Is There Anything Cheap In Thailand Now ?

[Riverman63]

I'm still living in UK, I was in Thailand a few weeks ago, it is still a LOT cheaper than the UK and a much better lifestyle.

I'm paying £75 a month for gas and electric and that's with the cheapest company. The prices are rising every six months. The Winters are getting colder and longer. It's Easter this coming weekend and the temperature today is 3C with windchill factor feels like -1C. Therefore my heating is on higher, longer and costing me more money.

Petrol is £1.40 plus per gallon and rising. Wages are not going up, people are losing their jobs and benefits are being cut. The Government are slowly privatising the NHS so we will have to start paying for elements of that too before long.

Pension payouts are getting smaller whilst we have to pay more and work longer to get this reduced amount. Pensioners are getting poorer.

The weekly shopping bill is rising too plus council tax goes up every year.

Interest rates are flat, banks are paying themselves huge bonuses with tax payers' bailout money but not loaning businesses anything.

Are you sure you would be better off here? I've only skimmed the surface of what's happening to the average person in the UK. It is not good

[Forethat]

Everything in Thailand is cheap, just ask the TV experts and they'll give you a lesson in the art of spending less. Small caveat though, it includes employing a gardener who is also a linguistic prodigy.

[driedmango]

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.-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!

its $60 an hour for a second rate massage in Canada.

[driedmango]

UK minimum wage structure

National - 6.19

London - 8.30

Surrounding London - 7.30

Also I love those posters who include in their costs of living "goods" - women.

Nice. So when looking at a place to live you consider the cost of "rent, beer, food and women". Do you tell your family this?

"Hi mom, guess what, the price of women in Cambodia is cheaper then in Thailand so I am moving. Good Idea, huh. Oh by the way can you spare a couple of bucks I am feeling horny."

Too funny...

if your real smart you will have a women that gives you free sex, massage and has her own money to split on rent and taxi, saving you 50% of your costs or more.

[NeverSure]

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 ....

I have to disagree on this one. The reason things are cheap is because the US doesn't charge import duties. It's not just Wal-Mart. It's everywhere things are cheaper although Wal-Mart is a favorite among budget shoppers. Most other Western countries are killing the citizens with these duties. How do we think they pay for their "free" national health care?

Thailand has outrageous import duties, and even charges them on cars made in Thailand! Want to know why you can't buy an new Camry LE loaded and with auto for 530,000 baht in Thailand while I could go to the dealer in the US and drive one away for that? Taxes. Thailand's taxes on that car.

People in Thailand think they have it made because property taxes and income taxes are non existent or negligible, but they get killed at the cash register for anything imported, or for a car.

Wal-Mart does 25% of its business outside the US and that is growing fast. In countries with big import duties, the customer gets hammered.

I won't get into a debate about what Wal-Mart has done to small towns, but just say that before Wal-Mart, small retailers gouged customers for much the same products. They didn't pay their employees any better either. There are a lot of towns which have actively courted Wal-Mart for the property taxes and other taxes they pay, and Wal-Mart will pull shoppers to that town from many miles away who wouldn't otherwise be there eating in restaurants, buying gas, and generally spending money in the town. So, the old small hardware store is now a restaurant or a Kinkos.

[ArisHoles]

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.

Well Said.

[driedmango]

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 ....

I have to disagree on this one. The reason things are cheap is because the US doesn't charge import duties. It's not just Wal-Mart. It's everywhere things are cheaper although Wal-Mart is a favorite among budget shoppers. Most other Western countries are killing the citizens with these duties. How do we think they pay for their "free" national health care?

Thailand has outrageous import duties, and even charges them on cars made in Thailand! Want to know why you can't buy an new Camry LE loaded and with auto for 530,000 baht in Thailand while I could go to the dealer in the US and drive one away for that? Taxes. Thailand's taxes on that car.

People in Thailand think they have it made because property taxes and income taxes are non existent or negligible, but they get killed at the cash register for anything imported, or for a car.

Wal-Mart does 25% of its business outside the US and that is growing fast. In countries with big import duties, the customer gets hammered.

I won't get into a debate about what Wal-Mart has done to small towns, but just say that before Wal-Mart, small retailers gouged customers for much the same products. They didn't pay their employees any better either. There are a lot of towns which have actively courted Wal-Mart for the property taxes and other taxes they pay, and Wal-Mart will pull shoppers to that town from many miles away who wouldn't otherwise be there eating in restaurants, buying gas, and generally spending money in the town. So, the old small hardware store is now a restaurant or a Kinkos.

the small hardware store is vacant ghost town. America spends more per capita gov money than most but it is all stolen along the way. Things are cheap in the USA because that's the deal, us sends all jobs to other county, rich American get cheaper goods. America is the apitamy of urban decay and social collapse. Apart from a few areas in Oregon and Washington state, its a mess.. most cities in huge debt they can't pay, rich own everything, fracking ruining ground water, the oil rigs leaking in gulf, a city gets ruined and it takes days to get them water and food.. there is lots of people doing well in any country, but the west needs a moral bailout and the greedy boomers don't care about people anymore.. the dollar is all that matters...

[rsokolowski]

<p>Thai chili's are selling for almost $20 a pound here in Hawaii (1320 baht per kilo), electricity is 35 cents a kwh, car registration is over 12,000 baht per year (for each car), and a low end house  costs 10 million baht (and you will be doing a lot of repairs for a house in this price range, up to tearing it down and starting over). Thailand is definitely less expensive than here.</p>

Edited March 26, 2013 by rsokolowski

[bellboy]

@ 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 .

£6/7 An hour would be for unskilled work. Mostly done by eastern europeans.

A trades man can earn £11-17 per hour.

Then you have manegers/ professions earning £25 +

Britain is not a low wage based economy.

Even thou the influx of immigrants are keeping wages down. for example.

6years ago a builders labourer. Would earn £10 Now he would earn £7/8 an hour.

I am a bricklayer earning £14 per hour. and have not had a pay rise in 5 years.

Before this was a good counrty to work and live. But now it is getting to be a struggle.

Just to suvive

A

[meatboy]

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.

Well Said.

take my favourite tipple cider,uk price a case of 24cans x 500ml.550-675bht.thai price imported stowford press or john keplers

2,250-2,400 + delivery its a pity other countries didnt follow suit with thai imports,talk about double pricing that doesnt even come close

its more like quadruple.come on mr.chang lets have some cider.

[Mosha]

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

Depends where you are. Large Leo 50 Baht. Archa 40 Baht

[NeverSure]

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 ....

I have to disagree on this one. The reason things are cheap is because the US doesn't charge import duties. It's not just Wal-Mart. It's everywhere things are cheaper although Wal-Mart is a favorite among budget shoppers. Most other Western countries are killing the citizens with these duties. How do we think they pay for their "free" national health care?

Thailand has outrageous import duties, and even charges them on cars made in Thailand! Want to know why you can't buy an new Camry LE loaded and with auto for 530,000 baht in Thailand while I could go to the dealer in the US and drive one away for that? Taxes. Thailand's taxes on that car.

People in Thailand think they have it made because property taxes and income taxes are non existent or negligible, but they get killed at the cash register for anything imported, or for a car.

Wal-Mart does 25% of its business outside the US and that is growing fast. In countries with big import duties, the customer gets hammered.

I won't get into a debate about what Wal-Mart has done to small towns, but just say that before Wal-Mart, small retailers gouged customers for much the same products. They didn't pay their employees any better either. There are a lot of towns which have actively courted Wal-Mart for the property taxes and other taxes they pay, and Wal-Mart will pull shoppers to that town from many miles away who wouldn't otherwise be there eating in restaurants, buying gas, and generally spending money in the town. So, the old small hardware store is now a restaurant or a Kinkos.

the small hardware store is vacant ghost town. America spends more per capita gov money than most but it is all stolen along the way. Things are cheap in the USA because that's the deal, us sends all jobs to other county, rich American get cheaper goods. America is the apitamy of urban decay and social collapse. Apart from a few areas in Oregon and Washington state, its a mess.. most cities in huge debt they can't pay, rich own everything, fracking ruining ground water, the oil rigs leaking in gulf, a city gets ruined and it takes days to get them water and food.. there is lots of people doing well in any country, but the west needs a moral bailout and the greedy boomers don't care about people anymore.. the dollar is all that matters...

"...rich American get cheaper goods."

Gimme a break. Is it the rich that shop at Wal-Mart?

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?

Edited March 26, 2013 by NeverSure

[smokie36]

Water is cheap.

Edit: I'll just dust off my coat....

Edited March 26, 2013 by smokie36

[Dancealot]

Smoking is still very cheap. I am on rolling fags now. B5 /pack but i live near a tobacco farm.........

Roll your own fag.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Dancealot

[meatboy]

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.

Well Said.

take my favourite tipple cider,uk price a case of 24cans x 500ml.550-675bht.thai price imported stowford press or john keplers

2,250-2,400 + delivery its a pity other countries didnt follow suit with thai imports,talk about double pricing that doesnt even come close

its more like quadruple.come on mr.chang lets have some cider.

anyone who's wf.moved to the uk.to live and have moved back to los can they remember what thai imported goods cost,we used to go to the chinese stores in cardiff to buy mae-ploy curry paste,tempura flour,chilli paste,shrimp paste then there's plenty of chang beer,sponsors of everton,singha beer to name only a few but the mark up in the uk is around 65%-80% only fresh veg and that sweet smelling durian was considered expensive.the only thing that i think is cheap is chang beer at 535bht.a case x 330ml.per can so around £1 a pint so i have to drink 4cans of chang to one cider.visitors who drink get chang or nam yin

[Almera]

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

Depends where you are. Large Leo 50 Baht. Archa 40 Baht

Plus all the money you save from dying early.

Bonus!

[guzzi850m2]

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.

Yes you are right, things has gone up sharply over the last few years and together with the low exchange rate (for some) then it's a huge blow to some.

Well off Thais fly to Singapore to buy branded items.

I hope that Thailand one day will be forced to lower the tax on imported items with all this free trade going on.

[Almera]

Shaving foam, gillette blades, and also deodorant strike me as being out of proportion with other goods when it comes to price.

For the price of 4 Mach 3 blades you can have an hour of loving with a hot Asian girl.

I'm pretty sure they're not on parity in Western countries.

[FunFon]

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?

-

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.

Edited March 27, 2013 by FunFon

[ThaidDown]

Have not seen the obvious mentioned....

Membership of ThaiVisa is cheap.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Rent is the biggest difference for me with Chiang Mai and California. It's about 1/5th the rent.

Massage though lower quality is drastically lower. Labor stuff is much cheaper.

When shopping for clothes, food, electronics, sports equipment, supplements etc its largely cheaper in California.

Note: I don't buy the cheap stuff like clothes in CM which seem to fall apart quickly.

[geriatrickid]

Life is cheap.

Funerals are not.

My tuk tuk rides in Udon Thani this past week are dirt cheap.

Smiles and looking at beautiful people in Central still costs nothing.

Airfares are not overly expensive, but quality has diminished.

I have a car and driver for tomorrow's inspections and it will only cost 1500 baht for the day. That would cost me a minimum 4000-6000 baht in the west.

I give thanks everyday that I am relatively well off and need not worry about money issues. The atm is an incredible magical device I put in numbers and baht comes out.

[geriatrickid]

Rent is the biggest difference for me with Chiang Mai and California. It's about 1/5th the rent.

Massage though lower quality is drastically lower. Labor stuff is much cheaper.

When shopping for clothes, food, electronics, sports equipment, supplements etc its largely cheaper in California.

Note: I don't buy the cheap stuff like clothes in CM which seem to fall apart quickly.

Rent is the biggest difference for me with Chiang Mai and California. It's about 1/5th the rent.

Massage though lower quality is drastically lower. Labor stuff is much cheaper.

When shopping for clothes, food, electronics, sports equipment, supplements etc its largely cheaper in California.

Note: I don't buy the cheap stuff like clothes in CM which seem to fall apart quickly.

Robinson's is having a last season clearance sale, making name brand clothing affordable.

[Ulysses G.]

Rent is the biggest difference for me with Chiang Mai and California. It's about 1/5th the rent.

Massage though lower quality is drastically lower. Labor stuff is much cheaper.

When shopping for clothes, food, electronics, sports equipment, supplements etc its largely cheaper in California.

Note: I don't buy the cheap stuff like clothes in CM which seem to fall apart quickly.

I know that you realize that eating Thai food in restaurants is much cheaper than eating (anything) in restaurants in the USA. I would guess that even Western food in restaurants in Thailand is usually a little cheaper, but, of course, not as tasty. Perhaps, cooking yourself in America is cheaper than here, but I avoid doing that as much as I can. It is easy and cheap for a single guy to avoid doing laundry, cooking, cleaning and such, which part of the reason I like living here.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Rent is the biggest difference for me with Chiang Mai and California. It's about 1/5th the rent.

Massage though lower quality is drastically lower. Labor stuff is much cheaper.

When shopping for clothes, food, electronics, sports equipment, supplements etc its largely cheaper in California.

Note: I don't buy the cheap stuff like clothes in CM which seem to fall apart quickly.

I know that you realize that eating Thai food in restaurants is much cheaper than eating (anything) in restaurants in the USA. I would guess that even Western food in restaurants in Thailand is usually a little cheaper, but, of course, not as tasty. Perhaps, cooking yourself in America is cheaper than here, but I avoid doing that as much as I can. It is easy and cheap for a single guy to avoid doing laundry, cooking, cleaning and such, which part of the reason I like living here.

yup I don't eat out much in either country because I want to prepare to avoid additives like wheat, salt, sugar etc. That's why I said "shopping for food" and not eating in restaurants.

I agree its cheaper to eat in Thailand at restaurants..

Some of the all you can eat salad bars in the US crush anything in Thailand however.

Edited March 27, 2013 by CobraSnakeNecktie

[Ulysses G.]

Just out of interest, about how much would an all-you-can-eat salad bar cost in America these days?

[Scottythai]

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?

-

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

[Ulysses G.]

He did say that rich Thais eat there. I know a lot of middle class Thais and none of them eat at McDonalds, although they eat at KFC every one in a while and Pizza Hut/Company every blue moon.

Edited March 27, 2013 by Ulysses G.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Just out of interest, about how much would an all-you-can-eat salad bar cost in America these days?

depends

I spend a lot of time outside Lake Tahoe and Reno and the buffets at casino's are great values with top quality. $8-12 for shrimp, crab, lobster, oysters, steak and all the salad stuff

Some of the good chains like "Sweet Tomatoes" are about $7 to $8

The worst comparison is Trader Joes where I can buy grass fed beef and similar high quality foods for a fraction of CM.

If there is a bright side I just eat less in Thailand.

[Ulysses G.]

Pretty much the only thing that I miss back home these days is the food, but I am probably better off without all the temptations.