North And North East Thailand Is Cheaper To Live?

[thailandbluegrass]

Hi. I have been living in Thailand for 10 years strait but mostly in Central or South West Thailand.

I have always heard people say that living in the North is much cheaper especially in the NE. Everyone seems to think that the cost of living is cheaper too.

I just spent the past 6 months in the North, 3 in Chiang Mai, 1 in Udon Thani and the past 2 months to present here in Sakon Nakhon.

I have not seen this cheaper way of living yet. I do speak Thai fairly well so I know when they charge the Thai in front of me 30 baht then ask me for 50 baht next in line and I'm not shy to tell them in Thai that I know. This however does not happen as much here then back in Bkk but still I feel that everything is the same cost here except for housing.

In Udon it's not easy to find housing these days and niether is it here in Sakon but if you do then it is cheaper then say Bkk.

The food, electronics, Household items etc etc are not any cheaper. I mean Big-C, Tesco, Makro all have the same prices nation wide so no deals there. The street ventdors here in the North charge 30 baht for lets say "Khao Phad Moo" but the helpings are a LOT smaller then in the south.

Anyone have any comments or experiences here in the north or for those of you in Bkk, Pattaya, Phuket etc that have compared or are thinking of moving to the north for the "Cheap Lifestyle" can ask or comment.

Electricity is still 6,7,8 baht per unit

Water is between 20 - 25 baht per unit

Internet costs are the same TOT, True, 3bb etc

Edited August 28, 2010 by thailandbluegrass

[richieudon]

Hello

I live in a small town north east of Udon Thani and I agree with you that all the things you list are pretty much the same.

The reason I think I find life cheaper up here is that I built my own house and bought the land for peanuts (although it's essentially my wife's land) and the temptation to go out to bars just isn't there.

I used to live in Koh Samui and would be out everyday and every night. I rented down there and it was about 15,000 baht per month and electricity and water were far more expensive.

My town has 2 or 3 "farang bars" and I maybe frequent them once or twice a month, that is what I think makes life cheaper.

We tend to live off the land a lot here too; fruits, vegetables and a bit of fishing are all home grown and the wife is a great cook.. lucky me....

[JohnnyFeelIt]

If you don't spend much then there won't be much of a difference.

The main differences expense wise between Bangkok and elsewhere.

Rental costs

Eating out

Bars/Clubs

If you rarely do any of the 3 above, then there won't be much difference.

[CharlieH]

Hello

I live in a small town north east of Udon Thani and I agree with you that all the things you list are pretty much the same.

The reason I think I find life cheaper up here is that I built my own house and bought the land for peanuts (although it's essentially my wife's land) and the temptation to go out to bars just isn't there.

I used to live in Koh Samui and would be out everyday and every night. I rented down there and it was about 15,000 baht per month and electricity and water were far more expensive.

My town has 2 or 3 "farang bars" and I maybe frequent them once or twice a month, that is what I think makes life cheaper.

We tend to live off the land a lot here too; fruits, vegetables and a bit of fishing are all home grown and the wife is a great cook.. lucky me....

I agree totally with Richieudon, alot depends on your lifestyle, I live in Central Thailand and about 3-4 years ago there was a marginal diference but not anymore. i too bought land up here for peanuts (in comparison) built my own home etc and am not interested in bars etc so life is simple and with little or no overheads life is simple and cheap on a day to day basis.

[Ulysses G.]

If you don't spend much then there won't be much of a difference.

The main differences expense wise between Bangkok and elsewhere.

Rental costs

Eating out

Bars/Clubs

If you rarely do any of the 3 above, then there won't be much difference.

Correct.

[thrilled]

You can't find housing at udon,i'm surprised.plenty of places on udonmap.Also fbi realestate.And theres also A few websites.

I could find things way cheaper in udon than bkk.Maybe shop A little harder.

[DP25]

Rent and land prices are cheaper outside Bangkok, but aside from that there is not really much difference. The main problem is that there is just so much more to do in a big city than in a rural area, it's easy to be bored and just get on the skytrain and go to MBK or some bars and spend a lot of money. The fact that my noodle soup costs 20 baht in the north east instead of 25 baht Bangkok in the north east isn't really important. And while the most foreign bars in Bangkok are expensive most of the Thai bars are as dirt cheap as elsewhere.

[Phuket Stan]

If you don't spend much then there won't be much of a difference.

The main differences expense wise between Bangkok and elsewhere.

Rental costs

Eating out

Bars/Clubs

If you rarely do any of the 3 above, then there won't be much difference.

Correct.

Yep...I live in Kalim on the notoriously expensive Phuket (apparently to a lot of people ) but as in the above post if you keep out of them, day to day expenses are much the same as the rest of Thailand...best Khoa Mun Gai in the world for 40 baht...

[thailandbluegrass]

You can't find housing at udon,i'm surprised.plenty of places on udonmap.Also fbi realestate.And theres also A few websites.

I could find things way cheaper in udon than bkk.Maybe shop A little harder.

Actually ever since University in Udon started the new term there is nowhere cheap to rent trust me. I know all about udonmap but Im not willing to pay 12,000 THB per month when the salary was only 18,000 THB. i AM NOT A NEWBY TO tHAILAND SO i AM QUITE RESOURCFULL BUT TRUST ME ALL THE LOW COST PLACES FOR RENT NOW IN uDON ARE tHAI STYLE AS IN 25 SQM. oops Caps was oone hehe.

Can you please tell us these things that you can find much cheaper in Udon that you say as that is what this post is all about.

To all the other posters your right its the "LIFESTYLE" here that makes it cheaper to live here due to not as many "life in the fast lane" places to spend your money and like you i lost my interest in the gogo bars and O'reilies type bars years ago and do enjoy living up here. However the things you need to but (other then land, houses etc) are still the same as say Bkk.

[Tafia]

You can't find housing at udon,i'm surprised.plenty of places on udonmap.Also fbi realestate.And theres also A few websites.

I could find things way cheaper in udon than bkk.Maybe shop A little harder.

Actually ever since University in Udon started the new term there is nowhere cheap to rent trust me. I know all about udonmap but Im not willing to pay 12,000 THB per month when the salary was only 18,000 THB. i AM NOT A NEWBY TO tHAILAND SO i AM QUITE RESOURCFULL BUT TRUST ME ALL THE LOW COST PLACES FOR RENT NOW IN uDON ARE tHAI STYLE AS IN 25 SQM. oops Caps was oone hehe.

I find there are many places cheap enough in Udon if you look around, I rent from FBI. 7,000 a month fully furnished 2 bed 1 bath bungalow, I have friends paying 4-5000 for unfurnished or part furnished..they are there you just need to look around. Im only 2km from the town centre just off the Nong Sai Road.

There are a number of homes for rent on my estate all under 10,000

Edited August 29, 2010 by Tafia

[thedistillers]

When people talk about cost of living they're mostly thinking about housing.

Why would electronics, utilities, etc be less expensive? There is no reason to.

And, of course, like it was already mentioned, it's easier to spend money in a big city as there is more to do.

[ericthai]

I have lived in Thailand for about 11 years, 5-6 years in BKK and the past 4-5 years in Surin. Ok our house we own so no rent, electric I believe we are only paying 4-5 baht dont know exactly, but our elec bill is never over 3000B. Mostly just a little over 2000B, we only have aircon in our bedroom and dont always use it. Food etc is about the same as BKK. But I do agree you can find cheap housing. I rented a house with about 3 rai for 3500B a month for my plant manager to stay and for anytime staff from our BKK office comes up. It's a small house only 2 bedrooms but nice.

My wife just rented out her sisters house for only 2000 baht per month. This is a two bedroom house with about 1 rai with a nice brick wall around the house and sliding gate for car park. Only reason she rented so cheap as it was empty for 1 year as her sister moved to Europe to work and was paying 1000 baht a month for a maid to keep it clean and the grass cut, so shes making money now instead of paying money. It is rented to a thai guy.

I believe if you look around and ask people you can find good deals on houses. Electric is cheaper for a house too than an apartment. I know apartments pay a higher rate to EGAT and usually the owner adds to this too. I would start looking for a house if I was you.

The bars and Restaurants I go to are cheaper than in BKK too. of course street food is about he same.

Good luck!!

[taff33]

I live 50 k south of Lampang in the 'jungle' water about 200b a year electric about 800-1000 a month,never ate so much fillet in my life ( pork,cow, buffullow) all killled in the village never a problem with it hate to think of the price in bkk.