Bangkok Is So Much Cheaper Than Phuket

[starkey_rich]

In 10 years, I've never seen an aggressive english drunk. Just happy ones.

Fail to see how this stereotype came about on Phuket.

Must have been a fight in the bus station as that is the only place he has been.

More likely to see arrogant bogon aussies fighting here now the Brits can't afford it here any more.

[Briggsy]

Phuket is definitely more expensive than Bangkok. If one could do a cost analysis of say, a meal in a restaurant, or a cab ride, it would be interesting to see how much was getting "chucked upstairs" to the local senior police or politicians.

A fairer comparison could be Satun or Nakhorn Sri Thammarat.

[Jimi007]

Ive never stepped foot in Phuket save for the bus station, Thap Lamu, Similian snd Ko Tachai

The annoying tourists are enough to keep me away but then you have the Thai mafia and the young English aggressive drunks.

But Ive have always seen it as a total ripoff.

Living on Phuket is more like living in Pattaya then living on Tachai.

What about Phuket wouldnt be a rip? Its a province totally fashioned on.tourist dollars.

BKK can be quite reasonable.

Newsflash: Phuket is not the only province with a beach.

Of course parts of Phuket are more geared towards tourists and are therefore more expensive. However, the part where I live is pretty much without tourists. I know that parts of Bangkok are also more tourist orientated and more expensive, while other areas are considerably cheaper.

Phuket is certainly not the only province with a beach but it is the only province with decent beaches and all the other facilities that I need.

There are far better uncrowded unpolluted beaches in many provinces.

Just in the news today about the pollution on Bang tao beach is making people ill and the raw sewage in Phuket town which naturally flows into the sea via a beach somewhere.

It amazes me how people still carry on thinking Phuket is beautiful place.

Ah yes... And there are many parts of Bangkok that are not beautiful as well and stink as badly as anywhere on Phuket. We were talking about the OP correct?

[keestha]

Ive never stepped foot in Phuket save for the bus station, Thap Lamu, Similian snd Ko Tachai

The annoying tourists are enough to keep me away but then you have the Thai mafia and the young English aggressive drunks.

But Ive have always seen it as a total ripoff.

Living on Phuket is more like living in Pattaya then living on Tachai.

What about Phuket wouldnt be a rip? Its a province totally fashioned on.tourist dollars.

BKK can be quite reasonable.

Newsflash: Phuket is not the only province with a beach.

Get your Thai geography straight. Thap Lamu, Similan and Koh Tachai are in neighboring Phangnga province. The province of Phuket is just the big island, plus a few small islands very close to it.

So that means in Phuket you only stepped foot at the bus station, considering that you are remarkably well informed.

[Guest]

Comparing Bangkok and Phuket.

I lived 2 years in Bangkok. Not at the CBD, but more close to the Suwanabhumi airport, next to moo ban Nakkila. Land and house in guarded higher middle class area, utterly boring place and people, the way middle class people often are.

Many services were cheaper in Bangkok as there was more competition and less tourist to who think "ah these poor people, I'll pay what is required and a bit more. Here is a great tip for you. I can afford it". Then one wonders why skilled people don't want to become teachers instead of becoming fake smile to serve the tourists.

The real price of the Bangkok is not written to the bill. The real price is written to the air pollution, traffic jams, busy way of life in general. Bangkok itself is very ugly cray city with few beauty spots. The same applies to any major city which has not been managed well for the past few decades.

In general people in Bangkok are nicer than in Phuket. Way less greedy as seen on the tourist hot spots in Phuket. More intellectual as well. That's one major plus for Bangkok.

I would think that there are still many places in Thailand which have great people as in Bangkok, together with nice surroundings and clear air / sea. These places are not on the beaten track, but somewhere else.

Edited April 21, 2013 by Guest

[Eesat]

Ive never stepped foot in Phuket save for the bus station, Thap Lamu, Similian snd Ko Tachai

The annoying tourists are enough to keep me away but then you have the Thai mafia and the young English aggressive drunks.

But Ive have always seen it as a total ripoff.

Living on Phuket is more like living in Pattaya then living on Tachai.

What about Phuket wouldnt be a rip? Its a province totally fashioned on.tourist dollars.

BKK can be quite reasonable.

Newsflash: Phuket is not the only province with a beach.

I'm sorry but all the agressive drunks in Phuket are Aussie Bogans,not to mention regular shootouts by Aussie Biker Gangs/Drug Dealers!

[Loptr]

Every time I go out (7 times a week )

Of course most expats in Thailand spend around 15K baht a day for lodging, food, drink and entertainment. You'll fit in here just fine.

[geriatrickid]

It is more expensive than Krabi, despite Krabi being cleaner, filled with tourists, and much better beaches. Had the best steak ever in Thailand at Carnivore etc. etc. I spent a week in Krabi last month, so I have a good idea as to the cost of things. What a pleasure not having the jet ski thugs laying about and the tuk tuks were better behaved.

[geriatrickid]

Where's the beach in Bangkok? Yes I will agree that taxis are cheaper. Don't really know or care about a hotel, I have a house, a car and motorbikes, so no problem. I can't stand the food when eating out most of the time. Good thing I am a good cook. Prices for food if you cook your own are less here than BKK. Same if you know where to buy your favorite beverage. But if you are on a holiday and living it up, I'm sure I could take you to many places in BKK that would be more expensive than most places Phuket. You're comparing apples and oranges as the old saying goes... One is a "resort island" the other is a large city...

Beach is in Hua Hin

And there are some very beautiful beaches in the Hua Hin city area.

And before anyone says, yea but its 3 hours drive, well with the way traffic and parking is in Phuket, keep in mind that it's not particularly pleasant going to the beach.

[phuketrichard]

A breakdown of prices of various items comparing Bangkok to Phuket - Cost of Living Comparison

have to disagree with most of his prices

especially the market section

I live in Phuket

gas i pay about 37 for 91 gasohol

Internet 590

Rents WAY OFF

i seriously doubt he ever went to Phuket

[phuketrichard]

Where's the beach in Bangkok? Yes I will agree that taxis are cheaper. Don't really know or care about a hotel, I have a house, a car and motorbikes, so no problem. I can't stand the food when eating out most of the time. Good thing I am a good cook. Prices for food if you cook your own are less here than BKK. Same if you know where to buy your favorite beverage. But if you are on a holiday and living it up, I'm sure I could take you to many places in BKK that would be more expensive than most places Phuket. You're comparing apples and oranges as the old saying goes... One is a "resort island" the other is a large city...

Beach is in Hua Hin

And there are some very beautiful beaches in the Hua Hin city area.

And before anyone says, yea but its 3 hours drive, well with the way traffic and parking is in Phuket, keep in mind that it's not particularly pleasant going to the beach.

obviously ur referring to Patong NOT all of phuket,

you can go to many beaches during the week ( layan being one) and u wont have another soul near u an can park right on the sand

[Tywais]

A breakdown of prices of various items comparing Bangkok to Phuket - Cost of Living Comparison

i seriously doubt he ever went to Phuket

Except it is not an individual but user contributions of the data. From their news page - Numbeo, the world’s largest database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide

[stevenl]

A breakdown of prices of various items comparing Bangkok to Phuket - Cost of Living Comparison

i seriously doubt he ever went to Phuket

Except it is not an individual but user contributions of the data. From their news page - Numbeo, the world’s largest database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide

So? As I said earlier, most of the prices are simply wrong. According to this site Phuket is even cheaper than Bangkok.

[kurnell]

You need to check out the wine bar at Grand Hyatt.

100+ baht per glas of red wine from noon to 10 pm. Cheap by any standard.

Where is that, Spasso?

[phuketrichard]

many of the prices they give for market is higher than i have ever paid in Phuket

[Jaybonnaza]

Not a baaing thread guys . No you don't move to Thailand to live of 100 baht a day you live within your means so stating eating out 7 days a week is the touristy life is a crack .

What I am stating is that ultimately prices for the night out food, drink in similar styles restaurants are more expensive , taxis are extortionate even thought its the same costs for fuel ECt ,

The only thing that can be behind it is corruption .

You can rent a 7 bedroom guesthouse with large bar under and cafe for 60k baht a month - have a friend doing this and you would pay around the same in bkk so it's not land prices , fair enough comparing land to trang, krabbi yes but to bkk no as bkk land prices are very high also

My question is why are the powers that be in bkk turning a blind eye - receiving payments definitely but this can't go on forever surely ?

[LivinginKata]

^^^

They sure hope it will go forever. Phuket is the country's cash cow. Pun intended

[KarenBravo]

^^^

They sure hope it will go forever. Phuket is the country's cash cow. Pun intended

Where's the pun?

You do know that putting three arrows means you're answering the third post up?

Should it have been a single arrow, or, didn't you know the convention?

Edited April 22, 2013 by KarenBravo

[BenStarkBJJ]

I had an equal and cheaper place to live in Phuket.

I spent less on food and didn't have to cook for myself.

transit is cheaper for me in BKK

Other than that... I find Phuket to be a ton cheaper. Though it could very well be the lifestyle i lead.

[Andre0720]

In Phuket, you can get reasonably prices meals, accomodation etc.

And if you wish, you can just go to those places who love to overcharge, and love ot greet you.

In Phuket town, I can eat for 25 bahts, reasonably good, 45 bahts, very good, and 150 bahts, for so so food. You have to know where to go.

In Karon, you can buy on the main drag just a soup for 150 bahts, a simple baked potato for 80 bahts, a breakfast for 160 bahts, (more expensive than back home) or go to a side street, and get a nice chicken curry with rice for 50 bahts.

Same in Rawai, or Nai Harn. You choose how much you wish to pay, and it generally has no correlation with the quality of the cooking.

For Thai people, Phuket is more expensive, because up country, the prices are all reasonable. And they say that BKK is OK. Phuket has many places with higher prices, simply because many customers do not know any better, and just pay the price.

[John Egil]

"Bangkok Is So Much Cheaper Than Phuket"

"Italian 4 people wine = 6k"

That's USD $200,that's not even cheap by Western standards!

It is cheap by Norwegian standards

[me313]

When I look at rental prices in BKK, it's always much more expensive than in Phuket, although prices have been on the increase and dramatically in Phuket in the last few years.

[Chao Lao Beach]

And we think that Bangkok is twice as expensive than a beach front resort down here in Chanthaburi. Street food to a decent restaurant is at least double the price. God help them down in Spew-ket. hehe,

Edited April 22, 2013 by Chao Lao Beach

[josho86]

I found Bangkok slightly cheaper then Phuket but not by much. Chiang mai hands down is allot cheaper then BKK and Phuket. Hence why I prefer to spend most of my trips there

Sent from my LT26w using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[horsewell]

Really... this thread is ridiculous! Depending on what you want and what you know you could say anything is anything. You could live well for a month for less than the cost of one of Jaybonnaza's nights out in Phuket depending on your expectations.

That Cost of Living Comparison seems a little arbitrary don't you think?

If you had a survey of any specific random group of people (1000+ people) and I think you would probably have a pretty diverse picture no matter what the location.

[MagicMax]

It's actually quite easy to live in Phuket and spend less that in Bangkok if you have some savvy. Been there two years and went from a $100 lifestyle to a $10 one and didn't lose the pleasure of living in one of the best places I have ever lived. Go as tourist then find the right places to be, easy.

[tonglen]

"Bangkok Is So Much Cheaper Than Phuket"

No,it's not!I found Phuket cheaper than Bangkok when I lived there,unless you're doing the full Tommy Tourist job which you obviously are!

"Italian 4 people wine = 6k"

That's USD $200,that's not even cheap by Western standards!

Thats kind of my angle as well.

I had to redo the math just to makesure I wasnt missing something. 6K is high in the states.

[Loptr]

The bottom line is that Thailand is not as cheap as it once was. With the popularity of the country soaring for tourism and retirees, coupled with he rising baht and the sinking USD, GBP, EUR and YEN, it is costing more and more for the casual tourist and especially for expats on fixed incomes to visit or live in Thailand. The USD hit 28.67 at the end of last week. Where will it stop? Some say 24 baht to the USD. Many will be packing up and heading to cheaper locales should this happen. No way to avoid it.

All the while the OP is talking about spending in excess of 15K baht a day on lodging, food, beverage and entertainment. That's 450K baht a month in spend. Either the OP is not your average expat or he's the biggest troll we've seen here in a while. Personally, I believe the later is true. In any event, the OP's claims have little to no bearing on the average expat living in the LOS.

[davidmann]

try issan i eat out its 120 bt ,not to bad sit by the mekong ,view hard to beat

[Jimi007]

try issan i eat out its 120 bt ,not to bad sit by the mekong ,view hard to beat

Since you have little choice, you accept what there is available... Been there done that.