Sai
Working in Nonthaburi
Monthly Earnings 30,000 baht
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I make 30,000 a month from my full time job (which includes a 5,000 baht housing allowance). I have to be at school for 40 hours a week (25 hours of that is teaching and there is also some office / admin work) I haven't looked at teaching private students or teaching on-line yet but that time may not be too far away.
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
3,000 to 5,000 a month.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 6,000 a month for a 23 square metre condo with a fridge, a microwave, a sink, a small closet, a little table, a sofa and a queen-size bed. For a single guy the accommodation is fine but the open air sewage from the canal outside makes it a very ugly place.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
As I live outside of Bangkok, I spend around 600 baht on train fares to go back and forth, at least on the weekends, plus around other 1,000 baht for taxis and such.
Utility bills
As I am careful with air-conditioning, electricity comes at around 300 per month
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I eat a rigorous diet of Thai food and fruit, I am not used to a so-called western diet anyway as I grew up in Italy.
Nightlife and drinking
Virtually nothing because the area I live in is devoid of any real night-time entertainment.
Books, computers
Sai did not answer this question.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
It could be improved a lot. I am planning to move anyway and hopefully find something better.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Petrol, taxis and spa treatments.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
Certainly not less than 30,000.
Phil's analysis and comment
The life of the non-native English speaker on 30K a month. Top marks anyway for looking to improve your lot. It sounds like you do a lot of hours Sai for that 25,000 baht full-time salary. 25 contact hours a week is not to be sniffed at and then you've got your admin work on top. Have you ever worked out what you are getting paid an hour?
"but the open air sewage from the canal outside makes it a very ugly place"
Yes, I lived in an apartment for three years next to Klong Saen Saeb in the Ramkhamhaeng area of Bangkok. It wasn't so much the state of the canal that bothered me but you did get canal boat taxis going by about every ten minutes with their engines buzzing. It was something I guess I got used to. You could actually catch a canal taxi at the pier right next to the apartment building but I never used it so there was no advantage there. I like to keep my feet firmly on dry land whenever possible.
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