Poll: Cost of living in Thailand

[uncle tom]

A question for permanent residents in Thailand..

What is your true cost of living, after everything is taken into account?

I generally spend a hell of a lot on my annual ten week visit, but then I do indulge..

..I wonder how successful people are at paring costs down, when they live here permanently?

- Just out of curiosity!

[GLCQuantum]

I only spend 15-25,000 a month and live quite happily. No girlfriend( ), no children( ), no dog, free housing on campus. A few beers daily, couple of trips to Hua Hin a month. Eat mostly Thai food (also free... just pay for my evening meal), but do succumb to the 1112 monster frequently.

Saying this some months can be quite a bit more when something comes up. I would say 8 out of 12 months I live on the above.

[Big Boy]

My figures refer to a family of 3, plus 2 hungry dogs.

My wife runs the house on 5,000 baht per week, and we eat fine (my daughter reckons that's twice as much as she could do it for). She feeds us a combination of Thai and Farang food. If we go out, I usually pay. However, that's down to a minimum at the moment because I struggle to eat and drink very much. Our water and electricity is free at the moment, so I can't really comment on that one. Medical insurance will be costing us about 15,000 Baht per month - when I've lost a little more weight.

Of course, having recently moved here, I've had a lot of major purchases, which hopefully will not be repeated for several years - this obviously has to be factored in for anybody moving here.

I tend to walk everywhere (still waiting for my car) as I don't like being ripped off by Tuk Tuks. My wife travels everywhere by motorbike taxi at 30 Baht a throw. I've bought my son a motorcycle, and that costs him 100 Baht per week for fuel.

[Takiap]

It's difficult to say because some months are a lot higher than others. I can say though, that it costs less for myself, my wife and 3 kids than it used to cost just for me alone when I was only coming here on holiday.

When you live here you tone things down, and even more so if your wife is Thai (at least in my case). Being a family of 5, we rarely bother eating out for example. Perhaps once or twice a month at the most, and even then, it's nothing extravagant. In fact, I think the most expensive eating out experience is KFC once in a while.

My wife doesn't drink, and I don't go to the bars, so I guess that saves us quite a bit as well. I drink, but almost always at one or two of the local Mom and Pop shops, or at home in the garden.

I think if I was living here alone, and with a house already paid for, I could live very comfortably on about 15,000 to 20,000 per month.

[Spitfire]

40-60k for me, but I pay for a house mortgage and car payment out of that. House isn't in HH or BBK though.

[dozer]

40 to 60 I reckon and that's just normal living costs with no house, car, etc payments to be made.

[armycw4ret]

I have been here for 8 months. If you want to go cheap then 50K is enough. If you want some good eats and some internal travel in thailand then I would say 100K is the standard.

[sticks]

been here 6 months house paid for car paid for 85k with out going out wining and dining and pissing it up

[GLCQuantum]

I would say 100K is the standard

What on earth do you do with it?

[GLCQuantum]

85k with out going out wining and dining and pissing it up

House paid for, car paid for, don't go out or piss it up the wall.... yet you still manage to spend 85k?

Edit: Just thought in regards to the last two posts you are probably not spending this all yourself but being helped by family members also.

[Pleng]

As a couple our rent is 6000 (it's half of 12,000 - two couples in this house)
Internet 600
Electricity 2000 (again, shared, total is 3000 but we take the lion's share as we have the gadgets)
Water 150

So that's 8350 for living costs if we never leave the house!

Bike we are paying 3500, but intend to buy with 'parental credit' , which should bring the outgoing down to 2500

After all that we have 25,000 between us for eats, nights, fuel out etc

She works, and I have a lot of projects I'm involved in so it's liveable; but that's not to say another 10,000 a month or so wouldn't be very appreciated!

[buksida]

40-60k, kids, car, wife, house, bikes, goats, bills, bills, bills etc etc.

[heartofmidlothian]

This is a very hard question to answer because everyone is different. If you are here on holiday, you will spend more, but you should be able to work out how much you could live for if you were living here.
If you buy your own house or condo then that cuts down your costs. If you look around you can rent a small house for no more than 10 000 baht. Your water and electricity should not be much more than 1000 baht per month, but that depends on how much air con you use. If you need a car, then your insurance and maintenance and fuel is going to cost you the best part of 100 000 baht per year. Changing your car to LPG can save you a lot on fuel - I reckon it has saved me 30 000 baht in the 1st year, with no difference in performance.
If you play golf, then that will add a lot to your living costs. Excluding housing, car, golf and health insurance, you could live well on 1000 baht per day but could do it for 500 baht per day if you were frugal. Lots of restaurants where you can eat well on 100 to 150 baht per meal and you can do it for less if you do your own cooking. Staying single is the best way to keep your living costs down. Going to the bars is another way to spend more than you intend!
I can understand why so many people are considering retiring to Thailand because I have been back in the UK for the past 5 weeks! Cost of living is so high in UK now , the weather is usually terrible and Hua Hin is a great place to live. If you are considering it, then take a holiday here and do your homework. Look for good places to eat and drink and have a look around the supermarkets (Tesco and Makro). Also be aware that you can take the buses (pick up trucks with seats in the back) that go along the main road for 10 baht per trip, so you really don't need transport. Asking different people how much it costs to live here can be quite confusing because everyone has different ideas. You also need to look at getting a retirement visa. If you can't get that then you can get an education visa or a visa if you are married to a Thai. If you have no visa then you have to leave the country every 30 days! Lots of things to consider but a great place to live.

[uncle tom]

Interesting responses.

I imagine that if someone retires to Thailand with a decent occupational pension, they tend to adopt a lifestyle that uses the funds available.

But could someone get by on just a UK single person's state pension? That currently equates to about 23,000 Thb per month, and of course, does not get index-linked if your permanent departure to the LoS gets noticed..

The answer would seem to be yes - but not without some sacrifices..

..I wonder how many people actually do that?

[GLCQuantum]

Don't get me wrong... if I was given 100,000 that I had to spend every month I could easily do it.

Would be a bit like that 'Brewster's Millions' for me though.