canarysun Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 75,000 baht is just a bit less than my " all in complete yearly costs " in here in Thailand. F.J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaca azul Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 75.000 THB......." all in complete yearly costs " What yearly costs you are talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emster23 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 My answers to these questions: - Hating how hot it is all the time with no air conditioning (get a fan and get used to it. It's adapting. Air con can make one sick) - Hating how grey the long Bangkok days look during summer from your small window (walk out the door. You are not a prisoner.) - Hating the overly spicy and smelly Thai food breakfast, lunch and dinner (all tastes are acquired. GF asked "why farang food have no flavor?"). - Hating to be stuck in traffic all day in a stuffy hot smelly bus in exhaust fumes (walk. Like I told friend "It's a 10 minute walk or 20 minute drive to X". Plenty to explore if pick the right neighborhood) - Hating how Thai people basically ignore you and you can't make any friends without spending (I didn't have that problem. But I didn't hang out in Nana or Patpong.) Also somewhat sad how some think "spending money = only way can have fun". Fun is attitude and approach. I have had great fun times and spent nothing, and been bored stiff at expensive venues. Recall time sitting on corner in Ubud Bali with some friend bemo drivers, just watching people pass by, making jokes, etc. Some girl who had foreign bf came by and tried to get hiso, implying I was low life for being with them. I pulled out 1,000,000 rupiah (all of $100) to show I had dough. "Why you not in fancy restaurant?". "I would be bored. These guys are more fun. They are my friends..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zierf1 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Bangkok is actually quite cheap as long as you avoid the expensive areas. It is cheap if you live like a Thai. You can rent a room for 2,000 baht a month there. 100 baht a day is enough for Thai food each day. You will need to buy some bags of rice, an electric or propane stove, and a rice cooker. 3000 for food. 2000 for rent. And add some initial outlay for a second hand motorbike and your cooking utensils. That is all you need for the basics. That is how Thai people live. It's how I live when I'm in Thailand too. I used to get by for long periods on just 100-200 baht a day. I'd eat at food stalls and shop at markets every single day. I never wasted a single baht. Believe it or not you can rent a reasonable apartment for 2k a month. You will need to speak Thai and rent long term. You should be avoiding tourist traps where other farang tourists waste money. In summary, 20,000 baht is plenty. You just need to be careful with your money and live exactly as the locals live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaanUSA Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I skimmed the replies rather quickly, but didn't read much. I didnt see anybody mentioning the cost of the school. If school is $3000 for a year, then you are left with $5000. Let's say it costs you $1000 to fly to Thailand, then you are left with $4000. So $4000 over the course of a year? No way. Let's say you already paid for your school, your visa, your flights and you just need a place to live, food, water, phone, and entertainment, then no, it is not possible to live in Bangkok comfortably for a year. It would be difficult, but you could live uncomfortably. You would have to walk to school everyday, for entertainment, you could walk around, you could do crossword puzzles, and for food would be street food or ramen at home. It would be slightly easier to live in a smaller town and go to school. Ubon and Khon Khaen are examples. You could possibly afford a bicycle and bike to school instead of walking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zierf1 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 better stay where u are. u could survive on that but no way live the ed visa and visa runs wil cost you over $1,000 so ur down to $7,000 @32 baht/$ 18,600/month room 5,000 food 300/day= 9,000 phone, internet 1,000 leaves u 3,800 or 125 /day for everything else That's too much for rent. Food is also too much. Can be done on far less. My wife supports herself and her ENTIRE family on 15,000 per month! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suradit69 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Oops, I'm talking about USD. Let's say an education visa too. I think living on $8000 USD is totally doable. Love to see your breakdown for rent, food, Immigrations-related expenses including border & visa runs, school costs, transport, utilities including Internet & mobile phone, etc. Unplanned for expenses like medical emergencies. "I think living on $8000 USD is totally doable." "Living" and "doable" mean different things to different people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaanUSA Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 better stay where u are. u could survive on that but no way live the ed visa and visa runs wil cost you over $1,000 so ur down to $7,000 @32 baht/$ 18,600/month room 5,000 food 300/day= 9,000 phone, internet 1,000 leaves u 3,800 or 125 /day for everything else That's too much for rent. Food is also too much. Can be done on far less. My wife supports herself and her ENTIRE family on 15,000 per month! I agree that food is too much, but you think there are many places to rent in Bangkok that cost under 5000 baht? Can you at least give some examples or point out some parts of town to help out the OP? It really doesn't matter what your wife can do, this thread is about a foreigner living in Bangkok while going to school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoad Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I hope the OP has factored in things like school fees, visa Expenses and medical insurance. I still think it is a very tight budget, with little wiggle room. In the end it's up to the OP on what lifestyle he wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfaroukh Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 No it would be comfortable if you live in simple apartment and pay 4000 baht a month, and live on simple food and not much of outing. In this case why are you coming only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay1980 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 if the OP is the attractive woman in their avitar, I would think there would be many guys willing to take them out for dinner, buy them drinks etc which will be a massive saving compared to the costs of nightlife for the average TV member Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecoolfrog Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I couldn't do it , without aircon and some daily luxuries I would find Bangkok intolerable. These things however are relative and we really need to know the OPs expectations and exactly what he/she has budgeted for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louse1953 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 No problems,if you go to a wat and inlist.Eat well and maybe make some money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipperylobster Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Here they come. The "existing" crowd. Some people have obviously forgotten what "living" actually means and only exist to post misinformation on Thai Visa. In any case OP, 8k is fine, but please remember this. You are a white guy I presume. Personally I have a big issue with Thai diet as I think it is extremely unhealthy for Westerners, especially sensitive gene pool Europeans such us myself. Eating Thai street food every day IS unhealthy, do not kid yourself. I would actually argue it is worse than smoking. Have extra savings and live on 8k a year. That way you will not be forced to make stupid decisions or panic if it hits the fan. Have fun. Plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and meat at the market. Also (perhaps not in Bangkok, but in CM) plenty of farang food at reasonable prices. Buy a bag of rice, oranges, apples, mangoes, pineapples, bananas, white chicken meat, fish, pork, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, squash.....list goes on and on. Cheap at the market. Prepare it in a crock pot or hot pot in your room. Healthy and cheap as all get out. Ok, I avoid street food. But a bag of sliced pineapple, some sticky rice, and some bbq pork on a stick can be about 55 baht. ...and not unhealthy at all 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uptheos Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 20k a month....hmmm....I could spend that in the St Regis bar just waiting for my gf....... And I thought the attraction was because you're a hansum man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canarysun Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I couldn't do it , without aircon and some daily luxuries I would find Bangkok intolerable. These things however are relative and we really need to know the OPs expectations and exactly what he/she has budgeted for. Having lived in Thailand for almost 4 years i certainly would not call aircon a " luxury " !! I actually hate aircon! It's expensive,very bad for you.And nothing worse than to visit a " shopping mall " or " Cinema " and after a few minutes i am " climbing the walls to get out " ( i certainly would not class it as a luxury ) If i was living in Bangkok ( fabulous place my i add ) I would be "outside all day " out and about walking in the fabulous parks or even hiring a bicycle and spend some afternoons in the fabulous Rot Fai Park "Socializing with the world and there wife" as you enjoy a pleasant daily stroll.(I always enjoy a bit of " idle chit chat " with the locals....) Farang Jaidee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joecoolfrog Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Canary Sun As I said its all relative, I detest central heating here in England but in Thailand , except up North , cannot function without air con. I certainly agree with you about walking about but Bangkok is short on green spaces and the air quality isnt great. On the coast or in the hills is different , but you try getting my Thai gf to walk anywhere ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipperylobster Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 (edited) We get our aircon fix at any number of malls/shopping centers. Nothing wrong with going to the food court and plugging in your laptop (write offline emails and connect later, or watch movies off your hard drive). Plenty of eye candy, socializing, inexpensive snackaroonies. The hottest part of the day is 1pm to sunset. You can survive the nights/early mornings without it. Also, swimming pools and gyms are not overly expensive, and you can hang out a long time there. Shut all the power off in your room and go elsewhere...during the hot part of the day. People forget, they have libraries at the universities that are aircon. Some will let you in and some have free internet, cheaper gyms and even pools. Check it all out. Only sad nut cases and drunks stay in a fan room all day staring out the window at the fire escape. You are in Siam, my friend....go out and be farang. Edited September 18, 2014 by slipperylobster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louse1953 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 5000bht p/m for condo rental. Where? What? How? That's exy,out in the provinces,you can get new apartment for 1500b/month. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slipperylobster Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 5000bht p/m for condo rental. Where? What? How? That's exy,out in the provinces,you can get new apartment for 1500b/month. tons of thai condotels....you need to identify them on sight. I can show you several furnished one room with bathroom, cable, wifi....in CM. I am sure they exist in BKK. You can get one room for 3000, and a studio for about 7000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britmaveric Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Balloon chasing will help the budget!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louse1953 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 You could spend that much in a few fun nights on Soi Cowboy...maybe you could move out to rural Thailand...live among the rice patties and swat mosquitos...there are those that think it is great fun... No mozzy's in Bangkok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krisb Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 75,000 baht is just a bit less than my " all in complete yearly costs " in here in Thailand. F.J No way man. Doing the maths in my head, your daily living, all inclusive, including health insurance, is around 250 baht a day or something like that? Just not possible as a westerner to live in Thailand including visas etc on even 80,000baht a year. You said it was 2k a month for your room, that leaves 56k a year for everything else. Please list how you do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canarysun Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Canary Sun As I said its all relative, I detest central heating here in England but in Thailand , except up North , cannot function without air con. I certainly agree with you about walking about but Bangkok is short on green spaces and the air quality isnt great. On the coast or in the hills is different , but you try getting my Thai gf to walk anywhere ! I understand completely! 95 percent of Thais hate to walk anywhere.I am just back home for " a spot of lunch " after doing " my daily 10 KM morning stroll " most of the thais look at me in " absolute amazement " ( although i am slightly " nuts " anyway...) I would find it impossible to have a relationship with someone who is " too bloody lazy to walk anywhere,who doesn't like the sun and likes to sit indoors playing games on the smartphone all day! " Thailand offers a great " outdoor lifestyle " some fabulous rural areas in Thailand which are " perfect bicycle territory " but getting back to " The Topic " i would prefer to live in a nice condo ( around 3,500 baht a month ) 1 hour 20 mins outside of Bangkok in Ayutthaya and then there are plenty of trains every day for only 15 baht! Then you can have the best of both worlds! F.J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grindting Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 (edited) Can be done I'm sure, the thai's do it and sometimes on less. But they've been brought up to live in a 3rd world existence, you've been brought up in the US. Personally I'd struggle big time with that, and I'm also 'young' at 29yrs old. I wouldn't choose to live in BKK for less than $100,000 PA and when I was working there I was on a lot more than that. But I understand you're not working so the whole day is yours which makes a big difference. But perhaps you'd be even more bored? I know I would be. There are no free museums or galleries or anything with any depth that's free to enjoy in BKK, everything you have to pay for. I can't get my head around the hippy types that are content to stare at trees in te 1 or 2 parks in Bangkok all day long, day in day out, I need to feel I've seen or learned something new with some substance, or I'll get bored real quick. If I was single With the whole day to myself in BKK id want to hit the park in the morning for a jog/stroll or hit the gym ($) then go for a slap up breakfast, thai or western ($). Go home shower, play some guitar, read the news, pop out to the cinema ($) or mall to escape the heat. Go to some kind of social event with my thai and western friends in the evening and have a few drinks, eats etc ($). Cannot do any of that without some decent $$$, unless you're the type to constantly ponce off your friends? (Like some backpackers/long timers in LOS are good at doing)... It would be a boring and lonely existence. Besides, after a few weeks of that it'd be even more boring no matter how much $ you have, you're not retired yet! 1 year in BKK with no money, may as well be a jail sentence. How about try it out for 2 months? Then come back and re evaluate ? Rather than commit to the whole year. Then if you really want, go back out there. And if after 1 month you're already miserable, you know you're leaving the following month. If it were me id make it around 3 months and go all over the place, see as many places as possible in that time, and different countries. not just commit to BKK. Thailand is so overdone, go to Indonesia and get to places like Sumatra and Papua for a real experience. I couldn't think of anything worse than being stuck in Thailand for a year with no cash to enable me to get away for a bit of respite. Edited September 18, 2014 by Grindting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Langsuan Man Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Oops, I'm talking about USD. Let's say an education visa too. I think living on $8000 USD is totally doable. Why 5 pages of answers, the OP obviously has her mind made up since it is totally doable in her opinion You people are just confusing the issue with real facts 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thehelmsman Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I couldn't do it , without aircon and some daily luxuries I would find Bangkok intolerable. These things however are relative and we really need to know the OPs expectations and exactly what he/she has budgeted for. Having lived in Thailand for almost 4 years i certainly would not call aircon a " luxury " !! I actually hate aircon! It's expensive,very bad for you.And nothing worse than to visit a " shopping mall " or " Cinema " and after a few minutes i am " climbing the walls to get out " ( i certainly would not class it as a luxury ) If i was living in Bangkok ( fabulous place my i add ) I would be "outside all day " out and about walking in the fabulous parks or even hiring a bicycle and spend some afternoons in the fabulous Rot Fai Park "Socializing with the world and there wife" as you enjoy a pleasant daily stroll.(I always enjoy a bit of " idle chit chat " with the locals....) Farang Jaidee Do you go to the Cinema to look at posters or can you actually afford a ticket? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsaanUSA Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 ....in CM. I am sure they exist in BKK. In Chiang Mai. Sorry brother, Bangkok is completely different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canarysun Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I couldn't do it , without aircon and some daily luxuries I would find Bangkok intolerable. These things however are relative and we really need to know the OPs expectations and exactly what he/she has budgeted for. Having lived in Thailand for almost 4 years i certainly would not call aircon a " luxury " !! I actually hate aircon! It's expensive,very bad for you.And nothing worse than to visit a " shopping mall " or " Cinema " and after a few minutes i am " climbing the walls to get out " ( i certainly would not class it as a luxury ) If i was living in Bangkok ( fabulous place my i add ) I would be "outside all day " out and about walking in the fabulous parks or even hiring a bicycle and spend some afternoons in the fabulous Rot Fai Park "Socializing with the world and there wife" as you enjoy a pleasant daily stroll.(I always enjoy a bit of " idle chit chat " with the locals....) Farang Jaidee Do you go to the Cinema to look at posters or can you actually afford a ticket? I haven't been to the cinema in over 20 years! ( and never watch TV either ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grindting Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 (edited) I couldn't do it , without aircon and some daily luxuries I would find Bangkok intolerable. These things however are relative and we really need to know the OPs expectations and exactly what he/she has budgeted for. Having lived in Thailand for almost 4 years i certainly would not call aircon a " luxury " !! I actually hate aircon! It's expensive,very bad for you.And nothing worse than to visit a " shopping mall " or " Cinema " and after a few minutes i am " climbing the walls to get out " ( i certainly would not class it as a luxury ) If i was living in Bangkok ( fabulous place my i add ) I would be "outside all day " out and about walking in the fabulous parks or even hiring a bicycle and spend some afternoons in the fabulous Rot Fai Park "Socializing with the world and there wife" as you enjoy a pleasant daily stroll.(I always enjoy a bit of " idle chit chat " with the locals....) Farang Jaidee Do you go to the Cinema to look at posters or can you actually afford a ticket? I haven't been to the cinema in over 20 years!That's quite sad. Considering there is no good theatre in Thailand (unless you like issan racket and slapstick) you're missing out.Shame in LOS it's ruined by the -5 aircon, the intolerable '11' volume and the standing up at the beginning rubbish. But either way it's a cheap and comfortable way to experience some great movies Edited September 18, 2014 by Grindting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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