What's your monthly cost to live in Thailand?

[beachproperty]

Hey ...just want to thank all those people who responded in a sincere way....Thanks..

Yeah I know this is TV and some like to give "glib answers"; short "quips" , etc....

Somethings never change...oh well

Still... would like to hear from more as to their financial experience of living in Thailand!!!!

[khunPer]

sandhurstmolonski

" Just to explain the Question ..In Aus , garbage ( Trash ) is included in that 2k , local Government Charge"

In America they are starting to charge for everything.....soon they will charge to " just cross the street."

None of you want to live in Scandinavia You name it, we tax it

[Sealbash]

Hidden costs.

 

The land is likely in someone elses name, so you are taking on a risk.

You are losing any returns you would get on investments with that money, for a property that will not likely appreciate much.

I strongly disagree with the statement of property not increasing much. Anyone who owns land here for the past 10 to 20 years will most certainly agree that it has been a great investment.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[soi41]

Hey ...just want to thank all those people who responded in a sincere way....Thanks..

Yeah I know this is TV and some like to give "glib answers"; short "quips" , etc....

Somethings never change...oh well

Still... would like to hear from more as to their financial experience of living in Thailand!!!!

After long a debate amongst the judges, we have finally found a winner in the ever popular category:

A quality life in Thailand for 100 baht a day!!

And the winner is: George Jones from Kansas

Mr Jones, you are a true inspiration to many members on Thaivisa! Keep up the good work.

[Nana Cowboy]

One of the reasons I brought this topic up AGAIN......is when I left the states .....(and I owned a home) my expenses were as follows.

Property tax...........................................................................450/month

Electric...................................................................................200/month

water......................................................................................100/month

garbage......................................................................................75/month

gardener.....................................................................................85/month

medical ins,.................................................................................750/month

cable tv........................................................................................100/month

telephone......................................................................................75/month

Food.........................................................................................500/month

Transportation (gasoline, car insurance, and car payment)......800/month

miscelaneous............................................................................300/month

Federal Income Tax................................................................1500/month

So an average life in America ....I believe I was middle class.....cost $4935/month.....

you dont even list medical ins in your thai budget

[Spoonman]

Hey ...just want to thank all those people who responded in a sincere way....Thanks..

Yeah I know this is TV and some like to give "glib answers"; short "quips" , etc....

Somethings never change...oh well

Still... would like to hear from more as to their financial experience of living in Thailand!!!!

I would love to share my financial experience here in Thailand but having done so on at-least another 12 threads of this vain in the past 18 months I feel maybe you should use the search function and explore them.

[khunPer]

Hidden costs.

The land is likely in someone elses name, so you are taking on a risk.

You are losing any returns you would get on investments with that money, for a property that will not likely appreciate much.

I strongly disagree with the statement of property not increasing much. Anyone who owns land here for the past 10 to 20 years will most certainly agree that it has been a great investment.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

At Eastern Issan three times up in eight years.

At Koh Samui double.up (+100%) a year some eight years plus ago – ie. buy for 1m, after 1 year = 2m, after 2y = 4m, 4y=8m – since then it's down to 0-10% a year in some areas of the island, other still going fairly strong.

However those who bought land about 20 years ago... There was a period then, the locals told me, where a plot for 60,000 baht/1 rai seven years later sold for 6 million/1 rai, thats 100 times up in 7 years. Prime plots today sells for between 60 and 100 m/rai; however the not so interesting land plots can still be obtained for “as little as” between two and four million a rai.

Land is a very good investment in Thailand.

[ableguy]

One of the reasons I brought this topic up AGAIN......is when I left the states .....(and I owned a home) my expenses were as follows.

Property tax...........................................................................450/month

Electric...................................................................................200/month

water......................................................................................100/month

garbage......................................................................................75/month

gardener.....................................................................................85/month

medical ins,.................................................................................750/month

cable tv........................................................................................100/months

telephone......................................................................................75/month

Food.........................................................................................500/month

Transportation (gasoline, car insurance, and car payment)......800/month

miscelaneous............................................................................300/month

Federal Income Tax................................................................1500/month

So an average life in America ....I believe I was middle class.....cost $4935/month.....

Never heard of anyone spending 75 bucks a month on garbage collectIon.

[beachproperty]

Nana Cowboy

"you dont even list medical ins in your thai budget"

Your absolutely RIGHT! I am self insured here in Thailand and have been for seven years.....saved up $62,000 so far ....after paying out for some medical expenses here in Thailand ....which are down right CHEAP.....I go to the local clinic for regular visits to the Doctor (100baht)...anything more serious go to the hospital

[beachproperty]

Spoonman

"I would love to share my financial experience here in Thailand but having done so on at-least another 12 threads of this vain in the past 18 months I feel maybe you should use the search function and explore them."

Fair enough....but everybody (including me) hasn't been a member as long as you ....and since the subject came up in another post ....I wanted to explore it in a more recent light....Seems others are interested too!

[beachproperty]

ableguy

"Never heard of anyone spending 75 bucks a month on garbage collectIon. "

Try living in California.....Company is called Waste Management....and if you don't use them the city fines you

[Loptr]

Electric (air)............2500ish baht

Water.................................................................180 baht

Internet...............................................................1000 baht

TV....................................................................1700baht

Transportation (fuel, insurance, tax etc for 2 cars).................6000baht

Food (eating out).......................................................30000 baht

Groceries (incl diapers, formula etc).....................10000baht

Common area fee for moo baan (28000 yearly)........... 2000ish baht

Facility fees (incl golf course and waterpark 50 000 yearly) 4000ish baht

Maid......... ...............................................................8000baht

Early years school for 1 kid (120 000yearly)..............10000ish baht

Medical insurance (50 000+ yearly)......................................................4000ishbaht

Probably forgetting something but still this is far more then I would pay in Sweden (Europe) where health care and school is FREE.

In Sweden the maid would cost u more than your monthly total in thailand.

More importantly would be, what would a Swedish maid cost in Hereford Texas, the mind boggles. I googled image Swedish maid and can understand why no one should be without one.

$150 an hour, same an anywhere else. Maid outfit optional.

[Loptr]

There always seems to be a propensity for people to exagerate how, "Great it is in Thailand", compared to the west.

Yup, basic psychological defense mechanism.

A variant of the Stockholm syndrome. Much like the sleeping wage-slaves in the west that believe what the MSM and gubbamint tells them.

[AryanicAristocrat]

Wow, just looking at most of who, I am really envious of how you can get by. I do not have any loans nor morgages as all our properties, cars and assets are totally paid and both me and my better half , do not visit pubs nor do we drink or smoke or gamble but yet our monthly expenses always exceeds about Bt 220,000 every month and that does not include "special big ticket" purchases such as jewelry, branded items etc. we are fortunate that boht our adopted sons ie one is in his early twenties and the other is only 6 , both has wealthy grandparents that takes care their needs but yet I always wonder how other people manage and I really find everything is getting more and more expensive everyday!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A variant of the Stockholm syndrome. Much like the sleeping wage-slaves in the west that believe what the MSM and gubbamint tells them.

the Men who have Sex with Men (MSM)??? I didn't know they were into that topic.

[zydeco]

ableguy

"Never heard of anyone spending 75 bucks a month on garbage collectIon. "

Try living in California.....Company is called Waste Management....and if you don't use them the city fines you

Ah, so you had Waste Management, too. I remember when my suburb back in Texas "privatized" the garbage collection and promised "savings" and even sold all the city collection trucks to WMI. Saved about $2/month for two years off the then city rate of $20/month. By the time I left, the garbage (also sewage treatment) was just shy of $40 and rising and curbside service to pick up tree limbs and bagged leaves was down to once every other week. But WMI had the city by the short and curlies because they had all the city's equipment and had taken all the city workers to boot. We Americans can sometimes be sold anything.

[Loptr]

A variant of the Stockholm syndrome. Much like the sleeping wage-slaves in the west that believe what the MSM and gubbamint tells them.

the Men who have Sex with Men (MSM)??? I didn't know they were into that topic.

MSM = Main Stream Media... In other words, the mouthpiece of the new Politbureau.

[beachproperty]

Wow, just looking at most of who, I am really envious of how you can get by. I do not have any loans nor morgages as all our properties, cars and assets are totally paid and both me and my better half , do not visit pubs nor do we drink or smoke or gamble but yet our monthly expenses always exceeds about Bt 220,000 every month and that does not include "special big ticket" purchases such as jewelry, branded items etc. we are fortunate that boht our adopted sons ie one is in his early twenties and the other is only 6 , both has wealthy grandparents that takes care their needs but yet I always wonder how other people manage and I really find everything is getting more and more expensive everyday!

It would be interesting to know just what you spend Bt 220,000 every month on since everything is ALREADY paid for....

enlighten me please

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Land is a very good investment in Thailand.

The only problem is, of course, farangs aren't legally able to own land as individuals in their own names.

You can turn the title over to a Thai wife, but that has its own set of risks, which could include the loss of everything.

Or you could, some argue, own via company ownership. But that too has its not insubstantial legal risks.... I wouldn't want to be betting my future nest egg on the Thai government's ongoing cooperation in that regard.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A variant of the Stockholm syndrome. Much like the sleeping wage-slaves in the west that believe what the MSM and gubbamint tells them.

the Men who have Sex with Men (MSM)??? I didn't know they were into that topic.

MSM = Main Stream Media... In other words, the mouthpiece of the new Politbureau.

Last time I checked my dictionary, "mainstream" was one word...not two... So perhaps you should be abbreviating Mainstream Media to MM.. Unless your Politbureau made a linguistic change I'm not aware of.

[dennisgb45]

x0r1987

I don't get the joke...LOL

But then again sometimes I'm a little slow on the uptake...oh well

I lived in Calif. in the states and yes many people have gardeners ....I actually had a crew that would come out an do the lawns and trim the bushes once a week for the $85/month.....saved me the hassle...

As for upper middle class....not so sure ...lots of people in America today a 2 income earners bringing in 6 figures (and their barely making it) problem is I think the more you make the more you spend....

BUT getting back to the point of this Thread.......Is Thailand Cheaper or More Expensive than where you live (or used to live)?

of which you did respond and I thank you....

Cheaper for me, definitely. But I live upcountry Korat province. I think BKK...Pattaya...Phuket maybe not same same. My biggest savings is living accommodations. I still own in California,America, so I rent here. I pay 6000B a month for a 1700 sq ft 3BR,2BA late model home on one rai of land. A comparable house in Calif would cost about $1000 USD. So, it depends not only where you live in Thailand, but also where you come from in the west...not just which country, but which area of that country.

[bobthomas]

There always seems to be a propensity for people to exagerate how, "Great it is in Thailand", compared to the west.

It's not what you pay per month but rather the quality of life you have, in what is unremarkably ....the third world.

Most people downplay, (or simply aren't aware of) the actual quality of life they have here.

They are too busy running off to the soapy massage or local watering hole.

We complain about taxes in the west but have servicable roads, good schools, an effective Police force, Fire department, Libraries, etc. etc.

If you don't mind falling into a hole in the road or walkway, eating, drinking, and breathing pollution and toxic air, overcrowding, poor sanitation, poor quality products and services, inflated prices for Farangs and a whole list of other deficiencies- then this is the place for you!

but if something happens?- your bird takes your house, car accident, (including a taxi ride), your house gets robbed, you get food poisoning, defective products, overcharged, etc. etc. Your house falls on your <deleted> head.

Your pretty much just jacked! It's Thailand!!

You are actually paying a lot more than you think- but in the daze of your bohemian lifestyle-

it's just not convenient to admit what you really pay to live here.

a great many know exactly what life in thailand entails. and they have decided that it is a lifestyle that they prefer. for you to suggest that they are blind is condescending.

No one said blind. I merely question the validity of the OP's statement. It's too easy to put up some convenient (and mostly Irrelevant) statistics and try to convince yourself and others, "that it's cheaper". I didn't sign on to this life to be brainwashed by eroneous facts posted by people that are goe goe eyes over Thailand. You gotta prove your point here!! And I didn't see that done. Where's the numbers for the real expenses needed to have a "better quality life"? Travel related expenses IE Vacations, shopping trips, weekend getaways, toys, hobbies, new phones, computers, watches- every few years, (maintanance costs: Food, medical, clothes, health and beauty, etc. for Thai wife, (more often than not, a 100% dependent), etc, etc. etc.- and while many people have, "decided that it is a lifestyle that they prefer", ....? Perhaps (at least some of them) haven't had enough experiences to indicate otherwise. Give them another 5 or ten years here. If this thread was started 14 years ago...heck even 10 years ago I would say I might agree with it.

I for one am selling my house, condos, cars, etc. and heading back to the real world, and I am really happy that I was here when "it was cheaper and better". Feel free to enjoy yourselves in my absence. 8 years in Cambo, almost twice that here.....It was nice....while it was nice.

[Loptr]

One aspect that has not been touched in this thread is exchange rate pressure. It has already driven many expats out of Thailand as they no longer meet the visa extension requirements and / or inflation has caught them out and they had to go elsewhere. I won't beat this to death, but the west is in for a serious currency / monetary system crisis in the near future. If your income is dependent on western fiat currencies, part of your risk profile should be how to exist if your income is cut in half, or worse.

[Loptr]

A variant of the Stockholm syndrome. Much like the sleeping wage-slaves in the west that believe what the MSM and gubbamint tells them.

the Men who have Sex with Men (MSM)??? I didn't know they were into that topic.

MSM = Main Stream Media... In other words, the mouthpiece of the new Politbureau.

Last time I checked my dictionary, "mainstream" was one word...not two... So perhaps you should be abbreviating Mainstream Media to MM.. Unless your Politbureau made a linguistic change I'm not aware of.

It's not my acronym...

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=MSM

[beachproperty]

There always seems to be a propensity for people to exagerate how, "Great it is in Thailand", compared to the west.

It's not what you pay per month but rather the quality of life you have, in what is unremarkably ....the third world.

Most people downplay, (or simply aren't aware of) the actual quality of life they have here.

They are too busy running off to the soapy massage or local watering hole.

We complain about taxes in the west but have servicable roads, good schools, an effective Police force, Fire department, Libraries, etc. etc.

If you don't mind falling into a hole in the road or walkway, eating, drinking, and breathing pollution and toxic air, overcrowding, poor sanitation, poor quality products and services, inflated prices for Farangs and a whole list of other deficiencies- then this is the place for you!

but if something happens?- your bird takes your house, car accident, (including a taxi ride), your house gets robbed, you get food poisoning, defective products, overcharged, etc. etc. Your house falls on your <deleted> head.

Your pretty much just jacked! It's Thailand!!

You are actually paying a lot more than you think- but in the daze of your bohemian lifestyle-

it's just not convenient to admit what you really pay to live here.

a great many know exactly what life in thailand entails. and they have decided that it is a lifestyle that they prefer. for you to suggest that they are blind is condescending.

No one said blind. I merely question the validity of the OP's statement. It's too easy to put up some convenient (and mostly Irrelevant) statistics and try to convince yourself and others, "that it's cheaper". I didn't sign on to this life to be brainwashed by eroneous facts posted by people that are goe goe eyes over Thailand. You gotta prove your point here!! And I didn't see that done. Where's the numbers for the real expenses needed to have a "better quality life"? Travel related expenses IE Vacations, shopping trips, weekend getaways, toys, hobbies, new phones, computers, watches- every few years, (maintanance costs: Food, medical, clothes, health and beauty, etc. for Thai wife, (more often than not, a 100% dependent), etc, etc. etc.- and while many people have, "decided that it is a lifestyle that they prefer", ....? Perhaps (at least some of them) haven't had enough experiences to indicate otherwise. Give them another 5 or ten years here. If this thread was started 14 years ago...heck even 10 years ago I would say I might agree with it.

I for one am selling my house, condos, cars, etc. and heading back to the real world, and I am really happy that I was here when "it was cheaper and better". Feel free to enjoy yourselves in my absence. 8 years in Cambo, almost twice that here.....It was nice....while it was nice.

So if I understand you correctly.....Your just burnt out on life in Asia in general and want to move home .....I say that because what I'm hearing is this life is no longer for you.....AND that's fine....

Maybe that day will come to all of us....BUT my point was and still is ....Thailand, today, is cheaper overall than living in the West....

Yeah Yeah Yeah.....Cars are more expensive here than in the west...(personally I don't have one) but the one thing that sticks out to me is that the biggest savings (money wise) is in housing...

BUT you know what .....everything is not gaged by the almighty dollar (money) ....there are intangibles .....ie quality of life...which for me (pay attention I'm not including you or anybody else) balances the scale in favor of Thailand.....I LIKE MY LIFE HERE ....AMERICA WAS DEPRESSING AND STRESSFUL! And I lived in beautiful Sunny California....

WOW...got that off my chest....

One thing your right about .....Is Asia is not for everybody...they SHOULD know what they're getting into and its not all a bed of roses;;;;

Edited October 27, 2013 by beachproperty

[TheSpade]

Water, electric, internet? 1,000 a month??!!

Yeah, pull the other one.

The wifi is free with the apartment as well as cable TV.

My electricity and water is not more than 1,000B per month total and I pay double the Government rate.

I spend a good part of the day in the coffee shop and my apartment is rarely that hot so aircon isn't needed most the time.

[NeverSure]

ableguy

"Never heard of anyone spending 75 bucks a month on garbage collectIon. "

Try living in California.....Company is called Waste Management....and if you don't use them the city fines you

Ah, so you had Waste Management, too. I remember when my suburb back in Texas "privatized" the garbage collection and promised "savings" and even sold all the city collection trucks to WMI. Saved about $2/month for two years off the then city rate of $20/month. By the time I left, the garbage (also sewage treatment) was just shy of $40 and rising and curbside service to pick up tree limbs and bagged leaves was down to once every other week. But WMI had the city by the short and curlies because they had all the city's equipment and had taken all the city workers to boot. We Americans can sometimes be sold anything.

Would one rather pay $10 a week for garbage pickup, or tolerate the garbage all over the place in Thailand? I walk down the street in any town in Thailand or drive any highway and see and smell rotting garbage and sewage and see litter everywhere.

It's a bad thing to walk down any street or drive down any highway and never see a single scrap of litter or smell other people's rotting crap?

Have a look. Take your time. Find me a single scrap of litter. Link Link

As opposed to Thailand where they litter like mad and pump their sewage into the ocean? It's cheaper to live in Thailand because they dump their garbage everywhere and you can hardly use the beaches? That's a bargain for some?

Edited October 27, 2013 by NeverSure

[zydeco]

ableguy

"Never heard of anyone spending 75 bucks a month on garbage collectIon. "

Try living in California.....Company is called Waste Management....and if you don't use them the city fines you

Ah, so you had Waste Management, too. I remember when my suburb back in Texas "privatized" the garbage collection and promised "savings" and even sold all the city collection trucks to WMI. Saved about $2/month for two years off the then city rate of $20/month. By the time I left, the garbage (also sewage treatment) was just shy of $40 and rising and curbside service to pick up tree limbs and bagged leaves was down to once every other week. But WMI had the city by the short and curlies because they had all the city's equipment and had taken all the city workers to boot. We Americans can sometimes be sold anything.

Would one rather pay $10 a week for garbage pickup, or tolerate the garbage all over the place in Thailand? I walk down the street in any town in Thailand or drive any highway and see and smell rotting garbage and sewage and see litter everywhere.

It's a bad thing to walk down any street or drive down any highway and never see a single scrap of litter or smell other people's rotting crap?

Have a look. Take your time. Find me a single scrap of litter. Link Link

As opposed to Thailand where they litter like mad and pump their sewage into the ocean? It's cheaper to live in Thailand because they dump their garbage everywhere and you can hardly use the beaches? That's a bargain for some?

You may have a point about the sewage treatment to some degree. But you are dead wrong about the litter. I see people in my village out every morning sweeping the street and sidewalk in front of their houses. I see people with brooms out sweeping major roads and highways. In fact major roads and highways are far more littered back in Texas. Take a trip down Central Expy or LBJ Fwy or along I35. Dogs do cause litter problems, yes. But I can say with 100 percent certainty that things are getting worse back in Texas and they are never going to be as good as I remember them back in the 60s and 70s and 80s. Overcrowding, filthy, garbage piling up in the alleys, it's all there if you look for it.

[yingyo]

A friend of mine is a BKK based oil and gas manager, he laughed and said that his rent and school fees for his two kids are 240k p/m.

Fortunately both are paid by the company.

I would guess his salary on top would be in the 500-800k range.

He can't wait to leave the place as he considers the country and its people to be a joke.

I politely offered to take over his position any time he wants.

Edited October 27, 2013 by yingyo

[thailiketoo]

ableguy

"Never heard of anyone spending 75 bucks a month on garbage collectIon. "

Try living in California.....Company is called Waste Management....and if you don't use them the city fines you

Ah, so you had Waste Management, too. I remember when my suburb back in Texas "privatized" the garbage collection and promised "savings" and even sold all the city collection trucks to WMI. Saved about $2/month for two years off the then city rate of $20/month. By the time I left, the garbage (also sewage treatment) was just shy of $40 and rising and curbside service to pick up tree limbs and bagged leaves was down to once every other week. But WMI had the city by the short and curlies because they had all the city's equipment and had taken all the city workers to boot. We Americans can sometimes be sold anything.

Would one rather pay $10 a week for garbage pickup, or tolerate the garbage all over the place in Thailand? I walk down the street in any town in Thailand or drive any highway and see and smell rotting garbage and sewage and see litter everywhere.

It's a bad thing to walk down any street or drive down any highway and never see a single scrap of litter or smell other people's rotting crap?

Have a look. Take your time. Find me a single scrap of litter. Link Link

As opposed to Thailand where they litter like mad and pump their sewage into the ocean? It's cheaper to live in Thailand because they dump their garbage everywhere and you can hardly use the beaches? That's a bargain for some?

I thought you would be old enough to remember the Don't Mess with Texas campaign that started in 1986.

Before that the state was a trash bin. The saying was, a good ol boy throws his longneck in the ditch and the redneck throws his on the road. Do you want me to go on about the States that if you don't have a junk car on your front lawn it's not American. Two junkers and you're middle class. Then there are the States that have taken in large amounts of Cubans just released from jail and the less then perfect people from South America that are new arrivals along with the numerous (google American ghettos).

Edited October 27, 2013 by thailiketoo