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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John
Working in Phnom Penh
Monthly Earnings 52,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work at a small international school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I earn 52,000 baht a month. I previously taught a couple evenings a week and could earn 700 baht an hour.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
I try to save about 17,000 per month (one-third of my salary) but frequent holidays eat into my savings.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay about 8,500 baht for a one bedroom apartment near the riverside.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I have a motorcycle that I bought for 14,000 a few years ago and put two liters in it each week (about 60 baht). I rarely take tuk-tuks or motos. Maybe 200-300 baht per month
Utility bills
Electricity is expensive in Cambodia because it comes from Thailand and Vietnam. I use my AC every day of the year. My bill is usually between 1,500-2,500 baht. Water is 150 baht and wifi is free
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I usually eat local food for breakfast near school, which is cheap. For dinner I generally eat more expensive food and eat Western quite a bit. On average, I would say I spend 15,000 baht a month on food
Nightlife and drinking
Alcohol is very cheap in Cambodia. Most happy hour places have 50 cent draft beer (about 17 baht). I try not to drink too much. I might go out once a week and spend a little more. Maybe 5,000 a month
Books, computers
I read a lot, but I generally read used or fake books. Maybe 700 baht a month.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I have a great standard of living in Cambodia. Much better than I would teaching in the US. A good international school gives students a lot of freedom and the students are much better than those I taught in the US. Cambodian food is not the best, but you find places that are good. Phnom Penh does have some great western food places, so I am able to eat out three times a day.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Alcohol is extremely cheap here. Western food is also often a good deal.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
People can survive on about 30,000 baht a month, but this would make it very difficult to save or travel. I make significantly more than this and some months it is difficult for me to save when you need to by a new computer, travel, or buy a flight home
Phil's analysis and comment
Thank you John! Always good to get these cost of living surveys from those teachers working in neighboring countries as well as from chalkies in Thailand.
17 baht for a draft beer! That can't be bad. And if Western food can be had at a good price, then those are two major things in Cambodia's favour.
I would be interested to know if John has ever worked in Thailand and which country he prefers.
Callum
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 35,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work at a Thai secondary school and my salary for the past two years has been 35,000 baht a month. I'm currently looking for a teaching position that will pay 50,000 a month at least.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
Virtually nothing. If you want to have a weekend away once a month (which I always try to do) then that can eat up any money left over from paying for the basics. 35,000 only gives you a month-to-month existence and it's high time I put a stop to that.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I rent a studio apartment for 7,000 baht a month on the outskirts of Bangkok but near enough to the sky-train line. It's not ideal because it's an old building and the management don't take great care of the facilities but I've furnished my apartment well and it's a decent place to come home to at the end of a tiring day.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I take a 10 baht motorcycle taxi to the skytrain and back every working day and then about eight stops on the BTS itself. No more than about 2,000 baht a month.
Utility bills
Air-con, water and internet all come to about 3,000 baht a month.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
About 8,000 baht a month. I eat Thai food virtually all the time. It's not that I don't crave Western food but I just find the portions too small and poor value for money compared to eating Thai. You can save a fortune eating Thai food, especially if you know where to go and become a regular customer at certain places. I only have about 3-4 Thai restaurants I use regularly.
Nightlife and drinking
I will sometimes go out on a Friday night with a group of teaching colleagues but it's never anything heavy. Probably about 5,000 a month I guess.
Books, computers
I use the internet at school and my 3-year old laptop serves me well at home. I download books for free off the internet.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
It's OK but could be a lot better and that's why I'm looking for something that pays 50K a month. That extra 15,000 I'm hoping will make all the difference.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Thai food in what I call the mom and pop restaurants, where it's about 50 baht a rice dish and the sodas are 15-20 baht.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Bangkok is getting more and more expensive. I've noticed the difference in just the two years I've been here. I sometimes wander around these glitzy new shopping malls, peruse the menu prices and wonder exactly how much the Thais are earning who can afford to eat there, Crucially, how much more are they earning than your average teacher? (and I am very much your average teacher) I've come to realize that I need at least 50K to survive in Bangkok.
Phil's analysis and comment
Callum, that extra 15,000 will make all the difference. That's a big 180,000 baht a year or if you break it down further, it's 500 baht a day. You won't feel so bad about treating yourself to a Western meal every so often. You will have the money to move into a better apartment, even take a trip home or enjoy more weekends away. Good luck with finding a new job. There are certainly plenty about at the moment.
Barry
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 50-70,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
The salary from my Thai secondary school is 45,000 after tax and I can bump that up by 5,000 to 25,000 depending on how many private students I want to tutor or more to the point, how much energy I've got. It takes a lot of effort to do a full-time job and then be willing to sit with a beginner level student for a couple of hours.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
I try to save at least 10,000 baht a month and that money goes towards an annual trip home with usually a bit left over.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I got really lucky with accommodation because I rent a new one-bedroom apartment in central Bangkok but it actually belongs to a friend who bought it as an investment and he never stays there. I give him 8,000 baht a month but I think if I was renting directly from the building owner, it would cost anything from 12,000 baht a month up.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I go everywhere by sky-train and of course that's the advantage of living in downtown Bangkok. In fact I never go anywhere that requires taxis. So about 3,000 baht a month I guess.
Utility bills
That's all included in the 8,000 baht a month I give my pal for the rent. I don't abuse the air-conditioning though. I'm up on the 22nd floor so there's a great breeze that blows through the apartment when you open the balcony doors.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
Food is the one aspect of my budget that I do like to control. I limit myself to Western food only once or twice on weekends because it's Western food that can cost the earth if you develop too much of a craving for it. During the week I eat only Thai food and can spend probably 700 baht from Monday to Friday. Weekends I can spend about a thousand. Let's call it 7-8,000 baht for the month.
Nightlife and drinking
I don't go out much. I'll meet friends for a night out once in a while but it only amounts to three or four beers at most. I bet I spend less than 3,000 a month on booze and nights out. I prefer to stay home and watch a movie or play computer games.
Books, computers
I do like my gadgets but I think it's difficult to put a monthly figure on it.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Brilliant. I love my lifestyle. It's very comfortable. That said, I'm well aware I'm not saving as much as I should be.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
It's easier for me to say what I don't consider to be a bargain and that's Western food. You can really pay through the nose here even for very average Western meals.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I think you could 'survive' in Bangkok on 30,000 baht a month but once you move up to the 50-60K bracket, life doesn't become TWICE as good, it becomes TEN times better in my opinion.
Phil's analysis and comment
Just this last weekend, my wife and I were analyzing and talking about the cost of eating in Bangkok. What's always interesting to me is not so much that you have the choice of eating on two levels - Thai or Western, but how you have to fork out considerably money to choose from the international menu. You expect Western food to be more expensive than Thai food of course, but the difference in cost can be astounding.
From Monday to Friday, my wife has a 30 baht lunch at the subsidized company canteen and in the evening, she pays about 70-80 baht a meal, delivered by a company that specializes in 'clean food'. For breakfast she'll have a yoghurt and some fruit. Total daily food spend no more than 150 baht, so 750 baht takes care of food for the five weekdays.
On Sunday, we went to a mid-range local restaurant where smoothies, a couple of pasta dishes and a starter or two came to about 800 baht. Then we went to a coffee shop for a latte and a cake and the bill was another 450.
Eating Western food in Bangkok doesn't come cheap at all. If you're one of those people who can happily shun the tastes of home and eat only Thai food, you'll save a small fortune. However, I think most of us crave a change from 'something over rice' every now and again.
Tommy
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 105,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I earn 105K from my full time salary at an international school in Bangkok. The school does provide opportunities for private tutoring, and I have been approached by many people too, which is something I may look at in the future. It's reassuring to know that option is there. Foreign teachers are very lucky that we are so in-demand for private tutoring.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
I aim for 40K every month but I can usually save more, usually 50,000+. My previous job paid a 30,000 baht a month salary so I'm used to living on a tighter budget so it is taking me a while to loosen the purse strings! I have been looking for ways to invest in Thailand but apart from buying gold I don't see many options. (an idea for an Ajarn blog, perhaps?)
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 8,000 baht for a townhouse on the outskirts of Bangkok. It has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a small garden. Yes, it is quite cheap but I must stress I live among mostly Thais and there is no swimming pool or gym (which seems to be a requirement for most foreigners).
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I spend about 200 baht a week on gas, so 800 baht in total
Utility bills
800-900 on electricity, about 150 for water, so let's say 1,100 baht a month
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I've averaged it out at around 400 baht a day. This includes a lot of "farang food" and a lot of home cooking. While the street food is delicious I still tend to eat food from home. So total food bill averages out at about 12,000 baht
Nightlife and drinking
I do enjoy a few beers while watching the football at the weekend. I'd say about 1,500 a month as I like to drink Carlsberg over local beers. In terms of entertainment in general I also usually go the cinema and get a massage at the weekend. That can add another 3,000 a month.
Books, computers
The odd trip to Asia books will cost me about 1,000-2,000 a month. I've started reading a lot more since I got a garden (seriously, houses are awesome!).
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I have a very good standard of living here. There is food on the table, clothes on my back and a roof over my head. Considering the weather, the friendly locals, an awesome school, a very friendly staff and being able to save a lot.... I'm in no rush to go home
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Where do I start?! Look at my rent and utilities - they come to about 8% of my monthly income! The cost of gas and public transport is so cheap too, as is healthcare. Food, beer, massages.... all much cheaper than at home.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I survived on 30,000 baht a month for a year and I had no complaints. But that is surviving. If you are thinking long term or want to save/travel you need about 60K. If you are thinking of being here for a few years do not accept the first offer you get and do not accept 30K (speaking from experience). Leave these jobs to the backpackers and show schools that they get what they pay for.
Phil's analysis and comment
Tommy also had the following to say about the townhouse that he rents for 8,000 baht a month.
"The house did not come furnished so it has taken some investment to get it decorated but it has been a lovely experience putting my stamp on it and creating a "home". It certainly beats my time in studio apartments with the standard bed, wardrobe, tv stand and the only place you can clear your head is on a tiny balcony. That's one piece of advice I would give to all foreigners - get a house and put your stamp on it, it will make you feel much more at home. So many of the other teachers at my school are paying 15-20k for one bedroom apartments in the city, I can't imagine doing that, and it has nothing to do with cost"
I agree with you Tommy. I've lived in both houses and apartments. Both have their plus and minus points but the rented house wins it for me.
Summarizing his standard of living here compared to life back in the UK, Tommy also adds "In terms of my career, working here is actually more stable and much easier than trying to work my way up the very congested teaching ladder back home too. Considering I'm still in my twenties that is both extremely exciting and very depressing! Will this feeling of contentment last forever or will the reality of home come calling?"
Thank you Tommy for all the effort you put into that and for some very interesting answers.
We would love to get your cost of living surveys and you can do so by filling in the on-line form. Tell us about your lifestyle!
Many teachers unfortunately fill in the form and just provide a list of figures and no back story. It's those glimpses into a teacher's lifestyle that make these surveys interesting and enjoyable. Many thanks for your contributions.
John
Working in Songkhla
Monthly Earnings 22,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work for a government school in Songkhla and my basic salary is 20,000 baht a month. I make an extra 2,000 with a little additional overtime teaching the kids.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
Approximately 10,000
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
2,500 baht a month for a studio apartment.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I ride a bike that my landlady's son generously allowed me to use. However, I usually go to Hat Yai every weekend and transport costs me around 150 baht /week
Utility bills
500 baht a month for electric bill. Air-conditioning is my luxury every time I'm in my apartment.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I usually spend around 4,000 to 6,000 baht a month for my food allowance. The owner of the school canteen provides me lunch (she's very kind). I usually spend around 20-30 baht for breakfast and 50 baht for dinner, then I go all the way during the weekends
Nightlife and drinking
Zero. I'm not really a nightlife person (but I'm thinking of going out so I could "meet" other people *wink*)
Books, computers
I bought myself a new phone but that's really it.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I'd say much better compared to back in the Philippines. My cost of living is less expensive. The community I am with, my local co-teachers, my neighbors, landlady, parents, are all very kind, supportive and caring. Some mornings, I will wake up with breakfast hanging on my doorknob. Colleagues always asking if I am okay and happy. Its awesome and I love it.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Food. It's ridiculously cheap.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
In my area, 20-25,000 would be comfortable and still have enough to save (for a single domesticated guy like me).
Phil's analysis and comment
Hold on there John. 22,000 baht a month for salary. Let's take away 600 baht a month for transportation, 5,000 baht for food and 3,000 for your rent and utility bills. And you still manage to save 10,000 baht of what's left! That's pretty amazing but if my figures are correct, you've got little over 100 baht a day left in your pocket to pay your phone bill, buy clothes, do laundry, etc, etc. That sounds tough to me.
John, if you have the qualifications and experience, I wonder if you could find a teaching position that pays more than this? It's a teachers'market out there at the moment and although in most cases Filipino teachers are paid less than native speakers, the salaries are creeping up a bit for 'non-natives'. I'm sure your school wouldn't want to lose you but sometimes you have to look after number one.
Showing 5 Cost of Living surveys out of 426 total
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