Seb
Working in Rangsit
Monthly Earnings 46,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I worked for a private bilingual school and made 40,000 baht a month. I also made an extra 6000 from private tuition over the week
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
I was able to save 10k a month over 3 years which made a nice nest egg for when I came back to the UK to study for my M.Ed
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I rented a nice 2 bedroom house for 6,500 baht a month. It had a western kitchen so I was prepared to pay a bit more for the rent. I feel it is very important to have a nice place to come home to at the end of the day.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I could walk for free or take a motorcycle to school for 10baht . I went to Bangkok once a month and took the bus for 22 baht. I made weekly trips to Future Park shopping mall by van at 25 baht a trip.
Utility bills
Between 1500-2000 baht a month; I love my aircon!
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I cooked dinner at home during the week, this cost about 1,000 a week in groceries. I would often make a big pasta dish and freeze it for the rest of the week. I spent 500 baht a week on lunch (half a grilled chicken, som tam and sticky rice) when I was working. Weekends I had no budget for eating out so I can’t really put a figure down on paper.
Nightlife and drinking
3000 baht a month, I hate clubs! I’d rather go to a decent Thai pub and order a load of food and Leo beer.
Books, computers
None, not into reading and I only use the computer for work and watching free stuff.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Great! I had a nice standard of life and was able to save some cash each month! There’s also nothing like throwing yourself into an ice cold pool after work and sipping a few cold ones!
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Mostly everything! Thailand is wonderful for its cheap accommodation, food, transport, entertainment and weekend escapes. I been back in the UK for one year and I am already itching to get back to living Thailand in September.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
30k to survive, although it would be hard to save on that. Anything above 35k and things will start to get a lot more comfortable.
Phil's analysis and comment
I think this is the first time we've had a cost of living survey done in the past tense but it's clear that Seb really enjoyed life in Thailand on 46k a month and is itching to get back at some stage. I bet he finds the UK a lot more expensive! For the record, Rangsit is a suburb in North Bangkok but quite a distance from the city itself. A very well-balanced survey from someone who lived well within their means.
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