stupid thread, Thailand is so much cheaper, come on be realistic.

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Some people insist on maintaining a first-world standard in all areas of their life. In that case, unless women are a large percentage of their expenses, that lifestyle will be more expensive here, except perhaps for some who are wealthy enough that the tax advantages of living overseas makes up the difference.

For normal common folk, only those that are willing to adapt to local conditions and start to live as normal Thais do in significant areas actually benefit from the potentially much lower cost of living here.

I maintain a Western lifestyle here; it's still way, WAY cheaper than my beloved London. My rent here in Asoke is one third of what I'd pay for a comparably sized and located duplex in, say, Notting Hill, West london

The only thing that's more expensive is imported Western food and while I do eat that regularly, the extra cost simply doesn't register when everything else is so bloody cheap.

^ Someone doesn't drive nice cars or motorbikes.

i will tell u whats very very cheap in thailand,compared to uk.

no tv licence

no car tx or very little

petrol

no council tax

cheap elec

no water rates

no vat

no income tax

food

women(short time)

beer

sang som

taxis

car servicing

phone calls(local)

thai meals

dental work

domestics(cleaning)

laundry

fruit(market)

housing(rent or buy)

no inheritance tax

could go on all night.

oh i forgot important,mcdonalds.

Is Cambodia the way to go for us Brits?

The place is now filling up with foreigners , its a busy place , especially in the seaside resort of Sihanoukeville .That place is growing really fast and so many bars and restaurants now . Soon to be the Pattaya of Cambodia I would think .

Is Cambodia the way to go for us Brits?

Yes. Bye.

Internet is a lot cheaper and better than when I was in Australia. $20 a month here for unlimited vs $80 a month in Australian for 20GB/month. Faster speeds here too.

Electricity: approx $30 a month here vs $120 month in Australia.

Imported goods are the main thing that cost more here for me but not that much more.

Life.

With so many ways of living cheaply here, any Westerner who finds it too expensive or not cheap enough should just go home because there really is no hope for them.

If a few baht off the exchange rate puts a Westerner close to being on his/her arse, then they were stupid to come here in the first place.

1 Lit diesel in Denmark app 60 bath.

1 Lit diesel in Thailand app 30 bath.

http://www.fuel-prices-europe.info/

My Ranger truck is app. 30-40% cheaper in Thailand compared to DK.

Wine: Way more expensive here but I use way more diesel than wine, thankfully

Schooling for the kids: App. 250K bath pr year in Thailand for 2 kids.

Denmark: Free

Weather: Denmark: <deleted> app 7-8 month pr year

Weather: Thailand, too hot 2-3 month pr year

Thailand wins that one, easily.

I don't like cold weather anymore.

Tax: (work off-shore for a Singapore based Company, worldwide 6 month pr year).

Thailand: 0

Denmark: app. 40%

I stay in Thailand and having nooo plans of moving, thank you very much

stupid thread, Thailand is so much cheaper, come on be realistic.

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Some people insist on maintaining a first-world standard in all areas of their life. In that case, unless women are a large percentage of their expenses, that lifestyle will be more expensive here, except perhaps for some who are wealthy enough that the tax advantages of living overseas makes up the difference.

For normal common folk, only those that are willing to adapt to local conditions and start to live as normal Thais do in significant areas actually benefit from the potentially much lower cost of living here.

Hillarius if not so sad..........I have Thai friends with apartments, houses, villas,cars,gym membership,shopping in Tops, Villamarket, Lotus, earning 30 - 100K a month which all are very normal common folks.....no the difference is not about 50 or 300Baht beer or living standards, the difference is live here or holidaying here for a lifetime.

Everything is dirt cheap here compared to UK! Except for imported goods...

I came over from london.

Rent is now £200 per month compared to £900.

Meal with drinks in a restaurant £10 compared to £30.

Taxi £1-2 compared with £5-10.

Pint of Beer is £1.40 compared to £4.50.

I think people forget who have been here a while that UK prices rocket too...

This hits the nail on the head for me. When I split from the ex I i moved my furniture etc into a thai style apartment. The neighbours all work and are quiet at 10 pm, view lovely and rent 1500 baht a month so I thought i would stay a week, here over a year now.

Lunch 35 baht, dinner 100baht (i did have half a grilled chicken) petrol (gas) cheap. You want a beer in Udon, plenty have deals at 80 baht large Leo,

But you are right op stay away from Issan its ridiculously expensive

Oh PS if you want cheap but like to quoff wine and French Camenbert its not cheap, live like a local and it's super cheap.

1,500 baht a month rent?

Internet is a lot cheaper and better than when I was in Australia. $20 a month here for unlimited vs $80 a month in Australian for 20GB/month. Faster speeds here too.

Electricity: approx $30 a month here vs $120 month in Australia.

Imported goods are the main thing that cost more here for me but not that much more.

I pay $49 in Australia per month. $450Bht in Thailand unlimited and faster. massive differance

1,500 baht a month rent?

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Difficult to find anything decent for that in BKK or farang/resort areas, but very easy in provincial towns.

The mother of my children's trying to convince me to move to Surin so she can see the kids more frequently, and she's sent me photos of three different shophouses, mostly near downtown in the 4-6K range, the more expensive one is 4 storeys and the bottom floor's suitable for a business.

People are of course right to say that many things in Thailand are still cheap, but ask yourself why threads like this one are so long. The simple truth is that anybody who has known Thailand for any length of time knows that prices have risen sharply (partly but not only because of the exchange rate). I still find it disconcerting that when I fiil my supermarket trolley in a Tesco in Isaan the bill is close to the one I get in the UK. Similarly anyone walking around Central in KK who thinks the prices are low.has a lot more money than I do! At present I am entertaining four Thai visitors in the UK and they cannot get over how cheap the prices for branded clothes, shoes, i-Phone accessories and so on are in shops like TK Maxx. Even on the prosaic question of the price of beer, anybody who has gone recently for a drink along Sukhumvit will know that there aren't many big Leo's sold at 70 baht once happy hour ends, and more importantly won't forget the difference between what they were paying 10 years ago and now. So yes, Thailand is still very affordable for a Westerner but it is not the bargain that it once was.

I have still some reasons to say its reasonable here (below) but then again more than before some things are leveled out!

New small car Thailand 600K / Home 1.2 million

Motorbike Thailand 45K / Home 100K

Gasolin Thailand 40/L / Home 75/L

Electricity annually family of four Thailand 60K / Home 125K +

Rent Thailand start 5K / Home start 25K

Pepsi Max Thailand 24B / Home 100B

Gym membership monthly Thailand 2K / Home 2K

Asics Kayano Running shoes Thailand 8K / Home 10K

I think the largest percentage price rises over the past decade are in the most basic foodstuffs from the wet markets. Chicken, fish, pork, fruit & veg, all up at least 30% just in the past few years. Feel sorry for the Thais that have to provide for kids when the whole household brings in < 10K per month, people can cut back on luxuries but. . .

Of course such things don't even register for most of the flush expats here on TV, just try to keep things in perspective when you're having a good old B & M whingeing session.

seems the westerners complaining are cheap.

For me, everything is cheap here,

except woman & caviar, those two were cheaper back home

massages are still cheap - the shops in malls are still the same price now as they were seven years ago. A few weeks ago I went to place outside Terminal 21 - 250b for an hour's foot massage. On Saturday I went to a shop in the mall Paradise Park, 200baht per hour.

Yes, things have got more expensive here, but another way of looking at things is, if you purchased land through you Thai company or family in the right place a few years back, they are certainly worth more now. Beer food and prices have gone up, but if you mark up to pub prices in the UK or Australia, try Singapore even, even with the £ down the way it is, I just eat less as I gt older, drive less in my 10 year old pick up that I have had from new. As some have pointed too here, if you can live more Thai style, it is not that bad, and the shock you get going back to the Western world can be quiet staggering. Not for me!

Smoked meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, ice cream, etc...

All you have to do is buy the food and wave it outside.

The smoke is free!

massages are still cheap - the shops in malls are still the same price now as they were seven years ago. A few weeks ago I went to place outside Terminal 21 - 250b for an hour's foot massage. On Saturday I went to a shop in the mall Paradise Park, 200baht per hour.

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The thirty shops within 100m of my front door have raised their prices from 60B per hour, most are now 100B, especially for feet but even without air con. But some are still holding at 80. . .

Good value indeed, although you wouldn't be tempted to propose anything extra with these maw nuat, they're the real deal!

@ Meatboy

According to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics, the average weekly wage in the UK is £442 a week, so a tad under £23,000 a year.

After tax and National Insurance deductions that equates to a take home pay, at current rates, of £1,500 a month. Factor in things like Coucil Tax and the like and the average salary isn't too hot.

I will admit to occasionally looking at whether I would be better off back 'home' but the thought doesn't stay with me for long.

I thought the basic hourly rate was in the region of 6 quid and hour . Thats less than 1000 GBP per month before tax. the majority of workers would be on less than 12,000 per year .

That's usually just the wifes income,which pays for the little Luxuries and holidays abroad,and not much Tax and NI on that monthly salary.

Everything is dirt cheap here compared to UK! Except for imported goods...

I came over from london.

Rent is now £200 per month compared to £900.

Meal with drinks in a restaurant £10 compared to £30.

Taxi £1-2 compared with £5-10.

Pint of Beer is £1.40 compared to £4.50.

I think people forget who have been here a while that UK prices rocket too...

I was in the UK last year (I'm American) and I was disgusted at how expensive things are. I'm not talking in comparison to the US dollar, I'm speaking about the price of everyday necessities compared to salaries. Saddle that in with all the taxes, and it isn't a great place to be.

In the U.S, with the exception of big cities like New York, LA, San Francisco, etc. things are relatively cheap (big country, lots of land).

Even in a place like NYC, the only thing that is expensive is rent. The bars we used to go to in college did $2 draft beers. You can eat Korean, Chinese, or Mexican for under $5 (150 baht).

I almost head-butted the bartender in the London when he told me a pint was $8.

I both agree and disagree with the OP. If you live like a Thai, life here is cheap. But if you want to have a western quality of life, it's expensive. I tried to assimilate when I got here, doing the street food thing, etc. But after 1 year it got tiring. Eating rice and noodles every day is not cool. Now I have pretty much reverted back to my old diet, which consists of a mix of American, European, and Asian food (a lot of Japanese). Subsequently my costs of living have increased dramatically.

I can sympathize with guys who are on a fixed income pension. I think its absolutely shocking that the Brits pay exorbitant taxes and get handed such shitty pensions from their government after a life of hard work. If you cannot survive on your pension in Thailand, how the hell is someone supposed to survive on it in the UK?

Something very strange is definitely going on in this country right now. Everyone and their aunt is driving a brand new car and building a house, but as far as I'm aware middle class salaries haven't gone up. I have Thai friends who earn 15-20k per month, yet they have brand new cars? You would never get approved for a car loan that amounted to 75% of your monthly income anywhere else in the world.

On a positive note, when interest rates go back up, and your motorcycle taxi driver defaults on the mortgages he has out on his three homes, you might be able to pick up a bargain.

Breakfast cereals are more expensive in Thailand, that does my head in.

Everything is dirt cheap here compared to UK! Except for imported goods...

I came over from london.

Rent is now £200 per month compared to £900.

Meal with drinks in a restaurant £10 compared to £30.

Taxi £1-2 compared with £5-10.

Pint of Beer is £1.40 compared to £4.50.

I think people forget who have been here a while that UK prices rocket too...

I was in the UK last year (I'm American) and I was disgusted at how expensive things are. I'm not talking in comparison to the US dollar, I'm speaking about the price of everyday necessities compared to salaries. Saddle that in with all the taxes, and it isn't a great place to be.

In the U.S, with the exception of big cities like New York, LA, San Francisco, etc. things are relatively cheap (big country, lots of land).

Even in a place like NYC, the only thing that is expensive is rent. The bars we used to go to in college did $2 draft beers. You can eat Korean, Chinese, or Mexican for under $5 (150 baht).

I almost head-butted the bartender in the London when he told me a pint was $8.

I both agree and disagree with the OP. If you live like a Thai, life here is cheap. But if you want to have a western quality of life, it's expensive. I tried to assimilate when I got here, doing the street food thing, etc. But after 1 year it got tiring. Eating rice and noodles every day is not cool. Now I have pretty much reverted back to my old diet, which consists of a mix of American, European, and Asian food (a lot of Japanese). Subsequently my costs of living have increased dramatically.

I can sympathize with guys who are on a fixed income pension. I think its absolutely shocking that the Brits pay exorbitant taxes and get handed such shitty pensions from their government after a life of hard work. If you cannot survive on your pension in Thailand, how the hell is someone supposed to survive on it in the UK?

Something very strange is definitely going on in this country right now. Everyone and their aunt is driving a brand new car and building a house, but as far as I'm aware middle class salaries haven't gone up. I have Thai friends who earn 15-20k per month, yet they have brand new cars? You would never get approved for a car loan that amounted to 75% of your monthly income anywhere else in the world.

On a positive note, when interest rates go back up, and your motorcycle taxi driver defaults on the mortgages he has out on his three homes, you might be able to pick up a bargain.

Wonderful post. I honestly don't think that most non-US people understand how much cheaper the US is than GB, NZ, Aus, Can. etc. Where I live there isn't even a sales tax. I can walk into a local dealership and drive off in a new Camry LE, loaded and automatic for US$18,000 (530,000 baht.)

The US housing market has crashed and if one stays away from the major cities, you can buy a house including the land for $70,000 easily. Interest rates are at historical lows. You could rent 2 of the 3 bedrooms, split utilities with the renters, and live almost free.

Again, the US doesn't charge import duties and much is manufactured in the US. I just don't think people get it how cheap things are at the grocery store or at the big discount stores.

I too am shocked by prices even in Canada. A couple of years ago I bought a new Harley. A friend in Canada bought almost an identical model. I paid US$18,000 out the door, total with license for 4 years and title, and my friend paid US$25,000 for the same thing. The difference is the various taxes levied on imports and VAT, and annual license fees.

I can buy a case of 24 12 oz beers for $12 on sale. 50 cents a can or bottle. I can buy a really decent 2 liter bottle of California wine for $5. No sales tax at the register. I bought some new Levis jeans at Costco the other day for US$14 a pair. I bought some new Adidas running shoes for $28 on sale.

A Burger King Whopper meal is $4.50, no tax and the beef I can trust. I have been buying Western US grain fed beef in rump roasts and top sirloin steaks for $2.95 a pound on sale. That's about $150 for 60 pounds for the freezer.

Gasoline is running about $4 a gallon.

Yes, if I live in small town US in modest circumstances, I can live just as cheaply as I can live a semi-Western lifestyle in LOS.

The difference is the women factor, which I always think is the bottom line for many.

I know US is by far cheaper, nearly all my american friends keep complaining how things are expensive here,

from vitamins to oat meals.

btw, woman is free in europe, not only wouldnt they come up with the idea of

getting financial aid, - they are much too proud for that,

but they will also not hesitate to pay half the rent, electric, etc

Food, accommodation and cheap clothing are inexpensive. You just need to know where to look and not set your sights too high. I'm off for a few weeks to Krabi to get away from the smokey smog in Chiang Mai. Then it's back to Canada for 6 months of clear air.

Enjoy your hibernation in Canuckland.

As some have pointed too here, if you can live more Thai style, it is not that bad, and the shock you get going back to the Western world can be quiet staggering. Not for me!

I live Thai style. The Thais of my area easily spend 2000 Bt for a dinner for two with some drinks. Not everybody here lives like a slum dweller on fried rice and noodles.

My daily expenses are equal or higher than in Europe. Girlfriend was amazed how cheap most things are back in Europe compared to Thailand.

The best about Thailand is that I don't pay taxes here. That is the major factor why my life here is still cheaper in the end.

For those wondering why it's so much cheaper for many things in the US, it's because you have giant corporations like Wal-Mart who hold a gun to their suppliers heads and tell them 'Right, THIS is the price, and this is the quantity, and if you don't like it we'll go to the next guy'. How many suppliers can afford to lose a contract like that ? I could rant about Wal-Mart's longterm impact on small communities, but we have our own monopolies here - suffice to say that anytime a retailer can dictate terms, your checkout price has to be lower. If it isn't, they risk losing your custom to their competitors - I wouldn't drive/fly to another state to buy a car, but I expect that some here would.

I dont know how that works with a Carrefour/Tesco in Thailand, but its obvious that the costs of importing 'Corn Flakes' or whatever will be reflected in the final product - I don't think they even grow corn or wheat in Thailand - anyone ? Someone told me they have dairy cattle in Isaan (Khon Kaen ?), but I've always thought the milk in Thailand tastes different to Oz - ours is much better. Given that I need both ingredients for a 'cereal', I'm better off eating what the locals eat ....