johnthompson Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Hey I was browsing the boards and a I saw a lot of recommendations for Chiang Mai. Mainly because its cheaper than Bangkok. Currently I am staying in bangkok but living costs here are pretty high. I spend about 7000 baht ALONE for the rent and there is barely room for two people and I am barely using the airco! My budget for food is also about 500 baht per day. That means I'm spending 15.000 on food alone. I know its kind of high but if I am ordering a pizza and a few drinks, I am already at 500 baht and then I didnt even include the other meals for that day. I mostly eat foreign food here and foreign food just is more expensive than regular thai food. So it is a realistic figure. That means I am spending 22.000 baht for nothing really. Just to stay alive. So I barely have anything left for other things.So how much cheaper is chiang mai compared to bangkok? And how is the lifestyle in Chiang Mai? Some of things in bangkok that I like are the girls, shopping malls, massage salons, food (plenty of variety), safety and its just reliable to stay here. I just dont want to give up all the luxuries that Bangkok offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotlost Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Chiang Mai is not cheaper that Bangkok. All basic needs are the same fuel is approximately 90 satang per liter more in Chiang Mai. Your better off there when it comes to the party side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 You get much more for your money on rent in Chiang Mai, but you need to eat a lot of cheap Thai food - which is convenient and everywhere - to really realize a savings. As has already been said, the nightlife is much better than most places in the West, but pales in comparison to Bangkok or Pattaya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DP25 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Chiang Mai is great but if you're just ordering pizza and eating in foreign pubs it's not going to be much cheaper. You spend too much on food if that's just for you. Try going to Tesco and buying foreign food. You should eat some Thai food, I'm sure you could at least enjoy some delicious fried rice for 30 baht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnthompson Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 Well I am not eating pizza or foreign food everyday but I do eat it often. My biggest concern with thai food is the way thai people cook their meat. Frankly its disgusting. I used to be a huge fan of chicken fillet but I have rarely seen a shop that sells thai food with chicken fillet. They use their own chicken with skin and all and the taste is somehow disgusting too. How can their chicken not have the same taste as regular chicken?! This goes for beef and other meat as well. I have really seen thai food with good quality meat. So basically I am limited to squid or vegetables which are the only things I find edible. And I know only a handful of dishes with those ingredients. Those dishes are in my regular rotation but it gets boring quit fast. Then you have dishes and ingredients I also quite enjoy but are just too difficult to eat and not worth the trouble. Such as tom yum, schrimp, grilled fish I just dont know what to eat nowadays so I always have to resort to foreign food. I wondering what and how you guys are eating in thailand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackers Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 (edited) Wow 500B a day on food! That's like 70 pounds a week. You might as well get an apartment with a kitchen and cook the food yourself and eat out occasionally. What about eating more fruit? I've seen some good deals in the markets. I would agree that the rent is expensive here/ Edited March 12, 2011 by jackers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 (edited) Thai chcken is fine, but the beef is usually horrible. When I used to visit Vietnam many years ago, the chicken was like rubber, so I switched to shrimp. That is easy to do here and not expensive and is a lot better than the tasteless, rubbery squid sold in most noodle stalls. You can get a decent place to rent in CM for about 3,500 baht per month if you look around a little. How is that or $16 a day for food "expensive"? Edited March 12, 2011 by Ulysses G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackers Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 what you get for 3500 is just a room though, to rent an apartment with a kitchen you would have to pay a lot more. 15 dollars a day on food is a lot to me. In London I spend 15 to 20 dollars a week on food. So Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses G. Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Apartments with a Western kitchens are very expensive here, but if you adapt to local conditions it is much cheaper than London. What do you eat in London that costs $2 per day? I would guess that dog food costs more than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackers Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Apartments with a Western kitchens are very expensive here, but if you adapt to local conditions it is much cheaper than London. What do you eat in London that costs $2 per day? I would guess that dog food costs more than that. I do my shopping mostly in markets, a big shop once a week usually I eat rice, pasta, bread, lentils and a lot of veggies, some fruit with some meat thrown in and I always look for interesting recipes from other countries which I can use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DP25 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 You don't need a western kitchen, buy an electric wok, toaster oven, etc. That's good enough for someone in an apartment to make some foreign food instead of eating out every day. Tesco, Villa, Tops all have lots of western food, either premade or ingredients. Really should just eat more Thai food, I don't usually have any of those problems with meat. If some place is giving you skin and bones with your chicken just order pork, pork is always fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjclark1 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 (edited) Tesco Lotus sell good quality meat 3 pork steaks (450gm) for 60bht Chicken breast (450gm) for 60bht French Fries 750gm for 74 bht That is about 6 evening meals worth for under 200bht, deep fry in a wok, very easy to do. Western food, my gf cooks at home for me, Thai meals 25-40 bht per person, we eat out. Edited March 12, 2011 by pjclark1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darvil Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 (edited) Well I am not eating pizza or foreign food everyday but I do eat it often. My biggest concern with thai food is the way thai people cook their meat. Frankly its disgusting. I used to be a huge fan of chicken fillet but I have rarely seen a shop that sells thai food with chicken fillet. They use their own chicken with skin and all and the taste is somehow disgusting too. How can their chicken not have the same taste as regular chicken?! This goes for beef and other meat as well. I have really seen thai food with good quality meat. So basically I am limited to squid or vegetables which are the only things I find edible. And I know only a handful of dishes with those ingredients. Those dishes are in my regular rotation but it gets boring quit fast. Then you have dishes and ingredients I also quite enjoy but are just too difficult to eat and not worth the trouble. Such as tom yum, schrimp, grilled fish I just dont know what to eat nowadays so I always have to resort to foreign food. I wondering what and how you guys are eating in thailand I find your comment interesting, especially the part where you question the taste of a chicken. I'm not exactly sure what a regular chicken taste like to you but to me chicken in bangkok is quite tasteful. Living in the US for a decade now I always find eating chicken here akin to eating an obese chicken; perhaps the chicken in the US reflects obese Americans? I mean eating a roasted Thai chicken with sticky rice and the black sauce is akin to heaven on earth. Perhaps chicken in Europe are healthier? I'm not exactly sure how they raise the chicken in Thailand but I always felt they were tastier. Maybe its my bias showing as I did grow up in bangkok and perhaps my tongue has been Thaiafied. On a side note: I've been preparing my food budget before landing back in BKK and rough estimate is about 10K as I plan to eat some nice fancy food once a week. I was talking to a Thai buddy and he says he spends 5K a month on food. I mean really, how can you not like the street food or semi-street food in BKK. They're a great value. Edited March 12, 2011 by Darvil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinique Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 if you look around apartments in chiangmai with kitchens (not full kitchen with stove, but microwave hotplates have) can be found in CM. A friend of ours stays in a 1 year old building in a 1 bedroom apartment for 12,000- /perth. the studios also with a kitchen in same building are 5,000-plus electirc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robblok Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Try cooking for yourself. It still is expensive (depending on the amount of meat) but cheaper then what your spending now. I cook all my food myself not because i don't like Thai food but because it makes me fat if I eat too much of it. Just get yourself one of those turbo / george forman grills (got many in the big c and carefour) and you can roast all the meat you want. THen you only have to boil or fry some vegetables. I usually start my day with a bowl of oatmeal, cheap filling and healthy. It does not have the greatest taste but if you use some cinnamon on it its ok. But if you start buying loads of meat and vegetables and fruits you will still pay more then when you go to the Thai shops and let them make food for you. The only difference is you will be eating healthier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 You don't need a western kitchen, buy an electric wok, toaster oven, etc. That's good enough for someone in an apartment to make some foreign food instead of eating out every day. Tesco, Villa, Tops all have lots of western food, either premade or ingredients. Really should just eat more Thai food, I don't usually have any of those problems with meat. If some place is giving you skin and bones with your chicken just order pork, pork is always fine. I agree pork isthe best meat available in Thailand. Beef unless imported is to be avoided...and chicken is hit or miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbk Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I think this post is more suited to the Chiang Mai forum where the residents there have more knowledge. //MOVED// Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naboo Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 You can get a 2 bedroom house here for 5000B/month. If you want foreign food, it's going to cost. Your fussy eating habits mean you're not going to be eating cheaply. Taxis, buses, TukTuks, Song Taews all cost (a lot) more and fuel costs (a little) more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackers Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 You can get a 2 bedroom house here for 5000B/month. Where? I certainly have seen that available in the classified section or else where on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naboo Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 You can get a 2 bedroom house here for 5000B/month. Where? I certainly have seen that available in the classified section or else where on the internet. Proof that one exists Then learn Thai and start looking at Thai language sites. Start here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjclark1 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I have a very nice 2 bedroom house on a Thai mooban 10km out of CM No air con but 2 shower rooms, 1 en suite 15 min to town centre, 5000bht a month. Many around, but you need to speak Thai to find them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackers Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 You can get a 2 bedroom house here for 5000B/month. Where? I certainly have seen that available in the classified section or else where on the internet. Proof that one exists Then learn Thai and start looking at Thai language sites. Start here. Excellent and thanks. Google translate will have to do for now. I've just seen a house on the thai site for 1000b a month in Chiang mai. Surely some mistake?? http://www.ddproperty.com/property/show/81962 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackers Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I have a very nice 2 bedroom house on a Thai mooban 10km out of CM No air con but 2 shower rooms, 1 en suite 15 min to town centre, 5000bht a month. Many around, but you need to speak Thai to find them. Just like philippines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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