This Is How You Could Live in Thailand on $1,000 a Month

[hhfarang]

Thailand is one of the world's best-known tropical paradises and home to many thousands of expatriates enjoying a comfortable, low-cost life amidst the country's virtually endless natural splendor. Thailand has undergone rapid development in recent decades, spurred partly by its tourism industry. Consequently, many favorite tourist and expatriate destinations offer excellent infrastructure and a wide variety of services oriented to expatriate needs. However, while living standards have risen, costs remain low.

As of 2015, in its annual survey of worldwide retirement destinations, International Living magazine rated Thailand as the world's 10th-best country in which to retire. Thailand excelled in three scoring components in particular. It garnered the second-best score in the Cost of Living component, the top score in the Entertainment and Amenities component and the second-best score in the Health Care component. These are excellent results on the three categories most important to a typical expatriate.

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pe ... er=YahooSA

Comment: Good luck. My family couldn't do it in Hua Hin on $3000+ per month.

[StevePIraq]

Another bull s^#t article about how one can manage on a pittance. Of course you can live on $1k if you want to live like a poor Thai, in one room with little or no furniture and eat from street carts every day.

A three-bedroom apartment in an outlying neighborhood is about $700 per month, an acceptable price if you plan to share housing costs with a spouse or roommate. I would like to see the author tell my wife she has to pay half the accommodation costs.
Where is the back up cost for major medical, my friend was recently in ICU at 100k Baht per 24 hours.

Total crap

[Coldmike]

Not exactly TOTAL crap. Outside of housing and cars, it is realistic to live on $1000 or less. If you can afford to buy a condo (or house with Thai spouse) for cash, then ongoing housing cost is minimal. Little to no property tax and comparatively low condo association fees. Cars are crazy expensive to buy, but cheap to maintain. Taxis and public trans are abundant in Bangkok and cheap, but not so readily available elsewhere. If you're healthy, medical is pretty reasonable, but chronic or major medical issues are going to break the budget pretty quickly.

[StevePIraq]

Then it is crap as the article included property rental costs in the $1000 and most of your other comments go against the statements in the article

[Name Taken]

I personally am thankful that Thailand is a very cheap place to live.
In the U.S. there is a rapidly growing homeless population and income divide, and that is mostly due to the fact that the price of housing in the U.S. is simply outrageous. It is ridiculous that 90+% of a persons income is taken away every month just to keep a roof over your head in the U.S.
In the U.S. the people that are rich don't care because they've got an 'I've Got Mine!' attitude, a bunch of narcissists.
Hey well, Stay Classy and keep worshipping that money America!

[Coldmike]

Then it is crap as the article included property rental costs in the $1000 and most of your other comments go against the statements in the article

The article covered a wide range of conditions with assumptions that we may not want or be able to live with. ie $700 per month apartment can work if a 'friend' splits it with you. My point is that, in general, if you can BUY your housing first, then $1000 per month should be ok for most people.

Also, compare the $1000 (32,000+ Baht) is a nice middle class income for a working Thai person. Yes, if you want to live in Western style and eat Western food, it won't work on $1000/month, but then, don't bother trying. I'm not yet retired, so I don't actually know, but my experience is that it could work. (I, of course, hope to have substantially more )

[StevePIraq]

Of course if you buy your home, car, pay medical insurance for the next 20 years and so on you can then possibly live on 32k Baht a month, but that was not the jist of the article, which talked about an ALL IN cost of 32k Baht.

whichever way I do not believe many western expats would like to come here to live like a poor Thai

[Dannie Boy]

However, if you only had a $1000 a month to live on, you would probably have a better existence in Thailand than say the US or UK.

[STEVE G]

whichever way I do not believe many western expats would like to come here to live like a poor Thai

I think I could have a better life in Thailand on that kind of money than I could in the UK. If that is what you have, life is going to be a bit of a struggle anywhere but it would go a bit further in Asia than it would in the West.

[migrant]

There is living, then there is LIVING. Does one need a steak, beer, vacations, of course not, does one want them, yes.

I come from a family without money, and during student years, like many, existed on very little. I could today, but that is not why I worked hard, or waited this long.

The article points out that it can be done, and for some, they may have to live within those levels. Like SteveG says It would be a better life than in USA also

[hhfarang]

In the U.S. there is a rapidly growing homeless population and income divide, and that is mostly due to the fact that the price of housing in the U.S. is simply outrageous

I have a three bedroom home on close to a rai of land in one of the best neighborhoods in the largest city in North Carolina and it cost me the equivalent of 5 million baht. That would be tough to impossible to find in Hua Hin.

[Name Taken]

In the U.S. there is a rapidly growing homeless population and income divide, and that is mostly due to the fact that the price of housing in the U.S. is simply outrageous

I have a three bedroom home on close to a rai of land in one of the best neighborhoods in the largest city in North Carolina and it cost me the equivalent of 5 million baht. That would be tough to impossible to find in Hua Hin.

WOW!! Good for You hhfarang!

[handdrummer]

medical and dental expenses can destroy your budget. you can find a decent place to rent for a reasonable sum of money, food is cheap, transportation can be expensive, clothing inexpensive. for the day to day stuff it all depends on your needs. you have to know how you want to live and how much you're willing or can afford to pay. if this is your first away from home experience it may come as a shock. if you have experience you can live almost anywhere within your means. if you don't have some money put away for emergencies life can be very difficult. my rule of thumb is: everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much as you think it will.