How much do I need to retire in Thailand with a fairly high standard of living

[mj1971]

Hi,

I am thinking about early retirement. I currently have a fairly good standard of living as a single guy working as a lawyer in London.

I'm thinking of Chiangmai, Phuket, BKK or Pattaya for retirement - obviously each has it's positives and negatives (and always interested in people's views on this too). I read many articles talking about retiring in Thailand on US$1-2k per month, but in my limited experience this would seem to mean a fairly frugul retirement.

Would US$75k be sufficient for a fairly high standard of living in these cities.

By fairly high standard of living I mean:

- living in a nice, secure place ideally with facilities;

- regular entertainment (I'm mid-forties so would look to go out quite a lot);

- eating out regularly (several days per week) - not necessarily high end, mostly Thai food;

- transport;

- fast broadband;

- other general expenses (utilities etc).

I know that it's a difficult question to answer in the abstract but just trying to get a general sense of whether I can quit now or whether I should do a few more years.

Thanks in advance.

[Thongkorn]

Why do you talk in American dollars when you work in London < we have Solicitors not layers.

[allane]

I am a 19 yr. resident of Thailand. I use a factor of 0.285 when comparing prices here with my home country,Canada. Or, expressed the other way, prices there are 3.5x Thai prices. I think for someone from London, you could probably use a factor of 0.2 to 0.25. Think about health insurance costs, if you will need to buy that here.

[mj1971]

Thanks. I used USD rather than GBP for two reasons, firstly, I work for a US law firm in London and get paid in USD and secondly most of the articles I have read on cost of living quote USD. I'm dual-qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales and also an attorney in New York, which is why I used the term lawyer. I hope that answers your questions back to me!

[Thongkorn]

I am a 19 yr. resident of Thailand. I use a factor of 0.285 when comparing prices here with my home country,Canada. Or, expressed the other way, prices there are 3.5x Thai prices. I think for someone from London, you could probably use a factor of 0.2 to 0.25. Think about health insurance costs, if you will need to buy that here.

what you on , I can live for a 1000baht a week easy, but i can live Thai, it depends on what you want out of life try moving after you have your Visas sorted out, Then try living in-Thailand first, Thats what most people do then they get an idea on what they want out of Thailand.

[Bernard Flint]

I am a 19 yr. resident of Thailand. I use a factor of 0.285 when comparing prices here with my home country,Canada. Or, expressed the other way, prices there are 3.5x Thai prices. I think for someone from London, you could probably use a factor of 0.2 to 0.25. Think about health insurance costs, if you will need to buy that here.

what you on , I can live for a 1000baht a week easy, but i can live Thai, it depends on what you want out of life try moving after you have your Visas sorted out, Then try living in-Thailand first, Thats what most people do then they get an idea on what they want out of Thailand.

dO YOU MEAN 1,000 BAHT A DAY??????

NOBODY, can live in 4000 baht a month

[96tehtarp]

OP, your budget is a little more that 200k Thai baht per month, approximately.

Yes, you should certainly be able to live and meet your requirements on that budget anywhere in Thailand, even in Phuket.

[mj1971]

Thank you

[Jingthing]

Come on down! You are set.

Sent from my Lenovo S820_ROW using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Thongkorn]

I am a 19 yr. resident of Thailand. I use a factor of 0.285 when comparing prices here with my home country,Canada. Or, expressed the other way, prices there are 3.5x Thai prices. I think for someone from London, you could probably use a factor of 0.2 to 0.25. Think about health insurance costs, if you will need to buy that here.

what you on , I can live for a 1000baht a week easy, but i can live Thai, it depends on what you want out of life try moving after you have your Visas sorted out, Then try living in-Thailand first, Thats what most people do then they get an idea on what they want out of Thailand.

dO YOU MEAN 1,000 BAHT A DAY??????

NOBODY, can live in 4000 baht a month

I CAN LIVE ON 1000 baht a week easy, that does not include Living in my house. I/Wife owns the house. food is cheap, i do not drink , only on special occasions,

[Costas2008]

OP, do you really want to ask if you could live on that money, or you just want to show off?

With your qualifications and intelligence you should very well know if these money is enough or not.

You have been to Thailand before so you must have investigated the cost of living.

After all TV is full of threads about that.

[Soutpeel]

I am a 19 yr. resident of Thailand. I use a factor of 0.285 when comparing prices here with my home country,Canada. Or, expressed the other way, prices there are 3.5x Thai prices. I think for someone from London, you could probably use a factor of 0.2 to 0.25. Think about health insurance costs, if you will need to buy that here.

what you on , I can live for a 1000baht a week easy, but i can live Thai, it depends on what you want out of life try moving after you have your Visas sorted out, Then try living in-Thailand first, Thats what most people do then they get an idea on what they want out of Thailand.

dO YOU MEAN 1,000 BAHT A DAY??????

NOBODY, can live in 4000 baht a month

I CAN LIVE ON 1000 baht a week easy, that does not include Living in my house. I/Wife owns the house. food is cheap, i do not drink , only on special occasions,

what about tooth paste, soap, shampoo, water, electric, medical insurance, telephone, internet etc etc etc..so not easy...it not only about food and drink...

one suspects the beggar on the street cant live solely on THB 1000 every 7 days

Edited March 15, 2015 by Soutpeel

[mj1971]

Thanks. I was hoping to get some helpful responses from people who know better than I do.

Fortunately it looks like I got a couple of helpful responses (as well as a few not so helpful ones).

Thanks for all for your comments. This was my first post and I have learned a couple of things from it.

[MrWorldwide]

canarysun is our resident champ in the Pattaya Minimalist thread - he claims to live here on 100 baht a day. A charismatic guy, he brings a smile to a lot of faces, but I wonder how thrilled many of the Thais in Pattaya would be if you told them they needed to live on 100 baht a day - that's Nakhon Nowhere money and well below the Thai poverty line.

[MrWorldwide]

Thanks. I was hoping to get some helpful responses from people who know better than I do.

Fortunately it looks like I got a couple of helpful responses (as well as a few not so helpful ones).

Thanks for all for your comments. This was my first post and I have learned a couple of things from it.

Assuming you're genuine, dont take any of this too seriously : we do get trolled on a regular basis, often by longtimers reinventing themselves under a different board name and having some fun at our expense. Most here would kill to have access to anything resembling 200k baht a month to live on in Thailand - your only enemy will be the nightlife but I expect that's the same in London / Hong Kong / most US cities.

[Soutpeel]

my advice to the OP go and take a fairly long sabbatical before finally deciding to retire and come a live in Thailand for a spell of time and see how it goes, you may currently have a picture in your head of what "Thailand retirement" is and reality you may is completely different and you regret it.

[The Dancer]

my advice to the OP go and take a fairly long sabbatical before finally deciding to retire and come a live in Thailand for a spell of time and see how it goes, you may currently have a picture in your head of what "Thailand retirement" is and reality you may is completely different and you regret it.

Exactly. Visions dancing in one's head while slaving in a cubicle in London past 10pm formed from that one-week trip to Pattaya a couple of months ago aren't a solid basis to pull up stakes and head to Heathrow.

Come live here for 6 months first. Then take a deep breath and ...

[gerry123]

Thanks. I was hoping to get some helpful responses from people who know better than I do.

Fortunately it looks like I got a couple of helpful responses (as well as a few not so helpful ones).

Thanks for all for your comments. This was my first post and I have learned a couple of things from it.

yeah don't bull s*hit is one of them i hope

[thehelmsman]

canarysun is our resident champ in the Pattaya Minimalist thread - he claims to live here on 100 baht a day. A charismatic guy, he brings a smile to a lot of faces, but I wonder how thrilled many of the Thais in Pattaya would be if you told them they needed to live on 100 baht a day - that's Nakhon Nowhere money and well below the Thai poverty line.

The only thing which makes "sakon somewhere" cheap is rent and in some cases lack of places to spend money.

[metisdead]

Posts containing inappropriate language have been removed.

[lazygourmet]

Just by asking "How much?!?", seems to me that you will never be able to afford it...

Next please...

[colinneil]

Maybe me with my cynical mind, but this post does not seem to be true.

[Stan42]

OP: US$75k is more than enough even for Phuket. But as others have stated, give it about a year or so then see if Thailand is right for you.

[krisb]

75k is sufficient in any country.

[opalred]

you have to look at many things

1 first g/f can cost house and lawyer expense you can save some money there

2 second g/f smaller house and court costs

3 get ladyboy she has friends lose shirt and pants

last have to have money sent from family to go home

good luck

[zierf1]

Income from my job in America: $2000 a month after taxes(hello ladies )I figure half that figure in Thailand(or South East Asia) provides me with the same standard of living as I get in the US. So 35000 baht a month is equivalent to my $30k/year salary in America, which is about the median wage here. For the UK(especially London), you could do it on 1/3 or 1/4th the amount of after tax income and still have the same lifestyle.

[BKResort]

If you REALLY have a MONTHLY income of $75K and you are in your 40s.....There are a LOT of nicer and better places to retire than Thailand.

Even with a YEARLY income of $75K, still a LOT of other and better options.

But..with a MONTHLY income of 75K THB...and single...Thailand is a very good option.

Edited March 15, 2015 by BKResort

[mesquite]

OP,

You can live quite well in Chiang Mai on half that income.

If you do this, I would suggest bringing over only the amount you need to live, no large lump sum.

The only possibility of getting into financial trouble is if you fall in love with a Thai woman and decide to do "the right thing" ie pull her out of poverty by buying her a house or in some other way giving her money. A Thai woman can take it all, and I do mean all. They have taken all the money from many successful men.

If you pay as you go, you will be fine. Be careful, though, if you start thinking, "This one's different." That is the first step on the road to financial and emotional ruin.

Edited March 15, 2015 by mesquite

[NancyL]

Don't do anything that is difficult to undo during the first year -- like starting/buying a business, buying/building a home or getting married.

[marko kok prong]

I am a 19 yr. resident of Thailand. I use a factor of 0.285 when comparing prices here with my home country,Canada. Or, expressed the other way, prices there are 3.5x Thai prices. I think for someone from London, you could probably use a factor of 0.2 to 0.25. Think about health insurance costs, if you will need to buy that here.

what you on , I can live for a 1000baht a week easy, but i can live Thai, it depends on what you want out of life try moving after you have your Visas sorted out, Then try living in-Thailand first, Thats what most people do then they get an idea on what they want out of Thailand.

dO YOU MEAN 1,000 BAHT A DAY??????

NOBODY, can live in 4000 baht a month

Possibly you could if you did,not smoke,drink alcohol,go anywhere or do anything,better off dead,really.