Cost of living in Hua Hin or Phuket

Hi , I'm only a couple of years from retirement and considering Thailand as a new home. I'm looking for an idea of what budget I'd need to live close to the beach in a condo of decent standard and living expenses.
Cheers Bonnard

It depends on your lifestyle. I would say a good condo would be about 8k to 18k a month. The food in supermarkets or home shops would be 4k to 12k a month. All utilities another 3k to 6k. So, the base living is about 15k THB per month. In matter of fact,  a lot of office worker Thais make around that. If you go to the nicer end of the range you go up to 36k to 40K which is the salary many Western teachers make in Thai schools. If you add car and dining out and clubbing you get up to 90k to 100k a month which is the pay many Westerns in International schools make.  It is a lot if you live at a home and already have a car, etc. Add teaching/ tutoring on weekends and home business you can get up to 200k/month which gets you really comfortable living. I don't know which tier you want to aim for.  I've been in that top tier for about a decade now, but I started out at the 30k/m back in 1993. That was certainly doable, but the exchange rate was much different back then. The baht was much stronger. There was a float in June of 1997 and that caused a lot of price and salary changes for foreigners.

Thanks Jay

Just out of curiosity, have you been in Thailand before? If you have,then you must have a clue about where you want to stay and how much it will cost. If you haven't been in Thailand before, then it's impossible to find any help here. You'll get subjective advices from people who doesn't have a clue about you and your needs. People who retires in Thailand have normally been here several times on vacation and also knows people. You don't pick a place because someone here tells you it's nice. That will never work.

JayEsCee wrote:

It depends on your lifestyle. I would say a good condo would be about 8k to 18k a month. The food in supermarkets or home shops would be 4k to 12k a month. All utilities another 3k to 6k. So, the base living is about 15k THB per month. In matter of fact,  a lot of office worker Thais make around that. If you go to the nicer end of the range you go up to 36k to 40K which is the salary many Western teachers make in Thai schools. If you add car and dining out and clubbing you get up to 90k to 100k a month which is the pay many Westerns in International schools make.  It is a lot if you live at a home and already have a car, etc. Add teaching/ tutoring on weekends and home business you can get up to 200k/month which gets you really comfortable living. I don't know which tier you want to aim for.  I've been in that top tier for about a decade now, but I started out at the 30k/m back in 1993. That was certainly doable, but the exchange rate was much different back then. The baht was much stronger. There was a float in June of 1997 and that caused a lot of price and salary changes for foreigners.


30k/month in 1993 was worth much more then today. Everything,incl.food and beer/alcohol was a lot cheaper. And the baht wasn't very strong in the early 90's. It seems you don't remember very well.

If you never being to Thailand, I agree come and stay for a bit time and see how you like it is a good idea. Not talking about a week or 2, But come for 90 days or more.

If you nerver being to Thailand, Then you never being to Hua Hin or Phuket.
So you dont know if you even like the 2 place.

Thailand is not for everyone.

We have many post on this forum about what it cost to live here.
Some people dont need a lot, Other think if you dont use the same amount as them, One cant be happy and so on.

Only you know how much money you need moving here.
Rent can be any amount you want to use, i say from 2.000 per month and up.
Power is again up to you and what you need, i say 700 baht per month and up.
Water is very cheap in Thailand, So for a single person under 100 baht per month.

Internet 500-600 baht per month that what i pay for 100/100 cable.

Phone i have no idea, As i hate using phone, And only every use it when calling my Mom back home when she forget to come online for our video chat.

Food is very hard to put a price on, Can you eat Thai/Asian, Or do you NEED Westen style every day.

Do you want / Need to drink every day !!
Do you rent company multi times per month !!
Do you travle a lot to explore Thailand !!

There is to many thing to take into account, To say you need this or that to live here.

But come and try it, If all fails, One can all ways return or move to other country.

I move here after 1 trip, But i knew after a few days in Thailand that i was going to move here, Get close to 11 years, And i have zero regret.

Kindly.

D Property Thailand wrote:

Hello...


You can't promote your business here in any way shape or form in the forum.

That includes posting contact information.

There is another section of this website apart from the forum where you can list your business or services.

It becomes more offensive when you choose to ignore the question and instead reply with a business promotion.

Leeds forever! wrote:
JayEsCee wrote:

...I started out at the 30k/m back in 1993. That was certainly doable, but the exchange rate was much different back then. The baht was much stronger. There was a float in June of 1997 and that caused a lot of price and salary changes for foreigners.


30k/month in 1993 was worth much more then today. Everything,incl.food and beer/alcohol was a lot cheaper. And the baht wasn't very strong in the early 90's. It seems you don't remember very well.


I remember it very clearly, that's why I mentioned the float in mid 1997. The exchange rate right before the float was at 23.6THB to $1 in June 1997 then it went to 58THB/$1 in 1998. It settled to around 40 for many years and now it's 33.4THB/$1.

I'm basing the 30k on what my non-NES colleagues make now. They make between 30k to 35k a month. The Indian science teacher at our school makes 32k because I know his agent and he told me his salary. The Filipino math teachers make 34k per month. The base for a first year NES teacher at Thai schools make 36k. I make 90k at an international school and that doesn't include what I make tutoring on weekends and from our home business my wife's siblings run. All the salaries I mentioned above I know what they get you in living standard because I know many at those salaries personally and see how they live.  So I know from my own experience in the 90's and what non-NES colleagues live like now, what 30k per month gets.

They don't party, dine out, or drink alcohol every day. They group together mostly on weekends and share food and drink. They pretty much stay at home and eat street food or buy from grocery stores and cook at home. They make it just fine and have a pretty enjoyable life from what I see.

By-the-way, it is you who don't remember. The baht was stronger to the $ in the early 90's. It was being fixed at about 24THB/$1 until the float in mid 1997. It was in the late 90s that the baht wasn't very strong. You're confusing the early 90's and late 90s. I was making 38k in 1997 when the float happened. After that the salaries all jumped from about 26k for 1st year NES teachers with no experience to over 40k. Now, it pays 36k in many places that hire directly and those that hire by agents pay over 40k. BFITS still pays 40.3k per month Edumore pay 43k.

Thanks, I've been a few times but not for twenty years. I'm keen to on On or near a beach.
I'm a Leeds fan to !

bonnardvan wrote:

I'm a Leeds fan to !


I'm glad for you, but I'm not.