Just moved back to the states after 5 years. Sticker shock.

[zierf1]

I just moved back to the states after living quite frugally 5 years in Thailand. Let's just say things are a bit more expensive here than what I was used to in Thailand. In Thailand I could get by quite ok on pretty much peanuts. I ate at 30-40 baht food stalls and stayed at 3-5k a month apartments. I get back here and the prices for everything are just stupid. I just about vomit at the prices here. Everything is so inflated cost-wise and I have to use my car to get everywhere. It makes me realize how good the value is in Thailand and how much easier it is to live over there. This place sucks and I'm getting out of here asap.

[khunpa]

Yes, well that is exactly why so many foreigners decide to stay in Thailand. That and the weather of course :-)

[mesquite]

Good to know because every now and then I get the insane thought of moving back myself.

OP, looks like you made a mistake, but you can correct it. Believe me, you're not the only one.

[HeijoshinCool]

So we can conclude that while here, you lived wholly like a Thai?

No cheese or wine? No single malts or cream cheese? No Doritos? No rib-eyes? No bacon and sausage for breakfast? No tacos or burritos? All of which are still cheaper in the States.

Living "frugally" can be quite a yawn inducing existence.

I understand your sentiments, but me, I'm not interested in "getting by." I'd rather work hard and play hard. I've got five years here non-stop myself, and can't wait to go back, both to work at a very nice salary, and to eat, eat, eat.

It's all relevant.

[zierf1]

So we can conclude that while here, you lived wholly like a Thai?

No cheese or wine? No single malts or cream cheese? No Doritos? No rib-eyes? No bacon and sausage for breakfast? No tacos or burritos? All of which are still cheaper in the States.

Living "frugally" can be quite a yawn inducing existence.

I understand your sentiments, but me, I'm not interested in "getting by." I'd rather work hard and play hard. I've got five years here non-stop myself, and can't wait to go back, both to work at a very nice salary, and to eat, eat, eat.

It's all relevant.

I lived like a Thai but I had plenty of money for "entertainment". 40,000 baht a month goes much further in Thailand than here. There is a lot of cheap food in the US but it is very unhealthy as you already know. I personally prefer Thai food to farang food. I seldom paid more than 30 baht for a good meal in Pattaya or northern Thailand.

[coolkat]

OP you lived in thailand did you work in thailand and earn thai wages?

Because of the exchange rates between the USD and bht the costs would seem much cheaper for you.

[zierf1]

OP you lived in thailand did you work in thailand and earn thai wages?

Because of the exchange rates between the USD and bht the costs would seem much cheaper for you.

I got by on about 40,000-50,000 baht a month from my internet biz. I had TONS of money for fun. There was never a dull night. I lived like a Thai and blew the rest on vice. Could never do that here.

[Jip99]

So we can conclude that while here, you lived wholly like a Thai?

No cheese or wine? No single malts or cream cheese? No Doritos? No rib-eyes? No bacon and sausage for breakfast? No tacos or burritos? All of which are still cheaper in the States.

Living "frugally" can be quite a yawn inducing existence.

I understand your sentiments, but me, I'm not interested in "getting by." I'd rather work hard and play hard. I've got five years here non-stop myself, and can't wait to go back, both to work at a very nice salary, and to eat, eat, eat.

It's all relevant.

I lived like a Thai but I had plenty of money for "entertainment". 40,000 baht a month goes much further in Thailand than here. There is a lot of cheap food in the US but it is very unhealthy as you already know. I personally prefer Thai food to farang food. I seldom paid more than 30 baht for a good meal in Pattaya or northern Thailand.

So white rice is healthy .... or were you just eating kwitiow ?

No msg there then.

I calculate that your meals and accommodation cost circa 7k p.m. so $1,000 for entertainment should be more than enough..... even allowing for liver fluke tablets

[Deacon Bell]

Yes, well that is exactly why so many foreigners decide to stay in Thailand. That and the weather of course :-)

The weather?

Baking hot with 165% humidity?

One thing I would not miss from Thailand is the weather!

That said, a Thai hot season is preferable to a Northern European winter - dark when you get up, dark when you finish work, cold and wet the entire time.

[JAFO]

My wife and I are back in the states(Calif). Its utterly amazing my cash burn rate. My wife cannot get over it. Food is all processed, you have no idea where it came from. The veggies and fruit are from every country but the US. Consumerism is the culture. Everything is made in China. So while employment is available here after taxes and expenses you live like a pauper. Plus the biggest issue is you will probably have to work until you die affording your basic living conditions. The worst is having to work long hours and cram your little life into a weekend and to go anywhere costs you a fortune. But hey..Its the "Land of the Free"

I will pass

[Deacon Bell]

I think low income earners, less than $3k p/m will have a far better life in Thailand on that amount than in the West.

I have a relatively low cost of living here. I only spend around 60-80k p/m, but don't really do a lot, rent a great private modern house with beautiful large private garden just outside Bangkok. That alone would cost that much if not more back home.

Talking to family back home the bills they have to pay are outrageous. We pay 120b for 6 months of garbage collection (4 times every week), 200b for water and around 2,500b for power, 700 for internet.

Their internet alone is almost 4 times the price for 1/3rd of the speed. Their garbage collection bills and power bills would make your eyes water compared to here.

[Deacon Bell]

So while employment is available here after taxes and expenses you live like a pauper. Plus the biggest issue is you will probably have to work until you die affording your basic living conditions. The worst is having to work long hours and cram your little life into a weekend and to go anywhere costs you a fortune. But hey..Its the "Land of the Free"

A friend moved up to a well paid shift work job, so he could get a mortgage (aged 25).

He got a 35 yr mortgage for a small shoebox apartment near to the job.

Working a crap job so he could buy a place.

Buying a place so he could work a crap job.

Screw.

That.

[Deacon Bell]

^ Visas? Taking care of business?

Edited September 1, 2014 by Deacon Bell

[JAFO]

One thing I want to be very clear about, I am not bashing the US. It was good to me in my early years but I saw the writing on the wall. I am just saying it is really expensive, you had better plan on living in debt, paying high living costs, living with a lot of stress, working a lot and paying tons of taxes. Its not the land of the free and it costs a wad of cash to live here. If you make a lot then its all good but anything less then $5K a month net you are struggling.

I love my life in Thailand.

[metisdead]

An inflammatory post has been removed as well as a reply.

[zierf1]

My wife and I are back in the states(Calif). Its utterly amazing my cash burn rate. My wife cannot get over it. Food is all processed, you have no idea where it came from. The veggies and fruit are from every country but the US. Consumerism is the culture. Everything is made in China. So while employment is available here after taxes and expenses you live like a pauper. Plus the biggest issue is you will probably have to work until you die affording your basic living conditions. The worst is having to work long hours and cram your little life into a weekend and to go anywhere costs you a fortune. But hey..Its the "Land of the Free"

I will pass

That's the problem with the states. You have money but no life.

[zierf1]

OP you lived in thailand did you work in thailand and earn thai wages?

Because of the exchange rates between the USD and bht the costs would seem much cheaper for you.

I got by on about 40,000-50,000 baht a month from my internet biz. I had TONS of money for fun. There was never a dull night. I lived like a Thai and blew the rest on vice. Could never do that here.

If America is such a sh#thole, and Thailand so great ....Why move back to the US???

Family? I'm 33 but my ma and pops are still kicking.

[h90]

Wait till you speak with the people......

That will gives you a cultural shock (at least it gave me when I went back to Europe).

[zierf1]

^ Visas? Taking care of business?

Nope.

[thailiketoo]

So we can conclude that while here, you lived wholly like a Thai?

No cheese or wine? No single malts or cream cheese? No Doritos? No rib-eyes? No bacon and sausage for breakfast? No tacos or burritos? All of which are still cheaper in the States.

Living "frugally" can be quite a yawn inducing existence.

I understand your sentiments, but me, I'm not interested in "getting by." I'd rather work hard and play hard. I've got five years here non-stop myself, and can't wait to go back, both to work at a very nice salary, and to eat, eat, eat.

It's all relevant.

I pay good money to visit a heart specialist educated in the West.

The items you listed, "cheese or wine? single malts or cream cheese? Doritos? rib-eyes? bacon and sausage for breakfast? Tacos or burritos? Are all ingredients for an early and painful death. (with the exception of a glass of red wine occasionally)

So I and every other heart conscious person thinks you are a loony. In Thailand at least the market is weighted to give me an extra incentive not to eat things that can kill me quick.

There is a shop close to me that raises vegetables organically and will make me two vegetable shakes (red and green) per day for 40 baht each.

PS, I'm not fat and when I sweat I don't smell like old cheese.

Edited September 1, 2014 by thailiketoo

[HeijoshinCool]

So we can conclude that while here, you lived wholly like a Thai?

No cheese or wine? No single malts or cream cheese? No Doritos? No rib-eyes? No bacon and sausage for breakfast? No tacos or burritos? All of which are still cheaper in the States.

Living "frugally" can be quite a yawn inducing existence.

I understand your sentiments, but me, I'm not interested in "getting by." I'd rather work hard and play hard. I've got five years here non-stop myself, and can't wait to go back, both to work at a very nice salary, and to eat, eat, eat.

It's all relevant.

I pay good money to visit a heart specialist educated in the West.

The items you listed, "cheese or wine? single malts or cream cheese? Doritos? rib-eyes? bacon and sausage for breakfast? Tacos or burritos? Are all ingredients for an early and painful death. (with the exception of a glass of red wine occasionally)

So I and every other heart conscious person thinks you are a loony. In Thailand at least the market is weighted to give me an extra incentive not to eat things that can kill me quick.

There is a shop close to me that raises vegetables organically and will make me two vegetable shakes (red and green) per day for 40 baht each.

PS, I'm not fat and when I sweat I don't smell like old cheese.

.

I'm happy for you.

[tartempion]

Am I lucky I don't have to live frugally.

Wednesday off to Brussels for 2 weeks and then on to Montreal for an other two weeks.

I know where to buy food and how to cook.

I will visit a few restaurants, a tenderloin opposite Leuven railway station, buffet Vichy in La Salle Montreal and an excellent Greek restaurant somewhere Av du Parc.

Just getting away from the hot rainy weather here for one month, October will be cooler here.

Please people make sure you have a good job, make good money and retire with sufficient income to avoid having to live frugally.

I don' care how expensive the USA, Europe or Thailand is.

Seriously, food court and food stall is ok occasionally, I just had an excellent kao pad Kai for lunch, my little 3,5 young girl kung wun sen and my gf pad pak luam, 2 comes and 1 soda, paid 150 baht, but each and every day, no thanks.

[JAFO]

My wife and I are back in the states(Calif). Its utterly amazing my cash burn rate. My wife cannot get over it. Food is all processed, you have no idea where it came from. The veggies and fruit are from every country but the US. Consumerism is the culture. Everything is made in China. So while employment is available here after taxes and expenses you live like a pauper. Plus the biggest issue is you will probably have to work until you die affording your basic living conditions. The worst is having to work long hours and cram your little life into a weekend and to go anywhere costs you a fortune. But hey..Its the "Land of the Free"

I will pass

That's the problem with the states. You have money but no life.

That's only a part of the problem. You do not even have money, its all a facade. Its all spent before you even get it. Debt is king in the US which is why US banks post billions in profit quarterly. Nothing is cash based. In fact when you pay cash it confuses people.

[Deacon Bell]

I do pity the guys forced to live in a 'room' for 5k p/m. Eat lunch and dinners at 40b stalls or Tesco-Lotat food courts.

With that little money, moving back to the states to work and live poorly while saving would surely be a better option.

I pity the retired pensioners who have to live like that and have almost no choice.

[NeverSure]

-snip- Their garbage collection bills and power bills would make your eyes water compared to here.

It's not the garbage collection in the US. It's the safe, proper handling of the garbage after they pick it up that costs money.

There's a news item running here right now about how horrid and polluting, even of ground water not to mention air, that the landfills are in Thailand.

In the US all would be sorted into recyclables, much would be burned cleanly, and what couldn't be burned would be put into an engineered landfill that was sealed so it couldn't leak into ground water. As new garbage was put into it it would immediately be covered by earth to assure no air pollution or fires.

Have you seen a velocity separator? I'll bet Thailand hasn't.

Power bills. First, the Thai government subsidizes them meaning you pay for them somewhere else, perhaps in the price of cheese or VAT or import taxes or other taxes. Next the people up North such as near Lampang are getting blasted with pollution from coal burning. In the US all the would come out of the "smoke stacks" would be steam.

If you want to pay 3rd world prices and live literally in filth that's hazardous to your health, up to you. I don't think you're living like a Thai in the US or your costs would be similar. I'm convince the US is the cheapest 1st world country there is to live in. Maybe by a wide margin.

[JAFO]

Am I lucky I don't have to live frugally.

Wednesday off to Brussels for 2 weeks and then on to Montreal for an other two weeks.

I know where to buy food and how to cook.

I will visit a few restaurants, a tenderloin opposite Leuven railway station, buffet Vichy in La Salle Montreal and an excellent Greek restaurant somewhere Av du Parc.

Just getting away from the hot rainy weather here for one month, October will be cooler here.

Please people make sure you have a good job, make good money and retire with sufficient income to avoid having to live frugally.

I don' care how expensive the USA, Europe or Thailand is.

Seriously, food court and food stall is ok occasionally, I just had an excellent kao pad Kai for lunch, my little 3,5 young girl kung wun sen and my gf pad pak luam, 2 comes and 1 soda, paid 150 baht, but each and every day, no thanks.

Help me understand your last line, Do you base the quality of your meal on how much you spend? Some of my best meals have come at a very low cost in Thailand and some of the worst meals my wife and I have had in the US were the most high priced.

While I agree that you should plan accordingly financially that does not mean you piss it away on over priced anything. I happen to love my 30 baht guidio plus all my wife's cooking. I especially enjoy going to the market early with my wife and picking out the food from the people we know. I know where my pork comes from, I know who raises the chickens I buy, I know the farm my veggies come from. I watch my OJ being fresh squeezed. Here in the US, that is not possible. You buy it all prepackaged, processed and sold by Safeway, Luckys, Ralphs, Costco, etc. And if you want "Organic" better dig deep into your wallet and even then you don't know what you are getting.

Frugal is a nice way to live IMHO

My point being is I understand where the OP is coming from. Its painful to return

Edited September 1, 2014 by JAFO

[thailiketoo]

I do pity the guys forced to live in a 'room' for 5k p/m. Eat lunch and dinners at 40b stalls or Tesco-Lotat food courts.

With that little money, moving back to the states to work and live poorly while saving would surely be a better option.

I pity the retired pensioners who have to live like that and have almost no choice.

Pity eh? The kind of cappiciano my wife drinks is 120 baht at Starbucks, 90 baht at MacDonald's or 50 baht at the Thai coffee shop at the end of our street.

I'm a retired (don't work much) pensioner who lives in Thailand and with my young wife. Would I be better off to go back to the states and buy her coffee at Starbucks?

With little money moving back to the States is not a better option because the major expenses that are less money in Thailand are housing and transportation. My wife can hop on a bus (AC, first class - Nakhonchai Air) and go see her folks and supervise her lands for the price of a few cups of coffee. If we lived in the States her travel back and forth a couple of times a year would be equivalent to buying another house.

[Deacon Bell]

If you want to pay 3rd world prices and live literally in filth that's hazardous to your health, up to you.

I'm living in a very nice private moo bahn, in a very nice private house with a very nice and large private garden, with a very nice community playground and children's library 100m away from our front gate.

Highly hazardous, I agree.

Back home it would likely cost what I spend on everything here.

[beachproperty]

If you want to pay 3rd world prices and live literally in filth that's hazardous to your health, up to you. I don't think you're living like a Thai in the US or your costs would be similar. I'm convince the US is the cheapest 1st world country there is to live in. Maybe by a wide margin.

I agree ...."The US is the cheapest 1st world country there is to live in"

But that's not the point.... I believe OP was just experiencing the cultural shock of Prices in the US vs Thailand. As for pollution...don't kid yourself....The US has it too! Maybe not as much as Thailand (or China!) but that's what mankind does to the world....pollute!

Believe it or not there are areas in Thailand that are not that polluted yet! As for me, and I can only speak for myself, I have a GREAT life in Thailand! Had a great life in the US too....life is just what one makes of it!

[thailiketoo]

It's not the garbage collection in the US. It's the safe, proper handling of the garbage after they pick it up that costs money.

There's a news item running here right now about how horrid and polluting, even of ground water not to mention air, that the landfills are in Thailand.

In the US all would be sorted into recyclables, much would be burned cleanly, and what couldn't be burned would be put into an engineered landfill that was sealed so it couldn't leak into ground water. As new garbage was put into it it would immediately be covered by earth to assure no air pollution or fires.

Have you seen a velocity separator? I'll bet Thailand hasn't.

Power bills. First, the Thai government subsidizes them meaning you pay for them somewhere else, perhaps in the price of cheese or VAT or import taxes or other taxes. Next the people up North such as near Lampang are getting blasted with pollution from coal burning. In the US all the would come out of the "smoke stacks" would be steam.

If you want to pay 3rd world prices and live literally in filth that's hazardous to your health, up to you. I don't think you're living like a Thai in the US or your costs would be similar. I'm convince the US is the cheapest 1st world country there is to live in. Maybe by a wide margin.

There are 9 different guys/girls/couples that drive to our garbage barrels every day to pick through the trash for recyclables. Most are looking for different items which they take and sell at the recycle place.

It's fair to say I don't like to recycle; I have people who do that and people who clip my nails and wash my back shave my face and tie my shoes. I'm living like Hugh H on Social Security here. PS yes I do have health insurance and I don't wait two years for an appointment like those poor VA guys in the States.