Has Anyone Noticed How Expensive It Is To Live In Isaan These Days?

[MJP]

Cheaper? More expensive? Who cares?

For me, I love living in Thailand and would gladly pay more than in the UK for the privilege. And - yes - I chose my words deliberately. To be able to live here is a privilege, and if cheese or wine is more expensive back home, then so be it. The benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.

You're positive attitude I find very refreshing on this lovely day, Sir!

To be honest, I like any place the sun is shining and there's a place I know it doesn't shine very much.

Edited September 27, 2013 by MJP

[anon8]

The basic answer to the OP's thread is that thailand is coming up as a country. I suggest you relocate to an african country..

Try papua new guinea but it's hard to find places like thailand where the ppl are poor and you can stretch your dollar and be safe.

Or, settle in Antarctica, have Western cheese and beer flown in weekly, then complain how expensive it is.

It seems odd how people move thousands and thousands kilometers away from their home country, and are then surprised cheese is slightly more expensive here.

[MJP]

The basic answer to the OP's thread is that thailand is coming up as a country. I suggest you relocate to an african country..

Try papua new guinea but it's hard to find places like thailand where the ppl are poor and you can stretch your dollar and be safe.

Or, settle in Antarctica, have Western cheese and beer flown in weekly, then complain how expensive it is.

It seems odd how people move thousands and thousands kilometers away from their home country, and are then surprised cheese is slightly more expensive here.

It's the cheese mafia.

A 2kg cheese of local extraction was priced at 700 of the Thai Bahts. Then they doubled it overnight for no apparent reason, so no one bought it.

People were very cheesed orrff!

[Naam]

Oh come on, but there are many benefits too. What does Thailand give me for all those taxes which are actually very high too? A lousy infrastructure, most basic healthcare, a rotten education system, absolutely no social security, trash everywhere and no maintainance for whatever is government owned, when you´re in trouble and you don´t have children or a loving family you are DOOMED! Just look in BKK how many guys are out in the street at night looking in the trash for some usefull stuff. I gladly pay (paid) my taxes back home because i could see for what they were used for (or wasted sometimes). Of course after all Thailand might be cheaper, but if you do a summary of what you get for free back home it isn´t that much. And maybe you are a retiree suppoorted by exactly this evil taxes now living in Thailand and moaning about the Vaterland. If i´m wrong, i apologize. I´m not ranting about LOS now, i just want to state the facts according to me, ups and downs have to be accepted everywhere. We still got the great food, weather and that Thainess and lifestyle that we all love and hate as a big +

Dismissed Mr Worf

So the summary is that Thailand doesn´t have a real middle class yet and the whole market is more focused on the "poor" and a cheap life is only possible 1-2 classes lower than a westerner. And that increase on the streets is all Yinglucks fault so Thailand feels expensive now

you have to realise that we play in different leagues "Landsmann" because not a single one of your arguments apply to me.

i don't pay any taxes in Thailand and my private German health insurance gives me access to first class health care in any of Thailand's top hospitals. i also have no idea what i would get "free" in our Vaterland when in exchange i'd be forced to pay to Herrn Schäuble ~€100-120k income tax p.a. if i lived there.

being retired in my 60s why would i care about the Thai education system? and being a "gentleman of own means" why would i waste one thought on the local social security system? there's no trash in the moo baan where i live because trash is collected three times a week. and for the record... nobody supports me with any taxes and the pittance i receive from German social security wouldn't pay for the salary of our gardener or one of our maids. but i don't complain because i worked only a couple of years in Germany paying social security taxes.

summary: i like very much living in Thailand although, as apposed to you, i hate the Thai weather. but then i hate the weather in Germany too. but i'm curious about the "Thainess" you like. please elaborate where exactly i can find that "Thainess we all love". perhaps i missed something?

[MJP]

Oh come on, but there are many benefits too. What does Thailand give me for all those taxes which are actually very high too? A lousy infrastructure, most basic healthcare, a rotten education system, absolutely no social security, trash everywhere and no maintainance for whatever is government owned, when you´re in trouble and you don´t have children or a loving family you are DOOMED! Just look in BKK how many guys are out in the street at night looking in the trash for some usefull stuff. I gladly pay (paid) my taxes back home because i could see for what they were used for (or wasted sometimes). Of course after all Thailand might be cheaper, but if you do a summary of what you get for free back home it isn´t that much. And maybe you are a retiree suppoorted by exactly this evil taxes now living in Thailand and moaning about the Vaterland. If i´m wrong, i apologize. I´m not ranting about LOS now, i just want to state the facts according to me, ups and downs have to be accepted everywhere. We still got the great food, weather and that Thainess and lifestyle that we all love and hate as a big +

Dismissed Mr Worf

So the summary is that Thailand doesn´t have a real middle class yet and the whole market is more focused on the "poor" and a cheap life is only possible 1-2 classes lower than a westerner. And that increase on the streets is all Yinglucks fault so Thailand feels expensive now

you have to realise that we play in different leagues "Landsmann" because not a single one of your arguments apply to me.

i don't pay any taxes in Thailand and my private German health insurance gives me access to first class health care in any of Thailand's top hospitals. i also have no idea what i would get "free" in our Vaterland when in exchange i'd be forced to pay to Herrn Schäuble ~€100-120k income tax p.a. if i lived there.

being retired in my 60s why would i care about the Thai education system? and being a "gentleman of own means" why would i waste one thought on the local social security system? there's no trash in the moo baan where i live because trash is collected three times a week. and for the record... nobody supports me with any taxes and the pittance i receive from German social security wouldn't pay for the salary of our gardener or one of our maids. but i don't complain because i worked only a couple of years in Germany paying social security taxes.

summary: i like very much living in Thailand although, as apposed to you, i hate the Thai weather. but then i hate the weather in Germany too. but i'm curious about the "Thainess" you like. please elaborate where exactly i can find that "Thainess we all love". perhaps i missed something?

Just out of sheer curiosity, where do you like the weather?

I only ask because I'm not keen on British weather and this humidity gives me the most awful trots.

[Nana Cowboy]

Haven't noticed because I haven't been to Issan but I will say this, what you are saying does not surprise me one bit

[Naam]

Just out of sheer curiosity, where do you like the weather?

I only ask because I'm not keen on British weather and this humidity gives me the most awful trots.

i don't think a place which has what i would consider perfect weather exists. i dream of partly cloudy skies, max temp 26ºC, min temp 18ºC and twice a day half an hour of moderate rain for my garden. but this temperature ambience exists only in my home and to maintain it does cost a bundle.

[MJP]

Just out of sheer curiosity, where do you like the weather?

I only ask because I'm not keen on British weather and this humidity gives me the most awful trots.

i don't think a place which has what i would consider perfect weather exists. i dream of partly cloudy skies, max temp 26ºC, min temp 18ºC and twice a day half an hour of moderate rain for my garden. but this temperature ambience exists only in my home and to maintain it does cost a bundle.

I've always loved northern California and Oregon for the weather and the ambience. Mendocino County right on the Pacific is a lovely spot. I just think it's the most perfect place.

[I knew this would happen]

Oh come on, but there are many benefits too. What does Thailand give me for all those taxes which are actually very high too? A lousy infrastructure, most basic healthcare, a rotten education system, absolutely no social security, trash everywhere and no maintainance for whatever is government owned, when you´re in trouble and you don´t have children or a loving family you are DOOMED! Just look in BKK how many guys are out in the street at night looking in the trash for some usefull stuff. I gladly pay (paid) my taxes back home because i could see for what they were used for (or wasted sometimes). Of course after all Thailand might be cheaper, but if you do a summary of what you get for free back home it isn´t that much. And maybe you are a retiree suppoorted by exactly this evil taxes now living in Thailand and moaning about the Vaterland. If i´m wrong, i apologize. I´m not ranting about LOS now, i just want to state the facts according to me, ups and downs have to be accepted everywhere. We still got the great food, weather and that Thainess and lifestyle that we all love and hate as a big +

Dismissed Mr Worf

So the summary is that Thailand doesn´t have a real middle class yet and the whole market is more focused on the "poor" and a cheap life is only possible 1-2 classes lower than a westerner. And that increase on the streets is all Yinglucks fault so Thailand feels expensive now

you have to realise that we play in different leagues "Landsmann" because not a single one of your arguments apply to me.

i don't pay any taxes in Thailand and my private German health insurance gives me access to first class health care in any of Thailand's top hospitals. i also have no idea what i would get "free" in our Vaterland when in exchange i'd be forced to pay to Herrn Schäuble ~€100-120k income tax p.a. if i lived there.

being retired in my 60s why would i care about the Thai education system? and being a "gentleman of own means" why would i waste one thought on the local social security system? there's no trash in the moo baan where i live because trash is collected three times a week. and for the record... nobody supports me with any taxes and the pittance i receive from German social security wouldn't pay for the salary of our gardener or one of our maids. but i don't complain because i worked only a couple of years in Germany paying social security taxes.

summary: i like very much living in Thailand although, as apposed to you, i hate the Thai weather. but then i hate the weather in Germany too. but i'm curious about the "Thainess" you like. please elaborate where exactly i can find that "Thainess we all love". perhaps i missed something?

I made a guess that you might be a retiree simply because the majority of expats living in LOS are retired and enjoy their hard earned retirement. And some of them have the habbit to moean not just about LOS but also about the beloved Vaterland, weather, taxes, laws, hate hate hate (may it be the UK or Ger or whereever). And that is wrong in my opinion, because many wouldn´t have they life they have now when the wouldn´t originate from a western country. If you don´t depend on anyone and anything that is great, but many others do, they are the average people. But i have to agree, if you reach a certain level of wealth the welfare state takes more away from you than it is able to give. But in many places on earth a serious sickness for example can mean that your life will be in ruins, less likely to happen back home, though it´s getting tougher. So there are no trash dumps all over BKK? That´s very OT i know, i only want to explain what i meant, no hard feelings ok? About my or your "league" - A gentleman never tells

Ok back to LOS then, you can´t find "Thainess"? Maybe that´s the wrong word, i mean the way of life and everything about Thailand. Whenever i walk out the door i´m sourrounded by "Thainess". The traffic, the cable clutter, the footpaths with advertising, shops outsourcing their work until the first lane of the road, phoneboots blocking ways, foot vendors (yummy), motorcycles on it, the easy lifestyle and the "mai pen rai" everywhere. I mean BKK is full of life and very vibrant, hard to find any other place with the same "charme". But for most people it´s a love/hate relation with Thailand and their attitudes. But after all it makes this place special. I think Thainess has another meaning to everyone here, but everyone can "connect" something with it that he likes/dislikes.

The weather in Thailand isn´t perfect all over the year, specially in BKK the heat+pollution aren´t a good combination sometimes. Also the stuffiness or the rainy seasones may be hard to take. But even then there are nice days in between.I like that it is always warm, i like to sit outside and enjoy some food and a drink after a long day. The "cold season" is the best part of it, in some regions you have pretty low night temperatures then (Isaan). I like to visit the family in Chiang Rai during those times for example. In Europe you might have absolutey dark and grey days for weeks and weeks. This year´s winter in germany, a never ending frustrating darkness. Glad i could be here Ah and not to forget these beautyful places that still exist (beside pattaya &co), like the ones on MJP´s picture. But yes, the perfect place just doesn´t exist. If i wasn´t tied to LOS too much i would prefer summer in Europe and winter in LOS.

Edited September 28, 2013 by I knew this would happen

[Patronus]

Oh come on, but there are many benefits too. What does Thailand give me for all those taxes which are actually very high too? A lousy infrastructure, most basic healthcare, a rotten education system, absolutely no social security, trash everywhere and no maintainance for whatever is government owned, when you´re in trouble and you don´t have children or a loving family you are DOOMED! Just look in BKK how many guys are out in the street at night looking in the trash for some usefull stuff. I gladly pay (paid) my taxes back home because i could see for what they were used for (or wasted sometimes). Of course after all Thailand might be cheaper, but if you do a summary of what you get for free back home it isn´t that much. And maybe you are a retiree suppoorted by exactly this evil taxes now living in Thailand and moaning about the Vaterland. If i´m wrong, i apologize. I´m not ranting about LOS now, i just want to state the facts according to me, ups and downs have to be accepted everywhere. We still got the great food, weather and that Thainess and lifestyle that we all love and hate as a big +

Dismissed Mr Worf

So the summary is that Thailand doesn´t have a real middle class yet and the whole market is more focused on the "poor" and a cheap life is only possible 1-2 classes lower than a westerner. And that increase on the streets is all Yinglucks fault so Thailand feels expensive now

you have to realise that we play in different leagues "Landsmann" because not a single one of your arguments apply to me.

i don't pay any taxes in Thailand and my private German health insurance gives me access to first class health care in any of Thailand's top hospitals. i also have no idea what i would get "free" in our Vaterland when in exchange i'd be forced to pay to Herrn Schäuble ~€100-120k income tax p.a. if i lived there.

being retired in my 60s why would i care about the Thai education system? and being a "gentleman of own means" why would i waste one thought on the local social security system? there's no trash in the moo baan where i live because trash is collected three times a week. and for the record... nobody supports me with any taxes and the pittance i receive from German social security wouldn't pay for the salary of our gardener or one of our maids. but i don't complain because i worked only a couple of years in Germany paying social security taxes.

summary: i like very much living in Thailand although, as apposed to you, i hate the Thai weather. but then i hate the weather in Germany too. but i'm curious about the "Thainess" you like. please elaborate where exactly i can find that "Thainess we all love". perhaps i missed something?

I made a guess that you might be a retiree simply because the majority of expats living in LOS are retired and enjoy their hard earned retirement. And some of them have the habbit to moean not just about LOS but also about the beloved Vaterland, weather, taxes, laws, hate hate hate (may it be the UK or Ger or whereever). And that is wrong in my opinion, because many wouldn´t have the life they have now when the wouldn´t originate from a western country. If you don´t depend on anyone and anything that is great, but many others do, they are the average people. But i have to agree, if you reach a certain level of wealth the welfare state takes more away from you than it is able to give. But in many places on earth a serious sickness for example can mean that your life will be in ruins, less likely to happen back home, though it´s getting tougher. So there are no trash dumps all over BKK? That´s very OT i know, i only want to explain what i meant, no hard feelings ok? About my or your "league" - A gentleman never tells

Ok back to LOS then, you can´t find "Thainess"? Maybe that´s the wrong word, i mean the way of life and everything about Thailand. Whenever i walk out the door i´m sourrounded by "Thainess". The traffic, the cable clutter, the footpaths with advertising, phoneboots, foot vendors (yummy), motorcycles on it, the easy lifestyle and the "mai pen rai" everywhere. I mean BKK is full of life and very vibrant, hard to find any other place with the same "charme". But for most people it´s a love/hate relation with Thailand and their attitudes. But after all it makes this place special. I think Thainess has another meaning to everyone here, but everyone can "connect" something with it that he likes/dislikes.

The weather in Thailand isn´t perfect all over the year, specially in BKK the heat+pollution aren´t a good combination sometimes. Also the stuffiness or the rainy seasones may be hard to take. But even then there are nice days in between.I like that it is always warm, i like to sit outside and enjoy some food and a drink after a long day. The "cold season" is the best part of it, in some regions you have pretty low night temperatures then (Isaan). I like to visit the family in Chiang Rai during those times for example. In Europe you might have absolutey dark and grey days for weeks and weeks. This year´s winter in germany, a never ending frustrating darkness. Glad i could be here Ah and not to forget these beautyful places that still exist (beside pattaya &co), like the ones on MJP´s picture. But yes, the perfect place just doesn´t exist. If i wasn´t tied to LOS too much i would prefer summer in Europe and winter in LOS.

"Thainess" is something that will keep this nation delicately balanced between being a third world country and a developing country.

[I knew this would happen]

And that is what makes this place "special" isn´t it? No Thainess and it would be like Singapore or Hongkong, great places but not what we fell in love with/hate.

[barrybankruad]

I haven't lived in the U.K. for decades, but still have relatives there with whom I am in regular contact. My brother and cousin are in a similar position to myself, retired on pension. We all own our houses (well in my case my wife). Here are just a few things that come to mind when comparing prices there to Issan. Council taxes (my brother pays GBP 190 a month). T.V. licence, try insuring and licensing a car, OK they get free bus passes, but try travelling any distance on a train. Beer nearly 3 quid a pint in a decent pub, go to a Thai restaurant in the UK and see how much it costs as compared to a place in Buriram. OK they get free medical but so do I at Govt. hospitals, and the waiting times there are horrendius. What's the cost of having to heat your home for 9 months of the year?

Yes of course some things are cheaper there than here, but overall I hardly think so. I don't know what the inflation rate runs at in the U.K. at the moment, but I'll bet it's not that much different to Thailand.

In any event I certainly have no desire to live in a country where it costs me 30 quid a year to own a fishing rod <deleted>.

[MJP]

I haven't lived in the U.K. for decades, but still have relatives there with whom I am in regular contact. My brother and cousin are in a similar position to myself, retired on pension. We all own our houses (well in my case my wife). Here are just a few things that come to mind when comparing prices there to Issan. Council taxes (my brother pays GBP 190 a month). T.V. licence, try insuring and licensing a car, OK they get free bus passes, but try travelling any distance on a train. Beer nearly 3 quid a pint in a decent pub, go to a Thai restaurant in the UK and see how much it costs as compared to a place in Buriram. OK they get free medical but so do I at Govt. hospitals, and the waiting times there are horrendius. What's the cost of having to heat your home for 9 months of the year?

Yes of course some things are cheaper there than here, but overall I hardly think so. I don't know what the inflation rate runs at in the U.K. at the moment, but I'll bet it's not that much different to Thailand.

In any event I certainly have no desire to live in a country where it costs me 30 quid a year to own a fishing rod <deleted>.

This is it. It's the cost of living.

There's a few pensioners I know here that could not afford to move back to the UK even did own their own homes there.

An old UK friend in Thailand who has been here 30 years recently went back to see his sister in Kent. Came back saying how lovely it was but the pension would only cover his beer and cigs and nothing else. Was horrified at how much everything was there.

[Bcgardener]

Interestingly, I find this topic very Eurocentric ( if there is such a word). If you compare cost of living in Sydney to anywhere in Thailand you will find a significant difference in Thailand's favour. Rent a normal family house in a good area of Sydney can easily cost you A$1,000 a week (29,000 Baht). Like some nice well trimmed lamb cutlets from Australia? In Makro about 750 Baht a Kilo in Woolworths (Australia's answer to Tesco) about 1200 Baht a Kilo. Even Aussie cheese here is only around 10 - 15% more than a supermarket in Oz. At present I can buy Oz mandarins in Makro for about 85 Baht a KG, in Australian supermarkets they are about 120 baht a KG, sometimes on special promotion at the same price as Makro.

An earlier post did hit on a very good point about things like electrical appliances though. With basically a divide between rich and poor here and only a small middle class, you can either buy extremely cheap Thai or Chinese "crap" or very expensive and overrated Euro appliances. There does not appear to be good middle of the road appliances. We buy all our small appliances in Oz as we can get middle of the road i.e. Breville at reasonable prices. Yes they are still made in China but the quality is significantly better than the local stuff at less than half the price of the Euro imports.

[Naam]

I made a guess that you might be a retiree simply because the majority of expats living in LOS are retired and enjoy their hard earned retirement. And some of them have the habbit to moean not just about LOS but also about the beloved Vaterland...

i don't moan about anything but just state facts. it is also my prerogative to like or hate the weather in Thailand or anywhere on this planet.

Ok back to LOS then, you can´t find "Thainess"? Maybe that´s the wrong word, i mean the way of life and everything about Thailand. Whenever i walk out the door i´m sourrounded by "Thainess". The traffic, the cable clutter, the footpaths with advertising, phoneboots, foot vendors (yummy), motorcycles on it, the easy lifestyle and the "mai pen rai" everywhere. I mean BKK is full of life and very vibrant...

there's no cable clutter where i live except the (hidden) cable clutter under my desks. inspite of having visited Thailand numerous times during the last four decades and living permanently here since nearly ten years i have always tried to ignore "Thainess" and the domestic "way of life". because i don't live in Bangkok i am not familiar with any of its trash problems and i can't judge any alleged "yummy" foods served by street vendors because i prefer to eat the food served in my dining room.

I mean BKK is full of life and very vibrant...

you may keep BKK all for yourself, i promise not to make any attempt to take it from you

[I knew this would happen]

So you stay in Thailand but don´t live in Thailand. That´s a way to deal with it.

[Naam]

So you stay in Thailand but don´t live in Thailand. That´s a way to deal with it.

we have a winner!

a more precise statement would be "i live in my home which, for specific reasons, is located in Thailand."

[farang000999]

He is here for the Temples.

[downtown]

i go there for the ambiennce and the outstanding service in restaurants

[CTO]

Wife buys for her pizza restaurant at Macro,10-20kg of cheese, milk, bags of meat and seafood, two huge trolleys, lucky to go over 12 000 baht unless she buys hardware.

17500 impossible

[barrybankruad]

I'm sorry but I just cannot understand how a grocery bill (according to the OP) came to that amount. I only shop at Makro every 3 months or longer and only once did my bill go over 10k and that was when I bought a bicycle and a microwave.

[jbrain]

Well, prices definitely have gone up a lot during the past 2 years. You don't realize it as goes up a little now and a little then, and they reduce the size of the product to camouflage the price rise, but you would be surprised.

An example. The other day I threw away a bottle of French's spicy brown mustard, as it was expired long time already. It must have been about 2 years old and had a price tag from Foodland on it that said 81.25 Baht. Last Friday the price for that same mustard was 128 Baht at Makro.

In my calculation that is 50% in 2 years and I'm sure that isn't the only product that has gone up that much over the same period of time.

[Pib]

Well, prices definitely have gone up a lot during the past 2 years. You don't realize it as goes up a little now and a little then, and they reduce the size of the product to camouflage the price rise, but you would be surprised.

The reduced size is what a lot of people miss...but not you (or me). I figure if the govt keeps raising taxes on alcoholic drinks, before long the manufacturers will be selling beer at the current large bottle price but in those little energy drink sized bottles you see Thai guys always drinking. A great way to keep inflation down.

[jacnl2000]

throw-away society and quo vadis ...

[NeverSure]

I agree for fancy imports here is very expensive, but that's because of the tax structure. For living to sustain life in basic comfort, it's cheaper here (if you're on a UK f income).

Anyway . . .

http://www.ec-mall.com/

Nikon D800e and a whole bunch of Nikkor lenses.

I can't get a D800E for less than £2349 in the UK. Found for 88,900 Baht here.

I was very intrigued by your fairy tale story so i make some search...

After a very quick search:

nude body D800E

in europe, the price is around 2340 EURO http://www.eglobalcentral.fr/nikon-d800e-appareil-photo-reflex-numerique-boitier-nu.html

£1,966 or 98,000 baht

in Thailand at the power buy shop, the price is 99, 000 baht : http://www.powerbuy.co.th/ProductDetail.aspx?CategoryID=116&Brand=000253&Price=0&itemNo=PWB000194548

£2003 or 2388 Euro

SO SAME PRICE

so i was puzzled by the price that you have thrown and did translate the link you provide me;

http://translate.google.fr/translate?sl=th&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ec-mall.com%2Fproduct%2Fdigital-camera%2Fnikon%2F31958.html

and the price is :

• Insurance EC-Mall. Mosques, Body (cash) price 89900.00 THB
• Security Center Body (cash) price 93900.00 THB

I have no idea what its mean, or what you are buying but i have a hard time believing that you a price down from 99K baht to 89 Kbaht is 30 % discount

and let me add, if after 2 minutes web search i can get it for 99,000 in europe, I AM pretty sure if i go see a specialized dealer in UK i can get it for cheaper than in Thailand.

ps: so to TV members, you really have to be cautious when some folk throw some imaginative figure

USA, 81,500 baht. Link

With no import duties, the US is a cheap place to buy consumer goods of all types including autos. With all of the farmland, big lakes and ocean shoreline, food including seafood and meat is cheap. In rural US, housing is cheap. I think that's a reason we don't see more Americans in Thailand. That and the distance, of course.

Sorry to be a couple of weeks late...

[MobileContent]

17K+ is impossible if you ask me.

What did the OP buy?

[anon8]

you guys really think Thailand is expensive? I think it is very very cheap.

[klikster]

Expect Isaan to get even more expensive. Two factors:

1 - Bangkok people getting away from the floods

2 - http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Foreign-investors-in-Laos-eye-NE-Thailand-property-30216978.html