Sarah
Working in Chiang Mai
Monthly Earnings 33,000 - 59,000 baht a month
Q1. How much do you earn from teaching per month?
I earn 28,000 - 34,000 via my hourly contract with the university + flexible, paid office hours) Plus 5,000 - 25,000 baht a month from private local gigs: professional editing, curriculum/program design and consultation, and NES teacher recruitment)
Q2. How much of that can you realistically save per month?
If I were choosing to save, I could realistically save 20,000 baht out of just my university paycheck (considering that it is a month I do not have any extra free-lance projects) - but all of my "gain" is being invested into opening the Chiang Mai Community House - a dream project of mine to provide FREE arts and education programs for the local community.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 5,500 for a gorgeous two-floor traditional house with a terrace on each end of the upstairs, privately tucked within a wraparound, well-cared for garden, and naturally shaded by a variety of trees. (I only pay 2,750 for rent, as I share all my living expenses with my husband)
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
600 baht, which includes fuel for motorbike, commute to work. I have a 32 kilometre round-trip (4 days per week) plus a dozen or less kilometres for monthly errands
Utility bills
This is the most complex category for me. Home is 1500 baht (electricity, water, wifi) Home improvements = 50,000฿ (I bought a new air conditioner, refrigerator, windows, and had some remodeling done to suit my preferences upon moving in this house in March 2016.) Community house expenses are rent: 8,000 baht. Utilities: 2,000 baht. Remodeling: 24,000 baht (and still more to come, it's a work in progress);
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
My husband and I shop at our local street market and cook at home. He pays for our dining expenses but being the farang, I spend about 1,500 baht on Western treats and eating out Western-style with friends. I know where the best 5 baht Thai teas are and where to get the best somtam and khao soi for 25 baht. My trees are overflowing with lemons, mangoes, papaya, passion fruit, and bananas - and often my Kuhn Mae will bring some great cooked meals over so I'd say I'm quite lucky.
Nightlife and drinking
Since my community house is my "baby" and I tend to work on several private contracts simultaneously, I do not partake in the night life. I made sure to live it up in Bangkok last year, while I lived there, but now as I enter my 30's and am married, my priorities have shifted and I get a lot more satisfaction out of realizing my dreams and serving the community. I even gave up smoking and drinking completely in order to make this transition a reality.
Books, computers
Books I happily receive for free from colleagues that are outbound. Computer was as a birthday present to myself I bought a new iPad Air 64gb for 24k; and I pay 53 baht/month for my website.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
See Phil's comment section below.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Food, massage, beauty treatments, sunshine, handicrafts, art, education, patience, nature and housing.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
In my opinion, to survive - nothing other than making genuine connections with the locals. Seriously - TIT. But for those just starting out, you can survive on 15k-20k anywhere (for better or worse - it's up to you; and there are so many ways to earn more when you desire to make a sacrifice of your time)
Phil's analysis and comment
Sarah's response to the 'summarize your standard of living' question was quite lengthy and so wouldn't fit into the field. This was her answer,
My standard of living is incredible. I have happily adopted a more frugal and simple lifestyle due to cost of living being incomparable to the USA.
I do share my expenses with my husband, which maximizes my potential standard of living. The first 10 months in Thailand I lived in Bangkok and earned more (35K salary + 14k extra lessons) and I enjoyed trips to Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Koh Samed, Koh Phangan, plus the holiday to Chiang Mai which convinced me I'd found HOME.
I worked really hard as a brand new teacher and left Bangkok with a reputation that has now resulted in ample private contracts directly with private schools, clubs, colleges, and now connecting me to the locals in my neighborhood who are all helping to give life to the Chiang Mai Community House.
My health and happiness has radically improved the more I focus on what is essential to me, and redirect extra finances into supporting the sustenance of just that. This does mean that I cannot predict when my visit back home will be, but the flip side is that my family and friends back home are so inspired by what I'm working on that they are flying out here to visit. So it's really win-win all around.
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