Nice job T.I.G.R.!!
As a current California resident, I can vouch for the US numbers! Ours tend to be a little higher being in Orange County, but all right there.
As for health care, I had a arthroscopic surgery on my knee, about 8 hours in the hospital (no meals or overnight), but a general anesthesia.
Total cost ~ USD 9,000 Thank god for insurance here!!
Expensive in Hua Hin ??
T.I.G.R. is comparing the costs to California which is pretty much the most expensive place to live in the United States. You can live for half of that in Florida (I know as I lived in both) and you can live for less than both of those in many other fine places in the U.S.
It's kind of like comparing the cost of living in the best areas of London with smaller rural towns in Britain.... apples and oranges.
My house here (about the same size) cost me about the same as my house in Boca Raton Florida (a very nice retirement community on the southeast coast of Florida). Golf was one third of the price there that it is here. Automobiles and electronics were 20% to 40% cheaper there. Electricity and water was about the same, considering the excess heat and less rain here.
The single item that was much more in the U.S. was property tax. That's pretty much the only advantage I've noticed here.
It's kind of like comparing the cost of living in the best areas of London with smaller rural towns in Britain.... apples and oranges.
My house here (about the same size) cost me about the same as my house in Boca Raton Florida (a very nice retirement community on the southeast coast of Florida). Golf was one third of the price there that it is here. Automobiles and electronics were 20% to 40% cheaper there. Electricity and water was about the same, considering the excess heat and less rain here.
The single item that was much more in the U.S. was property tax. That's pretty much the only advantage I've noticed here.
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
HH -
I agree that California is expensive, but when we were looking for a place in the States to retire to in 2005-06 Florida was our first pick.....until we got there.
It turns out the places we were looking at from Ft. Meyers in the south to the Pensacola area in the north were just as expensive as California. I'm not sure if you looked at golf communities, which is where we looked, but I didn't see enough difference to think I could live there any cheaper than California.......but the worst thing, I think as you mentioned earlier, is the weather compared to either Ca. or Hua Hin/Cha Am is atrocious.
I don't exactly know why, but the weather here in Thailand is never as muggy and uncomfortable as it is on the east coast of the U.S. I lived in Charleston S.C. for a couple of years while I was in the Navy and traveled up and down the coast regularly......and it was all miserable in the summer and cold in the winter.....yuk.
When you get right down to the "where should we go" question, weather played a huge part in our decision. We hate snow and avoid it at all costs, so our choices were mostly limited to coastal locations......none of which were as nice as here or as affordable. As I mentioned in my post the single largest cost difference here is in housing........there are occasionally places like yours apparently where there isn't a lot of difference in price, but try finding a house on any coastal area of the U.S. for the kind of money we paid here. You won't find any.
And need I say it, find as many beautiful women any where else in the world and I'll eat my hat...........I almost didn't make it out of Bumrungrad last week because I couldn't bear to say goodbye to all of those fabulous women working there. Geez, too bad old geezers can't work in their personnel department......I'd pay for that job!
I agree that California is expensive, but when we were looking for a place in the States to retire to in 2005-06 Florida was our first pick.....until we got there.
It turns out the places we were looking at from Ft. Meyers in the south to the Pensacola area in the north were just as expensive as California. I'm not sure if you looked at golf communities, which is where we looked, but I didn't see enough difference to think I could live there any cheaper than California.......but the worst thing, I think as you mentioned earlier, is the weather compared to either Ca. or Hua Hin/Cha Am is atrocious.
I don't exactly know why, but the weather here in Thailand is never as muggy and uncomfortable as it is on the east coast of the U.S. I lived in Charleston S.C. for a couple of years while I was in the Navy and traveled up and down the coast regularly......and it was all miserable in the summer and cold in the winter.....yuk.
When you get right down to the "where should we go" question, weather played a huge part in our decision. We hate snow and avoid it at all costs, so our choices were mostly limited to coastal locations......none of which were as nice as here or as affordable. As I mentioned in my post the single largest cost difference here is in housing........there are occasionally places like yours apparently where there isn't a lot of difference in price, but try finding a house on any coastal area of the U.S. for the kind of money we paid here. You won't find any.
And need I say it, find as many beautiful women any where else in the world and I'll eat my hat...........I almost didn't make it out of Bumrungrad last week because I couldn't bear to say goodbye to all of those fabulous women working there. Geez, too bad old geezers can't work in their personnel department......I'd pay for that job!
Here's my house in Florida:
It was in a secure community with no crime. It had exactly same number of rooms as the house I built here and was almost exactly the same number of square feet. The infrastructure was much, much, better as the road I live on here has been a torn up mess for three years now and I have no hope of the city ever doing anything about it.
The house there was much better constructed and cost about the same as the one I built here. As I said, as far as housing costs are concerned, the only difference was the property tax and the fact that I didn't have a large garden there, but I wouldn't do that here again either due to maintenance costs and issues. Both houses are in beach resort/retirement towns. I was a little further from the beach there but still only a ten minute drive vs a five minute drive. It you have to drive to the beach, 5 minutes doesn't make a big difference. Convenience was much better there as there was a large shopping mall within walking distance of my community that had more than the entire town of Hua Hin has to offer. There were four or five times as many golf courses within the same 45 minute drive and the green fees averaged $25 in the summer and $40 in the winter with cart rental $6 to $8. Compare those prices to here. Even with the prices lowered by two thirds or more this month I'm still paying more here per round than I did there.
As far as the weather goes, I guess that is a personal opinion as I thought the weather in the summer in Florida was pretty much Identical to Hua Hin, hot as hell and humid; however, Florida had very nice winters with near perfect weather from November through April whereas the nice (much cooler) weather here usually lasts from two weeks to a month somewhere during December or January.
My costs to live here (2 people, no travel, very little golf or any other activity) going out to eat maybe once a week, are around 100k baht per month. I am debt free as in no mortgage, car payments, or credit card payments.
You can live much cheaper if you want, but I tried to maintain the same lifestyle I had in the U.S. here as far as house, furnishings, cars, etc.
It's all up to you...
It was in a secure community with no crime. It had exactly same number of rooms as the house I built here and was almost exactly the same number of square feet. The infrastructure was much, much, better as the road I live on here has been a torn up mess for three years now and I have no hope of the city ever doing anything about it.
The house there was much better constructed and cost about the same as the one I built here. As I said, as far as housing costs are concerned, the only difference was the property tax and the fact that I didn't have a large garden there, but I wouldn't do that here again either due to maintenance costs and issues. Both houses are in beach resort/retirement towns. I was a little further from the beach there but still only a ten minute drive vs a five minute drive. It you have to drive to the beach, 5 minutes doesn't make a big difference. Convenience was much better there as there was a large shopping mall within walking distance of my community that had more than the entire town of Hua Hin has to offer. There were four or five times as many golf courses within the same 45 minute drive and the green fees averaged $25 in the summer and $40 in the winter with cart rental $6 to $8. Compare those prices to here. Even with the prices lowered by two thirds or more this month I'm still paying more here per round than I did there.
As far as the weather goes, I guess that is a personal opinion as I thought the weather in the summer in Florida was pretty much Identical to Hua Hin, hot as hell and humid; however, Florida had very nice winters with near perfect weather from November through April whereas the nice (much cooler) weather here usually lasts from two weeks to a month somewhere during December or January.
My costs to live here (2 people, no travel, very little golf or any other activity) going out to eat maybe once a week, are around 100k baht per month. I am debt free as in no mortgage, car payments, or credit card payments.
You can live much cheaper if you want, but I tried to maintain the same lifestyle I had in the U.S. here as far as house, furnishings, cars, etc.
It's all up to you...
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
Here is my cost comparison. I lived in Switzerland before.
The house with pool and land costed me about 5 Mio Baht. In Switzerland a similar house (there is no sea in Switzerland) would cost at least 50 Mio Baht. So I would have to have a mortgage of 45 Mio Baht for 3% (if you are lucky), that is 1.35 Mio Baht/year (112 500 Baht/month).
The monthly cost for the house (electricity, water, tax, heating) would be about 20 000 Baht in Switzerland, 7000 Baht in Thailand.
Food and toilet and cleaning articles for 2 persons, 30 000 Baht in Switzerland, 15 000 Baht here.
Going to a medium restaurant 4 times a month, about 12 000 Baht in Switzerland, 3000 Baht here.
The rest of the costs are about the same (cloth is much cheaper here and you need less).
I live here on 55 000 Baht/month, in Switzerland it would be more than 200 000 Baht for the same standard of living.
The house with pool and land costed me about 5 Mio Baht. In Switzerland a similar house (there is no sea in Switzerland) would cost at least 50 Mio Baht. So I would have to have a mortgage of 45 Mio Baht for 3% (if you are lucky), that is 1.35 Mio Baht/year (112 500 Baht/month).
The monthly cost for the house (electricity, water, tax, heating) would be about 20 000 Baht in Switzerland, 7000 Baht in Thailand.
Food and toilet and cleaning articles for 2 persons, 30 000 Baht in Switzerland, 15 000 Baht here.
Going to a medium restaurant 4 times a month, about 12 000 Baht in Switzerland, 3000 Baht here.
The rest of the costs are about the same (cloth is much cheaper here and you need less).
I live here on 55 000 Baht/month, in Switzerland it would be more than 200 000 Baht for the same standard of living.
Seems that 100,000 baht a month is a lot of money to spend when you say you are eating out once a week , no travel and no hobbies...just curious...where does all the money go then...?hhfarang wrote:Here's my house in Florida:
It was in a secure community with no crime. It had exactly same number of rooms as the house I built here and was almost exactly the same number of square feet. The infrastructure was much, much, better as the road I live on here has been a torn up mess for three years now and I have no hope of the city ever doing anything about it.
The house there was much better constructed and cost about the same as the one I built here. As I said, as far as housing costs are concerned, the only difference was the property tax and the fact that I didn't have a large garden there, but I wouldn't do that here again either due to maintenance costs and issues. Both houses are in beach resort/retirement towns. I was a little further from the beach there but still only a ten minute drive vs a five minute drive. It you have to drive to the beach, 5 minutes doesn't make a big difference. Convenience was much better there as there was a large shopping mall within walking distance of my community that had more than the entire town of Hua Hin has to offer. There were four or five times as many golf courses within the same 45 minute drive and the green fees averaged $25 in the summer and $40 in the winter with cart rental $6 to $8. Compare those prices to here. Even with the prices lowered by two thirds or more this month I'm still paying more here per round than I did there.
As far as the weather goes, I guess that is a personal opinion as I thought the weather in the summer in Florida was pretty much Identical to Hua Hin, hot as hell and humid; however, Florida had very nice winters with near perfect weather from November through April whereas the nice (much cooler) weather here usually lasts from two weeks to a month somewhere during December or January.
My costs to live here (2 people, no travel, very little golf or any other activity) going out to eat maybe once a week, are around 100k baht per month. I am debt free as in no mortgage, car payments, or credit card payments.
You can live much cheaper if you want, but I tried to maintain the same lifestyle I had in the U.S. here as far as house, furnishings, cars, etc.
It's all up to you...
Florida, or somewhere else in the U.S.... It was my wife's wishes to move here, never mine.I'm curious HHFarang, given it to do over again knowing what you know now would you be living in HH or Florida?
Big house and garden plus 2 cars; 2 people and 2 dogs:Seems that 100,000 baht a month is a lot of money to spend when you say you are eating out once a week , no travel and no hobbies...just curious...where does all the money go then...?
Electricity 9,000 (average)
Water 1,100 (average)
Housekeeper 6,500
Gardener 7,500
Car insurance (2 cars) 3,500
Pest control 900
Medical expenses including prescribed medication (2 people) approx. 10,000
Misc. home maintenance expenses, aprox. 10,000
TV (UBC and Cable) 2,250
Gasoline and car maint. (2 cars) approx. 4,000
Telephone and internet (land line, 2 mobiles, maxnet) 3,500
Wife allowance (personal spending money) 12,000
My allowance (personal spending money) 12,000
Going out to eat or for recreation 5,000
Groceries, cleaning supplies, all grocery type stuff like soap, shampoo, anything else that comes from Tesco, HH shopping mall or Villa etc. for home: approx. 15,000
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
HHF,
Property taxes & insurance and healthcare insurance in the US alone would just about wipe out a farang and wifes total living costs here.
Ditto a gardner and housekeeper.
Your property with large land area, if that bit closer to town centre/beachfront back in US/UK could as much as double in cost. Sure you would cut down on garden size.
IMO the overall cost of living in N America, Aus/NZ or the developed European countries most of us Europeans come from does not begin to compare with HH.
SJ
PS: Have you considered downsizing property and buying a small place to get rental income off with the gain ?
Or build a villa on your land for same, not sure of road access layout!?
We bought a rai, put house on half and 2 small'ish villas on half thr rai.
Property taxes & insurance and healthcare insurance in the US alone would just about wipe out a farang and wifes total living costs here.
Ditto a gardner and housekeeper.
Your property with large land area, if that bit closer to town centre/beachfront back in US/UK could as much as double in cost. Sure you would cut down on garden size.
IMO the overall cost of living in N America, Aus/NZ or the developed European countries most of us Europeans come from does not begin to compare with HH.
SJ
PS: Have you considered downsizing property and buying a small place to get rental income off with the gain ?
Or build a villa on your land for same, not sure of road access layout!?
We bought a rai, put house on half and 2 small'ish villas on half thr rai.
SJ,
I have considered all those things, including leaving Hua Hin, but, because of the world economic downturn, my house won't sell now.
I have considered all those things, including leaving Hua Hin, but, because of the world economic downturn, my house won't sell now.
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
All this comparison to the US and the west is very well but if you compare Hua Hin to elsewhere in Thailand (with the possible exceptions of Phuket and Samui) you'll find it is more expensive!
Its all relative and I reckon this thread is going round in circles!
Its all relative and I reckon this thread is going round in circles!
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Phuket and Samui are definately more expensive places to live than HH, the limited land due to them being Islands ensures that alone, without comparing, meals, entertainment, groceries and the like.
As a quality beach resort HH is excellent value for money, Pattaya is a cheaper place to live but you either hate it there or enjoy it, horses for courses.
The other cheaper beach resorts have less key facilities/infrastructure than HH, just as Phuket has better than HH. Not too sure about Krabi tjough, don't know enough about it.
It's all relative as has been said.
SJ
As a quality beach resort HH is excellent value for money, Pattaya is a cheaper place to live but you either hate it there or enjoy it, horses for courses.
The other cheaper beach resorts have less key facilities/infrastructure than HH, just as Phuket has better than HH. Not too sure about Krabi tjough, don't know enough about it.
It's all relative as has been said.
SJ
Its all relative and I reckon this thread is going round in circles!
Yes, all relative and all depends on the life you expect to have here. I only make my posts about costs because I don't want Migrant or others coming here to be blindsided like I was.
I was convinced (before I came) that I could live here in my current lifestyle for half what it is costing me (bad information from Thai's and expat friends, or I didn't ask the right questions).
If you move here on cost of living expectations that turn out to be correct, you'll be happy. If you get a big surprise like I did, then you may regret it.
I just wish there had been a forum like this back when I was making the decision so I could have asked more questions to people like the members of this forum. Back then HHAD was only a nightlife/bar comparison website...
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
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And I appreciate it!!hhfarang wrote:Its all relative and I reckon this thread is going round in circles!
Yes, all relative and all depends on the life you expect to have here. I only make my posts about costs because I don't want Migrant or others coming here to be blindsided like I was.
You, and others, are helping me realize what I need for retirement in Thailand. It is a personal preference as to the lifestyle you want, but knowledge is power, and learning from others experiences is invaluable!
I think Jimmy Greaves (forgive me a misspelling, getting late here) said not to wait too long either, for life passes quickly (or something to that effect!!) but it is good to plan and gather info.
So, again, excuse me for a quick hijack, but thanks to all for the info shared here!
phuket does not have to be expensive,once you get out of the mega resorts like patong and karon and into smaller less touristy areas like kamala or chalong from what i have read and experienced it is comparable with hua hin.Super Joe wrote:Phuket and Samui are definately more expensive places to live than HH, the limited land due to them being Islands ensures that alone, without comparing, meals, entertainment, groceries and the like.
As a quality beach resort HH is excellent value for money, Pattaya is a cheaper place to live but you either hate it there or enjoy it, horses for courses.
The other cheaper beach resorts have less key facilities/infrastructure than HH, just as Phuket has better than HH. Not too sure about Krabi tjough, don't know enough about it.
It's all relative as has been said.
SJ
krabi (except for ao nang) is cheaper.