everything works, 4 minutes walk from the beach, no stray dogs, no garbage in the soi, for $300 per month. The (Thai) landlord was a very nice man, and lived opposite. Any problems we had were attended to the same day.

But I after a few months I decided I didn't like HH at all, so when our year lease was up we moved to Nakhon Pathom. There we found a similar house for just $120 per month, although nowhere near the beach!