living in thailand for 500 dollars

[paperboy]

found this video by chance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj-Cnvf8QKI

[youtube:1uiiunds]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj-Cnvf8QKI[/youtube:1uiiunds]

[Nirish guy]

Looking at the video and no offence to the guy but I guessing "living" is the subjective word here though.....

[cdnmatt]

Looking at the video and no offence to the guy but I guessing "living" is the subjective word here though.....

hehe, agreed. Heck, I'm up here in Khon Kaen, and I spend probably $2500/month, and my life sucks, lol.

Ok, that's actually wrong. I do live a pretty decent life and everything, but I'm hardly living like a king. Some of the locals may think I'm quite well off, but compared to Western standards, not so much.

[PeterUK]

I've a hunch christianpfc will be drooling over that video.

[Nirish guy]

If not complaining about the excessive wastes of money shown in it !

I mean he paid 120 baht ? to have a puncture repaired on his motorbike when it's well know that there's perfectly good super glue on the market and the good Lord gave him a mouth and a set of lungs and he could have taken a few days to blow air back in to the tyre himself - sheer waste and unnecessary extravagance if you ask me ! :-)

[thaiguest]

I wonder if this guy and others like him get their kicks from living in a foreign country or from living "hand to mouth" in a foreign country. He seems to have a love of the threadbare lifestyle equal to that of a Trappist monk.
These frugal types make me nervous and a little guilty when I reflect on my lifestyle here. I and many like me on this forum would easily drop 500 baht in a go-go bar on a drink and 20b tips and then go to the next bar for more of the same.
I can't shake off the feeling that the big finger of fate will tap me on the shoulder to announce that the party is over and it's time to go home to the real world.

[a447]

If I had to live like that, keeping an eye on every baht, I'd rather stay home. Life's too short.

[Dodger]

If all the guy can afford to live on is $500/month than I'd say he's made some wise decisions.

$500/month is way below the poverty line in Japan, as it is in the U.S. anf most of Europe as well, and the fact that he's living in a clean building, eating healthy food and enjoying a peaceful environment says a lot. The alternative may be living in a filthy ghetto, eating cheap processed food and burning newspapers on the floor of his room to stay warm in the Winter.

[lego]

If I had to live like that, keeping an eye on every baht, I'd rather stay home. Life's too short.
But isn't the problem that you'd then have the same problem at home, too? In relative terms, you are even poorer back home with that kind of money. So I guess my point is that life would be shitty on $500 per month anywhere in the world, but maybe less shitty in Thailand than in many other places.

[Dodger]

Ironically, 37,500 baht ($500) is about the average monthly income for the Thai middle-class who live pretty good lives.

I know a few expats in Pattaya who appear as if they maintain the same limited bufget. They dine exclusively at the 40 baht food stalls, avoid going anywhere that's not within walking distance of their room, and only show up around the night venues when there's a free food buffet being served. I think this Janapese guy could take some lessons from the baloon chasers.

[Moses]

Ironically, 37,500 baht ($500) is about the average monthly income for the Thai middle-class who live pretty good lives.

500 US dollars for today = 17800 Thai Baht

[scottish-guy]

Ironically, 37,500 baht ($500) is about the average monthly income for the Thai middle-class who live pretty good lives.

That's all very well Dodger, but how many of us fancy downgrading to middle class?


:))

[christianpfc]

(Haven't watched the full video, might comment again after doing so.)
I would say you could live comfortably on 500 USD = 17.800 Baht per month in Thailand. Due to fancy room (Sathorn, 8000 Baht) and extensive traveling, I need more. But if I had to, I could live on 500 USD. It's certainly better to live in Thailand than in the West on 500 USD per month!


Ironically, 17,800 baht ($500) is about the average monthly income for the Thai middle-class who live pretty good lives.
There is a big difference between working and holidaying in Thailand. With work, you have much less free time and energy to spend money. When I had a job, I spent about 20 kTHB per month. Now without work, I spend about 30 kTHB per month, and I have no income from work!

Heck, I'm up here in Khon Kaen, and I spend probably $2500/month, and my life sucks, lol.
Ok, that's actually wrong. I do live a pretty decent life and everything, but I'm hardly living like a king. Some of the locals may think I'm quite well off, but compared to Western standards, not so much.
How do you manage to spend a fortune of $2500/month (USD or Canadian?) and not living like a king?

[francois]

That video was too boring to watch for more than a minute. Did that guy actually stay 30 days on his $500 or just extrapolate his expenses based on a shorter stay?

[Dodger]

Moses wrote:


500 US dollars for today = 17800 Thai Baht

Opps...my mistake.

[Jellybean]

Well, he seems to be able to live on his low $500 a month budget. But I take issue with his statement it is possible to тАЬlive very wellтАЭ. There is no mention of expenditure other than on the bare necessities. I canтАЩt imagine any of our members being able to survive on such a low budget, as it takes no account of the тАШentertainmentтАЩ which many of us here came to Thailand to find.

I certainly could not live comfortably on such a low budget. My monthly condo maintenance charges alone are almost double his monthly rent. I like to maintain my western standard of living and the day I canтАЩt, will be the day I pack up and go home.


. . . When I had a job, I spent about 20 kTHB per month. Now without work, I spend about 30 kTHB per month, and I have no income from work!
As someone who used to spend a great deal of time looking at other peoples income and expenditure ChristianPFC, your comments above, much to my surprise, set my internal alarm bells ringing. Hmmm . . . it would seem that old habits die hard. Lol! But they also reminded me of the famous quote made by the character, Wilkins Micawber in the novel David Copperfield:

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.

[cdnmatt]

How do you manage to spend a fortune of $2500/month (USD or Canadian?) and not living like a king?

Well, I spoil (take good care of) the dogs, drink too much, eat imported food (Australian rib-eye, Norwegian salmon, etc.), have people such as my neighbors over for dinner once in a while, support the cell phone salesman (the regular I take off), etc. Then in the hot months (ie. 10 months/year) I do stupid things like leave the A/C on in my bedroom 24x7, because I like to get blasted with +18C air whenever the urge hits me. I can't turn on any of the other A/Cs in the house, because I have the dogs and smoke inside, so I keep my bedroom like a walk-in fridge. :)

I live good and all, and I don't go without, but compare it to say my parents or older brothers in Canada, then no, I'm not living like a king. On the flip side, compare it to how many of the locals around here live, then yeah, I have it pretty good. It's all relative.

[francois]

matt,don't forget the imported Australian lobsters! I had one tonight and it was quite good. The bf stole it from me and gave me his Australian Angus steak. Really, not kidding . At French Garden Restaurant in Pattaya.

[lego]

Difficult to compare a lone farang to a middle class Thai who usually has an extensive network of family members and friends who can be either a boon or a burden. All things considered though, it should be easier for a Thai than for a farang to live well on that kind of budget.

[cdnmatt]

matt,don't forget the imported Australian lobsters!

No, only you spoiled brats in Pattaya and on the coast get lobster. I guess we're just not "fancy" enough for lobster up here (I've looked). :) We have excellent shrimp, but no lobster, or at least not that I've ever seen. Excellent fresh crabs, frogs, and turtiles too though. Never tried to cook a turtle though, and don't think I want to. How do you even cook a turtle? Just chuck it in a pot of boiling water like a lobster, and pull it out of its shell once it's dead & boiled?

Lamb is another thing I would love to find. Not sure how large the Muslim community is here, but I know there is a small one, and I'm assuming large enough to support a halal meat market, so I'm assuming there's lamb available somewhere, but I just don't know where yet.

That, and lemons and zucchini would be nice as well. Those don't exist up here either.

[thaiguest]

Well, he seems to be able to live on his low $500 a month budget. But I take issue with his statement it is possible to тАЬlive very wellтАЭ. There is no mention of expenditure other than on the bare necessities. I canтАЩt imagine any of our members being able to survive on such a low budget, as it takes no account of the тАШentertainmentтАЩ which many of us here came to Thailand to find.

I certainly could not live comfortably on such a low budget. My monthly condo maintenance charges alone are almost double his monthly rent. I like to maintain my western standard of living and the day I canтАЩt, will be the day I pack up and go home.


. . . When I had a job, I spent about 20 kTHB per month. Now without work, I spend about 30 kTHB per month, and I have no income from work!
As someone who used to spend a great deal of time looking at other peoples income and expenditure ChristianPFC, your comments above, much to my surprise, set my internal alarm bells ringing. Hmmm . . . it would seem that old habits die hard. Lol! But they also reminded me of the famous quote made by the character, Wilkins Micawber in the novel David Copperfield:

Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.

Ahh those timeworn Victorian values. I should be in misery by now but I too live in the hope that something will turn up...

[Ivory]

Cheap Charlie from China ;)

[loke]

If you rent a room for lets say 2000 baht which is easy to do in Bangkok (no air con ) , it should be no problem to live on 18000 baht as long as yo uonly eat local Thai food , you can even afford a few beers.

[roguebear]

That, and lemons and zucchini would be nice as well. Those don't exist up here either. Have you thought about getting some seed and growing them in your yard? Seems like both would do well there.

[cdnmatt]

That, and lemons and zucchini would be nice as well. Those don't exist up here either. Have you thought about getting some seed and growing them in your yard? Seems like both would do well there.

A veggie garden? That would be one expensive dog play toy. :)

I guess I could fence off a portion of the yard with chicken wire, but no, I'll just go without. At least they have green, red, and yellow bell peppers all year round. Otherwise, I'd have to move.

[christianpfc]

Finally watched the full video. Praise the author for his openness and thank him for sharing. The information could have been conveyed in half the time.

[cdnmatt]

Here's another video on the subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-RQyxitmRY

[francois]

Gad, who has the time to sit and listen to all that babble?

[cdnmatt]

I don't know, I don't mind him. He's much more interesting than a lot of YouTube people that make videos on Thailand. "Here's the Starbucks, here's the mall" type of videos get pretty boring.

Watch his "save a ho" videos. Those are at least somewhat entertaining while he blows a gasket. :)

[chillnorther]

If I only HAD US 500/month to live on I'd be grateful to be in CM or most any part of Thailand. I expect I could get by with more dignity than any other place I can think of. CHOOSING to do it that way in the place of any other option doesn't compute for me though, so I made it as far as the fellow's motorcycle before losing interest in the video. Thousands of others have given it a view, though. Prepare for the next wave!! :-)

[christianpfc]

Gad, who has the time to sit and listen to all that babble?
Most of the information could be presented shorter (time to read as well as data volume) in written form (that's true for a lot of stuff, in many cases text without pictures instead of video would be more appropriate, however if you have nothing to say it can be better disguised in a video).

I save these for long train or bus rides, time at home is too valuable to watch these.