Hello there,

As today we only get 28 Thai Baht for 1 USD, and because I have a friend who lived here for a while and who will leave Thailand by the end of the month, and his main reason being the currency explosion (nothing else as he's retired and keep receiving the same amount of Euros each month), I was wondering if there was other people in similar situations, and if yes then where are you going now? Please reply with your destination!

My friend said, and I quote, "in early 2009 when I got here I had 55 000 bahts to spend each month" (equivalent to his 1000 euros pension) but now he only gets 35 000 bahts after the bank fees and conversion for the same amount in euro, and it doesn't seem to satisfy him as he had to move to another, cheaper residence last year, and he needs to be careful on what he spends, eat, drink, and it makes him feel like a poor

I'm really sad of this and I was wondering if there are other people in the same situation, please share your feeling and your plans.

It is not a political topic but a personal topic, how does it affect YOU, and if you're leaving Thailand then please let me know where in your replies

Edited April 23, 201313 yr by Annonymous

Only the fourth thread on more or less the same theme!

Might consider staying if the currency is changed to bhat.

No i will not leave Thailand as i have enough money to live here in comfort even though the baht has appreciated ,happy ?

High prices are one thing but the madding crowds are another. I suspect that the latter will drive me away before the former, though it may be a close race.

http://www.forecast-chart.com/usd-thailand-baht.html

As you see on the table, the current value is nothing unusual but the 8 "good" years are gone.

Lowest since 1981 is 20.55/$ also in 1981.

Sorry I can't get the table properly in my post.

Edited April 23, 201313 yr by guzzi850m2

I wish that I had a 35,000 baht per month to spend.

I wish that I had a 35,000 baht per month to spend.

What a poor you are

I wish that I had a 35,000 baht per month to spend.

What a poor you are

Compared to what? A Thai? Nonsense.

A Westerner yes.

I wish that I had a 35,000 baht per month to spend.

What a poor you are

Compared to what? A Thai? Nonsense.

A Westerner yes.

is "Ulysses G" a Thai national?

I mean.. come on... this is basic money, go work as a cleaner (the lowest paid position) in a McDonald restaurant anywhere in Europe and you'll earn a minimum of 1120€ (~1450 US$), this correspond to the French SMIC (minimal authorized salary for a 35-hours-per-week job), plus you'll have 5 weeks paid holidays per year... where you can come here spend all your earnings! isn't that SO GREAT!! xD

if you don't have 35k baht/month and you're not happy about it you should GO GET A JOB and you shouldn't stay here complaining or dreaming!

Edited April 23, 201313 yr by Annonymous

I wish that I had a 35,000 baht per month to spend.

What a poor you are

Compared to what? A Thai? Nonsense.

A Westerner yes.

is "Ulysses G" a Thai national?

I mean.. come on... this is basic money, go work as a cleaner (the lowest paid position) in a McDonald restaurant anywhere in Europe and you'll earn a minimum of 1120€ (~1450 US$), this correspond to the French SMIC (minimal authorized salary for a 35-hours-per-week job), plus you'll have 5 weeks paid holidays per year... where you can come here spend all your earnings! isn't that SO GREAT!! xD

if you don't have 35k baht/month and you're not happy about it you should GO GET A JOB and you shouldn't stay here complaining or dreaming!

The irony is that Ulysses has a job

The irony is that Ulysses has a job

Well then he should ask for a raise!

I wish that I had a 35,000 baht per month to spend.

What a poor you are

Compared to what? A Thai? Nonsense.

A Westerner yes.

is "Ulysses G" a Thai national?

I mean.. come on... this is basic money, go work as a cleaner (the lowest paid position) in a McDonald restaurant anywhere in Europe and you'll earn a minimum of 1120€ (~1450 US$), this correspond to the French SMIC (minimal authorized salary for a 35-hours-per-week job), plus you'll have 5 weeks paid holidays per year... where you can come here spend all your earnings! isn't that SO GREAT!! xD

if you don't have 35k baht/month and you're not happy about it you should GO GET A JOB and you shouldn't stay here complaining or dreaming!

I guess there will be many very happy people in Europe, because they can look forward to a big pay raise.

I guess there will be many very happy people in Europe, because they can look forward to a big pay raise.

??

Did not understand your last sentence.. a big pay raise from who? where? what are you talking about? :confused:

The 5th choice in your poll is nonsense, The last clause "even if 1 Thai Baht becomes equal to 1 USD" is rediculous and needs to be ignored if anyone selects this choice (which I did). If the Thai Baht gets to parity with the US Dollar, a bowl of noodle soup on the street (B30) will cost the equivalent of $30.00. I can have a steak in Chicago for that price. It will never happen, but it is dumb to limit someones choice to the absurd. I do not worry about the value of the Baht against the US Dollar or other foreign currency (except to decide if I should transfer more money into Thailand now or wait), but at some point long before the Baht and US Dollar become equal in value, I would start to consider whether my and my family's well being are best served remaining in Thailand. For people that chose to live in Thailand just because it is cheap, it may not hold the appeal it once had. For those of us that chose to live in Thailand because we like/love the culture, the people and all that Thailand has to offer, this is "home" and will remain so regardless of what happens to the Thai Baht.

Your friend feels poor because he is poor, and he will likely feel that way no matter where he goes -- E1000 per month just won't buy much any where these days. And it is likely to get worse, not better. Help him pack -- better, help him find a place to go where he can live on E1000 and feel "rich". Good luck with that!

Edited April 23, 201313 yr by Thailaw

Because of the fact anyone with one good eye could see this coming, I have more or less completely bahtized by assets within the last year so you could just say "I'm Lovin It." It would suit me just fine if the exchange rate ever became one to one as my net worth would increase 30 times over...even as it is, I've made 15 percent so far by just depositing my dollars into a Thai bank account.

And besides, a strong baht keeps the cost of imported petroleum products my car likes to eat and the imported foodstuffs I like to eat cheaper than they otherwise would be. My foreign holidays are cheaper as well.

Edited April 23, 201313 yr by OMGImInPattaya

I wish that I had a 35,000 baht per month to spend.

What a poor you are

Compared to what? A Thai? Nonsense.

A Westerner yes.

is "Ulysses G" a Thai national?

I mean.. come on... this is basic money, go work as a cleaner (the lowest paid position) in a McDonald restaurant anywhere in Europe and you'll earn a minimum of 1120€ (~1450 US$), this correspond to the French SMIC (minimal authorized salary for a 35-hours-per-week job), plus you'll have 5 weeks paid holidays per year... where you can come here spend all your earnings! isn't that SO GREAT!! xD

if you don't have 35k baht/month and you're not happy about it you should GO GET A JOB and you shouldn't stay here complaining or dreaming!

Sound advice if you are of working age but a big problem for older retired expats living on a low income. I think that for many we are reaching the tipping point.

Edited April 23, 201313 yr by Rajab Al Zarahni

And besides, a strong baht keeps the cost of imported petroleum products my car likes to eat and the imported foodstuffs I like to eat cheaper than they otherwise would be.

Really ? Have you any of them, oil or imported products, seen decreasing in price since the Dollar tanked 15% ?

By the way,oil has decreased more than 10% in dollar value as well.

I don't believe that many people would really stay at one baht to one dollar. 30 dollars for street noodles? Are you having a laugh?

In my case 25 to the dollar was something I saw as a worse case scenario. It's not a happy thing that it's getting there. I'm not making any moving plans yet but again this is not a happy thing.

Edited April 23, 201313 yr by Jingthing

Even when he was getting 55,000 a month, he was well under the 800,000 a year income requirement. At 35,000 per month, he's barely receiving 1/2 the amount the Thai government says you need to live here on a retirement visa. Sounds like you're friend is doing a self-deportation! In America, he'd be labeled an "illegal".

1 dollar for 1 baht is something out of my wettest dreams.. Man.. I'd be rich. Everyone in Thailand would be.

I'd go buy a supercar for the same money I get a Honda Jazz for now.

And besides, a strong baht keeps the cost of imported petroleum products my car likes to eat and the imported foodstuffs I like to eat cheaper than they otherwise would be.

Really ? Have you any of them, oil or imported products, seen decreasing in price since the Dollar tanked 15% ?

By the way,oil has decreased more than 10% in dollar value as well.

I don't really look at the prices...I buy whatever I want. I was making more of a theoretical statement...so even if they have not dropped (I'll take your word for that) they probably have not increased as much as they could have if the baht tanked.

Even when he was getting 55,000 a month, he was well under the 800,000 a year income requirement. At 35,000 per month, he's barely receiving 1/2 the amount the Thai government says you need to live here on a retirement visa. Sounds like you're friend is doing a self-deportation! In America, he'd be labeled an "illegal".

But not by the Associated Press...PC pricks that they are.

And besides, a strong baht keeps the cost of imported petroleum products my car likes to eat and the imported foodstuffs I like to eat cheaper than they otherwise would be.

Really ? Have you any of them, oil or imported products, seen decreasing in price since the Dollar tanked 15% ?

By the way,oil has decreased more than 10% in dollar value as well.

I don't really look at the prices...I buy whatever I want. I was making more of a theoretical statement...so even if they have not dropped (I'll take your word for that) they probably have not increased as much as they could have if the baht tanked.

Think you missed my last line. The oil price on the international market has decreased 10% in Dollar terms, the Dollar has decreased another 15% against the Baht. Yet the price of oil hasn't gonne down a single satang at the pump.

So don't hold your breath for any benefits if the Baht would rise further.

I get paid in US dollars too and it's not good right now. Solution? I live more frugally than ever here. I am finding ways of saving more and more money simply because I have to. I used to get 18,000 baht for US$500 out of the ATM, now it's 14,000.

I'm not going to leave, just keep cutting back as long as the exchange rate keeps going lower.

High prices are one thing but the madding crowds are another. I suspect that the latter will drive me away before the former, though it may be a close race.

'Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife,

Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray;

Along the cool sequester'd vale of life

They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.'

Not sure about the "noiseless tenor of their way," but you might take heart if the worsening exchange rate drives the maddening crowd to other venues.

Regarding the survey, I intend to stay regardless of any realistic exchange rate, but since that option was not offered I chose the ridiculous choice that included Baht 1 = $1.

Maybe we should also have a survey asking if we should have daily threads bemoaning the exchange rate.

Edited April 23, 201313 yr by Suradit69

Hypothetically have 20m baht here in Thailand and have options to stay or go.....that is a question.....

Rethinking this a bit, my condo is supposedly worth about 4 million baht. At one baht per dollar, that's 4 million dollars. Assuming, I could sell it, I would be out of here so fast!

Rethinking this a bit, my condo is supposedly worth about 4 million baht. At one baht per dollar, that's 4 million dollars. Assuming, I could sell it, I would be out of here so fast!

But who would want to pay 4 million Dollars for a condo that is in reality worth 1 million Baht

As JT says there is always another side to the coin, if you have that option.

At $1 per Baht I'd retire to the USA for the affordable ladies.