Well, no air con for sure... but water and phone are pretty low cost (as long as he's not using tap water for farming purposes). Probably has a well.

I spoke with agentleman, That built a home on his inlaws land, wife and him raise some chickens, grow some fruits and vegetables for their own use, and claims to live on about a thousand baht a month.

Ray

1000 Baht / month?

apparently electricity and phone and water is not a necessity for these 2

Or food...

1000 Bths?....sure!

rain water....for washing/ or boiled for drinking

gas lamp

sleep at sunset

cooking?....from homemade charcoals....this is normal in many rural households

grow your own veggies with trap pond or recycle rain water

fish from the river or own fish pond

raising chickens or ducks for eggs

only have to buy rice and the chickens will eat your leftover rice

as for the ducks...they can take care of themself to nearby rivers or ponds

phone?....go to neighbour once awhile and pay 10-20 bths per call

need a freezer for meat once awhile....just use the neigbour's and pay them small monthly fee

entertainment?....the village gossip is much more fun

on and on....

This is no joke......many of my friends grew up this way

You would be surprise that.....Actually nowaday still many thais are living this way....from lower middle class to poor.......It may be not much by western standard but they seem to be perfectly contented with their life!

Edited June 2, 200620 yr by BKK90210

1000 Bths?....sure!

rain water....for washing/ or boiled for drinking

gas lamp

sleep at sunset

cooking?....from homemade charcoals....this is normal in many rural households

grow your own veggies with trap pond or recycle rain water

fish from the river or own fish pond

raising chickens or ducks for eggs

only have to buy rice and the chickens will eat your leftover rice

as for the ducks...they can take care of themself to nearby rivers or ponds

phone?....go to neighbour once awhile and pay 10-20 bths per call

need a freezer for meat once awhile....just use the neigbour's and pay them small monthly fee

entertainment?....the village gossip is much more fun

on and on....

This is no joke......many of my friends grew up this way

You would be surprise that.....Actually nowaday still many thais are living this way....from lower middle class to poor.......It may be not much by western standard but they seem to be perfectly contented with their life!

Nothing wrong growing up that way either!

Some of my distant relatives still live similar to that (thought not to that extreme). During my visit to Thailand a few weeks ago, I actually enjoyed my time spending with them more so than my wealthier relatives. They don't have alot food to waste but always willing to share, and yes, they are also contented with their life...........Not sure about everyone else but the food tasted so much better sitting along side them on that old wooden floor. Espcially, when the meal consists of 1) Plah Tuu 2) Naam Prik Grapi 3) Kao niew 4) Laab and fresh veggies from their garden. Gosh now I'm hungry!

I dare anyone to beat that menu!

Just to add my thoughts. . .

I get a pension from the Australian Goverment of approximately Aus$1000 a month which equates to about 28-30K Baht a month. Sound OK eh?

However to keep receiving that Pension, I am not allowed to saty outside of Australia for more than 13 weeks (absolute maximum) otherwise my pension is automatically cancelled and must be applied for again.

So, on average, it costs me 1 months pension every 3 months to pay for the airfare to keep the pension.

So from that, my income drops to about 20K Baht a month.

And that doesn't take into account that the month that I have to stay in Oz costs me an absolute fortune (for next to nothing).

However, I would not change my life here as even on 20K here in Isan I can have some kind of lifestyle, the sort of lifestyle that would only be a dream on the same money in Oz.

Plus, and more importantly my lady Wun is here and with her life couldn't be any better!

Hugh

It always amazes me the range of incomes different posters need to maintain their lifestyles. Is Isaan really that cheap that you can live there for 20,000 a month?

Is that in a village, or in a city like Ubon?

I live in a small village near Nong Hin. I give my Thai wife 20,000 baht a month. She pays all the bills including my 2,500 baht Internet and UBC at 1,600. She normally has 4 or 5 thousand baht left over every month to put in her savings account. She never liked asking me for money every few days so this works well for both of us. I pay all the annual expenses like my health and car insurance. We live and eat well. Life is good. She doesn't pay my entertainment bar bill which is probably about 2,500 a month. So, the answer is yes, you can live pretty well for about 20,000 a month.

It always amazes me the range of incomes different posters need to maintain their lifestyles. Is Isaan really that cheap that you can live there for 20,000 a month?

Is that in a village, or in a city like Ubon?

or you could have a dog and feed it with passing farangs

I guess that might be considered payback for me dining on them first...

1000 Bths?....sure!

rain water....for washing/ or boiled for drinking

gas lamp

sleep at sunset

cooking?....from homemade charcoals....this is normal in many rural households

grow your own veggies with trap pond or recycle rain water

fish from the river or own fish pond

raising chickens or ducks for eggs

only have to buy rice and the chickens will eat your leftover rice

as for the ducks...they can take care of themself to nearby rivers or ponds

phone?....go to neighbour once awhile and pay 10-20 bths per call

need a freezer for meat once awhile....just use the neigbour's and pay them small monthly fee

entertainment?....the village gossip is much more fun

on and on....

This is no joke......many of my friends grew up this way

You would be surprise that.....Actually nowaday still many thais are living this way....from lower middle class to poor.......It may be not much by western standard but they seem to be perfectly contented with their life!

Nothing wrong growing up that way either!

Some of my distant relatives still live similar to that (thought not to that extreme). During my visit to Thailand a few weeks ago, I actually enjoyed my time spending with them more so than my wealthier relatives. They don't have alot food to waste but always willing to share, and yes, they are also contented with their life...........Not sure about everyone else but the food tasted so much better sitting along side them on that old wooden floor. Espcially, when the meal consists of 1) Plah Tuu 2) Naam Prik Grapi 3) Kao niew 4) Laab and fresh veggies from their garden. Gosh now I'm hungry!

I dare anyone to beat that menu!

Nice post, BKK...

as you might say, it's a matter of whether people have ever experienced that life-style... and obviously many posters have not.

and as Insight adds, it can actually be happier and more content one than the other life-style that posters more commonly experience.

add some roast duck to his menu and it's a perfect feast...

You can pretty well forget about officejobs below the Manager level ...

Teaching ... well if you have experience etc you might do OK ...

But it all depends ... for a year out while you are young? OK ... but you won't be heading towards retirement that way ....

Older ? have your retirement all in order? You can do OK ...

In BKK you'd need at least 40k to have any live ... maybe a bit less upcountry ... 80k would be a pretty good life .... 120k/mo and you could actually save a little

The amounts quoted above. Are they in THB or USD ??

Hi again,

I guess that my 20,000 Baht a month is not completely accurate, as when I first moved into Wun's house in our village Na Kham (60 km East of Kalasin) nearly 3 years ago, I had a little money and that I invested by lifting the her house and building a small shop and eatery. Total cost, maybe 300,000 Baht.

Wun looks after that business all herself and although it never seems to bring any money in, it pays for the electricity, gas for cooking, fuel for the car to make the daily market trips (36 km return) and feeds our extended family (mum, 2 children and 2 of her sisters children, Wun and myself).

The shop turns over approximately 2500 Baht a day, which for a small village is pretty good. But this is mostly because Wun's food is aroi!

We also sell some of the coldest beer in the area, as it is always stored on ice. I prefer my ice outside the beer, not inside as they serve it here.

So, if your passing through the region, from Kalasin take route 213 towards Somdet and Sakhon Nakohn and then turn right onto route 2336 (sign at intersection says to Na Mon) follow the road appoximately 20 - 25 km, until you see the sign (in English) Na Kham and we are on the 2nd left hand corner. Building has a blue roofed veranda. Drop in and say hello.

Regarding the lifestyle, well you could say that I live more like a Thai than a Farang. No air-con or other expensive luxuries. Only luxuries for me, UBC and dial-up internet and I pay for them.

Thinking of chucking the UBC and getting sattelite internet but even so at an extra 1000 Baht over the price of UBC, I'm still thinkin!

Hugh

You can pretty well forget about officejobs below the Manager level ...

Teaching ... well if you have experience etc you might do OK ...

But it all depends ... for a year out while you are young? OK ... but you won't be heading towards retirement that way ....

Older ? have your retirement all in order? You can do OK ...

In BKK you'd need at least 40k to have any live ... maybe a bit less upcountry ... 80k would be a pretty good life .... 120k/mo and you could actually save a little

The amounts quoted above. Are they in THB or USD ??

THB/month

Sunbelt processes plenty of WP applications. What is the lowest salary you ever specified which was approved?

6,000 Baht per month

www.lawyer.th.com