I'm back (i lasted 3 weeks)

[seancbk]

1 minute ago, SoiBiker said:

 

I'm talking about late at night. Sure, it's quicker, but it's not that quick. Udomsuk is a long way out. 

I'll time my trip home next time.  Perhaps it is 20 mins, rather than 15.   Certainly always seems like a quick journey and definitely not one that would make living out here untenable.

[seancbk]

11 hours ago, cheapskatesam said:

Wow loads of replies.. from the high-rollers (you'll starve to death with 700 quid)  to the more realistic.. 

 

Not sure what to think now really. My budget will increase next year i'm sure

I'm looking seriously at Chon Buri next time. Half way between Pattaya and BKK so i can easily have a day out at the beach or the city whilst living in a "cheap" rent area.. 

 

I found this site - http://www.renthub.in.th/en Loads of nice looking places under 10,000.. many of them have facebook pages that reply to messages also :D

 

 

I don't smoke and i sometimes drink at the weekend..

I like Thai food.. but sometimes crave a burger or Indian curry

 

I am hoping to find a good woman to settle down with but i'm not desperate (i'm 29) and i'm very picky.. she must have a job and not think of me as a ATM 

Thaifreindly is a minefield and a waste of time i'll stick to more traditional methods i think.

Considering you want to rent for 3 months or less perhaps a serviced apartment might be a better option.

Check this site out http://en.9apartment.com/search/serviced_apartment_in_Bangkok.aspx

Lots of other categories on there you can search through.

Good idea to stay away from Thai Friendly, at 29 you really shouldn't need to resort to that.    Tinder would be a much better option.
 

[cheapskatesam]

9 minutes ago, JB300 said:

OT but I thought the only option for UK citizens was to leave Vietnam every 90 days...

If you know something different, could you PM me any links etc...

Thx

JB

 

My mate has been there since 2014 just using METV's and doing visa run every 3 months .. he's never reported any issues

[dhream]

16 hours ago, Deepinthailand said:

More dross you just can't help yourself can you never mind on day you will learn

Edited November 28, 2016 by dhream

[Mooner]

Sukumvit is expensive on your budget.

I would go for Ratchada but you will need to be 1 or 2km down a soi and you can get something decent for around 8k.

I was going to stay there when i first came to thailand but wanted something close to the mrt.

Ended up settling in Lad Phrao. 5 mins walk to the station and big c and one stop on the mrt to central. I think it was soi 18. 

Both areas are enjoyable and more thai.

There is plenty of western food around too and thai food is cheaper than in sukhumvit.

Check out the traim market behind esplanade. Plenty of lovely thai women .

[FritsSikkink]

23 hours ago, jpinx said:

Tell that to the average Thai with a job,,,,,,,,,  (more arrogance,,,,)

most Thais have a lot of debts

[billd766]

2 hours ago, SoiBiker said:

 

Odd that you think the only two options are 'do nothing' or 'drink and chase the girls'. 

 

Is that seriously the only pastime you can think of that a man might occupy himself with? How sad. 

 

What do you suggest a 29 year old man with fairly limited income, a limited visa and no job will do 24/7?

 

He will be limited to public transport unless he buys some sort of wheels. That will increase his outgoings on a limited income.

 

Sure he will be able to eat out sometimes in the week but not 3 meals a day 7 days a week. Do apartments have kitchens or are they limited to a 2 ring gas or electric table top stove and a rice cooker?

 

Will the apartment be furnished even?

 

I am not sure if a cable TV would be available in a fairly low rental apartment, he will most likely not be able to get any good internet connections in an apartment, and would then have to rely on a mobile connection or find some wifi hotspot. That will be OK in the short term but in the longer term the owner of the wifi/hotspot will ask him to move on.

 

So, What do YOU suggest a 29 year old man with fairly limited income, a limited visa and no job will do with himself 24/7?

[Chip Allen]

On 11/27/2016 at 4:58 AM, nausea said:

I would suggest you take the current required income for retirement here - 64,000 baht a month (roughly £1500 at current exchange rates), as a minimal ballpark figure for a comfortable lifestyle. Of course, many people live on a lot less, and many on a lot more. The impression I get is that c. 30,000 baht is the minimum survival level, whilst to really live it up you need 100,000 baht or more.

<deleted>....I live on 2455 USD a month, and while I always have money left at the end of the month, it is a lean lifestyle. Idiots who think you can live like a king on 500 dollars a month are apparently using LSD.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Chip Allen
Because I <deleted> WANTED TO!!! CAPICHE??

[SoiBiker]

16 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

What do you suggest a 29 year old man with fairly limited income, a limited visa and no job will do 24/7?

 

He will be limited to public transport unless he buys some sort of wheels. That will increase his outgoings on a limited income.

 

Sure he will be able to eat out sometimes in the week but not 3 meals a day 7 days a week. Do apartments have kitchens or are they limited to a 2 ring gas or electric table top stove and a rice cooker?

 

Will the apartment be furnished even?

 

I am not sure if a cable TV would be available in a fairly low rental apartment, he will most likely not be able to get any good internet connections in an apartment, and would then have to rely on a mobile connection or find some wifi hotspot. That will be OK in the short term but in the longer term the owner of the wifi/hotspot will ask him to move on.

 

So, What do YOU suggest a 29 year old man with fairly limited income, a limited visa and no job will do with himself 24/7?

 

The same kind of things people do everywhere else. Hobbies. Interests. Pastimes. Reading. Music. Exploring. Exercise. Artistic endeavour. 

 

I could go on. The point is, there's more choice in life than merely doing nothing or drinking beer and chasing girls. It's tragic that anyone would need this explaining to them. 

[dhream]

1 minute ago, SoiBiker said:

 

The same kind of things people do everywhere else. Hobbies. Interests. Pastimes. Reading. Music. Exploring. Exercise. Artistic endeavour. 

 

I could go on. The point is, there's more choice in life than merely doing nothing or drinking beer and chasing girls. It's tragic that anyone would need this explaining to them. 

He could get into pointless arguments with strangers on TV, that seems to be very popular.

Now, I don't go out of my way to pick fights, usually, someone will get defensive over a remark I made, and often, not even at them, go figure, and then they start with the belittling, instead of debating the issue.

Of course, I hit back twice as hard, as I was taught in the playground, so I sometimes get sent to 'solitary confinement' for a few days... 

[YeahSiam]

21 hours ago, bamukloy said:

 

 

I must be doing something wrong.

I have no problem staying here spend around 18k a month.

I dont watch my spending or do without anything.

 

Of course if you want to waste money pay 15k up for rent in Sukvit and pay city prices..up to you.

Can get the same quality 2 bedroom appartment in condo building in the suburbs for half that. 

 

I still think you get what you pay for.

I pay 40k a month for a large, split-level 1 bed in Asoke and while I've no doubt I could get the same thing on the outskirts of Bangkok for much, much less, I'm also paying for the sheer convenience of the location.

I like having 2 or 3 7-11s, 3 Western supermarkets, gyms, cinemas, BTS, MRT, hundreds of taxis and motosais within spitting distance.

I wouldn't like to spend an hour driving or begging a taxi to take me into into central Bangkok for a night out and then having to repeat the procedure to get home afterwards.

Try lugging your Western groceries and other shopping all the way out to the suburbs and then tell me it doesn't affect your quality of life.

 

Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes "decent".

For me, it's space and lots of it; it's thick walls, a reliable electricity supply, easy access to premium malls, a huge choice of restaurants and bars and no issue getting taxis to take me to where I want to go when I want to travel.

If someone's happy in the 'burbs, fine but to suggest that paying more for convenience is a "waste of money" shows you're not looking at the big picture.

[JB300]

 
My mate has been there since 2014 just using METV's and doing visa run every 3 months .. he's never reported any issues

Thanks, I had read that there's no problem staying there on back-2-back 90 day visas but no option but to leave the country in between these which is what it sounds like your mate is doing [emoji1303]

Still less hassle than tourist visas in Thailand [emoji1303]

[FritsSikkink]

21 hours ago, geisha said:

I don't spend a 1000 B a day . What on ? I shop, eat at one or two nice clean restaurants practically every day, buy tons of lovely fruit. I don't go to bars ,I rarely have a drink, because of health, not because I'm against it. I have a proper massage twice a week, and use the beauty salons. Though I do pay a lot of rent, as I like a super clean modern condo with great pool. The day when I can rent on a yearly basis will cost me much less. I have no real budget, and do as I like really, but spending over 5 to 7  hundred a day for me is the max.ps, not including trips to Bangkok and islands where I obviously spend much more.

how much do you spend on doctors / insurance a year?

[billd766]

2 hours ago, SoiBiker said:

 

The same kind of things people do everywhere else. Hobbies. Interests. Pastimes. Reading. Music. Exploring. Exercise. Artistic endeavour. 

 

I could go on. The point is, there's more choice in life than merely doing nothing or drinking beer and chasing girls. It's tragic that anyone would need this explaining to them. 

 

That is what I do out here in rural Thailand, but the OP will only be in Thailand for a relatively short time and living in BKK and at 29 I was still in the RAF and working. Drinking beer was a serious pastime then along with reading and oddly enough folk music.

 

I wasn't married nor did I have a long term girlfriend. I was just starting to learn to cook then but had to rely on married friends to use their kitchens and to act as guinea pigs.

 

He will be a newbie in Thailand and initially will need to learn some Thai fairly quickly to get around as finding farangs friends is not so easy to start with.

[billd766]

21 hours ago, geisha said:

I don't spend a 1000 B a day . What on ? I shop, eat at one or two nice clean restaurants practically every day, buy tons of lovely fruit. I don't go to bars ,I rarely have a drink, because of health, not because I'm against it. I have a proper massage twice a week, and use the beauty salons. Though I do pay a lot of rent, as I like a super clean modern condo with great pool. The day when I can rent on a yearly basis will cost me much less. I have no real budget, and do as I like really, but spending over 5 to 7  hundred a day for me is the max.ps, not including trips to Bangkok and islands where I obviously spend much more.

 

Have you included the rental of your place in that or the cost of getting around?

[seancbk]

49 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

how much do you spend on doctors / insurance a year?

Last time I had to see a doctor was 20th Nov, 2012 and the total cost was 1104 THB at Kluaynamthai Hospital in Bangkok, which included medication.

The only insurance I've ever had in my life was for a car.   Don't have that now so don't have any insurance payments.

My family has no history of nasty diseases, so fingers crossed I'll just die of old age like everyone else in my family has.  Shouldn't be for quite a while either!
 

 

[seancbk]

52 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

That is what I do out here in rural Thailand, but the OP will only be in Thailand for a relatively short time and living in BKK and at 29 I was still in the RAF and working. Drinking beer was a serious pastime then along with reading and oddly enough folk music.

 

I wasn't married nor did I have a long term girlfriend. I was just starting to learn to cook then but had to rely on married friends to use their kitchens and to act as guinea pigs.

 

He will be a newbie in Thailand and initially will need to learn some Thai fairly quickly to get around as finding farangs friends is not so easy to start with. 

Finding Farang friends in Bangkok is super easy if you are in your twenties to forties (and beyond if you are older but don't mind young friends).

W District near Phra Khanong has an outdoor beer garden surrounded by food stalls selling Thai food, Japanese food, pizza, burgers, Italian, and a bunch of other options. 
The place is full most nights with young Thais and westerners eating and drinking.   

Last night I was there with a friend and there was a young Italian guy on his own who we invited to drink with us, so made another friend.

That is just one place.  There are lots more places here to meet other Farangs.

 

[DUNROAMIN]

If you want the city lights, then you will pay big time. I live in a small town in a North Eastern Province, and pay 7000B a month for a large 4 bedroom home with 2 bathrooms and western style kitchen, (ex farang home) all set in nice surrounds. I recently had surgery done here in Bangkok for existing ailment, unfortunately had no choice as I was on holiday here and surgery was required ASAP,  the hospital was one of Bangkok's  best, all up 127,000B. Had the similar surgery done in local private hospital here last year and cost 50,000B.

All depends on what sort of lifestyle you want and where you want to live. I have a good pension and can live quite well on 10,000B a week for all living expenses. I could afford to live better if I wanted to, however, I am happy with my lifestyle, and always have spare cash for holidays and special treats. Good luck

[gemguy]

10 hours ago, SoiBiker said:

 

Odd that you think the only two options are 'do nothing' or 'drink and chase the girls'.

 

Is that seriously the only pastime you can think of that a man might occupy himself with? How sad.

Nope...not at all and as clearly as it is written and stated for the record..... I said: When you start to "Move About" ..and that about encompasses anything else other than your twisted interpretation and your wrong assumptions of what was said.

Seemingly, it is your mind that is in the gutter..lol...yuk yuk

Cheers

[SoiBiker]

Nope. After saying that most people would find getting to know the locals 'boring' (I guess you don't like Thai people much), you then said that the alternative to this tedious existence of having to talk to Thai people was to '"move about and drink and party and chase the girls".  Apparently you think there are no other avenues a man might explore to make his existence a little more interesting. Like I said, rather sad. 

 

 

[gemguy]

1 hour ago, SoiBiker said:

Nope. After saying that most people would find getting to know the locals 'boring' (I guess you don't like Thai people much), you then said that the alternative to this tedious existence of having to talk to Thai people was to '"move about and drink and party and chase the girls".  Apparently you think there are no other avenues a man might explore to make his existence a little more interesting. Like I said, rather sad. 

 

 

I get it now ...

You are a retired former muckraking news reporter and Tabloid Journalist Curmudgeon previously working for the National Enquirer "Rag" newspaper and famous for totally misinterpreting and or misconstruing what is said...And you only...Just you...Yep, just you and only you.........lol...yuk, yuk ...while no one else misinterpreted was said or misconstrued what was said ...Just you.....only you..lol

 

[billd766]

6 hours ago, seancbk said:

Finding Farang friends in Bangkok is super easy if you are in your twenties to forties (and beyond if you are older but don't mind young friends).

W District near Phra Khanong has an outdoor beer garden surrounded by food stalls selling Thai food, Japanese food, pizza, burgers, Italian, and a bunch of other options. 
The place is full most nights with young Thais and westerners eating and drinking.   

Last night I was there with a friend and there was a young Italian guy on his own who we invited to drink with us, so made another friend.

That is just one place.  There are lots more places here to meet other Farangs.

 

 

I moved out of BKK over 12 years ago so I am not up to date with meeting places etc but I would think that on a limited budget, life for the OP may not be that easy. His £750 comes to about 33,000 baht at the current rate of exchange which is around 1,100 baht per day.

 

After taking rent, electricity, water, phone, food and internet bills into consideration there isn't a lot of spare money lying around.

 

I am not knocking the OP but there will be times when money will be tight.

[seancbk]

3 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

I moved out of BKK over 12 years ago so I am not up to date with meeting places etc but I would think that on a limited budget, life for the OP may not be that easy. His £750 comes to about 33,000 baht at the current rate of exchange which is around 1,100 baht per day.

 

After taking rent, electricity, water, phone, food and internet bills into consideration there isn't a lot of spare money lying around.

 

I am not knocking the OP but there will be times when money will be tight.

 

 

Yes you are correct, the OP will not have much money for entertainment.

He will have some of course and he could go to a place like W District and drink water, but still meet other people and develop a social circle.

Once you have friends you can find other ways to have fun that are not based in having lots of spare cash.  

That would certainly make life on a budget in Bangkok easier.

 

 

[SoiBiker]

36 minutes ago, gemguy said:

I get it now ...

You are a retired former muckraking news reporter and Tabloid Journalist Curmudgeon previously working for the National Enquirer "Rag" newspaper and famous for totally misinterpreting and or misconstruing what is said...And you only...Just you...Yep, just you and only you.........lol...yuk, yuk ...while no one else misinterpreted was said or misconstrued what was said ...Just you.....only you..lol

 

I didn't interpret what you said - I just quoted it, and commented on it. It's clear from what you said that you have a very limited view of what activities a man like here might enjoy. You don't seem to have anything particularly coherent to say that might persuade us otherwise. 

[cheapskatesam]

Some of you folks seem to think i'm one of these aspirational socialite farangs that must be outside drinking beer with the "friends" 7 days a week. Of course i'm open to making new friends but i'm not desperate and i'm naturally a hermit :D

 

I'll be spending a good 5-10 hours a day using my laptop.. same as i do here in the UK...

 

Thanks seancbk for the serviced apartment link. I think i'm prepared to pay 10,000 a month for a more hotelish experience. 

 

 

[gemguy]

6 minutes ago, cheapskatesam said:

Some of you folks seem to think i'm one of these aspirational socialite farangs that must be outside drinking beer with the "friends" 7 days a week. Of course i'm open to making new friends but i'm not desperate and i'm naturally a hermit :D

 

I'll be spending a good 5-10 hours a day using my laptop.. same as i do here in the UK...

 

Thanks seancbk for the serviced apartment link. I think i'm prepared to pay 10,000 a month for a more hotelish experience.

 

 

Like I was saying...a guy I once met back in 1993 claimed that he came to Thailand with 600 dollars and 2 x 90 journey tourist visas while he was trying to exist in Thailand on 100 dollars a month.

 He told me he walked nearly everywhere he went and told me he walked all the way to Changmai ( claimed the bus ride was too expensive ) and he was going to walk back from Changmai  but someone offered him a ride to Ayuttaya in a pick up truck full of fruit to be delivered to Ayuttaya.

He was the ultimate "Hippy" back packer and I told him I thought he was kind of torturing himself living that cheap and walking everywhere but he claimed it was all part of the adventure and apparently loved every minute of it.

He was from the USA with a full beard and long hair and white colored muscle shirt, shorts and sandals on his feet and not an ounce of fat on that young man carrying a large heavy looking back pack that he claimed contained a small one man "pup tent" that he would pitch along the way while he said he would buy cooked rice and fresh fruits and vegetables and bottles of water and make them last 2 days while he walked.

He told me hitch hiking works pretty well here in Thailand and had a number of free rides where ever he was trying to go.

Maybe he was on some sort of soul searching pilgrimage but I can still remember the guy well as he asked me to help him ask the lady making food if he could just buy 5 Baht worth of the vegetarian dish he was interested in being cooked in the food market place near to where I worked.

 

Point is, you can live  pretty cheap if you want to......but I believe it would not be very comfortable in many respects compared to what your accustomed to.

 

Cheers

[Ahab]

For someone not familiar with Thailand the 65,000 baht a month requirement for a retirement visa is probably a good guideline. If you choose to live in Bangkok or some other tourist trap you could easily blow through that amount every month. You can live well on less much less than this amount. Lookup RCAsia on google, watch some videos, it all depends on how you want to "live" and how much money you have to throw away each month. The number one recommendation in order to be able to live on less than 30,000 baht a month is live somewhere besides Bangkok, Pattaya, or Phuket.

[cheapskatesam]

2 hours ago, Ahab said:

For someone not familiar with Thailand the 65,000 baht a month requirement for a retirement visa is probably a good guideline. If you choose to live in Bangkok or some other tourist trap you could easily blow through that amount every month. You can live well on less much less than this amount. Lookup RCAsia on google, watch some videos, it all depends on how you want to "live" and how much money you have to throw away each month. The number one recommendation in order to be able to live on less than 30,000 baht a month is live somewhere besides Bangkok, Pattaya, or Phuket.

 

65,000 Jesus Christ.. i could not even spend that in a month in holiday mode.. including hotel maybe i'm just boring :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ahab]

36 minutes ago, cheapskatesam said:

 

65,000 Jesus Christ.. i could not even spend that in a month in holiday mode.. including hotel maybe i'm just boring :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agree 100%. We are budgeting about 40,000 baht per month (my wife and I), living in the country. We have more in reserve if needed, but we would rather build up savings rather than living more extravagantly. I no longer feel the need to impress anyone. I honestly do not think we will be spending the entire budgeted amount every month.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 11/29/2016 at 4:57 AM, Ahab said:

Agree 100%. We are budgeting about 40,000 baht per month (my wife and I), living in the country. We have more in reserve if needed, but we would rather build up savings rather than living more extravagantly. I no longer feel the need to impress anyone. I honestly do not think we will be spending the entire budgeted amount every month.

 

 

Are you paying for housing month to month, either via rent or a mortgage?

 

Are you paying to cover yourself (and potentially your wife) with appropriate health insurance?