Anyone have any experience living in Kon Kaehn or Chang Rai?

[Kenny202]

Hi. Moving soon to Chaiyaphum to live with my girl. I am retiring to Thailand and as such need to be

careful of every move I make. She has a nice enough little house which we will spend around 200,000

baht on to get up to our requirements. We have lived together in Australia for a year and also in Chaiyaphum

and have been very happy. I love Chaiyaphum and thus far see no reason why I wont be happy living there.

However, in the name of being careful I want to make sure I have a back up plan should things not work out

thus my post. Anyone know how much a reasonable air con apartment is to rent in these cities. Doesn't

need to be luxurious just the same as an every day type town house in Australia. 5-10k's out of the main

city ok. Not that keen on living in Bangkok and both of these cities appeal to me.

We're hoping to live on around 20-30k baht a month in Chaiyaphum. I have lived there and on the surface

all we will need to pay for is food and a pittance for electricity and water as well as gasolene. Of course

would like a little disposable income too for a few extras, outings. I live fairly simply...have everything

pretty much and don't drink or gamble or need farang food etc so none of those things an expense for me.

We don't have rent either obviously. I know it would be possible to live on 2000 baht a month if necesary

but I don't want to live hard live poor. Just a nice comfortable lifestyle. Is it possible on 30000 baht a month?

[Costas2008]

"I know it would be possible to live on 2000 baht a month if necessary"

50 years ago you would have been a rich man OP.

You are a little too late now...............

[mrjohndub]

Chiang Rai is nice, but I'm confused. If you plan to live in Chaiyaphum, why the need for a second residence?

Unfortunately, CR doesn't have many choices when it comes to apartments, but houses are plentiful, cheap and of good quality. B5-7K will rent a decent house.

[NeverSure]

30K is enough for two with no rent but you won't have many luxuries. It's enough for one with modest rent and not many luxuries.

Your trouble could come from the unexpected such as a medical problem including an accident. That's about how much some English teachers earn and they get by.

[Kenny202]

Wow thanks mate. Like I said a back up plan incase things don't work out with my girl. I feel almost

unfaithful asking but I have committed to living in Thailand...Quit my job sold my home etc and am

well aware any dollar I spend aint coming back. I have plenty to live for the rest of my life comfortably

if I am moderately careful and travel a bit etc too. Just want an exit strategy and plan B. Certainly

don't think it will come to that and on the most part we've been very happy but you never know!

[Kenny202]

Budgeting 30k baht a month for the next 30 odd years (plus interest on investments

to keep up with the cost of living) leaves me $100k US in the bank for emergencies.

I could budget more of course but I am leaving plenty of safety margin. Medical

insurance thus far for a 51 year old seems prohibitive.

[Gecko123]

I would imagine Chiyaphum would be a pleasant enough place to live. The only reservation I would have about living there is its remoteness. In order to get down to Bangkok you've got to get out to Hwy 21 or Hwy 2, which is mostly two lane undivided highway, i.e. dangerous and nerve wracking driving. And once you get out to either of these highways you still have a long drive down to BKK. Also, cannot recommend strongly enough to immerse yourself in learning the language. It is a myth that you can master Thai 'between the sheets," so to speak. Could be wrong, but strongly suspect that English is not widely spoken, especially amongst the older generation in Chiyaphum.

Even though 30K will get you a lifestyle which many, if not most, of your future neighbors would be envious of, you are not going to be rolling in hog heaven on that budget. Many guys forget about little things like medical, dental, eyewear, insurance (car, life, medical), medications, furniture, appliance purchase/repair, hobbies, cable TV, mobile phone, internet access, clothes, shoes, travel, vacations (domestic or abroad), entertainment, gifts (weddings/funerals/birthdays/ordination), donations (school/temple), visa renewal trips, family support, child care and education, emergencies, casualty losses (theft/flood/fire), public transportation, vehicle repair and maintenance, toiletries, reading materials, language lessons, gym memberships, bedding, fixtures, home repairs and improvements, etc.

Gold Pac cable costs 18K/year; electric (no frost frig; large screen TV; washing machine; no AC) costs1K/mo; full car insurance 18K/yr; internet access 900/mo; cell phone 300/mo. Because of my shoe size I have to purchase all footwear over the internet, which means cost of merchandise, plus shipping and customs. Quality appliances cost about the same as back home. You can buy cheap furniture locally, but it will wear out within a couple of years. All appliances and electronics eventually need to be replaced, and when this is necessary, it takes a big bite out of a 30K/mo budget.

If you want a quality mattress, you're going to have to pay 20-30K baht. Drink 1 bottle of Leo a day at home = 1420 baht/mo. I have kept detailed down to the penny household expense records since moving here in 2003. Only on a handful of occasions, and only with incredible determination have I held my monthly expenses below 5000 baht/mo. On a sustainable basis, based on today's cost of living and allowing for owning a home which you still had to repair, I would say 30K is around the minimum monthly income I would recommend as adequate for 1-2 people in rural Thailand to live reasonably comfortably on.

Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised to the downside, but I would budget a minimum of 8K/month for food for you and your wife. Just for reference, it is possible for one person to spend 10K/month on food, excluding alcohol and no eating out, and very little imported food.

Hope this helps you fine tune your plans.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Gecko123

[Kenny202]

Thank you so much Gecko. That is really helpful information! The roads out of Chaiyaphum are fine as long as you look out for the idiots coming the other way overtaking on blind corners and crests. Last time I was there saw a big tall tour bus over on one side swerving to miss a truck over taking a slower truck! Then swerved back the other way to stay on the road. The poor passengers must have been terrified! TV satellite covered with a magic box and 2000 free channels for 4000 baht :-) Not too fussed about going to BKK although I guess at some point will have to renewing visas and such. Wanna check out the train from Kon Kaen sounds ok.

Food around our place is plentiful and cheap with about 5 roadside restaurants around with a huge variety of delicious food about 25-35 baht a meal. I guess we'll cook when we feel like it but really for 2 people its cheaper to go and buy. Mind you even that adds up as does all the little stuff. Thanks again for your invaluable advice mate :-)

[Gecko123]

Food around our place is plentiful and cheap with about 5 roadside restaurants around with a huge variety of delicious food about 25-35 baht a meal.

Not to belabor the point or anything, BUT.....

if you and your wife each ate ONLY three 35 baht restaurant meals per day along with a 10 baht beverage at each meal this adds up to:

(45 baht * 3 times a day * 2 people) = 270 baht/day

or 8212 baht/month.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Gecko123

[Kenny202]

I did do that math, it is surprising hey. Mind you I find most things like that in Thailand. Everything on it's own appears cheap but I still always manage to rip through the money hahaha