Cost of living in Thailand and income tax rates for foreigner

[Guest]

You can live very, very comfortably in Bangkok on that salary.

Very.

Not sure how much you will send home ... there are lots of great ways to spend cash here.

[rwdrwdrwd]

Comeon man. Stealing good jobs from Thai people. Shame on you! And I'm sure a Thai would work for less money than that.

If they could find someone qualified then I'm sure they would be hiring Thai first. Thailand is well behind other areas of the world in terms of skilled software engineers.

Software engineering is a wide field.

Is there anything Thais can not do, like eg IBM Mainframe applications?

The problem is the languages and systems that most Thai developers learn, and their level of experience and ability to think laterally and pick the best tool for the job.

It's primarily (one of) .NET and Java, and not to a very good level - these (alone) are not what modern programming teams are using. In my opinion the issue is rooted in an education system that is based upon learning by rote - this is a terrible basis for programming.

Of course there are exceptions, there are skilled polyglot Thai national developers, but they are far more the exception than the rule than in many other countries worldwide, and I suspect most of them are practicing elsewhere for much more money.

Edited July 17, 2015 by rwdrwdrwd

[micmichd]

Guess you mean 65 kb monthly. I would take the job, you might be able to improve later.

[Hornyskunk]

By Thai standards, 65k/month is a lot. I live and work in downtown Bangkok and I think you can live here off 65k/month no problem. If you need to send money home, you can live cheaply and more Thai-like.

I don't drink, don't smoke, don't pay for sex, don't go out for entertainment, etc. In my free time, I am either with my girlfriend or I'm home playing video games. I'm young so I have no medical expenses or children.

However, I have to warn you that you can still easily blow through 65k/month. I am moving to a new condo this Sunday and have estimated my new monthly expenses to be around 50k/month, so I'm budgeting 60k/month.

If you can, I advise you to splurge on your apartment or condo and try to save money elsewhere. I wish I could cut down on my air-conditioning costs, but I instantly burst into sweat every time I walk outside. This means I travel almost exclusively by taxi and I eat/shop only at expensive, air-conditioned places. When I was calculating my costs recently, I found that I spend almost 10k a month on taxis! At that rate I should just get my own car. If you can stand living, eating, shopping and traveling at higher temperatures, you could save more than 20k/month compared to me.

[kaiyaibob]

What sort of a question is that without further info??? Surely it is all relative?? and depends what their personal expectations are and what their lifestyle choices are...how can anybody answer that question "is 65k enough??" (apart from the generic "cost of living / tax rates part) unless responders know the answer to those "expectations/lifestyle" questions at least....the person sounds naive in the extreme to me for asking such a question in the manner they have :-( ..

People answering such a question do you know how this person lives their life, their lifestye, their spending habits how can that question possibly be answered without further info???

apologies to the offended

Edited July 17, 2015 by kaiyaibob

[mcatt66]

You can live on 65K especially with no alcohol. but its def not a lot of money and i wouldnt expect to save or send much home...

most decent apartments are between 10 and 20K a month. . alot of this depends on what area you live and work

So after taxes you're looking at about 58K ...after apartment and utilities youre down to 45K a month...11,000 baht a week ...1,600 baht a day. .

food, coffee, fitness, entertainment, transport, basic needs stuff add up too. .

As a single guy ..even without alcohol dating gets expensive

with that said I have lived on a similar wage and was fine. . and Im a drinker and travel a bit. . I lived a good life... had a nice condo. . didnt worry about money but i also didnt save much . .

[dotpoom]

i am single so no alcohol and veg food

Not for long (all 3)

You make it sound as if being "single" automatically means that you are a non-drinker... 555

[overherebc]

Why not try it for a year. Just make sure you can leave anytime. Keep a return ticket in your back pocket.

When you do get here make sure you follow advice from UBJ and others on here regarding visas, extensions and work permits etc.

A year goes fast so try to learn fast.

[Pmax]

ask yourself if you would work in your home country for 65K ?

if not - do not do it here !

saving money to send home on 65k/month ? good luck !

if you want to keep your standards, life is expensive in TH too.

advices like live more Thai-style, no alcohol, take the bus, eat noodle soup ! why moving to TH ?

yes, most Thai live on less than that but do not compare yourself with the farmers up north and their lifestyle.

Not difficult to find Thais earning 65k and more with all the benefits coming with that kind of money.

as a foreign engineer of any kind you should get 100k at least ! or 65k + living + transportation + + +

good luck

[tonray]

Renting a unit (simple room with toilet/shower, 24 square meters) across Vibharam Hospital in Suan Luang, about 10 minutes walking from the airport link. Rent is 3500 excluding utils. About 400 baht per month for unlimited internet, about 700 baht for electricity. It takes about 15 mins with the airport link to Phaya Thai station. Food depends on what you are used to, but on average 150-200 baht a day. Total budget per month: about 8-10.000 baht. It's not luxurious, but good enough

So with your income, you should be more than fine.

That's near that Floraville complex ? I know that neighborhood near the Hua Mak rail...I may end up there in a few months. if you would not mind could you let me know the name of your building ? Thanks.

Edited July 17, 2015 by tonray

[newnative]

65,000 will be plenty for your needs. Grab the job and enjoy Thailand and Asia.

[mortenaa]

I would find it very hard to survive on 65K a month. But I do enjoy going to Villa Market, and I do enjoy restaurants and bars. I do enjoy a good ice coffee. Bangkok is expensive, and services here are much more expensive than before.

65K is about the same as a decent Thai programmer would have. In my business we outsource IT Consultants to other local companies, and their salary is around 40K - 55K.

As a foreigner, and you have skills in c# or similar, I guess you could look at 100K or more. I have foreign friends here that works as engineers, and they salaries ranging from 100K - 250K.

[qsecofr]

with all input from different members, assume u will spend 40k on living in bangkok and remaining $$ will be sent home (25k)

will the $$ be enough for your family ? if 25-30k still isnt enough for u to send home. then u will have to reconsider the offer.

if u a still young and not much of burden, no harm to work overseas and gain different exposures.

gd luck.

[Deli]

Hmm, this job normally should pay better for a foreigner, seems to be thai wages applied to a foreigner.

If you wanna save and send money home, maybe for a family, than I would look for something better, if you aren't desperate.

If you are single and wanna enjoy BKK for a while, go for it.

[ubeturazz]

where are u from? in the US that's about 2000 USD, a paupers wage. you can make that working at McDonalds! it's not much above the poverty level. it's what old folks get from social security!!

it's the minimum monthly income necessary to qualify for retirement visa in Thailand.

in the silicon valley - u would be paid at least 4 - 5 times that much! though ur living expenses would be considerably higher.

i guess it would be fun to live in Thailand for a while, but it's not the place to get rich - or plan for ur eventual retirement.

but quite enough to live comfortably anywhere in Thailand.

[quandow]

This sounds too good to be true. Is this a specialty programming job (proprietary s/w) or Unix, Banyan, etc.?

Software engineering is often farmed out to other countries as geography is no longer a consideration, and at a much lower salary. I'm just suggesting you verify this is a bona fide offer. There is an A-hole who floats around a TEFL job on a regular basis, more money than is usually offered, and you have to forward cash to put the job in play. Of course, the job and the guy disappear the moment the money is sent. He (assuming it's a guy) is very convincing - send pictures of his children you will tutor, the house in which you will stay . . . you get the idea.

If everything you say here is true, you can live comfortably and put money in the bank every month. Best of luck!

[micmichd]

This sounds too good to be true. Is this a specialty programming job (proprietary s/w) or Unix, Banyan, etc.?

Software engineering is often farmed out to other countries as geography is no longer a consideration, and at a much lower salary. I'm just suggesting you verify this is a bona fide offer. There is an A-hole who floats around a TEFL job on a regular basis, more money than is usually offered, and you have to forward cash to put the job in play. Of course, the job and the guy disappear the moment the money is sent. He (assuming it's a guy) is very convincing - send pictures of his children you will tutor, the house in which you will stay . . . you get the idea.

If everything you say here is true, you can live comfortably and put money in the bank every month. Best of luck!

[micmichd]

Make sure it's not one of these scams, don't pay anything in advance to "agents" before you have a signed contract.

[flossiebear]

On your lifestyle, no problem. Does your company cover medical expenses? if not then cost of this would need to be factored in

[mihalis]

Single, eats veggies... Bkk is cheap.. Others may say its not, but compared to western countries its cheap as... Nowhere in this world is as cheap as it was..................

[solai4]

Neega tamilan? Ellam pothum tharalama athunala pathi veetuku annupala

Yes you can send money home approximately half

It's rare to find pure veg foods

Edited July 17, 2015 by solai4

[ThailandLOS]

Comeon man. Stealing good jobs from Thai people. Shame on you! And I'm sure a Thai would work for less money than that.

If they could find someone qualified then I'm sure they would be hiring Thai first. Thailand is well behind other areas of the world in terms of skilled software engineers.

Software engineering is a wide field.

Is there anything Thais can not do, like eg IBM Mainframe applications?

Manage software development projects is for sure one thing I've never seen a Thai do successfully.

Edited July 17, 2015 by ThailandLOS

[MockingJay]

I started with 3.500 THB/month and free accommodation 24 years ago - you do the math...

[canarysun]

If i was living in Bangkok ( a cool place ) and earning that kind of money.I would find a place from 3,500 to 6,000 inc wifi etc and make sure it was a " fan room " if you are single ( like myself ) and don't drink or smoke and you can eat cheaply and try and use the Normal Trains or buses for getting around where possible and lot's of walking! ( Sky Train is ridiculously expensive if used every day - remember that the Thais don't walk anywhere!) you could easily live on 10,000 to 15,000 per month inc money for trips out and about.I would then save at least 50,000 a month in case things went " Pete Tong " ( wrong ).

Farang Jaidee

[Gecko123]

If i was living in Bangkok ( a cool place ) and earning that kind of money.I would find a place from 3,500 to 6,000 inc wifi etc and make sure it was a " fan room " if you are single ( like myself ) and don't drink or smoke and you can eat cheaply and try and use the Normal Trains or buses for getting around where possible and lot's of walking! ( Sky Train is ridiculously expensive if used every day - remember that the Thais don't walk anywhere!) you could easily live on 10,000 to 15,000 per month inc money for trips out and about.I would then save at least 50,000 a month in case things went " Pete Tong " ( wrong ).

Farang Jaidee

Whatdsup canary sun, long time, no hear! Looking good, bro.

[micmichd]

I would start with it. You can always improve if you're good, but you must get a foot in the door.

[SGX]

There are a lot of expats out there who would kill to have a job offer that pays 65,000b/m.

I'm guessing a lot of westerners would kill for that in their own countries as well.

Are you in IT? Are you a "westerner" or just spouting off?

You realize how 65,000 baht breaks down. 65k/34k baht to the dollar = 1,911 baht per month. Divide that say 40 hours a week at 4 weeks = $11.94 an hour.

Do you know that you can work stock shelves at a Home Depot for that much.

I know not a single decent developer that would work for those scrappings. Even freelancers on sideline gigs would be around that with no deadlines or promises how the code would look.

Thats my rent in top floor penthouse in Lumpinee . really not much considering what i get. In australia that would equal 1 week worth of food, why would westerners kill for this.. weird

[zierf1]

There are a lot of expats out there who would kill to have a job offer that pays 65,000b/m.

I'm guessing a lot of westerners would kill for that in their own countries as well.

Are you in IT? Are you a "westerner" or just spouting off?

You realize how 65,000 baht breaks down. 65k/34k baht to the dollar = 1,911 baht per month. Divide that say 40 hours a week at 4 weeks = $11.94 an hour.

Do you know that you can work stock shelves at a Home Depot for that much.

I know not a single decent developer that would work for those scrappings. Even freelancers on sideline gigs would be around that with no deadlines or promises how the code would look.

I think his employer is a fool for paying him that much. 30k a month would be a good amount for that line of work considering most Thais will work very hard for 7-8k a month. Not hard at all to learn how to write a few lines of code. That stuff can be learned in a few months tops. In fact, you could hire some unskilled monkeys off the street and teach them how to code. Start them off at 7-8k a month and then pay them 20-30k after a few years on the job. His employer is flushing baht down the drain. Must be another dumb foreigner who thinks 65k a month is a good deal.

[misterphil]

Thats a very good salary if your Thai. Are you Thai?

[MatteoBassini]

If you're looking purely to save money then your potential savings per month are around 40,000. That is if you live in a 4,000 baht per month apartment.

However, with 65,000 per month you can comfortably live anywhere in Thailand. But you didn't state a specific province/city in Thailand so I'm going to assume it's Bangkok. In the middle of Bangkok you can rent nice apartments raging from 15,000 a month to 25,000 a month. But 4,000 baht a month apartments in the outskirts of Bangkok aren't slums, you're paying for the privilege of easy travelling and being close to the CBD.

Buying food to last you 5 days from the supermarket/markets can cost you around 300 baht to 1,000 baht depending if you're buying local products or imported products.

You WILL be using an aircon when you're in Thailand and if you leave it on for 20 hours a day your electricity bill can reach 3,000 baht to 5,000 baht a month.