Is Thailand Really Cheaper For You ?

[tinfoilhat]

but if you want to export your western lifestyle to Thailand, it will cost you the same or more than in your homeland. This is a sentiment I have professed for eons.

I disagree, My salary here is the same as back in my homeland, there I literally lived from pay packet to packet with very little "indulgence's" allowed with little to no chance of any savings, Here I live like a king and am saving money as well.. I live a 100% "western" lifestyle.

Please share tips on how you have a job in Thailand paying an international rate - I'm sure there are EXPATS here that would line up and kiss your feet for a tip and would work 80 hours a week with no questions asked.

step number 1 is being older than retirement age.

step number 2 is generally to find that job outside thailand

[commande]

but if you want to export your western lifestyle to Thailand, it will cost you the same or more than in your homeland. This is a sentiment I have professed for eons.

I disagree, My salary here is the same as back in my homeland, there I literally lived from pay packet to packet with very little "indulgence's" allowed with little to no chance of any savings, Here I live like a king and am saving money as well.. I live a 100% "western" lifestyle.

Please share tips on how you have a job in Thailand paying an international rate - I'm sure there are EXPATS here that would line up and kiss your feet for a tip and would work 80 hours a week with no questions asked.

step number 1 is being older than retirement age.

step number 2 is generally to find that job outside thailand

Nice!!!

[topt]

most people in the west make 70k-100k baht a month.. so a western salary isnt that much. Personally my life on 100k baht is worse in thailand.

Are those figures accurate for Mr. Joe Average, and before or after tax? They seem very low when one considers how much the typical TV member purports to spend each month. We must have a better than fair share of Mr. Above Averages living here.

This from the Guardian "The median salary for a full-time worker in the UK rose 1.4% in 2011 to £26,244, against a headline CPI inflation rate of 5% or higher, according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings from the Office for National Statistics."

That would be before tax as well. My guess would be most TV posters from the UK would be on salaries (or would have been if no longer working) a fair bit above this level.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

This from the Guardian "The median salary for a full-time worker in the UK rose 1.4% in 2011 to £26,244, against a headline CPI inflation rate of 5% or higher, according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings from the Office for National Statistics."

That would be before tax as well. My guess would be most TV posters from the UK would be on salaries (or would have been if no longer working) a fair bit above this level.

For the US, from the Times, median annual income for a male full-time, year-round worker in 2010 was $47,715

Obviously women make less, didn't find the overall stat.

But I would think the average Yank in Thailand would be well above the median, at least before arriving here 8-)

[GarryP]

most people in the west make 70k-100k baht a month.. so a western salary isnt that much. Personally my life on 100k baht is worse in thailand.

Are those figures accurate for Mr. Joe Average, and before or after tax? They seem very low when one considers how much the typical TV member purports to spend each month. We must have a better than fair share of Mr. Above Averages living here.

This from the Guardian "The median salary for a full-time worker in the UK rose 1.4% in 2011 to £26,244, against a headline CPI inflation rate of 5% or higher, according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings from the Office for National Statistics."

That would be before tax as well. My guess would be most TV posters from the UK would be on salaries (or would have been if no longer working) a fair bit above this level.

Thanks for that info. That would be Baht 1,301,131.14 per annum before tax, or Baht 108, 427.6 per month before any deductions. Ignoring National Insurance, you would be paying 22 percent tax on that (according to Google), so would come out somehwere around Baht 86,742. Is that right? Wow. So Hostile was pretty much spot on. Just out of interest, would the median or the mean salary be a better reflection of reality in the UK? Or would it just be a reflection of a different reality?.

If one considers the cost of living differences between there and here, it really is thought provoking.

[Hostile17]

I suspect those who are suggesting Thailand is more expensive than their home country are not comparing apples with apples. Although the places where expats tend to live in Thailand (e.g. Bangkok or Phuket) may be comparable cost wise to a random sleepy town in the middle of nowhere in Europe or America, I can assure you that they are cheaper than the equivalent places back home (e.g. London or Nice). On the same note, I am sure the costs of living in rural Thailand (e.g. Amnat Charoen) are lower than the equivalent places back home (e.g. Southport).

I can have an amazing large 2-3bedroom apartment downtown Montreal for anywhere between 25 to 45k baht(even right next to 5mil $ condos and those apartment would have hardwood floors). I could also rent a full on top quality house with a massive yard 15-20mins by car from downtown(suburb) within walking distance from a top quality hospital, 2-3 schools a park 5times the size of lumpini with bike trails and those bike trails go in the small street to the house which has an 3-4 smaller kiddie parks with lots of small forests just nearby as well. That house would be 45-50k

In bangkok to get similar i would have to live at sukhumvit 101/bangna or worse. As for a house for that price i would only get a run down townhouse next to ekkemai which isnt all that bad but even if it was new it would still be rundown as are all the thai houses under 30mil baht. Cheap material and bad labour.

Also in montreal which is one of the most loved city in the world, my fresh food would be a lot cheaper if i cooked it myself. Better quality for a price cheaper than the horrible pork and beef they sell here. Just drive by costco once a month and stack up. Eating out? Khao pat on the street is equivalent to a steamed hotdog. Both are kind of bad for you but have all the major nutrition. There's the cheap meat, veggies(onions and salad+relish) and carbs from the bread. Some in their fantasy world think that khao pat and similar thai food is healthy but its not when it cost 30baht. It's filled with MSG, bacterias from badly washed cookware, dirty amounts of oil and dirty ingredient full of illegal pesticide, also white rice is way worst than anything else. Also montreal is home to many cheap delis, you can get 85-120 baht small meals at any superstore that are made fresh with GOOD ingredient everyday as the canadian country is moving towards everything 'Healthy' those small fresh meal at the fresh counter are way more nutritive than the 5calories you get from thai food mxied with 400 calories of rice put on top of it.

For partygoers, montreal costs the same price to party out except the girls will be free and if you cant get one theres a nice corner where they dont look that bad and they dont cost much more than i see old men paying in thailand anyways. Every kid from the usa and rest of canada visit montreal to party when they have a free week or more. It's one of the best affordable city to party.

When it comes to foodies montreal has the most restaurant per capita(bangkok does not have that many most that are not in hotels are just idiots with too much money opening a tasteless kitchen and bangkok on convienience and the lack of taste of many thais when it comes to food). Lots of choices for our friends with fine noses and palate. Lots of vineyards close by.

Is there an other angle you wish to hear about? The only thing more expensive here are cigs but then again everyone who smokes should be put on their own cancer island. House price were higher but now with bangkok and phuket's incredibly retarded prices its pretty much the same but at least you get a real investment and quality in montreal. a house in the suburb of montreal can get to downtown quite fast while a house in the suburb of bangkok will take forever to get to say central world even at 4am.

I say it all the time, major cities in thailand are a place for parttimers, whoremongers or somewhat crazy people who never fit with society back home. Which is definitely fine, everyone deserves a place but let's not kid ourselves that bangkok is cheaper. Bangkok definately is better than most other large cities in thailand but its still not that great when you really get down to making a list. Better live back home and visit it once a year for a month and do all the few things that you miss.

edit: forgot people love to talk about beer.

If you want to have friends over a good quality beer will cost you 30baht, in thailand that gets you chang or other local crap. A good microbrew will cost about 3$ to 10$ depending on size and quality.. thats 100-300baht.. the price of a corona in thailand. Snacks at corner stores(7/11) are also MUCH cheaper in montreal

Edited May 23, 2012 by Hostile17

[topt]

most people in the west make 70k-100k baht a month.. so a western salary isnt that much. Personally my life on 100k baht is worse in thailand.

Are those figures accurate for Mr. Joe Average, and before or after tax? They seem very low when one considers how much the typical TV member purports to spend each month. We must have a better than fair share of Mr. Above Averages living here.

This from the Guardian "The median salary for a full-time worker in the UK rose 1.4% in 2011 to £26,244, against a headline CPI inflation rate of 5% or higher, according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings from the Office for National Statistics."

That would be before tax as well. My guess would be most TV posters from the UK would be on salaries (or would have been if no longer working) a fair bit above this level.

Thanks for that info. That would be Baht 1,301,131.14 per annum before tax, or Baht 108, 427.6 per month before any deductions. Ignoring National Insurance, you would be paying 22 percent tax on that (according to Google), so would come out somehwere around Baht 86,742. Is that right? Wow. So Hostile was pretty much spot on. Just out of interest, would the median or the mean salary be a better reflection of reality in the UK? Or would it just be a reflection of a different reality?.

If one considers the cost of living differences between there and here, it really is thought provoking.

To be honest I think (as we have sen from the posts here) everyone's reality is a little different. I was surprised to see later in the same article -

" The amount of pay needed to be in the top 10% of full-time earners increased by 1.9% since 2010, to £52,643; while the threshold for the bottom 10% of full-time workers increased 0.6%, to £14,905."

The top figure seems very low to me and I have to say I think is a mistake - anybody else? I also wonder whast the equivalent figures would be for Thailand.......

[HardenedSoul]

Not all of us from London go pissing it up at movida and living like johnny big potatoes and brag about it either like some issan bird does, but getting back on topic Phuket is def cheaper than London that's for sure all day long!

You sound slightly bitter; like someone who was turfed (refused admission) at the door cos if you'd actually been there rather than just having read about it in the tabloid press, you'd know - without any doubt, whatsoever - that Movida is hardly worth "bragging" about.

Correct, Movida is a place where lonely guys pick up freelance sex workers, much like the beer bars in Thailand (but with a snazzier decor)

Really? So when were you there last, mate?

[brit1984]

I suspect those who are suggesting Thailand is more expensive than their home country are not comparing apples with apples. Although the places where expats tend to live in Thailand (e.g. Bangkok or Phuket) may be comparable cost wise to a random sleepy town in the middle of nowhere in Europe or America, I can assure you that they are cheaper than the equivalent places back home (e.g. London or Nice). On the same note, I am sure the costs of living in rural Thailand (e.g. Amnat Charoen) are lower than the equivalent places back home (e.g. Southport).

I can have an amazing large 2-3bedroom apartment downtown Montreal for anywhere between 25 to 45k baht(even right next to 5mil $ condos and those apartment would have hardwood floors). I could also rent a full on top quality house with a massive yard 15-20mins by car from downtown(suburb) within walking distance from a top quality hospital, 2-3 schools a park 5times the size of lumpini with bike trails and those bike trails go in the small street to the house which has an 3-4 smaller kiddie parks with lots of small forests just nearby as well. That house would be 45-50k

In bangkok to get similar i would have to live at sukhumvit 101/bangna or worse. As for a house for that price i would only get a run down townhouse next to ekkemai which isnt all that bad but even if it was new it would still be rundown as are all the thai houses under 30mil baht. Cheap material and bad labour.

Also in montreal which is one of the most loved city in the world, my fresh food would be a lot cheaper if i cooked it myself. Better quality for a price cheaper than the horrible pork and beef they sell here. Just drive by costco once a month and stack up. Eating out? Khao pat on the street is equivalent to a steamed hotdog. Both are kind of bad for you but have all the major nutrition. There's the cheap meat, veggies(onions and salad+relish) and carbs from the bread. Some in their fantasy world think that khao pat and similar thai food is healthy but its not when it cost 30baht. It's filled with MSG, bacterias from badly washed cookware, dirty amounts of oil and dirty ingredient full of illegal pesticide, also white rice is way worst than anything else. Also montreal is home to many cheap delis, you can get 85-120 baht small meals at any superstore that are made fresh with GOOD ingredient everyday as the canadian country is moving towards everything 'Healthy' those small fresh meal at the fresh counter are way more nutritive than the 5calories you get from thai food mxied with 400 calories of rice put on top of it.

For partygoers, montreal costs the same price to party out except the girls will be free and if you cant get one theres a nice corner where they dont look that bad and they dont cost much more than i see old men paying in thailand anyways. Every kid from the usa and rest of canada visit montreal to party when they have a free week or more. It's one of the best affordable city to party.

When it comes to foodies montreal has the most restaurant per capita(bangkok does not have that many most that are not in hotels are just idiots with too much money opening a tasteless kitchen and bangkok on convienience and the lack of taste of many thais when it comes to food). Lots of choices for our friends with fine noses and palate. Lots of vineyards close by.

Is there an other angle you wish to hear about? The only thing more expensive here are cigs but then again everyone who smokes should be put on their own cancer island. House price were higher but now with bangkok and phuket's incredibly retarded prices its pretty much the same but at least you get a real investment and quality in montreal. a house in the suburb of montreal can get to downtown quite fast while a house in the suburb of bangkok will take forever to get to say central world even at 4am.

I say it all the time, major cities in thailand are a place for parttimers, whoremongers or somewhat crazy people who never fit with society back home. Which is definitely fine, everyone deserves a place but let's not kid ourselves that bangkok is cheaper. Bangkok definately is better than most other large cities in thailand but its still not that great when you really get down to making a list. Better live back home and visit it once a year for a month and do all the few things that you miss.

edit: forgot people love to talk about beer.

If you want to have friends over a good quality beer will cost you 30baht, in thailand that gets you chang or other local crap. A good microbrew will cost about 3$ to 10$ depending on size and quality.. thats 100-300baht.. the price of a corona in thailand. Snacks at corner stores(7/11) are also MUCH cheaper in montreal

Where is Montreal?

[brit1984]

Not all of us from London go pissing it up at movida and living like johnny big potatoes and brag about it either like some issan bird does, but getting back on topic Phuket is def cheaper than London that's for sure all day long!

You sound slightly bitter; like someone who was turfed (refused admission) at the door cos if you'd actually been there rather than just having read about it in the tabloid press, you'd know - without any doubt, whatsoever - that Movida is hardly worth "bragging" about.

Correct, Movida is a place where lonely guys pick up freelance sex workers, much like the beer bars in Thailand (but with a snazzier decor)

Really? So when were you there last, mate?

I have been there once and will never return; it is not my scene as I prefer places where I can take my family

Movida is for single guys, like my old hedge fund colleagues (all Euro-trash by the way), who go on Fridays to pick up Russian hookers

[HardenedSoul]

I have been there once and will never return; it is not my scene as I prefer places where I can take my family

Movida is for single guys, like my old hedge fund colleagues (all Euro-trash by the way), who go on Fridays to pick up Russian hookers

Any hooker element at the club represents no more than 10% of the female attendees, from what I remember. Very much the opposite of most farang-oriented clubs in LOS.

For sure the club is lame but more on account of its tendency to attract premiership footballers and, worse still, the loud-mouthed, inebriated morons that usually form their entourages. As a rule, if I see an EPL footballer rock up in a club where I am, I get up and leave.

[AverageFarang]

As a rule, if I see an EPL footballer rock up in a club where I am, I get up and leave.

Mate, what would you do if you went to a club here in BKK and met someone from the Thai Premiere League. Some of these players are Afs.

Edited May 23, 2012 by AverageFarang

[HardenedSoul]

As a rule, if I see an EPL footballer rock up in a club where I am, I get up and leave.

Mate, what would you do if you went to a club here in BKK and met someone from the Thai Premiere League. Some of these players are Afs.

Well I doubt I'd recognize any Thai Premier League player.

Back in London, there's kinda no mistaking Cristiano Ronaldo or Ashley Cole

[chops]

I couldn't even afford to get laid in the usa. They want $200+ for full service. <deleted>. How is anybody there supposed to get laid? I'm serious.

I get laid here for about $30. Now that's more like it.

Also, healthcare in the usa is just outrageous. I sure would not like to have any serious health problems there. Last time I went in for a check up and stayed for a few hours and they sent me a bill for thousands of dollars.

Up in Chiang Mai I paid some nothing amount for a checkup with the doctor when I was sick. Total cost: 200 baht and that included the medication!

I can find a decent and clean apartment for about $200 a month here. If I paid that in the usa it would be in a black ghetto.

And the convenience stores are dirt cheap here too. I can get a bunch of snacks here at the 711 and it rarely goes over 100 baht($3). In the usa, just a silly can of coke costs $2-$3!

So, you can see that I save loads here.

Edited May 23, 2012 by chops

[Berkshire]

I couldn't even afford to get laid in the usa. They want $200+ for full service. <deleted>. How is anybody there supposed to get laid? I'm serious.

I get laid here for about $30. Now that's more like it.

Also, healthcare in the usa is just outrageous. I sure would not like to have any serious health problems there. Last time I went in for a check up and stayed for a few hours and they sent me a bill for thousands of dollars.

Up in Chiang Mai I paid some nothing amount for a checkup with the doctor when I was sick. Total cost: 200 baht and that included the medication!

I can find a decent and clean apartment for about $200 a month here. If I paid that in the usa it would be in a black ghetto.

And the convenience stores are dirt cheap here too. I can get a bunch of snacks here at the 711 and it rarely goes over 100 baht($3). In the usa, just a silly can of coke costs $2-$3!

So, you can see that I save loads here.

Actually, I forgot to mention that stuff in a 7/11 in Thailand is a heck of a lot cheaper than stuff in a 7/11 in the states. How's that for an apple to apple comparison?

Edited May 23, 2012 by Berkshire

[brit1984]

This discussion has reminded me of The Economist's Big Mac Index

Thailand is actually one of the cheapest countries in the world for a Big Mac

In fact, a Double Big Mac is cheaper here than a Big Mac in UK

[guzzi850m2]

Where is Montreal?

I think its a place where you need a snow shovel in the winter and you can build a snow man in the garden too if that is a hobby of yours.

[kevjohn]

If you want some comparisons between countries then this may help.

You can choose the countries you compare.

Link http://www.numbeo.co...untry2=Thailand

Edited May 23, 2012 by kevjohn

[guzzi850m2]

If you want some comparisons between countries then this may help.

You can choose the countries you compare.

Link http://www.numbeo.co...untry2=Thailand

Thanks a lot for the link that is very cool, I keep it in my favorites sites for future references.

[HardenedSoul]

I couldn't even afford to get laid in the usa. They want $200+ for full service. <deleted>. How is anybody there supposed to get laid? I'm serious.

I get laid here for about $30. Now that's more like it.

How can you be serious with such a daft question?

Not everyone has to pay for it like you obviously do.

Bit of a no-brainer really.

[wana]

I couldn't even afford to get laid in the usa. They want $200+ for full service. <deleted>. How is anybody there supposed to get laid? I'm serious.

I get laid here for about $30. Now that's more like it.

Also, healthcare in the usa is just outrageous. I sure would not like to have any serious health problems there. Last time I went in for a check up and stayed for a few hours and they sent me a bill for thousands of dollars.

Up in Chiang Mai I paid some nothing amount for a checkup with the doctor when I was sick. Total cost: 200 baht and that included the medication!

I can find a decent and clean apartment for about $200 a month here. If I paid that in the usa it would be in a black ghetto.

And the convenience stores are dirt cheap here too. I can get a bunch of snacks here at the 711 and it rarely goes over 100 baht($3). In the usa, just a silly can of coke costs $2-$3!

So, you can see that I save loads here.

even a "black ghetto" could could not be rented in London ,Dublin ,Paris ,Amsterdam or any top cities in Europe for 200 dollars a month !

i think some people need to go back for a holiday/reality check? because they might not be comparing current thai prices with the reality that is back home now

After a bit of Shopping ,Drinking ,Partying and Living in general .you will be happier with your state of finances in Bangkok Again !

[meand]

I seriously can't even believe what i'm reading. If living cheaper is one of your goals/requirements, and you can't do it here vs the US or Uk, you need to work on your money management skills. The capacity to live cheaper here is almost unlimited, of course it depends on how far you want to take it, but it is definitely cheaper if you want/need it to be. I also agree with the sentiments that on the same amount of money here you are living a better lifestyle.

[TommoPhysicist]

even a "black ghetto" could could not be rented in London ,Dublin ,Paris ,Amsterdam or any top cities in Europe for 200 dollars a month !

i think some people need to go back for a holiday/reality check? because they might not be comparing current thai prices with the reality that is back home now

Friend of mine bought a bedsit near Hyde Park in London last month.

230,000UKP (over $400,000) size a massive 19 square metres.

[TommoPhysicist]

Not everyone has to pay for it like you obviously do.

Bit of a no-brainer really.

When you're our age, if you still want it you will be paying for it.

That also is a bit of a no-brainer really.

[eeeya]

Mostly I find its cheaper here because I compromise the quality and standards which are available to me in the west.

My condo is shiny on top but sh!t underneath in terms of construction, My cheap street food is a gamble of the cooks hygene standards.

I am not given the same standards as a local for pricing and social standing. Visa's are a pain in the ass..

winge winge rant rant etc etc etc

But its bloody more interesting and fun than living in the 'burbs of Australia!

[HardenedSoul]

Not everyone has to pay for it like you obviously do.

Bit of a no-brainer really.

When you're our age, if you still want it you will be paying for it.

That also is a bit of a no-brainer really.

What age is that ? If it isn't 75+, you're talking <deleted>

[mca]

http://notthenation.com/2011/03/expat-woman-who-pays-too-much-for-everything-says-bangkok-expensive/

[TommoPhysicist]

What age is that ? If it isn't 75+, you're talking <deleted>

You're 75?

[HardenedSoul]

What age is that ? If it isn't 75+, you're talking <deleted>

You're 75?

Shit, no. The point is that no one under the age of 75 absolutely has to pay for it.

[TommoPhysicist]

What age is that ? If it isn't 75+, you're talking <deleted>

You're 75?

Shit, no. The point is that no one under the age of 75 absolutely has to pay for it.

Tell us that again when you get there. (and you can add 'told you so' if it makes you happy)