Cost Of Living For Family

[womble]

Currently living in Koh Samui and the place just gets more and more expensive. With a young family there are limited options for schooling and only one over priced hospital of any satisfactory standard.

My question is would a move to Somewhere up north such as Chiang Mai make $ go a lot futher? I have 50-60k a month to support myself, the mrs and a 1 year old. Costs will rise as the little one gets older and needs schooling.

I'm used to living on a salary several times the figure mentioned, but I wish to save so I'm looking at options that would make it easier to save as much as possible.

At present my rent alone is 30k, what sort of $ would a comfortable 2 bed in Chiang mai cost? Here the 30k gets you a nice 2 bed with small pool.

Would I be looking at the same up there or would similar be cheaper.

I have been in Thailand a while, but know nothing about the north. I know issan is cheap, but i'm not keen on a move there. I have friends in Chiang Mai + I like the idea of living somewhere that has all the department stores (for baby clothes etc), without the pollution of Bangkok or the sleeze of Pattaya.

I also like the idea of being able to drive up into the hills for the cooler air during the hot spells. I'm basically just looking for somewhere that is a bit more family friendly, and a bit easier on the wallet.

I need to put $ away for school fees, so if a move up there would make it easier then it's be something i'd seriously consider.

I went to Chiang Mai 10 years ago and it was very obvious how much cheaper it was, perhaps this has all changed now and it's the same there as down here now.

Can anyone shed some light?

any answers much appreciated.

[LaoPo]

I ran into this topic with a few links to real estate agents.

The houses in CM are amazingly cheap in comparison to Samui. For 15K/month you have a beautiful house.

Don't know anything about the costs of living in CM but it can't be more expensive than Samui....I think.

LaoPo

[sarahsbloke]

I'm 20km outside ChiangMai, but a 20min drive to the town centre.

A nice 2 bedroom house on my estate is about 6000bht a month (no pool)

I prefer to live near the mountains, there is a pool 6km away at a resort, entrance 30bht for adults.

You can get the same price about 5km from the town centre, there are many moobans with pools.

The school is free but you pay for books and uniforms (about 4000bht this year)

My total spend, wife, 12yo, MIL, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and me .... about 40,000bht a month.

Edited August 15, 2010 by sarahsbloke

[Thakkar]

For a family of three, a budget of 40-60k/month will get you a decent standard of living by most measures, even including basic (very basic) health insurance.

Your kid is young, but the tike's not going away so you might as well begin thinking about schools.

School fees:

As SB above says, government schools are free. However your kid may need added tuition in English (or Thai, if he goes to International school). Fees for private schools (approx/year)

40k - Thai private

80k-100k - Bi-lingual

150-400k - International

Google

(Pre-schools)

Varee Kindergarten

Napa

Nakornpayap

Kiddy Bear (I think they have a long waiting list)

Little Star

Garden School

Have heard of a new Montessori school, but sorry no details

(Elementary and Highschools)

Dara Academy

Prince Royal

Sacred Heart College

Varee Chiangmai School (Bi-lingual and International)

Prem Tinsulanonda International School 
(now known as PTIS)

American Pacific International School

Chiang Mai International School

Nakornpayap International School

Lanna International School

Grace International School

Chiangmai Christian German School

For all private schools, a cautious inflation adjustment budget would be 7% per annum.

Also, take a look at this new and very interesting school project:

Panyaden School (panyaden dot org)

The above list is by no means exhaustive. Whatever your school budget, CM has what you need for your kid.

Housing

7k-30k/month Of course there's no upper limit, but 30k should have you sitting really pretty. For 7k you'll get a decent but basic 2 bedroom/2 bath single story house with small garden anywhere from 15 to 20km from the city centre. For 30k you could get a great 3-5 bedroom/3-4 bath 2-storey well-furnished house on at least 200 Sq Wa of land 10-20km from city centre. I'm not sure about a house with pool, but most private moo bans with houses in the 15k+/month price range will have a basic club with pool.

An acquaintance pays about 20k for a beautifully and fully furnished 3 bed/2bath 2-story house with a large outdoor Jacuzzi 10 minutes drive (10km) from city centre, close to shopping, hospitals and schools.

Best way to find a house is decide on an area you like and drive around that area looking for 'for rent' signs.

Moving up north, your biggest savings will be on housing and school fees. On other things, there won't be a material difference. Labor is probably cheaper whether you're thinking of maids, repairmen or private teachers.

I know you haven't asked about this, but check the TV CM forum on air quality discussions.

Good Luck.

[IMA_FARANG]

The question of "How much it take to support my family in Thailand" keeps coming up. Let me make it clear that there is no real answer to that question...because the answer depends on what you regard as an "acceptable" standard of living for your family.

Now I support a Thai G/F, her three (grown) children, and one grand daughter. The G/F owns a Thai house, the grown children all work...enough to support themselves (food,clothing, etc.),and the grand daughter is in school (Thai school). We live in the Bangkok area, and we can make do on 40K to 50K Baht a month. Because we do not have to pay rent (the Thai G/F owns the house)that amount is enough to keep us going. We are not wealthy by any means, but we do have a "acceptable" standard of living.

Now I'm fully aware that others would regard my standard of living as "below standard". They couldn't not imagine to spending at least two nights a week at the local bar drinking. I have no desire to do that (I spent more than 20 years doing that until I realised it was a stupid pastime)and therefore my expenses monthly for "entertainment" are probably less than 5K Baht a month...mostly for Thai or Chinese food in a restaurant with the family.

So the question of "How much does it cost to raise a family"...etc. is really dependent on what life style you find acceptable.

In general you will find:

1. Yes it is cheaper to live up north (Chinag Mai as an example). But is that accepatble to you? I personally won't accept the "squat" toilets. That's not an "acceptable" life style for me, and my family house has sit down toilets on both floors. I have air conditioning in the master bedroom, and the kids have air conditioning in their bedrooms, but downstairs we use fans to circulate the air

2. Are you willing to eat primarily Thai or Thai/Chinese food? Or do you "need" farang items as a part of your diet?

3. Do you insist on a English language school for your children? If you do (I not saying you're wrong, just wanting you to be aware that an international school with an English language ciriculum will cost you.)

4. If you can afford to do so, purchase a Thai house, remodel it to what you find an acceptable standard, and avoid the paying rent trap. It will cost you money, but in the long run you will save on the "monthly rent" trap, where after years of rent you still own nothing.

5. Get out of the "farang ghetto" areas where most of your neighbors are farangs and all your food choices are farang food or farang reataurants.

Anyhow, you get the idea. There are surely people on this forum who couldn't survive on less than 100K Baht or 150K Baht a month...because they would regard that as an unacceptabale life style. And there may be those who could live on less than 30K Baht a month...because they could accept the life style choices that meant.

So, bottom line, I don't know what it costs to live with a family per month. Because it all depends on what you will accept as your life style choice.

Edited August 15, 2010 by IMA_FARANG

[sarahsbloke]

forgot to add

I pay a bit more at 7000bht a month for a 3 bedroom western standard house, 2 shower room with proper toilets, 2 air con house, double car port. 1 bedroom was not furnished.

You can find 3 storey unfurnished town houses in the town centre for 7000-8000bht a month.

[HalfSquat]

Out of interest, how much would a 1 bed condo cost to rent in or around Chiang Mai?

Edited August 15, 2010 by HalfSquat

[Beetlejuice]

Wow, 30000 baht a month for rent! I hope that includes maid, butler, gardener and chauffeur driven car, otherwise you`re being robbed.

A problem may arise according to what sort of school you wish to send your daughter. International school fees in Chiang Mai range from 170000 to 350000 baht per year. Thai schools much cheaper but the education is below par to western standards.

If you like gracious living with all the western style mod cons, that it seems you do, you will not save much on expensies no matter where you live, but if you can adapt, for example swap the pool for a small fish pond and to living on a lower budget, it can be cheaper to live up north, but only just.

Edited August 15, 2010 by Beetlejuice

[sarahsbloke]

Out of interest, how much would a 1 bed condo cost to rent in or around Chiang Mai?

I rather like Emporium residence in Santhitham at 5,500bht + utils, single room, fridge, fan, aircon, tube Tv, wifi, nice shower room, balcony with sink

And another close by but in a quieter area for 6,000bht + utils, single bed, living/kitchen, LCD Tv, wifi, fan, aircon, balcony

[Will27]

Out of interest, how much would a 1 bed condo cost to rent in or around Chiang Mai?

As everywhere, it all depends on your location and budget.

Some of the more recent buildings in the middle of the city

like Peaks Gardens will set you back 15 000+ for a 1 bedroom

approx 55 sqm.

Then as sarasbloke advised, you can them for 5000 or 6000.

Like a previous poster advised, it is what you find acceptable

and are willing to pay.

Regards

Will

[Bkkorupcountry]

I know this thread concerns cost of living so I hope my question is not too off topic. Where is a good place to live in Thailand?

Of course I understand that "good" means different things to different people. In my instance, I'm single (divorced), late forties (about to hit 50 soon), currently still working but hoping to retire in the very near future. I currently live in Bkk, in a 2 bed apartment costing Bht35,000 per month (thank goodness the company's paying!). I've been living in Bkk for slightly over a year, visited CM last month for a few days, just came back from Pattaya after a short holiday. I would like to live in an environment that's not as loutish as Pattaya but a bit more vibrant than CM. I expect that my monthly expenses (including rent etc) would be about 60-70k. For that money, what would be an ideal place to live in Thailand? Bangkok is probably too expensive, for the kind of lifestyle I'm thinking off.

[tangcoral]

Income of 50K-60K and paying 30K on housing?

thats well over 50% of your salary just on housing

I would consider budgeting 30% of your salary towards housing and socking the away 20% for school and child emergency funds.

[Bkkorupcountry]

Income of 50K-60K and paying 30K on housing?

thats well over 50% of your salary just on housing

I would consider budgeting 30% of your salary towards housing and socking the away 20% for school and child emergency funds.

No no, sorry I wasn't clear. My company pays for my housing currently as I'm still employed. What I meant was that when I decide to retire, I would probably budget around 50-60k per month for living expenses. Obviously, I won't be then spending 30k on housing.