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

[thaibeachlovers]

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!

I'm retired from a US airline age 77, with Thai wife and 2 children and own my condo and automobile. We don't go out drinking, but drink a little at home, go out for dinner about twice a week. I have medical insurance on my family for about 50,000 baht a year, car insurance for 25000 a year and my utilities cost around 120,000 per year becasue we run the airconditioner 24/7. Annual condo fees are another 30,000/yr Gas for car and motorbike about 10,000/yr. My son's school costs 250,000/yr.

My income from social security and pension is only $37,000 a year. I earn another $20,000 from other things. I live well, but not lavishly and my income just about covers my expenses. Hope this helps.

wow aircon on 24/7. You not acclimatised yet?.

That and having school aged child at 77 .

[NickJ]

Trust me you will have so many many friends here.....meet a nice girl in a restaurant...... your set.....spark up a dicckweed cigy and enjoy life...

[gerry1011]

OP, I hope you will not leave a potentially successful carreer (or maybe it alteady is) to come and live in Thailand with 200,000 baht a month...

As we grow older it is well known that our needs become more important. Thus our budget must follow.

You may live rather "ok" in Thailand with 200,000 baht a month for a while... But if you are used to comfortable living it will soon not be enough.

A nice car, a nice place to live, a nice group of upper scale friends, evenings enjoying quality imported drinks, a few donations here and there to make the people around you happy, comfortable weekend (or longer) trips, shopping, some staff,... Soon you may realize that your budget is too tight.

And if you marry, of course the costs will explode.

Yes, many seem to be able to survive with 30.000 baht a month, but many others would find it uneasy to live on, and grow older, with only 200,000...

Think about it twice.

I wish you a happy retirement in Thailand anyway, if you feel it is the right time

I just hope you will not end up frustrated and bitter if you make the wrong calculation, compared to your present lifestyle. We may see you join the hordes of negative posters of this forum. It would be unfortunate.

Good luck

Edited March 21, 2015 by gerry1011

[2fishin2]

$75,000 U.S. per year, $6250 per month, is more than enough to live comfortably anywhere in Thailand -- including the bigger cities -- in the manner described by the OP.

OP, just remember, to qualify for a retirement extension of stay as part of your early retirement plan, you need to be at least age 50, in addition to meeting a financial requirement, which you would have no problem with.

If you're under 50, then the visa/permission to stay issue would become a bigger issue than your finances.

Its more than enough to live anywhere in the world....in Thailand, its stupid money

[2fishin2]

OP, I hope you will not leave a potentially successful carreer (or maybe it alteady is) to come and live in Thailand with 200,000 baht a month...

As we grow older it is well known that our needs become more important. Thus our budget must follow.

You may live rather "ok" in Thailand with 200,000 baht a month for a while... But if you are used to comfortable living it will soon not be enough.

A nice car, a nice place to live, a nice group of upper scale friends, evenings enjoying quality imported drinks, a few donations here and there to make the people around you happy, comfortable weekend (or longer) trips, shopping, some staff,... Soon you may realize that your budget is too tight.

And if you marry, of course the costs will explode.

Yes, many seem to be able to survive with 30.000 baht a month, but many others would find it uneasy to live on, and grow older, with only 200,000...

Think about it twice.

I wish you a happy retirement in Thailand anyway, if you feel it is the right time

I just hope you will not end up frustrated and bitter if you make the wrong calculation, compared to your present lifestyle. We may see you join the hordes of negative posters of this forum. It would be unfortunate.

Good luck

200,000 a month in Thailand is wayyyyyy tooooo muchhhhhh. That kind of money isnt even close to be needed or used.

[beachproperty]

we all know that investing in thailand is risky and comes with a price though. i hope the property has a good buffer of empty space/land around it for one thing.

Why????

Surely that is self evident, unless never lived in Thailand or a newbie. Hint- all night karaokes.

Off topic....but I'll bite anyway

Building is new with double walls (foam insulation inside) with 12mm double paned glass....ie NO outside noise penetration!

Lived in Thailand 10 years (newbie?) ...so I know

Edited March 21, 2015 by beachproperty

[docbay]

$75k is your retirement sum for the rest of your days? Or the amount you have per year or ? IF one does not have to live to 5star standards and support a VERY heavy social agenda, $3000/mo gets a lot in the locations you mentioned. If someone has it to burn and ego-impress they can spend that amount in a week in Bkk for sure as some pads are $5-15k/mo. IF one wants to live like a Londoner or New Yorker then why bother coming to someplace like BKK to retire? I think the people that are the happiest and best-adusted to a foreign address are those that can mix into the street life's energy. Personally it is the "energy" from the street that makes some place like London, Paris, NY, SF or BKK so inviting.

[rsokolowski]

For 200,000 baht a month you can live in Hawaii. That is $6,250 USD a month! Surely you can live in Thailand on this amount of money and have a dollar or two every month left over each month to save for a rainy day.

I think you might be able to get by.

[fey]

i have found that these income type questions are just a cover for fear of moving.

if your asking chances are your not ready to move. in five years you will still be wondering if you can afford it and you never have enough.

[JB300]

Just posted this in a similar thread...

Fwiw, my rough numbers for planning are:

- Rent ฿21,000

- Groceries ฿12,000

- Utilities ฿4,000

- Phone/Internet/TV ฿3,000

- Transport ฿2,000

- Misc (Insurance, Visa etc...) ฿15,000

- Entertainment ฿43,000 (or whatever's left)

Nb. I've set myself a budget of £2,000/s$4,000 per month so the ฿100,000 above is currently more like ฿95,000 so the "Entertainment budget" will need to be adjusted accordingly, not so important for a 3 month stay (though the same budget was around ฿120,000 a few months ago) but certainly something to allow for if you plan on staying longer term & rely on income/savings outside of Thailand.

[Lukecan]

For the lifestyle you're aiming , its more than enough. But 75k is not enough by any means for a baller type of lifestyle. You need around 200-250k a year if you wanna live like a baller ( Driving a porsche, partying out once every 2 days in high end clubs, living in a 2000sqft penthouse etc)

[fey]

Nasty and spiteful comment on moderation removed. Let's keep it civil guys.

[sebjo]

I was a lawyer in London for 14 years and retired at 37 in Pattaya 5 years ago (never looked back). 42 now. My income is 150,000 baht a month. I should add that I do own my own home in Pattaya. I find that 150,000 is more than enough for day-to-day living. However, if you want to buy a truck and some property (and if you like boys' toys as I do), which I suspect you may with your income and likely expectations, you need a lot of savings too. I could not have afforded these things for many years if I did not also have savings in addition to my monthly income.

I found that when I first arrived I lived cheaply, but after a year or two I started to crave extra luxuries, as most people would if they lived in the west. That is, simply being in Thailand, long term, is not enough of a distraction to be able to discard life's comforts. 65" TVs, motor bikes, a built in oven, a swimming pool....are all expensive items that eventually you may start to crave. If one has a modest life in the west, maybe it is easier to do without these things in Thailand. But if you are used to certain luxuries, why come to Thailand to live a dumbed down existence. For example, why get a bus or taxi into Bangkok or get a song taew back from Big C, would you get buses and taxis everywhere back home?

My conclusion would be that 200,000 is more than enough for day-to-day living, but you also need additional money for the big ticket items too. I spend about 100,00 a month, have a young boy and support a girlfriend who is currently child minding and so not working.

By the way, on 200,000 you will find that any naughty boy activities with the girls won't make any practical difference to your wealth (obviously I don't indulge much now), provided you don't do something silly like marrying a Thai girl or buying her a house.

One final point, if you end up having children, this will likely eat into your budget by about 10,000 to 20,000 a month before school fees (per child).

[cheeryble]

Marcus Aurelius:

He is richest who needs least.

[Naam]

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!

I'm retired from a US airline age 77, with Thai wife and 2 children and own my condo and automobile. We don't go out drinking, but drink a little at home, go out for dinner about twice a week. I have medical insurance on my family for about 50,000 baht a year, car insurance for 25000 a year and my utilities cost around 120,000 per year becasue we run the airconditioner 24/7. Annual condo fees are another 30,000/yr Gas for car and motorbike about 10,000/yr. My son's school costs 250,000/yr.

My income from social security and pension is only $37,000 a year. I earn another $20,000 from other things. I live well, but not lavishly and my income just about covers my expenses. Hope this helps.

wow aircon on 24/7. You not acclimatised yet?.

"acclimatised" = can't afford aircondition 24/7

[Naam]

$75,000 U.S. per year, $6250 per month, is more than enough to live comfortably anywhere in Thailand -- including the bigger cities -- in the manner described by the OP.

OP, just remember, to qualify for a retirement extension of stay as part of your early retirement plan, you need to be at least age 50, in addition to meeting a financial requirement, which you would have no problem with.

If you're under 50, then the visa/permission to stay issue would become a bigger issue than your finances.

Its more than enough to live anywhere in the world....in Thailand, its stupid money

little do you know my friend!

it's not enough especially when you live in a country where the taxman grabs more than half of your income charging 50% income tax and 20% value added tax on goods and services and where general living costs are double of those in Thailand.

[mogandave]

"Happiness isn't getting what you want, it's wanting what you have."

[MrWorldwide]

"Happiness isn't getting what you want, it's wanting what you have."

I want the Hallmark harpies who come up with platitudes like that to have a stroke - that would make me very happy

[thaibeachlovers]

I was a lawyer in London for 14 years and retired at 37 in Pattaya 5 years ago (never looked back). 42 now. My income is 150,000 baht a month. I should add that I do own my own home in Pattaya. I find that 150,000 is more than enough for day-to-day living. However, if you want to buy a truck and some property (and if you like boys' toys as I do), which I suspect you may with your income and likely expectations, you need a lot of savings too. I could not have afforded these things for many years if I did not also have savings in addition to my monthly income.

I found that when I first arrived I lived cheaply, but after a year or two I started to crave extra luxuries, as most people would if they lived in the west. That is, simply being in Thailand, long term, is not enough of a distraction to be able to discard life's comforts. 65" TVs, motor bikes, a built in oven, a swimming pool....are all expensive items that eventually you may start to crave. If one has a modest life in the west, maybe it is easier to do without these things in Thailand. But if you are used to certain luxuries, why come to Thailand to live a dumbed down existence. For example, why get a bus or taxi into Bangkok or get a song taew back from Big C, would you get buses and taxis everywhere back home?

My conclusion would be that 200,000 is more than enough for day-to-day living, but you also need additional money for the big ticket items too. I spend about 100,00 a month, have a young boy and support a girlfriend who is currently child minding and so not working.

By the way, on 200,000 you will find that any naughty boy activities with the girls won't make any practical difference to your wealth (obviously I don't indulge much now), provided you don't do something silly like marrying a Thai girl or buying her a house.

One final point, if you end up having children, this will likely eat into your budget by about 10,000 to 20,000 a month before school fees (per child).

if you end up having children, this will likely eat into your budget by about 10,000 to 20,000 a month before school fees (per child).

Good grief, why?

If Thais on 10,000 a month can afford to raise 2 children why should it cost a farang so much? Gold plated cots and 24 hour nanny's perhaps?

If that's true, one more reason to rejoice that I didn't have any sprogs.

[thaibeachlovers]

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!

I'm retired from a US airline age 77, with Thai wife and 2 children and own my condo and automobile. We don't go out drinking, but drink a little at home, go out for dinner about twice a week. I have medical insurance on my family for about 50,000 baht a year, car insurance for 25000 a year and my utilities cost around 120,000 per year becasue we run the airconditioner 24/7. Annual condo fees are another 30,000/yr Gas for car and motorbike about 10,000/yr. My son's school costs 250,000/yr.

My income from social security and pension is only $37,000 a year. I earn another $20,000 from other things. I live well, but not lavishly and my income just about covers my expenses. Hope this helps.

wow aircon on 24/7. You not acclimatised yet?.

"acclimatised" = can't afford aircondition 24/7

?????????

I never sleep with the AC on, unless in an hotel with no fan in the room- gives me a headache in the morning.

[mogandave]

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!

I'm retired from a US airline age 77, with Thai wife and 2 children and own my condo and automobile. We don't go out drinking, but drink a little at home, go out for dinner about twice a week. I have medical insurance on my family for about 50,000 baht a year, car insurance for 25000 a year and my utilities cost around 120,000 per year becasue we run the airconditioner 24/7. Annual condo fees are another 30,000/yr Gas for car and motorbike about 10,000/yr. My son's school costs 250,000/yr.

My income from social security and pension is only $37,000 a year. I earn another $20,000 from other things. I live well, but not lavishly and my income just about covers my expenses. Hope this helps.

wow aircon on 24/7. You not acclimatised yet?.

"acclimatised" = can't afford aircondition 24/7

?????????

I never sleep with the AC on, unless in an hotel with no fan in the room- gives me a headache in the morning.

Yeah, it must be the AC...[emoji12]

[rayongchelsea]

Because the schooling here is very poor..never mind what a Thai does, what does that mean...plenty of Thais spend that amount on the kids education..if they have the resources...

[2alex4alex]

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'm 95 kg bodybuilder. So I eat a lot of pork/chicken/vegs/fruits. I don't drink. And I pay for my food about 4.000baht per months.

[MrWorldwide]

Reminds me of the 1300 baht spicy prawn dish one of my associates ordered on our last trip to BKK - fantastic dish, marinated overnight and cooked to perfection, but something like that goes beyond my definition of 'living comfortably' in Thailand. I'm drooling just thinking about it - time to chase up some grub

[sebjo]

@titanium....10k, minimum per month to raise a kid; to break it down,

baby formula...500 baht a month (supplemental to mum's milk)....

monthly vaccines (at clinic, don't fancy queueing at local gov hospital)1500....

clothes 1000....

car seat (every month there is a big ticket item like this, e.g. cot, baby bouncer, the list goes on) 3500...

toys/books etc. 1000...

baby food...500....

nappies 1000....

that's 9000 already, plus there are always "extras", e.g. trips to doctor

[fey]

if your balls are big enough you dont need tons of cash. grow some balls.

if your family jewels are small your going to meed lots of other things, like fancy cars, great watched and boasting ability to be a BALLER!

[MJP]

if your balls are big enough you dont need tons of cash. grow some balls.

if your family jewels are small your going to meed lots of other things, like fancy cars, great watched and boasting ability to be a BALLER!

Ah-hem. There's exceptions to that rule.

I'm quite happy living like a diseased dog both in Blighty and the Land of the Smiling. It's cheap you see and I get to save up for when some other bugger has a rainy day. When living in skips and out of Aldi brings you deep satisfaction anything more than that is a great bonus from the heavens, never to be disappointed you never miss what you never had.

On occasion I have to rub shoulders with people who are exceedingly wealthy, ministers of state and wotnot and I can put on a good show and all that but I've never cared for their high life, it all looks like a lot of aggravation to be honest.

[bangkoklasse]

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'm 95 kg bodybuilder. So I eat a lot of pork/chicken/vegs/fruits. I don't drink. And I pay for my food about 4.000baht per months.

You can't eat that much if you only spend just over 100 baht a day............

[Sharp]

A body builder on 133 baht a day.???? .... 2 decent size chicken beasts are 100 baht so doesn't leave a great deal for pork, fruit and vegs... IMHO....

[Naam]

I'm retired from a US airline age 77, with Thai wife and 2 children and own my condo and automobile. We don't go out drinking, but drink a little at home, go out for dinner about twice a week. I have medical insurance on my family for about 50,000 baht a year, car insurance for 25000 a year and my utilities cost around 120,000 per year becasue we run the airconditioner 24/7. Annual condo fees are another 30,000/yr Gas for car and motorbike about 10,000/yr. My son's school costs 250,000/yr.

My income from social security and pension is only $37,000 a year. I earn another $20,000 from other things. I live well, but not lavishly and my income just about covers my expenses. Hope this helps.

wow aircon on 24/7. You not acclimatised yet?.

"acclimatised" = can't afford aircondition 24/7

?????????

I never sleep with the AC on, unless in an hotel with no fan in the room- gives me a headache in the morning.

neither do i. but i'm cooling the bedroom down to ~18ºC and switch off the AC when i go to bed.