Bangkok Ranks 2nd In ASEAN As City With Highest Living Cost

[markuk]

What were in the comparision list? Having lived in KL for 10 years and 5 years in Bangkok, I can easily said that I get more from my Baht than Ringgit. Houses, food, transportation, clubs which are big ticket items are at least 10% more expensive in KL. Got to read the details for a better comparision. Strictly from an actual cost of living comparision, Bangkok is certainly cheaper than KL.

I would agree wtih this, having lived in Bkk and now KL. Taxis are shocking here, beer & alcohol is far more expensive and rents are high for expats. Food etc and general costs are also more expensive. I think its all well and good doing a cost of living comparison but for quality of life then Bkk is way ahead of KL. KL would surely be rated the most boring city in ASEAN! count yourselves lucky living in Bkk, when i get chance i will be back there.

[markuk]

I only spent 4 days in KL 2 years ago, but food, hotels, taxis, public transport were all more than double the cost of BK.<BR><BR> Most the bargain clothes were from Platinum so obviously marked up.We even found one shop selling my brother in laws dresses (no he doesn't wear them) at 800% mark up.<BR><BR> Have the exchange rates effected it or does Malaysia having petronas oil keep the price of things down ? Rent, public transport and street food are all the same in BK as two years ago aren't they ?

KL has may hotels similar in price to BKK. High quality food even at food courts at Petronas Tower not expensive. Example Lasagna about 80-90 baht. Spaghetti Meatballs 90 baht. Indian Food great and cheap. BKK typical Indian entree 120-240 baht. KL can eat a set Thali plate for 60-100 baht and it is excellent. Indian food in BKK way overpriced, even often more expensive than USA. Taxi's in KL a bit more than BKK, but they have an excellent train and bus system. Many many lines to use. In addition, almost all sidewalks are uncluttered so walking is easy rather than akin to a jigsaw puzzle.

Traffic flow much better. Seems there was "city planning" involved.

Haha sorry i have to comment, try living in KL your view would very quickly change.

Trains and Buses they have yes but not in any logical place that you would want to use them. Sidewalks and walking? thats a novelty except for really around Petronas towers. City Planning?? hahahaha the traffic is shocking.

[laolover]

If you are living on an income of Thai baht, and not foreign currency you would find that BKK is not a cheap city to live in. My Thai friends live well in oversize suburban homes 2 cars often 1 is luxury, several computers,tablets and telephones. They also are complaining about basic living cost increases.

Bangkok is still a cheap city if you are living on a foreign income, but of course costs are rising. Land values have risen in the city dramatically during the last 2 years (according to the thai government). This will drive the cost of EVERYTHING higher. This coupled with expensive oil, credit card interest, rising insurance costs, dramatically rising legal and medical fees , thirty year morgages, and extended car payments.... will drive the cost of EVERY consumer product higher. The winners here are the large financial institutions, corporate agriculture, etc.

Bottom line is now Bangkok is no different than any large western city. Everything that drives prices higher abroad, is now also in Thailand. It is just gong to continue upwards with no end. Look at Singapore. twenty years ago it was moderately expensive, but now is rediculous, mainly I suspect due to what I have mentioned above, particularly tremendously high land values.

Bangkok is no different than other big cities in the west, there are many different levels of society you can live in depending on needs. Many folks have moved here because they are actually moving down socially but up financially. One could sell a house abroad and buy twice the house (or more) here. Maybe thats what some transplants here will end up doing to sustain life, selling the Sukhumvit condo and move to a rural area, building twice the house from the SUK, proceeds.

Finally, what truly amazes me is hearing farang talking about not purchasing too many goods in the expensive farang supermarkets and complaing that luxury goods are expensive.....but whenever Igo into ANY foodland, Makro, Villa the majority of customers are not farang but are Thais with FULL shopping carts, and this is where they do much of the weekly shopping, the costs dont seem to bother them... Maybe many of the farang here are just living beyond the means available to them, just like they would be if still in the home country.

Lets hope after the upcoming elections we will see inflation slow for a year or two. This will be good for all us consumers, expat and Thai. Wonder how things are in Chiang Mai?

[lovelaos]

Try living in Phuket... vastly more expensive than Bangkok. It's very hard to find even a small house for to rent for less than 15,000THB a month and frankly you have to search for those. I paid on average 23,000THB for a 2-bed house in central Phuket, near to the school where I worked, not near the beach. Not only were the supermarkets more expensive than Bangkok, the international hospitals where charging more than Bumengrad. Welcome to the Geneva of Asean!

move then!

[HardenedSoul]

If you are living on an income of Thai baht, and not foreign currency you would find that BKK is not a cheap city to live in. My Thai friends live well in oversize suburban homes 2 cars often 1 is luxury, several computers,tablets and telephones. They also are complaining about basic living cost increases.

Bangkok is still a cheap city if you are living on a foreign income, but of course costs are rising. Land values have risen in the city dramatically during the last 2 years (according to the thai government). This will drive the cost of EVERYTHING higher. This coupled with expensive oil, credit card interest, rising insurance costs, dramatically rising legal and medical fees , thirty year morgages, and extended car payments.... will drive the cost of EVERY consumer product higher. The winners here are the large financial institutions, corporate agriculture, etc.

Bottom line is now Bangkok is no different than any large western city. Everything that drives prices higher abroad, is now also in Thailand. It is just gong to continue upwards with no end. Look at Singapore. twenty years ago it was moderately expensive, but now is rediculous, mainly I suspect due to what I have mentioned above, particularly tremendously high land values.

Bangkok is no different than other big cities in the west, there are many different levels of society you can live in depending on needs. Many folks have moved here because they are actually moving down socially but up financially. One could sell a house abroad and buy twice the house (or more) here. Maybe thats what some transplants here will end up doing to sustain life, selling the Sukhumvit condo and move to a rural area, building twice the house from the SUK, proceeds.

Finally, what truly amazes me is hearing farang talking about not purchasing too many goods in the expensive farang supermarkets and complaing that luxury goods are expensive.....but whenever Igo into ANY foodland, Makro, Villa the majority of customers are not farang but are Thais with FULL shopping carts, and this is where they do much of the weekly shopping, the costs dont seem to bother them... Maybe many of the farang here are just living beyond the means available to them, just like they would be if still in the home country.

Lets hope after the upcoming elections we will see inflation slow for a year or two. This will be good for all us consumers, expat and Thai. Wonder how things are in Chiang Mai?

Some good points there but the Sukhumvit property prices to which you've alluded must go the way of those in the West because anyone who's looked around the higher-end malls over the last 2 or 3 years would be hard-pressed to see any evidence of the stagnant growth that afflicts the West . . . yet.

It was just like this before I sold the flat and left London in '08 but, with the BOT raising interest rates to curb a stubborn inflation problem and the knock-on effects from the Japanese quake taking a toll on economic growth here, expect to see fewer Thai customers patronising the Villas and Foodlands.

[ginjag]

Try living in Phuket... vastly more expensive than Bangkok. It's very hard to find even a small house for to rent for less than 15,000THB a month and frankly you have to search for those. I paid on average 23,000THB for a 2-bed house in central Phuket, near to the school where I worked, not near the beach. Not only were the supermarkets more expensive than Bangkok, the international hospitals where charging more than Bumengrad. Welcome to the Geneva of Asean!

move then!

Tesco-Macro-Bic C-Tops --Jomptien or Udon Thani no price difference. Rarely go to Bkk, But would ask the Bkk dwellers is their big stores ( mentioned) more expensive ???? so apart from some accom/mentioned it cannot be that expensive. Suppose if you live a 2 week tourist style, dining out, bar drinking it will be costly. Others who stay here long term shop-cook at home-a fling once in a while-and happy. up to the individual.

[andrew55]

Is this topic really even newsworthy?

List of ASEAN member states (http://www.asean.org/18619.htm):

Brunei Darussalam

Cambodia

Indonesia

Lao PDR

Malaysia

Myanmar

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Viet Nam

What city WOULD you expect to be first, besides Singapore?

What city WOULD you expect to be next, besides Bangkok?

Now, if the headline were about Bangkok's ranking within ASIAN nations, that might be more of interest!

It's folk like you that insist on logic that destroy these threads.

[MaxWoga]

Totally with you on that one, BKK is a bargain, anyone complaining should move back to where they come from, where else in the world can you get a nice meal, few beers and a bird for less than $60

In ASEAN maybe... but by world standards - Bangkok is still a bargain!

My wife and I moved here from the UK and took about a 40% pay cut when looking at our salaries before. At that time, we were able to save about £600 per month after all expenses. Thanks to lower taxes, lower rental costs (and the place comes with a pool!), lower cost of food, lower cost of transport and - well - lower cost of just about everything except cheese - we're now saving £1800 to £2000 per month. In the UK, we didn't live in London but rather in a mid-sized town on the south coast.

That disgusting 399THB delivery pizza that keeps getting mentioned? Last time I ordered it, I also got all sorts of other greasy stuff with it (wings, etc..) and it came in at about 350THB. Same pizza in the UK? It'd be at least twice the price.

Bangkok's incredibly good value even if it is a bit more pricey than a few years ago.

barryFunk

[JamesMemphis]

As a tax-protester and non-producer-for-others in the USA, I adopted a lifestyle that was frugal by comparison to all but the poorest Thai before I arrived in Bangkok. So, I don't find Bangkok particularly expensive, unless one has needs and spending habits that make it so. The major thing one can do is to eschew a profligate Western lifestyle without throwing the intellectual baby out with the bathwater. I have lots of high-tech equipment so I'm not Amish, but I do have certain funds-refocusing tactics such as avoidance of purchasing or riding in motorized vehicles and even avoiding BTS and buses by riding a bicycle almost everywhere in Bangkok. I bought much of my household furnishings on Craigslist at bargain prices and have found ways to both measure and minimize my power consumption at 8 THB/KWH. My rent is 6K THB for 20 SQM just off Soi 4, Nana and, admittedly it is a bargain for the area. I don't have any drug needs by having dropped my drinking to a beer a week (whether I need it or not). I don't need gourmet or Western food so it's street food and Foodland bargains for me. I avoid all tourist-priced stores and shop minimally at Big C for, mainly, bargains.

why?

Yes....Why? Why Nana?. 20 SQM...I hope you do not stay there very much...That is a box with a window...It sounds like you are way over the top for most folks who want to enjoy life. I am not saying what you are doing is bad. However, Really! You ride a bike in BKK. You have a very good chance of not being around to spend any money...I also know how to live in BKK without spending like a tourist. I Love the local 40 bt food stalls, but now and then I treat myself without spending a fortune. I have been aorund BKK for 10 years or so and I have seen a large increase in the Cost of Living. This has been maily becuase of the US dollars decline...In the good ole days I got 45-1...Now 29-1. Relax, let go a little...Have two beers...

[Geekfreaklover]

Try living in Phuket... vastly more expensive than Bangkok. It's very hard to find even a small house for to rent for less than 15,000THB a month and frankly you have to search for those. I paid on average 23,000THB for a 2-bed house in central Phuket, near to the school where I worked, not near the beach.

What a bargain. And hilarious, what people here complain about

We recently had a discussion on rental rates for houses in central BKK, and it was agreed that 100-150K is not overly expensive.

Maybe I should move to Phuket....

100-150k not overly expensive?

I live in a two story townhouse next to the BTS. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, front and back yard for 6k a month.

Bangkok is seriosuly cheap if you speak some of the language and are prepared to live like a local,

[kraplung]

You are all welcome to dirty, greasy, pricey, sleazy Bangkok!

Edited August 14, 2011 by kraplung

[kraplung]

Just glad I live in comparatively beautiful Chiang Mai.......though sad to say it also is not what it once was.

Edited August 14, 2011 by kraplung

[henryalleman]

Try living in Phuket... vastly more expensive than Bangkok. It's very hard to find even a small house for to rent for less than 15,000THB a month and frankly you have to search for those. I paid on average 23,000THB for a 2-bed house in central Phuket, near to the school where I worked, not near the beach.

What a bargain. And hilarious, what people here complain about

We recently had a discussion on rental rates for houses in central BKK, and it was agreed that 100-150K is not overly expensive.

Maybe I should move to Phuket....

Maybe in the center of Bangkok,

But in the Rangsit erea you can still find a 3 story house( not a townhouse) for 5000 Baht per month, and before you move in, it will be completely renovated by the owner. before you move in. You can still buy a 3 storey house completely renovated for 1.5 million baht in the same area.

In Nonthaburi (Chaeng Wattana neighbourhood), I pay 13 495 baht for 85 m² appartment with 2 bedrooms en a fully equiped European kitchen, with a great view on a lake, and I'm 30 minute to Silom by car.

Its an 30 storey building and on the 4th floor there are 2 tenniscourts and a swimmingpool.

But its a fact that life start to be far more expensive compared with 3 years ago.

Edited August 14, 2011 by henryalleman

[ginjag]

Try living in Phuket... vastly more expensive than Bangkok. It's very hard to find even a small house for to rent for less than 15,000THB a month and frankly you have to search for those. I paid on average 23,000THB for a 2-bed house in central Phuket, near to the school where I worked, not near the beach.

What a bargain. And hilarious, what people here complain about

We recently had a discussion on rental rates for houses in central BKK, and it was agreed that 100-150K is not overly expensive.

Maybe I should move to Phuket....

Maybe in the center of Bangkok,

But in the Rangsit erea you can still find a 3 story house( not a townhouse) for 5000 Baht per month, and before you move in, it will be completely renovated by the owner. before you move in. You can still buy a 3 storey house completely renovated for 1.5 million baht in the same area.

In Nonthaburi (Chaeng Wattana neighbourhood), I pay 13 495 baht for 85 m² appartment with 2 bedrooms en a fully equiped European kitchen, with a great view on a lake, and I'm 30 minute to Silom by car.

Its an 30 storey building and on the 4th floor there are 2 tenniscourts and a swimmingpool.

But its a fact that life start to be far more expensive compared with 3 years ago.

Sounds good =price O/K 2 beds living room and a kitchen===80sq mt---only joking it is good value but do you need a shoe horn to get into the bedrooms ??? but good for you. price brill.

take it in good humour

Edited August 14, 2011 by ginjag

[henryalleman]

Try living in Phuket... vastly more expensive than Bangkok. It's very hard to find even a small house for to rent for less than 15,000THB a month and frankly you have to search for those. I paid on average 23,000THB for a 2-bed house in central Phuket, near to the school where I worked, not near the beach.

What a bargain. And hilarious, what people here complain about

We recently had a discussion on rental rates for houses in central BKK, and it was agreed that 100-150K is not overly expensive.

Maybe I should move to Phuket....

Maybe in the center of Bangkok,

But in the Rangsit erea you can still find a 3 story house( not a townhouse) for 5000 Baht per month, and before you move in, it will be completely renovated by the owner. before you move in. You can still buy a 3 storey house completely renovated for 1.5 million baht in the same area.

In Nonthaburi (Chaeng Wattana neighbourhood), I pay 13 495 baht for 85 m² appartment with 2 bedrooms en a fully equiped European kitchen, with a great view on a lake, and I'm 30 minute to Silom by car.

Its an 30 storey building and on the 4th floor there are 2 tenniscourts and a swimmingpool.

But its a fact that life start to be far more expensive compared with 3 years ago.

Sounds good =price O/K 2 beds living room and a kitchen===80sq mt---only joking it is good value but do you need a shoe horn to get into the bedrooms ??? but good for you. price brill.

take it in good humour

I take everything in good humour.

Its infact 85m² and no I realy don't need a shoe horn to get in my bedroom, even after putting a Kingsize bed and wardrobe l can still breath.

Forgot to mention, service fees and water compsumtion are included in that price.

And to make it more unbelievable before I moved in the owner completely renovated the appertment to my likings.

Meaning new European fully equipted kitchen including frontloader Electrolux washing machine and 500 liter refrigirator, new anti-slip tills in bahtroom en Kitchen, even demolished the old Gyproc walls and replaced them by stone walls, completely tiled the Kitchen en Bahtroom and guest Toilet walls. She even replaced the 3 old airco's and put new curtains in the colour I preffered. In fact a completely brandnew appartment in every detaill.

Almost forgot to mention she put new fantasy tiles on the balcony, The balcony is big enough to put a small table and 2 chairs.

Its even so that I could choose wich refrigirator and laundry machine I liked. I even could choose the colors of the walls, tillings and floor.

When I signed the contract she even told me that I could make amendements to the things I did not like in the contract. After I signed a 5 year lease she invited me and the Misses to have a nice dinner.

And you must not believe me, but its the truth,realy no fantasystory.

Edited August 14, 2011 by henryalleman