Munnawar
Working in Surat Thani
Monthly Earnings 33,000
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I work at a large government school in Surat Thani and get a salary of 33,000 per month.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
In a town like Surat Thani I can save about 17,000 baht without much effort.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I live in a small town-house and pay 3,000 baht a month. It's got no air conditioning and nothing fancy but it does the job.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I have a scooter that I top up with petrol once a week. Overall that costs me roughly 300 baht a month
Utility bills
Water and electricity is less than 500 a month combined. My internet is about 500 baht (one of the few things that is actually cheaper back home in the UK).
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I could get away with spending about 120 baht a day on food but I love to go to the local fruit stall and spend quite a bit, overall i would put my food spending at 180 baht a day
Nightlife and drinking
I am not a drinker or smoker so my nights out are very cheap. If I don't eat I don't spend more than 100 baht on a night out. I'd say 400 baht a month
Books, computers
I tend to borrow books from other foreigners in town in exchange for books of my own, and my gadgets I try to buy from back in the UK whenever I go.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Fantastic quality of life for what I pay, and definitely enough to save for a rainy day.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Food and rent. If you lived a very basic minimalist lifestyle, you could get away with spending barely anything at all.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
To live a bare bones life, I'd say around 11,000 baht.
Phil's analysis and comment
I wouldn't fancy trying to live on 11,000 baht a month - even in the peaceful town of Surat Thani - but if anyone could manage it, it sounds like Munnawar could. He lives a simple life but seems very happy with it at the same time.
I'm always impressed by how cheaply you can run those scooters as well. While there's no way you would ever catch me riding any sort of motorcycle on the streets of Bangkok, I would be very tempted to zip around on a scooter if I lived in a small town with quieter roads. Economical, easy to park, convenient - they make perfect sense.
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