Cost of living in Thailand

[Naam]

1 minute ago, chiang mai said:

2016 average 'leccy bill, 986 baht per month, eat your heart out!

not everybody lives north of the polar circle

[Naam]

52 minutes ago, JAFO said:

I know guys that their electric bill is 10 to 15K baht a month ( More in the hot season) as they run AC's basically 24/7 throughout the entire house.

these guys are clearly criminals! aren't their laws against this?

[JAFO]

7 minutes ago, Naam said:

these guys are clearly criminals! aren't their laws against this?

 

There should be or get used to having it be 79 degrees in their house......

 

All kidding aside, I have a few colleagues that live just outside BKK in nice homes. They avg 15K baht  and up on average. I have been to their homes. Its like walking into a nice work office but I am glad someone else is paying the bill. I also noticed they have tall vaulted entry ways and ceilings so I have to believe trying to cool all that air space comes at a steep price. This should also be a consideration when building your home, Tall vaulted ceilings like you see in those Thai Soap Operas take a ton of energy to cool and its wasted money.  Its like in the US trying to heat those same huge areas. The 'WOW" walking into the house is good but that's for the guests. But again if you have the resources who cares. 

Edited December 2, 2016 by JAFO

[Naam]

13 minutes ago, JAFO said:

Tall vaulted ceilings like you see in those Thai Soap Operas take a ton of energy to cool and its wasted money.

it depends at what height the aircons are mounted. 12' (3.60m) or higher ceilings are perfect in tropical areas if the aircons are mounted not higher than 8' (2.40-2.50m). i feel claustrophobic entering a room with 8' ceilings.

[Naam]

18 minutes ago, JAFO said:

There should be or get used to having it be 79 degrees in their house......

i like it much cooler, like 25-26 degrees

[NeverSure]

33 minutes ago, mark45y said:

No article because I asked a question.  I wrote, "What percent of USA power lines are underground?"  I'd say about 60 to 70% of USA power lines are above ground

from looking at the decaying infrastructure of the country but maybe you can find a link for the total USA and not cherrypicked locations.

 

As I said, the US is huge and has "miles and miles of miles and miles." It is 900 miles (1450 kms) just to drive across Texas. All of those rural places have farms and ranches which have power and there are power lines along all of those roads and none that I know of are underground. I'd say your guess of 60 - 70% might be close for towns and cities but waaaay off for the whole country. I'll bet it isn't 10%. 

 

The point is that any that is either under or above ground will be up to code, neatly done and well maintained unlike Thailand.

 

We do lose a lot of linemen to electrocution. When one guy dies, they just send up another.  

 

Cheers.

[transam]

1 hour ago, Naam said:

do guys really exist who have bills of only 10k Baht/month?  

Me........

[craigt3365]

38 minutes ago, mark45y said:

No article because I asked a question.  I wrote, "What percent of USA power lines are underground?"  I'd say about 60 to 70% of USA power lines are above ground

from looking at the decaying infrastructure of the country but maybe you can find a link for the total USA and not cherrypicked locations.

Like NS said, a big part of the US is rural areas.  I'm not sure trying to bury power line that traverse the deserts is worth the money.  In cities, a majority are underground.  And the infrastructure may be decaying in parts, but overall, quite good.  Especially in the west.

[JAFO]

7 minutes ago, Naam said:

t depends at what height the aircons are mounted. 12' (3.60m) or higher ceilings are perfect in tropical areas if the aircons are mounted not higher than 8' (2.40-2.50m). i feel claustrophobic entering a room with 8' ceilings

 

I understand. Our place is single story and  has appx 9ft ceilings. It was a refreshing change from our US house that was just over 7 feet. Amazing what the extra foot does in visual space.  Also our ceiling fans are reversible and that helps a lot.  And your are spot on on the AC mount and location. They need to be installed based on room conditions and of course properly sized or they will run at max all the time to cool a room. I installed AC units 25 to 30% greater then specified by calculation and their buffer. If I run my AC in the TV room I can make it down right cold. 

 

6 minutes ago, Naam said:

i like it much cooler, like 25-26 degrees

 

That's seems fair and comfy. Typically temperatures of rooms in our house are upward 27 to 28 most of the time with ceiling fans on. Plus the big perk with Ceiling fans they double as a mosquito deflector. 

[JAFO]

8 minutes ago, NeverSure said:

The point is that any that is either under or above ground will be up to code, neatly done and well maintained unlike Thailand.

 

In BKK and some other bigger cities I see the wiring and just laugh. I am always impressed they can even find the problem. I lived on "Wireless road" for a year and half and found that to be really quite funny. That road is a wiring nightmare. 

 

Our house we had all the wiring pulled underground

[transam]

I got lucky with my place, the water table is not that deep so the downstairs tiled floor is always cold. In fact I am surrounded by water. When I built the place wiring was put in for A/C as folk said my open plan living area would get hot...It don't, ceiling fans shift the air and that is all that is needed. Upstairs gets hot but the A/C in my bedroom deals with that and can be turned off after an hour and the ceiling fan takes over...So all is good, especially my shallow pockets...

[bark]

On 27/11/2559 at 9:15 AM, OMGImInPattaya said:

Never heard of Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, or the SF Bay Area...and people say Americans don't travel.

 

For the op...you were likely living as a tourist so things seemed expensive. The major expenses of accomodation (rent let's say), food, transportation, and utilities three of the four can be significantly cheaper in Bangkok, while the forth (food) as you found, is often the same or more if eating a Western diet.

Only NY and LA have similar populations.

You can still rent a small apartment in Bangkok, with no rats, for 300/month. You get nothing for less then a 1,000 in NY.

Cook your own food and save a ton.

[craigt3365]

14 minutes ago, bark said:

Only NY and LA have similar populations.

You can still rent a small apartment in Bangkok, with no rats, for 300/month. You get nothing for less then a 1,000 in NY.

Cook your own food and save a ton.

With respect, and we've been through this before, you really can't compare NYC with Bangkok.  With respect!

[jpinx]

One factor often overlooked is the cost of heating in climates which regularly get down to minus-whatever for 6 months of the year.  In Thailand people are lazy and use aircon, but a clever design can keep a house or apartment fresh and cool in the tropics.  Nothing heats a house easily in the short winter days of the frozen north.

[bark]

3 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

With respect, and we've been through this before, you really can't compare NYC with Bangkok.  With respect!

Yes I understand. Please give NYC a few more years to get up to Bangkok Standards.

[mark45y]

56 minutes ago, NeverSure said:

 

As I said, the US is huge and has "miles and miles of miles and miles." It is 900 miles (1450 kms) just to drive across Texas. All of those rural places have farms and ranches which have power and there are power lines along all of those roads and none that I know of are underground. I'd say your guess of 60 - 70% might be close for towns and cities but waaaay off for the whole country. I'll bet it isn't 10%. 

 

The point is that any that is either under or above ground will be up to code, neatly done and well maintained unlike Thailand.

 

We do lose a lot of linemen to electrocution. When one guy dies, they just send up another.  

 

Cheers.

 

The cost of putting all distribution lines in the USA underground would be, at a minimum, $2.4 Trillion. This equals 16% of the U.S. GDP.   I wouldn't hold your breath.   https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/should-overhead-lines-be-underground/

 

How long have you lived in Thailand?  2 weeks?  I've lived here 20 years and have a good idea of costs.  This is how it works.  I say my house costs half as much as in the USA and you say but it's not as good as the USA.  Do a lot of Thai people retire to the USA?  I say my transportation expenses are half what they would be in the USA and you say but the roads are safer in the USA.  Food is cheaper in the USA and housing is cheaper in Thailand.  What percent of typical expenses are housing and what percent are food? Typical housing percent of expenses is 35%.  Typical food percent is 9%.  So which should we base our judgment on?  My wife who was 30 years younger than I in the USA cost me one million eight hundred thousand baht a year.  My Thai wife who is 30 years my junior costs me five hundred thousand baht a year.  That's a savings of one million three hundred thousand baht per year.  I'm in hog heaven and have save tons of cash. 

[craigt3365]

22 minutes ago, bark said:

Yes I understand. Please give NYC a few more years to get up to Bangkok Standards.

That would be a sad day.  NYC is a fantastic city.  Lived there for several years, upper West side.  Also lived in Bangkok for several years.

[JB300]

do guys really exist who have bills of only 10k Baht/month?  

Lol, got my monthly utilities (electric, gas, water & refuse collection) bill this morning... s$91 (2,200THB) for a 3 bedroom, 1200 sq ft condo with 5 AC units...

And who says Singapore is expensive???


[lol, best laugh is I paid last months bill of s$85 twice for some reason, so this months bill was actually only s$6... 300THB]).

[bark]

8 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

That would be a sad day.  NYC is a fantastic city.  Lived there for several years, upper West side.  Also lived in Bangkok for several years.

Only Joking.

New York, New York.

So great they named it Twice.

[bark]

23 hours ago, rott said:

You obviously do not care about comparing like with like. If you buy all your food (imported ) from Villa then buying the same or similar in small town USA will be much, much less. You are seemingly here under protest, with no intention of adapting to Thai life, you compare an above average condo rent in Central Bangkok with living rent free in small town USA............

 

You are comparing one extreme with another.

If he spend 200,000 /month. Do you think he cares about buying anything at Villa Market. Including the girls standing on the corner beside Villa.

[rott]

1 minute ago, bark said:

If he spend 200,000 /month. Do you think he cares about buying anything at Villa Market. Including the girls standing on the corner beside Villa.

No. Which is what I was saying in my post. i don't think he would be interested in any girlson the corner'

[Naam]

1 hour ago, JB300 said:

s$91 (2,200THB) for a 3 bedroom, 1200 sq ft condo with 5 AC units...

it is a well known fact that ACs don't consume a lot of electricity when they are no switched on

[JAFO]

18 minutes ago, Naam said:

1 hour ago, JB300 said:

s$91 (2,200THB) for a 3 bedroom, 1200 sq ft condo with 5 AC units...

it is a well known fact that ACs don't consume a lot of electricity when they are no switched on

 

 

Those are the best kind. I think I have one near the dining area that has never been turned on other than the Tech after he installed it. My wife felt we needed it. I laughed and said "Whatever" . Funny though, we never eat indoors and in fact seldom even use the kitchen in the house, she cooks everything in the outside kitchen which she actually likes better and is better equipped. Go figure. I could have used that area for a nice bar and dropped me a pool table.

[JB300]

it is a well known fact that ACs don't consume a lot of electricity when they are no switched on

And all joking aside another example of why trying to compare costs of living across 2 different places for 2 different people is like comparing Apples & Oranges.

I've said it before (& got torn into) but I'm financially (& other) better off living in Singapore than BKK for 2 simple reasons...

1) My salary is 20-30% higher

2) I pay 20-25% less income tax.

Those 2 things dwarf any extra costs in living here which (apart from an additional 40-50k THB pm for my condo) isn't that much anyway.

[craigt3365]

25 minutes ago, JAFO said:

 

 

Those are the best kind. I think I have one near the dining area that has never been turned on other than the Tech after he installed it. My wife felt we needed it. I laughed and said "Whatever" . Funny though, we never eat indoors and in fact seldom even use the kitchen in the house, she cooks everything in the outside kitchen which she actually likes better and is better equipped. Go figure. I could have used that area for a nice bar and dropped me a pool table.

They need to be run every few weeks or so, otherwise the parts go to hell.  We turn them on just for 10 minutes every few weeks if not in use.

Edited December 2, 2016 by craigt3365

[Naam]

19 minutes ago, JB300 said:

I've said it before (& got torn into) but I'm financially (& other) better off living in Singapore than BKK for 2 simple reasons...

no doubt that Singapore beats BKK in nearly all categories. but SIN has a huge disadvantage, namely you have to have $$$millions$$$ galore if you want to live in a detached house with a garden and a pool.

[Elkski]

I think it is hard to compare utility bills due to square footage, 1 or multi stories, and preferred temperatures.

 

I worry about this a lot as I cant handle a temperature over 23 C to sleep well.  I have lived in the mountain west most of my life.   Currently it is winter and I sleep at about 20 C.  I prefer more covers and cool air on my face.   In the hot summer, 78 is about all I can afford to set the AC at. It needs to run all day to not get behind or it will take many hours to make it comfortable and the AC guys say it actually uses less energy to keep it at a more steady temperature. I also use gas for hot water, cooking and heating.  Gas is cheap here.   As you know we use whole house heating and AC units in the US.  My electric bills run on average 151$ month as I use a balanced payment system... but in Summer it is close to 300$ or more. of course it is a very large house and has lots of sunny windows.    

So is NYC better than BKK?  I've been to both and I like the exotic nature of BKK. Sure NYC is cleaner and had nice food and markets but just didn't suit me for long time.. But I don't think I am a big city guy.  I hope to live in a house where I can open the windows for any breeze and have peace and quiet and privacy in my pool.  

Edited December 2, 2016 by Elkski

[Elkski]

oh and Chang isnt real beer....  Im a beer snob...  do you know there is a new word  "Changover".  I had one from that swill. 

I wont drink that crap again. 

[NeverSure]

11 hours ago, mark45y said:

The cost of putting all distribution lines in the USA underground would be, at a minimum, $2.4 Trillion. This equals 16% of the U.S. GDP.   I wouldn't hold your breath.   https://dddusmma.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/should-overhead-lines-be-underground/

 

How long have you lived in Thailand?  2 weeks?  I've lived here 20 years and have a good idea of costs.  This is how it works.  I say my house costs half as much as in the USA and you say but it's not as good as the USA.  Do a lot of Thai people retire to the USA?  I say my transportation expenses are half what they would be in the USA and you say but the roads are safer in the USA.  Food is cheaper in the USA and housing is cheaper in Thailand.  What percent of typical expenses are housing and what percent are food? Typical housing percent of expenses is 35%.  Typical food percent is 9%.  So which should we base our judgment on?  My wife who was 30 years younger than I in the USA cost me one million eight hundred thousand baht a year.  My Thai wife who is 30 years my junior costs me five hundred thousand baht a year.  That's a savings of one million three hundred thousand baht per year.  I'm in hog heaven and have save tons of cash. 

 

I don't know why you're obsessing about lines being underground. In any event in the US they are orderly and safe where in Thailand they are a mess and may well not be grounded. If you don't think the roads are safer in the US I can't help you.

 

Apparently for you everything is about money which I don't worry about. I care about quality of life.

 

If you can't afford a home in the US then yes, you should probably live in Thailand. Just remember that every time you step out your door you step into a littered, rat infested third world sheetwhole.

 

Cheers and have a nice weekend.

[Elkski]

hey I only saw 4 rats in 42 days in Thailand.. I saw 1 in San Fran in 2 days there!  And there is a USA tv show about the guy in charge of rat control in NYC!   I bet they taste good..

 

I think some bridges and thinks may be crumbling and some small towns have no money at all in the USA and look semi deserted.  I'm sure a guy can buy a home there for low bucks.

In many growing communities all new houses are required to put utilities underground.. its just safer for the fire dept dependability and everyone.  All new cable and fiber is put underground and crews are constantly using the underground drills to run it under roads and such.

It really no big deal to me but it is noticeable. 

 

I would miss the vast public lands in the West, hunting, fishing for trout and all the outdoor activities I do without much sweat at all. I may even miss my hot tub as I cant imagine they are much use in Thailand?

Neversure, do you travel to Thailand for vacations or just come on here to see us crazy ones talking about and living in Thailand.