Thailand Retirement-Costs of Living in Thailand

We get lots of inquiries about the cost of living in Thailand. The only way we can answer that is in generalities.

Living to western standards in Bangkok is as expensive as many other large cities in the world. Living most anywhere else in Thailand is significantly cheaper.

Here is a pretty good Thailand budget calculator

Certain tourist areas in Thailand will be more expensive than standard "up country living". The tourist areas include Phuket, Pattaya, Krabi and to some extent, Chiang Mai. This writer is not sufficiently familiar with costs in Hadyai to make an accurate comment.

Housing Location is the key. The cost of purchasing or leasing houses, condos and serviced apartments built to western standards vary considerably depending on location. Sea side houses and condos in Hua Hin, Pattaya and Phuket can be very dear when priced per square meter.

It is common to see 1 room condos of 36 sq m (about 360 sq ft). These can be priced from Bt 500,000 in Chiang Mai to Bt 5,000,000 in Phuket.

A 120 sq m (1,200 sq ft) free standing house on 1/2 rai (800 sq m or .2 acres) can be built "up country" for less than Bt 1,000,000.

Caution: Generally, a foreigner cannot own real property in Thailand. There are some workarounds that involve company ownership yet some are illegal. An attorney should be engaged if you are contemplating the aquisition of land.

Utilities - Costs in Thailand

Power - Figure a minimum Bt 800 (with no air conditioning) to Bt 3,000+ with moderate air con useage . This depends much on the region and elevation.
Telephone - Local telephone installation is upwards of Bt 6,000 to 8,000. Monthly rate is Bt 100. Each local hookup is Bt 3.
Mobile phones - are affordable, starting at Bt 3,000 and up. Calling plans vary from buying newable sim cards to Bt 500/mo basic charges
Water - I honestly can't remember, but budget Bt 300/mo

Note: Condos and serviced apartments often act as middlemen for utilities. The surcharge will usually be 50% and up.

Food & Drink in Thailand

There is is big difference in the cost of Thai food and western food in Thailand. Thai food is cheap in local restaurants. Western food will be similar in price to the food in the west.

One can have a very nice Thai meal for Bt 50. Bt 200 is more than enough to budget as a daily allowance unless you are a really big eater ... or unless you like fancy places.

Wine is expensive. Bt 300 will be a cheap bottle.

Beer varies with whatever is happening at the venue where it is sold. A small bottle of Heineken at a market should cost Bt 35. Figure Bt 45 - 55 at a local bar. At some fancy expat-only girlie bar, expect to pay double that.

A bottle of 12 year old scotch should be Bt 800 or thereabouts. Many upcountry places will allow you to carry in your own bottle and buy ice & mixer from them. A bottle of cheap scotch, Bt 400 ... Thai whiskey, Bt 200.

Laundry here means washed and ironed, sometimes delivered. It may be handled either on a monthly basis or a per piece basis. Monthly might be something like 100 items for Bt 500 - 600.

Entertainment Costs in Thailand

Movie - Bt 100 - 150
DVD daily rental - Bt 20 - 30
UBC cable service: CNN, BBC, Cinemax, ESPN, HBO, National Geographic - Bt 6,000 for lease and installation of box plus Bt 1,600/month.

Extra Ciricular

For those who wish to pursue the fairer sex, be prepared to spend anywhere fom nominal sums to ridiculous amounts doing so. No further comment.

Golf The good news, Thailand has lots of courses. The better news, most are quite reasonable. Compared to the west, they are downright cheap. Most courses have a "sportsmen's day" ... usually Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Typical greens fee is Bt 500 at the better courses. Even better news, caddies are usually available and their fee for 18 holes will average about Bt 150.

Scuba Diving

Thailand has some fine diving. The seasons vary with shifting weather patterns. The 2 dominany areas are the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand. A dive with boat trip should cost no more than US$25.

For more information try scuba diving Thailand.

Tennis It's growing in popularity in Thailand. Courts are available. Lighted courts are usually available only at resorts.

Nature Thailand has dozens of national parks. Khao Yai with its wild elephants in the central area, Khao Sok and the exotic bird species in rhe South and Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai province, the highest point in Thailand, are but 3 examples. These and many other parks have treks, rafting, mountain biking and camping.

Transportation Costs in Thailand

Cars are expensive in Thailand. A standard small Japanese model sedan or a nice picup truck will set you back about Bt 800,000.
Motorcycles are common and quite inexpensive.
Public ground transport is cheap. So is rail transport where it is available.
Domestic air travel is nominal. The result is that touring Thailand is quite reasonable

Service Services are quite inexpensive. That means it is possible to have a driver or a personal health care provider without bankrupting your savings. Bt 5,000 to 8,000 is a very liveable wage for "up country" Thais.

What did we miss? If you have a question that is not covered he, drop us an email and we will research the issue, then include the answer on this page.