I go back regularly to the UK. With the likes of Aldi and Lidl, Home Bargains, Poundworld, Poundland, etc food and drink to take home is very inexpensive. Cars, especially second hand are cheap.

 

Clothing and sportswear is better quality and cheaper in the UK with the likes of Sports Direct. Drinking out is very reasonable if, as most places have now, a Wither spoons drinking establishment. The country is full of them.

 

Cigarettes are a fortune to purchase. Taxis, depends where you live but private hire or the Uber etc. The biggest expense for most is rent, which in your case doesn't apply. There are very few things better value for money in Thailand apart from accommodation be it room rents or hotels.

 

Fruit, vegetables, clothing, spectacles, leisure wear, all better value for money in the UK. Eating out is slightly expensive but depends how upscale you go. It's a choice!

 

However, weather lousy, grumpy faces, ages for a hospital appointment and doctors appointment etc etc.

On 1/31/2017 at 10:08 AM, theoldgit said:

Yes I've purchased tickets before by going down the split ticket route, but then booked them via the National Rail website.

 

On a trip last year a ticket from Brighton to Kings Cross involved three separate tickets, and of course we didn't need to change trains en-route.

 

I'm either very sad or have too much time on my hands, or a combination of the two.

You sound cool!

6 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

 

Eating out is something thats way more in the UK.. In fact its easy to consider things with a high labor component cost more in the west, 'things' especially quality things cost less.. 

 

I the UK I bought a temporary fully loaded BMW M sport, which cost less than I could get the cheapest used honda jazz for here.. I have my eye on the 911 market a 996 will cost me 10 - 15k gbp, a Porsche 997 in really nice condition a hair over 20k.. I think that would be what >7 million here ?? Takes an awful lot of cheap plates of rice to make that 6 million baht saving balance out. 

 

Thailands cheap if you want to downsize or use only lower quality things.. Always makes me laugh at how some guy can swap his late model mercedes for a PCX and then say how cheap it is to live here.. 

Yeah, second hand cars are cheap in the UK. New cars you can get deals on too.

In Thailand cars a very heavily taxed. I believe pick-ups are taxed the least.

Petrol is cheap here though, again due to taxation levels.

Does this guy want a German sports car though? (M-sport, that has the badges but not the engine, just a posers car.)

You can buy cigarettes here for about a third of you pay in the UK, due to tax, and petrol is in much the same bracket. Wine here cost about twice the price as in the UK.

It just depends on what you want.

What he needs to know is how much it will cost to heat his house, against cool his house/apartment here and similar practical advice.

The OP hasn't, as far as I can see, said how long it is since he lived in the UK. If it's 20+ years he is in for a shock.

 Socially it depends on where the house is situated. Some districts in towns are now dominated by various EU immigrants for instance, others by different nationalities and English is not the local language. If he hasn't been resident in the UK for several years he could find the NHS is not free either...

Edited February 1, 20179 yr by George FmplesdaCosteedback
more info

22 minutes ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

You can buy cigarettes here for about a third of you pay in the UK, due to tax, and petrol is in much the same bracket. Wine here cost about twice the price as in the UK.

It just depends on what you want.

What he needs to know is how much it will cost to heat his house, against cool his house/apartment here and similar practical advice.

The OP hasn't, as far as I can see, said how long it is since he lived in the UK. If it's 20+ years he is in for a shock.

 Socially it depends on where the house is situated. Some districts in towns are now dominated by various EU immigrants for instance, others by different nationalities and English is not the local language. If he hasn't been resident in the UK for several years he could find the NHS is not free either...

The interenet makes it easy these days to figure out how much utilities are likely to cost, switching sites and the mandatory information required to display  heating data make it quite simple in fact. And yes, it's been 15+ years but I'm ready for the shock, I can take it!

19 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

The interenet makes it easy these days to figure out how much utilities are likely to cost, switching sites and the mandatory information required to display  heating data make it quite simple in fact. And yes, it's been 15+ years but I'm ready for the shock, I can take it!

All I can say is best of luck. I had to spend a few years there to take care of my mother before she died. I couldn't wait to get away... Happy to be back for all the problems Thailand has.

9 hours ago, nontabury said:

Chiang mai mentioned travelling around the north of England, prices should be lower. Especially in Bridligton,where you get a decent size fish with your chips along with a pattie and mushy peas.

I was in Bridlington during November, the first time for over 45 years, I came off the M1, along the M62 towards Hull and then off on the backroads through the wolds to Brid. Little had changed in those 45 years except the emergence of wind farms which blight the landscape. Arriving in Brid I was keen to have my first real fish and chips in many years - large fish or small fish, large chips or small chips she asked, small and small I replied, immediately a mass of fish and chips, enough to feed three people, were wrapped in a thousand layers of paper, 3.20 she said. I shudder to think what the volume of food might have been had I ordered large and large, no wonder northerners have strong arms.

 

Sadly disappointing, tasteless, lacking in flavour, take your pick, locals later told me that the move to healthy cooking oil is the culprit, it's killed the industry some claimed. Never mind, there's another fifteen fish and chips shops there to try, I'm sure one of them has the goods.

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Thailand&country2=United+Kingdom&city1=Chiang+Mai&city2=York

51 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Thailand&country2=United+Kingdom&city1=Chiang+Mai&city2=York

 

Very useful, thanks.

 

Many of those prices are surprisingly accurate.

Edited February 2, 20179 yr by chiang mai

1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Thailand&country2=United+Kingdom&city1=Chiang+Mai&city2=York

 We visited and stayed in York 18mths ago. Some of the prices quoted for York seem to be over the top. A good evening bar meal in a decent pub can be had for £ 4.50 ( survey £12 ). while a 4 roast carvary  will set you back at £5.99. Beer in this survey is £3.50 for 1/2 liter,yet I paid under £3 for a pint. If you look at Sainsburys web page you will see that cereals and decent bread are far cheaper,surprisingly Tomatoes are far more expensive.

The big two kick backs are the cost of rental accomadation and petrol/ diesel.

  From what I can work out,as someone who has not lived in the UK for over 16yrs,there is nothing in it,except for instance, as you get older you probably will need medical treatment,so the UK scores on that one,likewise if you have children, the cost of a decent education is far higher in Thailand than at a free decent school in a good neigbourhood in the UK

7 minutes ago, nontabury said:

 We visited and stayed in York 18mths ago. Some of the prices quoted for York seem to be over the top. A good evening bar meal in a decent pub can be had for £ 4.50 ( survey £12 ). while a 4 roast carvary  will set you back at £5.99. Beer in this survey is £3.50 for 1/2 liter,yet I paid under £3 for a pint. If you look at Sainsburys web page you will see that cereals and decent bread are far cheaper,surprisingly Tomatoes are far more expensive.

The big two kick backs are the cost of rental accomadation and petrol/ diesel.

  From what I can work out,as someone who has not lived in the UK for over 16yrs,there is nothing in it,except for instance, as you get older you probably will need medical treatment,so the UK scores on that one,likewise if you have children, the cost of a decent education is far higher in Thailand than at a free decent school in a good neigbourhood in the UK

The prices quoted on this comparison site are obtained through input from thousands of contributors.

Join, and contribute your experiences on pricing, and you may change some of the figures.

My knowledge of York is dated and slim. I remember climbing the Minster(?) and touring some pie shaped fort/castle, but I wouldn't have a clue about prices.

Edited February 2, 20179 yr by Old Croc

1 hour ago, chiang mai said:

 

Very useful, thanks.

 

Many of those prices are surprisingly accurate.

Have to admit I was surprised rice is cheaper in York than CM.

2 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

Have to admit I was surprised rice is cheaper in York than CM.

I spotted that too and don't understand why. I also noticed that there's a number of areas where suppliers of international products, things that are available in both countries, try to get the same price in both markets, Levi and Nike for example.

12 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

The prices quoted on this comparison site are obtained through input from thousands of contributors.

Join, and contribute your experiences on pricing, and you may change some of the figures.

My knowledge of York is dated and slim. I remember climbing the Minster(?) and touring some pie shaped fort/castle, but I wouldn't have a clue about prices.

When I was there in November I was really surprised at the difference in the cost of living between the North and the South, the North being broadly 25/30% cheaper for many things - professional fees, lawyers and the like, about half of those in the South.

16 hours ago, chiang mai said:

Good post, thanks.

 

If I were to try and replicate my lifestyle here in Thailand and superimpose it on the UK I have a feeling the numbers could be fairly similar, there would of course be trade offs. In Thailand we run two cars, in the UK we don't plan to buy, because of location and proximity we wont need one. The cost of foodstuffs in the UK seem to be at least similar to what we spend here each month or probably less, a couple of people have suggested 50 Pounds per week for food whereas our monthly shopping bill here is between 7k and 8k baht, about the same amount.

 

And whereas the electricity bill here can be high as a result of aircon, the UK gas bill for winter heating corresponds to that. Council tax of course changes the numbers somewhat but in our case not massively.

 

On balance, considering the various living costs obtained from sources such as the Rowntree Foundation, utility costs from Uswitch and similar sites, food costs from Tesco online plus TVF members input, I conclude that our time in the UK will cost very similar to what our time in Thailand costs, the money will just be spent differently - discretionary spending notwithstanding.

 

 

 

Don't know where you're from. I'm from the north and have family in the south east. I visit twice a year. No accommodation costs but do hire a car. I find it extremely expensive.  Every way I turn there's another 10 or 20 gone. Shopping is more enjoyable for foodstuffs because of higher choice, but eating out is a nightmare. Going for a pint (unless it's Weatherspoons) is a shocker and public transport is really costly. As is fuel. It's also so bloody boring. One of the things I love most about here is the outdoor life you are able to enjoy because of the great weather. You mention cost of AC compared to Electric/ gas. Well I may have a bill for under 1000 baht for electric in the summer. UK is minimum double that. Heating on in July. Pissing down and freezing. I think sometimes it's easier to get into the grass is greener syndrome. Good luck.

9 minutes ago, jinners said:

Don't know where you're from. I'm from the north and have family in the south east. I visit twice a year. No accommodation costs but do hire a car. I find it extremely expensive.  Every way I turn there's another 10 or 20 gone. Shopping is more enjoyable for foodstuffs because of higher choice, but eating out is a nightmare. Going for a pint (unless it's Weatherspoons) is a shocker and public transport is really costly. As is fuel. It's also so bloody boring. One of the things I love most about here is the outdoor life you are able to enjoy because of the great weather. You mention cost of AC compared to Electric/ gas. Well I may have a bill for under 1000 baht for electric in the summer. UK is minimum double that. Heating on in July. Pissing down and freezing. I think sometimes it's easier to get into the grass is greener syndrome. Good luck.

When you hire a car in the UK, buy a one year insurance excess policy beforehand and then decline ALL the insurance options offered by the rental company. The policy will cost you about 35 Pounds a year, you can then rent a car from Enterprise for example for around 18 Pounds a day.

 

Also, I've put a lot of effort into understanding the cost of utilities, my flat is only two bedrooms on the first floor and is well insulated and the numbers look like this: water/sewerage = 17 Pounds month (on meter); electricity = 18 month; gas = 60 month based on year round occupancy (I'll be there only six months).

 

Beer = 3 Pound a pint, decent pubs = 0!

 

Point taken about grass is greener syndrome, that's why we're keeping our house in Chiang Mai and only do 6 and 6 months - the second the grass looks yellowish we'll be selling one or the other I reckon.

When I compare costs between Thailand and my old country , Australia, there are a number of intangibles that are generally not part of the equation.

I was talking with a mate back home who was complaining about the bill he received from an electrician who installed and wired up a new submersible pump and reticulation system. (The bore was already there as was the retic, but connected to mains).

The guy and his offsider were there for 5 hours and presented an invoice for AUD800 for labour and AUD550 for parts, not itemised. (Approx Baht8000+)  The electrician  claimed his offsider was also a fully qualified tradesman even though he was clearly the labourer/trainee. My mate argued the toss and they settled for less.

I told him if someone did the same job here, I would take the guy to the hardware shop, buy the parts cheaply, and pay him and his 3 mates a total of maybe B1000.

The cost of labour when you need something fixed in Thailand is very small.  I've had a guy crawling around in my roof space installing cables, for more than an hour, covering him in dust and sweat. He asked for B100 for his troubles. (I gave him a lot more)

And, here I don't pay (or pay very little) council rates, water rates, water usage, drainage, rubbish collection fees, etc. etc. etc. 

Check out the gib of the North. Doncaster - be surprised you don't jump back on a flight as yet seeing that dive 

1 minute ago, Rc2702 said:

Check out the gib of the North. Doncaster - be surprised you don't jump back on a flight as yet seeing that dive 

They's nowt wrong wi' Donny,  salt of the earth folk and real beer, not like them southern woofters.

3 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

They's nowt wrong wi' Donny,  salt of the earth folk and real beer, not like them southern woofters.

I spent a couple of weeks in Donny when I was a youngster stayed in a B&B that was aprox 1km from the centre so a brisk walk to the centre for a few shandies after work was called for. I recall seeing about 12 lads all with young girls walking the opposite direction whilst on route to centre. 11pm those same chavs were walking back to the centre. Bunch of mini pimps selling their girlfriends. This was before the influx of foreigners. Never seen that anywhere else in UK.  

This is an interesting thread, I'm sure a lot of people have considered returning to the UK, either full or part time, for various reasons depending on individual circumstances.

 

I've lived here for almost ten years and, in the main, I'm happy with my lot, there are a lot of things that get under my skin, the dangers of crossing the road as a pedestrian, or even walking on the pavements probably the two things that scare me the most. The cost of living can be fairly cheap, depending on your lifestyle and where you live. The UK is a safe haven for many of us, it provides a degree of comfort, but I'm sure that there are things that get under my skin if I really thought about it.

 

A few years ago I had a heart attack whilst visiting Singapore, rightly or wrongly I don't have healthcare insurance here in Thailand, but thankfully I did take out travel insurance for my long weekend away, so my medical bills of over 600,000 Baht were reimbursed, though not the incidental expenses during my extended stay, and neither was my follow up treatment back here, though that was only 250,000 Baht.

 

One sunny morning my wife, out of the blue, said that she was concerned at my lack of cover and the fact I cannot get realistic and affordable cover at my age, and suggesting it might be an idea to relocate to the UK, she had been a few times already, she is aware that my specialist says I'm fine now, but we don't know what's lurking round the corner. 

 

We were both aware that it wasn't just a case of packing a bag and jumping on the next flight, we really wanted to be sure that it was right for us, especially for her as it was going to be a massive change in lifestyle, some of her old school chums had already made the move, but most had returned, for a variety of reasons.

 

We decided that we would have a few visits to the UK and try to live as a local and not as a tourist, not so easy when your staying in hotels and have to eat out. We have made four trips so far and we're still undecided, I have to say it's me that's more undecided than my wife, she's already made friends with the Thai housekeeper of a hotel on the South Coast who has offered her a job.

 

We found that supermarket food was slightly cheaper than here, but the caveat was we were comparing Western food there with Western food here, Thai food was expensive there and cheap here. I would need to rent, and I'm looking at probably £800 - £1,000 a month on the South Coast as opposed to 25,000 Baht here in Thonglor, I would also need to pay Council Tax of in the region of £1,600 a year, and utility bills are substantially higher. I also needed to factor in that, like it or not, Brexit is more than likely to increase prices in the UK as the impact of the weaker Pound filters through, though that may also affect us here as I'm not convinced the Pound has bottomed out yet.

 

My State Pension would be unfrozen, but that would have a minimal as my Civil Service Pension continues to be index linked and gives some respite to those on frozen pensions. So the biggest concern is of course health cover, I read that the NHS is in crises but it's still a marvellous institution.

 

We still haven't made our minds up, my family and friends in the UK are also split about what's best for us, we're now considering twelve months in the UK, my wife would apply for a Settlement Visa and we would decide one way or the other after the twelve month period - probably.

3 minutes ago, Rc2702 said:

I spent a couple of weeks in Donny when I was a youngster stayed in a B&B that was aprox 1km from the centre so a brisk walk to the centre for a few shandies after work was called for. I recall seeing about 12 lads all with young girls walking the opposite direction whilst on route to centre. 11pm those same chavs were walking back to the centre. Bunch of mini pimps selling their girlfriends. This was before the influx of foreigners. Never seen that anywhere else in UK.  

I used to live just outside Doncaster,never aware of such things, although I suspect  

it may go on in any town.

 Regarding eating out, check the web page for the Toby Jug at the Innkeepers lodge in Doncaster. I can Personnally guarantee it.

 

4 hours ago, nontabury said:

 We visited and stayed in York 18mths ago. Some of the prices quoted for York seem to be over the top. A good evening bar meal in a decent pub can be had for £ 4.50 ( survey £12 ). while a 4 roast carvary  will set you back at £5.99. Beer in this survey is £3.50 for 1/2 liter,yet I paid under £3 for a pint. If you look at Sainsburys web page you will see that cereals and decent bread are far cheaper,surprisingly Tomatoes are far more expensive.

The big two kick backs are the cost of rental accomadation and petrol/ diesel.

  From what I can work out,as someone who has not lived in the UK for over 16yrs,there is nothing in it,except for instance, as you get older you probably will need medical treatment,so the UK scores on that one,likewise if you have children, the cost of a decent education is far higher in Thailand than at a free decent school in a good neigbourhood in the UK

Funny you mention carvery.. Happened to drop in the local restro-pub near my mums this summer.. 7.95 as much as you can eat cavery with a pint. 

 

Ball park 350b baht pint included and not low quality.. The pint alone could almost cost you that for imported beer here. 

 

I do think eating out in general can be expensive.. I dropped > 100 quid on a 4 person meal and pints which is getting well over 4k baht. 

 

One thing that I made the most of was how cheap great german and craft beer was.. the 750 Ml giant Leffe bottles are 2 for a 5'er in Tesco. I put on almost 10kg from too much beer consumption !! 

4 hours ago, chiang mai said:

I spotted that too and don't understand why. I also noticed that there's a number of areas where suppliers of international products, things that are available in both countries, try to get the same price in both markets, Levi and Nike for example.

 

While I have no idea about rice (seem to recall it being more due to not having 25 kg sacks like my wife consumes) the simple fact is.. Efficient supply chains, lack of corruption, lack of silly import tariffs, and the bulk buying of the chain stores just means less 'friction' in each stage of a supply chain. 

 

Also silly thing to mention but as a male who doesnt enjoy schleping around the shops, the ability to simply click online and have your box of routine  groceries appear at your door is bloody superb.. 

4 hours ago, Rc2702 said:

Check out the gib of the North. Doncaster - be surprised you don't jump back on a flight as yet seeing that dive 

I though that Mexborough was the armpit of England

17 minutes ago, ThaiPauly said:

I though that Mexborough was the armpit of England

Never heard of the place but it sounds like Middlesborough which is an absolute <deleted> hole 

28 minutes ago, Rc2702 said:

Never heard of the place but it sounds like Middlesborough which is an absolute <deleted> hole 

Are you sure you're a Brit.!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexborough

 

I lived in the States for many years but would always call my sister to chat, for the longest time I was pee'ed off with her that she'd visited not too far away from where I was living without coming to see me. In later life I revealed my angst to her and she laughed, she'd told me she'd been on holiday in Scarbados, the slang term for Scarborough, say it quickly enough and folks think you've got money and been to Barbados.

40 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

Are you sure you're a Brit.!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexborough

 

I lived in the States for many years but would always call my sister to chat, for the longest time I was pee'ed off with her that she'd visited not too far away from where I was living without coming to see me. In later life I revealed my angst to her and she laughed, she'd told me she'd been on holiday in Scarbados, the slang term for Scarborough, say it quickly enough and folks think you've got money and been to Barbados.

Last time I checked. Yes. Mexborough is nowhere I had heard of before so thanks. I thought it was a predictive typo. Learn something new everyday 

8 hours ago, chiang mai said:

I spotted that too and don't understand why. I also noticed that there's a number of areas where suppliers of international products, things that are available in both countries, try to get the same price in both markets, Levi and Nike for example.

Try comparing the price of a Big Mac, McDonald's adjust the price to the local average wage apparently, who would have guessed going on the price here...

 

8 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

This is an interesting thread, I'm sure a lot of people have considered returning to the UK, either full or part time, for various reasons depending on individual circumstances.

 

I've lived here for almost ten years and, in the main, I'm happy with my lot, there are a lot of things that get under my skin, the dangers of crossing the road as a pedestrian, or even walking on the pavements probably the two things that scare me the most. The cost of living can be fairly cheap, depending on your lifestyle and where you live. The UK is a safe haven for many of us, it provides a degree of comfort, but I'm sure that there are things that get under my skin if I really thought about it.

 

A few years ago I had a heart attack whilst visiting Singapore, rightly or wrongly I don't have healthcare insurance here in Thailand, but thankfully I did take out travel insurance for my long weekend away, so my medical bills of over 600,000 Baht were reimbursed, though not the incidental expenses during my extended stay, and neither was my follow up treatment back here, though that was only 250,000 Baht.

 

One sunny morning my wife, out of the blue, said that she was concerned at my lack of cover and the fact I cannot get realistic and affordable cover at my age, and suggesting it might be an idea to relocate to the UK, she had been a few times already, she is aware that my specialist says I'm fine now, but we don't know what's lurking round the corner. 

 

We were both aware that it wasn't just a case of packing a bag and jumping on the next flight, we really wanted to be sure that it was right for us, especially for her as it was going to be a massive change in lifestyle, some of her old school chums had already made the move, but most had returned, for a variety of reasons.

 

We decided that we would have a few visits to the UK and try to live as a local and not as a tourist, not so easy when your staying in hotels and have to eat out. We have made four trips so far and we're still undecided, I have to say it's me that's more undecided than my wife, she's already made friends with the Thai housekeeper of a hotel on the South Coast who has offered her a job.

 

We found that supermarket food was slightly cheaper than here, but the caveat was we were comparing Western food there with Western food here, Thai food was expensive there and cheap here. I would need to rent, and I'm looking at probably £800 - £1,000 a month on the South Coast as opposed to 25,000 Baht here in Thonglor, I would also need to pay Council Tax of in the region of £1,600 a year, and utility bills are substantially higher. I also needed to factor in that, like it or not, Brexit is more than likely to increase prices in the UK as the impact of the weaker Pound filters through, though that may also affect us here as I'm not convinced the Pound has bottomed out yet.

 

My State Pension would be unfrozen, but that would have a minimal as my Civil Service Pension continues to be index linked and gives some respite to those on frozen pensions. So the biggest concern is of course health cover, I read that the NHS is in crises but it's still a marvellous institution.

 

We still haven't made our minds up, my family and friends in the UK are also split about what's best for us, we're now considering twelve months in the UK, my wife would apply for a Settlement Visa and we would decide one way or the other after the twelve month period - probably.

If you have been away for 10+ years you should check your status with the NHS, you might not qualify for free treatment anymore. No, I am not joking.