Typical thai incomes

[kannot]

17 minutes ago, ChidlomDweller said:

The state of  the property market is a whole other topic, but I strongly suspect a lot of it is propped up by corrupt money.  Thailand has also among the highest household debt in the world, so there's that too.  Then there's all the unsold units sitting on the books of Thai real estate companies.  Real estate prices here make no sense if you compare them to average salaries.

 

As for the OP, 30k would be a typical salary for 30-year old university-educated office slave.  I wouldn't be happy on that lifestyle.  In fact, I'd rather live on 750 euros a month in my home country (Belgium).  At least in Europe, there's a lot of wealth in the public domain: beautiful cities, parks, libraries, cultural events,...  In Bangkok, all the good stuff (with a few exceptions like street food) costs money.  

 

No money, Bangkok is a right hellhole.  Why move to the other side of the world to stay home in a dingy 25m room with no money?  Might as well do that at home.  The obvious answer (women) may also not work out.  It'll be slim pickings once they find out your salary and lifestyle.

 

Also, once you build up a bit of a social life, you'll find it's very easy to burn through 1,000 Baht on a night out, even if you do it "student style".  

 

IMO: 30k per month = surviving, penniless student style

 

50-70k = can have some fun

 

100k = comfortable lifestyle if you don't spend big money on other things (expensive travel, car, expensive hobbies...)

Friend recently  bought a condo in a  fairly expensive area, he asked the sales  office what was available and they said just a few  rooms literally 3-4, he  looked at them and bought a  room that suited him, for many it would be a poor  view and poor  floor but it suited him perfectly.

Later my Wife who works in this line of business  found  out  half of the rooms at this building were still unsold  but they would not dump them on the market in fear and were only showing the worst rooms to any potential buyers...........strange but true.

[ChidlomDweller]

I totally believe that.  The break-even point of a developer is what, 20% units sold?  After they've sold 50%, they're happy to let the rest sit unsold for years.  The market is a complete bubble but I don't think it'll pop anytime soon.  It's more of a cartel situation where a small number of players get to control the supply, and hold on to apartments like gold bars in a bank vault.

Edited July 10, 2017 by ChidlomDweller

[sunny17]

1 minute ago, ChidlomDweller said:

I totally believe that.  The break-even point of a developer is what, 20% units sold?  

Is this a Thai average or a global average?

 

Also doesn't it mean, that upon 100% sale, the real estate company/developer makes 400% profit?

[ChidlomDweller]

With the subsistence wages paid to laborers in the construction industry here, a Thai average.  I got some inside information recently but forgot the exact figure.  It was around there.

 

As for why not sell all of them, then the price would implode.  There's limited demand at these price levels.  Locals making 30,000 a month can't buy condos at 150,000 Baht/sqm.  It's a completely artificial market defying normal economics.  That's why I think it's corrupt money looking for a place to get parked.  The apartment I'm sitting in is a 30-year leasehold, and it sat empty for the first 6 years of its existence.  Why not drop the rent?  TIT.  At least half the apartments in my very centrally located condo are empty.  Management posted leaflets on all doors 3 weeks ago and many are still there.

Edited July 10, 2017 by ChidlomDweller

[sunny17]

45 minutes ago, ChidlomDweller said:

As for why not sell all of them, then the price would implode.  There's limited demand at these price levels.  Locals making 30,000 a month can't buy condos at 150,000 Baht/sqm.  It's a completely artificial market defying normal economics.  

if what you say is true, then there is a niche for other developers to move in, this time offering fair prices for condos. 

 

Wonder why that does not happen? 

 

Remember this happened in all other industries - cars were expensive till someone came up with Folkswagon/people's car. 

Air tickets were expensive till someone came up with no-frills airlines. 

 

This can happen in Diamonds industry, but wont since the De Beers cartel controls all supply. (in the diamond industry, they dont supply at the price they can afford to. They supply at the price people can afford to buy)

 

Wonder if the answer lies in the above line - if someone or some group controls all supply, then this situation can happen. 

 

But then with diamonds, to disrupt supply, a new (and big) mine has to be found - but in real estate, you and I can open our developing company tomorrow - so why does it not happen?

Edited July 10, 2017 by sunny17

[ChidlomDweller]

11 hours ago, sunny17 said:

if what you say is true, then there is a niche for other developers to move in, this time offering fair prices for condos. 

 

Wonder why that does not happen? 

 

Remember this happened in all other industries - cars were expensive till someone came up with Folkswagon/people's car. 

Air tickets were expensive till someone came up with no-frills airlines. 

 

This can happen in Diamonds industry, but wont since the De Beers cartel controls all supply. (in the diamond industry, they dont supply at the price they can afford to. They supply at the price people can afford to buy)

 

Wonder if the answer lies in the above line - if someone or some group controls all supply, then this situation can happen. 

 

But then with diamonds, to disrupt supply, a new (and big) mine has to be found - but in real estate, you and I can open our developing company tomorrow - so why does it not happen?

Yes, I think it's a very limited group of players that control all the wealth, and also access to permits, capital...  But beyond that you get only so far applying logic in Thailand.  There's face and not wanting to "lose" also.  Why else sit on an empty leashold, holding out for a too high rental year after year?

[rickudon]

Ok, not Bangkok, provincial capital in Isaan. The top 1% here are stupendously rich, told today about one women bought a 12 million baht house next door  just to park her extra car and table tennis table. Rest is empty (owns several other large houses). Their wealth boosts average incomes considerably. Maybe 10% (if that) make more than 10,000 baht a month, the rest under 10,000 baht a month, often well under. As one friend said, "the people in his village survive by selling noodle soup to one another". 

 

My wife worked for 10 years in Bangkok for a company, doing a semi-skilled job with a fair degree of trust (stock taking). She ended up with a credit card debt and a clapped out second hand motorbike. After that, she ran a small shop and later a food stall selling to school kids, probably made about 100 baht a day. These days maybe you could double that.  Half the villagers do odd jobs or forage for food, grow a little rice for home consumption, just making enough to buy a couple of noodle soups a day and a half bottle of lao khao when they are lucky. Many of the self-employed people probably do not make minimum wage, they depend on multiple small incomes within the family to survive.

 

Senior citizens in the village who never had an occupational pension (the majority) have zero income, or 600-700 baht a month pension from state if they are lucky. Most have to scrounge off of relatives and forage to avoid starvation.

 

My sister-in-law who speaks good English, advertised English lessons to be given at home - but got no takers

 

For the OP yourself, bare in mind to stay in Thailand long term you need to meet visa requirements, which 30,000 baht a month wouldn't cover, unless you have a work permit - and many jobs are restricted to Thais only. So your plans may have dubious legality.

[kannot]

10 minutes ago, rickudon said:

Ok, not Bangkok, provincial capital in Isaan. The top 1% here are stupendously rich, told today about one women bought a 12 million baht house next door  just to park her extra car and table tennis table. Rest is empty (owns several other large houses). Their wealth boosts average incomes considerably. Maybe 10% (if that) make more than 10,000 baht a month, the rest under 10,000 baht a month, often well under. As one friend said, "the people in his village survive by selling noodle soup to one another". 

 

My wife worked for 10 years in Bangkok for a company, doing a semi-skilled job with a fair degree of trust (stock taking). She ended up with a credit card debt and a clapped out second hand motorbike. After that, she ran a small shop and later a food stall selling to school kids, probably made about 100 baht a day. These days maybe you could double that.  Half the villagers do odd jobs or forage for food, grow a little rice for home consumption, just making enough to buy a couple of noodle soups a day and a half bottle of lao khao when they are lucky. Many of the self-employed people probably do not make minimum wage, they depend on multiple small incomes within the family to survive.

 

Senior citizens in the village who never had an occupational pension (the majority) have zero income, or 600-700 baht a month pension from state if they are lucky. Most have to scrounge off of relatives and forage to avoid starvation.

 

My sister-in-law who speaks good English, advertised English lessons to be given at home - but got no takers

 

For the OP yourself, bare in mind to stay in Thailand long term you need to meet visa requirements, which 30,000 baht a month wouldn't cover, unless you have a work permit - and many jobs are restricted to Thais only. So your plans may have dubious legality.

English  teachers dont  need  that baht requirement but  need  a  degree.............used to  be  that  way anyway, not  sure  now?

[rickudon]

Yes, if you have a work permit, does not depend on your salary, BUT obviously jobs available are limited, Teaching English is the obvious one, but is hardly a job with much future. You are also living on the edge as if you loose your job, you have seven days to get a new visa (or job). Not exactly secure. Also i do not think he was intending teaching English in a school. I got the impression he expected lots of job opportunities in Thailand. 

[sunny17]

1 hour ago, rickudon said:

For the OP yourself, bare in mind to stay in Thailand long term you need to meet visa requirements, which 30,000 baht a month wouldn't cover, unless you have a work permit - and many jobs are restricted to Thais only. So your plans may have dubious legality.

I have no plans of staying long term in Thailand. Max 2 weeks.

 

Pls see post #37 in this thread.

Edited July 11, 2017 by sunny17

[sunny17]

55 minutes ago, rickudon said:

I got the impression he expected lots of job opportunities in Thailand. 

oh really?

[Thongkorn]

Clarify Average Thai, Big money , Little money No money Bar girl beggars, Burmese Cambodian that work in Thailand,

[sunny17]

I have clarified - I wanted to know whats enough money for a Thai person to get by in Bkk or its outskirts. 

 

And I got the answer too - about 30,000 baht. Though Thai incomes can be much higher than that, and also many can get by with half of that.

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎7‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 8:29 AM, akirasan said:

I wouldn't live in Bangkok on less than 30,000 thb/month honestly.  20,000 is going to be cutting it too fine.  It's doable but I don't think you'd have a great quality of life. 

So basically you are saying most Thais don't have a good quality of life.

In my experience, most do, but they don't want or need a western life filled with useless crap and expensive food.

[thaibeachlovers]

5 hours ago, sunny17 said:

I have clarified - I wanted to know whats enough money for a Thai person to get by in Bkk or its outskirts. 

 

And I got the answer too - about 30,000 baht. Though Thai incomes can be much higher than that, and also many can get by with half of that.

LOL. IMO many Thais in or in the outskirts are probably on around 9,000 to 11,000 baht a month, given that most are not office workers or in government jobs.

They aren't living beside the railway or in Klong Toey because they enjoy living in a slum.

 

Even so, Thais can rent very cheaply, but in areas farangs wouldn't live in.

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 9:26 PM, sunny17 said:

I have no plans of staying long term in Thailand. Max 2 weeks.

 

Pls see post #37 in this thread.

I have no plans of staying long term in Thailand. Max 2 weeks.

 

BUT, in your OP you said

I need to know all this, so that I know what sort of targets to shoot for if I want to settle there

 

Are you yanking our chain?

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎7‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 9:51 AM, perthperson said:

 

There are mechanical solutions --------------

 

 

The cost of hiring the mechanical cutter could very well be as much as the profit, which I assume is why they didn't use one.

[daphnia88]

ok so I earned 40,000 on my last job, and I managed to save about half of that. I lived off 20,000 baht a month. Note: I'm single, I don't like in a fancy ass condo but rather in a studio apartment in central bangkok (so it's not too cheap either), and with 20,000 baht I was able to "live" already. Got 900 Baht manicures, massages whenever I wanted (normal ones), ate out twice a week with friends (including drinking), bought "farang" groceries from delivery shops once every other week. Pretty good for me. If you don't hire prostitutes or drink yourself silly every other day, you could live off 20,000 Baht for a single household. Not just exist, as someone here said. I had all I wanted with that 20,000. 

[sunny17]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I have no plans of staying long term in Thailand. Max 2 weeks.

 

BUT, in your OP you said

I need to know all this, so that I know what sort of targets to shoot for if I want to settle there

 

Are you yanking our chain?

woops - then that is a genuine unforced error. Sorry.

[akirasan]

8 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

So basically you are saying most Thais don't have a good quality of life.

In my experience, most do, but they don't want or need a western life filled with useless crap and expensive food.

Nope, what I'm saying is that if you don't have a network of good friends or family here, or have to start from scratch (find accommodation, buy a car, house furnishings etc) you'll find it difficult to get by on that amount.  

Edited July 13, 2017 by akirasan

[Craig krup]

10 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

So basically you are saying most Thais don't have a good quality of life.

In my experience, most do, but they don't want or need a western life filled with useless crap and expensive food.

 

The hard thing to grasp is how the world looks through someone else's eyes. When I was young the need to go out on the lash was like a physical thing: I absolutely could not imagine sitting at peace. My libido was off the scale so I did some terrible stuff - like shagging my mates' [note apostrophe] girlfriends. Now I've got no desire to drink and it's so long since I've "been to church" I'm struggling to remember where I sit. 

 

Now the state of mood, disposition, affect and taste that I'm at right now is the mood some people are in when they're young. I could easily live on 20,000 baht right now because reading books, posting inflammatory comments on the web, working out and eating big bowls of starch doesn't cost very much. But the 22 year old me couldn't have done it. He'd have blown through it in three good nights. 

[kannot]

6 hours ago, Craig krup said:

 

The hard thing to grasp is how the world looks through someone else's eyes. When I was young the need to go out on the lash was like a physical thing: I absolutely could not imagine sitting at peace. My libido was off the scale so I did some terrible stuff - like shagging my mates' [note apostrophe] girlfriends. Now I've got no desire to drink and it's so long since I've "been to church" I'm struggling to remember where I sit. 

 

Now the state of mood, disposition, affect and taste that I'm at right now is the mood some people are in when they're young. I could easily live on 20,000 baht right now because reading books, posting inflammatory comments on the web, working out and eating big bowls of starch doesn't cost very much. But the 22 year old me couldn't have done it. He'd have blown through it in three good nights. 

Great post

[Thongkorn]

On 7/12/2017 at 7:18 PM, sunny17 said:

I have clarified - I wanted to know whats enough money for a Thai person to get by in Bkk or its outskirts. 

 

And I got the answer too - about 30,000 baht. Though Thai incomes can be much higher than that, and also many can get by with half of that.

what a lot of <deleted>, nobody knows there are too many permutations, Living on the outskirts of Bangkok myself.

[smutcakes]

23 hours ago, daphnia88 said:

ok so I earned 40,000 on my last job, and I managed to save about half of that. I lived off 20,000 baht a month. Note: I'm single, I don't like in a fancy ass condo but rather in a studio apartment in central bangkok (so it's not too cheap either), and with 20,000 baht I was able to "live" already. Got 900 Baht manicures, massages whenever I wanted (normal ones), ate out twice a week with friends (including drinking), bought "farang" groceries from delivery shops once every other week. Pretty good for me. If you don't hire prostitutes or drink yourself silly every other day, you could live off 20,000 Baht for a single household. Not just exist, as someone here said. I had all I wanted with that 20,000. 

A major point being that what one person considers 'living' and 'existing' will vary wildly between people. What you consider living, others might consider existing. Each person has a different lifestyle and expectations. For some living on a 40,000 baht budget would only be existing.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

I find it in extremely low taste what some posters.... specifically the ones who came to Thailand for "the temples" advocate to less fortunate that they are "existing", while in reality they have no clue what existing really means.

If you made only $1500 in the entire year then you made it to the top 20% of income earners in the entire world. That means at least 80% of the world population is truly existing....not someone who makes 30k in Bangkok.

Only a privileged snob growing in q nanny state (and then complain in Thailand about nanny state) will use this term.

Snobs.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[smutcakes]

2 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

I find it in extremely low taste what some posters.... specifically the ones who came to Thailand for "the temples" advocate to less fortunate that they are "existing", while in reality they have no clue what existing really means.

If you made only $1500 in the entire year then you made it to the top 20% of income earners in the entire world. That means at least 80% of the world population is truly existing....not someone who makes 30k in Bangkok.

Only a privileged snob growing in q nanny state (and then complain in Thailand about nanny state) will use this term.

Snobs.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Who has used that term and is complaining about nanny states?

[Aussieroaming]

On 7/13/2017 at 0:18 AM, sunny17 said:

I have clarified - I wanted to know whats enough money for a Thai person to get by in Bkk or its outskirts. 

 

And I got the answer too - about 30,000 baht. Though Thai incomes can be much higher than that, and also many can get by with half of that.

I think you need to recognise the fact that many of these Thais earning 15 000 - 30 000 are likely to be living in a family environment (not all but some) where income and resources are re-distributed to ensure that all are looked after. So that strong family connection helps those with a lower income.

[daphnia88]

1 hour ago, smutcakes said:

A major point being that what one person considers 'living' and 'existing' will vary wildly between people. What you consider living, others might consider existing. Each person has a different lifestyle and expectations. For some living on a 40,000 baht budget would only be existing.

Like I said.... someone who doesn't hire prostitutes or drink themselves silly or HAS to live in a high rise condo, can LIVE with 20k or 40k comfortably. 

 

52 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

I find it in extremely low taste what some posters.... specifically the ones who came to Thailand for "the temples" advocate to less fortunate that they are "existing", while in reality they have no clue what existing really means.

If you made only $1500 in the entire year then you made it to the top 20% of income earners in the entire world. That means at least 80% of the world population is truly existing....not someone who makes 30k in Bangkok.

Only a privileged snob growing in q nanny state (and then complain in Thailand about nanny state) will use this term.

Snobs.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

THIS. Existing means "I have enough to not die, but I don't have enough money to afford the things I want". I was able to afford the things I both NEED, and WANT. Hence, I'm not existing, I'm living already. With 20k. The snobs you were talking about probably is ridden with STDs and have a liver so fatty the doctors give up on them.

[daphnia88]

3 minutes ago, Aussieroaming said:

I think you need to recognise the fact that many of these Thais earning 15 000 - 30 000 are likely to be living in a family environment (not all but some) where income and resources are re-distributed to ensure that all are looked after. So that strong family connection helps those with a lower income.

I live alone - no family. 30k is not "lower income". 3k is lower income. All you people get off your high horses.

[CharlieH]

Discuss /debate the topic but DONT get personal in your remarks please.