Cost of living in Chiang Mai: how much $$ is needed per year?

[little mary sunshine]

Being single it's impossible to relate to family expenses. I lived in CM for a year, had a beautiful

53sq meter apt, pool gym,security; drove a new motorbike, really enjoy Thai food and the Pizza

At Dukes, on the River, is wonderful. Not a big drinker, a couple of drinks at the bar per week to

Socialize, used box wine for dinner, cooked my own steaks twice a week, made my own hamburgers,

Visited BKK,Pattaya a couple times during that year. This was four years ago, don't know if the

Cost of living has increased very much.....Don't think I ever spent more than B30K per month.

About $900 per month It was wonderful and after living in San Fran. It was like living for free!!!

ENJOY CM!

[Just1Voice]

This is a question which no one can really answer for you. All any of us can do is relate our own personal experiences, which vary from person to person, to give you some ideas. Expenses for me, my wife, and adult son (who is a government teacher now working on his Master Degree) run around 80k baht a month, leaving us a little over 40k baht a month for "other things". We have a beautiful home (which is now for sale to get something smaller), a 3 year old car, a 2 year old Forza and and new PCX. And when I fully recover from my stroke, the PCX will be replaced with a new CB300f. Once a month I go to Rimping and spend around 8k for Western food, that will last me a month at a time. Other than that, it's MACRO, Tesco and Big C.

As others have stated, it will all depend on the particular lifestyle you decide on, such as the house you rent/buy, the type of car/motorbike or motorcycles you want, and your eating habits. And don't forget insurance for everyone.

[mihalis]

How long is a piece of string... Answering how much would you need to live would be virtually impossible for anybody else but yourself.. I can live a normal life, but a friend, needs over 150 tho thai baht to survive...

[1FinickyOne]

As others note, nobody can answer for you - my guess is you will fairly easily exceed 100,000 baht per month… I think you are accustomed to living in some style… you are not going to be sending kids to Int schools and then pinching pennies.. same for having 2 cars and vacations.

since much of your spending will be more what I would consider discretionary rather than necessity, you will have control on what you spend.

Maybe the only thing that really matters is how much more it would cost you to have the same lifestyle in another place - like your home country. I would imagine you will have a much less expensive and more interesting life in CM than most of the Western World for the same money…

Enjoy your stay.

[Thakkar]

With one kid at international school and no housing cost or car payments, $40k a year at current exchange rates would be fine. The amount would cover most families' reasonably comfortable living expenses, health insurance, one foreign family holiday and one or two local family holidays a year.

For long term planning, factor in an annual 5% inflation for regular expenses, an 8% inflation for school fees and a long term exchange rate of 25-28 against USD. Set aside some money for house maintainance, car replacement and unforeseen emergencies.

To the above 40k figure, add 25% for Bangkok and Phuket. Reduce about 10% for Chiangmai, 15% for Issan.

Keep the bulk of your funds abroad and don't burn your bridges.

T

[BDG]

International school fees in BKK are double or triple the price from CM (apart from Prem) so that is a plus for CM. I had to send my daughter back to Belgium as I couldn't (and did not want) to pay these ridiculous International school prices. It is a total rip off IMO.

Also, I notice that many comments speak about 'eating out x times a week' - note that eating out here is cheaper than cooking dinner yourself. So in Thailand it is the other way around. In the restaurants here in my area in Bangkok a dish at a Thai eaterie costs 40 - 60 baht. When I go to the supermarket to buy fresh vegetables and fruit and everything you need to cook a healthy meal - it is costing 5 or 10 times as much.

[gamini]

It's expensive to be me. I have a personal trainer 2x every day... yoga stretching after swim and strength training in the afternoon. I download books. I read one every day. I don't care about cheese and wine but I eat out one meal per day. I get a massage almost every day. My puppy has her groomer once a week. I have a maid and a gardener 2x per week. If you add HOA and lawyer fees I spend $5,000 US every month.I am not counting rent. I scuba dive so that costs money to get a dog sitter, fly to Phuket and take a boat. If this is your life style, you save on food and trainers but spend on air fare.

it is about right to live gracefully in Thailand. But that excludes overseas trips for us which would add abiut $10K more. But we do spend about $70K.

[MaeJoMTB]

Median household income in the province is under 30K thb per month....don't really see much suffering....but if you want to pay 3X for western stuff, and use 7 air-conditioners....costs can mount up quickly. BTW, 40K THB per month puts your household in the top 20%, in BKK.

that coming from a guy who lives in a one room apartment, can only afford travel insurance, and runs a FB group - "eating out in C.M. for under 50 Baht". quality...

Not true,

My $17k (45kbht/month) pays the home loan on a 3 bed 3 shower house 12km from the moat.

Runs 1 pickup, 3 scooters, 2 bicycles & feeds 5 people.

And I eat out at least once a day.

Not everyone gets drunk every night and buys hookers.

[MaeJoMTB]

So in Thailand it is the other way around. In the restaurants here in my area in Bangkok a dish at a Thai eaterie costs 40 - 60 baht. When I go to the supermarket to buy fresh vegetables and fruit and everything you need to cook a healthy meal - it is costing 5 or 10 times as much.

But this thread is about CM, and food for cooking at home here costs about 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of eating out.

[MESmith]

So in Thailand it is the other way around. In the restaurants here in my area in Bangkok a dish at a Thai eaterie costs 40 - 60 baht. When I go to the supermarket to buy fresh vegetables and fruit and everything you need to cook a healthy meal - it is costing 5 or 10 times as much.

But this thread is about CM, and food for cooking at home here costs about 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of eating out.

Wouldn't classify a 40 bht meal as healthy. Or filling if you want decent portion of meat & veg.

[abrahamzvi]

We live on $17k a year, 3 adults, 2 children. (That includes my wife's home loan repayments)

Same quality of life as I lived in the UK, but with better weather and a younger wife.

@Lowries

Not much scuba diving in Chiang Mai.

@Masuk

I thought ebooks were free!

I wonder how you manage. I personally do not have a trainer, nor do I do any scuba . Yes, my wife and I spend some money on luxuries and our daughter at university costs us some Baht 25K a month (some$800). However, we need altogether some $5,000 a month, excluding overseas trips. We very rarely shop at Rim Ping or Tops and don't frequent expensive restaurants too often. Yes, we do have two cars but not a Mercedes, BMW or Audi. With a child in an international good school and a comfortable style of life, I would estimate that one needs some $§5,000 a months plus/minus, excluding housing.

[Pinot]

I wrote on the Kamalala Blog a couple of months ago:

How much money do I need to live in Thailand? I have an answer, but there are so many variables that there really is no one answer.

First there are the initial costs. Let’s assume you’re a single guy with an average budget. You have to get here. A one way ticket from the West may run $1000. A one month stay in a hotel while you look for a place to live is $1000. Food and entertainment (first month is going to be like a vacation) will be $1000. You’ll need to put a deposit on a place, let’s say $500.

You’ll need a phone. Cell phones are a different proposition in Thailand. You buy the phone and then choose a carrier. The least expensive plan with Internet access, runs about $15 a month. The monthly charges are minimal with the big expense being the initial cost of the phone. iPhones are $500 and up. You can buy cheap phone for $20. All the Android phones are available. I’m an iPhone guy.

Once you find a place to live you’ll want an Internet connection. My Internet connection runs $20 a month. Faster speeds are $30 and up. There is a deposit on the wifi router.

You’re going to need transportation. You can rent a motorbike for $150 month. You can buy a used Honda Click (the most popular bike) for $1000 or a new one for $1700. These bikes are cheap to repair and never seem to wear out. The Honda PCX is a smoother, bigger and more comfortable for longer trips. The PCX is $2500. These bikes are inexpensive to operate and very good value. A word of caution, they may be hazardous to your health. At least do something the locals rarely do, wear a helmet. I’m one of the few people in town who always wears a helmet.

If you would prefer to drive a vehicle, small sedans start about $16,000. Used cars hold their value, so it’s difficult to find good used car that isn’t overpriced, compared to what you can buy in the West. It doesn’t make sense to buy an overpriced used car when a new car is a better value. You’ll have to jump through a few hoops, but they can be financed. Pick-up trucks are given favourable tax incentives because they’re considered working vehicles. Stretch-cab pickup trucks start around $20,000.

I suggest you purchase a health insurance, to cover major medical expenses. A 60 year old might pay $1600 a year for a million dollars’ worth of coverage. Believe me, that’s a lot of medical coverage in Thailand. The payment may be broken out into quarterly payments.

How much savings do you need to live in Thailand? It depends on how much money you have coming in. A monthly budget of $2,500 is a reasonable figure. You’ll be able to figure it out with the help of a financial adviser or some online study, using that monthly budget figure. Everyone is going to have a different level of risk they’re comfortable with, for generating income from investments. You may have pension benefits that affect how much you need.

The other thing to keep in mind is to have enough money over and above what you need to live on, an emergency fund. You may need to have money to return for a family emergency, for instance. Have enough in reserve for the unexpected, like the Boy Scout Motto, “Be prepared”.

You won’t be able to work in Thailand with a retirement visa. You’ll need to be self-sufficient.

To get set up and comfortable here in Thailand, your initial expenses may run $5000. That of course doesn’t include buying a car.

How much money do you need to live in Thailand? I’ll name a figure and let the reader decide if it’s relevant. My answer is $300,000. That’s my figure for living on an average budget and collecting social security. You can use that figure of $2500 a month, to work backwards for your own answer.

I love living in the Land of Smiles. I can’t imagine a better place to live.

[fang37]

I lived in CNX for 13 years.

For city living, if you cannot afford to live in CNX, you cannot afford to live in LOS.

My only advice is - be flexible/adaptable/

[DLang]

100k p/m disposable income and you should be fine.

[Chicog]

At the upper end of your range you'll be fine. At the lower you might have to think about choosing only two of the chauffeur, gardener, butler and housemaid, and letting the other two go.

[diehard71]

25k

[eaglesflight]

Median household income in the province is under 30K thb per month....don't really see much suffering....but if you want to pay 3X for western stuff, and use 7 air-conditioners....costs can mount up quickly. BTW, 40K THB per month puts your household in the top 20%, in BKK.

that coming from a guy who lives in a one room apartment, can only afford travel insurance, and runs a FB group - "eating out in C.M. for under 50 Baht". quality...

Not true,

My $17k (45kbht/month) pays the home loan on a 3 bed 3 shower house 12km from the moat.

Runs 1 pickup, 3 scooters, 2 bicycles & feeds 5 people.

And I eat out at least once a day.

Not everyone gets drunk every night and buys hookers.

Are your children attending government schools?

[bangmai]

I wrote on the Kamalala Blog a couple of months ago:

How much money do I need to live in Thailand? I have an answer, but there are so many variables that there really is no one answer.

First there are the initial costs. Let’s assume you’re a single guy with an average budget. You have to get here. A one way ticket from the West may run $1000. A one month stay in a hotel while you look for a place to live is $1000. Food and entertainment (first month is going to be like a vacation) will be $1000. You’ll need to put a deposit on a place, let’s say $500.

You’ll need a phone. Cell phones are a different proposition in Thailand. You buy the phone and then choose a carrier. The least expensive plan with Internet access, runs about $15 a month. The monthly charges are minimal with the big expense being the initial cost of the phone. iPhones are $500 and up. You can buy cheap phone for $20. All the Android phones are available. I’m an iPhone guy.

Once you find a place to live you’ll want an Internet connection. My Internet connection runs $20 a month. Faster speeds are $30 and up. There is a deposit on the wifi router.

You’re going to need transportation. You can rent a motorbike for $150 month. You can buy a used Honda Click (the most popular bike) for $1000 or a new one for $1700. These bikes are cheap to repair and never seem to wear out. The Honda PCX is a smoother, bigger and more comfortable for longer trips. The PCX is $2500. These bikes are inexpensive to operate and very good value. A word of caution, they may be hazardous to your health. At least do something the locals rarely do, wear a helmet. I’m one of the few people in town who always wears a helmet.

If you would prefer to drive a vehicle, small sedans start about $16,000. Used cars hold their value, so it’s difficult to find good used car that isn’t overpriced, compared to what you can buy in the West. It doesn’t make sense to buy an overpriced used car when a new car is a better value. You’ll have to jump through a few hoops, but they can be financed. Pick-up trucks are given favourable tax incentives because they’re considered working vehicles. Stretch-cab pickup trucks start around $20,000.

I suggest you purchase a health insurance, to cover major medical expenses. A 60 year old might pay $1600 a year for a million dollars’ worth of coverage. Believe me, that’s a lot of medical coverage in Thailand. The payment may be broken out into quarterly payments.

How much savings do you need to live in Thailand? It depends on how much money you have coming in. A monthly budget of $2,500 is a reasonable figure. You’ll be able to figure it out with the help of a financial adviser or some online study, using that monthly budget figure. Everyone is going to have a different level of risk they’re comfortable with, for generating income from investments. You may have pension benefits that affect how much you need.

The other thing to keep in mind is to have enough money over and above what you need to live on, an emergency fund. You may need to have money to return for a family emergency, for instance. Have enough in reserve for the unexpected, like the Boy Scout Motto, “Be prepared”.

You won’t be able to work in Thailand with a retirement visa. You’ll need to be self-sufficient.

To get set up and comfortable here in Thailand, your initial expenses may run $5000. That of course doesn’t include buying a car.

How much money do you need to live in Thailand? I’ll name a figure and let the reader decide if it’s relevant. My answer is $300,000. That’s my figure for living on an average budget and collecting social security. You can use that figure of $2500 a month, to work backwards for your own answer.

I love living in the Land of Smiles. I can’t imagine a better place to live.

1000 USD for a month in a CNX Hotel? Few spend that much, 500 would be above average. Couldn't you just live in a convenient location and skip the death rides? Am I the only one, who doesn't have a mobile plan, but simply tops up at the vending machine or buys a 60 thb card every few weeks or month?

[MaeJoMTB]

Median household income in the province is under 30K thb per month....don't really see much suffering....but if you want to pay 3X for western stuff, and use 7 air-conditioners....costs can mount up quickly. BTW, 40K THB per month puts your household in the top 20%, in BKK.

that coming from a guy who lives in a one room apartment, can only afford travel insurance, and runs a FB group - "eating out in C.M. for under 50 Baht". quality...

Not true,

My $17k (45kbht/month) pays the home loan on a 3 bed 3 shower house 12km from the moat.

Runs 1 pickup, 3 scooters, 2 bicycles & feeds 5 people.

And I eat out at least once a day.

Not everyone gets drunk every night and buys hookers.

Are your children attending government schools?

Yep,

teenager at the top of her class every year, fluent in Thai and English. Best English speaker in the school (including her teachers).

Will be attending CM Uni in the next couple of years.

3 year old, just started tessaban kindergarten, too soon to tell how he's doing yet.

[technologybytes]

We live on $17k a year, 3 adults, 2 children. (That includes my wife's home loan repayments)

Same quality of life as I lived in the UK, but with better weather and a younger wife.

I take my hat off to you, I have tried and tried to reduce my costs here but I would only make it a few months into the year on $17 and thats without things like changing car every now and again.

I think the bottom line is that are all different

[hellstens]

You can start with 23,740USD. That is what you need to have, to stay in Thailand in the first place,

The rest is up to you how you want to live :-)

[Mousehound]

My guess is 120k - 150k Bht pm would be pretty comfortable. After say six months to a year you could possibly reduce this. This would not include trips home or health insurance. Cars are expensive but cheap to fix. Scooters are cheap but dangerous and until you get the hang of the traffic I wouldn't risk it. Especially if you have a young family to consider. Petrol is expensive compared to the USA but cheaper than Europe - similar to Australia. If, as previous poster has stated, a car cost 7Bht per k then each car will cost 12k Bht per month to run based on 20k km each car.

Just a thought and it may not be possible for the OP, but I am coming around to the idea that home schooling can be a the way to go. I am seeing some really great results with home schooling: however, you have to have the time and the inclination - but with research and application and following an outcomes based programme it can be done.

As much wiser and more experienced posters than myself have pointed out, the upset costs are high and I would say much higher than you might expect. Budget for the worst and you wont get a shock.

[eaglesflight]

Yep,

teenager at the top of her class every year, fluent in Thai and English. Best English speaker in the school (including her teachers).

Will be attending CM Uni in the next couple of years.

3 year old, just started tessaban kindergarten, too soon to tell how he's doing yet.

I'm not sure that I would be happy sending my daughter to a government school. On the other hand I do object to the fees charged by international schools in Thailand. Relatively speaking, taking into account wage differentials between the two countries, I don't think they are any cheaper than those in the UK but whereas in the UK you are paying for the best teachers, here you could be paying exorbitant private school fees only to end up having your children taught by somebody who has a couple of years' experience teaching in an inner city comprehensive in Liverpool. The bar seems to be much lower. Anyway, veering off the subject a little there, sorry.

[Lowriesuzanne]

We forgot insurance. Car insurance, house insurance, health insurance. I scuba so I have DAN insurance for diving and DAN insurance for traveling. That's cheap. $1,000 dollars per year. If you have a child, you need really good insurance. You can't scrape by with DAN. What is the bill? $1000 dollars per year for house and car. Health insurance can be brutal. You need $10,000 dollars in savings for emergencies and up to $1,000 dollars for the insurance monthly payment. Also, we forgot the child's recreation. How many trips to the beach? How many rides on elephants? How many private lessons: swim, piano, gymnastics. How much for school teams? Soccer, swim, dance. God forbid the child takes up golf to be with his/her friends. Horseback riding. Some kids love horses. You may plan on living modestly but having a child in Chiang Mai can be a major expense. Why would your child want to weed your vegetables when his/her friends are on a swim team and ride horses? If my two grandchildren lived with me, I would be plunged into poverty. Between the school fees and the sports fees I would be hard-pressed to find food money and gasoline money. I would have to give up all my recreation. I would be broke.

[Mousehound]

We forgot insurance. Car insurance, house insurance, health insurance. I scuba so I have DAN insurance for diving and DAN insurance for traveling. That's cheap. $1,000 dollars per year. If you have a child, you need really good insurance. You can't scrape by with DAN. What is the bill? $1000 dollars per year for house and car. Health insurance can be brutal. You need $10,000 dollars in savings for emergencies and up to $1,000 dollars for the insurance monthly payment. Also, we forgot the child's recreation. How many trips to the beach? How many rides on elephants? How many private lessons: swim, piano, gymnastics. How much for school teams? Soccer, swim, dance. God forbid the child takes up golf to be with his/her friends. Horseback riding. Some kids love horses. You may plan on living modestly but having a child in Chiang Mai can be a major expense. Why would your child want to weed your vegetables when his/her friends are on a swim team and ride horses? If my two grandchildren lived with me, I would be plunged into poverty. Between the school fees and the sports fees I would be hard-pressed to find food money and gasoline money. I would have to give up all my recreation. I would be broke.

So - same as anywhere else I would suspect. Could still be cheaper than other places. My daughter had a horse and it did cost, but there is no way I could have afforded one in say London. Kids are going to keep you poor anywhere in the world - but don't worry - when they get to be about forty years of age they cost a bit less! I think there are a lot worse places to bring up kids than CM.

[kanook]

International school fees in BKK are double or triple the price from CM (apart from Prem) so that is a plus for CM. I had to send my daughter back to Belgium as I couldn't (and did not want) to pay these ridiculous International school prices. It is a total rip off IMO.

Also, I notice that many comments speak about 'eating out x times a week' - note that eating out here is cheaper than cooking dinner yourself. So in Thailand it is the other way around. In the restaurants here in my area in Bangkok a dish at a Thai eaterie costs 40 - 60 baht. When I go to the supermarket to buy fresh vegetables and fruit and everything you need to cook a healthy meal - it is costing 5 or 10 times as much.

While eating out can be very inexpensive in CM, shopping at the local markets and cooking at home is even cheaper.

[Beetlejuice]

It is also prudent to factor in medical care. How much is a personal thing depending on how healthy you are but for someone in their 60's for example Sheryl on the Health Forum has said that you should have 2m in the bank to allow for medical emergencies. A heart attack and subsequent care can eat this amount up very quickly unless you have adequate medical insurance

An extremely important and good point.

Anyone considering staying in Thailand for the long term or perhaps for the remainder of their lives, should have at least a minimum of 2 or even better 3 million baht saved in a Thai bank. I would never feel secure just living on a monthly or yearly income only being one pay cheque away from disaster. Quite frankly I couldn`t live like that on a hope and prayer that all works out and I never become ill or involved in a serious accident or Immigration decides to up the ante to obtain a visa.

Another point is; for those who obtain their incomes from abroad, is to base the bahts rates on the lowest bank foreign exchanged rates and not on the present day rates, meaning they can ride out the storm if the rates go down.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Beetlejuice

[Johpa]

It's expensive to be me. I have a personal trainer 2x every day... yoga stretching after swim and strength training in the afternoon. I download books. I read one every day. I don't care about cheese and wine but I eat out one meal per day. I get a massage almost every day. My puppy has her groomer once a week. I have a maid and a gardener 2x per week. If you add HOA and lawyer fees I spend $5,000 US every month.I am not counting rent. I scuba dive so that costs money to get a dog sitter, fly to Phuket and take a boat. If this is your life style, you save on food and trainers but spend on air fare.

Being expensive is the least of your issues. You might want to work on that vanity affliction you possess. But on the other hand, say hey, whatever flips your fern.

I don't spend $5,000 per month at my home in the US. And when living at my home in Thailand it is far less as food is far less expensive, and I rarely eat anything apart from Thai food and only drink Thai booze with soda water. I reckon I live comfortably for just under $1,200 per month. And that is including my housing and vehicle costs extended over time as well.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Johpa

[sappersrest]

It is also prudent to factor in medical care. How much is a personal thing depending on how healthy you are but for someone in their 60's for example Sheryl on the Health Forum has said that you should have 2m in the bank to allow for medical emergencies. A heart attack and subsequent care can eat this amount up very quickly unless you have adequate medical insurance

An extremely important and good point.

Anyone considering staying in Thailand for the long term or perhaps for the remainder of their lives, should have at least a minimum of 2 or even better 3 million baht saved in a Thai bank. I would never feel secure just living on a monthly or yearly income only being one pay cheque away from disaster. Quite frankly I couldn`t live like that on a hope and prayer that all works out and I never become ill or involved in a serious accident or Immigration decides to up the ante to obtain a visa.

Another point is; for those who obtain their incomes from abroad, is to base the bahts rates on the lowest bank foreign exchanged rates and not on the present day rates, meaning they can ride out the storm if the rates go down.

This is one of the best bits of advice ever posted on this forum , please take note everyone.

Edited June 17, 2015 by sappersrest

[thrilled]

If I spend A year in the US it cost me approximately $1,000 A month.House and cars paid for.Need to pay the bills,insurance

Taxes,food etc.

I live approximately 4-6 months in Thailand A year.I have $20,000 to spend for that amount of time.More than enough.