Bangkok Becoming A Pricier Place For Expats

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Bangkok becoming a pricier place for expats
By Coconuts Bangkok



BANGKOK: -- Bangkok has become a more expensive home for expats during the last 12 months according to a new study.

The Thai capital has jumped to the 147th most expensive destination globally in 2013, having been ranked at 162nd last year.

The research, published by ECA International - a provider of solutions for the management and assignment of employees around the world - calculates the cost of living for expatriates and includes items such as food, drink, miscellaneous good and services, clothing, electrical good and dining out. Costs for accommodation, schooling and car purchases are not included in the study.

For the first time in three years, Tokyo is no longer the most expensive location for international assignees. The Japanese capital has been overtaken by Norway's capital, Oslo, and now lies in sixth place in the ranking.

"Tokyo has always been an expensive place for global companies to send staff, and, despite its five-place fall since last year, that remains the case," said Lee Quane, ECA's Regional Director, Asia.

"The significant depreciation of the Yen against other major currencies in recent months is the primary reason for this drop. It means that for many companies, the cost of maintaining their assignees’ purchasing power while posted there has fallen. But it's important not to exaggerate the position – Tokyo is still the world's sixth most expensive city, and the most expensive in Asia."

Within Asia, Japanese cities still dominate the top of the cost of living ranking; four of the region's top five most expensive locations are found there. [more...]

Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2013/06/07/bangkok-becoming-pricier-place-expats


-- Coconuts Bangkok 2013-06-07

[lee b]

Yeah but it is a capital city ? And to be honest a lot cheaper than many others ive been too !!!

[marcusd]

Okies dokies but kl as a good place? Maybe but no where near as much fun.

Sent from my GT-N7000B using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[sotsira]

"Costs for accommodation, schooling and car purchases are not included in the study."

So that makes the study pretty inaccurate then!

[huahinjoe]

Send them to Phuket or Samui too to study further the prices

[jbrain]

Told you, if they keep rising those barfines in Nana and Cowboy, they soon gonna top the list.

[Businessman]

Would be interesting to see the ranking adjusted to salaries. I have a feeling expats in Tokyo get more compensation than Bangkok. Also an expat working there not on a corporate assignment i.e. employed by a local firm would earn much more than expats in Bangkok working for local companies. The 50-70k legislated monthly salaries for work permits comes to mind. How do expats fare in other cities for earnings vs expenses? I'm curious because sometimes I feel it is very hard to save and have a good lifestyle in Thailand unless you are under a corporation's wing.

[sausageandmash]

I've head a lot of Thais also complaining that things are dearer these days. Street food that used to be 30 Baht has almost doubled. Mind you, when the Baht crashes in the next 2 years, prices will soon fall again.

[thenoilif]

Would be interesting to see the ranking adjusted to salaries. I have a feeling expats in Tokyo get more compensation than Bangkok. Also an expat working there not on a corporate assignment i.e. employed by a local firm would earn much more than expats in Bangkok working for local companies. The 50-70k legislated monthly salaries for work permits comes to mind. How do expats fare in other cities for earnings vs expenses? I'm curious because sometimes I feel it is very hard to save and have a good lifestyle in Thailand unless you are under a corporation's wing.

The actual salaries generally are not effected by location unless its a undesirable locale, what is effected is the overall package or at least it is at my firm and several other firms that I am affiliated with. For example, if your salary is say 100, 000 u.s./yr you can expect to receive that plus a bonus for working abroad, relocation allowance that is based on family size, and living expenses based on the cost of living in that area. I've worked in HK, KL, Singapore and now BKK and my standard of living has basically stayed the same from place to place as I've moved around.

I do know some firms just give a set allowance for living and its left up to the expat to find a place so in this case I can see where the rising costs could effect the overall package.

[xenophon]

anyone know the "items in ECA's cost of living basket" used to determine this study.

[Rinrada]

With the free red bus service from Samut Prakarn and the MD pub (not far from Asoke) doing Heinekin for 100 Bt a pint and not bad company of an evening...suits me certainly for the time being...slange

[Donnie Brasco]

Can't say for sure whether the cost of living had gone up but Dinty Moore's tinned beef stew has become prohibitively expensive.

[metisdead]

A post in all caps has been removed, turn off your Caps Lock button when posting.

[rfukata]

Would be interesting to see the ranking adjusted to salaries. I have a feeling expats in Tokyo get more compensation than Bangkok. Also an expat working there not on a corporate assignment i.e. employed by a local firm would earn much more than expats in Bangkok working for local companies. The 50-70k legislated monthly salaries for work permits comes to mind. How do expats fare in other cities for earnings vs expenses? I'm curious because sometimes I feel it is very hard to save and have a good lifestyle in Thailand unless you are under a corporation's wing.

The actual salaries generally are not effected by location unless its a undesirable locale, what is effected is the overall package or at least it is at my firm and several other firms that I am affiliated with. For example, if your salary is say 100, 000 u.s./yr you can expect to receive that plus a bonus for working abroad, relocation allowance that is based on family size, and living expenses based on the cost of living in that area. I've worked in HK, KL, Singapore and now BKK and my standard of living has basically stayed the same from place to place as I've moved around.

I do know some firms just give a set allowance for living and its left up to the expat to find a place so in this case I can see where the rising costs could effect the overall package.

yes, pretty much the same with me when I was working in Asia, including Bangkok and Singapore - big corps. give you the same

standards of living where ever you are re-located. The only exception for the pay salary for me in BKK vs. other modern Asian countries

was that I received an extra of 15% pay, this was called hardship allowance. So if your pay was 100K, then you got another 15K added

to your monthly salary.

[spidermike007]

Send them to Phuket or Samui too to study further the prices

Samui is downright reasonable if you know where to go, and where to eat. I find two course meals for 100-130 baht all the time. I could not find that in Phuket, and it is difficult in Bangkok, unless you really know where to go. Also, the quality of the food is better in Samui, than in Bangkok, in my opinion. But, having said that, Bangkok is a fantastic city, on alot of levels. And it is still pretty reasonable, in my opinion.

[hellodolly]

Send them to Phuket or Samui too to study further the prices

Samui is downright reasonable if you know where to go, and where to eat. I find two course meals for 100-130 baht all the time. I could not find that in Phuket, and it is difficult in Bangkok, unless you really know where to go. Also, the quality of the food is better in Samui, than in Bangkok, in my opinion. But, having said that, Bangkok is a fantastic city, on alot of levels. And it is still pretty reasonable, in my opinion.

I think if you know where to go applies to all cities.

[aalek85th]

Yesterday I payed 30 baht for a huge portion of khao pat, then I walked 3 seconds to a bar next door and got myself a big leo for 60 baht.

It's not in Sukhumvith.

[how241]

"Costs for accommodation, schooling and car purchases are not included in the study."

So that makes the study pretty inaccurate then!

+1

[JCaligula]

Which Donkey company made this survey,based on how many people they interviewed? A hundred or a thousand.They must be joking KL is 182nd place.Food and expenses cost more than Bangkok and the cost of living in Condos and apartments are double than here,real estate among the highest in Southeast Asia maybe after Singapore....what they talking..unreliable source..

Edited June 10, 2013 by metisdead
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[2008bangkok]

Thailand in general has become more expensive, when i first came 8 yrs ago u could get a small bottle singha for 19 baht in 7-11 and the pound was 70-72, the only thing stayed pretty much the same is rent.

Not that I know shit about it but they need to bring cost down or up wages, the minimum wage is 300 per day and a lot of company from ranging from factory's to hospitals pay there staff that wage, so basically a Big Mac is 1/3rd days wages ad a loaf of bread is 10% of a days wages, the minimum in England is about 6.50 per hr so that's about 50 a day and if u went the same scale of Thailand that would but a Big Mac at 18 quid and a loaf of bread at a fiver when they are about 1 pound for a big ma and 40p for a loaf of bread

[SOTIRIOS]

......'civilized' living is no cheaper in Thailand.....

.....in fact....it is the exception, even......so how could it be......

[RAZZELL]

Thailand in general has become more expensive, when i first came 8 yrs ago u could get a small bottle singha for 19 baht in 7-11 and the pound was 70-72, the only thing stayed pretty much the same is rent.

Not that I know shit about it but they need to bring cost down or up wages, the minimum wage is 300 per day and a lot of company from ranging from factory's to hospitals pay there staff that wage, so basically a Big Mac is 1/3rd days wages ad a loaf of bread is 10% of a days wages, the minimum in England is about 6.50 per hr so that's about 50 a day and if u went the same scale of Thailand that would but a Big Mac at 18 quid and a loaf of bread at a fiver when they are about 1 pound for a big ma and 40p for a loaf of bread

A big mac in the UK is about £3. A loaf of bread about £1.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index

Click on Thailand on the link and see it's "relatively" cheap in Thailand to the UK.

http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index

RAZZ

Edited June 8, 2013 by RAZZELL

[rbrooks]

Still relatively way cheaper than most western countries and can be cheaper of course based on how you live and where in the LOS.

[2008bangkok]

Beg to differ, if you factor in absolutely everything and i means house, bills, school, salary, a family of 4 would be better off in the UK than thailand

[2008bangkok]

im not gonna sit here and fire off items but this one item will prove my point

4pints milk uk 1.29 so about 65 baht, thailand 78- 82 baht, ,how can thailand charge more when they pay around a salary of 200 compared to uk paying aroound 800-1000 gbp

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/Shopping/FindProducts.aspx?Query=milk

rest my case

[sotsira]

Still relatively way cheaper than most western countries and can be cheaper of course based on how you live and where in the LOS.

This thread is about cost of living in Bangkok, not about living anywhere else in Thailand.

If you need to own a car, have children that need to be put through schooling and own your own property,

then costs can be very comparable with western countries.

[bkk_mike]

im not gonna sit here and fire off items but this one item will prove my point

4pints milk uk 1.29 so about 65 baht, thailand 78- 82 baht, ,how can thailand charge more when they pay around a salary of 200 compared to uk paying aroound 800-1000 gbp

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/Shopping/FindProducts.aspx?Query=milk

rest my case

Thailand isn't exactly known for it's massive dairy herd population, and lush green fields of grass for them to graze on...

You could just as easily complain about the cost of fruit juice in the UK.

And schools are only cheaper if you're talking sending your kids to state school in the UK, compared with sending them to private school in Thailand.

[2008bangkok]

im not gonna sit here and fire off items but this one item will prove my point

4pints milk uk 1.29 so about 65 baht, thailand 78- 82 baht, ,how can thailand charge more when they pay around a salary of 200 compared to uk paying aroound 800-1000 gbp

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/Shopping/FindProducts.aspx?Query=milk

rest my case

Thailand isn't exactly known for it's massive dairy herd population, and lush green fields of grass for them to graze on...

You could just as easily complain about the cost of fruit juice in the UK.

And schools are only cheaper if you're talking sending your kids to state school in the UK, compared with sending them to private school in Thailand.

Could of fooled me, everytime i go out of BKK all i see is lush green fields, what you saying, that thailand has to import milk or they need to charge more becuase there is only limited grass for the cows to eat?

Schools in UK = pay nothing, same school in thailand = pay per term, pay for books, pay for meals both goverment

[Bazt]

^^ your comparing lush green fields of Thailand with the UK ??

[2008bangkok]

^^ your comparing lush green fields of Thailand with the UK ??

Thailand far more green