How Long Will £4K Last Me?

[oli123]

Op where do you hope to be training? When I first came here I came to train Muay thai, and was spending 50,000 bhat a month. now I can live very comfortably on 30k, and could survive on 10k. If you are looking to fight some boxing schools will train you for free/a reduced rate, if they take your fee for fighting

Also the 1st month will b

probably cost you alot more then the following months as you adapt to the place, find out whats what and where is good to eat etc etc

[BigJohnnyBKK]

just trying to find some muay thai camps on the net but not having much luck

As with absolutely everything I can think of here in Thailand, if you can find it on the Internet in English it will be grossly overpriced.

Just come here, camps all over the place, and the best ones are so far upcountry they're happy to have electricity.

Reddit's /r/MuayThai combined with /r/Thailand will be also most likely be helpful, but not as much as just getting here, no advantages at all only wasted money by booking anything in advance.

I bet not counting your MT fees you'll be able to live well in an upcountry camp for 10-15K per month, your lump sum will last a while and you'll be hard as a rock by the end of it.

Edited May 21, 2012 by BigJohnnyBKK

[stiggy]

I have a successful bar for sale 180k buy that and you can stay forever......

[balo]

In Thailand I would say around 10 months.

Thats around 210k baht , I spend around 20 to 25k pr month myself, including the rent, living in a nice condo with pool and security.

In Cambodia you can live much cheaper , but it will be difficult to find nice rooms , more basic standard unless you pay more.

[bendix]

The thing that strikes me about this kind of thread is how people love to clamber over each other and boast how much they could make it last, as if living some kind of ratsh*t existence is a badge of honour.

Sure you could make it last 6 months or 10 months, but do you really want to? It sounds awful to me.

The other thing to consider is opportunity lost: those months living a squalid life in Thailand on a tight budget are months when you have no income coming in anywhere else.

[smokie36]

The thing that strikes me about this kind of thread is how people love to clamber over each other and boast how much they could make it last, as if living some kind of ratsh*t existence is a badge of honour.

Sure you could make it last 6 months or 10 months, but do you really want to? It sounds awful to me.

The other thing to consider is opportunity lost: those months living a squalid life in Thailand on a tight budget are months when you have no income coming in anywhere else.

This is the main reason I said three months. Surely that is enough holiday time for anyone?

I would be bored silly sitting on a beach or roaming around Lumpini for the best part of a year!

[bendix]

The thing that strikes me about this kind of thread is how people love to clamber over each other and boast how much they could make it last, as if living some kind of ratsh*t existence is a badge of honour.

Sure you could make it last 6 months or 10 months, but do you really want to? It sounds awful to me.

The other thing to consider is opportunity lost: those months living a squalid life in Thailand on a tight budget are months when you have no income coming in anywhere else.

This is the main reason I said three months. Surely that is enough holiday time for anyone?

I would be bored silly sitting on a beach or roaming around Lumpini for the best part of a year!

Precisely. Particularly with no cash to spend.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

The thing that strikes me about this kind of thread is how people love to clamber over each other and boast how much they could make it last, as if living some kind of ratsh*t existence is a badge of honour.

Sure you could make it last 6 months or 10 months, but do you really want to? It sounds awful to me.

The other thing to consider is opportunity lost: those months living a squalid life in Thailand on a tight budget are months when you have no income coming in anywhere else.

While other people love to "clamber over each other and boast about" how fast they piss their money away.

If your goal is to stay as long as possible here, or live your life with a minimum of hours spent working for money, that's a perfectly valid choice.

Living like a third world person may sound distasteful to you, but the vast majority of people on the planet can only dream of having $500 a month to spend on bare necessities and somehow many of them manage to be happier than many very very wealthy people I know.

And working out in a MT training camp isn't exactly sitting around on the beach, more demanding than most jobs out there, especially the high-paying ones.

[DavidSL]

The thing that strikes me about this kind of thread is how people love to clamber over each other and boast how much they could make it last, as if living some kind of ratsh*t existence is a badge of honour.

Sure you could make it last 6 months or 10 months, but do you really want to? It sounds awful to me.

The other thing to consider is opportunity lost: those months living a squalid life in Thailand on a tight budget are months when you have no income coming in anywhere else.

So what advice do you have to offer?

You're not wrong, there is a lot of boasting here, though I like to think I wasn't taking part in that, I was honestly offering advice on a lifestyle based around simple pleasures (like eating...) and not throwing your money away. I think all of the boasting on this thread is coming from people gladly sharing just how many thousands of baht they spend in a day, I don't think anyone here has shown off how poor they are...

That said, this kind of thread has been on here before - I remember arguments breaking out over how much rent should be in Thailand. There was anything from 'no less than 60,000 a month to live comfortably' to, '5000 a month will be too much'. The subject of money does not bode well on an Internet forum, especially a forum as full of conflict as this one.

[poanoi]

budpreacher already clarified that he came here for exercise & hone his muay thai skills,

which can and should be judged as coming here for hard work.

That nullify the value of comments on what he should spend for a quality time,

he want to know how long his money will last under ascetic conditions.

I lived on 20.000/month for a year when i was living too far away from gogo,

and i think that included a new computer setup too.

[Thinkingofachange]

The thing that strikes me about this kind of thread is how people love to clamber over each other and boast how much they could make it last, as if living some kind of ratsh*t existence is a badge of honour.

Sure you could make it last 6 months or 10 months, but do you really want to? It sounds awful to me.

The other thing to consider is opportunity lost: those months living a squalid life in Thailand on a tight budget are months when you have no income coming in anywhere else.

This is the main reason I said three months. Surely that is enough holiday time for anyone?

I would be bored silly sitting on a beach or roaming around Lumpini for the best part of a year!

While that might bore me too, I'd sure like to give it a whirl.

[bendix]

The thing that strikes me about this kind of thread is how people love to clamber over each other and boast how much they could make it last, as if living some kind of ratsh*t existence is a badge of honour.

Sure you could make it last 6 months or 10 months, but do you really want to? It sounds awful to me.

The other thing to consider is opportunity lost: those months living a squalid life in Thailand on a tight budget are months when you have no income coming in anywhere else.

So what advice do you have to offer?

You're not wrong, there is a lot of boasting here, though I like to think I wasn't taking part in that, I was honestly offering advice on a lifestyle based around simple pleasures (like eating...) and not throwing your money away. I think all of the boasting on this thread is coming from people gladly sharing just how many thousands of baht they spend in a day, I don't think anyone here has shown off how poor they are...

That said, this kind of thread has been on here before - I remember arguments breaking out over how much rent should be in Thailand. There was anything from 'no less than 60,000 a month to live comfortably' to, '5000 a month will be too much'. The subject of money does not bode well on an Internet forum, especially a forum as full of conflict as this one.

I have no advise to offer. It's a purely subjective question. And that is what worries me - when people speak about their experiences with money in Thailand they are arguing from their perspective and that makes it meaningless as a debate. One person's definition of a good apartment is another person's idea of hell.

The thing that concerns me is that Thailand is an emotive subject: it exerts a hold on people that makes them do irrational things and make terrible mistakes with their lives; they sacrifice so much in order to be here in a way that makes me question their grounding. Ive seen it happen so many times in my eight years here.

So when someone comes on here and talks about how long they can stay for 4k it rings alarms for me; the focus is on longevity, not on enjoyment.

Frankly, I would never encourage anyone wanting to live in Bangkok unless they had 100k minimum, Pattaya/CM/Hua Hin for less than 75k and other places like Isaan for less than 50-60k a month. THose are minimum figures to me.

But that's just a personal choice.

I know others have wildly different views.

So - for me - smokie got it about right. 4k sterling? No more than 3 months, maximum. Probably more likely 2. Particularly on holiday.

[F1fanatic]

The thing that strikes me about this kind of thread is how people love to clamber over each other and boast how much they could make it last, as if living some kind of ratsh*t existence is a badge of honour.

Sure you could make it last 6 months or 10 months, but do you really want to? It sounds awful to me.

The other thing to consider is opportunity lost: those months living a squalid life in Thailand on a tight budget are months when you have no income coming in anywhere else.

So what advice do you have to offer?

You're not wrong, there is a lot of boasting here, though I like to think I wasn't taking part in that, I was honestly offering advice on a lifestyle based around simple pleasures (like eating...) and not throwing your money away. I think all of the boasting on this thread is coming from people gladly sharing just how many thousands of baht they spend in a day, I don't think anyone here has shown off how poor they are...

That said, this kind of thread has been on here before - I remember arguments breaking out over how much rent should be in Thailand. There was anything from 'no less than 60,000 a month to live comfortably' to, '5000 a month will be too much'. The subject of money does not bode well on an Internet forum, especially a forum as full of conflict as this one.

I have no advise to offer. It's a purely subjective question. And that is what worries me - when people speak about their experiences with money in Thailand they are arguing from their perspective and that makes it meaningless as a debate. One person's definition of a good apartment is another person's idea of hell.

The thing that concerns me is that Thailand is an emotive subject: it exerts a hold on people that makes them do irrational things and make terrible mistakes with their lives; they sacrifice so much in order to be here in a way that makes me question their grounding. Ive seen it happen so many times in my eight years here.

So when someone comes on here and talks about how long they can stay for 4k it rings alarms for me; the focus is on longevity, not on enjoyment.

Frankly, I would never encourage anyone wanting to live in Bangkok unless they had 100k minimum, Pattaya/CM/Hua Hin for less than 75k and other places like Isaan for less than 50-60k a month. THose are minimum figures to me.

But that's just a personal choice.

I know others have wildly different views.

So - for me - smokie got it about right. 4k sterling? No more than 3 months, maximum. Probably more likely 2. Particularly on holiday.

Agree entirely. The vast majority of my income is spent on rent (I want to live somewhere I love) and health insurance. Somebody only intending to stay here a short period of time could happily stay in a condo and rely on the health insurance arrangements in place in their own country.

[seasia]

budpreacher

I do not know anything about Muay Thai but did notice a Muay Thai school/training place in a soi off Pattaya Nua roughly opposite Tesco Lotus

This some time ago so not sure if it is still there

2 minutes away(walking) are some apartments(rooms), air-con, looked reasonably clean and tidy for around 6 K baht a month

http://www.soidb.com...t-mansion.html.

Just to give you an idea of what you can find.

Edited May 22, 2012 by seasia

[chops]

Find the right girlfriend and it could be gone within a month.

If he's only got 4,000 pounds - he's unlikely to be giving much away to a g/f!

Only costs 500 to get a gf if you know where to look.

[pastitche]

for me less than 1 week for average low scum sex tourist they can make 4k last 4 months or lots more

The OP has said nothing to indicate that he is your "average low scum sex tourist" and I expect that such a small amount of money would not last long if paying for sex were involved. I would guess that he is a young man who wants to experience SEA as an adventure.

What he obviously is not is an 85-year-old expat who decided to start a new family at 70years old and now wishes to leave Thailand.

[mjj]

Teachers here seem to live on 30k a month and they stay, so that must be a reasonable expense to look at. No doubt you can do it for less, maybe 20k a month, but it will be basic, very basic. Anything over 30k is getting better with more luxuries thrown in.

Personally I look at 30k a month is similar to £1,000 a month regarding similar living on a Thailand to Uk comparison.

As for the posters that like to say how many 100,000 of baht the spend each each. I bet you creamed yourself when you saw that opportunity to gloat..........really, go look in the mirror.

[Thongkorn]

I found a room, with Shower, TV, Air-con, Wardrobe, king size bed. for 7000bht a month. if you can eat Thai, you should be able to stay a least 3 months.

[bikkalad]

4000 quid equals 2200 baht a day over 90 days go from there..........

[DavidSL]

I have no advise to offer. It's a purely subjective question. And that is what worries me - when people speak about their experiences with money in Thailand they are arguing from their perspective and that makes it meaningless as a debate. One person's definition of a good apartment is another person's idea of hell.

The thing that concerns me is that Thailand is an emotive subject: it exerts a hold on people that makes them do irrational things and make terrible mistakes with their lives; they sacrifice so much in order to be here in a way that makes me question their grounding. Ive seen it happen so many times in my eight years here.

So when someone comes on here and talks about how long they can stay for 4k it rings alarms for me; the focus is on longevity, not on enjoyment.

Frankly, I would never encourage anyone wanting to live in Bangkok unless they had 100k minimum, Pattaya/CM/Hua Hin for less than 75k and other places like Isaan for less than 50-60k a month. THose are minimum figures to me.

But that's just a personal choice.

I know others have wildly different views.

So - for me - smokie got it about right. 4k sterling? No more than 3 months, maximum. Probably more likely 2. Particularly on holiday.

Fair enough, but I don't really agree with your estimation for coming to live here. If the OP is coming here with money and wanting to work, then I think they will live a lot cheaper than if they were on a holiday, sure, and advising against coming here without at least 100k to your name makes sense, but it's not necessary. You are right in that every comment on here is subjective, but surely most threads on these boards are subjective, unless we are discussing visas. The fact is that 50-60k a month here is quite a luxury for most of us. A huge amount of expats living here are teaching, and for many that's their only income. I made it quite clear on my situation and made sure to add in that I don't drink or smoke, as that is a huge expense once you start adding it up. But I always like to represent the lower grade of income in Thailand, as these threads do become discussions over how much people CAN spend or how nice apartments SHOULD be rather than how much they can save and how nice an apartment can be if you are looking for something a bit cheaper. I think that's an important side of the argument. For me the focus is on my future as much as my enjoyment now. I want to save money so next year I can worry about saving it less. But I enjoy my life rather cheaply, and if what I get out of living here is a relaxed lifestyle with less stress and some money saved at the end of it, then I'm happy. I could chase women, go out every night and get wasted, but quite frankly, I wasn't designed for such a lifestyle.

Adding to this discussion rather than derailing it with cynicism can only help the OP and perhaps others looking for advice on the same subject.

[balo]

Frankly, I would never encourage anyone wanting to live in Bangkok unless they had 100k minimum, Pattaya/CM/Hua Hin for less than 75k and other places like Isaan for less than 50-60k a month. THose are minimum figures to me.

You must be living in your own dream world then , if you live in Thailand.

If you live here you should know better than this. Most expats here have a very good life with 40k , and some like me have a good life with less.

A teacher salary can be up to 50k and thats more than enough .

If you live in a luxury home and pay maybe 50k just in rent , then you belong to the exclusive group of people who can afford it.

[bendix]

Frankly, I would never encourage anyone wanting to live in Bangkok unless they had 100k minimum, Pattaya/CM/Hua Hin for less than 75k and other places like Isaan for less than 50-60k a month. THose are minimum figures to me.

You must be living in your own dream world then , if you live in Thailand.

If you live here you should know better than this. Most expats here have a very good life with 40k , and some like me have a good life with less.

A teacher salary can be up to 50k and thats more than enough .

If you live in a luxury home and pay maybe 50k just in rent , then you belong to the exclusive group of people who can afford it.

Which part of the phrase 'I would never encourage . . .' confused you? The emphasis being on I.

As I said, it's purely subjective. I have no doubt people have good lives on 40k or less - I dont dispute that. But I - knowing the things that are important to me (again, not you) - would never encourage anyone to do it on less than the figures I mentioned.

You can't say that's a dreamworld - it's MY world. I want a certain quality of life and that is what my estimation of what that life costs.

But thanks for your input.

[bendix]

Only costs 500 to get a gf if you know where to look.

Have you ever made a post on Thaivisa that isn't a childish reference to you buying sex, followed by a giggle like a silly little boy?

[Travel2003]

The thing that strikes me about this kind of thread is how people love to clamber over each other and boast how much they could make it last, as if living some kind of ratsh*t existence is a badge of honour.

Sure you could make it last 6 months or 10 months, but do you really want to? It sounds awful to me.

The other thing to consider is opportunity lost: those months living a squalid life in Thailand on a tight budget are months when you have no income coming in anywhere else.

And some of very same members will in other threads brag about their wealth, and their huge income.

[bendix]

The thing that strikes me about this kind of thread is how people love to clamber over each other and boast how much they could make it last, as if living some kind of ratsh*t existence is a badge of honour.

Sure you could make it last 6 months or 10 months, but do you really want to? It sounds awful to me.

The other thing to consider is opportunity lost: those months living a squalid life in Thailand on a tight budget are months when you have no income coming in anywhere else.

And some of very same members will in other threads brag about their wealth, and their huge income.

I wouldnt know. I was always brought up to believe that discussing one's income was as vulgar as discussing one's sex life.

[astral]

Remember that you will be on a 60 day Tourist Visa.

If you want to stay longer you will need to do a visa run out of the country,

another expense to be considered!!

[aneliane]

Bangkok :

heart of Kao Sarn Rd Basic single hotel room fan with private shower /toilet + 2 pools on the roof no air starts at 700 a night

Hualong Phong guesthouse 500 a night 600 with AC

Vientiane: double room + ac view temple :500/ back view 400

After 2 or 3 days start negociating prices down

[Tonto21]

Hi ‘budpreacher’ as others have pointed out, (in different way) 4k could last you a life time or just a short trip to a bar beer in S E Asia.

You’ve been here before; you appear to know the score.

There is one thing you can try to make your money go further, if that’s what you really want to do……… An endurance over luxury sort of thing.

It’s worked for me in the past, it’s a psychological thing. Do all you working out on only having 2 or 3K, if you can get your head around this you will waste far less money.

Enjoy your stay.

[budpreacher]

Frankly, I would never encourage anyone wanting to live in Bangkok unless they had 100k minimum, Pattaya/CM/Hua Hin for less than 75k and other places like Isaan for less than 50-60k a month. THose are minimum figures to me.

You must be living in your own dream world then , if you live in Thailand.

If you live here you should know better than this. Most expats here have a very good life with 40k , and some like me have a good life with less.

A teacher salary can be up to 50k and thats more than enough .

If you live in a luxury home and pay maybe 50k just in rent , then you belong to the exclusive group of people who can afford it.

Which part of the phrase 'I would never encourage . . .' confused you? The emphasis being on I.

As I said, it's purely subjective. I have no doubt people have good lives on 40k or less - I dont dispute that. But I - knowing the things that are important to me (again, not you) - would never encourage anyone to do it on less than the figures I mentioned.

You can't say that's a dreamworld - it's MY world. I want a certain quality of life and that is what my estimation of what that life costs.

But thanks for your input.

what an arrogant boastful prick,

thanks for the replys every1 else..... your right im not a sex tourist although probably will use te worknig girls service a few times in the months im there but not dailly 1 a week at the most.

main aim is to make it last as long as possible simple room with matress and a fan i dont care im coming there to train not "holiday budget" which would mean my money would only last 2-3 months

[bendix]

Frankly, I would never encourage anyone wanting to live in Bangkok unless they had 100k minimum, Pattaya/CM/Hua Hin for less than 75k and other places like Isaan for less than 50-60k a month. THose are minimum figures to me.

You must be living in your own dream world then , if you live in Thailand.

If you live here you should know better than this. Most expats here have a very good life with 40k , and some like me have a good life with less.

A teacher salary can be up to 50k and thats more than enough .

If you live in a luxury home and pay maybe 50k just in rent , then you belong to the exclusive group of people who can afford it.

Which part of the phrase 'I would never encourage . . .' confused you? The emphasis being on I.

As I said, it's purely subjective. I have no doubt people have good lives on 40k or less - I dont dispute that. But I - knowing the things that are important to me (again, not you) - would never encourage anyone to do it on less than the figures I mentioned.

You can't say that's a dreamworld - it's MY world. I want a certain quality of life and that is what my estimation of what that life costs.

But thanks for your input.

what an arrogant boastful prick,

thanks for the replys every1 else..... your right im not a sex tourist although probably will use te worknig girls service a few times in the months im there but not dailly 1 a week at the most.

main aim is to make it last as long as possible simple room with matress and a fan i dont care im coming there to train not "holiday budget" which would mean my money would only last 2-3 months

How is it boastful? Why is it more boastful to say I would want a lot more to last a few months than it is to boast - like so many do - that they can live on nothing?