James
Working in Udon Thani
Monthly Earnings 86,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work at an international school and my take-home pay after tax is 86,000
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
40,000
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 7,000 baht for a one-bedroom condo with a swimming pool and gym.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I have my own motorbike so about 400 baht per month for petrol.
Utility bills
I pay about 1,000 baht per month in electric bills + internet. My room is pretty cool and I am able to use the fan more than the air-conditioning.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I spend around 4,000-6,000 baht per month on eating out. I eat out once or twice per day and on the weekends, I will have a nice Western breakfast. Udon is pretty cheap when it comes to Western food and I love Thai food as well.
Nightlife and drinking
Around 2,500 baht a month - that is one or two really fun nights out with drinking and buying drinks for others. Beer is usually pretty cheap, 50 baht a small beer at most bars around the city so its easy to have a big night out and keep within your budget.
Books, computers
Question not answered
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Udon Thani is a great place to live. There are some really good Western restaurants, cheap, great Thai food, nice housing, and the Thai people are very kind and gentle. It is also very convenient for a visa run to Vientiane as its only a 50 baht van ride from Central Shopping center. Overall I really enjoy Udon and have been able to save every month but not feel as if I am missing much from a big city like Bangkok or even Chiang Mai.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Thai food, Western food and alcohol.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
35,000 baht a month. You can rent a room for 2,500 month and still have 1,000 baht a day for incidentals.
Phil's analysis and comment
Life must be good in Udon Thani if you're pulling in 86,000 a month and 35,000 would give you a comfortable standard of living. And of course you have the advantage of being able to nip into Laos whenever takes your fancy.
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