Cost Of Living In Bangkok

[humera]

Hi, im new to these forums, so please bear with me if I make any mistakes. Let me give you a little background first, before asking my questions.

My husband and I are both Pakistanis, settled in Boston, Ma for the past few yrs, and we have a 18 month old daughter who doesnt go to school yet. My husbands company is sending him to Bangkok for a yr. When we got this oppurtunity, we were really happy, because I love the experience of living in diff countries. I grew up in Karachi, which is very similiar to Bangkok, with the same kind climate/corruption/laziness/dirtiness etc, its what I grew up with and I still love my city, so those things really dont matter to me.

My husband has been going back and forth to Bangkok for the past yr, but he hasnt managed to find out a lot about the cost of living, since he goes straight from the hotel to work and back most days, even weekends. I went there for 12 days in dec and had a really nice time, despite my daughter being in the hospital for 2 days the sec we arrived, due to dehydration, and the fact that she got the measles in Phuket, on our last day there.

Hubby's job is in the North of bangkok, in Pathum Thani and Ayutthaya. After a lot of research, we found that Nichada Thani was a really nice place to live in, so we found a house there, with a pool (yaayyy). The company is paying for the rent, utilities, a car and driver, membership to the American expat club, and about $1000 Bht/month for the first 6 months. Right now, my husband plans to go to work and then send the car back to us so we can use it if needed. Our take home income will be about Bht170,000/month, plus the per diem money I mentioned before.

So our main expenses will be as follows, I have no idea how much I should expect to spend on everything:

1) Groceries. I dont work, and I'll be cooking at home during the week, and we'll prob eat out on the weekends.

2)Restaurants: We prob wont be going to any roadside stalls, I would actually love to do that, but hubby is too scared about passing germs onto the kiddo. We love trying out new places, though, and we love all cuisines, esp Thai and Indian.

2)A live in maid, for cleaning and occasionally babysitting the baby while I use the gym.

3) Several holidays, to various places in Thailand and maybe places like Singapore. Most of the the tickets and prob the accomodations will be paid for from points.

4) Occasional luxuries, like massages, manicures and pedicures and so on.

5)A misc category for expenses I havent thought of yet.

So keeping in mind all our expenses above, can we expect to save a good amount of money while we're in Bangkok? Thats one of the driving factors behind our decision to move there, we want to save enough to add to our existing savings so we can buy a house when we get back to America.

Also, is it a good idea to live in Nichada Thani? I've heard its a dominantly American community, with loads of activites and so on. I like social interaction, but I'm not one of those who need to be doing something every single minute. I'm very happy reading a book, playing with my daughter, going biking, so on. I love the outdoors, and exploring new places. I would be happy going into Bangkok once or twice a week (besides the weekend when we would go with my hubby), even though we could go more if we wanted to.

Also, I dont want to meet only expats, I would love for us, esp my daughter, to make freinds within the Thai community as well.

Please forigve me for the long, rambling post. Thanks in advance for any advice/opinions, I really appreciate it.

[namoo]

Estimates based on your income and I am guessing lifestyle requirements in that range.

1) Groceries. I dont work, and I'll be cooking at home during the week, and we'll prob eat out on the weekends.

30000THB pcm

2)Restaurants: We prob wont be going to any roadside stalls, I would actually love to do that, but hubby is too scared about passing germs onto the kiddo. We love trying out new places, though, and we love all cuisines, esp Thai and Indian.

2 Quality restaurants per week 2 people including wine 25000THB pcm

2)A live in maid, for cleaning and occasionally babysitting the baby while I use the gym.

10000THB pcm

3) Several holidays, to various places in Thailand and maybe places like Singapore. Most of the the tickets and prob the accomodations will be paid for from points.

30000THB

4) Occasional luxuries, like massages, manicures and pedicures and so on.

10000THB

5)A misc category for expenses I havent thought of yet.

say 10000THB

So all in all for a fairly good lifestyle of quality your outgoings would be around 120k I reckon so you can expect to save in the 50000-60000 range per month from your income.

Of course stand by for the I live in a 2000thb Apartment and spend 5000thb on food per month brigade on TV ..and my estimates are ridiculous.....

Edited May 28, 2009 by namoo

[Robert44]

I think these price are high as namoo says. I have a house in Muang Ake Village which is in Phatum Thani area.

We have 2 year old twins and 2 live in maids, so I have based on this.

Estimates based on your income and I am guessing lifestyle requirements in that range.

1) Groceries. I dont work, and I'll be cooking at home during the week, and we'll prob eat out on the weekends.

30000THB pcm - if you go to local markets then cost is about 5K per month, if you mix with going to places like TOPS then 15K

Restaurants: We prob wont be going to any roadside stalls, I would actually love to do that, but hubby is too scared about passing germs onto the kiddo. We love trying out new places, though, and we love all cuisines, esp Thai and Indian.

2 Quality restaurants per week 2 people including wine 25000THB pcm

Normally when we eat out we take the maids along to help control the twins and cost is around 1500 Bahts per meal (with a couple of beers thrown in - no wine)

2)A live in maid, for cleaning and occasionally babysitting the baby while I use the gym.

10000THB pcm Cost of maids is dependent on if Thai or not, if Thai 5K Bahts per month, if say Burma then 3-4K Bahts per month.

3) Several holidays, to various places in Thailand and maybe places like Singapore. Most of the the tickets and prob the accomodations will be paid for from points.

30000THB Depends on what type of accommodation you want and location as cost varies greatly.

4) Occasional luxuries, like massages, manicures and pedicures and so on.

10000THB Again depends if you go to places catering for locals or expats - if expats then maybe 10K is good estimate but if to good level local then 5K is very high estimate.

5)A misc category for expenses I havent thought of yet.

say 10000THB - 10K is nice number

So all in all for a fairly good lifestyle of quality your outgoings would be around 120k I reckon so you can expect to save in the 50000-60000 range per month from your income.

Of course stand by for the I live in a 2000thb Apartment and spend 5000thb on food per month brigade on TV ..and my estimates are ridiculous.....

[wasabi]

I think with your budget and expectations you will be quite happy. I agree with the budget figures above.

[geriatrickid]

I'm sorry but a maid at 5000 baht a month is ridiculous and exploitive. You get what you pay for. I have a hunch the OP is someone with a bit of education and that means she's going to want a person that's reliable and not an economic refugee from upcountry. She's going to be leaving the child with the help. At 5000 baht a month, the poor woman is likely to come home and find her child missing a limb or something. The minimum wage in Bangkok is 203baht a day and will be increased to 212 next month. It's intended for the lowest of low end jobs. That's about $7/ a day. I think the OP can afford more than that and still be able to buy 2 ply toilet paper. And I doubt hiring a Burmese refugee at below subsistence wages is her intent. Jeez.

Aside from that the cost estimates provided in the orignal response are reasonable. All depends upon one's priorities. When I was babysitting my friends' critters, I probably spent more on cat and dog food than I suppose some Thai Visa readers spend on food.

Best of luck to you Madam and have a wonderful stay. If possible, I suggest a weekend visit to Hua Hin.

[wasabi]

I'm sorry but a maid at 5000 baht a month is ridiculous and exploitive. You get what you pay for. I have a hunch the OP is someone with a bit of education and that means she's going to want a person that's reliable and not an economic refugee from upcountry. She's going to be leaving the child with the help. At 5000 baht a month, the poor woman is likely to come home and find her child missing a limb or something. The minimum wage in Bangkok is 203baht a day and will be increased to 212 next month. It's intended for the lowest of low end jobs. That's about $7/ a day. I think the OP can afford more than that and still be able to buy 2 ply toilet paper. And I doubt hiring a Burmese refugee at below subsistence wages is her intent. Jeez.

Aside from that the cost estimates provided in the orignal response are reasonable. All depends upon one's priorities. When I was babysitting my friends' critters, I probably spent more on cat and dog food than I suppose some Thai Visa readers spend on food.

Best of luck to you Madam and have a wonderful stay. If possible, I suggest a weekend visit to Hua Hin.

It is weird that people spend more than they would in their homeland to send their kids to the finest international schools but are content with an uneducated, illegal immigrant shepherding their children around and teaching them about fortune tellers and ghosts while crossing 6 lanes of traffic without looking first in either direction or sitting on the roof of a truck as it barrels down sukhumwit when there are is still room in the cab with seatbelts. You have to wonder who is the foolish one the noble savage or the colonizing white family.

Edited May 30, 2009 by wasabi

[humera]

Thanks for all the responses! Sorry about the late reply, we're already on our way to Bangkok, staying with friends in CA for 2 days and leaving Sunday night.

About the food cost, I'm def going to be mixing up supermarkets with local food shops, so I'm hoping my grocery bill wont be as high as 30000BH/month, thats more than I pay here.

About the maid: I grew up in Pakistan with live in help, and I certainly agree that you get what you pay for, and I certainly won't be exploiting anyone. I want a person I can trust and communicate with, who can keep my house very clean, and occasionally babysit my daughter, and I'm willing to pay her accordingly. I read somewhere recently that I should expect to pay a minimum of $200-$300 for those requirements, and that sounds very reasonable, actually really cheap compared to the $70 to $90 I'd have to pay here, just to get someone in to clean my apt twice a week.

The crazy thing is, we were looking to rent this brand new, beautifully furnished house in a small community on the outskirts of Bangkok, and they provided maid services which were 4000 Bht for live out, and 1000Bh for live in! Can you imagine that?

Tell me if this sounds reasonable: 10,000 Bht/month, room and board, weekends off (or only Sundays if thats what she prefers), daily Thai newspaper, a personal tv, and a month's bonus salary at the end of the yr. Duties: Complete cleaning of the house so I dont have to lift a finger , laundry, helping me in the kitchen (cutting veges, loading dishwasher and so on), watching my daughter for about an hr every day while I go to the gym, and maybe watching her on weekends if we want to go out for dinner or to see a movie, after she's in bed and asleep already (this is something we havent dont yet over here, and I'm not sure we will, but it will be nice to have the option).

Right now, Im a little bummed out, because the very nice house we were planning to rent in Nichada Thani seems to be disappearing into thin air. Originally we were told we could move in in July, so we were planning to spend that month in my hubby's regular hotel, but now they're saying August. The Westin is a nice hotel, but 2 months in one room with a little child? Come on! I was so happy that the house had a private pool, since Im a muslim and don't wear swimming costumes in public.

Despite this setback, I'm really looking forward to living in Thailand, and we just found out we might be going to Malaysia in January! Woohoo! I was telling my husband, I would love to spend a yr each in several diif countries, what a wonderful way to see the world !

[wasabi]

humera,

I have lived in Thailand for a year and a half and will be going back next month. It was just about the perfect amount of time for me. I got to have the full experience of Thailand but am leaving before the things that irk me stop me from appreciating what is good about Thailand. I would love to repeat this in many different countries but alas I have to go back to the real world and work again when I go back.

[mmushr00m]

From what you wrote you will be making about USD6000 a month. B170k + USD1000 allowance.

Do you go through USD6000 a month in the USA? If not then there is very little chance you will go through that in Bangkok.

Next question. Is the company paying the rent for the entire stay? If not then maybe you should check into the rental cost of the house. That will be a major part of your expense.

1) 10-15k amonth. It all depends on what you buy, if you only go for imported "luxury" items then of course it will be higher. But to me a vegetable is a vegetable wheter grown in Thailand, Aus or USA.

2) Quality restaurant once a week. B6-10k a month, lower for Thai restaurants, higher for western. No wine since I assume you are muslim.

2.1) Live in maid if you provide food etc. B8-10k

3) Trips to Singers. Easilly B30k each time. Slightly cheaper if you fly budget but good accomodations in Singers is expensive. At least SGD300 a night for an ok hotel.

4) A good session once a week will average out to B10k a month

5) Misc B10k.

Taking the higher numbers thats B85k a month in expenditures. Half your pay.

[Moonrakers]

Slightly cheaper if you fly budget but good accomodations in Singers is expensive. At least SGD300 a night for an ok hotel.

There are some great package deals available though, with 4-5 star hotels. It's the cost of purchasing anything when there that hurts me most.

And to the OP, unless you are planning on sprinkling cocaine on your cornflakes each morning, you will be more than comfortable on that amount.

[humera]

Lol@sprinkling cocaine on my cornflakes.

I promise you, Im aware that we'll be really comfortable in Thailand, and I'm very grateful for that. I actually wanted to get a rough idea of how much we could expect to save while we're here, and Ive gotten a good idea about that thanks to all the responses. I apologize if I seem to be mentioning money a little too much, we're interested in saving enough for a good down payment on a house when we go back, hence all the questions.

Also, I wanted to know how much ppl staying here are paying for stuff, so I wouldnt end up overspending needlessly.

The company is paying for the entire yr's rent and utilities, and our monthly income will be around $5300, inluding the per diem money we'll get for the first 6 months. In Boston, most of the $4800 coming in went towards rent, utilities, groceries and so on, and we were saving very little, esp after having the baby. That was one of the big draws about this position, the chance to save a little, besides the pleasure of living in another country and experiencing its cutlure.

1)I am def the type to buy local fruits and veges, and I also do a lot of grocery shopping from Indian/Pakistani stores, esp meat. I'll go to the big supermarkets to get anything I cant get anywhere else, but I def wont waste money there. Lets say 15K

2) You're right about the no wine, I am a muslim. We'll prob do a mix of Thai and other restaurants, like Indian and so on. Lets say 10k

3) We'll def be providing food for any live in maid. Lets assume 10k

4) We actually have a very good freind living in Singapore who's already after us to come visit her while we're here, so accomodation is free, and we'll prob use our points to fly there, so that cost will be lowered too. If we have free accomodation and fly budget or use points, then how much can we expect to spend on a trip to Singapore?

Is 15k a reasonable estimate?

We'll also be crossing the border every 3 months, as a requirement of our non-immigrant visa, but I think the company will pay for those trips.

5) I'll prob go to the salon in Nichada Thani for convenience sake, so thats prob around 10,000 Bht.

6) Another 10k for misc expenses.

So around 70k BH, which gives us savings of around 30k to 35k for the entire yr. Thats amazing!!

Thank you for the responses everyone, I really appreciate it.

Right now, we're settled in in one of the exec rooms at the Westin on Sukhumvit Road for a month while we finalize somewhere to live in Nichada Thani. Its a bummer living with a 18 month old in one room with 6 suitcases, but the great thing is, the company pays for everything, and we get to keep the points!

I'll take this time to familiarize myself with Bangkok and the North suburbs, to find out where everything is. Anyone know where I can go to find Indian/Pakistani grocery stores?

Also, does anyone have any feedback on Nichada Thani, is it a nice place to live in? I kind of get the idea its like a town rather than a community, and they provide the exapts with everything to the extent that they dont even need to leave! I would like to make freinds there, but def dont want to isolate myself like that. If I wanted to live an exclusively American life during this yr, I wouldnt have moved to THailand !

[phiebs]

Lol@sprinkling cocaine on my cornflakes.

I'll take this time to familiarize myself with Bangkok and the North suburbs, to find out where everything is. Anyone know where I can go to find Indian/Pakistani grocery stores?

In BKK there are a lot of Indian/Muslim places around Sukhumvit 3 up to 9, there's a nice (and fairly cheap) Indian restaurant on the Soi 1 side of Bumrungrad, next to a small convenience store. As far as the equivilant in the north goes, I cannot be of much help I'm afraid.

Enjoy your time in Thailand, I had a great time for the 2 years I was there! One final thing - please please please try and learn the language - it makes life so much easier/better.

[phetaroi]

Lol@sprinkling cocaine on my cornflakes.

I promise you, Im aware that we'll be really comfortable in Thailand, and I'm very grateful for that. I actually wanted to get a rough idea of how much we could expect to save while we're here, and Ive gotten a good idea about that thanks to all the responses. I apologize if I seem to be mentioning money a little too much, we're interested in saving enough for a good down payment on a house when we go back, hence all the questions.

Also, I wanted to know how much ppl staying here are paying for stuff, so I wouldnt end up overspending needlessly.

The company is paying for the entire yr's rent and utilities, and our monthly income will be around $5300, inluding the per diem money we'll get for the first 6 months. In Boston, most of the $4800 coming in went towards rent, utilities, groceries and so on, and we were saving very little, esp after having the baby. That was one of the big draws about this position, the chance to save a little, besides the pleasure of living in another country and experiencing its cutlure.

1)I am def the type to buy local fruits and veges, and I also do a lot of grocery shopping from Indian/Pakistani stores, esp meat. I'll go to the big supermarkets to get anything I cant get anywhere else, but I def wont waste money there. Lets say 15K

2) You're right about the no wine, I am a muslim. We'll prob do a mix of Thai and other restaurants, like Indian and so on. Lets say 10k

3) We'll def be providing food for any live in maid. Lets assume 10k

4) We actually have a very good freind living in Singapore who's already after us to come visit her while we're here, so accomodation is free, and we'll prob use our points to fly there, so that cost will be lowered too. If we have free accomodation and fly budget or use points, then how much can we expect to spend on a trip to Singapore?

Is 15k a reasonable estimate?

We'll also be crossing the border every 3 months, as a requirement of our non-immigrant visa, but I think the company will pay for those trips.

5) I'll prob go to the salon in Nichada Thani for convenience sake, so thats prob around 10,000 Bht.

6) Another 10k for misc expenses.

So around 70k BH, which gives us savings of around 30k to 35k for the entire yr. Thats amazing!!

Thank you for the responses everyone, I really appreciate it.

Right now, we're settled in in one of the exec rooms at the Westin on Sukhumvit Road for a month while we finalize somewhere to live in Nichada Thani. Its a bummer living with a 18 month old in one room with 6 suitcases, but the great thing is, the company pays for everything, and we get to keep the points!

I'll take this time to familiarize myself with Bangkok and the North suburbs, to find out where everything is. Anyone know where I can go to find Indian/Pakistani grocery stores?

Also, does anyone have any feedback on Nichada Thani, is it a nice place to live in? I kind of get the idea its like a town rather than a community, and they provide the exapts with everything to the extent that they dont even need to leave! I would like to make freinds there, but def dont want to isolate myself like that. If I wanted to live an exclusively American life during this yr, I wouldnt have moved to THailand !

Relax. I think you're trying to over-plan.

[mmushr00m]

In the 1st few months, double the amount you just estimated.

It takes some time for adjustment. In beginning everything is new and fresh and cheap. Thats all you will see, given the cost of living and exchange rate.

Once you have adjusted and see how much things actually cost (not how cheap in comparison to USA) you will control your cost more and spending will come down to what have been estimated.

I know, I went through the same process and I am sure alot of the board members when through the same phase.

Goodluck and I hope you have a very pleasant stay in LOS.

BTW, there is a pissup (meetup) happening in BKK, maybe it would be a nice chance for you and your hubby to meet some expats other then from work.

[OnNutter]

In the 1st few months, double the amount you just estimated.

It takes some time for adjustment. In beginning everything is new and fresh and cheap. Thats all you will see, given the cost of living and exchange rate.

Once you have adjusted and see how much things actually cost (not how cheap in comparison to USA) you will control your cost more and spending will come down to what have been estimated.

I know, I went through the same process and I am sure alot of the board members when through the same phase.

Goodluck and I hope you have a very pleasant stay in LOS.

BTW, there is a pissup (meetup) happening in BKK, maybe it would be a nice chance for you and your hubby to meet some expats other then from work.

This meet up looks as though it will take place at the Crossbar, Sukhumvit Soi 23, on the evening of Friday 12th June 2009. The start time has not, as far as I'm aware, been set yet but if you arrived at 8.00pm I'm sure some other TV members would be there by then. Hope to see you there if not enjoy your time in Bangkok.

[spysee]

You can easily survive on 20K baht per month. But that is only surviving.

If you want nice food and go out etc maybe 50 or 60K per month.

It all depends really. oOme months I spend 15K, some months I spend 5 times that.

i have been here just 6 months and loving it. I believe you will also love it here