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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Patrick
Working in Nakhon Ratchisima
Monthly Earnings 55,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work at a private school and my salary after tax is around 40,000. I usually add another 15K a month from private tutoring and online stuff.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
Usually in the region of 20-25K Baht but that figure can be lower if I go off travelling somewhere.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I rent a two-storey shophouse for 8,000 baht a month. I live mostly on the ground floor (that's where I've got my living room space, kitchen, etc) and on the second floor is my bedroom and a room I've converted to a small study where I can accommodate groups of two or three students. A third tiny utility room I use for storage space. I've been here about three years.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I have a motorcycle which I bought a couple of years ago and costs me around a thousand baht a month in gas.
Utility bills
Electricity and water come to around 4,000 baht a month. The bill is high because I have three aircon units and usually, at least two of them are on.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I like to follow a fairly strict healthy diet so once every couple of weeks, I'll have a cooking day. I'll put together about a dozen or so portions of food (pasta dishes, casseroles, etc) and freeze it all in individual plastic containers. I sometimes grab something street-food on the way home if I'm running low on freezer stock but I almost never eat out. Cooking at home can save you a fortune and I bet even with supermarket shopping for non-food items, I can keep the total below 8,000 a month.
Nightlife and drinking
Don't really bother with that side of things. I will sometimes go out for a few beers with colleagues but it's never more than once or twice a month. This is probably 2,000 baht at most.
Books, computers
I quite like my technology and have a nice flat screen TV with Netflix, etc and the latest smartphone. Difficult to put a monthly price on this but probably around 4,000 if you average it out over a year.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I'm very happy with it. I don't go short of anything.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Fresh meat and vegetables are still a pretty good buy if you know where to go. Nakhon Ratchisima is a great place to live. It has all the attractions, temptations and big city feel of Bangkok (where I lived and worked for five years) but I don't spend anything like the money I used to there. It's just a shame that the traffic seems to get worse here with each passing year.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Outside of Bangkok, you will live reasonably well on 30-35K. Once you hit 50K+ out in the provinces, you're on easy street.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thanks Patrick. I've been to Nakhon Ratchisima a number of times in recent years and I've always been impressed. I agree that it always comes across as a very affordable place to live but with a big city feel. I like your food arrangement as well. I always say that I'm going to do something like this - have a day in the kitchen and freeze a load of meals - but can never quite get myself organised.
Clara
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 200,000 +
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 Bangkok and my base salary is 155K + 45K in monthly housing allowance. Although, I was making 37K a month before I left Bangkok to get qualified.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
None. After working in TEFL for 2 years, I realized that there's no opportunity growth for me, especially as a Laotian-Brazilian, unless i get myself a decent degree and experience. So I incurred about $40k in student loans for my degree in the US and my goal is to pay it back in two years, so I'm not worried about savings at the moment.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I live with my Thai partner and he refuses to let me help with the rent so this expense is zero.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
My Thai partner drives me around almost everywhere. so probably 200 baht/month
Utility bills
My partner pays for this.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I tend to splurge on eating out and shopping so that comes to about 25,000/month
Nightlife and drinking
I only go out for a few drinks with my co-workers a couple or three times a month, so probably around 5,000.
Books, computers
My school provides a laptop to take home for teachers.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Amazing! It's day and night compared to my standard of living in the US. I worked in the US for two years at one the worst school districts in the country so my standard of living in Bangkok is awesome, although my salary in Bangkok isn't as high as the school I worked for in Singapore
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Everything except for imported goods!
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
l would say anyone can survive with anything over 30,000/month but keep in mind that a decent condo in a good location will take up at least half of that, not to mention retirement which is a big issue because on 30-50K a month, you won't be able to save up for retirement.
Phil's analysis and comment
I bet when you've experienced life as a teacher on 37K, to hit the heights of 200K a month must feel incredible. Nothing else really to add other than if anyone would like to do a cost of living survey, we would love to hear from you.
Marcus
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 90,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work at a reputable international school (a proper international school) and although my full-time salary is a decent 90K, I'm classed as a 'local hire' rather than an overseas one, so I don't receive the higher salary and benefits package that they do.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
I try to save between 40-50,000 a month, which leaves me around 40-50K to live on. I've never been one of life's great savers so I'm frantically trying to put away as much as possible for the future. My parents recently passed away (less than a year apart) so I received a share of around £200,000 from the sale of a property and some savings they had. I appreciate this is a massive financial leg up but I won't let it affect my saving strategy.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I've always been very frugal when it comes to accommodation and I live in a small studio apartment in a no-frills building for 5,000 baht a month. I've never had any interest in socializing with other tenants around swimming pools or in lobbies and gyms. I like to get home from work, go straight to my room, lock the door, and escape into my own quiet little world.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I live relatively close to work so depending on my mood, I either take a 10 baht songthaew or ride several stops on the MRT. Throw in a few Grab taxis every month and I bet this expense still barely breaks a thousand baht.
Utility bills
I pay around 2,000 baht for my electricity and 300 for water. Internet and Netflix, etc probably push this category to around 4K a month.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
A bowl of Cornflakes and a couple of slices of toast is my morning ritual. I get a free lunch (and it's a very decent lunch) at school, which just leaves me with an evening meal to find. I never splash out more than a 100 baht on this. At weekends, I never fall for the lure of western food either. You could say I'm not a great eater so I keep this bill down to around 6K I guess. What's that? 200 baht a day on average. Yes, that sounds about right.
Nightlife and drinking
I'll go out once a week with several of my teaching colleagues and we'll do a nice pub and maybe end up with a Thai meal and more beers at somewhere cheap and cheerful to end the night. I'll happily sip a beer by the side of the railway tracks. It's the good company that matters. Let's say 6,000 baht a month.
Books, computers
I do enjoy my computer gaming so this could come in at around 2,000 a month.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I'm a bit of a loner, by choice. I've got a string of failed relationships with Thai women behind me. I just find trying to forge relationships exhausting and too demanding of my time. I've lived in Thailand for six years and still find that western-Thai culture gap way too wide to negotiate on a daily basis. Living a very quiet, solitary lifestyle makes me happy. I enjoy being with colleagues at work but my time alone is far more important. Sorry, that's a rather indirect answer to the question isn't it?
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
You can still eat out and eat well for under a hundred baht if you're not too fussy about laminated menus that are slightly sticky to the touch and you don't risk poking your head into the kitchen or food prep area.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I could be the wrong person to ask because my material needs are so few. I could easily 'survive' in Bangkok on 40K a month but a lot of people might analyze my lifestyle and say that I go without or miss out on a lot of things.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thank you Marcus for a very honest survey and a glimpse into your lifestyle. There's nothing wrong with a being a loner. I look back on some of those mammoth bedsit Playstation sessions I had back in the mid-90s (before I met my wife) and they were most enjoyable. You do whatever works for you. Saving over half of a 90K salary and I'm sure resisting many temptations is pretty impressive though.
Jeff
Working in Pattaya
Monthly Earnings 118,000 (after tax)
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
My full-time salary is 118K, plus a housing allowance of 20K and food allowance of around 2K per month because I don’t eat the school dinners.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
I could save plenty, but I’m not great with money and am prone to impulse purchases. Previously (8 years ago) I was teaching in the UK and living paycheck to paycheck, also racking up debt just to keep afloat. I arrived here in Thailand with around £25,000 of credit card/loan debt and paid it all off in about 4 years. I lived comfortably while paying off that debt so I should probably start chucking 25K Baht into a savings account now I’m debt free, but I haven’t got around to that yet.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 20K per month for a 3-bedroom detached villa in a nice moobarn with a swimming pool and park included.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I drive to work in my car and it's not too far to school. A few years back I could fill the tank for around 800 baht, but now it costs around 1,400. I reckon I fill the car about twice a month if my wife and I don’t head off for a road trip holiday. So let’s say 3,000 a month.
Utility bills
Electricity comes in around 4,000 usually and water around 300.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
We cook a couple of times a week and the rest is delivery - around 12K per month. We’ll usually go to a street food restaurant and have the occasional western treat maybe once a week.
Nightlife and drinking
We don’t go out drinking very often, but do like a drink at home. This is probably the biggest expense at around 15K.
Books, computers
I’m a bit of a gaming and movie geek. I have 3 consoles and I’m signed up to the various subscription services (PS Plus, Xbox Live, Switch, Netflix, HBO, Disney Plus) so it’s fair to say I spend a fair chunk each month. I honestly couldn’t tell you the monthly average accurately, though.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Compared to my previous life in London, I live like a King.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Street food, Bolt taxi rides, Grab food. In the UK I never ate out or ordered delivery apart from on special occasions. Here it’s just part of life.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
It’s a common cliché, but it all depends on lifestyle choice. Live and eat like a farang every day and you’ll need at least 80K a month in Pattaya. Live ‘Thai style’ and you can quarter that number. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thank you Jeff. You sound like another teacher who is very glad they made the move from teaching in the UK to teaching in Thailand. It's a great move for those who have the qualifications. And I hear you on the cost of filling up the petrol tank thing; my wife is always moaning about it.
Jonathon
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 65,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
65,000 is my full-time salary from a junior and secondary school in Central Bangkok (although I only teach older students) I have been working here about five years and I started on 30K a month, so the pay raises have not been too bad. There are ample opportunities to pick up extra work but I don't bother. I'm perfectly happy with 65K plus my partner's salary (I'll go into more detail on that in a later answer)
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
I try to save at least 20K a month but it doesn't always work out that way. Neither my girlfriend or I are really savers. We both like to live for the moment while we're still relatively young (late twenties) It's probably a strategy that will come back and bite us in the bum one day.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
My girlfriend is a real estate agent so she has her ear to the ground where great value rentals are concerned. It's amazing what you can pick up as a one-year rental if you are prepared to be able to move out at a moment's notice with just a couple of suitcases. We are in a new-build condo with swimming pool, gym, etc and pay 10,000 baht a month to the unit owner, but I've seen the same size rooms advertised for almost double that in the same building.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I'm a couple of stops on the skytrain to school and back each day so probably under a thousand baht a month. I'll spend a couple of thousand on Grab cars each month as well.
Utility bills
Electricity, water and telephone bills etc come to around 5,000 baht a month. I pay for all that.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
We eat out probably four or five times a week at mid-range places and that easily comes to 10-12K a month. You can add another 10K for supermarket shopping. I pay the restaurant bills 66% of the time when we eat out and I also pay for the supermarket shopping.
Nightlife and drinking
We like our pubs and if I'm out with the girlfriend, we buy round for round. We can easily drop 3,000 on alcoholic drinks on a good night out. I occasionally go out with the teachers from work and will spend about the same. I would say 15-20K a month in total. This is all mounting up isn't it?
Books, computers
Nothing much. I'm not one for gadgets or computer games.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
As I mentioned earlier, my girlfriend is a real estate agent and although her base salary is only 25K, she can bump that up to 45-50K with commission. So that gives us a joint income of over 100K I would say.
It's more than enough for the two of us but I'm aware we're probably not putting enough away for a rainy day.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Nothing ever strikes me as being an absolute bargain anymore but nothing is outrageously expensive either.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I survived in Bangkok on 30K and I survive well on enough on 65K. If you gave me more money, I'd just find other ways to spend it. On a completely separate note, I like reading these cost of living surveys but I always feel that there's not enough mention of what a Thai partner (if applicable) brings to the table. My girlfriend and I pool our incomes and while I pay the lion's share of the bills, she pays her way too. We're both on the same team, pulling in the same direction. I've worked with teachers who have come into work in the morning and kicked doors, screaming 'the b*tch has sent 10K to her idle parents again!' This is what's called a partner working against you and proving to be a drain on your finances. I can never understand why teachers get saddled with those kind of women.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thanks Jonathon. You make an interesting observation about 'Thai partner income' and whether it makes life easier or harder. I too have worked with the door-kickers who are shacked up with partners whose idea of a full-time job is spread out on the sofa watching Korean soaps. Perhaps I need to think about incorporating a few 'partner' questions in these surveys?
Showing 5 Cost of Living surveys out of 430 total
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