Fair point... I put the statistic in more to describe the size of Australia, which I know many of our Pomgolian friends can't fathom...

I am pretty good at avoiding speeding fines, but it seems one every other year is pretty standard... noting that a standard roadside ticket is Thailand is about 200THB, you would need to be fined about every week to pay the same every two years...

I reckon that one could swing either way... especially the way I drive ...

Daewoo

And here I (and probably half of the readers of TV) thought you may have grown up a bit while you were on sabbatical - but alas, each of your posts still require some lame humour, plus a dose of personal abuse.

I would imagine it is easier for someone to laugh with their fist up their rear cavity, than for you with your foot perpetually in your mouth

If only i was a good boy and went to Uni maybe i would have a Farang Mega Salary like some of the posters here....talk about living the dream.. job well done chaps'

For all the stupid taxes' Australia does pay well at least.....

This post has been edited by azza09: 2009-11-08 15:12:21

I never went to Uni.

I was in trouble with the law as a youth.

I decided that the UK was a pile of crap in the early 90,s, had very little money and was going no where, so I packed my bag, bought a one way ticket with Aeroflot to New Dehli and travelled the world.

I got lucky at some point and got to where I am now through nothing else other than hard work.

Barry Sheene once said, " Dont wait for your ship to come, swim out and meet the bloody thing".

The world is yours ,, its up to you what you do with your life.

My thinking is, if you want more money.... do not let a single day go by without trying to gain more money.



Which reminds me.... got to get back to work

Only ten or 15 yrs to retire early if my plan works... keep on living the dream i say...

This post has been edited by azza09: 2009-11-08 15:39:50

Your mileage may vary. I happen to enjoy many Thai foods and restaurants, which means that the cost of eating doesn't HAVE to be huge. If I want to eat in the foreign-style or tourist restaurants, it will cost more in some cases than such food would cost back home; this is fair enough (and similar things happen with foreign food in other countries). Other costs- as long as I am willing to live more like a middle-class Thai person and less like a middle-class American or British person- are cheaper than they would be at home. Overall verdict: if you want to live in a bubble, you will pay hugely. If you are willing to live at least somewhat like the other people in the country, it will be a better deal for most reasonable salaries than living in English-speaking countries.

Well I have just been for a haircut, a neat number 3 crew cut and finished off with scissors and razor. This is in a little Soi in this town with about 6 local barbers shops all next to each other. The cost an outrageous 40 Baht, plus I always give a 10 Baht tip!, and I am the only one it appears who does, several years ago when I gave the tip the barber he handed it back too me, not a tipping culture around these parts.

The biggest 2 costs for most people are housing and social life.

If you want to live and mix with quality farangs then it will often cost you. (Sukhimvit/phucket apartment, tourist pubs, western restaurants etc)

If you have social skills, brain to learn a foreign language, adventurous spirit then live and socialize with the quality Thais and it will be much cheaper.


My Thai farther in law was a very successful business man (made at least a $million), sold the business and now teaches business in a uni in his home town for fun. Has taught himself how to make a website and has just built a resort, again for the challenge not the money. His idea of a good night is drinking a couple of Leo on his balcony. You wont meet him though unless you can speak Thai because he has no interest in English. He'll provide the Leo.

Or you can spend a few thousand playing connect 4 with farm girls.

The good life has far more to do with who you spend time with than how much money you spend.

UK Matt,

I like your way of thinking.

Two T-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, 1 pair flipflops (to wear into town for best).....

Standard wardrobe for many all over the world I guess......

Yep depends on your standards and expectations........

I absolutely agree with you.

Why people come here and then live in a farang ghetto, eat farang food in farang-owned resataurants, don't learn even basic Thai, don't try to understand the differences in Thai life style just beats me.

Everyone to his own of course and it is down to personal choice but they are missing so much by not trying to integrate a little into some aspects of Thialand and its people.

The expat clubs don't help as they are run as high margin businesses rather than member-run clubs.

Yes crossbones you are correct ,forget the get out of town brigade who as usual dont read the postings correctley. Unless your happy to live in a Moo Bahn in Nakon nowhere its a lot more expensive than 10 years ago Yes and the two main reasons why ! 1 The exchange rates 2 Thailand is getting much more developed (ie Westernised) than before. Eg 2001 73 baht to the pound Luxuary room on Soi 22 1500 baht Now same room same condo block 2800 (per night) 54 baht to the pound,go figure. Just ask any Thai who lives out side the country.and when they go back the realise its cheaper in a lot of there adopted countrys or at least not that much more expesive for an equivilent life style. Also before you ar--oles start commenting on the usual (O! its Sukumvit) ie not the real Thailand, speak to some of my realitives or yours in Essarn there strugiling up there with the price of food Choke Dee CRAP

Depends on the lifestyle. Living at our place in the US full time, the way we live in Thailand would definitely cost significantly more, although that's not the reason why we'll likely never do so. I could decide to move there permanently at 24 hours notice, but for me at least, I like the cohesive family structure here, when we were stateside, it was like we didn't have an extended family. 'Family' was people who visited for a few weeks at a time every 2-3 years. Here it's like a warm fuzzy Sopranos feeling (albeit no one doing anything illegal): work/play/lots of eating/drinking get-togethers, usually several times a week.

TV loves these threads because they can be argued either way for 40 pages.

The op is quoting current prices vs current prices...........if you read the post correctly....

it has already been stated that if he had compared with the past then his statement would be more accurate.......if you read the thread correctly......

I feel I have a lot in common with your Father in law already.........I have no interest in England also. I am from England.
If I did ,,, I,ld go back to that awuful place and be surrounded by auwful complaining people.,that dont know that they have a silver spoon offered to them to stick in their foul mouths.
If I wanted to be surrounded by Farangs ,,, I would have stayed in Farang land,,,,or Pattaya/Phuket or the like.
I love Thailand and have no wish to meet Farangs........Thai people are far more....well...Thai

This post has been edited by soihok: 2009-11-09 00:48:02

[quote name='vrsushi' date='2009-11-08 17:17:27' post='3126437']
The biggest 2 costs for most people are housing and social life.

If you want to live and mix with quality farangs then it will often cost you. (Sukhimvit/phucket apartment, tourist pubs, western restaurants etc)

I am wondering about this statement, "Quality Farangs" does this mean better people, or does it mean people with money? or what.

Perhaps you can only be "quality" if you have money. We are all human beings, money doesn't make you a better person than the next.

The OP is a cherry-picker.

Yes this intrigues myself too, as it is often brought up on TV, usually by the types with bucket loads of money. One example recently some duffer going on about sending the maid off to do his 90 day reporting as Immi is such a bind.
So how are we to recognize a quality farang?, I take it they are different to say quality tourists who you see on the veranda's of fine hotels in Bangkok taking PM refreshments for example. Perhaps Captains of industry or a top University lecturer. What of their habitat?, Sukhumvit & Phuket have been mentioned, maybe Nana, this seems very popular, strewth now I recall, I was sat next to one in Spanky's in Patpong 2 on Fridays run to the Consulate.

I am i speaking about 'His' post not the follow on posts (if you read correctly) He states Thailand is not as cheap anymore as it was,and then goes on to compare it with Austraila in the present !

Its all about lifestyle..

To all the people who claim its much cheaper.. Are you going like for like or are you downgrading your lifestyle.. I always laugh when some 50 plus year old guy is saying how cheap it is to live here while riding a scooter in the rain.

A normal middle class lifestyle, say a late model beemer or a Range Rover etc in the driveway, a build quality of house like a modern western one, the selection of imported fruits, vegetables, cheeses, wines, and other lifestyle things you have back there. When I do that here I spend easily as much as I would in the west. I know the cost of living in the west I support my mother there, her house 650 quid a month my house 45k baht a month (the last pad was 75k).

Lets look at the household my old fella is running.

Merc S class few years old.. UK price +- 10k GBP Thai price ?? 5m ??
Merc E class workhorse decade old UK price 2 - 3k GBP Thai price 1 mil ??
HD TV Satellite full package of everything 45 quid a month Thai price ??
20 Mbit internet UK price <30 quid Thai price ??

House market value pre crash >400k as no buyers renting for 10k per annum.. The build quality of this place, underfloor heat, amazing bathrooms, kitchen, multi car garage etc etc You wouldnt see build quality like this under 20m here and you wouldnt rent it under 70 - 100k.

Clothing, drinking, etc etc. Also cheap, My TGF was buying all kinds of labels shocked that real brands only a bit more then Thai prices. And you can wash them and they still look good.

When you look at the cost of living you have to do like for like, not trade a beemer for an airblade and call it quits.. Thats the cost of existing !! Yes its cheaper to exist in Thailand. Cost of life isnt just a cheap bowl of rice or the ability to have a 10k a month maid, its the big ticket items that make the most difference.


To get close to the kind of lifestyle I lived when I was in my 20s and making money, porsches, etc would be levels of expenditure I cant even calculate.

Just wish it was warm there !!

Ohh and before the above gets shot down as 'why do you need any of that' just realize that it is that exact market segment the TAT is promoting Thailand to.

Phuket now wants only 'quality tourists' presumably those than can afford the kind of middle class luxuries I mention.

Much easier to maintain a lower tax profile here, even for renters. Even more so for property owners.

They operate two tills in Thailand too? I thought that was only a Hong Kong thing. No wonder my noodle lady drives a E Class.

The whole topic is much to do about nothing. You can't compare apples to oranges. It all depends on a life style that suits certain people. I live very well in Canada with very little cost. Everything I have is paid for... and I've got lots of toys I couldn't even FIND in Thailand, let alone buy them. In my particular neighbourhood my home would sell for $400,000. If it was located in New York city, or London, it would be worth 4 million... or more. But, I could have something similar built in Chiang Mai for about a third of that.

It is all the little things that add up to a life style you either like or dislike. In Canada, at my age, there is no possible way I could have beautiful young women as close as a phone call away. I couldn't go riding my motorcycle for 12 months of the year wearing nothing but shorts and sandals. I couldn't go to a beach side resort for $30 or $40 a night.

But, I'm one of the fortunate ones who is retired and doesn't have to work if I don't want to. I can paint and write for magazines for pocket money, or I can go for long walks in the sun shine and stop for a $2 meal. BUT! If I had to work in Thailand on a 10,000 baht a month salary it would be a different story altogether.