Cost Of Living

[buffalo_bill]

Gentlemen ,

 

to bring up this eternal matter again may I politely ask for an update for monthly living cost , 2 people no kids , rented small size apartment all in . Location say Khorat . No car .

 

Ref health insurance : an elderly foreigner moving into the Kingdom without a previous local history seeking full cover health insurance would have to pay how much money more or less incl. hospital coverage ?

 

Disclaimer : have no fear , just discussing the matter elsewhere , I shall not move myself .

 

Thank you .

[cavanami]

Do it on the cheap, per month: 30,000

 

Medium living standard: 60,000

 

Hi-so: 120,000++

[Flashermac]

I get by on Cav's "cheap". But fortunately, I just take care of myself. My Mrs has her own income (more than mine now) and is completely independent financially. (Plus she is looking forward to a nice Thai civil service pension. I've got no pension, even though I worked for years for Thai government universities. Farangs don't count.)

 

Prices of everything are steadily creeping up, but it is still much less expensive to live here than in the west. Money goes at least three times as far.

[YimSiam]

When I'm in Bangkok, my money too goes very far indeed, some of it even reaching Sisaket, Ubon, Nong Khai and other far-flung spots...

[iuytrede]

 

Prices of everything are steadily creeping up, but it is still much less expensive to live here than in the west. Money goes at least three times as far.

 

are you kidding?

 

now lets compare prices in Bangkok with prices in the most expensive city of Germany:

 

room rental for housing with simple Western standards (ie concrete walls less than 50 years old, simple western style bathroom, central heating in Germany, a/c in Bangkok etc) not in the inner city, but not far from it, with decent public transport, 40 sqm:

BKK 15000 -20000 THB

MUC 500-800 EUR = 20000-32000 THB

 

local public transport per month

BKK 3000 THB (BTS, MRT, buses, motorcycles) + 3000 THB for taxi as public transport in many places is so poor

MUC 59 EUR = 2400 THB but you can ride your bike for free (not advisable in BKK)

 

food in supermarket: BKK twice as expensive

in fresh market: BKK maybe 20 % of the price of a German supermarket

eating out: BKK maybe 20 % of the price of a German restaurant

 

furniture and appliances:

in BKK thousands of THB for incredibly poor quality

in MUC you can get everything for free from friends or people who want to get rid of stuff, and the quality will be better than the paid stuff in BKK

 

electronics:

expensive things (like S7) are a bit cheaper in MUC than in BKK

cheap things like imobile are not available in MUC

 

telecommunication:

in MUC you can pay a flat rate of 15 or 20 EUR for all phone calls and some 3G

there is no flat rate in BKK, you end up paying a lot more, depending on your usage

 

entertainment:

generally much cheaper in BKK

 

medical care:

if you pay out of pocket, its somewhat more expensive (on average maybe 50%) in BKK than in MUC if you want comparable quality

 

2 years ago, members of a German forum generally agreed that Thailand (not BKK) was about 20-30% cheaper than Germany. Since then, prices have gone up again in Thailand (haircut from 70 THB to 100 THB, taxi fares have risen etc) but not in Germany,

[Flashermac]

I was home in the States for a while last year. Everything was much more than what I pay in Bangkok.

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Thailand&country2=United+States

[iuytrede]

I was home for a while too, this year.

And I was very much surprised that Bangkok is not really cheaper than Germany anymore.

Some things are cheaper, some things are more expensive - in the end it evens out.

 

I bought one big ticket item in Germany for which I had been quoted a special price of 10000 USD in Thailand.

I paid 8000 USD in Germany, regular price.

Oh, and my kebap vendor in BKK just raised the price from 60 Baht to 75 Baht (as you know, there is deflation in Thalaind ).

Not cheaper than in Germany.

[Flashermac]

A couple of years ago kebabs were 50 baht.

 

p.s. I seldom go to Sukhumwit. I live in suburban north Bangkok, and prices are much different out here. My nice 8,000 baht apartment would be at least 25,000 near Sukh, maybe 30,000+. I can get a full western meal for about 1/3rd what it would cost me in the States. It pays to stay out of downtown.

[Stickman]

For rent / housing, Auckland is more expensive than Bangkok.

 

For cars, Auckland is much cheaper than Bangkok.

 

For eating out, Auckland is generally more expensive than Bangkok (at the low and mid-range places) BUT go upper mid-range or high-end and Auckland is both much cheaper and, I truly believe, much better.

 

In Bangkok, if you don't have a lot of money you can still lead a sembance of a life *if* you're prepared to go Thai-style when it comes to accommodation and meals.

 

If you wanted a high-end lifestyle in Bangkok where everything was Western quality, Auckland is definitely cheaper.

 

In comparing New Zealand's biggest city with Thailand's with regards to the cost of living, it really all comes down to the lifestyle you wish to lead. It might be cheaper in Bangkok, or it might not. But for sure, the days when you could categorically say Bangkok was cheaper are over.

[Flashermac]

My first salary at a government uni in 1978 was 5,580 baht a month with a 3,000 baht housing allowance. That might not sound like much, but 100 baht back then went as far as 1,000 baht does today. My 2-bedroom apartment with a living room, bathroom, full kitchen, and a/c cost me just 2,000 baht. That apartment today goes for over 20,000. There was a swimming pool in the compound, and I could walk to work. I also used to watch them filming Thai movies and soap operas just outside my window. One of my neighbours was a film star, and her mother acted on TV. A fashion model and her actress sister lived upstairs. I was living high on the hog simply as a teacher.

 

Nowadays university lecturers get in the 30,000 to 35,000 baht range (not counting income from optional extra classes). As a result, even the top universities have a hard time getting qualified foreigners. Thammasat used to expect at least an MA. Now a BA is sufficient. I've heard the same thing about Chulalongkorn. Salaries have gone up, but they have not keep up with inflation.