Cost of Living - Updated?

[fach3003]

Purely out of interest
i know its been covered but
the thread i was looking at is
nearly 2 years ago......

is it Still about the same???

coz things change sometimes
The Gas in Uk went up 50% Last year
and the Electricity up 40%
I went up the same in 2005 as well
and also the bins are going to fortnightly!!!

Whinge over!!

Im trying to get an up to date feel for cost in HH thats all....

Thanks

Mark of the North

[JW]

Nothing much has changed, petrol may be a little up - cant remember what it was a few years ago though.
Beer is about 5 baht a bottle up - food still great and priced about the same.

[buksida]

As JW says prices are pretty much the same as they were 3-4 years ago with the possible exceptions of fuel and rent.

As areas become popular and more farangs move in the Thai landlords invariably hike up their rents.

Petrol prices have been on the increase for two years now, the previous administration kept them artificially low.

Visas, financial requirements and National Park entrance fees for foreigners have over doubled.

Everything else, food, drink, appliances, household goods, electricals, clothing, utilities (gas, water, electricity) are pretty much the same, with only very minor increases if any.

A rough guide to what you should pay for monthly bills can be found here:
http://www.expathuahin.com/services-huahin.php

[SuperTonic]

To be honest it's pretty cheap. A couple can live in Hua Hin on 60k a month easy provided they're not pissing money against the wall. It's the bars that cost the money. Everything else is pretty straightforward.

[PeteC]

FYI, in 1998 and earlier diesel was steady at about 8.0-8.5 baht per liter. 350% increase in 10 years I guess is a sign of the times. Pete

[SuperTonic]

FYI, in 1998 and earlier diesel was steady at about 8.0-8.5 baht per liter. 350% increase in 10 years I guess is a sign of the times. Pete

That's a big old increase! Still it's a shedload better than UK prices!

[BEERBELLY]

Could you let on as to the Price at the Pumps in the UK now, might make me feel a lttle better.

Personally I think Thailand is becoming more expensive irrespective of how busy the town is.

[K2OWN]

Could you please tell me if the 60k a month for two people living in Hua Hin was for a couple that would be paying rent or a mortgage. Me and my husband will be moving out in February and we will have no rent or mortgage to pay and thought that we could live for a lot less than 60k a month. Please advise Many thanks..

[lomuamart]

Could you please tell me if the 60k a month for two people living in Hua Hin was for a couple that would be paying rent or a mortgage. Me and my husband will be moving out in February and we will have no rent or mortgage to pay and thought that we could live for a lot less than 60k a month. Please advise Many thanks..

It's an endless question, isn't it?
60k a month for two? No problem as long you don't have expensive tastes.
However, I'd be more aware of how much money this good old country wants you to show/bring in every month to get your visa, in years ahead.

[Big Boy]

Could you let on as to the Price at the Pumps in the UK now, might make me feel a lttle better.

Personally I think Thailand is becoming more expensive irrespective of how busy the town is.

BEERBELLY,

I currently pay 94.9p per litre, although you can pay over the pound per litre if you look hard enough. they are predicting a substantial rise within the next 4 weeks though.

[Vital Spark]

OK, K. here's another kind of guide. Both Parhandy and I work here, but we can generally live on one salary (we put aside the other for emergencies and trips back home). One salary is nudging 30K a month. We only pay 2,000 baht a month rent, we like drinking beer (three large bottles for 110baht), and one of us smokes. We don't go to expensive restaurants or farang bars in Hua Hin. We buy local produce at talat nats (daily markets) and do our own cooking.

We have a lovely lifestyle here - and occasionally have to dip into the reserve fund if the car has a problem, or the computer goes dippy.

Mind you, if you have a swimming pool, maid, gardener etc. your outgoings are going to be considerbly more. We pay a man 500 baht to cut our rather large garden when it gets to waist height (once every two months in the rainy season).

Hope this helps - and remember, if you go 'Thai style' your cost of living will be considerably lower. Also learning a bit of the lingo will help you out in the local markets and get you a reduced rate for other jobs.

VS

[PeteC]

Hope this helps - and remember, if you go 'Thai style' your cost of living will be considerably lower. VS

So true. I don't eat out in Thai markets as much as I used to. Had to get the truck serviced yesterday morning and went for breakfast while I was waiting. Kowpad gung (shrimp) and a bottle of coke for 45 baht. 8 medium size shrimp in there as well!

You could eat 3 healthy meals a day for let's say 200 Baht in a typical Thai market, including tip. That's $6.06 or 2.94 Pounds at today's rate.

Extend that out to everyday for a year and you have 73,000/2,212/1,073.

We would probably a lot healthier, more fit and thinner than most of us are now as well.

Now, as the average Thai only makes about 300 Baht per day and has to pay rent, utilities and eat on that, by shopping in a Thai market and taking home to cook, you could probably cut that in half to 36500/1106/537.

Some of you have probably been to a company dinner with 10 people or so that cost that much. Pete

[lomuamart]

The thing that concerns me is not so much the cost of living here. Prices are going up, as they inevitably will. Rent, bills, food, beer, cigarettes are generally not a problem though.
What does concern me, however, is the cost of remaining legal - the visas/extensions.
Just how far, over time, will the government push the threshold up before it starts seeing a genuine decline in ex-pat numbers?
When I came here 9 years ago, I'd do visa runs (30 day or tourist) all the time. Now I'm married and supposedly on a more solid footing visa wise, Imm are telling me that they want to see my income coming into Thailand. On principle, as I've said before, I don't see that anyone should be telling me about where I should do my banking.
Nevertheless, if push comes to the shove, then I'll ditch my principles and do the transfers.
However, what happens to me if in 10 years time the government are asking for twice the amount of funds to get a visa?
That's what worries me now, because there could come a time where I simply can't afford to show the money necessary to get another year's extension, despite the fact that my wife and I could live here quite happily.
Where does that leave us then?
Just food for thought. Certainly consider the cost of living, but most definitely also take into account the cost of your visa - unless you want to be doing visa runs at 60 years old+++ (and maybe I will be?).

[PeteC]

I don't know LOMU, maybe I'm forever the optimist about certain things here and immigration is one of the few.

I've been waiting almost 40 years now for the thinking to become more progressive. I see certain signs that it is with this younger generation who hopefully will have more power in government after this election than they did before. Not control, just greater numbers eventually leading to control, I hope. The old guard is just that and I think they are fading away.

As I mentioned in another post, I saw changes in Bangkok after not being there for any significant time for almost 2 years. More efficiency, more attention to detail, a sense of urgency...change as compared to before.

With immigration I think they know they've already reached the level where they are in control again, after losing it for so many years through visa loopholes and poor enforcement.

The aforementioned 'new guard', is more in tune with the global village philosophy. That should include reasonable qualifications for a farang to stay here, not implementing something new to drive them away.

I think the banking issue now is still out of fear that at least they have some financial leverage over a farang, if they should need some leverage against him.

Banking is being opened up within 5 years for foreign banks. Visa fees I would think would only increase due to inflation, not persecution. I hope I'm right. Pete

[lomuamart]

Spot on Pete,
So do I.