Cost off living.

[doolish 14]

Hi,

Bought a house in Udon last Dec. moved in towards end of Jan. When I was buying the house i was told by a lot of people to rent first and buy after if i liked it. I'm glad now I didn't take that advice because I got 70B to the UK pound in begining of Dec, and on enquiring at the bank yesterday was told the exchange rate was 67B to the pound. On 15,000 thats 45,000B lost. The other thing is that the cost of the same house has rose by 200,000B and the price does not include furn.,aircon, hotwater, fridge, cooker, taxes etc. which was included when I bought. The house I bought was one of the first six build on a new estate and they were offering all kinds of encentives to get them occupied, They even tiled the car port when I asked them to, the first real bargain i've ever been lucky enough to get.

I've had some of the usual monthly bills in. I'm living with my Thai girlfriend and her 14 year old daughter. The water cost 93B for a month and the electric 625B. the security and refuse collection cost 100B a month.

I've had a free to view sat dish installed and that cost 16,000B to get up and running on two T.V's. The only trouble I had was the telephone and internet. It took me four weeks to get it working correctly.

We are living good on 100pound a week and she is saving 5,000B a month for when we want something special. This includes all bills, including insurances, school bills, clothing etc.

To anybody who is thinking of settling in Thailand i'd say go for it. I spent over 4 months in Pattaya and was thinking of getting a place there but i'm glad I picked Udon. Pattaya was really getting me down and I was starting to hate it. No flaming please, it my feelings, but its like working in a sweet factory the first two weeks you make a pig of yourself and after that you settle down. Also being in a beer bar and the smell coming from the drains, and the water shortages.

Cheers Doug.

[Johny5 0]

thanks for the info, maybe you could expand on your budget in greater detail, i think there are a lot of people who would be of interest.

[JohnnyK 28]

nice one doug, always good to get a deal especially on something like a house.

sounds like you are enjoying life!

well done!

[windynoi 0]

thanks for the info, maybe you could expand on your budget in greater detail, i think there are a lot of people who would be of interest.

Yeh I agree, if its not too personal, and some pics of the house and area would also be great

[BillWilson 10]

D

Good luck you you mate

Sounds like you have it pretty good!

You may get a bit of flame, but having a nice home, a quite life with a good woman is what alot of us really think ( when thinking with the big head anyway !)

 

i agree, photos and more money detail would be nice

 

r

[doolish 14]

Hi,

Thanks for your support, my head is still going round in circles now so if you could give me a couple of weeks i'll try and post some pics. but knowing me i might need more than one try.

I've not had my phone bill yet, but it cost 5,000B for phone installation and 1,000B for internet. For this you get a telephone, a adsl modem a splitter and all cables. The phone company TT&T installed it all and even set up your computer. I believe the adsl con. for a 256k line is about 600B a month and the 512k line 700B a month, this is for 24Hr usage The tele line is the same number but can still be used while using the internet, you can get two sperate numbers if you want but this costs more and is not neccesary. I'll let you know when I get my first bill. When I drink in Udon a bottle of Chang beer is about 35B and food is very cheap.

Cheers Doug.

[chumway 0]

I thought frangs could only buy condos. I would be interested in knowing how you were able to buy a house. Great bargain by the way, hope you and your girl have happy times in Udon.

[JollyMan 0]

Doug

You have made the right decision I came to Thailand just over four years ago and now live in Phetchabun in my own house (in wifes name - divorce settlement up front) re the internet the 512/256 is so much better for not a lot of cost, the land line phone calls cost 3baht connection and the monthly rent is 100baht but watch out for friends and family using the land line especially for premium rate calls, they are bloody dear. On the internet do you use Skype because if not it is brilliant and better than the phone for making calls to UK. Have a think about a drinking water tank rain water is beautiful and you collect it off the roof of your house for free. I put mine in a 20lt bottle and through one of the cold water dispensers. £100 a week is plenty in the villages in fact more than enough I know a friend that lives in korat he has no car mind and he says £50 is all he can spend in the village in a week.

All the best

Mervyn

[doolish 14]

Hi,

Chumway, you can buy a house but can not own land. There are a few ways around it but being a old lazy bugger the missus got the land in her name and i got a 30year lease from her, i'm 66 now so if i'm around in 30 years time i will think myself lucky and will have had a good innings. By the way farang's are only allowed to own a percentage of condos in a complex if it is above a certain size, I do not remember the excact details but you have to be careful. The powers to be used to be lax on this but from my experrences in looking to buy a condo last year they have tightened up

mgc, thank for the info i've not had my bill yet from TT&T for phone and internet but there paperwork say that the internet is connected 24 hours a day and the charge is 580B per month for 256 and 680B per month for 512 and there is no extra charges. Being a cheap charlie I opted for the 256 which I find O.K. The land line phone, I got a code to block all outgoing calls, having a teenager in the house i thought this is the best way.

Cheers Doug.

[JollyMan 0]

Just asked wife and my internet costs 845baht including Tax that's the 512/256

Just remember Skype it too cuts the bills down