Living On 800k Baht

[bluedragon]

I have seen many threads which discuss cost of living in Thailand, and would like to get opinions on how well or poorly i could live on the required 800k a year. I know this depends on many factors, so let me narrow it down a little. Bangkok, 2 bedroom condo, internet, cell, cable TV, car, food for two with some farang food included. Go out at least twice a month for entertainment i.e. movie, dinner, a few drinks. Plus miscelaneous??, whatever that means to you..

The money will come from a military retirement. I currently live in Japan, and have seen information that says that Bangkok is approximately 40% overall less expensive then Japan.

Also, has anyone done a cost study to actually see what true costs are.

Regards, BD

[Thaiquila]

Thats not enough detail, especially about the house and car.

For example, if you bought the condo and bought the car and weren't including that in the 800K, then no problem.

On the other hand, if you needed to pay rent on a nice Bangkok 2 BR in a farang neighborhood plus the prorated cost of buying a nice car, I think sounds tight.

Edited September 5, 2006 by Thaiquila

[lanny]

I think that is possible, although I'm not sure about the car. Frankly, depending on where you would live, I question the need for a car.

If you live in central Bangkok, it is cheaper to take the Skytrain, subway, and taxis. Plus, you don't have the hassle of traffic and finding a place to park. Should you want to drive upcountry once in a while, you can rent a car. I've been here 6 years and don't miss my car at all. In fact, I'm glad I don't have the expense and worry of owning.

[davidjtayler]

I agree with Lanny ... no need for car in central Bangkok ... You should be able to live very comfortably on 66,000Baht per month as long as you don't pick up expensive vices and indulge daily .....

[udon]

800000 a year, no problem. (I wish) LOL

I agree about the car in BKK, waste of time, money and aggro.

[jdinasia]

Too many variables ...

If you can do it in Tokyo with the same things then you can do it here ... that's a given

[listenup]

How long do you plan to spread your 800k Baht over? I'm guessing per year??

[Firefan]

Yes it is per year of course....

He refered to the "required" 800k refering to the emmigration rules for obtaining the retirement visa (800k in account).

That should not be a problem the way I read the OP requirements - most will depend on the 2 bedroom condo chosen - but decent ones start at around 20k/mth (and goes to more than 140k/mth!).

Cheers!

Edited September 5, 2006 by Firefan

[backflip]

bluedragon,

"live on the required 800k a year" There is no requirement that you live on 800K per year, or more or less than that.

[mrbojangles]

These questions are always hard to answer, as jdinasia said, there are too many variables.

Personally, when i retire out there, i'm planning on budgeting for 150,000 baht per month or 1.8m per year. That doesn't mean i need to spend it all but i want it available. However, my plans may be different. i.e. i want to have enough money to travel around, WHEN I WANT. I want to have enough money to fly back to the UK, WHEN I WANT (or need to for family issues). I want to have enough money to go out, WHEN I WANT. etc. etc.

In other words, i would prefer to work some more over here, to ensure that i can live how i want to, instead of the budget dictating how i can live. Each to their own

[bluedragon]

In answer to some of your questions:

The plan is to rent for a while, then buy a condo either outright or through a loan.

Car for trips outside of Bangkok. I like the freedom to get in and go on MY schedule.

I currently am employed fulltime in Okinawa, Japan and make more then 800K a year.

Yes, the required 800K is to satisfy the immigration rules.

Any other questions are comments are welcome.

Regards, BD

[Firefan]

BD, how much do you SPEND in Japan today? As JD mentioned, if around Baht 800k/year or a bit more, you will be fine here due to the lower cost of living here.

Also; the work related costs will dissappear (biz clothes, power lunches, Starbucks(man, that has gotten expensive here in Thailand!), commuting costs and so forth). - and most important thing to go away; SAVING for retirement!

Cheers!

[jdinasia]

In answer to some of your questions:

The plan is to rent for a while, then buy a condo either outright or through a loan.

Car for trips outside of Bangkok. I like the freedom to get in and go on MY schedule.

I currently am employed fulltime in Okinawa, Japan and make more then 800K a year.

Yes, the required 800K is to satisfy the immigration rules.

Any other questions are comments are welcome.

Regards, BD

I found having a car IN BKK useful .... as we didn't live right on BTS ...

But it was WAY useful in being able to just drive out of town on weekends.

The answer is ... yes it is 'doable' In fact if you are not counting Cap investments in the 800 you could do it for far less

[bluedragon]

BD, how much do you SPEND in Japan today? As JD mentioned, if around Baht 800k/year or a bit more, you will be fine here due to the lower cost of living here.

Also; the work related costs will dissappear (biz clothes, power lunches, Starbucks(man, that has gotten expensive here in Thailand!), commuting costs and so forth). - and most important thing to go away; SAVING for retirement!

Cheers!

Having a full time job, my take home is about 70K a year U.S. out that that I pay everything and including contibution to 401k, IRA, and Mutual funds. In addition I receive about 24k a year military retirement, which I currently spend to send my sons to college in the U.S.

p.s. I am also in the long list of people looking for employment in Thailand or surrounding area. Regards, BD

[Firefan]

Bd; grap a pen and paper so you can answer my question:

How much do you SPEND per year today? I.e. the $70k- pension payments/401k/funds-work related costs - other money left saved.

You also need to factor in when your kids graduate college so you have that pension in hand.

The above number will give you a good indication of what it would cost you to live in Japan - same lifestyle as today.

After that you can start comparing each item - especially housing+transport+entertainment where you should see more savings.

All said; you look well set with both 401k/ira/taxable savings + $2k/mth pension - congrats with that!

Cheers!

[MaiChai]

I have already retired and unretired at a youngish age. All that free time and nothing to do? Well there are things to do, but you will get bored at some point and want something meaningful and worthwhile to do. What works for me is to duck in and out of work. When I get bored with work I take a break in Thailand. When I get restless and bored I go back to work. I am not that old, but believe even when I am in my sixties I will want something to do. I am not rich so I don't see any point in doing any work unless you can make some decent money at it. I mean that is the satisfaction, and working in Thailand for a low salary does not appeal. Thus I go back to my home country, appreciate my culture for a while, earn some good money, and when I get fed up I am come back! Maybe I will be a taxi driver when I am old

Having a car in Bangkok is useful; for days off and weekends. Otherwise its more convenient to take a bus/mini bus/taxi/BTS/MRT. At least at the weekends you don't have to do too much planning. Its useful to have proper off street parking. There are lots of apartments with this facility.

How much money do you need. Well very little is you do nothing. Thai food is cheap (assuming you like it). But then there is lots of 'entertainment' that may disrupt your budget Not much point in living here if you're budget is too restricted.

[richard10365]

Bluedragon, I retired from the U.S. military as an E7. My income is about 50,000 from that but I survive ok. You should have no problems living here with that amount.

If your above 50 you can request a retirement visa as well. Your monthly income qualifies for that.

Your kids might have to get jobs. Not sure how your support issues will work out.

[bluedragon]

FireFan: Conventional wisdom says that you need 80% of your current income in retirement to maintain a similar standard of living in retirement. However since Thailand is supposed to be cheaper than Japan, I am still curious to see any cost comparisions between Thailand and other countries.

Richard 10365: Hope your enjoying your retirement. By the way what area of Thailand do you live in?

Regards, BD

[richard10365]

Blue Dragon, I'm in Chiang Mai.

[bluedragon]

Here's a link to an international salary calculator that some of you may find useful.

The only places it covers in Thailand are Bangkok, and Chiang Mai.

http://www.homefair.com/homefair/servlet/A...ountry=Thailand

Regards, BD

[Maestro]

I currently am employed fulltime in Okinawa, Japan and make more then 800K a year.

Bluedragon, just in case you might have misunderstood: you do not have to bring into Thailand and spend in Thailand 800K every year if you manage to live on less.

For your first application for extension of stay for retirement, you must show a balance of min. 800K in a savings book in your name. Money brought in from abroad.

For subsequent applications, after having spent some of that money for your living expenses, it is sufficient to bring in enough money to bring the balance again to over 800K.

In other words, regardless whether you spend less or more than 800K per year in Thailand, once a year on the date of application for extension of stay the balance must be at least 800K, with money brought in from abroad.

---------------

Maestro

[bluedragon]

I currently am employed fulltime in Okinawa, Japan and make more then 800K a year.

Bluedragon, just in case you might have misunderstood: you do not have to bring into Thailand and spend in Thailand 800K every year if you manage to live on less.

For your first application for extension of stay for retirement, you must show a balance of min. 800K in a savings book in your name. Money brought in from abroad.

For subsequent applications, after having spent some of that money for your living expenses, it is sufficient to bring in enough money to bring the balance again to over 800K.

In other words, regardless whether you spend less or more than 800K per year in Thailand, once a year on the date of application for extension of stay the balance must be at least 800K, with money brought in from abroad.

---------------

Maestro

Maestro, or as I understand it, show that I have at least 65k baht income a month.

Regards, BD

[LoveDaBlues]

I currently am employed fulltime in Okinawa, Japan and make more then 800K a year.

Bluedragon, just in case you might have misunderstood: you do not have to bring into Thailand and spend in Thailand 800K every year if you manage to live on less.

For your first application for extension of stay for retirement, you must show a balance of min. 800K in a savings book in your name. Money brought in from abroad.

For subsequent applications, after having spent some of that money for your living expenses, it is sufficient to bring in enough money to bring the balance again to over 800K.

In other words, regardless whether you spend less or more than 800K per year in Thailand, once a year on the date of application for extension of stay the balance must be at least 800K, with money brought in from abroad.

---------------

Maestro

Maestro, or as I understand it, show that I have at least 65k baht income a month.

Regards, BD

Correct. For those who can this is the way to go IMO. When the Baht gets weaker THEN bring in a big chunk.

To answer your original question. If you pay cash for a car and living quarters and have 2k USD per month to spend you'll be just fine.

[klikster]

In answer to some of your questions:

The plan is to rent for a while, then buy a condo either outright or through a loan.

You might want to go a bit slow on buying. Bangkok is a great place to live .. for awhile.

But it can also be a pain, and get downright unpleasant when the shine of the nightlife wears away.

As for a car. I lived in BKK for a year. In that year I put 1,500 km on my car .. about 1,200 of those looking for a place to park.

Near the end of that year, I also got a severe case of chemical bronchitis.

[LoveDaBlues]

In answer to some of your questions:

The plan is to rent for a while, then buy a condo either outright or through a loan.

You might want to go a bit slow on buying. Bangkok is a great place to live .. for awhile.

But it can also be a pain, and get downright unpleasant when the shine of the nightlife wears away.

As for a car. I lived in BKK for a year. In that year I put 1,500 km on my car .. about 1,200 of those looking for a place to park.

Near the end of that year, I also got a severe case of chemical bronchitis.

Probably the best advice here. You should rent anywhere for a year before you buy.

[Dakhar]

I have zero expenses...

With that in mind, I live off of less than 20K TB, I earn around 200K TB sometimes more. I don't feel a bit rich at all.

This kind of money may sound rich to the locals, but all it can really provide is all the food you want, all the clothes you want, drive on the tollways, and not even blink when you pay for a tank of gas. I had this ability in the US so comming here and living this type of life style is no fantasy come true.

As far as nightly entertainmen, I am maried, so that means I go without... for the married folks out there, you know what I mean.

Any how, with the money I make here, I can not afford a nice offshore fishing boat (23-27ft would be nice) a M3 BMW etc.

In other words if you want to live the "high life" you really have to have a LARGE amount of money. The rich in Thailand are really rich....

[JimmyGreaves]

In other words if you want to live the "high life" you really have to have a LARGE amount of money. The rich in Thailand are really rich....

Too True

[migrant]

Everyone's style of living is different. I think Thailand lets people cover the basic costs very reasonably. It is your hobbies, and desires, that can add up.

Do you want to eat in a nice western restaurant 1-3 times a week? Do you want to travel around Asia, and take 1-2 trips a year back home? Do you want to go out, party and play with the Ladies every night?

These can add up considerably.

If you enjoy your home, and family. If you like Thai food. If you don't need a lot of 'toys' (not just the female type) Then I think living in Thailand can be very reasonable

[Dakhar]

I am not trying to stir things... But I would just like to paint reality. Before I came to LOS, I was told by many on this forum that 200-300K (and by my wife) is super star status....

I am here to tell those that read this, it AINT.

Back home I could afford the M3, here not even, and even if I could, I would not spend 170K USD on a car that I could purchase for 60K in the US. It is a principle thing I have. So it will be Tuk Tuks and Toyotas forever for me.

No 200-300K will give you a decent life, a life full of money in your wallet, at all times. But the big toy items like, boats, ATV's, 5 acre yards, big houses etc.... forget about it.

[rcalsop]

800000 a year, no problem. (I wish) LOL

I agree about the car in BKK, waste of time, money and aggro.

I think that should if you live in central BKK ...it is a big place and not just a 4 kilometer radius of Suk ....live in the outskirts and the car becomes more of a requirement .

My advice ...move to Malaysia .. We have !!..better pay ,efficient infrastructure , you can own your own land and house ,education is better , salaries are 30% up on what I achieved in Bkk,and they actually have companies that make you feel as if they understand you and want you ( ie you are not just a nesesary evil to be got rid of as soon as possible ) .Retirement plans are much better as well .

Sorry I am just back for the weekend to finalise the family move ..any one want to buy 2 houses and a car . ???