500 US dollars for today = 17800 Thai BahtOriginally Posted by Dodger
500 US dollars for today = 17800 Thai Baht
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That's all very well Dodger, but how many of us fancy downgrading to middle class?
(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!
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!
How do you manage to spend a fortune of $2500/month (USD or Canadian?) and not living like a king?
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?
Moses wrote:
Opps...my mistake.500 US dollars for today = 17800 Thai Baht
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.
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.
Remember: Coughs and sneezes spread diseases
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.
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.
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.
Yes, grandpa, I know it used to be more fun 30 years ago...
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.
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