Living in Thailand on Certain Budget

[balo]

Yes you can , I live on 30k baht myself. And locals lives on 15 to 20k if they have a job . 

Edited January 6, 2017 by balo

[zorro1]

I've lived in Asia for over 15 years.  Over 95% of the expats I've met along the way no longer live in Asia.  For every success story, there's 20 guys back home recovering from their shellacking.  I'm still here and still employed largely by sheer dumb luck.
 
But come on in.  The water's great! 

Over 95 %? Like 100 %?
This is complete BS
Why would you say that.

[metisdead]

An inflammatory profane post has been removed as well as a reply.  

[Ahab]

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 4:54 PM, sfokevin said:

As questioned above it really hinges on how you define comfortably...

 

Have your friend check out the YouTube videos by retirecheapjc - he covers this issue pretty good...

retirecheapjc videos are excellent. After reading the forum on Thai Visa for a while I started second guessing my decision to move there. Posts stating that 3,000-4,000 USD minimum was needed seemed out of whack with what I had experienced on numerous trips, but maybe I was missing something. JC's videos give a realistic insight into what it costs to live in the non-tourist oriented areas of Thailand (Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket).  It can be done on around 35,000 baht a month very comfortably, and some live on much less.

 

[Ahab]

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 10:23 PM, anotheruser said:

 

Forget saying special forces, in the future I am introducing myself as a sporting champion and a captain of industry. 

Why not have it all and state you have retired from special forces but are currently a sporting champion and captain of industry.

 

[JB300]

An inflammatory profane post has been removed as well as a reply.  

Thank's for doing that, I'll hold my hands up & admit that my post which triggered it off could have been worded much better (I.e. I was mullered) so apologies to anybody I upset.



Back to the OP (has he come back yet)? Your mate can have an ok lifestyle in Thailand outside of the main areas but please advise him that he needs to find himself a Visa solution that he can stay on longterm (Thailand is no longer the place you can just drift by & pay 20k when you leave) & at least think about health insurance... but good luck to the chap, hope it all works out for him.



Wishing everybody a Happy & Prosperous 2017


JB

[Naam]

1 hour ago, Ahab said:

retirecheapjc videos are excellent. After reading the forum on Thai Visa for a while I started second guessing my decision to move there. Posts stating that 3,000-4,000 USD minimum was needed seemed out of whack with what I had experienced on numerous trips, but maybe I was missing something. JC's videos give a realistic insight into what it costs to live in the non-tourist oriented areas of Thailand (Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket).  It can be done on around 35,000 baht a month very comfortably, and some live on much less.

 

your definition of "comfortably" is not representative especially with the added emphasis "very".

[sfokevin]

One has to forgive Naam's jaded comment...

Lifes choices has led him to the point he has to spend more than 35,000 baht a month on electricity just to maintain a comfortably cool tempreture for his indoor pool... 

Edited January 7, 2017 by sfokevin

[Naam]

5 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

One has to forgive Naam's jaded comment...

Lifes choices has led him to the point he has to spend more than 35,000 baht a month on electricity just to maintain a comfortably cool tempreture for his indoor pool... 

i always find it amusing when facts are commented with exaggerated and ignorant blah-blah. a fact is that my total energy cost to live comfortably in Thailand is not higher than what i would spend in my home country. the only difference is that in one country the lion share is spent on cooling, in the other country on heating.

 

note: my indoor pool does not require cooling but heating and that even during Thailand's hottest months. but you are excused. what would you know about an indoor pool?

Edited January 7, 2017 by Naam

[sandyf]

On 1/5/2017 at 11:30 AM, possum1931 said:

Why not? if he is not a heavy drinker, or here for the bar scene, can eat Thai food some of the time, rents a cheap apartment in Pattaya, I would say it is doable. It would depend a lot on his social life.

Quite, the problem here is that many who live in Bangkok probably do not realise how much cheaper it is to live in Pattaya. Accommodation in the centre is readily available in the 5000/6000 baht range as is large Chang at 60/70 baht plus the fact that most places you would want to go would be in walking distance. You do not have to exist on Thai food, there are several reasonably priced buffets available, the Lek ticket arrangement being probably the best value for money at 120 baht a go.

Healthcare and visa issues are a personal solution to which obviously many will take differing views.

[NoshowJones]

9 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Quite, the problem here is that many who live in Bangkok probably do not realise how much cheaper it is to live in Pattaya. Accommodation in the centre is readily available in the 5000/6000 baht range as is large Chang at 60/70 baht plus the fact that most places you would want to go would be in walking distance. You do not have to exist on Thai food, there are several reasonably priced buffets available, the Lek ticket arrangement being probably the best value for money at 120 baht a go.

Healthcare and visa issues are a personal solution to which obviously many will take differing views.

Yes, everything you have said is spot on.

[sfokevin]

44 minutes ago, Naam said:

what would you know about an indoor pool? ...

What would you know about living comfortably on 35,000 a month... 

[RocketDog]

 
This thread is packed wall-to-wall with smug, self-satisfied nobodies who can only rise to prominence (in their own heads) because they're surrounded by poor locals.
 
If just having the ability to pay your rent, eat well, occasionally buy some plastic, Chinese-made crap from Big C and support some local woman and her kids from two marriages in a McMansion warrants and conjures up those descriptions then I guess the bar for entry to such rarefied and exalted company has  been lowered significantly.
 
Where I come from, captains of industry, sporting champions and the like aspire to a bit more and aim a little higher.
What's more, most of them succeed and rise to the top at home, not in Thailand by dint of a fixed income denominated in a Western currency.
 
The guy the OP is talking about might have a completely different idea of what constitutes a good life to these nobodies most of whom, despite the opulence in which they claim to live their lives, are serial complainers who spend most of their time here carping on about their host country.
.
 

Thank you YeahSiam. I could not have summarized my observations any more eloquently myself.

I have not been in Thailand very long, nor Cha-am, and have only spent a few hours following posts on various topics, but was immediately struck by the negative attitudes of so many posters. In my country we would say "love it or leave it" .

Why are you people still here?

Unless your true motive is to discourage an increasing influx of unwanted farang into this country, then I suggest you follow my Mother's maxim: "If you don't have something nice to say then don't say anything".

In any event, endless outpouring of negative energy helps no thing and no body.

Forgive me if this sounds like preaching, but seriously folks, these are things you should have learned as a child.


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[JimmyJ]

2 hours ago, sandyf said:

Quite, the problem here is that many who live in Bangkok probably do not realise how much cheaper it is to live in Pattaya. Accommodation in the centre is readily available in the 5000/6000 baht range as is large Chang at 60/70 baht plus the fact that most places you would want to go would be in walking distance. You do not have to exist on Thai food, there are several reasonably priced buffets available, the Lek ticket arrangement being probably the best value for money at 120 baht a go.

Healthcare and visa issues are a personal solution to which obviously many will take differing views.

 

Interesting.

 

I don't understand though what "... as is large Chang at 60/70 baht" means.

??

[paulsingle]

In Phuket I'm getting through over 50k baht per month. 18k for house rental including tv and broadband, 1500 for electricity. This is for 2 of us. I don't go to bars often and we mostly eat (quite well) at home.

No matter how carefully I budget, actual expenditure is always higher than budgeted.

I can afford it so it's not a disaster but I had hoped to be living on under 40k per month. 

Clearly people do live happily on 30k or even less. I have enough to maintain a lifestyle that I am happy with but this would fall way short of some other people's lifestyle expectations. 

I'm thinking of trying life in Chiang Mai or possibly Khon Kaen and I'm sure I can live in those areas for less than I'm spending in Phuket. 

[sandyf]

4 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

 

Interesting.

 

I don't understand though what "... as is large Chang at 60/70 baht" means.

??

Either a non beer drinker or limited bar experience, the majority of bars, particularly the popular ones, don't sell large bottles of beer.

In Pattaya there is a growing number of what you could call expat bars selling large beers at reasonable prices. In Bangkok you are probably looking at upwards of 120 for a large Chang, struggle even to get a small Chang in the 60/70 price range.

[anotheruser]

6 hours ago, sandyf said:

Either a non beer drinker or limited bar experience, the majority of bars, particularly the popular ones, don't sell large bottles of beer.

In Pattaya there is a growing number of what you could call expat bars selling large beers at reasonable prices. In Bangkok you are probably looking at upwards of 120 for a large Chang, struggle even to get a small Chang in the 60/70 price range.

 

Typical Pattaya mentality. Everything that costs money gets equated to bar fines, short times and the price of a Chang. 

[nisakiman]

I would have thought that $850 was quite a comfortable income in Thailand. My pension is not much more than that, and I live in Greece, where the government is currently taxing the very air that you breathe. They've just slapped a tax on phone landlines, <deleted>!

 

I don't have rent to pay because I own my property, but I have all the other bills to pay, plus broadband and mobile phone (which is expensive here). Plus I run a 3.5 tonne van, and I'm doing up the property, which is two apartments, one of which I live in. Plus there are two of us, and I have to pay for health insurance for my wife.

 

We go out to eat (or order takeaways) regularly;  I drink wine (and/or beer) every night; we eat well; we're coming to Thailand next month for six weeks, and I won't be scrimping. Oh, I'll be eating street food alright, but not because I have to, but because I like it. And the fact that it's cheap is just a bonus!

 

I could live very comfortably in Thailand on $850, particularly if rent wasn't a factor. Being married now, bar fines and the like are no longer applicable, and eating out in Thailand isn't exactly expensive - unless of course you want to be seen in the hi-so places.

 

I think many posters on this thread are, or have been, high earners, and they can't imagine being comfortable with a low expenses lifestyle. But people like me, who have been through periods of financial hardship, really enjoy living a life which doesn't involve overpriced clubs and restaurants. Because I have, as well as having periods of being broke, had periods of being flush, when I've spent shedloads of money on West End clubs and fancy restaurants, so I know both ends of the scale. I don't lust after Michelin starred eateries. Good food doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

 

So yes, you can live comfortably on $850 in Thailand if you choose your location and accommodation wisely, and you're happy to eat and drink with the locals.

[zd1]

On ‎06‎/‎01‎/‎2017 at 4:57 PM, JB300 said:

Great plan... Move somewhere to "Live" & rely on doing tourist visa runs

Again, it has nothing to do with Money, Elitism whatever! But before moving somewhere, at least have the bottom layer of Maslow's hierarchy of needs boxed off

Edit: Care to share how you get this "2 month Visa" (METV) without 2 x the OP'S friends bank balance & a letter from their employer?

Fella, if you would have read my post you would have understood that I was suggesting give it a go for 6 months to see if A he likes it and B he can afford to do it, a sort of try it before you make a decision.

A 2 month tourist visa is a single entry tourist visa (SETV) and I have never been asked for proof of anything when getting one in my home country which I would hazard a guess that is where the op's friend actually is. An METV is a multiple entry tourist visa and yes for these you need to have all sorts of documentation but that is beside the point as that isn't what I was talking about.

The reason I suggested this is because after 3 months in Thailand he may go to a neighbouring country and maybe prefer it who knows.

The fact that people are bashing someone for wanting to try and live here on a budget is ridiculous there are loads of people here doing it I can't see the problem.

[JB300]

Fella, if you would have read my post you would have understood that I was suggesting give it a go for 6 months to see if A he likes it and B he can afford to do it, a sort of try it before you make a decision.

A 2 month tourist visa is a single entry tourist visa (SETV) and I have never been asked for proof of anything when getting one in my home country which I would hazard a guess that is where the op's friend actually is. An METV is a multiple entry tourist visa and yes for these you need to have all sorts of documentation but that is beside the point as that isn't what I was talking about.

The reason I suggested this is because after 3 months in Thailand he may go to a neighbouring country and maybe prefer it who knows.

The fact that people are bashing someone for wanting to try and live here on a budget is ridiculous there are loads of people here doing it I can't see the problem.

Fair play fella, as I said I was well mullered when I made that post & have since apologised for it.

Nothing wrong at all with giving it a go & I'd recommend the same to anybody (I gave middle of Bangkok a go, paid for a condo for 1 month & lasted 10 days... lesson well learnt).

Genuinely hope it all goes well for him but fact is years & years of people abusing Visas has led to a tightening up of all of the rules which makes it harder for everybody so I just urge anybody who's considering making the move to put a Long term visa at the top of their list or look elsewhere (no point in trying it out if you can't continue with it).

[sandyf]

15 hours ago, anotheruser said:

 

Typical Pattaya mentality. Everything that costs money gets equated to bar fines, short times and the price of a Chang. 

A typical uninformed mentality post just for the sake of it.

[zd1]

2 hours ago, JB300 said:

Fair play fella, as I said I was well mullered when I made that post & have since apologised for it.

Nothing wrong at all with giving it a go & I'd recommend the same to anybody (I gave middle of Bangkok a go, paid for a condo for 1 month & lasted 10 days... lesson well learnt).

Genuinely hope it all goes well for him but fact is years & years of people abusing Visas has led to a tightening up of all of the rules which makes it harder for everybody so I just urge anybody who's considering making the move to put a Long term visa at the top of their list or look elsewhere (no point in trying it out if you can't continue with it).

No problem, I agree that if he likes it and wants to move here then he will have to look into getting the appropriate visa.

22 years ago I over looked the visa situation and my 3 year stay came to an abrupt end with just over a month in the IDC in soi suan phlu, it wasn't a place I would like to stay again. I learned from my mistake and won't make the same mistake again.

[JayBird]

As always, budgeting questions are highly personal and tailored to ones needs.

30k to one person may be enough yet nothing to another.  It really depends on your way of file.

 

The high cost of items tend to be:

1. Alcohol (if you do not drink, you can save a lot)
2. Foreign Food (if you need imported food items -- check the price on Kraft Mac'n'Cheese?! -- it gets very pricey)
3. Eating Out (if you need foreign restaurants, or even just restaurants in general every day it can get expensive.  If you go with street food or cook at home, much cheaper)
4. Rent / Electricity (this should be obvious)
5. Health Care (are you covered from home or do you need to buy something here)
6. Visa Fees

 

Those who are making it on 30k/mo and are comfortable most likely avoid expensive alcohol (or any), and rarely eat expensive foreign food (perhaps a monthly treat).  And may not have a great Condo (or do not need to pay rent).

 

If you do not need to pay rent or health care fees, 30k will be enough to get by.

 

A good health care plan will probably cost you about 40+k/year (depending on your health/age).

A small but safe/good condo will in Bangkok will probably cost you around 9k/mo.  You can get them as cheap as 2k/mo but you are basically living in 'The Projects' at this point.

 

I would like to clarify one thing here:

One needs to get rid of the fallacy that Living in Thailand is *CHEAP*.  It's not cheaper than most other western countries.  In fact, if you try to live a comfortable Western Style lifestyle, the price can be very comparative to the Western Countries.

 

And just like in Western countries, there are ways to live on a high budget or a very low budget (scary apartment, sharing, and living on cheap fast food).  Their equivalents are what the lower-income thai people do (live in ugly/scary apartment, eat cheap street food).  Just, Thai Street Food is better than McD's :P.

 

 

 

[ev1lchris]

I think maybe my friend should consider Udon Thani? Or a 6k rental in BKK?

He lives pretty simply and is willing to work an English teaching job. He is Asian though.

[JayBird]

23 hours ago, ev1lchris said:

I think maybe my friend should consider Udon Thani? Or a 6k rental in BKK?

He lives pretty simply and is willing to work an English teaching job. He is Asian though.

 

If he wants to work legally, he may wish to find a job first then live wherever the job is.  I heard sometimes the job comes with a room or room-allowance.  However, from what I saw, the rooms are your standard 2k/mo rooms so may not be desirable.

[sd44]

The problem with these threads is that people always play "healthcare" as the Joker. Healthcare apparently means that the only place any of us can stay is a western society with free universal healthcare. It's always possible to imagine 1) a health calamity which could cost a think-of-a-number amount, and 2) an all-singing and all-dancing insurance policy which would entirely erode (and then some) any conceivable saving you might make from living in a poor country. So whenever someone says, "Could I live on "x"?" the same, "No, because it'll be a $1,000 a month just for a Band-Aid and athlete's foot only policy" responses are made. 
 
Basic civilised subsistence for the non-p*ss artist - healthcare excluded - costs peanuts. If your housing costs are $150 a month, or less, you can certainly get by on not a lot.  How much you then want to add as the cost of healthcare can be whatever you like it to be. If you want you can 'prove' that nobody can live in Thailand. 

Didn't have health care 100 years ago. People still stayed in other countries. Died younger but thats the way it goes.

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[sd44]

And the other half he would waste on plasters and bandages maybe some cream in case he bangs his knee or scrapes his elbow.
Life must be pretty tough if you spend all your time worrying about being ill

Exactly!

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[sd44]

My wife, daughter and I easily live on 40,000thb month. No rent, house paid, up in Udon Thani. We still eat out in Kutchap when we want. Shop at tesco once a week. Different people have different needs obviously.

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[alfieconn]

On 1/9/2017 at 8:02 AM, JayBird said:

As always, budgeting questions are highly personal and tailored to ones needs.

30k to one person may be enough yet nothing to another.  It really depends on your way of file.

 

The high cost of items tend to be:

1. Alcohol (if you do not drink, you can save a lot)
2. Foreign Food (if you need imported food items -- check the price on Kraft Mac'n'Cheese?! -- it gets very pricey)
3. Eating Out (if you need foreign restaurants, or even just restaurants in general every day it can get expensive.  If you go with street food or cook at home, much cheaper)
4. Rent / Electricity (this should be obvious)
5. Health Care (are you covered from home or do you need to buy something here)
6. Visa Fees

 

Those who are making it on 30k/mo and are comfortable most likely avoid expensive alcohol (or any), and rarely eat expensive foreign food (perhaps a monthly treat).  And may not have a great Condo (or do not need to pay rent).

 

If you do not need to pay rent or health care fees, 30k will be enough to get by.

 

A good health care plan will probably cost you about 40+k/year (depending on your health/age).

A small but safe/good condo will in Bangkok will probably cost you around 9k/mo.  You can get them as cheap as 2k/mo but you are basically living in 'The Projects' at this point.

 

I would like to clarify one thing here:

One needs to get rid of the fallacy that Living in Thailand is *CHEAP*.  It's not cheaper than most other western countries.  In fact, if you try to live a comfortable Western Style lifestyle, the price can be very comparative to the Western Countries.

 

And just like in Western countries, there are ways to live on a high budget or a very low budget (scary apartment, sharing, and living on cheap fast food).  Their equivalents are what the lower-income thai people do (live in ugly/scary apartment, eat cheap street food).  Just, Thai Street Food is better than McD's :P.

 

 

 

 

Sorry don't agree, nothing like the cost !

[sd44]

Those who do not have a pot to piss in will say yes. They need to validate their lives. One can live in poverty, a hand to mouth existence, but it is not much of a life.
 
The answer depends solely upon one's financial means, social status, education and if fortunate, not knowing what a quality lifestyle is. If back in farangland one  was content to live in a decrepit one room hovel in the slums eating canned beans and noodles, living with rotten teeth, wearing ugly ill fitting polyester & rayon blend clothes, hanging out with losers, and waiting for the end of the day, just surviving, then the answer to the question is a resounding yes. Go for it. The cockroaches in Thailand are bigger and edible. The water may be unusable even for laundry, but then this type of person probably doesn't wash his sheets more than once a year. 
 
One itsy bitsy catch though. Thailand neither wants this type of person in the country nor will it take care of him when he requires medical care shortly after his arrival and jumps off a balcony when he is consumed by  crushing loneliness.  He probably will be refused a visa.

A bit of an exaggeration. Wash his sheets once a year. Come on.

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