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.
Submit your own Cost of Living survey
Approximate Thai Baht (฿) conversion rates as of 24th April 2024
฿37 to one US Dollar฿46 to one Pound Sterling
฿40 to one Euro
฿24 to one Australian Dollar
฿0.64 THB to one Philippine Peso
Bob
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 136,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
My salary is 96,000 baht and I get a housing allowance of 40,000.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
80,000 to 100,000 baht depending on if we have a trip to an island or somewhere in Asia. ( my partner earns 50,000 a month and we live on that & my housing allowance)
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
28,000 baht a month. We have a nice, 2-bedroom old-build condo with pool, gym etc and it's a short motorcycle taxi ride to the BTS. Most importantly, it's just a stone's throw from work.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
1k - 2k a month on cabs. I use motorcycle taxis for short rides a lot and that's so cheap, maybe 200-300 a month on those. I'd say about that much on BTS too. I dont use it much
Utility bills
My bills are relatively extortionate due to the old air-conditioning units and greedy condo management. Around 3k - 4k a month, including internet
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
Food is the big one. I order from a well known meal delivery service and for the two of us, it comes to about 2k per week - that's just weekdays so we probably splurge about that much more on the weekend eating out. So food could be around 16,000 baht a month.
Nightlife and drinking
We're a pair of lightweights and don't / can't drink much so no more than 3k a month I'd say
Books, computers
The school has an incredible library and provides us laptops so no expenses there (although I did just buy FM 2017 for 2k.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Very comfortable. Could be lavish but I know the value of a pound to the baht and we're saving for a deposit for a place back in the UK.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Massages! Local transport and domestic travel. Air Asia is so cheap that we get to see a lot of Thailand & South East Asia on a budget.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Survive? 40k is plenty for a single person to survive and have a bit of fun in Bangkok. If you're intending to be here long term, you need to be looking at 50-60k minimum. I really couldn't speak for outside of Bangkok, though I imagine you'd need a lot less.
Phil's analysis and comment
Very nice Bob. You can't complain about 80-100k baht a month going into the tommy tank. And of course it always helps when you have a partner who's bringing a decent salary into the house as well.
I don't think 16,000 baht a month on food for a couple who enjoy eating out at the weekend is excessive at all. In fact, if you order from those delivery services every weekday evening, I'm surprised your monthly food bill is that low.
Must be a great time to buy a property in England as well Bob. 43 baht buys you a pound. Good times!
Paddy
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 35,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work at a Bangkok high school and my salary is 35,000 baht including a 2,000 baht travel allowance.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
Just about nothing. I'm down to the last 1,000 baht by pay day.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I have a 1-bedroom apartment in a Thai area but close to a BTS station, 32sqm. 10,000 baht a month plus water and electricity
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I rent a motorbike for 4,000 baht a month plus I use public transport depending on where I need to go. Petrol costs around 120 baht/week, again depending on how much I use the bike. My school is 5km away. There is no BTS out there and the bus takes over an hour on a good day. The journey by bike takes 12 minutes.
Utility bills
Average around 1,200 baht a month on electricity and water.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I eat lunch at school every day for 25 baht. I shop at my local market and street vendors for most meals and I cook at home a lot to save money.
Nightlife and drinking
We go out to the local bar and drink the draft Thai beer every fortnight and split the bill. We also go to a movie once a month.
Books, computers
I buy books from a second hand shop (90-200 baht per book) and then return the books to get some of the costs back.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Not really living extravagantly or living the high life. It's comfortable, I get out a lot to see the sights, free if I can
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
I guess the variety of food is a bargain. Street food is pretty good, just have to be wary of some products.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Depending on how you want to live? I would think most companies need to increase their salary. I'd say 42,000 to 55,000, is not asking too much.
Phil's analysis and comment
Paddy doesn't supply any actual figures for the food and going out categories so it's pure guesswork. That said, being down to your last 1,000 baht every month probably tells you everything you need to know. That 35,000 baht a month in Bangkok just isn't enough?
Lance
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 90,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
90,000 before taxes from my job. No desire to teach private lessons.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
40,000 to 50,000
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
18,500 baht for a nice condo about 10 minutes walk from the BTS
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
1500, I use the BTS and Uber (far nicer/cheaper than a taxi).
Utility bills
5,800 baht because my wife likes to run the air-conditioning a LOT, plus internet costs are factored in
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
This is the bulk of my costs. My uncle is a chef and because of him I love to cook meals such as Steak Milanese with rosemary and thyme roasted potatoes, prosciutto with homemade toasted tomato bread, lamb kebabs with apricots...etc. The wife eats less and less Thai food these days (down to once a week) as a result and we rarely eat out (exception being eating fast food once a month or so just for a change). I'm beginning to think it would be cheaper if we ate out vs cooking at home.
Nightlife and drinking
0 baht. The exception is when friends or family visit us (about twice a year) but it's not much at all and does not put a dent into savings or the budget
Books, computers
I have Kindle Unlimited for $9.99 a month, We have an I-Flix account to watch movies and Western TV on occasion. Other expenses include cell phone bill (I don't know how much as ignorance is bliss in this case), monthly charitable donations is about 3500 on average, We also put aside about 5,000 baht a month for traveling as we use that towards our summer vacation.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Above average. If I cut back on the fancy food I'd be well above average I think. Side note: I was making close to 6 figures in the USA before moving here but I am far less stressed and much happier being in Thailand. Although we've been discussing making the move back to the USA as my mom's age/health is a concern.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Mass transit, clothes, massages, health care, real estate
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
To survive I'd say 35,000. To live average I'd say 40,000.
Phil's analysis and comment
After hearing about what you cook at home Lance, I've got just one question - what time do you want me round? :)
I sympathize with your mother's health situation and it's a situation that quite a number of teachers find themselves in eventually. It often becomes a case of which camp do you fall into - do you have family members (brothers and sisters) who live closer and can take care of the ailing parent or are you the only flesh and blood that a mother can call on? I hope things work out for you.
Jamie
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 60,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work at a private all-girls school and my take home salary is 38,000 (500 baht / hour) but I teach private students two hours a day six days a week.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
Around 10,000 baht. I'm terrible at saving up because I like my comforts.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 5,000 a month for my room in a three-bedroom townhouse in Huai Khwang, sharing with one other person.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
1,500 baht a month or so. I use my Honda PCX to get around and it's a handy little scooter with tons of storage space for teaching materials
Utility bills
Utilities come to around 2,500 baht a month for air-con, water and internet
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I think food is my biggest expense because I grew tired of Thai food after a year here. I can spend up to 1,000 a day on Western, Korean and Japanese food. Why eat a small plate of stir-fried food and rice when I could have a nice sushi platter or delicious beef cheeseburger?
Nightlife and drinking
Close to zero. I don't drink much, at most two bottles of beer a month
Books, computers
I buy one or two books a month as I don't have much time to read with all the work I did. I recently bought a new laptop for 15,000 baht plus some accessories.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
My life is comfortable but busy. It seems that in order to have a fair life standard as a teacher here (in most cases) you have to do private tuition work, and use up your free evenings and weekends. Sometimes it's not worth it for me.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Food. If I was in the UK eating what I do here, I could easily spend twice as much in a day.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Certainly at least 50,000 a month. Anything less and you're just getting by. Teaching is meant to be a professional career, and as such, one expects to live like a professional with a comfortable living standard.
Phil's analysis and comment
The cost of food within these surveys is beginning to interest me more and more. It's sometimes a monthly expense we 'overlook' and yet we all need to eat and the costs can mount up considerably depending on your tastes and cravings for Western food, etc.
Jamie earns a comfortable 60,000 baht a month but private lessons six days a week means he only has one full day off. I've never felt that one day is enough. I worked six days a week myself for many years but it finally dawns on you that life is becoming al work and no play.
Sal
Working in Phitsanulok
Monthly Earnings 40,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I earn 40,000 baht a month working for a private language center.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
20,000 baht. This usually goes to paying for my travels to other countries so there really isn't much left in the kitty. I will aim to save more in the new year so that I can return to university at the end of my contract.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
2,250 baht - my housemate also pays 2,250 which makes it 4,500 in total for a 2-bedroom 2-bathroom house with a small Thai kitchen, outside washing up area and a garden. We live in what is intended to be student housing quite far out in a village outside the town.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
1,750 baht each per month on scooter rental and about 200B each per month on gas as we live about 15 minutes from the school and city
Utility bills
A maximum of 600 baht each for water and electricity (we use the AC often) and we pay government rates for the electricity. We also spend about 600 baht a month on miscellaneous for the house (cleaning supplies etc).
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
About 5,000 baht each per month. I buy most meals from the street vendors or small Thai restaurants (ranges from 30 - 70 baht per meal). We also do a monthly shop for basic groceries and we buy a lot of fresh fruit which can be pricey in our area. We go to a Western restaurant about once or twice on weekends. Sometimes I cook but admittedly I'm rather lazy when it comes to that
Nightlife and drinking
Nothing as we really don't have much here except the odd bar with overpriced craft beer, and neither of us are beer drinkers.
Books, computers
Very little as I have an e-reader and laptop from which I stream movies and series. I'm not really into technology and gadgets either. I do sometimes buy interesting stationery and bits and bobs from the 20B store but that's about it,
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I would say very comfortable and could probably be more luxurious if I lived in one of the more expensive condos or ate at the Western restaurants often but it doesn't really appeal to me and I'd rather use my money to travel. Having a housemate to share costs with certainly helps a lot too. One can easily live off 15 - 20,000 baht here whilst maintaining a cosy lifestyle but the payoff is that there isn't much to do or see here. I'm not a big shopper so most of my money goes to savings and paying off loans
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
The food and housing if you move away from the city centre.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
In my area 30,000 baht would be more than enough to live comfortably with a few indulgences here and there and 20,000 baht a month to live simply.
Phil's analysis and comment
You don't see many job ads advertised for Phitsanulok but 40,000 for a language centre position sounds OK. Certainly when you're only paying a couple of thousand baht to rent your share of a decent-sized house. It's a shame that Sal still has loans to pay off because I bet that extra pocket money would make a big difference.
If anyone fancies doing a cost of living survey, I've now put the questions on-line to make it easier and quicker for you. Please spare half an hour if you can.
A number of teachers complete the surveys with just a list of figures. I don't wish to sound ungrateful but that's not really what we're looking for. There needs to be some sort of 'story' behind the figures as it were (it certainly makes the surveys more interesting to read) Many thanks!
Showing 5 Cost of Living surveys out of 426 total
Page 52 of 86
