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Cost Of Living


buffalo_bill
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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.

 

What you said...

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I think living in Thailand it is possible to spend within a very wide range compared to the west unless you are in knobhead territory and splashing $10k here and there.

 

Comparative to London, central Bangkok is cheap but horrendously expensive compared to just outside and with the provinces being cheaper still. However, inflation has gotten its hold in food which is far more expensive now than when we last lived there 5 years ago (you hardly notice as a tourist but up country it is much higher than before).

 

If you were to buy a property then in the west the price between asking price and real price is fairly small. In Thailand, the real price could be half the advertised price or even less on occasion. You really need to do your homework as "rip off the farang" is a national pastime in property deals.

 

I have thought long and hard as to where to retire in a few years and I always though Pattaya would be a certainty after I discounted the south due to distance from the things I perceived I wanted. If renting, then I would be paying around Bt15k for a decent studio or a 1 bed apartment and around Bt25k for a small house with a private pool.

 

As to living expenses, then where do you see yourself in relationship terms ? If buying a hooker ever night then that costs big time but few find a GF without any cost. Even botom end you need to add Bt10k I guess ?

 

Booze is the financial destroyer of many as it links to GFs and sex and entertainment and friendships. At the bottom end perhaps Bt5k for mom and pop shop drinking up to Bt30k a month for a few nights out a month on the piss.

 

Chuck in some insurance and you have little left from Bt100k a month.

 

Surprisingly, adding in a vehicle can reduce costs as you don't drink as much, can travel more, pay less for taxis and have another avenue to explore your surrounds.

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<<Surprisingly, adding in a vehicle can reduce costs as you don't drink as much, can travel more, pay less for taxis and have another avenue to explore your surrounds. >>

 

Never seen that said before but I agree, plus a good way to get out of being in the "trap" of a farang ghetto, many farang I know have been here for 15++ years and hardly seen anything of Bangkok/outer pataya, let alone many wonderful fun places to visit, yes, for sex too :) and just interesting

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I bought a car because I lived just outside of Pattaya. Nice modern houses just a few miles out are less than half what they are inside the city. I loved the freedom of being able to drive into Pattaya in maybe 15 minutes, plus I didn't have to put up with baht buses or the unmetered taxis (where prices begin a 300 baht). Now that I'm back in Bangkok, I only drive maybe once or twice a week. The traffic in Bangkok makes driving about as much fun as sitting in the dentist's chair. :(

 

p.s. Jomtien immigration is also a helluva lot friendlier than Jaeng Wattana. :(

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  • 2 weeks later...

Coming to Bangkok (Thailand) for over 25 years, I have noticed that prices are higher but still inexpensive compared to US standards like living in NYC or San Francisco.

 

On my first visit to Bangkok on business, I stayed at the Intercontinental hotel, got taken to the "NO HANDS" restaurant and to a massage place....all paid by my company or by the host. At the massage place, the host did not pay for a "happy ending" which the girl noted was an extra 500 baht. Back in those days and as a "handsome" man, I did not believe in paying for sex and I declined paying...even though the girl saw my excited physical condition! lol

 

I took the girl from the "NO HANDS" back to my hotel and we had a good time. To this day, I regret not "tipping" her. I was young and did not know what was expected from me. Nevertheless, I visited the restaurant again and the girl did not seem to mind me not paying her as she was very friendly.

 

Over the years, prices have gone up...drinks at Patpong, Nana Plaza, Soi Cowboy are high and prices paid to take girls are even higher, making me think twice before accepting the girl's invitation to bring them out. I now frequent freelance places more often than Nana Plaza/Soi Cowboy. If you know where to go, a short time girl can be had for 700 baht. Massages are only 200 baht for 2 hours.

 

I find that there are a two tier price system...one for the tourists/expats and the other for locals. If you live like a local, then things are still very much affordable.

A simple but very tasty street food meal can be had for under 80 baht. A large beer at the local 7-11 costs around 75 baht. Buses are relatively cheap and the baht buses are even cheaper at 7 baht for short distances and they come more frequently and stop anywhere along their route. On my last visit to Bangkok (in Feb 2016), I got a haircut at a local place for 80 baht, including a shave. The girl asked me in Thai what I wanted and I pointed to the guy who had his haircut before me and she understood. I am glad the guy did not get a crew cut...lol.

 

Hotels range from over 100 US $ to 20 something. I stayed in a hotel paying $25 a night. You can not find a $25 hotel in the US. Housing (apt rentals) are affordable compared cities in the US, especially NY/SF.

 

I have thought abut living in Thailand full time in the near future but ruled it out due to the weather, I visit Bangkok only during the dry/cool season which is from Nov to early Feb. I find the other months (like April which temperatures are as high as 41C) just too hot for me.

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Cost of living is all relative / comparative.

 

Even though I have property in Bangkok I have spent close on past 3 years in Vietnam and only home in BKK 2-3 times per year.

 

Some things which are foreign to me such as the cost of Pork, Chicken, Beef etc at the Local Market, the wife informs me it is a lot cheaper in VN.

 

Things I do know about such as Beer and Ciggies, Local Beer is approx 15 THB / Bottle from Mom Pop store and 20 THB in a Bar / Restaurant, more expensive in Ha Noi but I don't live there. Local Beer at Bia Hoi is 30 Baht / Pitcher, so me and my oppo can spend 3 hours post work over 4 pitchers for the same price as a bottle of heineken in an average BKK establishment.

 

I remember when a Pack of Marlboro Light was 30 THB, not so long ago 75 THB but now 125 THB per pack, in VN I buy the exact same for 30 THB / pack, in fact I bring them to Thailand from VN when I come home, same as Vodka, a bottle of Smirnoff is less than half the price in VN compared to TH for the same product.

 

Just for basics, Food, Booze and Smokes I reckon 15,000 THB / Month in Vietnam v 45,000 THB / Month in Thailand.

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