I Want To Live In Hua Hin

[garyinthailand]

I stay In Phrae and have only been here a year arrived with less than you and my monthly pension is less than yours.I have built a house have a new car.I can live her comfortably on 20,000 a month.

Phrae, or another place off the tourist track would be a lot more doable than Hua Hin, which is now an expensive place. Think about your needs as you age and what could happen if the pound weakens and Thailand gets another big round of inflation. I moved here 9 years ago and estimate my cost of living is easily twice what it was when I got here. I still get by, but don't have nearly the fun I did then.

[silentnine]

the 600 from the rented property is a problem

i had 750 from a rented property in the uk when i moved here

when the 1st tenants changed there were repairs and re decoration to be made which i had not budgeted on

then the 2nd tenants moved out early causing a gap in the income stream

overall it was a nightmare and in the end i sold up instead

[soundmagus]

Hmm lots of you guys have CRAZY numbers flying around, here is my monthly breakdown MRGTINGTONG - I live in Phuket.

Monthly Rent - 13000 baht - 2 Bed Detached house with all round gardens

Electricity - 1000 baht

Internet - 650 Baht

Food - 10000 baht (includes eating out and going to pubs at weekend if i fancy it)

Fuel - 1000 baht (motorbike)

Washing - 1000 baht

So all in all i spend 26650 baht per month, lets call it 30,000 baht on all our living costs, yes this is for 2 PEOPLE and a dog.

So your £600 a month from your UK rent will take care of 29,499.16 of that which means you need to find 500 baht per month from your 3,000,000 baht savings.

Basically what you should take away from this is you can get a nice place here for the prices i mentioned above, and by the way i dont live in a busy area, i live in Kamala, its quiet, the sea is 2 minutes on the bike and i have immediate access to all shopping amenities, food vendors etc i could ever want.

You can, however, choose to spend the amounts people are talking about above but, as you said, you are looking for "the simple life" so 80,000 baht per month for gardeners and stuff like that, in my opinion, is crazy and who needs golf?

All joking aside you can asily find something WELL WITHIN your budget even in the more expensive places like phuket, it simple takes effort to look and also i would avoid buying a condo, why would you spend the extra cash when you could get a lovely 2,3 or even 4 bed house for half the cost?

Anyway good luck and if i can help in any other way give me a private message and i will try my best.

Mark

[how241]

Although 60K sounds a lot,in reality that could soon dissaper...600 quid a month is just below 30,000 baht, that isnt that much to live on...it can be done but any extra expenses such as holidays, health, unexpected costs will not be welcome. Depending on the business you choose for your wife, try and combine commercial/residential property. This way you only have one set of utilities..you can rent a town house for 10k-15k a month in a good area....dont buy an existing business with key money!!!...build the business yourselfe...Think of things like transport, do you want a car or bike..cars are exepnsive to buy and run,what are you going to do allday???...30K you will get by on Thai food, riding a bike and not going out much....if you want to travel, entertainment,hobbies and western food,look at a lot more.

Sounds correct.

[Moo2cm]

I have lived in Hua Hin, Bkk, Phuket and Chiang Mai, as well as other places in Thailand and have done so for more than a decade. Our family of 2 budget breaks down to 12,000 a month fixed expensis and 20,000 a month for everything else (health insurance for 2 less than $1000 a year not included). CM is cheaper (big city life)than the other places I've lived in Thailand so I suggest starting there for the brunt of the "learning curve" then try other places.

BTW, I live in a four bedroon 2 story home not a shack, don't think I am doing without anything, and enjoy extras I wouldn't be able to afford with 4 times the income in a First World country.

Your assets might serve you better than starting a business here though.... the cards will be stacked against you. IMO

[sugarnob]

One more piece of advice..... Go and have a look in Cambodia. Seriously.....it's a great country and the cost of living is a fraction of the price of Thailand. To me it's a no-Brainer. The wife will be close to home and can visit Thailand easily at any time..... Have a look !

[AllanB]

Well I don't want to be cynical, but I have to say this for your own benefit.

Your biggest 'challenge' to your finances may end up coming form your wife.

Now I don't want to be judgemental, but, you wouldn't be the first farang to ever be 'taken for a ride' by a Tahi bride !

So my advise is this PLAN, BUDGET and most importantly, RETAIN ABSOLUTE CONTROL of your finances.

Regardless of how much you love your wife, and she loves you, try and plan for the event that the worst or unthinkable may happen.

WORSE CASE EXAMPLES of teh dream going wrong :-

Your wife gets run over by a bus and is killed.

You may get hurt or injured or become sick and need medical care.

You buy a house or start a business in your wife's name and then things to go wrong between you.

You open a joint bank account and suddenly your saving all go as your wife's relatives all get sick etc....

Your wife turns out to be already married and has a Thai family back home.

You could start off very well, but, slowly the dream starts to slip away, at about the same pace as your savings.........

So budgeting, planning, strategy, self disipline and prudence are the KEY TO SURVIVAL and HAPPINESS.

I don't want to send the wrong message, and I hope you and your wife live very happily in Thailand, but please, please talk to some of the guys over there who have had a 'Thai wife experience'.

You are right to be cautious, YOU ONLY GET TO SPEND YOUR LIFE AND YOUR MONEY ONCE.

Make sure that WHATEVER happens, you retain and keep control of your money, your wealth and you NEVER lose your grip or control over that.

Good Luck !!

Yes, I forgot about that, the missus. My first GF could spend like money was going out of fashion. She would have ruined me in no time, but left calling me a "Cheap Charlie" she is, no doubt bleeding some other poor sucker dry now. My current wife is great, so it must be me spending all the money. We do live well and maybe Khon Kaen isn't as cheap as we first thought.

Also someone mentioned spending your capital, not a good idea at 52, maybe if you were 100 with a weak heart, but you must leave your capital alone.

You must also assume that the Baht won't weaken again, likely it won't.

[SymS]

normal living expenses, i.e., full time gardener

[Steiner]

Sorry but I just don't see how you can do it. I would say a bare minimum of 60k.

at 30k you would be eating cheap Thai food and it's cheap for a reason! (poor quality and small portions)

Try to eat farang and you will spend a lot of money even cooking at home!

You would not be going anywhere nice for a trip. What would happen if you got injured?

One thing that worries me is the line about "Will look at starting some business for the wife to run" That doesn't sound good already. Thai people show very little business acumen, they never understand investment or the purpose of a cash flow projection, Jesus ice is delivered in 35 degree + heat in an open backed pick up truck!!!I tried to debate this with an ice delivery guy and argued that he should invest in a refrigerated truck or at least some form of insulated cover for the 5 years he planned to keep the truck and stop watching his profits disappear down the gutter. Waste of time.

My guess would be you will try to plan a 'business' for her, she will come up with wild ideas which you will not want to go with. Any attempt by you to talk sense will be perceived by her as you being awkward, give that a month and you will be having fun!

Seen this one too many times, guy gives in to her constant badgering and the small amount of money he has soon disappears...!

Then it will be sell the house in the UK and bring the money out.

What's that UK and pension calling?

No offence meant and maybe your girl is a business genius that just hasn't applied herself yet but I doubt it.

Does she have a real job or experience or qualifications?

Everything in this post makes me think 'not again...'

[dannyh2000uk]

Since the fine old days of 2006 when it seemed to be 75 baht to the £ and the living was good for expats on some brit income, I have since seen a good friend collapse and die from the stress of trying to keep up and stay out in Thailand, fearing return to the UK , due to burned bridges.

I love it East but please do not gamble, think shrewd, think logically.

Also as someone mentioned you really must budget for the expenses your wifes' family will require, it is just the way it is

If you hold back amazing how suddenly you'll feel alone

good luck,

danny

[davejones]

If the rent is your only income you could come unstuck very easily. I get rent from a uk property and the tenant didn't pay any rent for 3 months. Then he caused the equivalent of 5 months rent damage and it took me a month to fix it. I have savings as a back up, so I could still afford to live here. But what will you do if your tenant stops paying rent, damages the house, etc.The house will also need fixing at some point if it's rented long-term. If you become non-resident in UK for tax purposes then you won't get any personal tax allowance and about 20% of that rent will go towards tax? Do you have someone to manage the property for you? Will they charge you?

I live try to live on 65K a month but I still spend money on extras such as holidays, healthcare, etc. So all told I probably spend 100K a month. And I don't have an extravagant life by any means. I live in BKK though. I can't imagine it's much cheaper in Hua Hin.

Think very carefully before buying a condo, as they can be very difficult to sell. I was looking at some condos in a building near me the other day and most 1-bed ones are about 7.5m. But one guy needed a quick sale and sold his for 5m. That's how much you can lose if you need to sell. I read a report by CBRE the other day which said that many condo projects in BKK from 2010 and 2011 still haven't sold out. Think about that. A 2-year old building and they still can't sell the condos. The oversupply of condos here is like nothing I've ever seen. Be very careful. Sell your UK house, buy here and then get kicked out because you don't have any money and you'll be homeless and broke in the UK.

I doubt very much that you could live here on 30k.

Edited August 7, 2012 by davejones

[paniolo]

come on over, sounds like you won't even know what hits you.........

[SNGLIFE]

For comparison, I live with my wife and two young kids in Udon - just outside Ring Road (aka the future beltway). We own our home and car outright. Our household budget is THB 35k. 15k of that is semi-discretionariy (satellite service, internet service, allowance for her father, etc.).

You and your wife could live a semi-comfortable, but no-frills existence on 20k minimum near Udon. The further out you go, the more comfortable, but more isolated you would be on the same income. Sawang Daen Din to the east or Kutchap to the west, for example. You could be "fine" on 20k per month.

FWIW

[Hamlet07]

One more piece of advice..... Go and have a look in Cambodia. Seriously.....it's a great country and the cost of living is a fraction of the price of Thailand. To me it's a no-Brainer. The wife will be close to home and can visit Thailand easily at any time..... Have a look !

Yea I heard its very cheap...prob like Thailand 15 yrs ago...

[Hamlet07]

normal living expenses, i.e., full time gardener

One must, when living normally, have a full-time gardener....oh, and a Chauffeur of course...oh and a cook,also a cleaner.then there's the manucurist/masseus, the fitness trainer,handyman.......life coach,financial pl.......

[TealLA]

I think the key here is that you mentioned the words - simple life. Simple life to me equates to pretty much 30,000 per month. I'm not sure about Hua Hin, but I've spent time in Chiang Mai and I think it's totally doable. You have a decent amount saved up for a cushion. I would rent for now and think about buying property later on. Take it slow. Learn the language. Language is the key.

[wimpey1946]

Although 60K sounds a lot,in reality that could soon dissaper...600 quid a month is just below 30,000 baht, that isnt that much to live on...it can be done but any extra expenses such as holidays, health, unexpected costs will not be welcome. Depending on the business you choose for your wife, try and combine commercial/residential property. This way you only have one set of utilities..you can rent a town house for 10k-15k a month in a good area....dont buy an existing business with key money!!!...build the business yourselfe...Think of things like transport, do you want a car or bike..cars are exepnsive to buy and run,what are you going to do allday???...30K you will get by on Thai food, riding a bike and not going out much....if you want to travel, entertainment,hobbies and western food,look at a lot more.

[khunPer]

You can live for 30.000 baht/month - Thais do so - but after rent of home and fixed basic costs (electric, health etc.), you may have around 15k/m eq. 500b/day. It is depending of your life-style, if 500b/day is all right for two people.

Even, when you buy a condo (or house) for 2½ mio. baht, you will still have some basic expenses (electric, water etc.), but it may leave you with a bit more overhead for daily use.

When establishing a business in Thailand, take care of that you/your wife are making money, not loosing money.

For a pleasant life in Thailand for two people, you may rather look for an amount around 50k baht/m (or more).

Always make sure to have en extra (emergency) amount in cash - fx. make an extra bank account with ATM for the purpose – so you do not run out of money. In my opinion, one should always have a minimum of some 100k back-up - it is very unpleasant be without (enough) money in Thailand. Also be aware, that if you are staying on a Non-O Visa extension for marriage, you will need 400k in a bank deposit minimum three month before the annual extension. Best is, if you can afford to deposit 400k in a fixed account (may give you aprox. 10k annual interest), so you never need to worry about finding the cash up to a visa extension, and keep the interest in your back-up account, in case the size of visa extension deposit may raise, some time in the future.

[EvilDrSomkid]

2 pages already and no further info from OP. Most of the advice here is realistic.

My 2 baht:

No, you can't do it on what you have, or think you will have.

Budget at least 90k per month for the 2 of you. Forget about setting something up for the wife.

Are you going to provide the cash for setting up?

You would not believe how fast the money goes.

Its not just rent, car, motosai, food, clothes, utilities.

Its insurance, furniture, repairs, you name it.

Some more information on what you and your wife are planning would be good.

Why Hua Hin, for example? How old is your wife and what background does she have (education, work experience etc.)?

What background do you have?

[Tatsujin]

Thailand is not the 'cheap' place it used to be, no matter where you are living. Prices are generally on a par and often more than what you would pay for the equivalent back home. To live a 'comfortable' life here without being overly extravagant, you need upwards of 60k per month. I wouldn't buy a condo either.

[davejones]

Hmm lots of you guys have CRAZY numbers flying around, here is my monthly breakdown MRGTINGTONG - I live in Phuket.

Monthly Rent - 13000 baht - 2 Bed Detached house with all round gardens

Electricity - 1000 baht

Internet - 650 Baht

Food - 10000 baht (includes eating out and going to pubs at weekend if i fancy it)

Fuel - 1000 baht (motorbike)

Washing - 1000 baht

So all in all i spend 26650 baht per month, lets call it 30,000 baht on all our living costs, yes this is for 2 PEOPLE and a dog.

There are some major things missing from your budget though. For example, what about insurance (health, home, bike), clothes (don't you buy new clothes), presents (birthdays, etc), holidays (abroad, weekends away, etc).

Sure you can live on 30K if you never take a holiday, never buy clothes, presents, etc. But it's a very frugal life.

What we don't know though is what sort of life the OP is expecting. Maybe he would be happy to live like you do.

I could do this for a years or so if forced to but that's about it.

[theajarn]

Just me and the wife can get by on 30k living in the mum's house. Lotsa problems though (space-related). But then again,

• I don't drive or have a car

• I don't go out and drink in bars... not even occasionally (ok, maybe once a year if I'm lucky)

• I hardly go anywhere at all except for groceries, tech shopping and teaching extra classes -- I go home right after work

• I don't eat out every night

• I go to the 30-baht soi food stall just outside the school for lunch

• I am 30 years old

Wanna live my life? 30k baht a month is fine. But it's also quite boring, depending on how much you love your wife or computer.

[robinhill]

Options and advice to consider :

- Hua Hin is a a more expensive coastal area than some others, so you could consider living in a cheaper coastal area, for example in Rayong province which is a similar distance from Bangkok but which is currently less expensive than the Hua Hin area, or perhaps further down the coast from Hua Hin in the Prachuap Kirikhan area.

- Condos tend to be more expensive than houses, so you could get better value for money and more space for your money with a house. But you can not place the land that the house is on in your own name, so you would have to have faith in your Thai wife if you both were to buy house and land instead.

- You could consider renting, in which case you could rent a modest condo or a house perhaps for around 10,000 baht per month, and live off the remainder of your income. But there are problems with renting : a) you never know if the owner will decide to sell and you will have to look for somewhere else; you will not feel like spending much money on a rental property due to no long term certainty; c) the rent will increase over the years and your income may not increase to support this; exchange rates may make the rent more expensive too if the Thai baht strengthens against your home currency. For these reasons I believe it's ultimately preferable to buy, but renting a modest place to begin with whilst you look around is a sensible option.

- If you don't need to be on the coast then there are towns up country which will work out cheaper than living on the coast, but this may not be your dream. Personally, I like living on the coast (Laem Mae Phim area) and it doesn't have to be much more expensive than living up country.

- Be careful about spending your money on setting up a business over here. I'm sure that you will come across several people over here who can tell you a story about someone they know who brought money over here, and used much if not all of their savings to set up a business, which then struggled to make a profit, and eventually led to them losing a lot of the money that they put into that business. Unfortunately I know of one person who has just recently run into problems with his business and is in the process of losing everything, which is very sad, so please be careful in this respect.

- For 2.5 million baht you will only be able to buy a relatively small condo, between about 42 square meters (60,000 baht psm) to 84 square meters (30,000 psm). Whilst 84 square meters will perhaps be enough room for many people to live in comfortably all year round, 42 square meters is perhaps a bit pokey for some.

- Be careful buying on a new development. Apart from paying top dollar in the first place, the monthly maintenance fees tend to be higher per square meter (psm) than on older developments, and they also have a tendency to increase more rapidly than older established developments too. I know of one recent new development with a rate of 35 baht psm where the owners allegedly recently received a proposal to increase this by 77%, an unbelievable increase that the owners will most surely not have budgeted for and which could potentially devalue the price of their condos since it would make them less attractive to prospective buyers.

- Mature developments are to a certain degree tried and tested, tend to have lower maintenance costs, and tend to be cheaper per square meter when buying a condo or per square wah of land when buying a house. For example, I know of oceanside development condos where you can buy at around 30,000 baht per square meter, and oceanside development houses for as low as 17,000 baht per square wah of land (1 square wah = 4 square meters).... these are not in Hua Hin though. The older condo units and houses may need a little refurbishment to make them "as new" once more though, so you should allow something for this.

I wish you the best of luck in leaving "broken Britain". Myself and I'm sure many others will tell you that it's not as difficult as you think to make the move, and once you do, you will not regret it, providing that you live within your means, and don't fall foul of those who may only be after your money. Best of luck.

Robin Hill.

[kiniyow]

In 12 years of living here I see many more Failures then I do success Rates of People who want to live here...

There are Many hidden cost such as Visa rules--Traffic tickets-- Health care Etc....Everyday I see Farangs that are determined to live in LOS but a Year latter there just not here any longer....

Rental property always has problems as well if used for Income...Home repairs--Vacant rentals you name it, it will happen...

One thing you will find in Thailand is why are there so Many Business For Sale if there making Money?????

[RogueLeader]

You also need to think about what you'll do if there's a break in your rental income.

[robinhill]

By the way - a new English Teach Academy is looking for English teachers in our area, so if you have any experience of this they need people to start right away.

[RogueLeader]

The oversupply of condos here is like nothing I've ever seen.

I noticed that in Pattaya, yet the prices seem to be going up. I don't know how this can be.

[thurien]

80k/month near Khorat: 4 people (incl. varsity student and 15yr- old), own land, own house, 2 cars; cost positions very similar to many of the above-mentioned. I join others of this thread "Th. is no cheap country at all" still very much worth-while living here and AUD 0.90 for diesel should not be the only high-light of our stay!

your "own business" in Th. would surely be something which you would not include in your financial master plan...! Too many odds re: success / failure and a big visible pot for "start-up and running cost" but invisible leaks of the meager monthly profit

Edited August 7, 2012 by thurien

[Balance]

Hey there

I live in Chiang Mai and moved here a year ago, almost. I have a Thai wife

Budget

Rent 9,200 (small 3b2B, Air Con, in nice Moo Ban a little south of town, includes water and trash big pool, clean streets) -

Food 12,000 (includes 2,500 a month for Beer

Gas/repairs for car - 3,000 (wife owned the car)

Electric 1,700 (includes air con about 4 months a year part of the day

Personal for wife 10,000 (she does her girl friends nights out, cloths, etc.)

Car insurance 780

Health insurance 8,000 (I have Medicare A&B, but also a policy here, plus wife)

Internet 950

Cable 2,100 Premium True TV

Doctor visits and meds 500

I get TB60,000 a month from social security and another 30-60K from investments. The two of us can live on the 50,000 if we watch what we spend. The car is 10 old, but it is cheap to fix cars and very expensive to buy them.

We do not go out much (wife is a better cook than what you get in most restaurants). Farang food is more expensive than in the states, and I decided to eat a Thai diet as my wife will not eat Farang food. You and your wife will need health insurance since you do not have enough to self insure and the hospitals will kick you out if you don't have the money.

Do not buy any property. You can get in on a spouse visa, but check on any financial requirements for the visa. Retirement visa requires you proof you have pension of 65,000 a month, or 800,000 in the bank each year.

The others are right and wrong. Trying to live on TB30k will be very tight.

Edited August 7, 2012 by Balance

[Chupup]

Rent,rent, rent, you can get a pretty nice place for around 5-7000 pm or even cheaper, watch your pennys and beware of the family !! if you want a "simple life " it can be done, but IMO not at HH, good luck, oh, b t w i do not have an full time gardener,but i do have a wife and two big dogs............ give it a try , you only live once