Comparing Costs Of Living

[maichai40]

I would like to know your opinion on this subject, since i don't share the view of many about a "village life" being much cheaper than living in a tourist place.

What i mean is that I read in many topics how cheap is living in the countryside, but i think that if you live a normal life, have a wife that cooks your meals, you do your laundry, don't need to hire taxi, tuk tuk or mototaxi to move around etc. the costs are...just the same!!

This is my way of living in Phuket, famous to be a tourist trap and the most expensive place in Thailand together with Bangkok, and i compare the prices with my wife village (far north) which i know very well.

I live in my apartment, so no expensive rent (i know with the same price i could buy a teak house with few rai of land in north but i am just talking of monthly expenses),

I don't recall the last time i went to a restaurant, since my wife is an excellent cook, and when we go we use the local market food hall (which is better than the restaurant) with pices in the range of 30-40 baht/meal max.

Never used a laundry shop, a taxi, a tuk tuk or mototaxi, we have a car and a motorbike. And the cost of gasoline in Phuket is cheaper than in village, since here we use gas station (2 baht/litre difference).

The gas bottle cost exactly the same in both places.

If i need a doctor/hospital i don't need to travel by car 100km (Chiang Mai).

If i need shopping, i have many super markets at walking distance here while if i live in village except for veg, pork and chicken i have to go to Chiang Mai if i want to buy olive oil, pasta, cheese, tomato can....(yes you are right, i am italian) because just unavailable there and the normal other products thai people use like soybean oil, oyster sauce etc are more expensive than in super market.

If i need to fly to my country i can depart directly from here and don't need to go Chiang Mai and then Bangkok to get a flight.

Many other cost such as clothing, health or car insurance, telephone and mobile, internet etc. are the same.

And not to mention that the sea is free of charge (who needs the beach chairs?) and many other services like buying a book or a newspapers, are not available in a remote village, but this has nothing to do with costs.

All this to say that, as me and my wife sometimes consider to go live in north for saving on expenses, we realise that living here is cheaper or just the same as north (i repeat, with a normal family life).

Some others living in Phuket or Pattaya or Bangkok for sure will find my lifestyle boring, maybe but i came here to have a quite life and i go fishing (free), walking and running in the beautiful park in Phuket town or on the beach (free too), just to say that living in Phuket doesn't mean always spend a lot of money. And anyway this is just a comparison village/tourist place not a comparison of lifestyles.

Your view will be much appreciated, tell me if I am wrong...

[anonymouse]

Yes your probably right but it does depend on the person, I don't live in a village but I live out of town with my family, If I lived in town there would be to many distractions to spend my money on. So with me it would be more expensive because of my lack of self discipline

[longstebe]

You have a valid point.

It all depends what lifestyle you want to live.

I think its that simple.

[polecat]

I bet it costs a lot less to have a four-handed massage in Nakhon Nowhere than it does on Soi Thaniya.

*Note to self: ask for three hands next time.

[noahvail]

I live in my apartment, so no expensive rent (i know with the same price i could buy a teak house with few rai of land in north but i am just talking of monthly expenses),

You bring up some interesting and, to my mind, valid points.

Would you be willing to give us an idea of how much rent you pay, and what your apartment is like?

[maichai40]

I live in my apartment, so no expensive rent (i know with the same price i could buy a teak house with few rai of land in north but i am just talking of monthly expenses),

You bring up some interesting and, to my mind, valid points.

Would you be willing to give us an idea of how much rent you pay, and what your apartment is like?

As i said the apartment is mine, bought 3 years ago when prices were still acceptable, a 76 sq/m condo.

[fiddlehead]

YOu must have found a great market to buy your food.

When i last checked, meat, local produce, fruit, is a lot more expensive in Phuket than Issan.

Last time we were up there, I bought my kid a few pairs of shoes, price: 49 baht.

here, i can't find them under 99 and mostly they are double that.

But good for you that you seem to find everything the same price.

[ballpoint]

How about electricity and water? They are cheaper in Isan than in Bangkok, don't know about Phuket prices. Another benefit of village life is being able to grow your own fruit and veg, not to mention being able to reach out and strangle a chicken when you want a bit of meat.

[trogers]

Cost of living in any location has strong correlation to rental rates there.

Fruits cultivated locally will cost less than fruits brought from other provinces - lamyai and lynchee from the North will cost high in the South, and rambutans and pineapple from the South will cost high in the North. The same goes for other food produce.

[maichai40]

YOu must have found a great market to buy your food.

When i last checked, meat, local produce, fruit, is a lot more expensive in Phuket than Issan.

Last time we were up there, I bought my kid a few pairs of shoes, price: 49 baht.

here, i can't find them under 99 and mostly they are double that.

But good for you that you seem to find everything the same price.

Yes i found a great market, and is in Patong, but most of the other farang ignore it. Fortunately, so prices are still cheap.

Meat and pork are same price with north countryside, for chichen you may save 5-10 bath up there. But what about fish?

A kilo of fresh almost alive tuna is 50 baht, in Isan?

Fruit? today i bought 2 kilo of rambutan (10 baht/kilo) and 2kg of durian (15 baht/kilo), expensive?

For extremely cheap and basic clothing you have to move to Phuket town but yes, what you buy at 49 in Isan it would cost 60 or 70 there.

But...only for getting a flight for europe i save at least 3000 baht being in Phuket and not 700km from Bangkok, which buys a lot of shoes...

[maichai40]

How about electricity and water? They are cheaper in Isan than in Bangkok, don't know about Phuket prices. Another benefit of village life is being able to grow your own fruit and veg, not to mention being able to reach out and strangle a chicken when you want a bit of meat.

I don't know eithe about electricity in Isan but water bill never exceed 120 baht.

I agree with you that growing own fruit and veg is better and for chicken we still have some available here...