Who Is Leaving Thailand Because Of Its Currency?

[gamini]

If you live here and and want to make Thailand your home. You should have invested your money here and bought rental property like condos and good Thai shares like PTT. I hope the Baht keeps appreciating and then I can afford more overseas holidays

[Neeps]

If you live here and and want to make Thailand your home. You should have invested your money here and bought rental property like condos and good Thai shares like PTT. I hope the Baht keeps appreciating and then I can afford more overseas holidays

Hindsight is a great thing. Good luck

[jbrain]

If you live here and and want to make Thailand your home. You should have invested your money here and bought rental property like condos and good Thai shares like PTT.

Did you give out that same advice onhere when you joined TV about 3 years ago ?

[Khun Watchaporn]

No.

But my spending money here is earned in baht.

If it was earned in Western paper I'd be seriously considering my future life.

[Khun Watchaporn]

If you live here and and want to make Thailand your home. You should have invested your money here and bought rental property like condos and good Thai shares like PTT.

With the complete instability of Thailand?? You must be kidding.

Life after the unspeakable happens.... for just one thing.

Bit of a tip for you kid, don't put all your eggs in one basket, especially when that basket is labeled 'Thailand'.

[fredob43]

I happen to spend last night in Pattaya. Had a meal not expencive with 1 small beer 230bt, called into a bar Tiger small 40 bt so far so good, then I had to meet up with some old chum's at another bar in 2nd road small Leo 80bt I ordered a round before I found out how much it was, departed sharpish, off to yet another this time a Leo was 70bt If you shop arround thing's can be cheap, even cheaper if you stay in. But everyone need's some sort of life, and having to shop around is not my idea of it.

Out tonight where I live a large Leo 55bt will I be leaving not on your life but if I lived full time in Pat's I would have to pull my horns in.

[manarak]

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

LOL - you guys are funny.

I begin to like nor being able to sell my house as quickly as I would have liked, 555.

Funny that not much people on this thread mention *gasp* making local income in Thai Baht :-)

[Neeps]

I happen to spend last night in Pattaya. Had a meal not expencive with 1 small beer 230bt, called into a bar Tiger small 40 bt so far so good, then I had to meet up with some old chum's at another bar in 2nd road small Leo 80bt I ordered a round before I found out how much it was, departed sharpish, off to yet another this time a Leo was 70bt If you shop arround thing's can be cheap, even cheaper if you stay in. But everyone need's some sort of life, and having to shop around is not my idea of it.

Out tonight where I live a large Leo 55bt will I be leaving not on your life but if I lived full time in Pat's I would have to pull my horns in.

Wow. Superb

[Khun Watchaporn]

I happen to spend last night in Pattaya. Had a meal not expencive with 1 small beer 230bt, called into a bar Tiger small 40 bt so far so good, then I had to meet up with some old chum's at another bar in 2nd road small Leo 80bt I ordered a round before I found out how much it was, departed sharpish, off to yet another this time a Leo was 70bt If you shop arround thing's can be cheap, even cheaper if you stay in. But everyone need's some sort of life, and having to shop around is not my idea of it.

Out tonight where I live a large Leo 55bt will I be leaving not on your life but if I lived full time in Pat's I would have to pull my horns in.

Beer prices seem important to some!

[Annonymous]

it's not only beers, it's general prices that are going up, like a basic sometam which used to be 30baht not so far ago, it slowly became 35 and now 40 bahts, and I'm only talking about street sellers, because I've seen 100-baht sometams at Central!

[Jingthing]

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

It's hard to say if people would be willing to pay 30 dollars for street noodles. It's all a fiction anyway.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

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.

Be they madding or maddening, I was thinking more of the local crowds rather than the imported ones. Pattaya is already crawling with Russians and what have you, but it's really the spending power of the Thai people that has the biggest effect on the general increase in activity on the roads and in the shops etc., and on the price of noodle soup and a bottle of Chang for that matter.

Others may have their own opinion but I see no real difference between sitting in a traffic jam on a bank holiday in Thailand or sitting in one in England or in Florida. All are a complete pain and are something that I can do without.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

I happen to spend last night in Pattaya. Had a meal not expencive with 1 small beer 230bt, called into a bar Tiger small 40 bt so far so good, then I had to meet up with some old chum's at another bar in 2nd road small Leo 80bt I ordered a round before I found out how much it was, departed sharpish, off to yet another this time a Leo was 70bt If you shop arround thing's can be cheap, even cheaper if you stay in.

Ah, but is it? I am quite prepared to accept that a beer may cost 50B in one bar and 150B in another as one always has the choice of which bar to frequent. But what happens when a can of beer in 7/11 at 40B costs very nearly GBP1, or a bowl of street noodle soup with a couple of small shrimp in at 50B costs well over GBP1? Both of these are currently true.

On UK TV at the moment I'm seeing ads for KFC kebabs that are only a couple of pence more expensive than a kebab from a stall in Pattaya (not that I would ever buy or eat either, they are just examples). These Thai prices seem way over the top to me.

Maybe I shall just have to stop eating noodle soup and go to the Hilton every day instead. That is still much cheaper here than it would be in the West.

[detinu68]

Fortunately I'm earning Thai Baht...so it's looking good at the moment

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Fortunately I'm earning Thai Baht...so it's looking good at the moment

Don't see that makes much difference. An expensive place is still an expensive place no matter what currency you are paid in. And as prices increase here your income will be worth less and less.

I dont work at all but I could still afford to live here even if there were only 5B to the GBP instead of 45 or 75. I wouldnt want to though as I know there would be far more interesting places to live elsewhere. Once places become expensive they also become very boring.

Cue Lee Marvin.

[Annonymous]

Fortunately I'm earning Thai Baht...so it's looking good at the moment

Don't see that makes much difference. An expensive place is still an expensive place no matter what currency you are paid in. And as prices increase here your income will be worth less and less.

I dont work at all but I could still afford to live here even if there were only 5B to the GBP instead of 45 or 75. I wouldnt want to though as I know there would be far more interesting places to live elsewhere. Once places become expensive they also become very boring.

Cue Lee Marvin.

Where would you recommend to go? (serious question)

[PoodMaiDai]

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.

Strengthening baht, weakening dollar, massive crowds of Chinese / Korean / Russian tourists, general inflation, rising prices do to labor wage hikes... it is a perfect storm.

But where to go? Many places are going to have some of the same problems.

[fredob43]

I happen to spend last night in Pattaya. Had a meal not expencive with 1 small beer 230bt, called into a bar Tiger small 40 bt so far so good, then I had to meet up with some old chum's at another bar in 2nd road small Leo 80bt I ordered a round before I found out how much it was, departed sharpish, off to yet another this time a Leo was 70bt If you shop arround thing's can be cheap, even cheaper if you stay in. But everyone need's some sort of life, and having to shop around is not my idea of it.

Out tonight where I live a large Leo 55bt will I be leaving not on your life but if I lived full time in Pat's I would have to pull my horns in.

Beer prices seem important to some!

I just used the price of beer as it struck me as very varied. In some place's a lot more expencive than London. Anyone on a budget of around £1,000 43,000bt a month must really be feeling the pinch. If they had to pay a large rent Buddha help them.

[JDGRUEN]

For most Expats - the problem is what has happened to the currency in their home country - not what has happened to the Thai Baht...

Edited April 24, 2013 by JDGRUEN

[chris2004]

The low Pound is certainly causing me problems but if i left where would i go? The cost of living is probably as much anywhere else, certainly more in the UK. Are there any other locations which are much cheaper than Pattaya that still have good infrastructures, facilities, hospitals, western food etc. It's no good having more money if you have to live in a shit hole.

[OMGImInPattaya]

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!

Exactly...that's what I said...let's all cheer for one to one parity!

[JoePai]

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!

I pray for the day when $1 = 1 Baht. The reason why ? - the cost of oil will be at give away prices

[Ulysses G.]

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

What a poor you are

Maybe I should have said a guaranteed 35,000 baht a month to plan a budget on. Sometimes I make more (that I can keep). Sometimes, I make less, but the bills still have to be paid. I could live on 35,000 a month quite easily if I did not have business expenses that are fairly steep.

Edited April 24, 2013 by Ulysses G.

[raro]

didn't read through the entire thread, but I'm missing the option "I live in Thailand and earn Thai Baht and look forward to a cheap holiday in Europe"

[BlackPuddingBertha]

Where would you recommend to go? (serious question)

The obvious possibilities are other countries in SE Asia that are less developed: Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Burma. Perhaps the Philippines or Indonesia. Even China at a pinch. Or parts of Central or South America. But not Malaysia or Singapore.

Now I'm not saying that those places would suit everyone or that they all offer an easy long-term visa arrangement, but depending on one's individual needs and desires they may all be suitable alternatives. For example, someone who just wants to spend the day sitting on a beach drinking beer and eating happy pizza (... and why not? It's his life and I can think of worse things to do.....) would be well advised to move to Cambodia, and many probably already have.

There's a thread about alternative retirement destinations that covers the pros and cons.

On a purely economic calculation, due to the various tax and visa advantages that I benefit from here prices would have to be quite a lot lower elsewhere to make it worth my while to move. So if the government changed either of those arrangements it could have much more effect on me than a gradual increase in general prices etc.

Edited April 24, 2013 by BlackPuddingBertha

[Thailaw]

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!

I pray for the day when $1 = 1 Baht. The reason why ? - the cost of oil will be at give away prices

I hope that your post is a joke -- if not, it should be. If/when the Baht and the US Dollar reach parity, a barrel of oil will cost in the range of US$3,000 and, if your savings are in US Dollars, you'll spend your life savings to fill your tank (or eat lunch, what ever). In Baht terms, the price of oil will likely not change by very much. Are you also praying for a date with the current Miss Thailand? The probability is, notwithstanding your efforts at prayer, about the same.

[Suradit69]

If you live here and and want to make Thailand your home. You should have invested your money here and bought rental property like condos and good Thai shares like PTT.

With the complete instability of Thailand?? You must be kidding.

Life after the unspeakable happens.... for just one thing.

Bit of a tip for you kid, don't put all your eggs in one basket, especially when that basket is labeled 'Thailand'.

"With the complete instability of Thailand?? You must be kidding."

By implication, I guess, over the past 5 to 10 years the US, European, Japanese economies have been bastions of stability, right? The condo I bought here about 15 years ago has appreciated in value both in baht and dollar terms. I wonder how putting all your eggs in real estate, the stock markets and currencies of western countries did during that period. The term "safe as houses" is painfully ironic when applied to most countries in the west. At this point the basket that bears watching is labeled "Europe."

Definitely diversify your investments, but be careful of zombie economies outside Asia.

Facing relegation: Why Britain's 'undeveloping' economy means the country could be about to join the Third World

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2157055/Why-Britain-join-Third-World.html

Fitch Lowers U.K. Debt Outlook Ahead of Budget

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/88394090-fitch-lowers-u-k-debt-outlook-ahead-of-budget.html

Edited April 24, 2013 by Suradit69

[hellstens]

This is stupid! I thing you all miss a point. To stay in THAILAND you need to have 800,000thb in your bank or 65,000/month in income

How many of you have that in pension? is it so damn hard to understand that many of us have a big problem right now?

Many of you should Think before you judging anyone!

Tom.

[jbrain]

This is stupid! I thing you all miss a point. To stay in THAILAND you need to have 800,000thb in your bank or 65,000/month in income

How many of you have that in pension? is it so damn hard to understand that many of us have a big problem right now?

Many of you should Think before you judging anyone!

Tom.

And that is where the 1 dollar/ 1 baht bites back in the arse.

I guess not many Americans would still be able to fulfill the retirement visa requirements

[surfinglife]

Why do poor people with 1000 Euros or so to spend a month even consider living in Thailand? Thailand has its own very large populationof poor people and doesn't need imported budget residents. If you don't have the money to fund a reasonable lifestyle here, don't come to Thailand! Most Thais expect farangs to have unlimited wealth so let's not shatter this image because we are guests here and our presence in only tolerated because we have a lot of money to spend in this country.