Living Costs in Hua Hin area

[Northumberlandia]

We have been to the Hua Hin area for the last 8 years on holiday but are now thinking of moving there on a more permanent basis as we like it so much. How much are the cost of living expenses in Hua Hin - are there the likes of community/council tax ? What are the other main costs like ( water / electric / general food shopping ) If we were to move over we would be looking for a 2/3 bed gated villa type property in the Pranburi area - anyone able to suggest any good places / agents to go through. Also has anyone had any issues with being an expat ?
Many thanks

[hhfarang]

The cost of living over there has been discussed many times on the forum and it always turns out that you can live very cheaply or it can be very expensive... it simply depends on your lifestyle. There will always be the cheap Charlies that claim they live well on 30k baht per month and then there will be people like my family who needed 100 to 120k per month to live while still forgoing international travel and expensive things like golf and eating out at the nicer restaurants. If I had played all the golf I wanted and traveled like I had hoped to in retirement, our budget would have easily exceeded 150k baht per month.

I will say that if you do choose the Pranburi area, the general cost of living will be somewhat lower than Hua Hin itself. Since Hua Hin became a popular tourist destination (from 2004 on) The cost of living has increased by a good percentage.

So the short answer is "up to you"...

[BOZ]

We started out by making the purchase of our home in a nice gated community just over the HH border in Cha Am, came with golf membership also bought our car out right... So now we have the Fixed cost; common fee, electric, water, insurances(home, auto/motorcycle, health) gardener, and pool guy... Those fixed cost are 25K-27K per month, variable there is the weather and A/C and guests visits....

Then I have my golf cost which is reduced with my membership 30000 annual green fee unlimited golf, 300 for caddy if I walk, 600 for buggy plus tip for caddy... This again is a variable with your choices.... Then you have food, my wife eats very cheap, I don't eat Thai food so my cost is usually 2 or 3 times higher than hers.... We eat at home a lot and that keeps the cost way down when we do so... Again your choice there... So we have an average of 46K per month with 20 rounds of golf with buggy and caddy.... Just over 500K on the budget for fixed cost with lots of golf....
Note, The health insurance we have is high quality which you could chose a lower rate plan... That leaves the food, fuel for the car/motorcycle and other hobbies up to you.... As HHFarang has said if you rent then your monthly fixed cost jump....

Conclusion for us was the fixed cost in Hua Hin was 1/3 of what we were considering in Florida gated community on a golf course.... I feel we made the best decision for us and we truly enjoy the area and the life style here.... I hope this helps you with gathering information!! Feel free to message me if you would like to. Good luck in your decision process....

[Takiap]

Well, I guess you have already received the answers you were looking for........cost of living here depends entirely on the sort of lifestyle you like/want. Well almost, because it also depends on how quick you are to dip your hand in your pocket for things you really don't need.


HHF, if you don't mind me asking, was your 100 to 120K budget only for you and your wife? It seem very high considering you owned your own home and etc.

[migrant]

I don't live in Thailand yet, but have worked for 3 years on a budget that I have discussed with many expats over there.

One of my biggest budget items is a trip back to the states each year, and 2-3 trips around Asia.

I guess what I'm saying is I agree with the others, it's up to you. We don't have to take the trips, but our retirement would be less enjoyable without it, so don't forget the fun!

Good Luck!

[hhfarang]

HHF, if you don't mind me asking, was your 100 to 120K budget only for you and your wife? It seem very high considering you owned your own home and etc.

I was also supporting my mother in law but she lives pretty cheaply in a village in Issan. We had a large property and the cost of upkeep was a lot more than I imagined, plus I could not handle the climate so the cost for electricity alone was between 5k and 12k per month, depending on the temperature. I know, it sounds like a lot, but we did not travel, I quit golf and we still needed at least 100k per month to live... most months closer to 120k. I only left the country once in ten years so any travel was to Bangkok about every 3 months mainly for medicine and a break for a couple of days, to Chiang Mai once, Kanchanaburi twice, Issan once every two years and to Pattaya once (in 10 years!). The rest was just for living expenses in Hua Hin. I went out to lunch once a week with friends, but other than that I stayed at home with the exception of a nice dinner out a few times per year to celebrate birthdays, Valentine's day, and anniversaries.

We're living on exactly the same monthly amount here in the U.S. now still supporting my mother in law there and going out to eat at nice places much more often as well as travelling more (inside the U.S.) so for me the cost was the same there as here and life is so much better here.

[JamesWest]

yes the 64 million dollar question. there are so many personal variables that no one can really answer this question for you.

I am living the cheap charlie lifestyle now and after a lifetime of spend, spend, spend in the USA I find it kind of fun living on the cheap in Thailand. I went from a Land Rover in the USA to a scooter in Thailand over night. Dinner in Malibu to dinner in the Soi 88 food court.

I am a 59 year old single guy in really good health with a Thai girlfriend who thinks 100 baht for lunch is "big money". and we don't drink or smoke or play golf. Drinking will double or triple your dinner costs. and being with someone who is super grateful for just about everything makes a big difference. Unlike LOS ANGELES.

we shop in the soi 112 market, buy fish, chicken, fruits and vegetables. the challenge is finding protein for cheap.

I also call the shots and control all spending. no extended thai family members. I have a spread sheet and a budget app to monitor costs.

Health insurance is 89,000 a year. Bupa Platinum plan. Again I am a health guy.

My target budget is 45,000 baht a month and so far I have been over budget by about 5000-10,000 baht a month since I got here 14 months ago. Of course the first few months I really went crazy but you slow down and stop spending so much. Last month I was sick and decided to just take it easy and stay home all month, stock up on groceries and believe it or not my expenses were about 40,000 baht.

the challenge is getting out of the Farang "bubble world" in Thailand. That world is more expensive.

I live in a three bedroom, two bath VERY thai house, no Euro/western kitchen or bathrooms. i do have western style toilets. that is where i draw the line. not in a gated community, very private, no common spaces, with a wall and a BIG yard with huge weeds and stray cats. very funky by USA standards but I am 100 yards from the ocean, (but no view) So I have clean air which is important to me and hard to find in Thailand. Also i am 5 km south of Downtown HH, the traffic can be bad, but not as bad as downtown.

having a thai girlfriend or wife makes it much easier to find super cheap housing. The owners of my house do not speak english. they are easy going and so am i.

finding housing on the internet is expensive. driving around looking for rentals is much more cost effective.

the house has bars on the windows and metal gates on the doors. sort of depressing at first, but better than sleepy guards that do nothing. i can lock the house up and take a trip without too much worries. I can drive my motorcycle right into the living room! My house rent is only twice what my 10x15 foot STORAGE unit in Los Angeles cost per month. hard to believe.

and renting for me means i am free to move around and there are no long term worries. Dont' like where you live? Just move to another one of thousands of empty houses, townhouse, shophouses or condos in the overbuild thai real estate market. good thing for me they will never stop building.

things i do are exercise. walk on the beach. from MV back to my house 4.5 km.
travel. ride motorcycle exploring countryside.
photography. computers. music and movies.
ride scooter in town exploring, looking for the cheapest places to eat and to have some variety ( big challenge in small town like HH)
ride south and explore beaches and spend the night in very cheap hotels.
same going north/west into mountains.
ride the super cheap train.
riding a bicycle for more exercise is next on the list.
NO TELEVISION.

we run the air con only in the bedroom or whatever room we are in.

Basic monthly somewhat fixed costs, food is for two people:
rent 11,000
power 1,200
water 100
internet 1,300
health insurance 7416
scooter fuel/insurance 400-600
motorcycle fuel/insurance/maintenance 800
food 15,000 (home and some eating out, no drinks)
misc. 3000
personal 1000
cellphone 600
cel data to wifi hotspot 800
laundry 700
USA bank fees 1500

total about 45,000

then any travel, hotel, one time expense is on top of the 45k.

some people would say this is not living. but it works for me right now. ten years from now maybe i will want a small car or live in a condo.

Pranburi area is really nice, but Farang food and English disappears quickly. If you are near the resorts at the beach it is sort of ok, but everywhere else is Thai food only. Pranburi is nice because it is very practical and cheaper than HH. You may want to factor in trips back to HH into your budget. I can't help you with a agent in Pranburi. i would rent a hotel room and drive around for a month looking for a house or whatever. Good luck.