what it would cost to live in CM excluding rent ?

Hi RoyG,

Welcome to Expat.com!

I created a new topic as from your post on the Chiang Mai forum.

Bruce and Sheila
I'm a 67 year old yank, been in Chiang Mai for about 20 months now. OK in Fahrenheit the temp ranges from about 82 to 98.
As for cost of living a whole lot a variables there... If you eat from street vendors or the resturants kiosks around grocery stores in shopping malls a meal will run 30 to 60 baht. Western resturants are arounf 8 to 20 times that. if you cook and buy your own fixings from a thai market probably 1/4 of what your use to. If ya want to buy western items about the same or more then your own country. cambell vegy soup in America is about $1 - 1.24. here its 54 baht or about $1.80
HOPE THAT HELPS YA
Mike

Cost of living vary a lot depending on your style life, the main factor will be ; house, car or motorbike not the same, healthcare, utilities bill, food if you buy in the street, local restaurant, etc, activities, going out, ...without clear target you can live plus minus with the financial requirement of retirement visa which is 65,000 THB a month, and remove 20,000 / 25,000 THB for the rent, around 40,000 THB a month, many people will say they can live for less, running car ( insurance, petrol, tax, loan or rent ) will play a lot inside, as well as healthcare but above 60 years old can be difficult to find company to cover you unless you pay expensive expat healthcare..

Hi Kris napat,
We currently live for about 50000 THB here so I don"t see any big savings when I add airfares to and from Australia.
I think I will just come for holiday.

Thanks
RoyG

RoyG wrote:

Hi Kris napat,
We currently live for about 50000 THB here so I don"t see any big savings when I add airfares to and from Australia.
I think I will just come for holiday.

Thanks
RoyG

How much of that 50,000 is for rent?

Oops. Sorry. I didn't realize you were the OP. So that's what you currently live on in Australia, yes?

Roy -

As others have said, it all depends on your lifestyle.  I have lived in Chiang Mai for seven years and retired here three years ago.  I actually track every Baht I spend and prepare a report on my spending on a monthly basis. 

Transportation.  I suggest that you rent a car during your extended visit to Thailand.  Every single person I know who has a motor scooter has had an accident because the drivers here see motor scooters as an annoyance and tend to push them out of the way or simply don't see them.  A rental car plus fuel will cost 15-20K Baht per month.

Medical.  I don't know if your Australian medical insurance will cover you in Thailand.  Our American Medicare insurance does us no good overseas.  Medical care is quite inexpensive here in CM unless something major occurs.  A visit to a private hospital or clinic will cost a few hundred Baht per visit.  Most medications are available over the counter with the exception of sleeping pills which are prescription only.  I personally spend about 2K Baht per month on doctor's visits and medications, however, my wife spends much more because she sees specialists in Bangkok for her medical conditions.

Food.  We eat well and at good restaurants here rather than eating at food stalls.  A nice Italian, Vietnamese, German, Korean, or Western dinner for two usually costs us around 600 Baht including a beer.  I agree with the other response that says that you can eat for 30-60 Baht at a food stall but that decision is up to you.  Supermarket prices are at least 30% higher for name brands that you will recognize.  Local pork, chicken, and fresh vegetables are quite inexpensive in major supermarkets.  Beef is very expensive and the quality is lacking.  Wine is extremely expensive here.

Visas.  Depending on how long you plan to stay here, you might be able to get around the retirement visa hassle by making a border run when it comes time to renew your tourist visa.  Thailand is cracking down on this process but you could probably get away with it one time.

In summary, I agree with the other comments that you can live comfortably for about 50-60K per month plus rent.  Thailand is not quite the good deal that it is perceived to be.  In the end, it all depends on your life style and what your needs are.