How much to live on in Pattaya?

[carlew 0]

How much do you think you would need each month to live on in Pattaya gentlemen?That is to say you are semi retired.Whether you buy accommadation outright or just rent?I would have to be reasonably comfortable to be able to do what I want when I want.If I were to live like shit I may as well stay home and keep working.

[OnMyWay 0]

Carl,

 

Please spare us.....and have mercy with this topic!

 

Welcome to the board. PLEASE do us all a favor and just do a serch on this topic using the "search" button. This topic gets beat up about every 3 days on here. Absolutley TONS of info and threads on this....just do a search.

 

I'll try and help you...4 posts under yours is on costs to live in Pattaya. Just 4 lines down and in the exact same section you just posted in RIGHT HERE!

 

Cheers,

Mark

Edited December 28, 2005 by OnMyWay

[Larryst 7]

OnMyWay. Thanks. You said it all. The same topic is usually posted almost every 2 weeks.

[MrMango 672]

I am moving to Pattaya the end of January, and I am semi retarded (Oops, I meant Retired).

 

I will post my exact costs for the first full month, if anybody is interested.

[Dungheap 243]

OK, but　how many minutes is short time???

 

Please try the search function.

[Eneukman 1]

How much do you think you would need each month to live on in Pattaya gentlemen?That is to say you are semi retired.Whether you buy accommadation outright or just rent?I would have to be reasonably comfortable to be able to do what I want when I want.If I were to live like shit I may as well stay home and keep working.

I started a topic on this thread back in October. I was going to post a link to it but CSLoxinfo dial up is so fucking slow that I got fed up waiting for the search function here to provide the links that I just gave up.

 

My costs for September were just under 70,000 baht but I reckon on around 80,000 baht per month to be more realistic. Of course, much depends on how you intend spending your evenings. I plan, on average, barfining a girl every 3 nights, eat out every night (mainly Thai food but one night a week Farang food).

 

My aim, (yet to be achieved ) is only to go out for a drink when I'm going to barfine a girl from somewhere.

 

Where do you want to stay? Are you happy with a studio off the beaten track or do you, like me, prefer a 1 bedroomed condo on the baht bus route?

 

There are many variables to this question and what I did when first contemplating a move here was to look at all the expense categories and calculate roughly how much I would spend on each based on knowledge gained from previous visits.

 

The other question you need to ask yourself is - what will your income be?. That is to my mind, the MOST important question anyone thinking of retiring here to live must ask themselves. Then, based on your own previous experiences decide on what you can afford to spend. If expenditure exceeds income carry on with the day job.

 

Are you old enough to qualify for a retirement visa? If not, you will have to allow for visa runs plus trips back home to renew your non-Immigrant O visa.

 

If anyone is thinking about retiring to Thailand to live, I'm more than happy to meet up for a beer or three to discuss costs etc.

 

Incidentally, I got my electric bill today and thanks to the almost non-existant use of the aircon over the last few weeks it came in at 639 baht. It has in the past been at least double that figure. The bedroom only has a ceiling fan, which is on most nights for 9 - 10 hours and that bill was slightly higher than anticipated but not by enough to cause me any concern.

 

Alan

[Owen` 2]

My aim, (yet to be achieved grin2.gif ) is only to go out for a drink when I'm going to barfine a girl from somewhere.

 

There is just something about this topic that refuses to stop. Somehow there has to be some kind of consolidation.

 

But referring to Eneukman's quote above . . . I'm coming to believe that this defines a lot about why this topic keeps arising.

 

We really REALLY need to define categories of retirement. I'll offer 3:

 

1) The desire for available women has led men to Pattaya. The prices are low. They are willing to sacrifice various things in life to be in Pattaya. They will live an absolute barebones existance just to be in Pattaya. This category of existance . . . for 20 years perhaps, costs XXXX baht per month in 2005 and inflation is totally unestimated.

 

2) Perhaps this is Eneukman's category. He wants a comfortable life, spends what he needs to spend for comfort and pays attention to outflow. Meaning, he budgets, but it is a comfortable budget. This category is XXXX baht per month in 2005 and Eneukman has spoken on this subject before so I know he has some sort of estimate of future inflation for whatever number of years he wants in Pattaya.

 

3) This category of person wants a life of relative luxury. Pattaya's weather, expense and women bring luxury within reach rather than mere comfort. This category of person may have only a winter residence in Pattaya and is elsewhere for part of the year. This person expects to spend XXXXX baht per month and has an estimate for future inflation built into his projections.

 

Given those 3 categories, however, an absolutely critical factor that can move the numbers for each a great deal is simply how much drinking and barfining is intended at beer bars and Go Gos. I think someone estimated 2000 baht for a night of socializing, LDing, bar fining and LT. That would be a mid scale beer bar TG.

 

Well guys, multiply that by 30 and you're down 60K baht for the month before all your other numbers arrive. So category 1, 2 or 3 can be nudged a lot depending on the individual guy's sexdrive. The point is . . . can someone go get a girl whenever he WANTS one. If he wants one every other day, the 60K becomes 30K. If every third day then 20K. The point being that one's wants would, in a perfect Pattaya semi-retirement, define this frequency. Not one's budget.

[Emil 0]

Well guys, multiply that by 30 and you're down 60K baht for the month before all your other numbers arrive. So category 1, 2 or 3 can be nudged a lot depending on the individual guy's sexdrive. The point is . . . can someone go get a girl whenever he WANTS one. If he wants one every other day, the 60K becomes 30K. If every third day then 20K. The point being that one's wants would, in a perfect Pattaya semi-retirement, define this frequency. Not one's budget.

There are many more variables. One can have as much sex as he can handle for 10k a month if he's happy with a live in TGF. If your not happy with only one partner, and once you lived there for awhile, you can build up a list of BG's cell phone numbers and from between 500-1000 baht you can have them over before work or after work. In this case your cost would be between 15K and 30K.

[BigDUSA 71]

Barebones existence for 20K per month. Kick it to 30K and you can go out a couple of nights a week. Anything above 40K and the living easy. That's assuming your a cheap Charley and can manage a tight budget.

[Sa-teef 44]

"That's assuming your a cheap Charley and can manage a tight budget. "

 

Many of us are waiting for your book to come out, BigD!

 

Those royalty checks can keep you in beer as well I guess............

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Sa-teef

[jtiger 9]

While this topic does come up on a regular basis I learn something each time from the replies I read (except those replies that only note that this question has been posted before since I already know this).

 

It's true that there is a wealth of knowledge on this subject but it seems that we have at least one board member a month taking the plunge and retiring to Pattaya and I like it that this recurring topic gives them a chance to talk about what they've learned from their experience.

[roderick17 0]

I agree with you Tiger. I like reading posts about retirement planning and how much it will cost to spend time in LOS. Tiger is very right on this point , I also discern bits of interesting information with each new post on this subject. When I piece all of this information together, I too will join the throng and head to Pattaya to spend time.

 

In the meantime, I'm going off to Iraq to work out one more contract before I finally move to the Land of Smiles.

 

James

[Owen` 2]

Well, maybe you guys are right and we are adding some tidbits to the body of board knowledge with each thread.

 

Which would explain why we talk about searching for other threads but still hang out on each new one.

[MrMango 672]

I started a topic on this thread back in October. I was going to post a link to it but CSLoxinfo dial up is so fucking slow that I got fed up waiting for the search function here to provide the links that I just gave up.

 

My costs for September were just under 70,000 baht but I reckon on around 80,000 baht per month to be more realistic. Of course, much depends on how you intend spending your evenings. I plan, on average, barfining a girl every 3 nights, eat out every night (mainly Thai food but one night a week Farang food).

 

My aim, (yet to be achieved ) is only to go out for a drink when I'm going to barfine a girl from somewhere.

 

Where do you want to stay? Are you happy with a studio off the beaten track or do you, like me, prefer a 1 bedroomed condo on the baht bus route?

 

There are many variables to this question and what I did when first contemplating a move here was to look at all the expense categories and calculate roughly how much I would spend on each based on knowledge gained from previous visits.

 

The other question you need to ask yourself is - what will your income be?. That is to my mind, the MOST important question anyone thinking of retiring here to live must ask themselves. Then, based on your own previous experiences decide on what you can afford to spend. If expenditure exceeds income carry on with the day job.

 

Are you old enough to qualify for a retirement visa? If not, you will have to allow for visa runs plus trips back home to renew your non-Immigrant O visa.

 

If anyone is thinking about retiring to Thailand to live, I'm more than happy to meet up for a beer or three to discuss costs etc.

 

Incidentally, I got my electric bill today and thanks to the almost non-existant use of the aircon over the last few weeks it came in at 639 baht. It has in the past been at least double that figure. The bedroom only has a ceiling fan, which is on most nights for 9 - 10 hours and that bill was slightly higher than anticipated but not by enough to cause me any concern.

 

Alan

For me, short time is 30 seconds.

 

I ran into a whore in Las Vegas. She showed her tits, and said "You can have all of me for $200 per hour...

 

I said great - I'll take 30 seconds worth..

[Eneukman 1]

Right, here's the link to my thread from the beginning of Octber. Got to it in no time today so don't what was up yesterday apart from CSLoxinfo going slow.

 

http://www.pattayatalk.com/forums/index.ph...18188&hl=budget

 

Alan

[wacmedia 277]

Hi

 

LOS is great for us more mature gentlemen. We can find acceptable company for a smaller cost than farangland. Once you reach a certain age in farangland pretty women are hard to get and they will give you lots of trouble on the odd occasion you meet one. That's why most boardies would rather stay in Thailand if at all possible.

[Emil 0]

While this topic does come up on a regular basis I learn something each time from the replies I read (except those replies that only note that this question has been posted before since I already know this).

I agree that there is probably additional knowledge gained each time this question comes up although there is no correct answer to the question.

 

But you would think that if the question has already been asked just four posts below, you would read that post, afterall the answers would not have changed much in the last few hours. At least wait until the topic goes to page 2.

 

I think the topics started by the board members who are posting their actual living costs, like Soi 7 and Alan, are much more beneficial as it gives you an idea of what one can get by on based on how that person is living.

[Owen` 2]

I think the topics started by the board members who are posting their actual living costs, like Soi 7 and Alan, are much more beneficial as it gives you an idea of what one can get by on based on how that person is living.

 

They are beneficial, but now it's been done.

 

Here's my want-to-have. I want to know what people in various age groups and levels of . . . life spend to achieve those different levels of lifestyle. We all have our own desired lifestyle. Each person that posts what they spent does indeed fill in a piece of the jigsaw puzzle, but what is now happening is a lot of guys are filling in the same piece already filled.

 

I recall being curious about how much travel guys were doing in their quoted budget. I was thinking in terms of 3 day weekends to Singapore or Hong Kong. When I asked what travel was in various budgets, the reply is to describe where they went in Thailand. This is good, solid, data, but we already had it because many guys talk about going to and fro within Thailand.

 

A byproduct of this is asking questions like "How many vacations do you take a year?" and getting the reply, I'm on vacation all the time.

 

This is true, of course, but it isn't answering the question asked in that the word itself "vacation" is being interpreted differently by different people.

 

Maybe there's no way to accelerate this process. We just have to keep reading these threads until someone who is pursuing a lifestyle that sounds like what I wants posts the desired data.

 

Oh, one other want-to-have, and this is important. Way too many posts are now reporting just 1 month of expenses. I know the guys are rational and trying to be helpful and make an assessment of how typical that month was, but it's a year that matters to someone contemplating relocation, not a month.

[Emil 0]

They are beneficial, but now it's been done.

 

Here's my want-to-have. I want to know what people in various age groups and levels of . . . life spend to achieve those different levels of lifestyle. We all have our own desired lifestyle. Each person that posts what they spent does indeed fill in a piece of the jigsaw puzzle, but what is now happening is a lot of guys are filling in the same piece already filled.

 

I recall being curious about how much travel guys were doing in their quoted budget. I was thinking in terms of 3 day weekends to Singapore or Hong Kong. When I asked what travel was in various budgets, the reply is to describe where they went in Thailand. This is good, solid, data, but we already had it because many guys talk about going to and fro within Thailand.

 

A byproduct of this is asking questions like "How many vacations do you take a year?" and getting the reply, I'm on vacation all the time.

 

This is true, of course, but it isn't answering the question asked in that the word itself "vacation" is being interpreted differently by different people.

 

Maybe there's no way to accelerate this process. We just have to keep reading these threads until someone who is pursuing a lifestyle that sounds like what I wants posts the desired data.

 

Oh, one other want-to-have, and this is important. Way too many posts are now reporting just 1 month of expenses. I know the guys are rational and trying to be helpful and make an assessment of how typical that month was, but it's a year that matters to someone contemplating relocation, not a month.

Since there are numerous variables in determining what it cost to live anywhere such as purchasing a place in Pattaya can run from as low as $7,500 to $1,000,000 USD, reading numerous posts on what others spend and trying to determine if their lifestyle matches exactly what you desire could be endless. Wouldn't it be much easier to determine what lifestyle you desire and price it out? The questions one would then ask is how much each item cost if they didn't know and are there any secrets to getting it cheaper.

[Owen` 2]

Since there are numerous variables in determining what it cost to live anywhere such as purchasing a place in Pattaya can run from as low as $7,500 to $1,000,000 USD, reading numerous posts on what others spend and trying to determine if their lifestyle matches exactly what you desire could be endless. Wouldn't it be much easier to determine what lifestyle you desire and price it out? The questions one would then ask is how much each item cost if they didn't know and are there any secrets to getting it cheaper.

 

Maybe. OTOH, the problem is not Pattaya's alone. Lots of folks everywhere are trying to figure out what lifestyle they want in retirement. The world's demographics is making this a very popular concern right now.

 

Meaning . . . it's a two step process. Figuring out what lifestyle you want and then stumbling onto what someone else who is living that lifestyle in Pattaya is spending to achieve it.

 

This sort of gets in the way of pricing out individual parts of the lifestyle. Some part that is more expensive than expected can be easily jettisoned if the lifestyle choice wasn't certain to begin with.

 

Anyway, one thing at a time. We need yearly data, not monthly.

[Emil 0]

Maybe. OTOH, the problem is not Pattaya's alone. Lots of folks everywhere are trying to figure out what lifestyle they want in retirement. The world's demographics is making this a very popular concern right now.

 

Meaning . . . it's a two step process. Figuring out what lifestyle you want and then stumbling onto what someone else who is living that lifestyle in Pattaya is spending to achieve it.

 

This sort of gets in the way of pricing out individual parts of the lifestyle. Some part that is more expensive than expected can be easily jettisoned if the lifestyle choice wasn't certain to begin with.

 

Anyway, one thing at a time. We need yearly data, not monthly.

Its not only retirement as most people have trouble with their lifestyle and living within their income before retirement at least in the US as shown by home foreclosures, automobile repossessions, defaults on credit cards and bankruptcies.

 

I doubt you'll ever find someone who mirrors exactly how you want to live. Identifiing your costs and then pricing them out is not that difficult and its the most accurate. But as the saying goes in LOS, if you want to spend your time reading about what others spend, up to you.

[jtiger 9]

One think I'm curious about is how much money do the people who've retired here have socked away to support their retirement. I suspect this is too personal a question to ask most folks.

I've read here that if you can live on 4% of your savings then you can afford to retire as you can earn that much investing the money and you can live off the interest and not touch the nest egg.

That's theortical.. but I'm interested in the practical. Do people cut it that close in practice?

My situation is complicated by having to wait 12 years before I can tap into a big chunk of my assests without penalty.

[Rex7777 0]

JTiger,

 

One big factor is whether people intend to spend down their capital or not. Do you intend to die penniless, or would you like to leave an inheritance for your kids, if you have any? It can make a huge difference. I'll have a pension, a 401K that I can tap at age 59 1/2, and a pile of money. Plus some money in a trust I'll eventually get my hands on (in the next ten years or so). I can do just fine simply off the interest, or, I can do really really well every month if I intend to spend it all. As I don't have any kids that I know about, I might do just that. But how long will I live? 65? 75? 85?

That's a major question.

 

Rex

[Owen` 2]

  One think I'm curious about is how much money do the people who've retired here have socked away to support their retirement. I suspect this is too personal a question to ask most folks.

I've read here that if you can live on 4% of your savings then you can afford to retire as you can earn that much investing the money and you can live off the interest and not touch the nest egg.

That's theortical.. but I'm interested in the practical. Do people cut it that close in practice?

My situation is complicated by having to wait 12 years before I can tap into a big chunk of my assests without penalty.

 

The 4% rule is statistical.

 

What was done was 130 years of data were gathered and broken up into 30 yr periods. An assumption of 50/50 asset mix was made of stocks shares and bonds.

 

It was found that if someone yanked 4% of their assets out in year 1 of retirement, with each successive year having an inflationary "pay raise" applied, then 100% of the 30 year periods did not run out of money. If 5% was yanked out, about 90% of the 30 yr periods did not run out of money.

 

This means a millionaire only gets to spend $50K per year.

 

The determining factor in a successful 30 yr period vs unsuccessful is if the year you retire the markets decline sharply and kill off your assets before they have a chance to grow further. If this happens, your yearly expense withdrawl will erase your total before you die. If the markets are flat or up the first few years of retirement, then you'll be in the 90% of 30 yr periods that didn't run out.

 

Note that this study did NOT factor in the appearance of some kind of Social Security beneft at age 66 or 67 or whatever -- and a decline in expenditures due to Medicare kicking in and reducing your medical expenses.

 

Right now, at this point in time, the thing that makes this calculation difficult is probably most retirees are getting pensions -- even in their 50's. They are not relying strictly on their own assets for income. There is significant danger in this given recent erasures of pension plans and stealth erasures like cutting the yearly inflationary increase, but regardless of this, pensions are funding most current retirees.

 

It is assets that will fund most future retirees as pensions become a thing of the past.

 

As for 12 yrs before you can touch your 401K or IRAs, well, that's what assets outside retirement vehicles are for. YOu spend them first, do a small yearly conversion of traditional IRA to Roth (keeping the amount convereted low enough to avoid taxes), and when you reach 59.5, start drawing on retirement vehicles.

[Emil 0]

JTiger,

 

One big factor is whether people intend to spend down their capital or not. Do you intend to die penniless, or would you like to leave an inheritance for your kids, if you have any? It can make a huge difference. I'll have a pension, a 401K that I can tap at age 59 1/2, and a pile of money. Plus some money in a trust I'll eventually get my hands on (in the next ten years or so). I can do just fine simply off the interest, or, I can do really really well every month if I intend to spend it all. As I don't have any kids that I know about, I might do just that. But how long will I live? 65? 75? 85?

That's a major question.

 

Rex

You'll probably want to tap into the principle at the beginning as you'll be shagging more BGs when your 65 than when your 85. When your 85 you'll probably get by on the interest or less.