Expensive in Hua Hin ??

[hhfarang]

By the way, SJ, I hated the weather in Florida too. Even though it was much milder than here, especially between November and April, it was still always much too hot and humid for me after living in central/northern California for 14 years... (I only say this because I know how you like my comments on the weather here).

[migrant]

My property taxes there were much more than here, not as much as you suggest though. Mine were $300 USD per month on a $300k+ home... about the cost of 3 rounds of golf here so with the cheaper golf there, that could even out, and yes, home insurance was also about $200 per month there, but is not required if you don't have a mortgage.

That's a fair old whack mate, about 35% of many farangs 50k Baht monthly outgoings here.

Looks much nicer there mind, if it had the ladies

SJ

One thing my Thai wife still marvels at (even after 14 years here) is property taxes. Ours run around $400 per month.

It sure appears everyone's budget is different. Some seem to find Hua Hin expensive, others cheap, guess it's all in the lifestyle, home, etc.

For me, with a late in life divorce, I'd have to work here for 10-12 years in order to pay off my mortgage and rebuild my savings enough to afford a good lifestyle here in California. At 52 it's not a terrible thing, but retirement in 2-3 years sounds so much better

[hhfarang]

Yes Migrant,

California was a much more expensive place to live than either Florida or Tennessee (the other two places I lived in the U.S.) or here. I would love to live in that state but if I came back I would have to live somewhere in the south probably where it is cheaper or maybe a small town in northern Cal.

It all depends on how you feel about your job. Mine wasn't the most interesting in the world, but I wasn't dying to get away from it either. I could have worked another 5 years (past 55) and would have been much better prepared for retirement.

Just figure out what you think your retirement budget is, and then double it, because it's always more than you think it's going to be, plus, if you're like me, prices of everything go up year after year but my pension stays stagnant (actually has gone down about 25% in purchasing power since moving here due to the exchange rate).

[migrant]

Yes Migrant,

California was a much more expensive place to live than either Florida or Tennessee (the other two places I lived in the U.S.) or here. I would love to live in that state but if I came back I would have to live somewhere in the south probably where it is cheaper or maybe a small town in northern Cal.

It all depends on how you feel about your job. Mine wasn't the most interesting in the world, but I wasn't dying to get away from it either. I could have worked another 5 years (past 55) and would have been much better prepared for retirement.

Just figure out what you think your retirement budget is, and then double it, because it's always more than you think it's going to be, plus, if you're like me, prices of everything go up year after year but my pension stays stagnant (actually has gone down about 25% in purchasing power since moving here due to the exchange rate).

You're right! That's why retirement is scary, especially in light of recent economic developments. Luckily I can always find a 3 month job here during tax season at a pretty lucrative rate. But saying that, I want to make sure, I see too many retirees as clients, that are on tight budgets and I don't want to be one.

I could sell my practice today and live, according to my budget, comfortably, but as you found out in the currency fluctuations, I want to be as sure as possible.

[Mork]

I'm fairly new to Huahin....been living here since Nov 2008. I am not a golfer and don't eat out that often any more. I do buy the best food I can find and we cook it at home. I buy a few bottles of liquor every month and I have a beer or two most days. I decided not to bother buying a car because there is no place to park it when I go out anyway. We have two new motorbikes and I just rent a pickup truck once in a while when we want to go somewhere distant or to do a big shopping trip to Makro. I have never been without a car since I was about 16...but strangely enough I don't miss it the way I always thought I would. I did manage to get a pretty good deal on a house rental at 8,000Thb a month (other identical houses are renting at 15-20K a month) We have A/C, landline phone, hi-speed internet and all the TV channels anyone would need. I seem to be spending about 45,000Thb a month (5,300 of which is quality health insurance for 2)
How do you guys think I'm doing? I'm always curious about what others spend living here...but I have no desire to compete with the guys who have to golf every day and go to the course in a Mercedes. One thing I find expensive here is wine. I've had to lower my standards a bit.. and drink that South Afican stuff you buy in 5 liter boxes....but I think it can be survived..

[pitsch]

I live about the same style since Nov. 2007, but I have built a house and bought a car from the capitalization of my pension fund. Now my missus and I live on about 55 000 Baht/month (7000 are monthly costs concerning house and pool, 8000 my health imsurance, because I am over 65). The car with full insurance is about 5000/month.

With the same standard of living I would spend 4-5 times as much in Switzerland (the most expensive country of central Europe). As long as you have a job there it is fine, because you earn a lot of money (the minimum wage of supermarket personnel is about 3000 Dollar/month), but at the end of the month you have not much left. Houses are extremely expensive. I bought an apartment with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom for 400 000 Dollar (not in a town). Now it belongs to my ex-wife.

So I think I will never go back, because I would have a much, much lower standard of living, but you should never say never again.

[JimmyGreaves]

Yes Migrant,

California was a much more expensive place to live than either Florida or Tennessee (the other two places I lived in the U.S.) or here. I would love to live in that state but if I came back I would have to live somewhere in the south probably where it is cheaper or maybe a small town in northern Cal.

It all depends on how you feel about your job. Mine wasn't the most interesting in the world, but I wasn't dying to get away from it either. I could have worked another 5 years (past 55) and would have been much better prepared for retirement.

Just figure out what you think your retirement budget is, and then double it, because it's always more than you think it's going to be, plus, if you're like me, prices of everything go up year after year but my pension stays stagnant (actually has gone down about 25% in purchasing power since moving here due to the exchange rate).

You're right! That's why retirement is scary, especially in light of recent economic developments. Luckily I can always find a 3 month job here during tax season at a pretty lucrative rate. But saying that, I want to make sure, I see too many retirees as clients, that are on tight budgets and I don't want to be one.

I could sell my practice today and live, according to my budget, comfortably, but as you found out in the currency fluctuations, I want to be as sure as possible.

The problem with wanting to be as sure as possible is that you wait and wait and then finally wish you had done it sooner or something happens that stops you. It's a fine balance if you are not loaded. You can calculate you live till 90 or 80 or 70 etc etc but who knows what tomorrow has waiting! It's not only currency fluctuations you may have to worry aboui it's wars, politics and many other variables that can hit. So get your 'peace' of happiness whilst you can. 4 + years here already and the place is unrecognisable from day 1

[Pundi64]

All the courses are waaaaaaaaaaay to greedy here in Hua Hin, their Karma will follow if they do not get real with prices.

[JimmyGreaves]

The car with full insurance is about 5000/month.

That insurance figure seems very high 60K a year.

[Wanderlust]

I assumed that figure was paying for the car (monthly repayments) plus insurance. Good car insurance can be obtained for not much over 20k a year, and basic insurance for much less.

[hhfarang]

pitsch wrote:

The car with full insurance is about 5000/month.

JimmyGreaves wrote:

That insurance figure seems very high 60K a year.

I think pitsch must be including other costs like a finance payment. Our cars are insured with a very high coverage, and no deductible. We even get little door dings and rock chips fixed free of cost to us and ours runs about 22k per year per car.

[Big Boy]

I assumed that figure was paying for the car (monthly repayments) plus insurance. Good car insurance can be obtained for not much over 20k a year, and basic insurance for much less.

Even 20K sounds a lot - could you define 'Good' and 'Basic' please.

My simple mind is thinking Good = Fully Comprehensive; and Basic = Third Party, Fire & Theft.

[T.I.G.R.]

This has been interesting reading, and obviously many different approaches to living and what costs matter to each individual. It seems there are as many of your wishing or thinking about living here as there are of us actually doing so. These numbers might be relative to your situation or not but I hope you'll find them useful and/or interesting. We moved here in Aug 2006 so these numbers are pretty solid.

I've calculated all expenses monthly in Thai Baht at 34/1 US


Cost of 247 sq. mtr. condo in Cha Am, 3 br. 4bath absolute beach-front 8,000,000 bht

Northern Calif , 3br 2bath, 190 sq mtr. in gated golf community (not on the course) 16,500,000 bht (Price today about 12,000,000 bht, but that's another story)

Comparative costs of similar beachside housing in the U.S. would be a couple of million dollars at least.

Comparative cost in Thailand of U.S. Golf resort house would be about the same.

Mortgage expense: Cha Am ZERO Calif 73,300 bht per month
($350K mtg. at 30 yrs, 5.25%)

Cost of new Ford Escape in Calif. 918,000 bht
Cost of ONE identical car in Thailand 1,400,000 bht

Cost of one 2 year old Acura 3.2TL in Calif. 750,000 bht

Property taxes: Here ZERO Calif. 17,000 bht a month

Car and Home insurance: Here 2,500 bht Calif. 7,000 bht

Auto gasoline Here 2,500 bht Calif. about the same

Television, platinum pkg Here 2,000 bht Calif 4,000 bht

Health Ins. Not available here at my age, on Medicare in the U.S.....all in all probably a bit cheaper here and certainly service is faster and cheaper when you have to go to Hua Hin Hospital (which I highly recommend for normal stuff)

Phone/Internet Here 1,170 bht Calif 2,300 bht

Condo Mtce Exp Here 5,000 bht Calif n/a

Utilities Here 1,600 bht Calif 8,000 bht

Food Here 10,000 bht Calif about the same

Golf expenses Here 14,000 Calif same

Totaling that all up, it costs about 40,000 baht here for monthly expenses and 62,000 in California, excluding health ins.

Health costs are hard to figure apples to apples but I just had minor surgery at Bumrungrad with a total cost for one night and surgery of about 16,000 bht including food and small hotel for three days.

That was done with a Saturday internet appointment placing for Monday......two doctors, one CAT Scan, one MRI, Surgery plus Anesthesia, shared hospital room one night......home on Thursday afternoon. Try that in the U.S. , it would take you two weeks just to get the MRI and CAT Scan, and another month or so waiting for the Surgery.

What these numbers don't tell you is you can live here 365 days a year and never be cold, play golf each and every day even if it rains, and I haven't had a sniffle in three years.

The thrill has long ago worn off, but when we first moved here we would look out the window and pinch each other because we were actually living in paradise and couldn't believe our good fortune. I can't find a single reason to think it wouldn't be the same if we were moving here today.......

[PeteC]

Excellent post TIGR. Pete

[pitsch]

pitsch wrote:

The car with full insurance is about 5000/month.

JimmyGreaves wrote:

That insurance figure seems very high 60K a year.

I think pitsch must be including other costs like a finance payment. Our cars are insured with a very high coverage, and no deductible. We even get little door dings and rock chips fixed free of cost to us and ours runs about 22k per year per car.

Actually the 5000/month is, what the fully paid car costs me on insurance (26k a year), tax, service and, most part of it, gasoline for about 15 000 km/year.