Money Makes The World Go Round.

[mjj]

I'm sure it has not gone unnoticed that some of our poster have quite a high expenditure here it Thailand. Other seem to be coming here to retire at an early age having amassed very respectable savings.

I've made a few comments on those threads, but they always leave me puzzled as to why would someone want to spend that amount of money here in Thailand. I can see how to spend over 200k a month, but why choose Thailand?

Don't get me wrong, I like Thailand, but should my income surpass 200-250k per month I would be looking at other destinations. I'm not going to make a list of what is wrong in Thailand, we all know.

Those of you spending that amount, why do you live here? Your answer maybe 'because I can'. Fair enough, but why not live in a first world country?

For those of you without the big incomes, what would be your monthly salary figure for you to consider moving to another destination? This is assuming your salary was not dependent on where you lived.

I'm not trolling, I am really interested as to why big spenders chose a developing country that at times can be intensly frustrating over a developed country.

[bkkjames]

Masochists?

[WebBangkok]

Sometimes a totally different experience is exciting.

Thailand has a lot to offer if your not dwelling on all the negatives.

Plus you money goes a lot further in Thailand than some other places, I would love to live in Spain one day as I got relatives there and they love it.

But I really like Thailand at the moment, so for the time being, I will stay here.

[MrRealDeal]

I will move no matter what my income is when the mother in law dies. For pretty much exactly the reasons you mention

[Semper]

I am really interested as to why big spenders chose a developing country

Only place they can find available women?

[HardenedSoul]

When I first made the decision to remain here, it had a lot to do with the cheaper living costs but now that my income is rather more respectable than it was four years ago, it did cross my mind that I could still live very well if I made the move back to London despite the higher cost of living.

Pleased to say that thought lasted all of a nanosecond.

I find waking up in a city that seems to be buzzing and changing at break-neck speed every day particularly compelling and, despite some of the more infuriating aspects of their culture, I do like the Thais

[giddyup]

I am really interested as to why big spenders chose a developing country

Only place they can find available women?

I imagine if you're a big spender you can find women anywhere.

[Semper]

I am really interested as to why big spenders chose a developing country

Only place they can find available women?

I imagine if you're a big spender you can find women anywhere.

Not according to the op.

[GentlemanJim]

I like it here, I have no desire to return to the UK, save a few holidays to take my kids around Kensington Gardens, feed the ducks that we did when they were babies and go and see the highlands of Scotland. That's it! I like everything else about Thailand, and what I don't like, if it is in my power to change it, then I do (personal and family road safety for example). The politics here drives me mad, but it does in the UK, and here, I can simply switch the news off, and non of the rubbish going on in Bangkok ever affects my day to day life at all. I keep abreast of world news because I have to as I have a business where decisions are made based on global economics. But, if I take a break I just turn the news off completely. I will live longer and a life far more stress free here.

[chrisinth]

Money isn't everything.

But you need it to buy the things it isn't..............

[Rsquared]

Well you can count me out...........I don't have a high expenditure count.

I have zero income, therefore the reason for my first statement.

I choose to live here because I can retire at ( I am now 52 ) and my wife comes from here and we are both more comfortable here than back in OZ.

Pretty simple to me.......plus I like the weather and the lifestyle,....I could go on but it has already been said dozens of times.

Cheers.

[JakeBKK]

It's bloody lovely here. If you need to be grounded, just fly down to Singapore and mind the gap and prices.it's IMO like and average European city, including the fines.

Edited July 23, 2012 by JakeBKK

[arminbkk]

I think, for big spenders even, they get more for their money.

And what they get more.........well, it's their money (and you can't buy what's not on sale in the first place).

I'm not a big spender, but not by choice

[MrZM]

Money makes life easy. If you have more it makes your life easier.

[mjj]

I am really interested as to why big spenders chose a developing country

Only place they can find available women?

I imagine if you're a big spender you can find women anywhere.

Not according to the op.

Uh? No mention of women in my op....

[SlyAnimal]

If you are a big spender in Thailand, you can get significantly more than what you would get for the same amount of money in farangland.

Thus, if you're living on a passive income from property income etc, and thus don't need to be in your home country in order to earn.

Then you can either:

a/ Maintain your lifestyle, while increasing your level of monthly savings.

b/ Increase your lifestyle, while maintaining the same level of monthly savings.

c/ Increase your lifestyle substantially, while decreasing your savings.

So maybe the big spenders, are quite well off people, who want to live a little better (, or maybe they are normal people, who want to live the dream soto speak (. In Thailand, people have the choice on what they want to do, compared to farangland, where their cost of living is soo much higher.

Also of course, if people are working in farangland, and working here, then it balances out, since their salary is relative to their cost of living. Although a lot of expats working for foreign companies in Thailand, do keep a western wage, which would allow them to substantially increase their lifestyle, while also increasing their savings. Which would be the other reason for a lot of high spenders.

Although, I think that the reason the real highso people send their children to other countries, and indeed want to live in other countries themselves. Is because regardless of how much money you have, you can't buy low crime, low corruption and freedom of expression. When you are really rich, money isn't a problem. You don't need to really worry about the cost of things, because you have enough money for them, and more. Instead you want those things which money can't buy.

Edited July 23, 2012 by SlyAnimal

[fletchsmile]

Just on the numbers:

THB 200k a month is about GBP 4k a month, which is about twice the average national wage in the UK. That'll allow you to get by in the UK. Remember many people in the UK need 2 wages coming in to get by for a reasonable life. THB 200k goes a hell of a lot further in Thailand, and affords a nice comfortable life.

For me, living, working and investing in Thailand allowed me to achieve financial independence in my 40's and at a much earlier age than if I remained in the UK. Key reasons:

- If I was living in the UK, I'd no doubt be stuck with UK pensions etc with forever moving goalposts that wouldn't let me access my money until 55. Instead working overseas, I received the cash and invested it in what I want, when I want it, and still get tax breaks like Thai LTFs

- If living in the UK, I'd be paying tax on worldwide income. Here in Thailand I pay virtually no tax on investments. So taking your THB 200k gross = net = very little tax. To get the same return net in the UK, you probably have to earn THB 300k before tax and lose a third in tax (ball park) to receive the same THB 200k after tax.

- As I live here, I have always invested some money here. Having ignored the mantra of don't invest in Thailand blah blah blah... this has also done well on 2 fronts: THB appreciation vs GBP, and better returns on Thai equities compared to UK in the 2000's. Had I remained in the UK, I would have had no need for Thai investments so would be much more invested in UK and GBP, which have performed poorly compared to Thailand and THB. That's a trend I see continuing for the next few years at least

- Lower cost of living in Thailand. Even taking account of school fees and car. Especially with tax factored in.

So all in all, just on the numbers, Thailand offers much more freedom, flexibility and independence

Then again life is about much more than numbers and money anyway, which leads to a whole host of reasons why Thailand is a nice place to live

[Semper]

@ OP.

Uh? No mention of women in my op....

Correct, my bad.

• 
  

[David48]

Money makes life easy. If you have more it makes your life easier.

I view it slightly differently ...

Money gives you options.

No money, you kid goes to a Temple school.

A little money, your kid goes to a public school

A lot of money (relative for Thailand) you kid can go to a Private school.

For me, all that money does is provide different options.

But I do agree that money can make your life easier ... but through opening up the increased options available to you and your family.

[KeyserSoze01]

I believe that if the OP had some insight, he would discover that there are many, many farang in Thailand that have net income much higher than 200K baht per month. Case in point, Marc Faber, who is a Swiss investor, author and a regular contributor to many international financial TV shows and also has a net worth of over $100,000,000 usd, lives in Chiang Mai.

Edited July 23, 2012 by KeyserSoze01

[mjj]

I believe that if the OP had some insight, he would discover that there are many, many farang in Thailand that have net income much higher than 200K baht per month. Case in point, Marc Faber, who is a Swiss investor, author and a regular contributor to many international financial TV shows and also has a net worth of over $100,000,000 usd, lives in Chiang Mai.

At no point in my op was I berating anyone for living here, I was just asking why live here with a large income. The Internet forum is used for sharing views and I am asking for alternative viewpoints. If YOU had some insight you would see that these boards have many topics pointing out Thailands flaws, therefore if someone can live in a country with less flaws, why don't they. All innocent, but if you wish to add your twist to my op to put me down in some way, carry on, it has more of a reflection on you than it does me.

[cdnmatt]

Reminds me of a few weeks ago, my oldest brother was visiting my parents for a night (was in their area due to work), and we all ended up talking on Skype together. I asked him how life in [city] Canada was. He just laughed, and sarcastically said, "ohhh, it's awesome! we have streets, and stores, and houses that all look the same, and bitchy judgemental <deleted> everywhere! why aren't you out here? you're missing out, man!".

Then he just sighed, and said, "yeah, Thailand is pretty nice".

And that sums it up for me. I can live anywhere in the world. Why would I drop say $500k to live in the sub-burbs of Canada somewhere, a 45 min drive from the city, just to struggle and live surrounded by people who are also struggling, while everyone expends their energy to be like the Jones'? That doesn't make any sense.

If you haven't noticed, a good majority of people in the 1st world developed nations live in a quiet desperation, while playing the game of life that's expected of them. Why play the game if you don't need to?

Edited July 23, 2012 by cdnmatt

[Heng]

At a certain income level (and it's all relative) a lot of the annoying things about this place pretty much disappear from sight (if you so will it). A good portion of tasks that are mundane or somehow conflict with your own standards or principles can be delegated to someone else. For me personally, a good portion of my real estate is here, my kids are already in school here.... while we could just pack up and live at our place in Rob Roy (in Austin), life is already IMO perfect as it is, so I'm not sure if there is any reason to uproot.

Edited July 24, 2012 by Heng

[ExCommando]

If you are a big spender in Thailand, you can get significantly more than what you would get for the same amount of money in farangland.

Thus, if you're living on a passive income from property income etc, and thus don't need to be in your home country in order to earn.

Then you can either:

a/ Maintain your lifestyle, while increasing your level of monthly savings.

b/ Increase your lifestyle, while maintaining the same level of monthly savings.

c/ Increase your lifestyle substantially, while decreasing your savings.

So maybe the big spenders, are quite well off people, who want to live a little better (, or maybe they are normal people, who want to live the dream soto speak (. In Thailand, people have the choice on what they want to do, compared to farangland, where their cost of living is soo much higher.

Also of course, if people are working in farangland, and working here, then it balances out, since their salary is relative to their cost of living. Although a lot of expats working for foreign companies in Thailand, do keep a western wage, which would allow them to substantially increase their lifestyle, while also increasing their savings. Which would be the other reason for a lot of high spenders.

Although, I think that the reason the real highso people send their children to other countries, and indeed want to live in other countries themselves. Is because regardless of how much money you have, you can't buy low crime, low corruption and freedom of expression. When you are really rich, money isn't a problem. You don't need to really worry about the cost of things, because you have enough money for them, and more. Instead you want those things which money can't buy.

I couldn't have said it better myself - as someone who is planning to sell up and make the move to Thailand, the reason for my move is to have the things that money can't buy, which are;

1. Less stress

2. Time with my young family

Being in business, no matter how much you delegate to your management staff, is still time absorbing, extremely stressful, and unhealthy.

And once you have made enough money to live comfortably without the need to work, it's only selfishness (in my opinion), which keeps you involved in business. You are literally just amassing more coins in your bank account to count, or spend on non fulfilling things.

I've got nearly every possession I thought I'd ever want - and at the start, I thought these possessions, status and respect in the business community would count for something ... it doesn't. It fades away, and it doesn't change the way that life revolves around you; the only thing it changes, for me, is by absorbing time I'd rather spend with those I love.

To push the cliche button - money doesn't buy you happiness.

This is why people with high net wealth sell up and retire early.

[NanLaew]

I recall when I was single and my work would take me pretty much anywhere and I had homes in the US, UK, Brazil and Thailand. Whenever I experienced any degree of boredom or burn-out in any of these places, I took comfort that I wasn't locked in and obliged to stay there. It makes a difference when you can just pack a bag and bugger off somewhere else for a spell when 'cabin fever' threatens. It is even better when you don't need to pack as you already have stuff like clothes, house and car at your destination!

I first 'lived' in Thailand between 1978 and 1990 as it was my home base for work in the far and mid east. I burned out on the Thai petty corruption, lack of amenities and having to compromise on most home comforts and lifestyle so after my first divorce, I abandoned Thailand for about 15 years. Sure it was (mostly) cheap as dirt here but it just wasn't all that. When the bulk of my work was bringing me back to the far east, it was impractical to commute from the US, Europe or South America so, after briefly considering Vietnam, I relocated back to Thailand about 7 years ago.

My journeyman style of international work keeps me happy in that despite having remarried here and started a family this time, I can always look forward to getting out of the country every couple of months or so. I have also done a couple of Bangkok office-based assignments recently and to be honest, those were somewhat soul destroying and 9-5 work with only weekends off was a chore. I found the same on similar length assignments in Kuala Lumpur so it's not unique to Bangkok or Thailand. When I was working out of Houston, I liked the regular overseas work assignments that broke up the office routine. Similarly, working offshore Brazil kept everything nicely balanced when that country was going through some upheavals. If someone was going on strike or change immigration rules or something else that was going to impact my lifestyle, I could just leave. For comforts and amenities, the US trumped the UK and Brazil while Thailand remains in a lower league IMHO.

I would think that people with a higher net worth or greater liquidity that have chosen to make a home in Thailand, such as the Swiss investor mentioned earlier living in Chiang Mai, don't have all their eggs in the same basket. They may have bigger, more expensive homes here because they can but I would be very surprised if they consider Thailand as their only home or have any illusions as to making this their final or permanent home. Those with more average financial constraints and most retirees here may not have this luxury. My opinion is that Thailand is a nice place to stay, possibly to live long term but for me, working here did take more of the guild off this particular lily.

[farang000999]

Thailand offers the best value for money if you do not have children. When you add children to the mix, it becomes more complicated. There is not much more we can add on the subject that has not yet been stated. I think many farang put themselves before their children when they choose to live in Thailand. I think many farang find themselves in Thailand because the West chewed them up and spit them out but they can still live a good life in Thailand because they were lucky enough to have not been born in Thailand.

[David48]

<snip> because they were lucky enough to have not been born in Thailand.

Many a Thai might disagree with that statement ...

(full quote directly above this posting)

[bangkockney]

I believe that if the OP had some insight, he would discover that there are many, many farang in Thailand that have net income much higher than 200K baht per month. Case in point, Marc Faber, who is a Swiss investor, author and a regular contributor to many international financial TV shows and also has a net worth of over $100,000,000 usd, lives in Chiang Mai.

At no point in my op was I berating anyone for living here, I was just asking why live here with a large income. The Internet forum is used for sharing views and I am asking for alternative viewpoints. If YOU had some insight you would see that these boards have many topics pointing out Thailands flaws, therefore if someone can live in a country with less flaws, why don't they. All innocent, but if you wish to add your twist to my op to put me down in some way, carry on, it has more of a reflection on you than it does me.

Flaws of the UK are worse than Thailand IMO.

America has never floated my boat. Nice to visit couldn't see myself living there.

Europe? Nope.

Does your OP mean that you are too poor to live in the West? That's why you are here, because unlike those "big spenders" you don't have the choice? That's what your post implies.

[bangkockney]

If you are a big spender in Thailand, you can get significantly more than what you would get for the same amount of money in farangland.

Thus, if you're living on a passive income from property income etc, and thus don't need to be in your home country in order to earn.

Then you can either:

a/ Maintain your lifestyle, while increasing your level of monthly savings.

b/ Increase your lifestyle, while maintaining the same level of monthly savings.

c/ Increase your lifestyle substantially, while decreasing your savings.

So maybe the big spenders, are quite well off people, who want to live a little better (, or maybe they are normal people, who want to live the dream soto speak (. In Thailand, people have the choice on what they want to do, compared to farangland, where their cost of living is soo much higher.

Also of course, if people are working in farangland, and working here, then it balances out, since their salary is relative to their cost of living. Although a lot of expats working for foreign companies in Thailand, do keep a western wage, which would allow them to substantially increase their lifestyle, while also increasing their savings. Which would be the other reason for a lot of high spenders.

Although, I think that the reason the real highso people send their children to other countries, and indeed want to live in other countries themselves. Is because regardless of how much money you have, you can't buy low crime, low corruption and freedom of exp<b></b>ression. When you are really rich, money isn't a problem. You don't need to really worry about the cost of things, because you have enough money for them, and more. Instead you want those things which money can't buy.

I couldn't have said it better myself - as someone who is planning to sell up and make the move to Thailand, the reason for my move is to have the things that money can't buy, which are;

1. Less stress

2. Time with my young family

Being in business, no matter how much you delegate to your management staff, is still time absorbing, extremely stressful, and unhealthy.

And once you have made enough money to live comfortably without the need to work, it's only selfishness (in my opinion), which keeps you involved in business. You are literally just amassing more coins in your bank account to count, or spend on non fulfilling things.

I've got nearly every possession I thought I'd ever want - and at the start, I thought these possessions, status and respect in the business community would count for something ... it doesn't. It fades away, and it doesn't change the way that life revolves around you; the only thing it changes, for me, is by absorbing time I'd rather spend with those I love.

To push the cliche button - money doesn't buy you happiness.

This is why people with high net wealth sell up and retire early.

Whilst I respect your opinion I think you're wrong in the majority of cases, especially the last sentence.

The serious heavyweights in business are old and experienced and filthy rich. They're still in the game for the thrill of the chase.

[brit1984]

I live in Bangkok because I want my wife to be as comfortable as possible during this baby-making stage, and as she is Thai there are many reasons (e.g. family, friends, familiar healthcare system and availability of diverse Thai food) why she feels most comfortable here.

I do however fully understand the OP's point that, objectively speaking, Bangkok (or Thailand in general) does not rank highly on any quality of life rankings and hence it is unlikely we will stay permanently. It is possible we will eventually settle back in London, or more likely we will move onto Singapore or Hong Kong, once our kids all need schooling.

I would assume most people (excluding those attracted foremost by value for money) who live in Thailand are here for work reasons or because they have some particular connection with Thailand (e.g. native spouse). However, there are also those who simply visited as tourists and have fallen in love with the country or those seeking the adventure of living in (and experiencing) a different country (and culture).

Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules