Every new arrival wants to know if they can survive or live well in Thailand on X thousand baht a month?
It's a difficult question because each person has different needs. However, the following surveys and figures are from teachers actually working here! How much do they earn and what do they spend their money on?. And after each case study, I've added comments of my own.
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Nigel
Working in Pathum Thani, near Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 40,000 - 50,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work for a private language school and should teach around 25 hours a week (so it's a decent workload when you factor in the prep time) I have a guaranteed salary of 40,000 baht and I used to be able to bump that up to 50,000 baht by teaching over 25 hours a week, but business has dropped off significantly since Co-vid came along (although that's not the only reason for the drop) So for the past year or so, I've had to get used to living on 40,000 and be grateful to get that. I know it's causing a significant strain on the school owner's finances.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
Next to nothing. I'm just drifting from one month to the next at the moment and waiting for things to improve.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I share a 7,000 baht a month studio apartment with my Thai girlfriend. In the past, when my partner was working, I paid 5,000 plus bills and she would chip in with 2,000 of her own. However, she hasn't paid anything since she lost her job in August and I am now supporting her 100%. I would be lying if I said the situation hadn't put a strain on our relationship and that's no fun when you're living in the same 30 square metres.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I can take a local bus from my apartment building to the school so this doesn't break 500 baht a month. I've even thought about buying a bicycle to save the 500 baht and hopefully get a bit fitter at the same time, but at the moment I'm still on the bus.
Utility bills
We try to be as frugal as possible with the air-conditioning because that's the thing that sends those monthly bills through the roof. Usually it's about 2,000 baht a month.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
We have a great little Thai restaurant on the ground floor of the building that charges about 60 baht a dish, so my partner waits until I get home in the evening and we'll order something from downstairs and eat together in the room. Wrestling with the elastic bands on our bags of garlic chicken and rice is something of a daily ritual. We try to keep the monthly food bill down to about 10,000. We rarely / never do Western restaurants. They are just too expensive and my partner doesn't care for Western food much anyway.
Nightlife and drinking
I'll occasionally have a couple of beers on a Friday night with what work colleagues remain but I don't make a habit of it. Conversation usually turns to the three of us wondering what the future holds and that's no way to spend a Friday night.
Books, computers
Nothing really. I have a 5,000 baht smartphone and a beat-up old laptop.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
It isn't great trying to support two of you on 40,000. Even 50,000 isn't really enough. Every time we discuss having a long weekend away, we add up the costs and decide to stay home. We are definitely going without, but as I said, I'm hoping better times are just around the corner.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Thai food from hole-in-the-wall restaurants.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I really think you ought to change this question Phil to 'how much money does anyone need to earn in order to have a decent lifestyle?' If you are talking about just 'surviving', then I'm surviving perfectly well on 40K and could probably exist on less - but who would want to?
Of course, if you change the question, you then have the problem that everyone has a different interpretation of the word 'decent' but for me it's being able to afford weekends away, an annual trip back home to see the family, good health insurance, saving maybe 20,000 a month and eating and drinking more or less what you want, whenever you want (within reason) And even as a single guy in Bangkok, I can't see anyone doing all that on less than 80-100,000 a month. So I'm not even halfway there am I?
Phil's analysis and comment
Thank you Nigel for an honest survey that certainly pulls no punches. These are desperate times for a lot of private language schools I know. I guess not only have student numbers dropped off due to Co-vid but also many have turned to studying online.
I think you're probably right and we should change that final question but as you say, we all have a different definition of 'decent lifestyle' (as the wide variety of these surveys have proved)
It sounds like getting your partner back in work should be a priority. Even an extra 20,000 coming into the household every month would make a big difference.
Carl
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 140,000 baht after tax
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
That is my full-time salary
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
My wife also works at an international school so we save all of her money which is a similar amount to me. We use my salary to live on.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
We live in a 4-bed, five-bedroom house out near Don Muang Airport. We pay 25K a month
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
About 1,000 baht a week on petrol plus the car repayments of 20,000 a month.
Utility bills
Water is pretty cheap at about 200 baht but we like our AC so the electricity can get as high as 9,000 a month. Internet is a further 900 baht a month
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
We eat out every weekend at about 4,000 baht and our shopping is probably 6,000 a month.
Nightlife and drinking
Nope....we have 2 kids so it is tins of beer from the local shops at 40 baht a pop
Books, computers
We have school laptops and the girls have iPads. I listen to a lot of books whilst driving via Youtube and Audible.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Absolutely stunning. Even with us both being well qualified, promoted secondary teachers and doing well, there is no way we could live like this in the UK.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
The North, as in scenery and staying in places up there. Most things here in Bangkok are on a par with other big cities now.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
We have been spoilt by having been in Thailand since the last century. I need my 140,000 a month like a squirrel requires nuts.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thank you Carl. So it sounds like you work at an international school as well and you and your wife's combined salaries come to 280,000 baht a month. I'm sure the two kids put a decent dent in that but it still allows for a good standard of living.
Please send us your cost of living surveys. We would love to hear from you! This is one of the most popular parts of the Ajarn website and these surveys help and inspire a lot of other teachers. Just click the link at the top of the page where it says 'Submit your own Cost of Living survey' or click here.
Karl
Working in Beijing, China
Monthly Earnings 193,000 baht after tax
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I receive 139,000 baht a month after tax for my salary. I work at a near top tier international school in Beijing. I don't privates or any other work. I also get a 37,000 baht a month accommodation allowance paid by the school for single teachers (teaching couples get more) plus a 325,000 baht end of (two year) contract bonus and a 46,000 baht yearly travel allowance.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
It depends, as at an international school we enjoy around 13 weeks a year holiday including a long summer break, Christmas and Chinese New Year holiday, and a Spring break. So for the months I'm on holiday, I probably don't save much since I enjoy nice hotels and flying short haul business class. I usually holiday in Thailand. I aim to save between 70,000 and 90,000 baht a month.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I have a duplex 3-bedroom modern apartment in an expat district of Beijing. The school gives me 37,000 baht a month for accommodation and this is the full cost of my apartment. I could find cheaper and smaller but I like the extra space even though I live alone.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I don't do buses or the metro. Most of my trips are short Uber rides away (in China it is called DiDi). This equates to around 3,000 to 4,000 baht a month. I also have an electric scooter that I use for short journeys when I am not drinking.
Utility bills
Around 2,000 to 3,000 baht a month for electric, water, mobile phone and internet.
I also pay 5,000 baht a month for a cleaner to come twice a week.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I like my imported groceries and spend around 3,000 to 4,000 baht a week on shopping. I am a single person so I don't need much. I eat at home mostly during the week but sometimes order in, spending up to 1,000 to 2,000 baht a week in restaurants.
Nightlife and drinking
I am a huge craft beer monster (but I am trying to cut down). This can be quite expensive but local Chinese places are cheaper and more reasonable. I probably spend around 5,000 baht a month in bars on beer and food because I try to limit going out to once a week.
Books, computers
I have a MacBook Pro, iPhone 12 and an older iPad, I don't buy many books. I bought these over the last three years so hard to say how much I've spent monthly on these. Probably around 3,500 baht a month over the last three years.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I feel like I live quite a privileged life compared to friends back home and a lot of locals.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
I think the local Uber cars are really cheap and comfortable which is why I don't use public transport at all.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
'Survive' is a difficult word to use. I have earned less in China and still lived a good life by eating and drinking at local places. I have decent medical insurance but medical bills can be expensive without it. I would say for a decent standard of living, 90,000 baht a month would be ok and you could even save a little and take regular holidays.
Phil's analysis and comment
There's not much I can add to this by way of comments. When you fly around business class, live in a luxury apartment, take Uber taxis everywhere, etc and still manage to save 70-90K a month, life must be pretty amazing.
Max
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 135,000 baht after tax
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work at a top international school in the centre of Bangkok so 100% of my income is from my full-time job.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
Around 70,000-80,000 a month
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 30,000 for a 2-bedroom, 100 sqm condo.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I have a motorbike which is fully paid off and I live reasonably close to school so I'd say around 200 baht a month for fuel. First class insurance for the bike is around 8K a year plus the annual tax is around 1K so that broken down monthly is 750 baht. Sometimes I'll use taxis/Grab taxi but that varies. I use the BTS mostly at weekend and spend around 300 baht a month. My total for transportation I would say is around 2,000 a month.
Utility bills
My electricity bill is around 1,500 baht a month.
Water is cheap as chips at around 50 baht a month.
Internet/TV/Phone is another 1,200.
Currently I'm running/swimming/cycling outdoors so my gym membership is zero. Before it was around 2,000 baht a month.
Total around 2,750 baht,
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I often eat out at the weekends but I'm not particularly into fine dining or anything like that. A standard pizza restaurant, Lebanese, Indian, Thai or British pub and I'm more than happy. I'd say I spend around 5,000 a month on eating out. I really enjoy cooking and cook most of my evening meals at home. I'd say I probably spend 2,000 a week on food. Total monthly food spend around 15,000 baht.
Nightlife and drinking
If you asked me this a few years ago then the numbers would have been far higher! Having lived in Thailand for around 10 years now, I've done the partying scene and although I sometimes miss it, I enjoy waking up feeling fresh on a weekend far more these days! That said, before Covid ruled everything we do, I'd enjoy a few Friday night beers with friends so I'd say pre-covid, perhaps 1,500 a week.
Total around 5K a month on beer watching football/socialising.
Books, computers
I have a Kindle but I'm more of a holiday reader than a book-a-week type person. More like a book a month or two so I'd say 200 baht a month.
My real spend per year is on travel. I love to travel and I love scuba diving. Pre covid I'd do up to 70 dives per year and spend all of my vacations travelling either abroad or diving in Thailand. If I had to average it out, I'd probably be spending around 8,000 a month on travel and diving.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Excellent! I have a life that I've worked hard for and I thoroughly enjoy. I'm able to buy most things that I want without looking at my bank account but at the same time I'm able to save a good amount. I take regular breaks away from Bangkok on the weekends and always head somewhere during my school holidays.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Rent is cheap for what you get compared to other cities.
Taxis are incredibly cheap
Food can be very good value and delicious if you know where to look.
Utility bills
This definitely depends on where you're living though. Bangkok is becoming an expensive city, especially to eat and drink in restaurants/bars. A bottle of beer in a generic bar in Sukhumvit is more expensive than a pint in my local at home!
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I think the key part of this question is 'in order to survive'. I've lived as a TEFL teacher on 30K a month so I know how far that money can go when you're outside of Bangkok. Back when I first moved to Thailand 30K could go a long way as long as you were not stupid with your money. I'm not sure that would have been the case in Bangkok. I'd say outside of Bangkok/major cities 30K a month is enough to have a frugal yet very enjoyable life but to enjoy the same standard of living in Bangkok, you're likely to need 40K a month.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thank you Max. So looking at the numbers, you actually live well on about 60K of your salary and save about 50% of it in the process. That's a nice situation to be in. OK, you spend 45,000 baht a month on food and accommodation (usually the two biggest expenses) but you're not a drinker or a bar-hopper and that can save you a lot.
"Bangkok is becoming an expensive city, especially to eat and drink in restaurants/bars" - I certainly agree with you on that one!
Bill
Working in Middle of nowhere (North East Thailand)
Monthly Earnings 32,000 (in a good month)
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work for a large Thai government school and my take-home salary after tax is around 30,000 - 32,000 baht. I'm not really sure how the deductions are worked out and I've never bothered to ask. I am employed through a small teacher placement agency (the sort who suddenly becomes impossible to contact when a problem arises) At the end of the day, I'm 'qualification challenged' and now well into my 50s. I know I'm not a prime candidate for the best teaching jobs so I muddle along as best I can.
I used to earn an extra 5,000 baht a month from private students but I found dealing with cancellations and trying to get students to a particular place at a particular time far too much hassle.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
If I manage to save 5,000 - 10,000 baht, then that's been a decent month. They don't come around too often though.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I rent the second floor of a small shophouse unit for 5,000 baht a month. I've got a living room, a kitchen area that's partitioned off to look like a separate room and a bathroom with a squat toilet. I've never got around to putting a Western style khazi in there but it's something I want to do as the old knees get creakier. I rent the property off the export company that occupies the ground floor. I've been here two years and still have no idea what they export. I like it here. It's in a very quiet part of town with not much traffic noise and as evening falls, I like to go up on the roof with a ciggy and a beer to admire the sunset.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
My school is barely five minutes away by motorcycle and I have a small beat-up scooter that I bought when I arrived, so a few hundred baht's worth of gas in the tank every month. It's a lot of fun in the rainy season when the heavens open as I'm en route and I get to school so wet you can almost wring out my cheap black slip-ons.
Utility bills
I have one large air-con unit but I try to avoid using it as much as I can and just rely on a couple of stand-up fans to keep the fetid air moving. My leccy bill is never more than a few hundred baht and water is next to nothing. Maybe 100 baht or so.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
There are no Western food options for miles around so basically it's eat Thai or die! I've got several restaurants that I use and they know me well. Most of the time, I only have to sit down and within minutes, there's a plate of my favourite grub and a big Singha beer in front of me. I go once a week to the nearest Big C minimart to stock up on a few treats. I never cook at home. Re-heating a pizza slice from 7-11 or throwing a slice of ham and a bit of tomato between two slices of bread is about as adventurous as it gets. This probably comes to around 8,000 baht a month. I find it very difficult to bring this expense down and doubt that I can.
Nightlife and drinking
There is no nightlife or pubs in the neighborhood but I do like a beer. Probably 4,000 a month on the amber liquid.
Books, computers
I love reading but download most of my books for free. I'll read anything that passes away the night-time hours. But there is no real expense here. I've got a desktop pc that's served me well for five years and counting.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
It's OK for a middle-aged, qualification-challenged guy who escaped the Western rat race to live in this amazing country. I don't earn a huge salary but my living expenses aren't very high either. I also live alone. I've had a number of relationships but they've all fizzled out eventually. I just prefer living alone. I also like to send my Mum a few bob from time to time so she can treat herself. Well into her eighties now, she lives on her own back in the north of England and I'm still the number one son. My brother hasn't been to see her for years. Mind you, it's three years since I was last home as well.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Nothing is expensive if you live in rural Thailand and more importantly, you make friends with the locals. I could name a dozen Thai friends who have always got my back and I can call them up anytime.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Honestly, you could survive where I live on 15,000 baht a month and many Thais in these parts exist on far less. 30,000 baht a month is plenty. There's really nothing to spend your money on but of course you're not putting anything away for the future either. I've got a small UK pension that kicks in in a few years and that will help matters.
Phil's analysis and comment
These are the cost of living surveys I love most of all. Gritty, grimy, Northern, Albert Finney-esque kitchen sink dramas that play out before us. The weekly highlight of the trip to the Big C minimart on a battered old scooter, the Singha beer sunsets from the rooftop, swigged directly from the bottle as you contemplate a dump on the squat toilet. And all the while, mysterious figures glide in and out of the 'export company' on the ground floor.
I'm not knocking it Bill, not for a second. You've got more than enough money in your back pocket to live reasonably well. You prove the point that there's a place for everyone who wants it in Thailand. And I bet it beats living in England in the depths of Winter, worrying whether you can turn on another bar of the electric fire and hurling another losing Euromillions scratch card across the living room, muttering 'mug's game' for the umpteenth time.
Please send us your cost of living surveys. We would love to hear from you! This is one of the most popular parts of the Ajarn website and these surveys help and inspire a lot of other teachers. Just click the link at the top of the page where it says 'Submit your own Cost of Living survey' or click here.
Showing 5 Cost of Living surveys out of 425 total
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