Cost of living in Thailand

Hi

If you want to live in Thailand as retired (visa). I will say not buying just rent and pay per month. Keep your money and enjoy your life.

About per month 20k-30k Bath it depends of your life style. Your not gonna eat eggs Or rice soup all the time To me its pretty tight as budget cause farang we like restaurant, beers and all the good stuff....

50k-70k bath its more something you will follow here i think including renting a house or condo

Hope it helps

It depends whereabout in Pattaya you want to live. According to the Numbeo Website, which contains cost of living in major cities of the world, an apartment for a single person living outside the city centre of Pattaya may cost less than 10,000 Baht per month.

For details, you may wish to check with this link -

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Pattaya

I think your 20k to 30k per month is within range.

Take care and with best wishes.

I am young. but I think after graduation I will earn about 3 million lashes quickly. It will not be entirely occasional use. I would like to spend one year at work and about 8 months in Thailand. Live in such cycles. If I was saving around 3k euros a month living in Europe, do you think it would be possible?

What type of visa are you planning to use to extend your stay ?  Can be difficult to stay long term on tourist visas.

I do not know yet what will be the best solution.

If you are not coming as retired or married visa, you will need to pay for an elite visa. This is more expensive and subject to change at any time. Do your own research about visa first before investing any money in a condo.

You should come as a tourist first and expand your tourist visa at max like 90 days. After its gonna be more clear for you. Its not a decision you take fast.

You need to understand that your reason of stay in Thailand need to be crystal clear and apply to the right visa.

And 10k bath per month its not enough for sure. Its exactly how much i pay to makro market per month for my food.

I still think 20-30k its a tight budget for a young person because we not just stay home and watch tv all day.... you will want to go out , visit , meet ppl ect

Best luck my friend

https://arcadiapropertiesgroup.com/list … ol-view-4/

What is normal price for rent condo like this?

I mean what was the price before the covid.

I would say living on 20K to 30K is doable but not for a Foreigner.
Always keep in mind the hidden cost such as Mobile Phone subscriptions, Health Insurance, Hi-Speed Internet @home, Transportation. Night Life, Other forms of entertainment, Visas.
If you have a Thai Live-in, you need to support her and her family too.

The major cost is usually the following:
1. Condo Rental (if owned, you still need to worry about the Water, electric rates, Cable TV)
2. Food. If you can eat Street Food, it will work but you definitely will visit a Steak House or Polish Food too.
3. Transportation. Using the Baht Bus saves money. Travelling to other places around may require a Motorcycle Taxi - more costly or Actual Taxi Service by call.
4. Health Insurance - Extremely important in Thailand for a foreigner.
5. Condo Maintenance - Paid Yearly or every 6 monthly.
6. Laundry - Unless you already have a Washing Machine in your Condo.
7. Cleaning Services - unless you intend to clean your Condo yourself.

If you are above 50, you may want a Retirement Visa that allows you to stay for 1 Year with 90 Days Reporting.

I am a Retiree in Thailand - Pattaya. I have stayed in Thailand for more than 15 years.
I own my own Condo which allows me to walk to anywhere I want. (Supermarkets, Eateries, Shopping Malls, Night Entertainment, Beer Bars, Agogo Bars, etc.)
I own my own car to drive to places that Baht buses don't go to or to Bangkok/Hua Hin/Rayong/Etc. for the weekend if I get bored in Pattaya.
I did my own calculations; I spend close to 50K/mth. I don't smoke.

To each person, you may have different needs abd expenditure.
The Fixed Cost are usually the same.

Own condo and 50k per month. So, Thailand is definitely most expensiv than Poland. If you want to live at a high level, you can come to Poland with this money.

The only way to make a small fortune in Thailand is start with a large fortune.  That is a well used and well known statement in the kingdom.

pretty much spot on living near any tourist area is going to cost epsecially for property and services ... I live in a no where town with no foreigners .. no beach , nothing of interest and bought my 1100 sq/ft cement house for 800,000 5 years ago cash , now one sold up the street same house in Thai condition , which means poorly maintained for 1.2 mil , I have AC, hot water, a real toilet and shower, upgraded kitchen , upgrade fuse electrics to breakers, internet and will be putting in dual pane windows this year as well as roof insulation, so prices are going up steadily and again this is in a no where town I will not name .. I have services and 11 people in my family I help support, and have a nice steady monthly income 120,000 and am comfortable, no car I get the brother in law to drive me around 67, married to a Thai and have plenty to keep me busy and rarely go out ... so always have cash to hand ... not the usual sort fo thing, don't drink, don't travel, don't smoke , retired so no insurance required, self insured for years ...

Hello there MaRT.

This question crops up a lot. And there is no simple answer.

It all depends upon whether you're single or partnered, what part of Thailand you want to live in, and what your lifestyle expectations are.

The usual replies (I've noticed) come from people whom I can't relate to at all. Whether it's their nationality, their assumptions or their income-bracket, I can't imagine quite what their mindset is. They talk about monthly incomes which make me smile and they assume all sorts of things (a love of 'condos'!) which I don't  understand.

I came to live here in 1998 at the age of 48, suddenly and traumatically divorced, with no expectations or aims, and only €6,000 in the bank. I'm still in Thailand today.

I spent a year working in Bangkok, renting a townhouse way down in the south of the city and then, after three vacation weekends, moved to Koh Samui with no job or prospects. I've been here since then - allowing for a year away when I thought Vietnam would be cheaper. It was, but I just couldn't relate to the ethos there and came back to Thailand . . . just in time to fall into the international pandemic lockdowns.

Over the last 15 years my income was initially 33,000 baht a month - 870 Euro (with no money in the bank) while I was working on Koh Samui, and then an additional 30,000 baht when I was able to claim my UK state pension, making an overall income of 1,670 Euro.

I stopped working in 2018 and have since been comfortably living within my income of now 36,000 baht a month (950 Euro) and, in fact, saving money each month.

I detest the rabbit-hutch thinking of mass-housing (which I believe some nationalities seek for 'security') and have always rented houses, wherever I have stayed.  Not only is it far cheaper but the space is larger and it allows for some ground-space and some kind of garden or/a workshop. Trying to do this in major cities is much more difficult than it is in the provinces, and far more expensive.

Additionally the incident of crime is higher and home-robbery/burglary is more common in cities. (I frequently go out and leave my house unlocked; the large area of land around is all owned by the same family and the owner knows instantly if there are strangers cruising about.)

(You also need to very carefully research the complexities of buying property in Thailand - it is not advisable. Far better to rent for a few years and do your 'research' with your feet on the ground.)

Over the years I have tried numerous ways to regard and approach my budget and how to do it, and finally rejected all the 'conventional' income/expenditure models. There are a few basic costs (the cost of running your house, mainly) to be isolated and then recurring outgoings (Netflix, a data plan for your phone, annual insurance etc) added to this. The rest is the money you have in your pocket which is paid out in cash every day.

In my case my one-bedroom house (400 metres from the beach) takes up 8,000 baht (€210) including electricity (aircon), 100/100 fiber internet, water and gas. I calculate all my annual costs -  visa, the website hosting I maintain, my health insurance, Netflix, phone plans, motorbike tax/insurance, my iptv payment etc - and bank every month the 3,500 baht (€100) that's needed to pay for these as I go.

My house on Koh Samui - 400 metres from the beach - small but larger than most condos, and with as much garden as I care to develop.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/96526625@ … ed-public/

My daily pocket 'spend' covers all the daily expenditure of going into the local 7-11 for household goods, cigs and alcohol (I smoke and drink regularly) food and groceries, and the once-a-month expenditure of a trip to a hypermarket for frozen meat etc) plus the twice-a-week visits to a restaurant (local Thai not 5-star!) and petrol for my motorbike. (I spend zero on public transport.) This total comfortably averages about 500 baht (€13.50) a day.

Cleaning & Laundry? I wake up in the morning, drink coffee on my balcony, then spend 30 minutes with a brush and a mop. Laundry is 35 baht a kilo from my local 'lady', beautifully ironed and folded - about 400 baht or so from my 'daily spend' (€10 to 12 a month.)

My income is 36,000 baht (€960) every month. My outgoings are rarely ever more than this; in fact I usually have money left over.

Mainstream visas are the most upsetting element of staying in Thailand for a long time; conventional accounting includes heavy-duty paperwork and a large token amount deposited into a Thai bank. There are ways to sidestep this, I'm told.

The other aspect to consider is that a run-around motorbike is essential in Thailand. In areas where there are taxis and 'song-thiews' (converted pick-up trucks for public transport) such as Pattaya, just to pop to the supermarket with your motorbike will not only save time but money, and these scooters cost pennies to run and maintain. Even in Bangkok it's a must. You can buy a solid used 'bike for 30,000 baht (€800) or a cheap throw-away for 25% of this price.

Please message me if you need more info - good luck!

ps - the opportunity for you to do anything of what you're planning is very much in the future - with Thailand now in the throes of an advancing Covid outbreak the immigration / tourist laws are changing daily. Coming here to live (or to spend 8 months out of every 12) isn't practical for the foreseeable future.

First of all I would ignore the replies that tell you that your living expenses will be at least 60-70K baht/mo, especially since you have already stated that you just want to live a simple lifestyle. Many of those who claim you can't get by on less than 60,000 bht/mo, are drunkards, whore chasers and/or feel the need to eat at western restaurants much of the time.  I would also advise you to not put to much faith in the "pie in the sky" stories about living a "comfortable" lifestyle in Thailand for 15-20K baht/mo, the truth lies in between those 2 extremes for the average expat.  The advice to rent and not purchase a property right away is likely the best advice for any new expat, try renting in that complex for 1 year and see how you like it, you might find out some negative things about that particular complex that the realtor pictures did't convey as well as you might find out that Pattaya is a bit of a cesspool, also by renting in that complex you will be the first to hear about any "distress" sales, and trust me over the next 12-18 months there will be thousands of distress sales of properties owned by farangs in Pattaya, Phuket , Hua Hin and Samui! Back to the expense part of the ledger, if you really just want a simple lifestyle and you have no expensive vices to support, then 30,000 baht/mo should allow you to cover you monthly expenses including med ins and any Visa costs even if you rent. Powodzenia!

honestly, don't think you need a lot at all for basic living, u can live pretty well on the following;
grocery bill = 6000,  condo rental  with covid discount = 8000 , no discount = 10,000,
internet  = 500, utilities = 2300, total = 17000 bht

It will be even cheaper if you buy your own condo, than living costs only 9000 bht but will be advisable to rent for a year or two before buying to make sure that you really like the place n the macro environment as property is hard to sell at a fair price in TL ..
Buying a villa will be more worthwhile ..

cooking is easy (can learn from utube) n u can easily cook your own western dishes like steaks n stuff to save $ if desired

I know people who lived well with a food bill of 8000b for two n am paying 4000 bht for rental
Many people below retirement age have been living in TL on student visas for ages

As in everything, it really depends on where you look n if you want to use your smarts  ..
When you are at Jomtien beach n you eat at the first row of food outlets facing the beach, you will of cos be made to pay 2 - 3x more than at food outlets on the  2nd n 3rd row roads behind the beach;
the same thing with living on accommodation right on the beach or  100 meters behind it ... ha