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

[Naam]

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....

his girlfriend owns a butcher's and a veggie/fruit shop. as simple as that

[rgs2001uk]

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....

Yeah, he used to be a 140 kg body builder.

[tom21]

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

no it does not, it means he prefers to sweat his balls off

[VIPinthailand]

and what u do at 45 in Thailand? bar, beach, and then? .

[thaibeachlovers]

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.

and what about your accomodation, electricity, water, etc etc? He was claiming to LIVE on 4,000, not just food.

[DLock]

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....

Yeah, he used to be a 140 kg body builder.

You guys beat me to it.

95kgs isn't big for a bodybuilder, unless he's 5'2".

And 4,000 baht in food is nowhere near enough to gain mass - eating decent every 2 or 3 hours will be way more than 133 baht per day...maybe per meal....or he means 4,000 per week.

But feel free to tell us how you eat 210 grams of protein a day and get enough food to eat, as I don't think it's possible.

[Mr Wonderful]

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.

Yes $75k USD PER YEAR should be . Although a nice condo in Bangkok can cost you that much alone.

Car is another matter. Four times the US price for an import here. So stick to something at least assembled in Thailand or ASEAN. VOLVO, MB and BMW all have some PKD cars for sale in Thailand.

If you want to impress those Russian hookers you'll need to double your expense allowance.

So it's all up to you. Easy to spend "money like water" in Thailand.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Mr Wonderful

[Major4608]

Get use to people saying "hello Hansum man"

[ravip]

So it's all up to you. Easy to spend "money like water" in Thailand.

Seriously? Only in Thailand?

[cheeryble]

,

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

Naam the walls in your house would stay cold for days......why don't you ameliorate your A/C costs by becoming a sperm bank?

[cheeryble]

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.

MJP why didn't you call yourself Diogenes the Dog?

Alexander the Great famously went to see The famed Diogenes (who lived in a pipe).

On his arrival Diogenes looked up and said "would you please stand back you're blocking the sun"

[cheeryble]

About the 95kg bodybuilder...

He's not lost weight....he's big......just very very short

Edited April 5, 2015 by cheeryble

[Naam]

,

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

Naam the walls in your house would stay cold for days......why don't you ameliorate your A/C costs by becoming a sperm bank?

our masterbedroom is exposed having three outside walls (sun on two of them). that means the temperature has risen to 25º when i get up between 04.00 and 04.30, spermbank therefore not feasible

[cheeryble]

.

Edited April 5, 2015 by cheeryble

[cheeryble]

,

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

Naam the walls in your house would stay cold for days......why don't you ameliorate your A/C costs by becoming a sperm bank?

our masterbedroom is exposed having three outside walls (sun on two of them). that means the temperature has risen to 25º when i get up between 04.00 and 04.30, spermbank therefore not feasible

Hot walls?

Why not try some lovely plant life up them like my old university home.....(not Heidelberg)?

(right and left sides were mostly covered as I remember back then)

Edited April 5, 2015 by cheeryble

[MrWorldwide]

OK - as much as I normally enjoy Naam's postings, the last 6 or so posts here have had little to do with the topic - perhaps this thread has run its course ? Just a thought.

[Naam]

OK - as much as I normally enjoy Naam's postings, the last 6 or so posts here have had little to do with the topic - perhaps this thread has run its course ? Just a thought.

i [not so] humbly beg to differ that the cost of utilities, specifically electric energy, have little to do with the topic "how much... fairly high standard of living". in my [also not so] humble opinion a high standard of living comprises a comfortable climate at any time in any part of the home which can't be achieved by cross-ventilation, fans moving hot air or excessive consumption of icecold beer.

a fairly high standard of living means also a "fistful" of fridges and freezers stuffed with delicate foods available at any time without shopping, washer and dryer and last not least a pool.

of course... mileages vary

[MahasarakhamMitch]

^^^^ why so you think it is only the uneducated/ non professionals that need to come on here and ask?

Yes. Only a complete fool would seek advice about such an important decision from a collection of other complete fools.

Even from those like myself who have lived here for 30 plus years and have as many if not more qualifications than the op and whose budget at times was well in excess of 200k.

Or those who have life experiences of thailand..many on here..

It will be only one source of information.

Your reply was funny..so I am assuming it was abit tongue in cheek.

No, my reply was completely serious. The fact that you've felt the need to discuss your qualifications and budget on an anonymous forum only strengthens my opinion.

No way would a UK solicitor ask if an annual budget of 75K USD is sufficient to "retire in Thailand with a fairly high standard of living".

Sorry boys and girls, wealthy solicitors just don't ask these questions.

Well your wrong there...... My friend is a Solicitor who is thinking of retirement has lots of assets/money and has asked me questions like this. Edited April 8, 2015 by MahasarakhamMitch

[MrWorldwide]

OK - as much as I normally enjoy Naam's postings, the last 6 or so posts here have had little to do with the topic - perhaps this thread has run its course ? Just a thought.

i [not so] humbly beg to differ that the cost of utilities, specifically electric energy, have little to do with the topic "how much... fairly high standard of living". in my [also not so] humble opinion a high standard of living comprises a comfortable climate at any time in any part of the home which can't be achieved by cross-ventilation, fans moving hot air or excessive consumption of icecold beer.

a fairly high standard of living means also a "fistful" of fridges and freezers stuffed with delicate foods available at any time without shopping, washer and dryer and last not least a pool.

of course... mileages vary

I still dont get why you didnt just ditch the wife and run off with Ginger - Gilligan and Skipper had one another and the Prof wasn't man enough for Ginger - that left one lucky SOB. I guess what happens on the island stays on the island, eh Thurston old chap ? Even at eight years of age, I knew Ginger's coconuts were something I needed to see.

[Naam]

I still dont get why you didnt just ditch the wife...

you don't ditch a wife who proved to be a valuable asset for 35 years, 4 months and 28 days

[jamesjohnsonthird]

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

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

no it does not, it means he prefers to sweat his balls off

There also was an 'acclimatised' chap on the minimalist thread that actually sat in the dark and only ate raw food to save electric.

[jamesjohnsonthird]

OK - as much as I normally enjoy Naam's postings, the last 6 or so posts here have had little to do with the topic - perhaps this thread has run its course ? Just a thought.

i [not so] humbly beg to differ that the cost of utilities, specifically electric energy, have little to do with the topic "how much... fairly high standard of living". in my [also not so] humble opinion a high standard of living comprises a comfortable climate at any time in any part of the home which can't be achieved by cross-ventilation, fans moving hot air or excessive consumption of icecold beer.

a fairly high standard of living means also a "fistful" of fridges and freezers stuffed with delicate foods available at any time without shopping, washer and dryer and last not least a pool.

of course... mileages vary

I still dont get why you didnt just ditch the wife and run off with Ginger - Gilligan and Skipper had one another and the Prof wasn't man enough for Ginger - that left one lucky SOB. I guess what happens on the island stays on the island, eh Thurston old chap ? Even at eight years of age, I knew Ginger's coconuts were something I needed to see.

One of the greats.

That voice he came up with cracks me up. The old 'dear boy' kind of schtict.

Hilarious guy. Loved that show.

[gk10002000]

When you asked USD 75K, did you mean per year or is that your total lump sum available? If that is all you have, then sure you can retire, but not for long depending on how much per year you spend. I believe $3,000 USD is a very good level and I plan on that. I spend <$2,000/month when I am on vacation staying in medium hotels, modest night life and tours and events. Longer term stays can save you quite a bit on housing

[MrWorldwide]

I still dont get why you didnt just ditch the wife...

you don't ditch a wife who proved to be a valuable asset for 35 years, 4 months and 28 days

OK, but I still preferred thinking about Ginger's coconuts than your wife's aging assets, Mr Howell.

Of course, none of that helps the OP, but I'm sticking with my 60K a month estimate as the bare minimum for someone wanting to live here comfortably without a drinking problem or a demanding female companion. Exactly what he'll do without either of those in his life, though, is a tougher question. If I didnt have katoey dodging, I'm not sure where I'd be some days .....

[tuonsai]

You state you're a lawyer but how can a London lawyer ask such an utterly stupid question,

whether 6000 USD a month will be enough in a third world country like Thailand.

You come off as really arrogant and uninformed if your question is genuine and not trolling here.

I think most of us wish we had that kind of money.

[slerickson]

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.

Definitely looking for the recognition and adoration.

[cathy edge]

A lot of thai people have to

[fey]

OK - as much as I normally enjoy Naam's postings, the last 6 or so posts here have had little to do with the topic - perhaps this thread has run its course ? Just a thought.

your posts are getting weirder and weirder. are you applying for some type of mod position?

if you need a reference let me know

[thehelmsman]

and what u do at 45 in Thailand? bar, beach, and then? .

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.........................

[steve654]

Not sure about Thailand, but if you come to where I live in Canada, $75k will get you a very high standard of living!