How realistic my plan is

[ChironSe]

Hello everyone,

First time on this forum

Please bear with me my post is a little long.

I'm from Sri Lanka, where the culture is almost same and relatively less developed that Thailand. I was on a 2 week trip with my family, and I am the one who arranged everything and communicator (rest of my family members aren't fluent in English or Thai).

I managed to get around Bangkok, street food, train rides, bus, Tuk-Tuks, and very basics of the Thai language.

I am a little overweight, and had some relationship issues recently and in a kinda depression. I am a freelancer so location does not really matter for my earnings.

Since the Bangkok visit was good, I'm planning to spend 3 months in Chiang Mai (preferably west side) alone. I'm used to live alone and I manage all my food, accomadation, health and almost everything here. But since I'm a farang and not well used to apartments and lifestyle of a local Thai, or haven't been an expat before, I have a few questions which I would be really grateful if you nice people can help me to figure out.

My income would be nearly 40,000 THB but I would prefer to save whatever I can yet live comfortably. I'm planning to spend 10,000 THB a month and put 30,000 to savings (I'm still 22 years, so the savings).

- I found a basic 21m apartment.Since I'm a new member here, I'm not going to post any link here. They said 3500/mo, and I think it will cost me additionally 500-1000 THB for utilities and Internet (300 THB for Internet).

- I'm a pad-thai lover (which I believe costs 35 THB a dish). Would I be able to manage a meal for 50 THB ? Please note I'm overweight (100 kg) but not the ultra fat category. No need to choose diabetese meals or stuff I think.

- They have a gym and a pool. A membership in a pool and/or gym wouldn't hurt. How much a decent gym costs in Chiang Mai?

- For transport (to Sunday market to buy some fruit, to a spa, etc), how much would it cost ? The apartment I chose is 1km in Hua Kaew road from the old city corner (North West). I will probably travel to North East.

- Of course I'm planning to visit the temples and attractions too.

- I don't take any alchohol.

I don't really want to live a king's life but niether a low end life. do you think a 10,000/mo budget would work? Is there any complusory costs I might be missing?

Thanks in advance.

[Satcommlee]

Considering most Thai Factory workers live on 8000 Baht a month, it is not impossible.

As long as you dont have a tendency to drink beer or play around with the women - then why not!! go for it and good luck!

[arthurwait]

Visa ? Visa run costs ?

[arthurwait]

What currency will you be getting paid in and can you change it in Thailand ?

If Sri Lankan money , if anywhere takes it do they have a high exchange rate ?

[tingtong]

I dont think 10.000thb will work.

Not with spa, gym membership, etc.

Thai's dont do such from their 10.000 to get by, nor will work out better for a foreigner.

btw, as a sidenote, they might not call you farang is you Sri Lankan...if you look anything like SL's, you will be Indian for the Thai

[Satcommlee]

The previous poster brings up a good point... staying legally will incurr aditional costs with Visa runs etc...

You should consider these!

[ChironSe]

Considering most Thai Factory workers live on 8000 Baht a month, it is not impossible.

As long as you dont have a tendency to drink beer or play around with the women - then why not!! go for it and good luck!

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I don't drink nor have no thoughts to play with the girls (considering many of the tourists I saw are for either if those 2, I might seem like a dull one ).

Once again thanks for your reply

[ChironSe]

Visa ? Visa run costs ?

Thank you for pointing that out.

Thailand requires us to get visa prior to arrival, and is valid for 60 days. I think I will have to extend it for another 30 days and that sums up 3 month plan. I don't think I will have to do a visa run, but probably a

flight back to BKK to get visa extended.

Thanks.

[ChironSe]

What currency will you be getting paid in and can you change it in Thailand ?

If Sri Lankan money , if anywhere takes it do they have a high exchange rate ?

Thanks again for the reply.

It will be In USD. I could get a fairly good rate at Siam bank and a bank with 3 letters in a purple background can't remember the name though.

I could pull money from the master card I get money credited to. There was a charge (150 THB) for each withdrawal so I will need to keep the number of withdrawals law. I believe it's inly possible to pull 20000thb per transaction.

Thanks again. Really helpful.

[ChironSe]

I dont think 10.000thb will work.

Not with spa, gym membership, etc.

Thai's dont do such from their 10.000 to get by, nor will work out better for a foreigner.

btw, as a sidenote, they might not call you farang is you Sri Lankan...if you look anything like SL's, you will be Indian for the Thai

To be honest I kinda felt that in Bangkok. All the spa ladies saying "Namasthe" (sawadhee ka in Hindi) to me (I speak Sinhalese).

Sorry I actually meant to manage the monthly expended in the 10000 range. Spa and other entertainment (if rather out spa for health category ) will pile up, you are right.

Thanks a lot for this.

We Asians are not their foreign (farang) type and competed to western people, we only have a little to spend. Sounds kind of racism to me unfortunately.

I heard some Indian people, no offense to anyone intended gentlemen, behaved in a rude and bad way so they are not really the hearty welcomed people I guess.

I have a darker skin and looking similar to many South Asia people. One bus driver however guessed I was a Sri Lankan and asked "Kohomada machan", "how are you dude", in Sinhalese. A few Thais were ignoring us but overall, the land of smiles had the same smile to us.

Have you noticed this or what do you think about it?

[ChironSe]

The previous poster brings up a good point... staying legally will incurr aditional costs with Visa runs etc...

You should consider these!

Yes sure I will thanks a lot.

It is more if a medium stay (not a few days nor years ) so I think illegal stay won't work for me at all because I will be caught at the airport anyway.

Many foreigners have married Thais, invested a dozens thousand dollars or found some way to get a PR. I won't need them since it's kinda a short trip within the visa period.

Thanks.

[craigt3365]

I think you'll find it hard to live on 10k per month. Things always crop up. Thais do live on these amounts, but typically sharing a room and other costs with friends/relatives.

If you have only seen this room via the internet, be careful! Pictures are not always 100% representative of what you are going to get. You might be right next to a karaoke bar.

You might want to budget more so you can actually enjoy yourself while here. There is so much to do and see. It'd be a pity to come here and never venture very far from your apartment. Travel is not expensive here, but it does add up.

[ChironSe]

I think you'll find it hard to live on 10k per month. Things always crop up. Thais do live on these amounts, but typically sharing a room and other costs with friends/relatives.

If you have only seen this room via the internet, be careful! Pictures are not always 100% representative of what you are going to get. You might be right next to a karaoke bar.

You might want to budget more so you can actually enjoy yourself while here. There is so much to do and see. It'd be a pity to come here and never venture very far from your apartment. Travel is not expensive here, but it does add up.

Thanks for your reply.

I'm not really sure about the apartment facilities either. I got a friend who lives in the same apartment complex but in a different block. He was kinda OK with the place. Thanks for mentioning the noisy problem. May be going to the place again in a night time can assure the place I think.

I'd surely take any chance to enjoy the temples mountains. By the way as for the elephants, I think they are more common in my country. Riding one is kinda norm here, and one of my friends family actually "own" a couple of elephants

[craigt3365]

Yes, big difference between day and night noise. If you have no AC, your windows will be open.

As for elephants, don't want to go off topic, but I'm very against riding these magnificent animals. The torture they put them through here to get them ready for visitors is horrible.

As for budget, you are already at:

4,500 (room + utilities)

4,500 (50B/meal * 3/day * 30 days)

9,000 Total

That only leaves you 1,000B for travel, gym membership and that occasional can of coke.

[ChironSe]

Yes, big difference between day and night noise. If you have no AC, your windows will be open.

As for elephants, don't want to go off topic, but I'm very against riding these magnificent animals. The torture they put them through here to get them ready for visitors is horrible.

As for budget, you are already at:

4,500 (room + utilities)

4,500 (50B/meal * 3/day * 30 days)

9,000 Total

That only leaves you 1,000B for travel, gym membership and that occasional can of coke.

Sorry I didn't mean elephants are animals to ride and enjoy. I'm against it to too, but thinking the bottom of the way, riding horses/camels, using buffalows for farming purposes and many fall into the same category. I'd try to avoid myself and others from toturing anyone if possible.

I gradually realise how childish my budgeting is. There can't be a boundry in the spending. I think it will take at least a couple of months to figure out how much would is cost for me, considring it's impossible to count it to the last satang is virtually impossible over the Internet

Thanks for your thoughtful comments. They are truly helpful!

[arthurwait]

The previous poster brings up a good point... staying legally will incurr aditional costs with Visa runs etc...

You should consider these!

Yes sure I will thanks a lot.

It is more if a medium stay (not a few days nor years ) so I think illegal stay won't work for me at all because I will be caught at the airport anyway.

Many foreigners have married Thais, invested a dozens thousand dollars or found some way to get a PR. I won't need them since it's kinda a short trip within the visa period.

Thanks.

Remember you have no work permit so don't mention working if you do get stopped at the airport.

[craigt3365]

The previous poster brings up a good point... staying legally will incurr aditional costs with Visa runs etc...

You should consider these!

Yes sure I will thanks a lot.

It is more if a medium stay (not a few days nor years ) so I think illegal stay won't work for me at all because I will be caught at the airport anyway.

Many foreigners have married Thais, invested a dozens thousand dollars or found some way to get a PR. I won't need them since it's kinda a short trip within the visa period.

Thanks.

Remember you have no work permit so don't mention working if you do get stopped at the airport.

Nor mention it to any farang or local Thai. You never know....

[Thainess]

The previous poster brings up a good point... staying legally will incurr aditional costs with Visa runs etc...

You should consider these!

Yes sure I will thanks a lot.

It is more if a medium stay (not a few days nor years ) so I think illegal stay won't work for me at all because I will be caught at the airport anyway.

Many foreigners have married Thais, invested a dozens thousand dollars or found some way to get a PR. I won't need them since it's kinda a short trip within the visa period.

Thanks.

Remember you have no work permit so don't mention working if you do get stopped at the airport.

Nor mention it to any farang or local Thai. You never know....

As he said in his first post, he's a freelancer so he'll be working on the internet, perhaps as a programmer for instance. This is perfectly legal, as long as you aren't working for any company in Thailand, and this has been discussed to death many times on these forums. If that's not legal, then any tourist who comes to Thailand with his laptop and checks work e-mails for his foreign company and responds or makes work phone calls abroad is breaking the law. It doesn't matter if your holiday is a week or a year, if you aren't working for a Thai company and are getting paid abroad and simply taking money out of the ATM here, that's completely legal. Working "in" Thailand means working "for" someone in Thailand. Simply being located inside the territory of Thailand is irrelevant as long as your source(s) of income come(s) only from outside of Thailand. Another example would be the not uncommon case where all your income is coming from investments, or renting out your property(ies) abroad, earning money all the time but not earning a single satang from Thai people or companies. 100% legal, so even if some nasty person knows that you're working as a freelancer and snitches you out to the Thai authorities, your legal position is rock-solid as long as you have a valid tourist visa. You cannot stop a tourist transacting his foreign business while on holiday in Thailand. It would in fact be completely unreasonable to attempt to do so. No work permit is required because working "in" Thailand means being employed "by" a Thai entity (company or individual). You aren't taking work away from Thais or even from other falangs located in Thailand with work permits, because all your business is transacted outside the borders of the Magical Kingdom of Siam. Now that this is clear, it still might be a good idea NOT to go around boasting that you work online every day and earn loads of money, because other farangs who have crappy low-paid teacher jobs or sell stuff on eBay are sure to get jealous that they aren't smart enough to figure out how to find freelance work online. Just my two cents (2 cents that I earned from outside Thailand, of course!)

[craigt3365]

As he said in his first post, he's a freelancer so he'll be working on the internet, perhaps as a programmer for instance. This is perfectly legal, as long as you aren't working for any company in Thailand, and this has been discussed to death many times on these forums. If that's not legal, then any tourist who comes to Thailand with his laptop and checks work e-mails for his foreign company and responds or makes work phone calls abroad is breaking the law. It doesn't matter if your holiday is a week or a year, if you aren't working for a Thai company and are getting paid abroad and simply taking money out of the ATM here, that's completely legal. Working "in" Thailand means working "for" someone in Thailand. Simply being located inside the territory of Thailand is irrelevant as long as your source(s) of income come(s) only from outside of Thailand. Another example would be the not uncommon case where all your income is coming from investments, or renting out your property(ies) abroad, earning money all the time but not earning a single satang from Thai people or companies. 100% legal, so even if some nasty person knows that you're working as a freelancer and snitches you out to the Thai authorities, your legal position is rock-solid as long as you have a valid tourist visa. You cannot stop a tourist transacting his foreign business while on holiday in Thailand. It would in fact be completely unreasonable to attempt to do so. No work permit is required because working "in" Thailand means being employed "by" a Thai entity (company or individual). You aren't taking work away from Thais or even from other falangs located in Thailand with work permits, because all your business is transacted outside the borders of the Magical Kingdom of Siam. Now that this is clear, it still might be a good idea NOT to go around boasting that you work online every day and earn loads of money, because other farangs who have crappy low-paid teacher jobs or sell stuff on eBay are sure to get jealous that they aren't smart enough to figure out how to find freelance work online. Just my two cents (2 cents that I earned from outside Thailand, of course!)

Working here requires a work permit. Doing it over the internet is a grey area, but we know how Thai police love grey areas. If you are making money, you need a work permit and have to pay taxes.

Sure, you can get away with it, but some have been caught and deported. It happens.

[baneko]

If you live very very cheaply maybe 20000. As said before there are always extras to pay for. Clothes, visa runs and food is getting more expensive in Thailand. If you require a good internet connection this may be more expence.

Its also good you dont drink. That will save a fortune.

Good luck.

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[DavidMavec]

I would go for 15,000 to have a bare bones budgeted lifestyle such as the one you described. You are really pushing it with 10,000 but anything is possible and people do it for less. Either way, if you earn 40,000 a month you will still be saving a large chunk, so at least you are not earning only 10,000.

[marko kok prong]

Are you here for a short time or a long time,as you will find costs different with either.

[phuketrichard]

Yes, big difference between day and night noise. If you have no AC, your windows will be open.

As for elephants, don't want to go off topic, but I'm very against riding these magnificent animals. The torture they put them through here to get them ready for visitors is horrible.

As for budget, you are already at:

4,500 (room + utilities)

4,500 (50B/meal * 3/day * 30 days)

9,000 Total

That only leaves you 1,000B for travel, gym membership and that occasional can of coke.

Livable room in CM prehaps 5,000 baht

add in electricty, interent, phone, , your up to 6,500/month

a change of pad thai ( wil get real old after 1 week. would shoot for a min of 200 baht/day for food/water 6,000 baht

visa, visa runs ( if ur in chiang mai u can head to Laos and get a double entry visa for $80 plus getting there an back

shampoo, washing clothes, toothpaste, coffee, milk, toilet paper, misc etc etc. 1,500/month

Gym,??

so 15,000 i would shoot for excluding visa runs an visa thta less thna $500/month whihc is suviving not really living.

[larsjohnsson]

Considering most Thai Factory workers live on 8000 Baht a month, it is not impossible.

As long as you dont have a tendency to drink beer or play around with the women - then why not!! go for it and good luck!

Factory workers don't need visa. And don't do visa runs out of the country. He also need some kind of health care planning or insurance.

And what's the point in comming here and live like a thai factory worker?

[phuketrichard]

why does he need health care planning or insurance.?

i have been living here for over 25 years and dont have either

[stickylies]

I think you'll find it hard to live on 10k per month. Things always crop up. Thais do live on these amounts, but typically sharing a room and other costs with friends/relatives.

correct. 10.000 is too little. go for 15.000 and try to lose weight, so avoid pad thai which is basically fat and sugar ;-)

2 slabs of good advice free of charge!

[craigt3365]

One of the big things that get's people here are scooter accidents. No insurance and you could be in big trouble.

[yermanee]

I do not understand OP.

Coming to Thailand to live survive in the cheapest possible accommodation, not interested in girls, cheapest food etc.etc.

If planning on sightseeing that costs money.

Better save the money of the ticket or at least double your budget.

Yermanee

[IMA_FARANG]

Two problems I can see.

One I seriously doubt you can live on 10,000 Baht a month.

I think 20,000 baht a month is possible

The other is your status as a "freelancer".

I assume you mean a journalist or writer.

You will need a work permit to do that legally, and that is almost impossible to get in Thailand unless you are hired by a Thai company and are paid by them.

In Thailand ALL work, whether you get paid for it from a Thai source or an out-of-country source requires a work permit.

And to get such a permit you need to have a Thai employer and to be accredited by the Thai foreign journalist group as a foreign journalist/writer.

Very few foreigners can get that accreditation unless they have some valid credentials from outside of Thailand.

Otherwise you would be working illegally and it could possibly mean arrest and maybe being deported.

Many years ago I met an Indian woman who was writing a book on the differences and similarities between the Indian Ramayana stories and the Thai version of the stories.

She was sponsored by UESCO, the U.N. organization, on her cultural research grant.

She was astounded to find out that to do that research and write in Thailand she had to apply for a work permit.

She only was successful because UNESCO interceded with the Thai government to get her the permit .... based on a "cultural exchange" decision the Thais made under UNESCO pressure.

[larsjohnsson]

why does he need health care planning or insurance.?

i have been living here for over 25 years and dont have either

So no person can get sick or have an accident? With a 10k budget he will not have money to pay a hospital even for a small thing.

Some people in Thailand have veen sleeping on the streets for 25 years. I wouldn't recommend that either