Expat Retiree Cost Of Living--higher And Higher

[JMS]

With a civil war looming I dont think it matters now as we will all be in our own countries soon and be able to compare prices 1st hand

[musiclover]

Are you serious? A 5 bed house with big garden close to town for 18K? More like 45k pm and up on Darkside of Pattaya! Depends on size I suppose

2500 baht per month groceries for your family? Thats impossible in Pattaya unless yourre on subsistence level and not at Foodland or Carrefour! Im trying to imagine what you could be eating for that and what about ordinary household necessites?

Perhaps move somewhere nice that you can afford - like Chiang Rai or Chiang Mai. If one lived on the French Riviera they would have to expect it to be much more expensive than out in the country.

The Non sequiter rules again! Whether is is affordable is entirely irrelevant to the points made which are NOT about personal circumstances but about phtsical costs.

*you, one, they and it* all in one sentence makes it a pretty incomprehensible statement anyway!

[Ulysses G.]

The Non sequiter rules again! Whether is is affordable is entirely irrelevant to the points made which are NOT about personal circumstances but about phtsical costs.

*you, one, they and it* all in one sentence makes it a pretty incomprehensible statement anyway!

Huh? It is not one sentence to start with and who are you to talk about incomprehensible writing?

Edited April 27, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[patrickinpattaya]

patrickinpattaya.

re ..... I then had to pay 124.9p per litre of Diesel

ehh ..... oohhhh ... ouch !

enjoy pics ? ... or cry ?

at chiang mai gas prices per litre on 8 april 10

or a large beer archa @ 34 baht yesterday

dave2

Cheers Dave, really makes me feel better, the news over here reckon diesel could hit £1.50 a litre this year. If it does I'm selling up and moving to LOS permently!

[patrickinpattaya]

The cost of living may well of gone up in Pattaya, however it's still cheaper than the UK. I went into a dive of a pub today and ordered half a pint of Bitter and a Pint of Shandy it cost £6.00. I'm still gutted. I then had to pay 124.9p per litre of Diesel on the way home. My electric and Gas bill in the UK is around £110 per month.

Pattaya has a long way to go before it catches up with rip off Britain.

Its all personal experience! My elec bill monthly in Pattaya is well over £200 !! Id love to have a bill of only £110 pm! This includes a pool and good use of an oven but average aircon use. 3 phase elec too, but only £110 pm for elec and gas?! I wish!!

I'm really suprised, our electric bill for our house in Foresta 4 nr laem Chabang is a pittance I think its an average of £40 per month, I'll ask the strife to check

[sarahsbloke]

I'm really suprised, our electric bill for our house in Foresta 4 nr laem Chabang is a pittance I think its an average of £40 per month, I'll ask the strife to check

My wife is insisting on air-con at night ...... pushed my electricity bill up from 700bht (14UKP) to 1100bht (22UKP) last month.

(not sure how I could increase thast to 200UKP though ..... Pattaya must be more expensive than New York)

If Pattaya is really so much more expensive than the rest of Thailand, makes me wonder why any of you live there, the beaches are dirty and so are the working girls. Plenty of other places with working girls, if that's your thing.

Edited April 28, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[craigt3365]

The elec bill in our apartment was about 2500B/month. We run ac at night, and in the afternoons as it had 2 large sliding doors that faced the sun in the afternoon. In our house, 3br with pool, we will be running about 5-6k baht/month. We do run the ac at night and then in the early evening to get the humidity out...I usually set the temp at 28. Other than that, we rarely use the ac.

[tropo]

The elec bill in our apartment was about 2500B/month. We run ac at night, and in the afternoons as it had 2 large sliding doors that faced the sun in the afternoon. In our house, 3br with pool, we will be running about 5-6k baht/month. We do run the ac at night and then in the early evening to get the humidity out...I usually set the temp at 28. Other than that, we rarely use the ac.

For most people your aircon settings are totally inadequate and don't represent the true cost of electricity in Pattaya. Keeping cool 24/7 in a 3 bedroom house in Pattaya's summer climate is going to cost a lot in electricity. There's no way around it.

[craigt3365]

The elec bill in our apartment was about 2500B/month. We run ac at night, and in the afternoons as it had 2 large sliding doors that faced the sun in the afternoon. In our house, 3br with pool, we will be running about 5-6k baht/month. We do run the ac at night and then in the early evening to get the humidity out...I usually set the temp at 28. Other than that, we rarely use the ac.

For most people your aircon settings are totally inadequate and don't represent the true cost of electricity in Pattaya. Keeping cool 24/7 in a 3 bedroom house in Pattaya's summer climate is going to cost a lot in electricity. There's no way around it.

I'm not sure I understand...my costs are right in line with what others in our village are experiencing. Some are a bit higher, some are a bit lower. One neighbor has not turned on his AC this year! Our other neighbor never turns his off....I am guessing as we add some outside lighting, our bill will go up to about 6-7k Baht/month. That would be the max.

edit: the 28 degree temp is set for the living room...we set the bedroom to 26...but use no ac during the day. When friends are here, we set the living room to 27.

Edited April 28, 2010 by craigt3365

[Phil Conners]

The elec bill in our apartment was about 2500B/month. We run ac at night, and in the afternoons as it had 2 large sliding doors that faced the sun in the afternoon. In our house, 3br with pool, we will be running about 5-6k baht/month. We do run the ac at night and then in the early evening to get the humidity out...I usually set the temp at 28. Other than that, we rarely use the ac.

For most people your aircon settings are totally inadequate and don't represent the true cost of electricity in Pattaya. Keeping cool 24/7 in a 3 bedroom house in Pattaya's summer climate is going to cost a lot in electricity. There's no way around it.

Why is that? We use the same settings in a similar house (without pool) and average around 3,000 baht/month (4,000 last month but it has been very hot and humid recently).

[Naam]

The elec bill in our apartment was about 2500B/month. We run ac at night, and in the afternoons as it had 2 large sliding doors that faced the sun in the afternoon. In our house, 3br with pool, we will be running about 5-6k baht/month. We do run the ac at night and then in the early evening to get the humidity out...I usually set the temp at 28. Other than that, we rarely use the ac.

For most people your aircon settings are totally inadequate and don't represent the true cost of electricity in Pattaya. Keeping cool 24/7 in a 3 bedroom house in Pattaya's summer climate is going to cost a lot in electricity. There's no way around it.

Why is that? We use the same settings in a similar house (without pool) and average around 3,000 baht/month (4,000 last month but it has been very hot and humid recently).

Gentlemen. for the record... there is no such thing like a "similar" house as the number of bedrooms does not indicate the m² of living area which is cooled to a temperature that varies a lot according to individual comfort levels and demands. and the same goes for the relative statements "keeping cool 24/7 costs a lot" and "We run ac at night" or "we have a pool" which mean actually nothing (sorry Tropo and CraigT ).

[Naam]

I'm really suprised, our electric bill for our house in Foresta 4 nr laem Chabang is a pittance I think its an average of £40 per month, I'll ask the strife to check

My wife is insisting on air-con at night ...... pushed my electricity bill up from 700bht (14UKP) to 1100bht (22UKP) last month.

(not sure how I could increase thast to 200UKP though ..... Pattaya must be more expensive than New York)

If Pattaya is really so much more expensive than the rest of Thailand, makes me wonder why any of you live there, the beaches are dirty and so are the working girls. Plenty of other places with working girls, if that's your thing.

you must have quite some experience checking the cleanliness of Pattaya working girls

[tropo]

Why is that? We use the same settings in a similar house (without pool) and average around 3,000 baht/month (4,000 last month but it has been very hot and humid recently).

Because 28 is not cool enough for most foreigners from Europe, Australia and US to be comfortable, therefore the electricity use by such a household would not be a good yardstick whereby to compare electricity costs to Western nations.

I've roughed it through a few SE Asian summers with no aircon too, but that's not what I would consider comfortable living. If I had to do that again I'd rather move back to a temperate climate. In Pattaya I consider 25C or less with fans a necessity no matter what the electricity will cost.

Edited April 28, 2010 by tropo

[Phil Conners]

Why is that? We use the same settings in a similar house (without pool) and average around 3,000 baht/month (4,000 last month but it has been very hot and humid recently).

Because 28 is not cool enough for most foreigners from Europe, Australia and US to be comfortable, therefore the electricity use by such a household would not be a good yardstick whereby to compare electricity costs to Western nations.

I've roughed it through a few SE Asian summers with no aircon too, but that's not what I would consider comfortable living. If I had to do that again I'd rather move back to a temperate climate. In Pattaya I consider 25C or less with fans a necessity no matter what the electricity will cost.

Everybody have different pain levels. I'm from Scandinavia and 28C is fine for me here. Colder than that and I start freezing.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Phil Conners

[tropo]

Everybody have different pain levels. I'm from Scandinavia and 28C is fine for me here. Colder than that and I start freezing.

My gf wears pyjamas at home when it's over 30, but I'm not talking about a few "strange" foreigners who prefer it hot inside. I'm talking about the general population. There's a reason why they run airconditioners in shopping malls at 21-23C back at home in summer - because that is considered the best operating temperature for most people.

[craigt3365]

I think there are a lot who don't use AC during the day. I hardly saw anybody in our apartment building use AC until the late afternoon. Doors and windows were wide open pretty much all day.

25 is freezing! Maybe the few "strange" foreigners are the ones who want it like the shopping malls back home?

[Naam]

Why is that? We use the same settings in a similar house (without pool) and average around 3,000 baht/month (4,000 last month but it has been very hot and humid recently).

Because 28 is not cool enough for most foreigners from Europe, Australia and US to be comfortable, therefore the electricity use by such a household would not be a good yardstick whereby to compare electricity costs to Western nations.

I've roughed it through a few SE Asian summers with no aircon too, but that's not what I would consider comfortable living. If I had to do that again I'd rather move back to a temperate climate. In Pattaya I consider 25C or less with fans a necessity no matter what the electricity will cost.

as i mentioned it's all based on individual demands. i feel "cold" at 26ºC and i start sweating at 27ºC (both at 60% relative humidity). my comfort level is 26.5ºC and my last electricity bill (21. march till 22. april) was ~13,350 Baht.

p.s. i did not move to Thailand to save hundreds of thousand Baht income tax per month and then sweat in my house to save a few thousand Baht per month.

[Naam]

I think there are a lot who don't use AC during the day. I hardly saw anybody in our apartment building use AC until the late afternoon. Doors and windows were wide open pretty much all day.

reason: obviously a lot of masochists living in that building

[basjke]

Everybody have different pain levels. I'm from Scandinavia and 28C is fine for me here. Colder than that and I start freezing.

My gf wears pyjamas at home when it's over 30, but I'm not talking about a few "strange" foreigners who prefer it hot inside. I'm talking about the general population. There's a reason why they run airconditioners in shopping malls at 21-23C back at home in summer - because that is considered the best operating temperature for most people.

Ever had a accurate thermometer? 21 degrees here or at home are a world of difference.When it's here 21 degrees you need 2 pullovers and a wintercoat while the same degree at home will be a real comfortable temperature.

As you drive a motorbike you probably know near the end of the year it is really freezing on the motorbike at night.Well that is rarely below 20 degrees.

[tropo]

p.s. i did not move to Thailand to save hundreds of thousand Baht income tax per month and then sweat in my house to save a few thousand Baht per month.

I have met quite a few expats that try hard to keep the AC off just to save on power bills. I have the same attitude as you, I don't budget on aircon.

[sarahsbloke]

p.s. i did not move to Thailand to save hundreds of thousand Baht income tax per month and then sweat in my house to save a few thousand Baht per month.

Not everyone is as wealthy as you (or have as big a house)

But seriously, I have become acclimatised and don't need air-con except under extremes like the past few weeks.

It's so hot I even have to wear shorts at the moment!

[Rimmer]

p.s. i did not move to Thailand to save hundreds of thousand Baht income tax per month and then sweat in my house to save a few thousand Baht per month.

I love it, my kind of thinking

[guzzi850m2]

Somebody writes its much cheaper to live in Chiang Mai?? How is that?? if you live as a "normal" expat, go out for Western food and drinks a couple of times a week, shop for expat food, drive your car. Okay houses are maybe slightly cheaper up there but not much anymore if you want to live in a village.

BTW, I just had a very good buffet in Patts today Western/Thai food for 150 bath , ice water included.

[Ulysses G.]

A lot of things are cheaper in CM as it is just a normal place to live rather than a "holiday town",but Pattaya is a good deal for what it is.

[Jingthing]

A lot of things are cheaper in CM as it is just a normal place to live rather than a "holiday town",but Pattaya is a good deal for what it is.

This actually isn't true if you live in Pattaya and consciously frequent more non-tourist areas.

[tropo]

p.s. i did not move to Thailand to save hundreds of thousand Baht income tax per month and then sweat in my house to save a few thousand Baht per month.

Not everyone is as wealthy as you (or have as big a house)

But seriously, I have become acclimatised and don't need air-con except under extremes like the past few weeks.

It's so hot I even have to wear shorts at the moment!

Sure, people can survive the heat without aircon. So can I. Millions do. The point is I don't choose to for the sake of a few thousand baht.

There is no doubt that lower temperatures allow the body to function more efficiently and make you more energetic. It's easy to become a lazy slob while putting up with the heat. Your metabolism slows down to compensate for overheating.

Try this experiment if you don't believe it. Do a 2 hour workout in a room at 30C. Try the same workout in a 20C room. You'll be absolutely amazed at the difference. You proabably won't last 2 hours in the hot room.

You can get used to heat, but you'll never function as well.

[chops]

I tried to switch the aircon off in my apartment here just to try it. Within a few hours the room was uncomfortably warm and had a sticky feel. This was with the door wide open to my room and the backdoor open with a breaze going through. After one night of this miserable stickiness, I turned the aircon back on. I can hardly understand how some guys get by without aircon here. Being miserably hot and sticky just isn't worth 1 or 2 thousand baht.

[chops]

I think there are a lot who don't use AC during the day. I hardly saw anybody in our apartment building use AC until the late afternoon. Doors and windows were wide open pretty much all day.

25 is freezing! Maybe the few "strange" foreigners are the ones who want it like the shopping malls back home?

Anything more than 25 I can't tolerate. I kept my aircon at 21 in my old studio apartment and the bills were absolutely astronomical(6-7k). It does not help that a lot of 'serviced apartments' jack up the electric rates to 7 baht a unit or higher. I can understand why a lot of expats try to go without electric when faced with these kind of crazy expenses. I sure don't think I know of any apartments back in the west that charge that much for electric. So much for the 'low cost of living' here.

[Naam]

Anything more than 25 I can't tolerate. I kept my aircon at 21 in my old studio apartment and the bills were absolutely astronomical(6-7k). It does not help that a lot of 'serviced apartments' jack up the electric rates to 7 baht a unit or higher. I can understand why a lot of expats try to go without electric when faced with these kind of crazy expenses. I sure don't think I know of any apartments back in the west that charge that much for electric. So much for the 'low cost of living' here.

how much do you pay for heating your house in the "west"? so much for the low cost living in the west

[Colonel_Mustard]

Depends on lifestyle.

I actually spend considerably more per month in Thailand than I would in the UK but the lifestyles would be quite different and so the comparison would be unfair.

However, I think it's fairly safe to say that it is possible live more cheaply in Thailand than in the west.