Updated cost of living in Pattaya ????

[Owen` 2]

Pay attention to Eneukman's numbers. He has many excellent budget analyses in the archives.

 

As has been said many times, the bulk of expected Pattaya spending ON RETIREMENT (NOT vacation), is housing and bars/bargirls. If a condo is rented at 25ishK/month, and you spend 2000 on women about 3X per week, that is

 

24,000 baht rent

2000 baht X 3/week X 4weeks/month = 24,000/mo on drinking/women

 

That is 48,000 per month for the bulk items. Food, utilities, incidentals, medical insurance add to other numbers guys have posted over the last several months. Here is a compilation of monthly RETIREMENT (NOT vacation) expenditures from various posts:

 

Maid Service

1000

 

Medical Insurance

5500

 

Utilities

7000

includes power, water, condo fee (trash pickup), internet and vonage

 

LongTermStorage

3000

this is for storing your stuff back in the home country, if you have none, good

 

Overall Travel

25000

this is 4 singapore-level trips per year + 2 major trips per year

 

Gifts

3850

gifts for family back in home country, Christmas or whatever

 

General Transport

1800

General getting around, bahtbus, taxi to airport, whatever

 

Incidentals

10,000

Food, Periodic computer upgrades, digicam upgrades, TVs, books, toys

 

---------

57150

 

horrible formatting, sorry

 

The sum is 105,000 baht per month for what is a quite good lifestyle with a great deal of travel and toys and generosity to your family back home.

 

If you want to throttle back on some items, fine. Travel 1/2 as much and save 12,000 baht. Buy half the computers and digicams and save 3500. Ship all your household goods and keep nothing at all back home and save 3000.

 

With some slight reduction on that defined lifestyle above (mostly less travel) you should live very very well in Thailand with 3 women a week for the rest of your life for 100,000 baht per month in 2007 baht. They will inflate. 100,000 baht is about $2800 USD per month.

 

It will be easy for BMs to toss numbers out of that total on presumption of they are too extravagant. Just be sure you do it right. You WILL take trips back home and you WILL have to upgrade your computer now and then.

 

But if you can come up with about $34,000 USD/yr in retirement, you can live very very well in a place where it never snows, has beautiful women, a seashore, modern conveniences and a community of like minded men. Yes, the government can toss you out. If you rent, you don't care.

 

 

 

[Gary 4,096]

When I officially retired four years ago, I kept an accurate spread sheet of what I spent. I purposely DIDN'T stick to any budget. I was spending about 40,000 baht per month including paying rent and 19,000 of that was entertainment.

 

I determined that rent was likely to be my biggest variable so I bought a condo. Keep in mind that at that time I was getting about 42 baht to a dollar. Many guys would rather rent and maybe that is better now since the dollar turned to shit. BUT, if I had it to do over again and just retired today, I'd still buy a condo. (In my OWN name) Not for investment but for the security of knowing that whatever happens, I know how much per month it will cost me to have a place to live.

 

I am now married and live up country in my wife's home. The condo is rented out and that makes living here even cheaper. The condo has nearly doubled in value but that doesn't matter. It's my security blanket. I'm quite happy with my Thai wife but I will remain a cynic until the day that I die. I still adhere to the golden rule, and that is to NEVER spend more here than I can afford to walk away from.

 

As far as the cost of living, I think the biggest difference is the exchange rate. Places that have raised beer from 90 baht to 135 baht have been crossed off my list. I have a little spot up on a mountain where I go to have a few beers a couple times a week. I pay 30 baht for a BIG bottle of Archa beer.

[dv34917 13]

I spend half the year in Pattaya and half the year in the U.S. What is interesting is that I spend about $2500 per month in both countries.

In Thailand it is $600 for the hotel (thanks to stronger baht, used to be $500), $1300 from the ATMs for girls, food, entertainment, $200 for car and storage in the states, and $400 for car payment.

In the states I spend $1300 on housing, $600 from ATMs, $300 from credit card for gas and restaurants, and $400 for car payment.

So, in short I pay the money for girls and parties in Thailand, but it all goes to rent and gasoline in the States!

[mrstein 0]

I find it very intresting to say the least How for so many years One could travel and reside in Asia and live Very well for about 1500.00 a month however over the last few years Asia is now right about par with the USA $$$$$

 

One advantage is the Girls Thats really it. With that being said its for sure a Huge advantage however I think by spending that type of money to live oversea"s its almost not worth it to a certain extent ?????

 

Goes to show us all that the West is now reaching out World wide and its not for the better.

 

Stein

[pattayachip 0]

i'm sitting in my living room in massachusetts,it is barely raining out, not a sole to be seen, a few cars here and there. i would be happier being in pattaya even if sitting outside7/11 ia all i could afford

my budget would be

15k for loom ++

15k for l/t care taker

20k for food (2)

15k walkig around money,(7/11,a coffe here , a soda there,ice cream at the mall etc.

15k going out twice a week

15k s/t (the constant search for future l/t care provider)

10k in reserve

-----

105k

i can actually trim each expenditure by 3-4k and still be much better off and better taken care of than i am now

[mrstein 0]

That seems like a Tight budget.

 

I think the problem would be, It all sounds good as far from a money perpesctive however once you get there and get in sync somewhat, I think the Temptation of going out EVERY Night could really blow that budget Out of the water very quickly.

 

Money Displine could be a REAL Bitch in Pattaya.

 

This largest problem I think is that SO many go down there with this Number $$ in there head that they are going to adhere to and that lasts about a Whole 10 mins and its blown out the door.

 

AM I wrong on this ??

 

 

Stein

[Gary 4,096]

That seems like a Tight budget.

 

I think the problem would be, It all sounds good as far from a money perpesctive however once you get there and get in sync somewhat, I think the Temptation of going out EVERY Night could really blow that budget Out of the water very quickly.

 

Money Displine could be a REAL Bitch in Pattaya.

 

This largest problem I think is that SO many go down there with this Number $$ in there head that they are going to adhere to and that lasts about a Whole 10 mins and its blown out the door.

 

AM I wrong on this ??

Stein

 

I'm not sure if I'm lucky or unlucky. I have a problem with alcohol. Not the problem that I have to drink but the problem that my body doesn't like it. A hangover lasts for two days, sometimes three days if I was REALLY stupid. I also find that when I go out and start drinking that loosens my purse strings. I'm strictly a social drinker and I very seldom drink at home, in fact I usually don't have any alcohol in the house. Choosing where I'm going to go drink pretty much decides how much I'm going to spend. Neighborhood bars are normally my choice and it's hard to spend more than a thousand baht for drinks. Living in Jomtien was an advantage. Getting on a baht bus is easy enough but it is kind of a pain in the ass. I'd say that I went into Pattaya no more than twice a month. After you have lived here for a while, you find steady bar fines. You get to know the girls and they get to know you. Many times I would get a call from one of my regulars asking if they could come and spend the night. They are happy to have a good bed in a nice cool condo. I alway had food to eat and I always gave them a couple hundred baht in the morning for transportation. Most of them liked the swimming pool and would come over during the day just to swim. I'd give them a little money to go buy take out food or sometimes they chose to cook at the condo. It was a good life. Two people eat pretty well for less than a hundred baht.

 

So, yes you are wrong. You soon find out that you can't stay in holiday mode every day because you wouldn't live long. It may be hard to believe but you also get bored with the whole bar scene. After a while and it becomes a pleasure to sit by the pool and read a book. A lot of my hard core bar hopping friends have found a girl and now live out in the boonies. I too said that I could NEVER live out in the boonies. Things change. If you ever do decide to try out living in the boonies, just remember rule number one. NEVER spend more than you can afford to walk away from. Being trapped in a big fancy house that you can't afford to walk away from would be a miserable life for sure. My Thai wife is not the jealous type and I have the freedom to pack a bag and head out whenever it suits me. Believe it or not, that only happens about once every three months.

[Owen` 2]

A lot of these questions are not Pattaya questions. They are retirement questions. They have been asked and answered for hundreds of years.

 

What do I do if I'm not working?

 

If you're in Pattaya, you have some different answers you can give to those questions. Everyone is going to be different so everyone will choose to do different things with his time, Provided He Can Afford It.

 

I good way to think of this might be . . . if you had $50 million and could live anywhere, what would you do? A lot of guys on this board would still choose Thailand and/or Pattaya. And take that further . . . if you had $50 million what would you do with your time living anywhere? THAT is the real question.

 

Once you have computed a subsistence budget you start thinking about luxuries. A bigger condo? There is a top end limit to that. Do you really want to walk for 5 minutes to get from one end to the other? You will have maid service so that issue arises, too. Maybe you can afford to pay maid service whatever it costs to clean, but it will simply take them longer to clean it and there you are with strangers bustling around your home.

 

You will upgrade your housing, but not to the stratosphere, because it would make no sense.

 

So what do you spend it on? Not housing, clearly. The housing upgrade won't be enormous. More expensive women every night? Maybe. Or maybe you get tired of that.

 

This question of how to spend time is why I put so much travel in the budget above. Once you are past subsistence, you have to fill your time. Even if you're not bored, you WILL go home now and then to see family or whatever. You WILL take trips just to get out of town. That has to be in the budget.

[cnkbud 0]

To: mrstein

Unless am mistaken the current coversion rate of about 33-1 is more like $3000, not $2500. Just an observation. Have a good day. Old Bud

[RWB 0]

I will not have lots of money (fuckin' ex wife gets half my New Mexico State retirement), but I will have about the same income in retirement as I do working(taxes, taxes). I can stay here in a country rapidly going to right wing idiots(they really aren't idiots-they overthrew the US gov't/Constitution in a coup that 90% of the country has yet to realise has happened) with just enough money to get by until I get really sick and not get laid by good looking 20 something year olds, fish, race cars or much of anything else I enjoy. Or I can move to LOS, with just enough money to live fairly good, get laid when I want, fish, well probably not race, have good medical care (my work insurance will still pay half in LOS). Actually a no brainer, and if I had realised what was in LOS when I was going through my divorce I would have taken the money and run. I'll be living in LOS in less than three years Buddha willing and the waters don't rise.

 

I found renting a condo in Jomtein for 5 weeks gave me some idea of what it would be like to live full time in Pattaya. A studio is too small, but no need for a 3 bedroom etc etc.

 

The biggest "fear factor" right now is the weakness of the dollar and the US in general. There is a big difference between 41/42 bht to dollar and 34/33 bht to dollar. Much more and things could be very difficult. I know what it is like to be hungry and wonder about the roof over ones head and I don't ever want to be there again.

 

One must always be prepared for the worst and that means you cannot live from paycheck to paycheck and enjoy if you don't have a backup. If I stay in the states I would be living from paycheck to paycheck with a bit left over if I didn't have any illness and nothing/nobody to do. In LOS I still will be living from paycheck to paycheck with a bit more left over, some invested for emergency, and plenty to do .

 

Then there is always "up country" or Cambo for cheaper living.

 

There is some good advice in this thread and the archives have much more.

 

Thanks to you guys that have contributed.

Edited June 12, 2007 by RWB

[Shilo 371]

Anyone who has been on the Pattaya related boards for any amount of time has seen this.... but what the hell. It's my all time favorite and fits the theme of the thread

 

 

 

.

[jacko 8,696]

Don't really think the TV is all that good... but who needs it?

[BigDUSA 71]

Don't really think the TV is all that good... but who needs it?

 

Check out UBC satellite service.

[BigusDicus 9,720]

QUOTE(mrstein @ Jun 3 2007, 08:22 AM)

So really the magic number is about 100,000 baht a month which is about 2500.00 a month US $$

 

Thats quite bit a money.Hell many folks live fairly well on that in the usa ESP if you have No mortage.

 

 

 

 

But in the US could your budget include shagging two young girls each and every day of the week?

 

 

Ah, the Point of the Point!

 

Young girls, Pattaya - all you can eat, or back home - once in a blue moon.

 

Apples 'n' Oranges

Edited June 12, 2007 by BigusDicus

[jballstate 326]

I plan to move to Pattaya around November of this year from the USA. I figure I will buy a nice condo outright so I will have no rent expense. With this done I think I could probably live on $2,000 US dollars a month.

 

With the devaluation of the dollar to the baht I may be better off to hold off buying a condo and renting for awhile with hope that the dollar will rebound.

[pattayachip 0]

I plan to move to Pattaya around November of this year from the USA. I figure I will buy a nice condo outright so I will have no rent expense. With this done I think I could probably live on $2,000 US dollars a month.

 

With the devaluation of the dollar to the baht I may be better off to hold off buying a condo and renting for awhile with hope that the dollar will rebound.

i think you are right on the money there ,and for those that say well,you could live on that in the state,i say yes live more like exist ,where as in pattaya you would enjoy life

[Arsenal 0]

Imagine if LOS was just a few miles away... I know guys who live in Mexico and commute to work in San Diego.

[vegasdave 0]

It has been frustrating watching the baht go up and the dollar down. As well as inflation in LOS adding insult to injury. But I still feel that it is possible to retire to LOS on about $1500 a month. I am lucky because I live a modest lifestyle in the states. I don't drink to speak of, I love Thai food. I am fine with a studio apt. My only real "have to" expenses would be internet and cable. I generaly prefer traveling low to the ground in terms of where I stay and where I go. I do tend to go semi-native where ever I go.

And lets face it I rarely get laid here, so even once or so a week would be a step up.

At any rate I am hoping to do a 6 month test run in the next year or so and see just what the economic realitys are.

In a way LOS is like Vegas. People come here to party and spend lots of cash. But the truth is when you live here you just cant afford to keep up that kind of pace. You just find a place to live. Find a couple of nice neiborhood places to eat. and just have a pretty normal life. I suspect the same is the case in LOS once you get settled in.

[m62man 0]

My Business Class flights for Xmas 2007 cost £1471.66 with Qatar

[knortyboy 149]

My Business Class flights for Xmas 2007 cost £1471.66 with Qatar

 

 

Whilst that's very interesting I don't see what that has to do with 'cost of living in Pattaya'

Did you put it in the wrong thread by mistake?

[BigDUSA 71]

So, yes you are wrong. You soon find out that you can't stay in holiday mode every day because you wouldn't live long. It may be hard to believe but you also get bored with the whole bar scene. After a while and it becomes a pleasure to sit by the pool and read a book. A lot of my hard core bar hopping friends have found a girl and now live out in the boonies. I too said that I could NEVER live out in the boonies. Things change. If you ever do decide to try out living in the boonies, just remember rule number one. NEVER spend more than you can afford to walk away from. Being trapped in a big fancy house that you can't afford to walk away from would be a miserable life for sure. My Thai wife is not the jealous type and I have the freedom to pack a bag and head out whenever it suits me. Believe it or not, that only happens about once every three months.

 

I agree after awhile party mode tends to kill your liver and the BG scene gets old. I was surprised at the number of expats who basically abandoned the nite life. They still go out with friends but pay bar rarely.

[Munchin glad rags 0]

I agree after awhile party mode tends to kill your liver and the BG scene gets old. I was surprised at the number of expats who basically abandoned the nite life. They still go out with friends but pay bar rarely.

 

 

I have nver lived there but I believe its down to personal control, I am sure you could have a realxed life for 50k and a decent one for 100k.

 

That said a fool and his money are soon parted, I know some guys who have been married 4 times and cleaned out every time.

 

I am an optomist however miracles are hard to come by.

 

 

Muncher

[wstark 0]

Funny thing how Thais can live on less then 20,000 a month with a family......

 

So maybe the trick is to slowly get into the Thai lifestyle.......seriously moving away from the tourist type businesses will cut your expenses in half overnight.....

 

Make more Thai friends.......stay busy.......learn Thai, etc etc....

 

Just keep in mind the whole farang maintained lifestyle is 50% more then the Thais....

 

So get localized......and 20,000 a month is No problem.

 

WillieG

[Gary 4,096]

Thai families who have an income of 20,000 baht per month are damn few and far between.

 

When I was living in the US, I paid 60,000 baht per year for a 17,000 baht deductible car insurance policy. Here I pay 15,000 for a zero deductible policy. I never had any claims or DWI's in the US. I drove a Honda Civic. Property taxes and home owners insurance in the US are equally ridiculous. Here I pay no property tax or home owners insurance. I don't remember how much water, trash pickup and sewage tax cost in the US but I remember it was pretty expensive. It cost me 10 baht per month here for trash pickup and less than 50 baht per month for village water. I'm pretty lazy and dislike the common cleanup and yard chores. My wife hires one of the locals for 150 baht for a days work. What would a handyman cost in the US per day? My last visit to the US, I stayed with my parents. I had severe sticker shock when I went to the supermarket and bought groceries. The price for a pack of cigarettes there also gets you attention. You simply cannot accurately make the statement that you can live in the US for ABOUT the same money.

 

My condo in Jomtien has a maintenance fee of 600 baht per month. That covers trash pickup and insurance. If I remember correctly, the monthly maintenance cost for my Florida condo was about 6,000 baht.

[js007 795]

I retired last year at 55, and already I'm beginning to wonder if that was such a good idea. Anyway, I've been in Thailand for the last eight months or so, but I'm still more or less in tourist mode and spending more than I planned on. I'd like to think I could live on 70,000 baht a month, which is about what I get (not including money from stock investments and the like), but that would require some modification of my daily routine, as I seem to be spending in excess of 100,000 baht a month. Of course, Thailand is more than Pattaya, and it might well be easier to live elsewhere - Chiang Mai, or maybe somewhere in Issan.

 

I have a feeling the baht will eventually weaken vs. the US dollar, so that will help a bit, when it happens. Also, if I bought my own place that problem would be solved. All I really need is a clean, safe, secure place to live, satellite TV, and broadband Internet.

 

J