Enjoying life in Thailand possible with $400 a Month while volunteering possible?

[redwing777]

Hello everyone. My plane is booked and I'll be making my first visit to Thailand this coming May. I'm planning on volunteering for 6 months in Chiang Mai, Bangkok, etc. After some... unexpected expenses.. my original monthly budget of $800 is no longer realistic, I can only afford $400. The places I'm planning on volunteering pay for food and accommodation so that's taken care of. But I want to enjoy my trip to Thailand along with the volunteering, not just survive. Let's say I wanted to purchase extra food (I eat a lot), get a monthly gym membership (I'm a Personal Trainer), and go on a dive, elephant trek, or caving adventure about twice month. Do you guys think $400 is being realistic? Thanks everyone!

[Costas2008]

Have you sorted out your Work permit?

Otherwise you will not be here for 6 months.

$400 a month is enough to survive as about the other activities, I'm sorry to say but you have to forget about them.

Good Luck to you......and don't forget the Work permit

[pinkpanther99]

In a word....no!

You'd be better with $800. Or actually, you'd be better $1000.

It sounds to me like you might be shocked into how expensive Thailand is.

Not that it's expensive so much compared to the West, but things here are generally more expensive than those guide books and popular travel blogs lead newbies to believe.

Good luck!

Edited March 12, 2015 by pinkpanther99

[redwing777]

Have you sorted out your Work permit?

Otherwise you will not be here for 6 months.

$400 a month is enough to survive as about the other activities, I'm sorry to say but you have to forget about them.

Good Luck to you......and don't forget the Work permit

I was unaware I'd need a work permit to volunteer. Couldn't I just get a 60 day tourist visa, leave the country, and get another entry each time? Or is it required that I have a work visa to volunteer? I'm planning on volunteering through local organizations instead of the mainstream guys because they are free. $400 won't be enough even if I have the two biggest expenses covered? Thanks for your help!

[arthurwait]

It's about 13000 baht per month or 430 a day. It is possible but incredibly low.

If all your food and accommodation is paid for you could do it. Find out what is the food, can you eat it ? Are drinks included you will spend 100 -200 a day possibly just on liquid non alcoholic refreshment. Is electricity/ air con included ? Are visa fees included, travel ?

Gyms in malls cost about 2000 b per month but they are small gyms in parks for 5/10/20 baht. In Chonburi anyway.

Nightclubs are out really, maybe once or twice a month, maybe some very cheap local ones, but good Thai ones or tourist ones are 300 baht a drink or you can get whisky by the bottle and buy mixers which is cheaper but tourist places the whisky starts at about 1500 but you could share with friends.

Chiang Mahi maybe a lot cheaper but I don't know personally.

And if you want a woman get a 25 or 30 plus rich bit or you will be broke very soon.

Make sure you have full medical insurance that covers everything and flights home if needed or you will be well and truly screwed if something happens, you can't afford a half decent private hospital.

[Lite Beer]

You need a Non Imm Visa and a Work Permit or face arrest.

[arthurwait]

Have you sorted out your Work permit?

Otherwise you will not be here for 6 months.

$400 a month is enough to survive as about the other activities, I'm sorry to say but you have to forget about them.

Good Luck to you......and don't forget the Work permit

I was unaware I'd need a work permit to volunteer. Couldn't I just get a 60 day tourist visa, leave the country, and get another entry each time? Or is it required that I have a work visa to volunteer? I'm planning on volunteering through local organizations instead of the mainstream guys because they are free. $400 won't be enough even if I have the two biggest expenses covered? Thanks for your help!

Yes you need one, see reports of Tsunami volunteers getting nicked.

[arthurwait]

In a word....no!

You'd be better with $800. Or actually, you'd be better $1000.

It sounds to me like you might be shocked into how expensive Thailand is.

Not that it's expensive so much compared to the West, but things here are generally more expensive than those guide books and popular travel blogs lead newbies to believe.

Good luck!

Yep it isn't cheap cheap here now. Supermarket food prices have doubled in the last 5 years. pork and milk especially stand out. Restaurants and markets have gone up a lot too.

[Berkshire]

What are you volunteering to do?

[arthurwait]

If you haven't got a gig sorted out before you arrive your daily budget won't even cover accommodation except in the cheapest Thai motel with curtains across rooms.

Actually saying that Chiang Mahi could be cheap and you could sort out monthly accommodation deals bringing the price down a lot.

[Swiss1960]

Have you sorted out your Work permit?

Otherwise you will not be here for 6 months.

$400 a month is enough to survive as about the other activities, I'm sorry to say but you have to forget about them.

Good Luck to you......and don't forget the Work permit

I was unaware I'd need a work permit to volunteer. Couldn't I just get a 60 day tourist visa, leave the country, and get another entry each time? Or is it required that I have a work visa to volunteer? I'm planning on volunteering through local organizations instead of the mainstream guys because they are free. $400 won't be enough even if I have the two biggest expenses covered? Thanks for your help!

You need a work permit, but of course you can do it without... the local organization will not have a problem with it, because it is YOUR ass that is going to end in IDC (Immigration Detention Center) when caught working without permit... if you are young enough and fit enough to be in IDC for few weeks until your flight out is due... go for it...

for the money - as other said, forget it... you have 12-13'000 Baht per month... each of your trips will cost you 2-3'000 Baht per day (including transport, equipment, tips, food etc.)... each beer will cost you 50-150 Baht, depending on where you drink it... gym cost as outlined above 2'000 per month... having a "good" night out and catering for a girl another 1-2'000 Baht (depending on location, food, drinks, expectations (yours... not the girls...))... you might end up broke on your monthly budget after the first week... and you write that you need "lot of food" and probably other food than you will be provided for free (mostly cheapest rice and fish for volunteers...)... so another 2-300 Baht PER DAY equals 6-9'000 Baht a month...

[redwing777]

It's about 13000 baht per month or 430 a day. It is possible but incredibly low.

If all your food and accommodation is paid for you could do it. Find out what is the food, can you eat it ? Are drinks included you will spend 100 -200 a day possibly just on liquid non alcoholic refreshment. Is electricity/ air con included ? Are visa fees included, travel ?

Gyms in malls cost about 2000 b per month but they are small gyms in parks for 5/10/20 baht. In Chonburi anyway.

Nightclubs are out really, maybe once or twice a month, maybe some very cheap local ones, but good Thai ones or tourist ones are 300 baht a drink or you can get whisky by the bottle and buy mixers which is cheaper but tourist places the whisky starts at about 1500 but you could share with friends.

Chiang Mahi maybe a lot cheaper but I don't know personally.

And if you want a woman get a 25 or 30 plus rich bit or you will be broke very soon.

Make sure you have full medical insurance that covers everything and flights home if needed or you will be well and truly screwed if something happens, you can't afford a half decent private hospital.

Yes, I will be able to eat the food provided. The ones I was looking at serve typical Thai dishes 3 times a day and some even had tea/snack breaks in between. I'm not sure on the drinks, I was planning on buying my own water. Electricity and air are included at a couple of the charities, some gave you huts to sleep in with no air or electricity due to poverty. I believe those ones were refugee camps. I've already budgeted for the visa and air transport. Local trans. will have to be included in the budget although a few organizations provide you with weekend transportation.

Yikes. That's a lot more expensive than where I live. I'd have to do with going there 3 times a week then.

I like to party but I don't drink. So I have that going for my budget.

Haha. I plan on meeting ladies down there but only casually. No hookers or serious relationships for me.

Yeah, I also budgeted for good insurance outside the $400.

[Kenny202]

I am in the North East Isaan out in the sticks and I imagine it a bit cheaper than living in a farang town like Chang Mai or Nong Kai. Could be wrong. living here on around $1200 AUD (30k baht) a month, me and the missus. My girl has a place which we spent a bit of money on so no rent only about 600THB electric and 400THB water. Most little roadside restaurants here have really nice meals for around 35 baht. I bought a pick up and motorbike. The bike we use for running around locally and the pick up for trips into town. Fuel is relatively expensive here at $1.10 (28 THB) a litre. Bus and train travel is cheap but I reckon u put your life in your own hands going on the bus and never any clear timetable. Its turn up and hope for the best. CM may be different. I buy a little farang food, mainly butter, milk etc but nothing too much. Anyhoo, it's a bit too early to tell if I will be successful with my 30kTHB a month budget yet as only been here 4 months and of course have spent a lot extra setting up but I reckon we will be ok, quite comfortable actually. I don't drink and we're too far out of town to be going to nightclubs, malls and restaurants often nor do I want to. I guess it depends on your expectations, what you want and what you need.

I guess you're talking around 10-12k THB a month and there are people here who live like that, but they grow and source a lot of their own food..(various vegetables (weeds), Bamboo, etc) Then you will have rent somewhere I guess. Any sort of farang food or food from a supermarket will cost you an arm and leg, probably more than you would pay back home. I'm lucky I love Thai food. I reckon it would be at the very best uncomfortable if not impossible. The times you don't have accommodation provided there would be locals around who would take you in and be happy with 2000 or 3000THB for food and lodgings but that will be a mattress on the floor, maybe no fan...exposed to the weather and you could well be eating bird or frog for dinner....thats if they are lucky to have a protein supply. I personally think $400 a little unrealistic and like the other feller said at least with $800 you wont be living the high life but you will have some level of comfort and I assume you are coming here to enjoy yourself on some level. All the best mate :-)

Edited March 12, 2015 by Kenny202

[hanno]

I guess it is doable but it won't be much fun.....

[redwing777]

What are you volunteering to do?

I'm planning on volunteering at refuge camps, schools, and orphanages. Most likely teaching English, helping with day-to-day, and maybe some other classes like Physical Education would be cool.

[NickJ]

I thought this over and I would say no. Just read the threads involving the double tierd prices at most, not all of the National Parks. If you were coming over and visiting friends and staying with them then maybe....But this volunteer thing is liable to blow up in your face and leave you stranded or worse....the bare min I would plan on having would be 1000b a day. Even if you dont spend it. This is Asia and it has teeth.

[colinneil]

The world is full of dreamers.

You want to stay in Thailand but dont have sufficient funds, you want to volunteer with no work permit.

Give yourself a good shake, step back away from la la land, into the real world. STOP think then start again.

We are involved with an organisation called workaway, take volunteers.

They are looked after, in exchange for some work, most of them are students on low budgets.

Earlier this year we had a male volunteer from Sweden (what a joke) he had no money, we were in tesco, please help me i need toothpaste plus other items,

i will pay you back at home, well that never happened, he was stocking up on food from our supplies, thinking nobody saw him (wrong)

In the end i told him to leave, but i have no money he says !!! sorry not my problem, also he says i am on overstay bye bye, we dont want problems with immigration. Yes before anybody starts about him staying here immigration were informed on the correct form.

[pomchop]

But I want to enjoy my trip to Thailand along with the volunteering, not just survive...... Do you guys think $400 is being realistic?

NO

[redwing777]

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I am in the North East Isaan out in the sticks and I imagine it a bit cheaper than living in a farang town like Chang Mai or Nong Kai. Could be wrong. living here on around $1200 AUD (30k baht) a month, me and the missus. My girl has a place which we spent a bit of money on so no rent only about 600THB electric and 400THB water. Most little roadside restaurants here have really nice meals for around 35 baht. I bought a pick up and motorbike. The bike we use for running around locally and the pick up for trips into town. Fuel is relatively expensive here at $1.10 (28 THB) a litre. Bus and train travel is cheap but I reckon u put your life in your own hands going on the bus and never any clear timetable. Its turn up and hope for the best. CM may be different. I buy a little farang food, mainly butter, milk etc but nothing too much. Anyhoo, it's a bit too early to tell if I will be successful with my 30kTHB a month budget yet as only been here 4 months and of course have spent a lot extra setting up but I reckon we will be ok, quite comfortable actually. I don't drink and we're too far out of town to be going to nightclubs, malls and restaurants often nor do I want to. I guess it depends on your expectations, what you want and what you need.

I guess you're talking around 10-12k THB a month and there are people here who live like that, but they grow and source a lot of their own food..(various vegetables (weeds), Bamboo, etc) Then you will have rent somewhere I guess. Any sort of farang food or food from a supermarket will cost you an arm and leg, probably more than you would pay back home. I'm lucky I love Thai food. I reckon it would be at the very best uncomfortable if not impossible. The times you don't have accommodation provided there would be locals around who would take you in and be happy with 2000 or 3000THB for food and lodgings but that will be a mattress on the floor, maybe no fan...exposed to the weather and you could well be eating bird or frog for dinner....thats if they are lucky to have a protein supply. I personally think $400 a little unrealistic and like the other feller said at least with $800 you wont be living the high life but you will have some level of comfort and I assume you are coming here to enjoy yourself on some level. All the best mate :-)

I guess it is doable but it won't be much fun.....

I thought this over and I would say no. Just read the threads involving the double tierd prices at most, not all of the National Parks. If you were coming over and visiting friends and staying with them then maybe....But this volunteer thing is liable to blow up in your face and leave you stranded or worse....the bare min I would plan on having would be 1000b a day. Even if you dont spend it. This is Asia and it has teeth.

How hard is it to get a work permit over there? Would one of the local organizations be able to get me one without any trouble?

I now see $400 a month is a bit too low to live the kind of lifestyle I want to live down there. I'll have to find a way to make some money on the side, and maybe just travel there for 4 months and make $600 work. Too bad working as a Personal Trainer is illegal. Maybe I'll have to resort to training sessions via Skype. I could try getting some acting work (non-adult) but I heard the industry isn't the best over there. Worth a shot I make money on eBay here in the US but also hear that being successful in Thailand is incredibly difficult.

Hmmm.

[Kenny202]

The world is full of dreamers.

You want to stay in Thailand but dont have sufficient funds, you want to volunteer with no work permit.

Give yourself a good shake, step back away from la la land, into the real world. STOP think then start again.

We are involved with an organisation called workaway, take volunteers.

They are looked after, in exchange for some work, most of them are students on low budgets.

Earlier this year we had a male volunteer from Sweden (what a joke) he had no money, we were in tesco, please help me i need toothpaste plus other items,

i will pay you back at home, well that never happened, he was stocking up on food from our supplies, thinking nobody saw him (wrong)

In the end i told him to leave, but i have no money he says !!! sorry not my problem, also he says i am on overstay bye bye, we dont want problems with immigration. Yes before anybody starts about him staying here immigration were informed on the correct form.

The guy asked a question and is seeking advice. Hardly necesary to tar him with your bad experiences and make all sorts of assumptions and personal remarks he is going to steal food, he's a dreamer etc. God knows there would be plenty of "dreamers" who may have already given advice and maybe even the volunteer people have steered the bloke astray. Problem with this forum too many like you. Give the bloke a go. He's asked the question seeking information before he makes a mistake. Isn't that the idea or one of the functions at least of TV?

[redwing777]

The world is full of dreamers.

You want to stay in Thailand but dont have sufficient funds, you want to volunteer with no work permit.

Give yourself a good shake, step back away from la la land, into the real world. STOP think then start again.

We are involved with an organisation called workaway, take volunteers.

They are looked after, in exchange for some work, most of them are students on low budgets.

Earlier this year we had a male volunteer from Sweden (what a joke) he had no money, we were in tesco, please help me i need toothpaste plus other items,

i will pay you back at home, well that never happened, he was stocking up on food from our supplies, thinking nobody saw him (wrong)

In the end i told him to leave, but i have no money he says !!! sorry not my problem, also he says i am on overstay bye bye, we dont want problems with immigration. Yes before anybody starts about him staying here immigration were informed on the correct form.

The guy asked a question and is seeking advice. Hardly necesary to tar him with your bad experiences and make all sorts of assumptions and personal remarks he is going to steal food, he's a dreamer etc. God knows there would be plenty of "dreamers" who may have already given advice and maybe even the volunteer people have steered the bloke astray. Problem with this forum too many like you. Give the bloke a go. He's asked the question seeking information before he makes a mistake. Isn't that the idea or one of the functions at least of TV?

Thanks for the reply friend. I'm not looking to start an argument in any sense colinneil, as Kenny202 said, I'm just trying to get opinions from people who now the facts before my travels. I'm in no way heading to Thailand to steal or take advantage of people. But rather to make a difference while creating some awesome experiences and stories to tell. I'd like to thank everyone who has commented so far with their knowledge and advice, it means a lot!

[CharlieH]

Some organisations will offer and promise anything, but as someone else said here, its you that could end up in the jail for lack of paperwork, not them. DON'T DO IT !

If you cant sort out the paperwork correctly you would be stupid to even try working anywhere here.

Unless you are quite happy eating fish-head soup and sharing a concrete floor with 100+ others I suggest you go back to the drawing board and re-think your plans. Be realistic, be careful, dont be naive.

[redwing777]

Some organisations will offer and promise anything, but as someone else said here, its you that could end up in the jail for lack of paperwork, not them. DON'T DO IT !

If you cant sort out the paperwork correctly you would be stupid to even try working anywhere here.

Unless you are quite happy eating fish-head soup and sharing a concrete floor with 100+ others I suggest you go back to the drawing board and re-think your plans. Be realistic, be careful, dont be naive.

If I'm not mistaken, you have to have a letter from the organization in order to apply for the Visa. Am I correct? If I contacted them now, got the letter, and applied for a work permit, everything would go well I assume? Thanks!

[TheSpade]

You're going to have to be realistic. You might "want" to go for 6 months but based on what you've said you like to do you probably don't have enough money to do that so cut the trip in half and enjoy it without scrapping by.

This is a weird thing a lot of people who don't have much money do when they go traveling. Instead of working out how much they need and budgeting 'X' amount of days based on facts they say "I want to go for X months" even though their budget doesn't allow it.

[JB300]

Nothing worse than going all the way to Thailand & being a prisoner in where you're staying as you don't have the funds to do the things you want to do (correction, being a prisoner in IDC would be worse but I'm assuming you're aware of the work permit requirements now so won't be risking that).

You're only young, take some time out to look into volunteering with an org that will get you a WP & wait 6-12 months until you've built up enough cash so you can also do the things that you want to do there [emoji106]

Edited March 12, 2015 by JB300

[hanno]

What are you volunteering to do?

I'm planning on volunteering at refuge camps, schools, and orphanages. Most likely teaching English, helping with day-to-day, and maybe some other classes like Physical Education would be cool.

I live in a volunteer Mecca (Siem Reap) and you strike me a little like many I have encountered here. Whilst I do appreciate your wanting to help, you do not seem to have much of a plan. How will "helping with day-to-day" do any good? I see volunteers here that paint walls and dig wells; surely these are all jobs that can easily be done by locals, you are not benefitting society; you are taking jobs from those that need it most.

Again, I appreciate that you are wanting to do good but maybe you need to go back to the drawing board to figure out legalities, finances, and benefits.

[redwing777]

What are you volunteering to do?

I'm planning on volunteering at refuge camps, schools, and orphanages. Most likely teaching English, helping with day-to-day, and maybe some other classes like Physical Education would be cool.

I live in a volunteer Mecca (Siem Reap) and you strike me a little like many I have encountered here. Whilst I do appreciate your wanting to help, you do not seem to have much of a plan. How will "helping with day-to-day" do any good? I see volunteers here that paint walls and dig wells; surely these are all jobs that can easily be done by locals, you are not benefitting society; you are taking jobs from those that need it most.

Again, I appreciate that you are wanting to do good but maybe you need to go back to the drawing board to figure out legalities, finances, and benefits.

That's an interesting way to look at it, never thought of it that way. Thanks for the insight. I'm considering just going for 3-4 months at $600-800 a month. Funny thing is, I've been wanting to do this for years and only now had the opportunity open up but never considered some of the things mentioned by all of you guys. Thanks again for all the comments and I welcome anymore insight offered. Thanks!

[FritsSikkink]

What are you volunteering to do?

I'm planning on volunteering at refuge camps, schools, and orphanages. Most likely teaching English, helping with day-to-day, and maybe some other classes like Physical Education would be cool.

You are not allowed to work without a workpermit and the proper visa (not a tourist visa). If get caught you will be fined, jailed, deported and possibly blacklisted.

Not so cool.

[DP25]

Are drinks included you will spend 100 -200 a day possibly just on liquid non alcoholic refreshment. Is electricity/ air con included ? Are visa fees included, travel ?

What on earth are you talking about? 100-200 a day on non alcoholic drinks? Water costs 1 baht a liter at machines. You can buy cheap Coke/Pepsi/Juice at Tesco, or better yet, in bulk at Macro.

Nightclubs are out really, maybe once or twice a month, maybe some very cheap local ones, but good Thai ones or tourist ones are 300 baht a drink or you can get whisky by the bottle and buy mixers which is cheaper but tourist places the whisky starts at about 1500 but you could share with friends.

A whole bottle of cheap whiskey at a Thai club is about 400 baht. Who wants to go to tourist nightclubs anyway

If his housing and food are paid for, $400 a month is just his travel and entertainment budget. That is plenty to go to a Thai nightclub on a Friday night and a weekend trip once or twice a month.

[mommysboy]

No.