Robert
Working in Songkhla
Monthly Earnings 35,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work at a medium-sized Thai government secondary school in a small town in Southern Thailand and I've worked here for four years. I work through an agency and my salary after tax is about 34-35K. I don't take on any extra work or do private students (although I get a lot of requests)
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
Generally between 10,000 and 15,000 a month. I keep quite meticulous tabs on my spending and saving and last year I managed to save about 150,000. It was enough for a nice trip back home to England and a few nice long weekends away in Thailand.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 3,000 baht a month for a small studio apartment in the centre of town and about ten minutes walk from the school. Accommodation is very cheap here and I'm sure you wouldn't get the same standard of living for 3K in a big city. The apartment is about 28 square metres and has a fairly large balcony as well. It's more than enough space for a single person. Sometimes I quite fancy the thought of a one-bedroom apartment but I like the staff at my condo and I've become part of the furniture you might say. That's why I've stuck around for the four years I've worked here.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
Nothing. As I said, I live just ten minutes walk from the school and I also have a bicycle I use from time to time if I need to get to the other side of town, perhaps to do a bit of shopping.
Utility bills
Electricity and water come to about 500 a month. I turn the air-con on for about two or three hours in the evening just to cool things down but I can sleep comfortably with just the electric fan.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I eat out all the time but do it very cheaply. I'll mix restaurant meals with street-food meals and I rarely spend more than 150 baht a day on grub so probably about 5,000 baht a month. I suppose you could say I 'live like a Thai' but for me that novelty has never worn off.
Nightlife and drinking
Oh, there's nothing to do here at night. I can't remember the last time I was out after 9.00 in the evening. I like to just chill out at home and read a book or watch a movie. Even on Friday and Saturday evenings, I might have a drink or two with some teaching colleagues but I'm back home reasonably early. I've never been much of a party animal.
Books, computers
I download cheap Kindle books from Amazon and watch movies on Netflix. I guess that adds up to a thousand a month.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
It's extremely basic and no-frills but I love it. Simplicity is the key of life. I should have come here many years ago. I shudder when I think back to the stressful life I used to lead in Kent.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Food. You can eat out very cheaply once you get yourself organised and know where all the good value restaurants are.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Well, I don't think everyone could lead the simple life that I do but then again if you liked your nightlife and stuff, you wouldn't move to my little one-horse town in the first place. I could survive here easily on 25,000 a month. The extra 10,000 I make on top of that is all gravy.
Phil's analysis and comment
It sounds a very simple way of life but if that's what floats your boat, then good luck to you. I'm guessing Rob is maybe in his 50's or even 60's and I have noticed myself that as you get older, you just want to live quietly with as few hassles as possible. Nothing at all wrong with that.
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