Is There Anything Cheap In Thailand Now ?

[FunFon]

the UK is the last place I'd choose to live. Oh wait I forgot that 80% of this forum is from there

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Also the last place most of them would choose to live, they are here after all.

[JLCrab]

Let me guess: You're one those doing it right?

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relevant

You mean the part about being a loud-mouthed opinionated young man on a galactic outpost?

[driedmango]

Compared to the prices back home, Thailand is as cheap as chips. I cant find one thing in Thailand that is not cheaper than back in OZ and our Bart for the OZ $1 is currently over Bt30. Cant complain.

cars are cheaper in oz , cheese is cheaper , wine is cheaper , steak is cheaper, there are so many things cheaper in Aus than here. have you seen the new jaguar ? in Aus it is about $140,000.00(4and half million baht) try checking the prices here . 4 times the price. (13 million)

really the prices i Aus are cheaper if you work it out .

Thai wage per day 300 baht.

Aus wage one day 4500 baht.

coke in Thailand is 12 baht (4% of daily wage)

coke in Aus is 120 baht (2.66% of daily wage)

so what .. Thais aren't big on dairy..

A pad Thai in oz is $15, so by your measurement is is 13x cheaper in thanland.

[Stradavarius37]

Is there anything cheap in Thailand? Only the expats.....

[FunFon]

JLCrab, on 01 Apr 2013 - 05:14, said:

You mean the part about being a loud-mouthed opinionated young man on a galactic outpost?

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Strange, he didn't strike me as either loud-mouthed nor opinionated; in fact, he seemed very soft-spoken and receptive to new ideas.

[OxfordWill]

Another dramatic thread.. Everything is still cheap in Thailand, unless you want to live like you are not in Thailand.

Edited April 1, 2013 by OxfordWill

[Travel2003]

Is there anything...............................?

Yes, at least 50% of the expats,

[JLCrab]

Another dramatic thread.. Everything is still cheap in Thailand, unless you want to live like you are not in Thailand.

Some things in Thailand are not now cheap and never were as the local Thai population is will to pay a price that would not be considered cheap.

[carlspencer]

The new LED/LCD Tvs are pretty cheap as well, everytime I go to the airport I can always see a bunch of tourists with TVs on their person.

[kevvy]

Agree - who the hell would want to live in Detroit ? I read that it could be the first city where large chunks are 'returned to nature' - completely abandoned and left to the trees. Ironic when you consider its industrial past.

exactly the only safe fun and healty places in the USA are very expensive, apart from Oregon. I was just in Bellingham wa, cheapest breakfast is 500 baht and wasnt very good.

i thought i was the only one who has been to bellingham WA

[GreenSnapper]

Went to a bit posh Italian restaurant in BKK.

Ate some mediocre food, drank some mediocre wine (house wine, 0.5l). Waiters always pestered to drink faster and sell another jug. Thai style.

Bill came with 3500 Baht for 2 people.

In Italy it would be half of that price. And twice as good.

"You must live Thai style" I hear the crowd shout.

90% of the customers were Thai. People here do not always live on Somtam and noodle soup.

So back to the OP question: is there anything cheap here? Yes, if you live the life of a low-class Thai, it is cheap. Otherwise, no.

Edited April 2, 2013 by GreenSnapper

[Ulysses G.]

Or if you avoid expensive Italian restaurants. I can get a good Italian meal for about 200 baht.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Ulysses G.

[poanoi]

....So what ? i can get a kebab at mikes for 60

[spidermike007]

Went to a bit posh Italian restaurant in BKK.

Ate some mediocre food, drank some mediocre wine (house wine, 0.5l). Waiters always pestered to drink faster and sell another jug. Thai style.

Bill came with 3500 Baht for 2 people.

In Italy it would be half of that price. And twice as good.

"You must live Thai style" I hear the crowd shout.

90% of the customers were Thai. People here do not always live on Somtam and noodle soup.

So back to the OP question: is there anything cheap here? Yes, if you live the life of a low-class Thai, it is cheap. Otherwise, no.

That is why we look at the menus first. I avoid anyplace that charges service or VAT. Should be included. Most Thai places overcharge for wine. Many good places have Xlnt pizza for around 300 baht or good pasta in that range. Any higher, and they do not get my biz. Look before you leap.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[JSixpack]

....So what ? i can get a kebab at mikes for 60

And bring your own tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese? No thanks.

[Colonel_Mustard]

Another dramatic thread.. Everything is still cheap in Thailand, unless you want to live like you are not in Thailand.

Surely the beauty of living in Thailand is being able to afford like you are not in Thailand.

[Gweiloman]

Went to a bit posh Italian restaurant in BKK.

Ate some mediocre food, drank some mediocre wine (house wine, 0.5l). Waiters always pestered to drink faster and sell another jug. Thai style.

Bill came with 3500 Baht for 2 people.

In Italy it would be half of that price. And twice as good.

"You must live Thai style" I hear the crowd shout.

90% of the customers were Thai. People here do not always live on Somtam and noodle soup.

So back to the OP question: is there anything cheap here? Yes, if you live the life of a low-class Thai, it is cheap. Otherwise, no.

You're comparing apples with oranges. Go to a posh restaurant anywhere in Italy. You won't have any change from Eur 200.

[GreenSnapper]

You're comparing apples with oranges. Go to a posh restaurant anywhere in Italy. You won't have any change from Eur 200.

Posh restaurants in Italy don't have the same low quality as in BKK. Even normal restaurants there deliver much better standards.

And please, folks, "Italy" doesn't mean "pizza and pasta".

[barefoot1988]

is there anything cheap in thailand now?

yes and plenty from this thread. the cheap charlies

Edited April 2, 2013 by barefoot1988

[Chittychangchang]

Don't overlook the price of tailored suit.

£800/40,000 bht for a bespoke mohair suit in Europe!

About £100/5000bht in Thailand!

Stick with your quality tailor when you find him, many shisters out there.

[PaullyW]

You're comparing apples with oranges. Go to a posh restaurant anywhere in Italy. You won't have any change from Eur 200.

Posh restaurants in Italy don't have the same low quality as in BKK. Even normal restaurants there deliver much better standards.

And please, folks, "Italy" doesn't mean "pizza and pasta".

I think he's comparing value (quality for price in TH vs quality for price in Italy) not price vs price.

I agree with him and add that most non-Thai food in Thailand is typically of a pretty "low" quality. Of course, that's subjective. Most Thais have never really been or lived abroad and their taste preferences are different. In Thailand, the vast majority of foreign-food establishments are owned/operated and food prepared by .. Thais. They usually approximate international foods but rarely get them dead on for what would be considered good international food. There are good places, but they tend to be extraordinarily expensive -- sometimes due to the better quality raw materials that lots of Western food and Western palates prefer.

You contrast the very homogenous situation in Bangkok with a place like New York, for example, where nearly every type of food in the world is represented and establishments in high numbers that are owned/operated/food prepared by natives of the respective country or whom have lived in the respective countries for significant periods of time, and it's no wonder the food culture there (especially for authentic non-American food) is so great. Or, contrast with a country like Japan that is often said to have the best food in the world, and, again, Japan is a country where a decent percentage of the population goes outside and lives and studies outside and is (typically, not always) willing to be true to non-Japanese foods rather than Japanifying the food too aggressively.

Mostly, in TH, it comes down to a lack of knowledge most Thais have about non-Thai food, a disinterest they have in correctness or precision, lack of foreign nationals who can or would be willing to open more authentic non-Thai food establishments, lack of Thais who have travelled extensively, lived abroad for significant periods and/or who are willing to be truer to the authenticity of the food.

[elektrified]

Rubbish. A large singha, leo, Heineken is 70 to 100 baht

That's not real beer.

[Gweiloman]

You're comparing apples with oranges. Go to a posh restaurant anywhere in Italy. You won't have any change from Eur 200.

Posh restaurants in Italy don't have the same low quality as in BKK. Even normal restaurants there deliver much better standards.

And please, folks, "Italy" doesn't mean "pizza and pasta".

I think he's comparing value (quality for price in TH vs quality for price in Italy) not price vs price.

I agree with him and add that most non-Thai food in Thailand is typically of a pretty "low" quality. Of course, that's subjective. Most Thais have never really been or lived abroad and their taste preferences are different. In Thailand, the vast majority of foreign-food establishments are owned/operated and food prepared by .. Thais. They usually approximate international foods but rarely get them dead on for what would be considered good international food. There are good places, but they tend to be extraordinarily expensive -- sometimes due to the better quality raw materials that lots of Western food and Western palates prefer.

You contrast the very homogenous situation in Bangkok with a place like New York, for example, where nearly every type of food in the world is represented and establishments in high numbers that are owned/operated/food prepared by natives of the respective country or whom have lived in the respective countries for significant periods of time, and it's no wonder the food culture there (especially for authentic non-American food) is so great. Or, contrast with a country like Japan that is often said to have the best food in the world, and, again, Japan is a country where a decent percentage of the population goes outside and lives and studies outside and is (typically, not always) willing to be true to non-Japanese foods rather than Japanifying the food too aggressively.

Mostly, in TH, it comes down to a lack of knowledge most Thais have about non-Thai food, a disinterest they have in correctness or precision, lack of foreign nationals who can or would be willing to open more authentic non-Thai food establishments, lack of Thais who have travelled extensively, lived abroad for significant periods and/or who are willing to be truer to the authenticity of the food.

The reverse applies equally well when viewed from an European perspective. It is equally difficult to find genuine authentic Thai, Chinese, Malay cuisine in Europe.

From my experience, a meal at a good Western restaurant in Thailand will cost similar to what one will pay in Europe but try having a meal at a good Thai restaurant in Europe - it will easily cost 5 times more than it would in Thailand.

I ate a som tam pla ra in Munich recently - from a simple takeaway restaurant. Cost me Eur 7 for small plate. A few days ago in Bkk, I ordered the same, plus tom saep, koh moo yang, nam tok neaar and khao niau, all for Thb 210 (Eur 5 or thereabouts).

I cannot imagine how anyone can think that Thailand is as expensive as Europe on a day to day basis.

[PaullyW]

You're comparing apples with oranges. Go to a posh restaurant anywhere in Italy. You won't have any change from Eur 200.

Posh restaurants in Italy don't have the same low quality as in BKK. Even normal restaurants there deliver much better standards.

And please, folks, "Italy" doesn't mean "pizza and pasta".

I think he's comparing value (quality for price in TH vs quality for price in Italy) not price vs price.

I agree with him and add that most non-Thai food in Thailand is typically of a pretty "low" quality. Of course, that's subjective. Most Thais have never really been or lived abroad and their taste preferences are different. In Thailand, the vast majority of foreign-food establishments are owned/operated and food prepared by .. Thais. They usually approximate international foods but rarely get them dead on for what would be considered good international food. There are good places, but they tend to be extraordinarily expensive -- sometimes due to the better quality raw materials that lots of Western food and Western palates prefer.

You contrast the very homogenous situation in Bangkok with a place like New York, for example, where nearly every type of food in the world is represented and establishments in high numbers that are owned/operated/food prepared by natives of the respective country or whom have lived in the respective countries for significant periods of time, and it's no wonder the food culture there (especially for authentic non-American food) is so great. Or, contrast with a country like Japan that is often said to have the best food in the world, and, again, Japan is a country where a decent percentage of the population goes outside and lives and studies outside and is (typically, not always) willing to be true to non-Japanese foods rather than Japanifying the food too aggressively.

Mostly, in TH, it comes down to a lack of knowledge most Thais have about non-Thai food, a disinterest they have in correctness or precision, lack of foreign nationals who can or would be willing to open more authentic non-Thai food establishments, lack of Thais who have travelled extensively, lived abroad for significant periods and/or who are willing to be truer to the authenticity of the food.

The reverse applies equally well when viewed from an European perspective. It is equally difficult to find genuine authentic Thai, Chinese, Malay cuisine in Europe.

From my experience, a meal at a good Western restaurant in Thailand will cost similar to what one will pay in Europe but try having a meal at a good Thai restaurant in Europe - it will easily cost 5 times more than it would in Thailand.

I ate a som tam pla ra in Munich recently - from a simple takeaway restaurant. Cost me Eur 7 for small plate. A few days ago in Bkk, I ordered the same, plus tom saep, koh moo yang, nam tok neaar and khao niau, all for Thb 210 (Eur 5 or thereabouts).

I cannot imagine how anyone can think that Thailand is as expensive as Europe on a day to day basis.

I agree. I suppose only we North Americans have it so good. You know, exceptionalism and all that.

[Bangkokhatter]

If you work here and get paid in Baht then it's far cheaper than the UK. My salary here when i moved was about the same as UK going on fx of 50 Baht to the pound. What with cheaper rent and taxes etc I can save more than double the amount i was saving every month in the UK, and i go out much more.

[KED]

NeverSure, on 27 Mar 2013 - 05:53, said:

Thailand has several competing chains. Tesco, which is UK based hasn't made ghost towns out of Thailand. I observe Thailand as have lots of private people with their own businesses, going head to head with Tesco, and of course on a smaller scale.

Have McDonalds or Burger King or KFC ruined the street vendors or the private restaurants? Where do the "rich" eat?

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Tesco, Makro Big C etc have definitely had a huge impact on the mom & pop retail sector here, are basically kept afloat due to the high cost of transport for very poor who buy day-to-day within walking distance of their home.

The western fast-food chains are completely unaffordable for most Thais, that is where the (younger) rich people eat, definitely a high-end rare special treat for most people supporting the street-food vendors.

Obviously the rich eat wherever they like, probably more in their own homes than everyone else since they have a large household staff doing the shopping cooking etc. and don't care that doing it that way is more expensive than eating out.

Not saying any of this is a bad thing, just pointing out your misconceptions.

Funny because when I walk in to McD's seems full of Thais to me. And what of the massive line ups for Fuji? Do we think that no Thai's can afford to eat there? I am quite sure the people I sit in line with are all speaking Thai and seem to be Thai. What an absurd statement, bold and with out facts

And it's not just McDonalds and Fuji - all the Starbucks are packed with Thai's here in Bangkok - I am amazed that this is within such a large populations disposable income. Even for a coffe-lover like myself, Starbucks is a luxury.

[isawasnake]

I cannot imagine how anyone can think that Thailand is as expensive as Europe on a day to day basis.

I do agree, the problem is, if you are somebody that likes to get back in your comfort zone from time to time, and eat a hamburger, or buy some corn flakes, or chocolate, or ANYTHING, it is about twice the cost. So yes, day to day i agree, but you kinda have to morph into a Thai to make it effective - which, in all honesty, kinda sucks.

[Ulysses G.]

I don't know where you live, but where I live in nothing like that at all and I can live comfortably on 15,000 baht per month if i need to.

[rgs2001uk]

I don't know where you live, but where I live in nothing like that at all and I can live comfortably on 15,000 baht per month if i need to.

Best of luck to you, I wish I could.

Lets say 5k per month rent, that leaves 10k per month, or 300 baht per day, yes live you can.

From that 300 baht per day, do you have health insurance, how may holidays abroad do you take each year, how many times a month do you play golf?

Do you have a woman in your life, do you have a car?

Yes I dare say I could survive on that, for a month or two at the most if I had to, but I aint moving half way around the world to live like that full time.

Well done, but it aint for me.

[driedmango]

I cannot imagine how anyone can think that Thailand is as expensive as Europe on a day to day basis.

I do agree, the problem is, if you are somebody that likes to get back in your comfort zone from time to time, and eat a hamburger, or buy some corn flakes, or chocolate, or ANYTHING, it is about twice the cost. So yes, day to day i agree, but you kinda have to morph into a Thai to make it effective - which, in all honesty, kinda sucks.

people are full of crap, its a sport who can make up as much crap about being a cheap yuppie in thailand