bankei Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Hi, This topic has probably been done to death, I quick search didn't turn up much in the one place, so I would like to enquire: What are the approx costs for someone living in Thailand? Probably Bangkok for starters. My estimates. Rent 6,000 - 10,000 Food 5,000 Bus etc 5,000 Etc 10,000 Total 27,000 - 31,000 per month Would this be a reasonable figure to expect? The reason I ask is that I am studying a course (via distance education) and figured I may as well live somewhere cheap and therefore possibly not have to work and can concentrate on my course for a while. I will need a good internet connection, so I assume up country wouldn't be too good. Bankei Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Boy Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 Rent 1,250 - 100,000 Food 1,000 - 50,000 Bus etc 500 - 25'000 Etc 0 - ∞ Total 2'500 - ∞ per month add 500 to the rent if u leave yer aircon on overnight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thetyim Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Not enough for Bangers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haha Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 Hi,This topic has probably been done to death, I quick search didn't turn up much in the one place, so I would like to enquire: What are the approx costs for someone living in Thailand? Probably Bangkok for starters. My estimates. Rent 6,000 - 10,000 Food 5,000 Bus etc 5,000 Etc 10,000 Total 27,000 - 31,000 per month Would this be a reasonable figure to expect? The reason I ask is that I am studying a course (via distance education) and figured I may as well live somewhere cheap and therefore possibly not have to work and can concentrate on my course for a while. I will need a good internet connection, so I assume up country wouldn't be too good. Bankei <{POST_SNAPBACK}> if you don't drink alcohol much, take drugs, gamble, or smoke, you can do it on less. but you will have to be disciplined. getting a girlfriend could cost you an arm and a leg. so you would have to be careful there. ..find someone who will go dutch with you. otherwise, don't bother. with a 30k baht a month budget, you will be able to see all the latest movies, afford to workout at a gym, hangout at starbucks, and do a little shopping now and then. luxuries will be limited. good luck in your studies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_strangelove Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 As long as you stay in your room and avoid bars and gals, you can even live here for 10-15K a month in a nice apartment... Good internet connection... I doubt... still you can manage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bankei Posted June 30, 2005 Author Share Posted June 30, 2005 Thanks guys - Thailand is a paradise isn't it. I have almost got approx 30,000 per month coming in now from investments, so it is only a matter of time before I can 'retire'. My plan is probably 6 months in Thailand and then back to Australia to work a while, then go back again. Could anyone advise on the approx costs for living in the countryside. eg up near Nong Khai or thereabouts. Thaks Bankei Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braccobaldo Posted June 30, 2005 Share Posted June 30, 2005 ...my advice....come here for just two months on a tourist visa and you will be able to learn how much you will need for your necessities.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Kao Posted July 2, 2005 Share Posted July 2, 2005 30,000 is huge upcountry, IMO its better living than cities/tourist areas My neighbors live on 10-12,000 and they are the "upper crust" of society Head North! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bankei Posted July 4, 2005 Author Share Posted July 4, 2005 Thanks Nam Kao I would love to live up near the Mekong somewhere, sounds like I could retire now! If only I had the guts to make the leap. Bankei Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baht&sold Posted July 4, 2005 Share Posted July 4, 2005 (edited) Look waaay down the list to find Bangkok... (just a little perspective) World's most and least expensive cities Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2005 Cost-of-Living Survey 2005 Rank City 1 Tokyo, Japan 2 Osaka, Japan 3 London, United Kingdom 4 Moscow, Russia 5 Seoul, South Korea 6 Geneva, Switzerland 7 Zurich, Switzerland 8 Copenhagen, Denmark 9 Hong Kong, Hong Kong 10 Oslo, Norway 11 Milan, Italy 12 Paris, France 13 New York City, United States 13 Dublin, Ireland 15 St. Petersburg, Russia 16 Vienna, Austria 17 Rome, Italy 18 Stockholm, Sweden 19 Beijing, China 20 Sydney, Australia 20 Helsinki, Finland 22 Douala, Cameroon 22 Istanbul, Turkey 24 Amsterdam, Netherlands 24 Budapest, Hungary 26 Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire 27 Warsaw, Poland 28 Prague, Czech Republic 29 Taipei, Taiwan 30 Shanghai, China 31 Bratislava, Slovak Republic 32 Düsseldorf, Germany 33 Luxembourg, Luxembourg 34 Singapore, Singapore 34 Frankfurt, Germany 36 Dakar, Senegal 37 Munich, Germany 38 Berlin, Germany 39 Tel Aviv, Israel 40 Glasgow, United Kingdom 41 Athens, Greece 41 Brussels, Belgium 43 Barcelona, Spain 44 Los Angeles, United States 45 White Plains, United States 46 Madrid, Spain 47 Birmingham, United Kingdom 48 Zagreb, Croatia 49 Hamburg, Germany 50 Hanoi, Vietnam 50 San Francisco, United States 52 Chicago, United States 52 Beirut, Lebanon 54 Riga, Latvia 54 Kiev, Ukraine 56 Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam 57 Miami, United States 58 Algiers, Algeria 59 Casablanca, Morocco 60 Tallin, Estonia 61 Lyon, France 61 Honolulu, United States 63 Shenzhen, China 64 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 65 Guangzhou, China 66 Lisbon, Portugal 67 Amman, Jordan 68 Melbourne, Australia 69 Auckland, New Zealand 70 Houston, United States 71 Jakarta, Indonesia 72 Kuwait City, Kuwait 73 Dubai, United Arab Emirates 74 San Juan, Puerto Rico 75 Almaty, Kazakhstan 76 Wellington, New Zealand 76 Ljubljana, Slovenia 78 Washington, D.C., United States 79 Boston, United States 80 Morristown, United States 81 Sofia, Bulgaria 82 Toronto, Canada 83 Atlanta, United States 84 Brisbane, Australia 85 Leipzig, Germany 86 Manama, Bahrain 87 Vancouver, Canada 88 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 89 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 89 Adelaide, Australia 91 Vilnius, Lithuania 91 Accra, Ghana 93 Perth, Australia 94 Denver, United States 95 Mexico City, Mexico 96 Lagos, Nigeria 97 Cairo, Egypt 98 Calgary, Canada 99 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 100 Limassol, Cyprus 101 Detroit, United States 102 St. Louis, United States 103 Seattle, United States 103 Bucharest, Romania 105 Kingston, Jamaica 105 Mumbai, India 107 Montreal, Canada 108 Guatemala City, Guatemala 109 Cleveland, United States 110 New Delhi, India 111 Pittsburgh, United States 112 Portland (Ore.), United States 113 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei 114 Panama City, Panama 115 Monterrey, Mexico 116 Johannesburg, South Africa 117 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 118 Lima, Peru 119 Nairobi, Kenya 119 Winston-Salem, United States 119 São Paulo, Brazil 122 Ottawa, Canada 123 Lusaka, Zambia 124 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 125 Bangkok, Thailand 126 Tunis, Tunisia 127 Dacca (Dhaka), Bangladesh 128 Santiago, Chile 129 Tehran, Iran 130 Blantyre, Malawi 131 Tianjin, China 132 Colombo, Sri Lanka 133 Bogotá, Colombia 134 Harare, Zimbabwe 135 San José, Costa Rica 136 Karachi, Pakistan 137 Quito, Ecuador 138 Chennai (Madras), India 138 Caracas, Venezuela 140 Montevideo, Uruguay 141 Bangalore, India 142 Buenos Aires, Argentina 143 Manila, Philippines 144 Asunción, Paraguay Edited July 4, 2005 by bahtandsold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Kao Posted July 4, 2005 Share Posted July 4, 2005 Bankei, Go and try it - if you have a bridge to go back home. I would learn some Thai first though, not many speak "englit". It can get boring at times but better than being stressed out in the rat race back home. I asked a local here "Is 30,000 baht a month OK for live country" His eyes almost popped out of his head and said "Very Big!" I pull out a 1000 baht bill and its like i pulled a gold bar out of my pocket. A girlfriend up here wont break your bank either. The problem will be which one you want. Too many to choose from. Much better than the westernized city/tourist area girls fleecing falangs. I get charged the same as the locals, they have not learned "Charge the falangs YAI"!! like BKK etc. regards nam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bankei Posted July 5, 2005 Author Share Posted July 5, 2005 Nam Thanks again for that. I do know a bit of Thai, but no Lao though! All I would really want is a good internet connection (but a girlfriend would be nice too). What are the internet connections like up there? The last time I was up north (15 years ago) in Ubon Rajatani it was a major hassle just trying to call Bangkok. And what would you estimate as costs for renting a small place be? Thanks again. And thanks too bahtandsold, that puts it into perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youthnasia Posted July 5, 2005 Share Posted July 5, 2005 Hi Bankei You seem to be in a similair position to myself. I also would like to come to Thailand long term. I have cash investments (and will sell a property) that will give me about 54,000 baht per month in total. This amount is based on current (AUS to BHT) exchange rates and also I have deducted the tax that the Australian government would take out as an Australian resident. Have you done this with your 30,000 per month calculation. I too don't have the guts to make the leap.....yet. My IT job here is pretty good, so that doesn't help! Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Kao Posted July 9, 2005 Share Posted July 9, 2005 Bankei, they have internet but it can be slow. Will you be doing alot of downloading? regards nam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bankei Posted July 10, 2005 Author Share Posted July 10, 2005 Hi Youthnasia. Good to see i'm not the only one scarred to make the 'leap'. Yes I can taken tax into consideration. I am thinking maybe of doing 3-6 month stints in Thailand and then coming back here to work a bit, and then go back again. This will break it up a bit and give me some variety. Good luck - Just do it, you can always get a job again here if it doesn't work out. Nam Kao. I probably wouldn't be doing much downloading. Just mainly writing emails and browsing web pages like this one. Thanks for you input again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Kao Posted July 10, 2005 Share Posted July 10, 2005 Bankei, then you'll be fine, check out the area first. Float around the provinces, 6 months here, year there etc. I wouldnt get married, just play the field. When you get pressured to tie the knot - trade her in. Give them 3-4000bt/month. They are shy but more dependable than their westernized counterparts. regards nam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billp Posted July 12, 2005 Share Posted July 12, 2005 BahtandSold, that list you posted is bizarre. Berlin more expensive than Miami??! Ottawa on par with Bangkok??? How on earth do they come up with these things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bankei Posted August 14, 2005 Author Share Posted August 14, 2005 Hello everyone I just want to say thank you for all of the replies. I just did it. I got on a plane and am now in Bangkok, living in a condo which I rented for 5500B per month. Sometimes you just have to go for it. Bankei Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 (edited) Hi,This topic has probably been done to death, I quick search didn't turn up much in the one place, so I would like to enquire: What are the approx costs for someone living in Thailand? Probably Bangkok for starters. My estimates. Rent 6,000 - 10,000 Food 5,000 Bus etc 5,000 Etc 10,000 Total 27,000 - 31,000 per month Would this be a reasonable figure to expect? The reason I ask is that I am studying a course (via distance education) and figured I may as well live somewhere cheap and therefore possibly not have to work and can concentrate on my course for a while. I will need a good internet connection, so I assume up country wouldn't be too good. Bankei <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You will need double that a bare minimum. Don't even think for a second that you can live on that pittance. The fact that you need a good net connection will push that higher yet. 30K will get you no where in BKK. Now a dude like haha can pull it off, but when he says discipline I think his meaning is something that 95% of people could never pull off. I spend over 100K in BKK per month and I don't do or spend a lot at all. I am a cheap charlie supreme. I don't go to bars, have no health ins, no personal transport, I don't travel (other than visa runs every 90 days), don't eat in restaurants, don't buy stuff other than food, no gf expense, use utilities sparingly, have dial up net. I basically live like haha only pay a higher rent. he goes to starbucks, i buy beer at the store. give yourself 60K even if your rent is that dirt cheap 5500 that you state Edited August 14, 2005 by The Dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baht&sold Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 BahtandSold, that list you posted is bizarre. Berlin more expensive than Miami??! Ottawa on par with Bangkok??? How on earth do they come up with these things? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Bill, didn't see your post till today, pardon the late reply. In retrospect, I should've included the source and methodology used. Mercer HR cost of living 2005 survey Quote: "The surveys are designed to measure the differences in cost of living that expatriates and their families encounter when transferred abroad. These differences are measured by comparing the price of the Mercer Cost of Living Basket in different cities. The basket is made up of 186 items which represent typical executive spending patterns. The prices for these goods and services are collected in three different stores in each city: low price supermarkets, department stores and convenience stores. Therefore, every item has a range of three sample prices. Moreover, information on more than 25 additional items is collected for the Accommodation costs table, Education costs table and Business Travel expenses. The information is used by governments and major companies to protect the purchasing power of their employees when transferred abroad". Suffice to say Bill, if you can live like a native anywhere, this survey is n/a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siamesekitty Posted August 14, 2005 Share Posted August 14, 2005 Hello everyoneI just want to say thank you for all of the replies. I just did it. I got on a plane and am now in Bangkok, living in a condo which I rented for 5500B per month. Sometimes you just have to go for it. Bankei <{POST_SNAPBACK}> "Yin dee ton rub" - Welcome to Thailand, Bankei Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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