The bias is that most westerners live with 2-3k a month working daily. Not much time to hang out, not even as much possibility as on a tuesday night, partying with your friends is not a real option. There is no beach, no laid back bar with open view to enjoy late in a warm night. If you come from north west europe your entertainment are mostly pointed at the weekend. And even with that amount of actual free time, life is so expansive that many people cannot imagine doing outside activities every weekend. For many westerners the big time of the year is when you go on holyday. When these people come to thailand on holyday for the first time they are blasted by the never ending activity (typical of warm cllimate, tho nothing exclusive to thailand), and the amount of what they can do all day long with their 3-4k budget that they spared back home. It's normal, Thailand is cheap. And on a short, mid-short trip, you can "live like a king", like we like to say. But Thai people are no different. They have a salary that allow them to live from miserably to decently on a normal daily working life (and the middle salary is still less than a 1000). They can't afford to travel much but do they need to realistically with the place they live in ? Now of course if you mix the worst of both world : being on a never ending vacation mode with few or no work at all, 1000 dollards a month is a ridiculous amount as most westerners spend twice that amount per month on holyday. That does not mean that it is still a very decent amount to "live in thailand". But people here comparing Thailand being "expansive" should really look back home and think about what you can do with a 1000 bucks a month. Spoiler : Nothing. You are either homeless, an isolated senior who wait for the end completely bored of life, a drug addict that save on what he can to buy synthetic happiness, or a student that can barely pay his rent and eat at the same time, asking daily for some pocket money to parents. IT's not for nothing that the minimum salary in western europe turn around 1.2-1.6k depending on the country. So not saying that Thai people live the "vida loca". But you know what they say "misery is more bearable under the sun". And for a 1000 western currency in thailand a month, living a normal life, you are far from miserable
I was with you till the end. No one living on 1000$ a month would me thinking they need a brand new top of the line iPhone. Plenty of very serviceable phones around for 300$ nowadays
My Samsung was 7,000 baht on discount from 10,000 baht because I already had a contract with True. A $1,000 phone or $2,000 laptop is over the top for most people, like buying a high-end car with lots of extras.
@@RealThaiLife-m9s I have an A51. In about three years, my girlfriend will say, it is maturing, and it is time to get a new one. Living here modestly is comfortable and not costly. Most people spend their money after 6:00PM . No drinking and no partying, or in a very limited fashion, and it is a very affordable country in which to stay
As a single person who doesn’t party a lot it’s definitely possible. Location definitely is a factor. If anyone tells you you cannot live on 1000-1250 in Thailand as a single person and still living a good life, they are bullshttn you. Pack up and come find out for yourself 🧘♂️🙂 SABI SABI🇹🇭
Currently I live in a studio appartment (an "ugly" concrete box with a tin roof) in the suburbs of Hanoi, Vietnam. It has got a kitchen, and a bathroom with toilet. very bare bones but functional. 35 square metres, gated, in a quiet and safe area. Monthly bills: rent 70 USD, electricity 10-15 USD, water 5, 4G internet plan for my phone 5, Rental motorbike 50, decent health insurance: 12 USD. My total budget fluctuates between 250-600 USD per month. clothing here is dirt cheap. I can find dress shirts or jeans for 10 usd a piece. I could totally spend 1000 usd or more per month, but I don't see the point pissing away money left and right on stuff I don't need. If you are okay with a simple frugal lifestyle, buying veggies on the local farmer's market and cooking your own meals, 500 USD is plenty. Most of my neighbours live off 300 per month. I am perfectly happy to live like this for the next 10 years. Life here is easy and stress free. Less is more!
We dont alll need to rent apartment's in downtown Bangkok for 20,000 baht + a month like yourself, and over indulgence Lived here for four years not in Bangkok for 30,000 Baht a month living and perfectly happy
you addressing silly things as part of the monthly budget. I pay 14K bath month on my rent on rama 9 close to literally everything. my electricity bill is around 70$ that's 490$ in total 50$ gym everything I need is in walking distance, my condo has internet included, I`m very focused at the gym and I work with social media, I have a defined routine and I believe that most people who decides living here at a young age have too. I go to the gym, I get back I go to the pool sometimes sauna I eat around 4000 calories a day, sometimes I order sometimes I get on 7/11 and sometimes I buy in the streets made by local Thai people, I work I make content in my building I use the building areas that has aircon to work on my laptop, I do visit friends I go out but I don't drink alcohol so I pretty much spend it all with food witch is the very same amount that someone would spend eating in the US/Europe or Australia and the only difference is that I don't need to cook absolutely anything so lets be real. people are sharing apartments for 600$ or more in Europe, in Australia this is what you spend per week sharing an apartment... in the US people are living in their cars because the rent is too expensive. when you speaking about a budget of living you can't include shopping silly stuff of gifts or visa fees or travel costs, that's not part of the budget, everything outside the basic living costs is personal things that the person is up to spend or not. do I even need to say that you can't even get close of having any of that in the US, Europe or Australia by this price? you probably forgot how the reality is back home or is someone who always lived with your parents.
@@LeeLiko I don't usually spend with transportation because as i said, i rented a place right where i need to be, i walk 5 minutes to my language school, my gym is right next door and i only go out at night, is another 8 minutes walking from my place to nana plaza for example... Insurance is an American thing because they have monopolized the health/medical industry there and some other countries follow the same. The 60$ month you will pay in an insurance is actually the cost of what you would spend in case you need something to be done... If you get sick in Thailand and you look for a doctor it won't cost you 100 thousand dollars, more about 50$ to 100$ is the same if not more cheaper than in Brazil. But even if you want to spend with insurance that's it 1060$ month 1100$ if you use the BTS... The problem is that those people come here and as they never had anything close to this "cheapness" in their countries they want to live like kings besides being smart and fit the local standards, 1000$ month is already a medium to high lifestyle in Thailand for the Thai people... The farangs here want to impress the gold diggers and the other foreigners, most of those people are still too attached to this extreme captalist mindset where you need to have and own things to show off to other people otherwise you don't feel included in the "society" they come here and besides saving 5k 10k a month they spend it all, their visa expires and they go back home with absolutely nothing.
Living a comfortable in Sweden like this: Small town in the city center. 2 room apartment. Rent: 17 000 baht Electricity: 1300 baht Some other things like insurance for apartment and work fees like the union and unemployment insurance: 1800 baht 500 megabit Internet: 1100 baht Phone 10 Gb data (much more than I use): 380 baht Total: 21 580 baht Cooking a lot and eating out a couple of times a week: 15 000 baht maximum. Grand total: 36580. According to most people in the world Sweden is a very expensive country. This makes me amazed over how expensive Thailand has become, slowly but surely. Thailand has become to expensive for me. 🙂
😂 western Europe rent is 600-1000 euros for a 2 bed. It would surprise me that Sweden a Scandinavian country would be cheaper. Even in a village it would be at least 600-700 euros. That’s 28000 baht rent only
Healthcare alone should make the budget unsustainable for many. Most don't listen and gamble away their life being uninsured or self-insured inadequately. Up to you.
I don't need to but I live on around 35K a month. I have no rent to pay and bought my car and motorbike some time ago. Also I don't live in BKK. I drink beer most days and eat farang food which I order to my village. Having said that, theres no way I could do that in any tourist area. If I lived in Pattaya for instance I would be wiping out 100K a month easy if not more.
Lived in Wongamat beach in Pattaya last year. Rent was 23000 baht. Too much but I was new. Where I saved a lot of money was food. Would eat breakfast at the western restaurant for $6 a day. And then eat dinner at street hawker for $2.50 a day. I’d get some mangoes for lunch. All in around $1200-1300 a month. I was living on savings. I’d recommend at least $1500 US a month. It gives you a lot more leeway to enjoy life. I mean if you’re just trying to survive on social security or a pension I understand. We have to do what we have to do. But if you want to enjoy life at least $1500. I was injured at work. And workmen’s comp was playing games with my money. So I was in survival mode. But even though I was trying to make my money stretch as far as I could , I enjoyed my time in Thailand. I lived across the street from the ocean. Saw great sunsets from my place. Lost 40 pounds. And really enjoyed my life there. I would have been homeless in the US. I will be coming back to Thailand as soon as I can. In Mexico currently , which is great. But I loved Thailand
Doesn't make sense living in Thailand long term with an insurance which makes you pay upfront at hospital just to be later reimbursed. Who wants that? Nobody. Get an insurance which takes care of bills right away and you won't have worry about total cost. Plenty options available.
I went to Vietnam 1 week ago, trust me it's so much more different than Thailand where I have been living for 18 months already. The people are way more rude and even look at your phone when you tell them you already book a taxi. I can tell you from experience Vietnam is far away from Thailand if you are looking for peace, love and people to support your journey. Thailand is a place that blesses people who are looking for a better life and don't know where to find it. The rent is half the price but the seafood and food / traveling costs are the same there as here. I can tell you from experience if you want to feel relaxed and loved and respected go to Thailand, not Vietnam you will be annoyed especially if you have a western attitude.
@@LocPham-ny7en Generalizing? I am not generalizing and I didn't have a bad experience mr. no profile picture. I love Vietnam way more then every western country and will also come back there because it's a beautiful country but Thailand is just way better to be living in and that's a fact.
@@glidden67 go to your local big city anywhere in America and just watch these people that are living downtown. They are called "displaced persons" and are highly Sought after for such knowledge such as this! 😁
Turn on the air conditioner during the day and the electricity bill will be high. Thai people usually turn on the air conditioner 2 hours before bedtime and off Then go turn on the fan instead. Including turning on the fan together with the air conditioner will help save on electricity costs. Normally during the day I go to work. When I get back into the house I turn on the fan. Note that the electric bill in the summer will be higher than in the winter if you turn on the air conditioner.
Installed new high 23 SEER AC and they use very little electric then the old ones. All lights LED so electric, inverter Fridge electric is about 1500 a month
@@EddieSmith917I'd feel stupid AF spending $2k a week living in any city in Asia. Could buy a house every couple of months in Croatia or a bunch of other countries.
You had good points in this video until you got the phone part. You don't actually NEED to buy the latest Iphone when you are buying a new phone. Maybe that's what you do when you get a new phone, but for someone living on a 1000 dollar budget that would be very unnecessary and dumb. Very good phones can be had for a much cheaper price tag.
Your videos have always been excellent...but now that I just relocated to Bangkok I'm finding your content even more valuable and I tune in to your channel like a trusted friend for advice!
I totally agree with you. The 1k month budget is good as an intro to your first months in the country, and you can see if you like or not the living in your new country. But with time you will start to get more bills as you start to develop your life. You have to be prepared to have a better income, or you will struggle
The monthly income threshold of 65,000-baht Thai immigration requires proof of when applying for the non-immigrant-O visa is a realistic base to work off.
The real elephant in the room is inflation, that`s often the real killer over time unless you have an increasing income and huge savings for when you want to retire. The other one is the exchange rate, guys came here 20 years ago and could live a comfortable life on their pensions at 75 baht to GBP, that wont work now, the state pension isn`t enough in the UK and the ex rate is nearly halved.
Rates indeed went from 50s to 40s to even 30s on a euro rate. Inflation making everything double the price in a matter of years. And pension in the west is a scam… they hope we never make the age that’s why they keep raising it. Idk what it is in the Uk. In the Netherlands where I’m from it’s 67 😂then you get a scratch of maybe 1700-2000 euros at best. I’m 37 at the moment and not counting on seeing anything ever from my country. Reasons more to leave and move to Thailand fulltime for me. I go 4-5 months and work in my country 6 months. Once I have an other money source I’m out
Big difference is, a foreigner living in Thailand with $1,000/month budget is likely isn’t working… while a Thai with the same monthly budget has to work (long hour day, most day of the week). One has freedom with his time while other doesn’t. Which $1,000/month budget would you rather be?
@@The_Redknight “sitting around” while finding lower cost/free things to do vs. having to work long hours and having to answer to someone on the daily basis? I know which option I’d choose. But at the end of the day, you do you. Whatever makes you happy. 🤷🏽♂️
😂 why do you think a foreigner has a 1k win for life? Unless retired people or people with a healthcare paycheck or other rare case… majority of foreigners don’t have a magical 1k money supply from thin air, let alone longterm…. You delusional as fuck. The people you refer to are those that go back home broke because they spend 1k a month and making nothing in the mean time. A western guy can come here and sit 1y on his ass with only 15k$ But you talk as if every foreigner has a 1k supply budget for free forever.. If so… how? Which countries do that? Can I apply I’m European Dutch Belgian. I love Thailand … If I can sit on a magical 1k a month there I will…
These cost of living videos are kind of pointless. Your cost of living is entirely dependent on your lifestyle. Some people are happy to live in a fan room for 4000thb per month and live on $5-600 USD per month. Other people will need $10000 per month to live their lifestyle.
I know plenty of people who are influencers in Thailand living on this budget, everyone pretty much just work go to the gym enjoy the pool and move around the city by bts
At 4,00thb I’d like to see some of the living conditions. Thats $120 USD and you won’t have anything but a fan in the room. Likely no hot water like most locals in the provinces, no WiFi, no pool, and living way outside any populated area. Philippines same thing. $600 a month you’ll be staying in the province. It’s 180° different than the western standard of living One of the few girls I talk to regularly from the Philippines just got a full time job as a cook/housekeeper for 5,000 pesos a month. That is no days off, 6am to 8pm every day. But, she gets free WiFi and an actual bed with a mattress. Plus running water. No hot water available or proper shower. Just a bucket you fill and use. And this is actually a “decent” wage there. Thailand is a little higher pay for populated places. But the standard of living is pretty close to the same
@@portlandGTR I wouldn't live in a fan room, but there are plenty of them around in both Pattaya and Bangkok. As I said different strokes for different folks.
@@fehilyfitness yeah, I just did a search on google for places near BKK and Pattaya, then Phuket for 4k THB and under… whoa… even worse than what I thought. Needed to raise it to 10k THB before I saw even close to a place that you wouldn’t dread sleeping in. Around the 15k mark was where you could get a place in the actual city or close to. I’ve never personally met anyone living like that from the west when they live there. $1,500 a month is about the minimum monthly needed to start living there. $1,000 a month would work back in 2010-2015. But everything goes up over time no matter where you go
I used to think that way but don’t agree saying it’s pointless .. it does give people a general idea and that is a point 😂.. I have more but I’m a busy man… you might like to argue with my reply and that’s just expected from some people Adam really does give me a baseline that I can manipulate based on my income and preference … more than happy to help you out mate if u need more guidance .. assuming your here to learn and help others too like me
😂yeah they also live half the time rent free with family or generational housing. They also don’t pay visa costs on a year base. And they have everything at local prices. To stay in Thailand I’m spending 50€ already sometimes up to 150€ a month to even stay here legal 😅 A 5k condo for a farang will be a 12k condo etc etc Not everybody has a Thai wife to make the bargains. I mean I get your point but that’s in theory. Most farang don’t get by with 35k baht because we already lose 3k on the visa and an other 2-5k overpaying other stuff. That leaves 28k to survive a to z? Maybe in isaan 😂🎉
So glad to see a realistic video on living in Thailand. I can add to your data, I live in Rural Thailand, about halfway between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. My rent is disgustingly cheap, because my wife knew the right person. We have a HOUSE on 1 Rai (1/3rd of an acre) of land, for 7500 Baht / month. I sometimes feel like we stole it. We are saving money to get our own house with the extra money. We run 3 ACs almost 24/ 7, and our electric bill is around 4500 Baht. The rest: 3BB Fastest internet: 1800 Baht AIS Cell: 1200 Baht Car Payment (new car): 11000 Baht Food: 4000 / month (estimated) Thanks for reminding me about insurance :) I will be around the $100 USD mark on that one I have a marriage visa, and I will be renewing it in about 3 or 4 months, I don't remember what I paid for it initially, but I have to have 400,000 baht in a THAI bank account in MY name for at least 90 days before I apply for the initial marriage license. You can try to provide proof of income, but it is actually easier (if you have the money) to just put it in a Thai bank. I don't even keep track of incidentals, it isn't worth it to me, but I would bet we spend an average of 5000 - 7500 baht a month on things outside of main groceries. Keep in mind, this is for two people, and I do help with some of her family expenses (not too much, though :)) I hope that helps other people to realize, if you want to LIVE in Thailand, $1000 / month won't cut it. Thanks again for pointing this out. :)
@censoredeveryday3320 Depends on how long you have to live. If you plan to croak in 20 years, That is MORE then fine as long as you have it in something like gold or silver that keeps up with market inflation. Truthfully, you can live as a single guy there for less than $699 a month if you keep it LEAN and live exactly like the locals do. House room rentals will set you back close to nothing if you do work around the place, or happen to join one of the monasteries or happen to take on work as managing one of the hotels there. Once settled in, I know vets that settled in SEA and live by their lonesome just from the items they farm as growing seasons can be year round. His power is solar, and most of the consumption is the A/C He keeps himself busy. The secret is to keep your wealth under wraps, and indeed get a job or sell stuff local and cheap. Learn to make your own spirits, and do indeed have some kind of American style food joint. That will keep you sane, and keep the costs of the things you like to eat or import very low. Just be sure to diversify your portfolio so that just in case the US dollar tanks, you have plenty of liquidity and it's not going to even dent your retirement funds.
Personally, I plan on 1500 euros a month, not too little and not too much. Why should I spend more money in a country that is cheaper than my home country? Sometimes I don't understand some people. Of course I can spend 3k or 5k a month, but then I live like I'm on vacation. Here in Germany I live on 1200 euros, rent free (own house). I'm single and have no children. 1500 euro (55k thb) in Thailand is for me enough.
Another great video! Just wanted to say the studio setup looks amazing. I can tell that you really put your heart into it. Loving the vintage console section! Cheers and all the best to you brother! 😉
Great video from you as always, Adam. Your new playroom / video room looks super cool and pro, too - nice upgrade for yourself and the channel. As for your calculations here, you're totally right. It's also just a fact of life that often, you end up spending more than you initially planned. Apart from the obvious things you mentioned like shopping - it's nice to treat yourself to something once in a while, esp in places like Bangkok with its great malls! - there are also other things. Like, you might want to fly out for your visa run. You might want to take a trip elsewhere during rainy season. You might want to holiday in Koh Phangan or Phuket for a break from BKK. You've mentioned the iPhone, but you might also lose your Airpods and need to replace them. Or buy some console game. Or - not my own preference in the slightest, but others do - buy some (bar) girls some drinks when going out. When just speaking domestically, I found it's household stuff that also eats into budget. Things for your kitchen (especially if you don't eat out every single meal). Having said that, you'll want Western food now and then, which is pricier than Thai food. Also, personal care stuff, moisturiser, hair products maybe, that sorta stuff. Your gym membership. Your protein shakes if you take them. Some new aftershave. When rainy season approaches, stuff for that. When going on a beach trip, stuff for the beach, maybe some activities. When dating, going out for meals and drinks and footing the bill. Even when ordering food from Grab and the amounts are so small each time, they still do add up. Stuff you order online from Lazada... cables for your electronics; lamps for your apartment; a throw or cushions; maybe some extra furniture.... the list goes on. People are clueless if they think they really can live longterm COMFORTABLY on such small budgets. Or else, they're literally "broke hippie backpackers" but then that's an entirely different demographic. Anyway, I've written a novel lol. Keep up the good work man, warm wishes from Vietnam
If you can establish that in an 'ordinary' month, that you can live in Thailand for 1k usd/mo - by actually doing so for 2-3 months, then you have a baseline. When you prove that to yourself, you can more correctly set a number above that which makes for a better, more complete life, knowing you can pull back in an emergency were one to come up.
You can live on a 1000 usd maybe not in Bangkok. I live in Jomtien in a complex with a pool restaurants bars my rent electric water wifi about 210 pound a month. What you spend after that is up to you
Most Thai people live on less than that. If you really want to live in Thailand and all you have $1000/month you'll be fine. Just don't move into the most expensive parts of the country and live an abnormal lifestyle that wouldn't be doing back home anyways.
Just bough my phones 200$ Canadian (150$ US) Motorola G54 Dual SIM..... what do you buy with 2000$ ??? A spaceship? My laptop just cost me 400$ CAN. (300$ US) THX FOR BEIGN HONEST IN YOUR VIDEO'S ♥♥♥THIS WILL SAVE PEOPLE.
Even if $1000 is statistically feasible, I wouldn't recommended it. It's like continuously keeping just enough gas in you car to keep the needle just off the E. It will wear you down.
a great way to beat the aircon bills is to buy a fan for each room. it really helps to knock down the electric bills using a fan instead of aircon. my monthly elec. bills are about 300-400 thb.
I do not understand this fascination with Apple products. They are proprietary with proprietary software and are not real cross platform friendly. I can buy a smart phone that takes great video and a gaming laptop for video editing for about the price of an IPhone alone. I have recommended that people have a bare minimum US$10,000 in a dividend / interest bearing account as a safety net. US$100,000 would be far better. With US$250,000 invested properly, you can live in SE Asia on the interest / dividend alone. Any retirement benefits on top of that are icing on the cake and / or could be reinvested in your real retirement account.
Thanks Keis, great realistic video about cost of living per month in Thailand. As you said you’re not living on a $1000 per month just excising maybe if living in a rural area you just get by. I think definitely you can manage on $1,500 to $2,000 with a money to spare/save Also you gotta think about exchange rates and inflation rate changing all the time, this will affect your money. Keep up the great work Cheers Irish Paul
Thanks for this video, very helpful. Regarding the Safetywing insurance, it sounds good, and many other people seem to recommend it too. But have you ever had to make a claim with them? I hear a lot of people say that when it comes to them paying out for a claim, things tend not to go well. If you have never made a claim, why do you recommend Safetywing? Thanks
Great vlog Keis honestly its refreshing to hear people speaking sensible about true living cost and I mean living not just staying in Thailand not doing anything or worry all the time. Ps NBA Jam is still the best basketball game ever 😂👌👌👌
Great video. People also forget that there’s basically no safety net in Thailand. One of last places you want to be broke. We’ve all seen it and it ain’t pretty
Currently in Los Angeles and there are tons of people living on much less than 1K per month . Sh it box rv’s parked on the street for years with all their possessions on the roof. Nicer weather than Bangkok , cleaner beaches, no health care, eating out of the dumpsters !
if you think, living in remote area of pattaya is significant cheaper, lets say, "the dark side", - no, its not. The aircon-cost are much higher, if you live in a bungalow. Your electric tools needs protection, over voltage and under voltage are real problems, The controllercard of an aircon costs about 2.000 THB, and can`t be replaced, when the aircon is older than 7 years, and you can`t get used spare parts anymore. In 7 years, you might replace the card 3 times, when you have Lightning strike catenary. In this case, you tv, your iphone-charger, your pc, everything has to be protected by an abb ups, that needs every 2 years a new battery. Every 3 years, the Expansion joints of your tiles may be hard as concrete (based on this temperature change between Aircon and No Aircon), if you don`t replace the Expansion joints in time, the tiles will come up. Without a thai friend, you will pay prices, same as in your home country, and a repairjob can take a loong time, cause so many isaan workers left pattaya during "C", went back to isaan, and never came back.
I live in the Dark Side but I live as I would when I moved from Florida. My elec bill is almost constantly 8000 Bhat, water 350, rent 25000, we own a car with a few scooters. We spend 20-25000 for food and there are lots of other expenses. But overall I would say it's still 1/3 of Florida cost
@@CaptainKremmen wow 5 years, in Pattaya, you get decent batteries only @Wattana Systemation. But better than 2-3 years - no way. If nobody is at home, the ups is working in rooms, with over 38 degrees.
@@TomSmith-yh9ju Yeah, heat is really bad for those batteries. If it were me, I'd keep the aircon on where the UPS and electronics are anyhow. That sort of temperature would threaten the lifespan of laptop, WiFi AP, etc, too. (Yes, I'd be spending more on power and less on batteries.)
Thanks for the 2024 update on these expenses...really appreciated as videos like this can become outdated as both local prices and FX rates change. Another big expense is...relationships/partner! Even if they're earning their own income, you often want to do things together and such expenses can definitely accumulate. I suppose this comes under your mention of "someone else", just not family.
I hope you also do those things like trips and eating in a nice restaurant yourself too. You don't need a partner to live your life in an exciting way. But yes, living in Thailand the chances are high you will at some point have to pay at least for a part of your partners costs as well - for example if she can survive on her own, but can't afford the nice trip or the western restaurant you prefer. Even if you only pay for those extra expenses, that can easily add up to $500+ per month, if you prefer a western life style.
Times of cheap living in Thailand is over and has been for years due to inflation and strong baht. You can live like an Amish out in the farmer land but what life is that.
As I search flights from BKK to Australia 🇦🇺 🤦♂️ feel blessed dude, I’m seeing flights as low as $130 one way to Perth, and 200 to Sydney. Minimum from the USA one way is $500 and goes up from there 😩 perspective is everything
Don't iphone ! 48000 THB for a phone is totally silly, get a nice mid range android for about 12-15k. Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Xiaomi, Redmi, Infinix, many many more and if you want to spend just a little bit more, any samsung. The fruitbrand is absurd.
Many thais do live without ac and content with only fans as it's more bearable at night. For food, many prefer buy from the street as most apartment usually don't come with kitchen and there are endless options on the street. Also for transportation, many thai use motorcycle as it's cheap to fill up the tank and it can go a long way or they just take public transport like hot bus or songtaew.
I don't know how anyone is living on that these days, hell Adam I am on over 400k a month and I still find myself needing more money, Soi 39 aint cheap,
@@colinmoore747 actually significantly more than that - Work for a US based company, have 3 weed stores, 10 vending coffee vending machines and several claw /stuffed animal machines... just the coffee and claw machines generate 150,000 a month...
@@colinmoore747 the problem is most of the people that come here are poor, they are poor in their home country and think they are going to be able to thrive in south east Asia, sure if you go to a rural town hours and hours away maybe.. Thailand and specifically Bangkok is great place to make a load of money. Life is great here
From what I have seen so far it seems that whatever you spend now in your home country (for me that is the UK) plan to spend the same but expect a better standard of living than you currently have. Rental properties in the UK have skyrocketed since Covid but for the same money you can get a great condo or house with all en suite bathrooms etc in a nice place. It seems unrealistic to cut down to bare minimum.
Thanks for the video and sharing, you been in Thailand for almost forever, if I am going to retire in Thailand which in my early 50's now, I need to have at least $3K in monthly pension & extra savings for emergency, going out only 3x a week with a regular Thai lady with no LDs & barfines. That won't happen until late 2025 or early 2026. Living in America and working is getting worse nowadays. People there in their 20s have to work 2-3 jobs everyday and look at you, having a time of your life.
On the flipside though... Outside of some nations having pretty solid welfare system so medical doesn't cost much if anything at all... All of these expenses are global, not Thailand specific. And if you're in a more expensive country, most of these things will cost you even more than here in Thailand. I would rather live in a not-amazing room here in Thailand, and be warm and nice, than to go home to Norway and live in a shitty shoebox apartment and not be able to afford to keep it heated in winter because electricity is ridiculous. And barely be able to eat enough because food is also expensive. Not to talk about rent. All of these costs are much more expensive back home. Is $1000 enough for a luxury life in Thailand? No. But what does this same $1000 give you where you are currently living? Will it be better, worse? This is a very personal thing.
I'm currently in Laos. My rent in an AirBnB is $600 a month in a great area and I average $15-20 a day in spending, but I also go out and drink a lot, so you could definitely spend less to live here if you don't party much. Someone could easily get by on $5-10 a day, and if you have any local friends or connections, then it's certainly possible to find cheaper rent than what I'm paying.
In Italy the Rent for a 50 years old apartment is average around 20.000 bath a month plus 2.900 for gas/electricity and WIFI plus 36.500 a year for Condo expanses. average salary in Italy is 1500 but in the south of Italy is around 900 euro if you lucky. so when i see video like this I'm going Crazy.😡
I could never imagine living in Bangkok on that, i would be totally bored and miserable. That room you had though looked good for 10k when you first moved over. I work a month in the Middle East and then have a month off staying in Bangkok, I have my own place so no rent and I usually spend about $3000 - $3500.
@@Jughead24 there's plenty of countries in the world where people wouldn't have anything close of what they get in Thailand for this value. You can live in an RV in the US, you share an apartment in Europe for 600$ month... You can't even rent anything in Australia for less than 250$ month so... We tend to lose sense of reality when we are making more money than most people.
You can live just fine on 1000 a month dude. 😂 seriously? You literally did a video on people living on 300 a month. You fail to even realize if your living anywhere on 1000 a mont Thailand is much better. You’re completely missing the point. People who live on $1000 a month are already living somewhere else where they struggle five times harder. You can live in Thailand on $1000 a month much easier and almost every other country. You act like people that go there with $1000 a month by choice to limit themselves to that when the fact is is, that’s all they have to live on so they better live somewhere with their money was much farther like Thailand.
The fact is that BangKok isn't cheap and it definitely needs air conditioning. There are places outside of Bangkok with half the rent and half the electricity fee (since the temp is lower near the beaches). A true nomad needs a phone, a laptop and internet connections but not a home.
@@EddieSmith917 Thanks for the insight there capt. obvious ! Since when do people serving life sentences deserve any type of quality of life... prison is for punishment. I find it hilarious someone with nothing on their you tube page is trying so hard to be a philosophical troll ! hahaha safe journey
And on top of all this exchange rate.....could easy be 20% difference... If you make a tight budget when usd/bath is at 40 and then it goes down to 30....yeah good luck sir haha. And then lets on top of this add inflation to the mix....if you plan to live 30y from now that could affect cost of living aswell. Like 30 years of inflation could do alot
You`re right, 30 years of inflation is likely to reduce a fixed income by 90%. You always see posts with people saying `yeh you can live on $xxxx but they never take of account of inflation. What you can live on today will reduce significantly over the years.
A Japanese youtuber who I watch and lives in Pattaya spends about 400 US dollars a month with no rent as he owns a condominium. He broke it all down. Was an article in Yahoo about it. Westerners just need way way more it seems.
I think most westerners, who can't live on $1,000 per month, are people who simply spend more per month living a more costly lifestyle. There's no way to convince them to live a more frugal lifestyle when that's not their norm. On the other hand, someone living frugally with a much lower budget is accustomed to living that Cheap Charlie life style. At the end of the day, you have to live within your means.
You can certainly "survive" in Thailand on $1000 a month. Most Westerners wouldn't want to do that, though. They're used to a different lifestyle. A more reasonable figure would be $2000, and even that might not be enough, depending. One of the big variables is the cost of food. Eat Thai food every day and you won't spend much money at all. But if you like Western food, it'll cost you. For example, a nice grass fed rib-eye steak can cost $25 at the grocery store. And what would be a cheap bottle of wine in California might be $30 in Thailand. And prices go up from there. And don't forget all the miscellaneous expenses that come up from time to time. It all adds up.
I was trying to dissuade someone from reddit who wants to stay long term in Thailand on a passive income of $600 USD a month, and $7000 USD savings. I tried to persuade him he would need to minimally double his monthly income otherwise he will see his savings dwindle to nothing in less than a year; he was not convinced. I hope he sees this video and realise how far off his budgeting is currently.
I'm a budget traveler. I don't need to buy clothes, I bring my own lmao. Have you ever considered you may not be a budget traveler, and this may be why you're struggling to stay within budget? I'm also not going halfway across the world to take a vacation home lol... very strange points were made about how expensive it is to live in Thailand. Hope you figure it out!
@@mikehunt5637 buddy, would it be my pleasure to inform you that travelers happen to live as well! That's right, we live AND breath. What a strange concept? Ask a Thai native if they can live on that much and they'll give you the dirty look you deserve
The $1,000 per month budget doesn't afford you a good life style any more, especially over the past few years when inflation has risen by about 20-30% globally. Unless you have significant savings or a pension plan, you'll need to find some type of source for additional income (likely online) to live a fulfilling life style in BKK.
the short answer in NO and HELL NO.... unless u want a crappy life. excellent video! when I 1st visited BKK in 1999, u could go out all night on $2000 baht and still come home with $$$ in pocket. today forget it, $2000 baht is pocket change
Great video, much more realistic 😎🇹🇭 those other budget vids should really say for back-packers or someone living cheap but with a decent foreign bank account for large expenses like phones computers and a new motorbike 🏍
USD 1K a month is possible, $400-$500 monthly. In a tiny studio, it is easy to find public transport to and from places, which costs $30-$40 per month for BTS Skytrain and MRT Subway. Electricity, water, and internet typically cost around $50-$70 monthly. Food Is Ridiculously Cheap to eat at Street Vendors, Or If you can Cook, You can Buy fresh Produce anywhere; if you don't drink Or smoke, your nightlife won't cost much because there is always something happening in the city for free, My First Visit To Bangkok my most significant expense by far was the airfare. That being said, my last trip cost me almost $20k. Mind you, most of that was fun and adrenaline, so Meh ADHD..................... away💥
1K per month during the C-situation was doable but prices have gone up. Anyone not coming out with a budget of at least $1500 US as a single and 2K per month for a couple is going to live a very tight uneventful life in Bangkok. and the " I live on less than" comments will come in 3.2.1.....
Yes it's not easy living on $1k a month I live on that a week, but I have a family and live a 5 star life in the Philippines. Good video setting everyone straight.
Insurance for accidents if you can still get it. There a fair few medical things they wont even give you a policy. If you do get cover you have to self insure for the major pre-existing things they wont cover 🤯
Would have been nice to see more computer prices. And I doubt the typical $1000 budget user will buy the latest and most expensive iPhone (16 Max). If he does, that would explain, why he is on a $1000 budget. :)
I just argued with a keyboard w⚓ who says he lives off 30k a month. He told me he can afford to do lots of things on that budget. I told him tuggin off in front of your fan everyday isnt doing much
The bias is that most westerners live with 2-3k a month working daily. Not much time to hang out, not even as much possibility as on a tuesday night, partying with your friends is not a real option. There is no beach, no laid back bar with open view to enjoy late in a warm night. If you come from north west europe your entertainment are mostly pointed at the weekend.
And even with that amount of actual free time, life is so expansive that many people cannot imagine doing outside activities every weekend. For many westerners the big time of the year is when you go on holyday.
When these people come to thailand on holyday for the first time they are blasted by the never ending activity (typical of warm cllimate, tho nothing exclusive to thailand), and the amount of what they can do all day long with their 3-4k budget that they spared back home. It's normal, Thailand is cheap. And on a short, mid-short trip, you can "live like a king", like we like to say.
But Thai people are no different. They have a salary that allow them to live from miserably to decently on a normal daily working life (and the middle salary is still less than a 1000). They can't afford to travel much but do they need to realistically with the place they live in ?
Now of course if you mix the worst of both world : being on a never ending vacation mode with few or no work at all, 1000 dollards a month is a ridiculous amount as most westerners spend twice that amount per month on holyday. That does not mean that it is still a very decent amount to "live in thailand".
But people here comparing Thailand being "expansive" should really look back home and think about what you can do with a 1000 bucks a month. Spoiler : Nothing. You are either homeless, an isolated senior who wait for the end completely bored of life, a drug addict that save on what he can to buy synthetic happiness, or a student that can barely pay his rent and eat at the same time, asking daily for some pocket money to parents. IT's not for nothing that the minimum salary in western europe turn around 1.2-1.6k depending on the country.
So not saying that Thai people live the "vida loca". But you know what they say "misery is more bearable under the sun". And for a 1000 western currency in thailand a month, living a normal life, you are far from miserable
I was with you till the end. No one living on 1000$ a month would me thinking they need a brand new top of the line iPhone. Plenty of very serviceable phones around for 300$ nowadays
even if the local thais on 400 dollars a month more than often buy one on credit... 1000 is plenty to live in thailand
My Samsung was 7,000 baht on discount from 10,000 baht because I already had a contract with True. A $1,000 phone or $2,000 laptop is over the top for most people, like buying a high-end car with lots of extras.
if you are thai it is possible because you can buy those on credit but an expat DN or someone just work from home can't
I personally get the A5 series Samsung, around that $300 - $450 range. Good phones, and they will last a few years.
@@RealThaiLife-m9s I have an A51. In about three years, my girlfriend will say, it is maturing, and it is time to get a new one.
Living here modestly is comfortable and not costly. Most people spend their money after 6:00PM . No drinking and no partying, or in a very limited fashion, and it is a very affordable country in which to stay
As a single person who doesn’t party a lot it’s definitely possible. Location definitely is a factor. If anyone tells you you cannot live on 1000-1250 in Thailand as a single person and still living a good life, they are bullshttn you.
Pack up and come find out for yourself 🧘♂️🙂
SABI SABI🇹🇭
Currently I live in a studio appartment (an "ugly" concrete box with a tin roof) in the suburbs of Hanoi, Vietnam. It has got a kitchen, and a bathroom with toilet. very bare bones but functional. 35 square metres, gated, in a quiet and safe area. Monthly bills: rent 70 USD, electricity 10-15 USD, water 5, 4G internet plan for my phone 5, Rental motorbike 50, decent health insurance: 12 USD.
My total budget fluctuates between 250-600 USD per month. clothing here is dirt cheap. I can find dress shirts or jeans for 10 usd a piece. I could totally spend 1000 usd or more per month, but I don't see the point pissing away money left and right on stuff I don't need. If you are okay with a simple frugal lifestyle, buying veggies on the local farmer's market and cooking your own meals, 500 USD is plenty. Most of my neighbours live off 300 per month. I am perfectly happy to live like this for the next 10 years. Life here is easy and stress free. Less is more!
We dont alll need to rent apartment's in downtown Bangkok for 20,000 baht + a month like yourself, and over indulgence
Lived here for four years not in Bangkok for 30,000 Baht a month living and perfectly happy
you addressing silly things as part of the monthly budget. I pay 14K bath month on my rent on rama 9 close to literally everything. my electricity bill is around 70$ that's 490$ in total 50$ gym everything I need is in walking distance, my condo has internet included, I`m very focused at the gym and I work with social media, I have a defined routine and I believe that most people who decides living here at a young age have too. I go to the gym, I get back I go to the pool sometimes sauna I eat around 4000 calories a day, sometimes I order sometimes I get on 7/11 and sometimes I buy in the streets made by local Thai people, I work I make content in my building I use the building areas that has aircon to work on my laptop, I do visit friends I go out but I don't drink alcohol so I pretty much spend it all with food witch is the very same amount that someone would spend eating in the US/Europe or Australia and the only difference is that I don't need to cook absolutely anything so lets be real. people are sharing apartments for 600$ or more in Europe, in Australia this is what you spend per week sharing an apartment... in the US people are living in their cars because the rent is too expensive. when you speaking about a budget of living you can't include shopping silly stuff of gifts or visa fees or travel costs, that's not part of the budget, everything outside the basic living costs is personal things that the person is up to spend or not. do I even need to say that you can't even get close of having any of that in the US, Europe or Australia by this price? you probably forgot how the reality is back home or is someone who always lived with your parents.
What is your total essential living expense per month? Including insurance, food, transportation etc..
@@LeeLiko I don't usually spend with transportation because as i said, i rented a place right where i need to be, i walk 5 minutes to my language school, my gym is right next door and i only go out at night, is another 8 minutes walking from my place to nana plaza for example... Insurance is an American thing because they have monopolized the health/medical industry there and some other countries follow the same. The 60$ month you will pay in an insurance is actually the cost of what you would spend in case you need something to be done... If you get sick in Thailand and you look for a doctor it won't cost you 100 thousand dollars, more about 50$ to 100$ is the same if not more cheaper than in Brazil. But even if you want to spend with insurance that's it 1060$ month 1100$ if you use the BTS... The problem is that those people come here and as they never had anything close to this "cheapness" in their countries they want to live like kings besides being smart and fit the local standards, 1000$ month is already a medium to high lifestyle in Thailand for the Thai people... The farangs here want to impress the gold diggers and the other foreigners, most of those people are still too attached to this extreme captalist mindset where you need to have and own things to show off to other people otherwise you don't feel included in the "society" they come here and besides saving 5k 10k a month they spend it all, their visa expires and they go back home with absolutely nothing.
Living a comfortable in Sweden like this:
Small town in the city center. 2 room apartment.
Rent: 17 000 baht
Electricity: 1300 baht
Some other things like insurance for apartment and work fees like the union and unemployment insurance: 1800 baht
500 megabit Internet: 1100 baht
Phone 10 Gb data (much more than I use): 380 baht
Total: 21 580 baht
Cooking a lot and eating out a couple of times a week:
15 000 baht maximum.
Grand total: 36580.
According to most people in the world Sweden is a very expensive country. This makes me amazed over how expensive Thailand has become, slowly but surely. Thailand has become to expensive for me. 🙂
😂 western Europe rent is 600-1000 euros for a 2 bed. It would surprise me that Sweden a Scandinavian country would be cheaper. Even in a village it would be at least 600-700 euros. That’s 28000 baht rent only
Healthcare alone should make the budget unsustainable for many. Most don't listen and gamble away their life being uninsured or self-insured inadequately. Up to you.
Yeah living here uninsured is wild, if you do ever need medical coverage, for an uninsured foreigner, it’s insane how much you will need to pay..
I don't need to but I live on around 35K a month. I have no rent to pay and bought my car and motorbike some time ago. Also I don't live in BKK. I drink beer most days and eat farang food which I order to my village. Having said that, theres no way I could do that in any tourist area. If I lived in Pattaya for instance I would be wiping out 100K a month easy if not more.
Lived in Wongamat beach in Pattaya last year. Rent was 23000 baht. Too much but I was new. Where I saved a lot of money was food. Would eat breakfast at the western restaurant for $6 a day. And then eat dinner at street hawker for $2.50 a day. I’d get some mangoes for lunch. All in around $1200-1300 a month. I was living on savings.
I’d recommend at least $1500 US a month. It gives you a lot more leeway to enjoy life.
I mean if you’re just trying to survive on social security or a pension I understand. We have to do what we have to do.
But if you want to enjoy life at least $1500.
I was injured at work. And workmen’s comp was playing games with my money. So I was in survival mode.
But even though I was trying to make my money stretch as far as I could , I enjoyed my time in Thailand. I lived across the street from the ocean. Saw great sunsets from my place. Lost 40 pounds. And really enjoyed my life there.
I would have been homeless in the US.
I will be coming back to Thailand as soon as I can. In Mexico currently , which is great. But I loved Thailand
Doesn't make sense living in Thailand long term with an insurance which makes you pay upfront at hospital just to be later reimbursed. Who wants that? Nobody.
Get an insurance which takes care of bills right away and you won't have worry about total cost. Plenty options available.
It's a lot easier to live on $1000 a month in Vietnam.
Teach me the way.
I went to Vietnam 1 week ago, trust me it's so much more different than Thailand where I have been living for 18 months already. The people are way more rude and even look at your phone when you tell them you already book a taxi. I can tell you from experience Vietnam is far away from Thailand if you are looking for peace, love and people to support your journey. Thailand is a place that blesses people who are looking for a better life and don't know where to find it. The rent is half the price but the seafood and food / traveling costs are the same there as here. I can tell you from experience if you want to feel relaxed and loved and respected go to Thailand, not Vietnam you will be annoyed especially if you have a western attitude.
@@DutchFlavour You been there for a week, had a bad experience, and generalizing the whole country.
@@LocPham-ny7en Generalizing? I am not generalizing and I didn't have a bad experience mr. no profile picture. I love Vietnam way more then every western country and will also come back there because it's a beautiful country but Thailand is just way better to be living in and that's a fact.
@@glidden67 go to your local big city anywhere in America and just watch these people that are living downtown. They are called "displaced persons" and are highly Sought after for such knowledge such as this!
😁
Turn on the air conditioner during the day and the electricity bill will be high. Thai people usually turn on the air conditioner 2 hours before bedtime and off Then go turn on the fan instead. Including turning on the fan together with the air conditioner will help save on electricity costs. Normally during the day I go to work. When I get back into the house I turn on the fan.
Note that the electric bill in the summer will be higher than in the winter if you turn on the air conditioner.
For me in winter and summer is the same haha
Installed new high 23 SEER AC and they use very little electric then the old ones. All lights LED so electric, inverter Fridge electric is about 1500 a month
am spending $7-8k AUD a month living central bkk. No expense spared do what I want eat where I want and travel to islands every few months.
@@EddieSmith917I'd feel stupid AF spending $2k a week living in any city in Asia. Could buy a house every couple of months in Croatia or a bunch of other countries.
That is a dangerous budget mate.
You are spending enough to die quite extravagantly.
Enjoy the ride.
Thats a big budget bro. Enjoy I guess. I’m living in Phuket on 2k € around 70k baht
You had good points in this video until you got the phone part. You don't actually NEED to buy the latest Iphone when you are buying a new phone. Maybe that's what you do when you get a new phone, but for someone living on a 1000 dollar budget that would be very unnecessary and dumb. Very good phones can be had for a much cheaper price tag.
Your videos have always been excellent...but now that I just relocated to Bangkok I'm finding your content even more valuable and I tune in to your channel like a trusted friend for advice!
I totally agree with you. The 1k month budget is good as an intro to your first months in the country, and you can see if you like or not the living in your new country. But with time you will start to get more bills as you start to develop your life. You have to be prepared to have a better income, or you will struggle
The monthly income threshold of 65,000-baht Thai immigration requires proof of when applying for the non-immigrant-O visa is a realistic base to work off.
The real elephant in the room is inflation, that`s often the real killer over time unless you have an increasing income and huge savings for when you want to retire. The other one is the exchange rate, guys came here 20 years ago and could live a comfortable life on their pensions at 75 baht to GBP, that wont work now, the state pension isn`t enough in the UK and the ex rate is nearly halved.
Rates indeed went from 50s to 40s to even 30s on a euro rate.
Inflation making everything double the price in a matter of years. And pension in the west is a scam… they hope we never make the age that’s why they keep raising it. Idk what it is in the Uk.
In the Netherlands where I’m from it’s 67 😂then you get a scratch of maybe 1700-2000 euros at best.
I’m 37 at the moment and not counting on seeing anything ever from my country. Reasons more to leave and move to Thailand fulltime for me.
I go 4-5 months and work in my country 6 months. Once I have an other money source I’m out
Big difference is, a foreigner living in Thailand with $1,000/month budget is likely isn’t working… while a Thai with the same monthly budget has to work (long hour day, most day of the week).
One has freedom with his time while other doesn’t.
Which $1,000/month budget would you rather be?
Not working costs more money than working day to day. Sitting around on $1000 a month can`t be a lot of fun.
@@The_Redknight “sitting around” while finding lower cost/free things to do vs. having to work long hours and having to answer to someone on the daily basis? I know which option I’d choose.
But at the end of the day, you do you. Whatever makes you happy. 🤷🏽♂️
😂 why do you think a foreigner has a 1k win for life? Unless retired people or people with a healthcare paycheck or other rare case… majority of foreigners don’t have a magical 1k money supply from thin air, let alone longterm….
You delusional as fuck.
The people you refer to are those that go back home broke because they spend 1k a month and making nothing in the mean time.
A western guy can come here and sit 1y on his ass with only 15k$
But you talk as if every foreigner has a 1k supply budget for free forever..
If so… how? Which countries do that? Can I apply I’m European Dutch Belgian. I love Thailand …
If I can sit on a magical 1k a month there I will…
These cost of living videos are kind of pointless. Your cost of living is entirely dependent on your lifestyle. Some people are happy to live in a fan room for 4000thb per month and live on $5-600 USD per month. Other people will need $10000 per month to live their lifestyle.
I know plenty of people who are influencers in Thailand living on this budget, everyone pretty much just work go to the gym enjoy the pool and move around the city by bts
At 4,00thb I’d like to see some of the living conditions. Thats $120 USD and you won’t have anything but a fan in the room. Likely no hot water like most locals in the provinces, no WiFi, no pool, and living way outside any populated area. Philippines same thing. $600 a month you’ll be staying in the province. It’s 180° different than the western standard of living
One of the few girls I talk to regularly from the Philippines just got a full time job as a cook/housekeeper for 5,000 pesos a month. That is no days off, 6am to 8pm every day. But, she gets free WiFi and an actual bed with a mattress. Plus running water. No hot water available or proper shower. Just a bucket you fill and use. And this is actually a “decent” wage there. Thailand is a little higher pay for populated places. But the standard of living is pretty close to the same
@@portlandGTR I wouldn't live in a fan room, but there are plenty of them around in both Pattaya and Bangkok. As I said different strokes for different folks.
@@fehilyfitness yeah, I just did a search on google for places near BKK and Pattaya, then Phuket for 4k THB and under… whoa… even worse than what I thought. Needed to raise it to 10k THB before I saw even close to a place that you wouldn’t dread sleeping in. Around the 15k mark was where you could get a place in the actual city or close to. I’ve never personally met anyone living like that from the west when they live there. $1,500 a month is about the minimum monthly needed to start living there. $1,000 a month would work back in 2010-2015. But everything goes up over time no matter where you go
I used to think that way but don’t agree saying it’s pointless .. it does give people a general idea and that is a point 😂.. I have more but I’m a busy man… you might like to argue with my reply and that’s just expected from some people
Adam really does give me a baseline that I can manipulate based on my income and preference … more than happy to help you out mate if u need more guidance .. assuming your here to learn and help others too like me
I don’t think the average Thai people make $1000 a month and they are alive and well from what I can tell
😂yeah they also live half the time rent free with family or generational housing. They also don’t pay visa costs on a year base. And they have everything at local prices. To stay in Thailand I’m spending 50€ already sometimes up to 150€ a month to even stay here legal 😅
A 5k condo for a farang will be a 12k condo etc etc
Not everybody has a Thai wife to make the bargains.
I mean I get your point but that’s in theory. Most farang don’t get by with 35k baht because we already lose 3k on the visa and an other 2-5k overpaying other stuff.
That leaves 28k to survive a to z?
Maybe in isaan 😂🎉
So glad to see a realistic video on living in Thailand. I can add to your data, I live in Rural Thailand, about halfway between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. My rent is disgustingly cheap, because my wife knew the right person. We have a HOUSE on 1 Rai (1/3rd of an acre) of land, for 7500 Baht / month. I sometimes feel like we stole it. We are saving money to get our own house with the extra money. We run 3 ACs almost 24/ 7, and our electric bill is around 4500 Baht. The rest:
3BB Fastest internet: 1800 Baht
AIS Cell: 1200 Baht
Car Payment (new car): 11000 Baht
Food: 4000 / month (estimated)
Thanks for reminding me about insurance :) I will be around the $100 USD mark on that one
I have a marriage visa, and I will be renewing it in about 3 or 4 months, I don't remember what I paid for it initially, but I have to have 400,000 baht in a THAI bank account in MY name for at least 90 days before I apply for the initial marriage license. You can try to provide proof of income, but it is actually easier (if you have the money) to just put it in a Thai bank.
I don't even keep track of incidentals, it isn't worth it to me, but I would bet we spend an average of 5000 - 7500 baht a month on things outside of main groceries. Keep in mind, this is for two people, and I do help with some of her family expenses (not too much, though :))
I hope that helps other people to realize, if you want to LIVE in Thailand, $1000 / month won't cut it. Thanks again for pointing this out. :)
If you don't have 12k in the bank, might be a good idea NOT to get married.
But some people never learn.
Is 1 million USD enough to retire in Thailand if i don't really goto bars for a single guy?
@censoredeveryday3320 Depends on how long you have to live. If you plan to croak in 20 years, That is MORE then fine as long as you have it in something like gold or silver that keeps up with market inflation.
Truthfully, you can live as a single guy there for less than $699 a month if you keep it LEAN and live exactly like the locals do.
House room rentals will set you back close to nothing if you do work around the place, or happen to join one of the monasteries or happen to take on work as managing one of the hotels there.
Once settled in, I know vets that settled in SEA and live by their lonesome just from the items they farm as growing seasons can be year round.
His power is solar, and most of the consumption is the A/C
He keeps himself busy.
The secret is to keep your wealth under wraps, and indeed get a job or sell stuff local and cheap.
Learn to make your own spirits, and do indeed have some kind of American style food joint.
That will keep you sane, and keep the costs of the things you like to eat or import very low.
Just be sure to diversify your portfolio so that just in case the US dollar tanks, you have plenty of liquidity and it's not going to even dent your retirement funds.
Personally, I plan on 1500 euros a month, not too little and not too much. Why should I spend more money in a country that is cheaper than my home country? Sometimes I don't understand some people. Of course I can spend 3k or 5k a month, but then I live like I'm on vacation. Here in Germany I live on 1200 euros, rent free (own house). I'm single and have no children. 1500 euro (55k thb) in Thailand is for me enough.
As of Oct 6, 2024, the average annual pay for a Senior Engineer in Thailand is ฿47,606 a month.
Just to give you a comparison.
With a budget of $1000 per month, you're probably living like a local and that's not why most people move to Thailand in the first place.
That’s exactly right!!
You can survive there but here in the US, you would starve and still be homeless!
US or Aus $?
Ignore me, the pop up has just shown 😊
@@OOOSHHUK Which pop-up ?
So it's AUD or USD ?
Another great video! Just wanted to say the studio setup looks amazing. I can tell that you really put your heart into it. Loving the vintage console section! Cheers and all the best to you brother! 😉
Great video Adam 👍
Great video from you as always, Adam. Your new playroom / video room looks super cool and pro, too - nice upgrade for yourself and the channel. As for your calculations here, you're totally right. It's also just a fact of life that often, you end up spending more than you initially planned. Apart from the obvious things you mentioned like shopping - it's nice to treat yourself to something once in a while, esp in places like Bangkok with its great malls! - there are also other things. Like, you might want to fly out for your visa run. You might want to take a trip elsewhere during rainy season. You might want to holiday in Koh Phangan or Phuket for a break from BKK. You've mentioned the iPhone, but you might also lose your Airpods and need to replace them. Or buy some console game. Or - not my own preference in the slightest, but others do - buy some (bar) girls some drinks when going out.
When just speaking domestically, I found it's household stuff that also eats into budget. Things for your kitchen (especially if you don't eat out every single meal). Having said that, you'll want Western food now and then, which is pricier than Thai food. Also, personal care stuff, moisturiser, hair products maybe, that sorta stuff. Your gym membership. Your protein shakes if you take them. Some new aftershave. When rainy season approaches, stuff for that. When going on a beach trip, stuff for the beach, maybe some activities. When dating, going out for meals and drinks and footing the bill.
Even when ordering food from Grab and the amounts are so small each time, they still do add up. Stuff you order online from Lazada... cables for your electronics; lamps for your apartment; a throw or cushions; maybe some extra furniture.... the list goes on. People are clueless if they think they really can live longterm COMFORTABLY on such small budgets. Or else, they're literally "broke hippie backpackers" but then that's an entirely different demographic. Anyway, I've written a novel lol. Keep up the good work man, warm wishes from Vietnam
If you can establish that in an 'ordinary' month, that you can live in Thailand for 1k usd/mo - by actually doing so for 2-3 months, then you have a baseline. When you prove that to yourself, you can more correctly set a number above that which makes for a better, more complete life, knowing you can pull back in an emergency were one to come up.
You can live on a 1000 usd maybe not in Bangkok. I live in Jomtien in a complex with a pool restaurants bars my rent electric water wifi about 210 pound a month. What you spend after that is up to you
You aren`t doing much in Jomtien on $1000 a month except staring at the walls of a small condo.
Lol@@The_Redknight
Most Thai people live on less than that. If you really want to live in Thailand and all you have $1000/month you'll be fine. Just don't move into the most expensive parts of the country and live an abnormal lifestyle that wouldn't be doing back home anyways.
Just bough my phones 200$ Canadian (150$ US) Motorola G54 Dual SIM..... what do you buy with 2000$ ??? A spaceship? My laptop just cost me 400$ CAN. (300$ US) THX FOR BEIGN HONEST IN YOUR VIDEO'S ♥♥♥THIS WILL SAVE PEOPLE.
Even if $1000 is statistically feasible, I wouldn't recommended it. It's like continuously keeping just enough gas in you car to keep the needle just off the E. It will wear you down.
a great way to beat the aircon bills is to buy a fan for each room. it really helps to knock down the electric bills using a fan instead of aircon. my monthly elec. bills are about 300-400 thb.
I do not understand this fascination with Apple products.
They are proprietary with proprietary software and are not real cross platform friendly.
I can buy a smart phone that takes great video and a gaming laptop for video editing for about the price of an IPhone alone.
I have recommended that people have a bare minimum US$10,000 in a dividend / interest bearing account as a safety net. US$100,000 would be far better. With US$250,000 invested properly, you can live in SE Asia on the interest / dividend alone. Any retirement benefits on top of that are icing on the cake and / or could be reinvested in your real retirement account.
Thanks Keis, great realistic video about cost of living per month in Thailand. As you said you’re not living on a $1000 per month just excising maybe if living in a rural area you just get by. I think definitely you can manage on $1,500 to $2,000 with a money to spare/save
Also you gotta think about exchange rates and inflation rate changing all the time, this will affect your money. Keep up the great work Cheers Irish Paul
Thanks for this video, very helpful. Regarding the Safetywing insurance, it sounds good, and many other people seem to recommend it too. But have you ever had to make a claim with them? I hear a lot of people say that when it comes to them paying out for a claim, things tend not to go well. If you have never made a claim, why do you recommend Safetywing? Thanks
Made a claim and it was denied
Great vlog Keis honestly its refreshing to hear people speaking sensible about true living cost and I mean living not just staying in Thailand not doing anything or worry all the time.
Ps NBA Jam is still the best basketball game ever 😂👌👌👌
Great video. People also forget that there’s basically no safety net in Thailand. One of last places you want to be broke. We’ve all seen it and it ain’t pretty
There is, its called turning trix on soi 6. Just comes down to how bad you want it. 😅
@@gtrfreak Don’t think a broke farrang has much to offer on soi 6 or any other soi for that matter
Really thorough and is a great wake-up call for folks thinking $1k is enough! Thanks
Thanks excellent info .
Currently in Los Angeles and there are tons of people living on much less than 1K per month . Sh it box rv’s parked on the street for years with all their possessions on the roof. Nicer weather than Bangkok , cleaner beaches, no health care, eating out of the dumpsters !
I pay ฿4,000 per month Phrakanong. Yes old and box 28 sq m with Balcony aircon
if you think, living in remote area of pattaya is significant cheaper, lets say, "the dark side", - no, its not. The aircon-cost are much higher, if you live in a bungalow. Your electric tools needs protection, over voltage and under voltage are real problems, The controllercard of an aircon costs about 2.000 THB, and can`t be replaced, when the aircon is older than 7 years, and you can`t get used spare parts anymore. In 7 years, you might replace the card 3 times, when you have Lightning strike catenary. In this case, you tv, your iphone-charger, your pc, everything has to be protected by an abb ups, that needs every 2 years a new battery. Every 3 years, the Expansion joints of your tiles may be hard as concrete (based on this temperature change between Aircon and No Aircon), if you don`t replace the Expansion joints in time, the tiles will come up. Without a thai friend, you will pay prices, same as in your home country, and a repairjob can take a loong time, cause so many isaan workers left pattaya during "C", went back to isaan, and never came back.
It’s 75% cheaper to live in Thailand than the USA or most other countries. So it’s win win . That’s why I’m moving to Thailand in few years
I live in the Dark Side but I live as I would when I moved from Florida. My elec bill is almost constantly 8000 Bhat, water 350, rent 25000, we own a car with a few scooters. We spend 20-25000 for food and there are lots of other expenses. But overall I would say it's still 1/3 of Florida cost
I bought a couple of UPSs cheap on ebay. (Under $100) If you get somewhat decent batteries, they'll last for 5 years.
@@CaptainKremmen wow 5 years, in Pattaya, you get decent batteries only @Wattana Systemation. But better than 2-3 years - no way. If nobody is at home, the ups is working in rooms, with over 38 degrees.
@@TomSmith-yh9ju Yeah, heat is really bad for those batteries. If it were me, I'd keep the aircon on where the UPS and electronics are anyhow. That sort of temperature would threaten the lifespan of laptop, WiFi AP, etc, too. (Yes, I'd be spending more on power and less on batteries.)
Thanks for the 2024 update on these expenses...really appreciated as videos like this can become outdated as both local prices and FX rates change.
Another big expense is...relationships/partner! Even if they're earning their own income, you often want to do things together and such expenses can definitely accumulate. I suppose this comes under your mention of "someone else", just not family.
I hope you also do those things like trips and eating in a nice restaurant yourself too. You don't need a partner to live your life in an exciting way. But yes, living in Thailand the chances are high you will at some point have to pay at least for a part of your partners costs as well - for example if she can survive on her own, but can't afford the nice trip or the western restaurant you prefer. Even if you only pay for those extra expenses, that can easily add up to $500+ per month, if you prefer a western life style.
Studio is looking good man!
Times of cheap living in Thailand is over and has been for years due to inflation and strong baht. You can live like an Amish out in the farmer land but what life is that.
0$ per month for insurance if you’re 100% retired from the army and live in pattaya where there’s a VA clinic.
As I search flights from BKK to Australia 🇦🇺 🤦♂️ feel blessed dude, I’m seeing flights as low as $130 one way to Perth, and 200 to Sydney. Minimum from the USA one way is $500 and goes up from there 😩 perspective is everything
Don't iphone ! 48000 THB for a phone is totally silly, get a nice mid range android for about 12-15k. Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Xiaomi, Redmi, Infinix, many many more and if you want to spend just a little bit more, any samsung. The fruitbrand is absurd.
Many thais do live without ac and content with only fans as it's more bearable at night. For food, many prefer buy from the street as most apartment usually don't come with kitchen and there are endless options on the street. Also for transportation, many thai use motorcycle as it's cheap to fill up the tank and it can go a long way or they just take public transport like hot bus or songtaew.
I don't know how anyone is living on that these days, hell Adam I am on over 400k a month and I still find myself needing more money, Soi 39 aint cheap,
Absolutely correct. There is a difference between living and surviving.
400k a month. Come on.
@@colinmoore747 actually significantly more than that - Work for a US based company, have 3 weed stores, 10 vending coffee vending machines and several claw /stuffed animal machines... just the coffee and claw machines generate 150,000 a month...
@@colinmoore747 the problem is most of the people that come here are poor, they are poor in their home country and think they are going to be able to thrive in south east Asia, sure if you go to a rural town hours and hours away maybe.. Thailand and specifically Bangkok is great place to make a load of money. Life is great here
$2K a month is the sweet spot. You can live good anywhere in Thailand, to include Bangkok.
From what I have seen so far it seems that whatever you spend now in your home country (for me that is the UK) plan to spend the same but expect a better standard of living than you currently have. Rental properties in the UK have skyrocketed since Covid but for the same money you can get a great condo or house with all en suite bathrooms etc in a nice place. It seems unrealistic to cut down to bare minimum.
Thanks for the video and sharing, you been in Thailand for almost forever, if I am going to retire in Thailand which in my early 50's now, I need to have at least $3K in monthly pension & extra savings for emergency, going out only 3x a week with a regular Thai lady with no LDs & barfines. That won't happen until late 2025 or early 2026. Living in America and working is getting worse nowadays. People there in their 20s have to work 2-3 jobs everyday and look at you, having a time of your life.
On the flipside though...
Outside of some nations having pretty solid welfare system so medical doesn't cost much if anything at all...
All of these expenses are global, not Thailand specific. And if you're in a more expensive country, most of these things will cost you even more than here in Thailand.
I would rather live in a not-amazing room here in Thailand, and be warm and nice, than to go home to Norway and live in a shitty shoebox apartment and not be able to afford to keep it heated in winter because electricity is ridiculous. And barely be able to eat enough because food is also expensive. Not to talk about rent. All of these costs are much more expensive back home.
Is $1000 enough for a luxury life in Thailand?
No. But what does this same $1000 give you where you are currently living?
Will it be better, worse? This is a very personal thing.
I'm currently in Laos. My rent in an AirBnB is $600 a month in a great area and I average $15-20 a day in spending, but I also go out and drink a lot, so you could definitely spend less to live here if you don't party much. Someone could easily get by on $5-10 a day, and if you have any local friends or connections, then it's certainly possible to find cheaper rent than what I'm paying.
In Italy the Rent for a 50 years old apartment is average around 20.000 bath a month plus 2.900 for gas/electricity and WIFI plus 36.500 a year for Condo expanses. average salary in Italy is 1500 but in the south of Italy is around 900 euro if you lucky. so when i see video like this I'm going Crazy.😡
I could never imagine living in Bangkok on that, i would be totally bored and miserable. That room you had though looked good for 10k when you first moved over. I work a month in the Middle East and then have a month off staying in Bangkok, I have my own place so no rent and I usually spend about $3000 - $3500.
Yeah it’s ok but after a while it was too small
i could never imagine spending 2k on a phone not that i cant i just wouldnt having a scooter i would never be borded
If you want to live on 1000...ok. But why would you aspire to this? If you want to live life, date, eat out...plan on 3k
@@Jughead24 there's plenty of countries in the world where people wouldn't have anything close of what they get in Thailand for this value. You can live in an RV in the US, you share an apartment in Europe for 600$ month... You can't even rent anything in Australia for less than 250$ month so... We tend to lose sense of reality when we are making more money than most people.
@curlbryant excellent point and true. The value here is tremendous. My point, however, was that even so-living on 1200 us is....spartan
You can live just fine on 1000 a month dude. 😂 seriously? You literally did a video on people living on 300 a month. You fail to even realize if your living anywhere on 1000 a mont Thailand is much better. You’re completely missing the point. People who live on $1000 a month are already living somewhere else where they struggle five times harder. You can live in Thailand on $1000 a month much easier and almost every other country. You act like people that go there with $1000 a month by choice to limit themselves to that when the fact is is, that’s all they have to live on so they better live somewhere with their money was much farther like Thailand.
The fact is that BangKok isn't cheap and it definitely needs air conditioning. There are places outside of Bangkok with half the rent and half the electricity fee (since the temp is lower near the beaches). A true nomad needs a phone, a laptop and internet connections but not a home.
40000 baht a month single and 60000 baht a month as a couple is doable.
Yeah that’s the lower end but anything above that is good!
Retirement visa also requires 800,000 thb in a thai bank account
Quality of life... no matter where you exist, is crucial. Great video brother. Safe journey
@@EddieSmith917 for starters, not having to count every penny like your life depends on it.
@@EddieSmith917 Thanks for the insight there capt. obvious ! Since when do people serving life sentences deserve any type of quality of life... prison is for punishment. I find it hilarious someone with nothing on their you tube page is trying so hard to be a philosophical troll ! hahaha safe journey
And on top of all this exchange rate.....could easy be 20% difference... If you make a tight budget when usd/bath is at 40 and then it goes down to 30....yeah good luck sir haha. And then lets on top of this add inflation to the mix....if you plan to live 30y from now that could affect cost of living aswell. Like 30 years of inflation could do alot
You`re right, 30 years of inflation is likely to reduce a fixed income by 90%. You always see posts with people saying `yeh you can live on $xxxx but they never take of account of inflation. What you can live on today will reduce significantly over the years.
A Japanese youtuber who I watch and lives in Pattaya spends about 400 US dollars a month with no rent as he owns a condominium. He broke it all down. Was an article in Yahoo about it. Westerners just need way way more it seems.
If he owns then of course cost of living is cheaper
$100 a week? Still a sad life..
I think most westerners, who can't live on $1,000 per month, are people who simply spend more per month living a more costly lifestyle. There's no way to convince them to live a more frugal lifestyle when that's not their norm. On the other hand, someone living frugally with a much lower budget is accustomed to living that Cheap Charlie life style. At the end of the day, you have to live within your means.
@@keisone Lives a great life. So much energy.
@@keisonedude most money is wasted, you will learn eventually. Booze, women, partying, showing off, flexing on the poor.
Just get a boogie board bag and load up before coming Bangkok. One way or another you wont have to worry about budgetting for the next year
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Then you will be getting loaded up at the Bangkok Hilton.
No rent there haha
You can certainly "survive" in Thailand on $1000 a month. Most Westerners wouldn't want to do that, though. They're used to a different lifestyle. A more reasonable figure would be $2000, and even that might not be enough, depending.
One of the big variables is the cost of food. Eat Thai food every day and you won't spend much money at all. But if you like Western food, it'll cost you. For example, a nice grass fed rib-eye steak can cost $25 at the grocery store. And what would be a cheap bottle of wine in California might be $30 in Thailand. And prices go up from there.
And don't forget all the miscellaneous expenses that come up from time to time. It all adds up.
It is going to be tougher if the Baht is getting stronger. Just budget $2,000 usd a month so no disappointment.
Great Video Keis ! great points and all too risky for that budget for a young person that probably cannot work in Thailand to make a few extra bucks.
Thank you my budget is 4500usd month I was worried that was two little
I was trying to dissuade someone from reddit who wants to stay long term in Thailand on a passive income of $600 USD a month, and $7000 USD savings. I tried to persuade him he would need to minimally double his monthly income otherwise he will see his savings dwindle to nothing in less than a year; he was not convinced. I hope he sees this video and realise how far off his budgeting is currently.
Great advice! 👍
I'm a budget traveler. I don't need to buy clothes, I bring my own lmao. Have you ever considered you may not be a budget traveler, and this may be why you're struggling to stay within budget? I'm also not going halfway across the world to take a vacation home lol... very strange points were made about how expensive it is to live in Thailand. Hope you figure it out!
The video is about living in Thailand, not travelling.
@@mikehunt5637 buddy, would it be my pleasure to inform you that travelers happen to live as well! That's right, we live AND breath. What a strange concept? Ask a Thai native if they can live on that much and they'll give you the dirty look you deserve
@@OpoOnTheGo Tell me you're stupid without telling me you're stupid.
Dude that was Harsh ! 😕
JK - Thanks for the honesty other channels make it look so easy. and don't mention hidden costs.
The $1,000 per month budget doesn't afford you a good life style any more, especially over the past few years when inflation has risen by about 20-30% globally. Unless you have significant savings or a pension plan, you'll need to find some type of source for additional income (likely online) to live a fulfilling life style in BKK.
That office looks rad
If that's their budget ..then they will be even more worse for example..in the UK where 1000 will go less further ... So id say go .....
the short answer in NO and HELL NO.... unless u want a crappy life. excellent video! when I 1st visited BKK in 1999, u could go out all night on $2000 baht and still come home with $$$ in pocket. today forget it, $2000 baht is pocket change
Well living in chiangmai,chiangrai for 1k usd thats a very nice life stlye 😊not in bangkok for sure
Great video, much more realistic 😎🇹🇭 those other budget vids should really say for back-packers or someone living cheap but with a decent foreign bank account for large expenses like phones computers and a new motorbike 🏍
USD 1K a month is possible, $400-$500 monthly. In a tiny studio, it is easy to find public transport to and from places, which costs $30-$40 per month for BTS Skytrain and MRT Subway. Electricity, water, and internet typically cost around $50-$70 monthly. Food Is Ridiculously Cheap to eat at Street Vendors, Or If you can Cook, You can Buy fresh Produce anywhere; if you don't drink Or smoke, your nightlife won't cost much because there is always something happening in the city for free, My First Visit To Bangkok my most significant expense by far was the airfare.
That being said, my last trip cost me almost $20k. Mind you, most of that was fun and adrenaline, so Meh
ADHD..................... away💥
Yeah that’s fine, for month to month, but long term it means no trips, no new phone or computer ever again
Bangkok is at least 1.5x more expensive than other cities in Thailand
1K per month during the C-situation was doable but prices have gone up. Anyone not coming out with a budget of at least $1500 US as a single and 2K per month for a couple is going to live a very tight uneventful life in Bangkok. and the " I live on less than" comments will come in 3.2.1.....
Yes it's not easy living on $1k a month I live on that a week, but I have a family and live a 5 star life in the Philippines. Good video setting everyone straight.
i just paid 40 dollars for a months rent in thailand was it luxury no but it was liveable.
1500 baht a month? I dunno about that, People pay more than that in the slums I hang out in..
Big difference between surviving and living
I factoring in a new phone when budgeting living abroad----then ya cant afford to live abroad !
You didn’t mention food
Insurance for accidents if you can still get it. There a fair few medical things they wont even give you a policy. If you do get cover you have to self insure for the major pre-existing things they wont cover 🤯
Would have been nice to see more computer prices. And I doubt the typical $1000 budget user will buy the latest and most expensive iPhone (16 Max). If he does, that would explain, why he is on a $1000 budget. :)
Hmm... most Thai people use air-con everyday, sir.😅
What about inflation , costs go up all the time. Better stay in your own country than be a miserable cheap skate in Thailand
41 degrees bro 🤐🤐🤐 you need to be rocking the singlet in that heat 😳😳
Are those rent amounts for long-term leases only? Can I rent month-to-month at those rates? Or am I stuck with AirBnBs for short-term stays?
Nah short term will either be more difficult or more expensive
An ok studio can be 6000.
1000$ month in bkk is not enough but in rural thailand yes
My phone cost 98€ 🤣🤣🤣 buy once every 2 year... And i use honor X6a android 128g
What are those people on $1000 per month do all day anyway? Stare at the wall? Why not work and make it more?
Most Visas don't allow you to work, or work in a limited variety of jobs. A retirement visa doesn't allow you to work at all.
I just argued with a keyboard w⚓ who says he lives off 30k a month. He told me he can afford to do lots of things on that budget. I told him tuggin off in front of your fan everyday isnt doing much