cost of living in thailand
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Cost of Living in Thailand for a Nice Lifestyle by Western Standards
After interviewing Stefan, an entrepreneur from Germany who has moved to Thailand to live on lower cost. I really wanted to find out how his cost of living in Thailand works out.
Topics of the 3-part interview:
- Currency conversion rates in Thailand
- Cost of going out/amusement in Thailand
- Cost of food in Thailand
- Places to go out in Thailand
- Thai foods and eating insects in Thailand
Start of the Interview:
Francis:
Okay, Stefan. Could you tell me how much money in dollars and then in Thai money you roughly have to use each month to live?
Stefan:
Okay. First of all for basic conversion in head, I use the 40:1 conversion like 40 Baht is 1 Euro or $1. Okay, so it’s very easy to convert it in your head if you see something for 20 Baht, it’s half a dollar or half a euro.
Okay, in your head, it’s not exactly the right price. For euro, it’s right but for dollar it’s a little bit less.
Francis:
Okay.
Stefan:
I have a house with 2 bedrooms and a scooter.
Francis:
And a pool.
Stefan:
Yeah, the house has a pool. And we pay 15,000 a month which is around $375 rounded up $400/400 Euro.
For a 2 bedroom house with a scooter so you can drive around town and whatever you want to do. Plus, on top of that comes all the expenses that you have for food, drinks and whatever you need; all the stuff that you normally buy on a day to day basis.
So I would say, we spend around 30,000-35,000 Baht a month which translates to around 700-900 Euro/Dollar.
Francis:
With 2 persons?
Stefan:
2 people, yeah.
Francis:
Food and everything included?
Stefan:
Yeah, everything included. I think if we rounded really nicely up to 1000 when it’s with no strings attached like you have no worries.
You can eat whatever you want every day and you can go there and then you’ll come. So if we rounded it generously up to $1,000 that would the monthly expenses you have for 2 people.
Francis:
How luxurious is your lifestyle there? You have a pool. You can eat out every day?
Stefan:
Normally in Thailand, it’s like a cultural thing again because it seems to me that everyone is out even the Thai’s. I don’t know exactly how this works but it seems to me like people don’t cook at home.
They always instead of cooking every day two hours at home for breakfast, lunch and dinner; they just have jobs, small jobs than cook.
So the normal people just go out to eat by the food stand. You know, they have instead of restaurants; you have so many food stands everywhere. Every 10 meters you food stands. There’s someone that cooks something and we can take it away or eat it there.
Normally, it seems like everyone eats out here. You don’t have to cook if you don’t want to but you can, of course. So when you are living here as a foreigner, you can eat every day out which costs you the same. It costs you like around $1 or 1 Euro per meal, in average.
Francis:
When you pay $1 per meal, is the drink included?
Stefan:
Oh, that’s often even included because water is often free when you eat something somewhere.
But things are very inexpensive there like 25 cents for a bottle of water. And something that’s for us Europeans, you don’t have a fee on bottles – a bottle deposit fee.
Because in Germany, we have this bottle deposit fee which makes it when you buy a drink for 1 Euro and it costs more than 1 Euro or, you know?
Francis:
Because 25 cents and you have to give the bottle back to get the fee back.
Stefan:
Exactly. So since you don’t have it here when a bottle only costs about 20 cents, it’s 20 cents period.
So it’s not doubled like in Germany.
Francis:
Yes. Let’s say, I come visit you in Thailand and I book a hotel or something similar your living standards.
I don’t rent a house. I book a hotel with your standards – with a pool for 2 people and 2 bedrooms. How much would I have to pay?
Stefan:
You mean a house? You rent a house?
Francis:
Yes. The similar living standards but not on long term basis. But just like a vacation of 2 weeks.
Stefan:
That wouldn’t be possible, most likely. Because, at least where I live, you can’t rent houses for shorter than at least a year.
Francis:
That’s sad. Why?
Stefan:
You can rent and go to hotels, basically which is not a house. It’s only a room with bathroom and everything.
Francis:
Yes. How expensive are hotels?
Stefan:
They’re not really expensive. I mean before we settle down when we found a house, we were living in a hotel for a month and we paid like 15 Euros or $15 a day. So for 30 days for a 2-bed hotel room would come up also around $450 a month.
Francis:
Yes, seems affordable.
Stefan:
It’s very affordable. It’s comparative to what we are paying right now for a house.
Continue reading Part 2 of this interview
Cost of Living in Thailand – Part 3/3
This is part 3 of the cost of living in Thailand interview.
Click here to read part 2 of the interview.
Topics of the last part of this interview:
- Are there problems with food digestion with the local food?
- Scary specialties: eating insects
- Eating spicy in the Thai cuisine
- Cost of living in Phuket
Start of the Interview:
Francis:
Have there ever been any problems with, how do I say this nicely, food digestion?
Stefan:
One time. I don’t know what it was but I felt weird. Let me think. I have one time something and a friend of mine had one time but it wasn’t like you have to go to the hospital.
It was rather that you feel kind of weird and you have a little diarrhea for one day or half a day. Then you’re better like after 2 days or something.
Francis:
Anything we can do against it to prevent such problems especially if it’s on the Holidays?
Stefan:
Same stuff could happen in German, actually. I assume this happened to you in Germany too that you had a diarrhea from something.
If the food doesn’t look healthy then don’t eat it, of course. But that’s a common advice. If it doesn’t look normal or it smells then you shouldn’t eat it.
What I would suggest is never eat somewhere where nobody eats because that is never a good sign.
Francis:
That, I think, is a valuable advice anywhere.
Stefan:
Yeah but other than that, I don’t think you will have problems with the food. I ate in a lot of places and I never had like really problems. One time for 1 day, a little weird feeling and stomach pain but that could happen everywhere, I guess.
Francis:
Is there any crazy food the actual local people eat in Thai that is very surprising, some insects or something like that?
Thai noodles – similar to chicken chow mein
Stefan:
Of course, you can eat insects here. They are like deep-fried to chips or crisps, whatever you want to call them. I haven’t eaten them yet. You can also eat like scorpions, spiders and stuff like that. Of course that’s an Asian thing. But it’s not even that common to be honest.
Where I live right now, it’s not the most touristic area and I haven’t seen it here to be honest. It doesn’t seem the Thai’s love it too much. I think it’s more of a tourist thing. They offer it tourists. I saw it in the tourist area more than here. I think the Thai’s noticed that it’s exotic for the tourists and then they offer it.
So, insects aren’t so big. Other than that, they eat pretty normal foods. They eat spicy. Of course if you don’t like spicy food, you will have a problem in Thailand I guess. Let me explain it this way, if you order a dish and you say “nothing”, you get 3 chilies in it.
If you say “spicy”, you get 6 chilies in it. And if you say “special”, you have to say I don’t want much spicy then you get no chili or maybe 1 chili because it’s necessary.
Francis:
Yes.
Stefan:
There are some dishes that aren’t possible without chilies. It’s not a Thai dish. It’s another dish if you leave out 1 chili. So you have to put it on chili.
Francis:
One question which would really interest me because I’m also a big fan of non tourists area. How big do you think is the chance of me saying I would really like to eat at a table of a normal family – Normal day to day food and just like how they eat there?
Beautiful beach view from Thailand
Stefan:
You mean like getting to know a Thai family and getting invited to the home?
Francis:
Yes.
Stefan:
I think that is very unrealistic in terms of a classical family. I mean, it’s very likely that you get to know younger people but they won’t invite you home. You would go out together to eat.
Because as I said previously, that it’s not very common to cook at home.
That is very different from western culture, all of or I don’t know even the Turkish culture or something, where they have a home meal cooked; they go out to eat. So I think that is very unrealistic too that that happens.
Francis:
At least, local people can recommend to me non-touristic bars and non-touristic eating places.
Stefan:
Yes, they do. You can. Yes, that is possible. It’s not too hard to find them. We also found something in Phuket. I mean, this is like the heart of tourists.
The most touristic area whoever was in Mallorca/Ballermann, you know?
Francis:
Yes, I know.
Stefan:
This is Ballermann in Thailand. This is one complete like all Phuket is Ballermann.
Francis:
Okay. It’s scarier.
Stefan:
So even there we found some place that was normal. It took a while but we found it. So it’s not impossible but it might be hard. But only in places like Phuket. In Bangkok, it’s like you can find anything in Bangkok. And where I live, in Krabi, it’s no problem at all.
Francis:
Okay. So wow, this was a very, very cool insight into living in Thailand. Although you already said that many people say they will visit you and they never do.
I really do hope that I will be able to visit you and if within 1 year my dear readers don’t see any pictures from me and Thailand with you next to each other, then everyone is invited to write me angry emails and don’t visit my site anymore for punishment.
Return to the Cost of living in Thailand – Part 1
Cost of Living in Thailand – Part 2/3
This is part 2 of the interview about cost of living in Thailand.
Click here to read part 1 of the interview.
Topics of this part of the interview
- Cost of going out in Thailand, night clubs, bars etc
- Cost of amusements, like a boat tour around the islands
- Cost of air tickets and Visa guidelines
- Cities/Places to go in Thailand
Start of the Interview:
Francis:
How about cost of going out? Let’s say, you and me, we go where you’re living into the next club, dance our asses off and pay for lots of drinks.
Stefan:
First of all, this does not exist here. There are no nightclubs.
Francis:
What about bars?
Stefan:
Yeah, there are many bars. This is the night amusement in Asia. You don’t have nightclubs. I assume it’s because it’s so hot but I don’t know why. People in Asia don’t seem to like clubs like as we know in the western society. I don’t know why but it’s…
Francis:
I wouldn’t mind. I wouldn’t mind that too much.
Stefan:
And there’s like open door bars. You know, you have a bar and it’s open, you don’t go in. It’s like outside. It’s like in a German beer garden, for example. But it’s a bar and you sit down and get orders and whatever.
That’s very common here. Every 10 meters, you have a bar. And the price wouldn’t be high like, let me think, 50 cents to 1 Euro for a beer or something. Very inexpensive.
Francis:
That is like a dream come true. Is there any entrance fees?
Stefan:
No, no. This is a normal bar. This is like a restaurant.
Francis:
Okay.
Stefan:
You just come in.
Francis:How about amusement? I take a boat tour around the islands.
Enjoy nice boat tours in Thailand
Stefan:
Ah, yeah!
Francis:
How much for a boat pass?
Stefan:
I was looking on the boat too because where I live we have some boat and some islands in front of the coast where it was really like paradise.
Because where I live, we live on the land not on an island and when you want to drive out to islands; it costs you about 40 Baht like $1 one way.
Francis:
It’s crazy.
Stefan:
Or if you want to rent a boat for the whole day, it’s about 1500 Baht per day for up to 8 people. And he just drives you at wherever you want for the whole day.
Francis:
That’s about $40.
Stefan:
Yeah and you can be 6-8 people. You can go all day like from one island to the next island and he waits for you until you’re done. And when you’re done, you just go to your boat and tell you want to go back.
Francis:
That’s amazing. How much is the flight to Thailand from Germany?
Stefan:
One-way or two-ways?
Francis:
Let’s say, one-way for simplicity.
Stefan:
One-way is about…because when you book two-ways…you actually have to book two-ways.
Francis:
Then we’ll take two-ways.
Stefan:
Let me explain. When you go to Thailand, you aren’t allowed to go to Thailand if you don’t have a ticket to leave again because of the visa stuff and everything.
You need to have further travelling tickets. Let’s assume you travel to Thailand and then from Thailand, in 3 weeks, to Australia – Melbourne for example. Then you only a one-way ticket from Europe to Thailand and that’s about 400 Euros. And the two-way is around 700 Euros. So it’s a little bit cheaper.
Francis:
It seems extremely affordable still. Are they any downsides you can think off of having a holiday in Thailand?
Stefan:
Holidays? No. But living here is not as perfect no-problem as what you think because many people think it’s perfect and you have no troubles at all. But for holidays, there’s no problem.
If you want to go for a vacation, Bangkok if you want to see a big city which has everything. It’s like crazy. It’s really crazy. You never have experienced anything in Europe like that. It’s like a melting pot. You have crazy stuff in it.
Twelve million people explains everything, we don’t even have that many people in somewhere in Europe. It’s like imagine New York but with a mixture of New York and…
Francis:
…and a big beach party or a festival?
Stefan:
Yeah, something like that. I mean, you have, everywhere, cooking food stands and people are using small canals for travelling through the city through their old waterways. Because there are still waterways and it’s like paths, okay? I mean, where and in what continent, in what city does that exists today?
Anyway, the other city I would recommend is Chiang Mai. It’s like Bangkok but it’s smaller. A friend of mine lived in Chiang Mai and says it’s amazing because it’s the most western city of all Thailand.
And the third thing I would recommend is where I live, in Krabi in the south, because this is all where all the beach action happens. The place that I would never recommend is Phuket.
Francis:
That’s the place everyone knows.
Stefan:
Yeah but I would highly not recommend you to go there.
Because it’s extremely touristic. It’s extremely expensive. It’s a rip-off. It’s where you can eat for 30 times the price that you eat 100km further, you know.
So the whole area of Phuket is huge rip-off. You arrive at the airport in Phuket and you cant leave the airport. The only way to leave the airport is by taking a taxi which costs like 20 Euros or $20. For a taxi-drive, that costs you $3 normally and it’s not possible because there’s a curtail or mafia, basically, around it. You can’t even leave the airport without it because they are put far away from any society.
So I would never recommend Phuket. Stay away from there, alright?
Francis:
Thanks for the tip. I think many of the readers will appreciate it or perhaps, protest forcefully against it lower down in the comments. Let’s see.
Continue reading part 3 of this interview
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