Every new arrival wants to know if they can survive or live well in Thailand on X thousand baht a month?
It's a difficult question because each person has different needs. However, the following surveys and figures are from teachers actually working here! How much do they earn and what do they spend their money on?. And after each case study, I've added comments of my own.
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Richard
Working in Chonburi
Monthly Earnings 110,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work as a senior teacher at an international school and my full-time salary is 110,000. It's not one of the top-paying international schools by any stretch but more what you would call mid-range. I also get a month's bonus at the end of each year but I haven't factored that in. I use that money to make the annual trip home and can usually treat myself to a business class flight.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
I don't set out to save a specific amount each month, I guess I'm like most other teachers, you pay your bills, do your shopping, spend what needs to be spent and then see what amount you have left over. I don't think there are many months where I don't save at least 30-40K.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I've recently moved into a nice newly-built condo unit, and that cost me just under two million baht. I paid half of the amount myself, and family members have helped me out with the other half. The bank of Mom and Dad offers fantastic interest rates! It's only a small condo with a living room space, a kitchen and a bathroom. It would be a fairly tight squeeze for a couple but it's fine for one. I absolutely love it here!
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I have my own car, which I bought three years ago. It's only about a ten-minute drive to work so gas barely costs a couple of thousand a month. I don't tend to use the car if I do any travelling in Thailand (which I do at every opportunity I get) I find driving long distances here too stressful so I prefer to take the plane or the train, book a nice hotel near the beach, and spoil myself a little.
Utility bills
I'm billed directly by the utility companies so it's around 2,000 a month for electricity and water. There is also a 700 baht a month service charge to keep the community areas maintained, etc.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
One of the reasons I love Chonburi is there are so many new cafes and eateries popping up all the time. One closes and another one springs up in its place. I love exploring on foot (or motorcycle taxi) and finding new places. I can't imagine anything more laborious than planning meals and cooking at home. Why would you when eating out is such great value! I don't skimp on food and drink. This is probably 20,000 a month. What's that? 600 baht a day. Yes, must be at least that when you factor in the odd bottle of wine and craft beers.
Nightlife and drinking
I put supermarket alcohol in the above section. I'm actually not that keen on Chonburi late at night because it has its fair share of beered-up loose cannons. To be honest, I'd rather swerve the drinking in Chonburi and head down to Pattaya for the weekend. I do that once a month and can easily drop 20K.
Books, computers
I prefer watching TV to reading so I have a Netflix subscription (around 500 baht isn't it) I do like to have the latest smartphone though and those can be around 40K these days. Difficult to put a monthly figure on this one.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Absolutely fabulous! I sometimes feel guilty when I'm lounging around the condo pool, drinking and laughing with a few fellow residents I've become friendly with, and think how my home country has gone down the toilet. I hope the day never comes when I have to return there. Thailand is just paradise in comparison.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Eating out. It's terrific value once you get out of Bangkok and avoid the tourist rip-off joints in places like Pattaya and Phuket. You can get a fabulous meal in Chonburi for a couple of hundred baht.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
I wouldn't want to live in a major Thai city on less than 80K a month, so what I earn is more than enough! You have to strike a work-life balance. Having a great time here doesn't necessarily mean spending lots of money. Some of the best things are free or cost very little. I can happily go down to the seafront for a run and eat 50 baht's worth of hawker food.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thanks Richard, it sounds like you're really enjoying life here. And I absolutely agree with you - eating out in small cafes, etc is very reasonable once you move outside of Bangkok, etc and no, you don't have to spend, spend, spend to have a good time. Sometimes it's actually a joy to find those pleasurable activities that cost very little.
David
Working in Songkhla
Monthly Earnings 40,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work at a large secondary school in Songkhla, South Thailand, and my full-time salary is 40,000 (less a little bit of tax) To make salary, I teach 16 contact hours a week and do a few hours of admin work. It's a pretty relaxed schedule if I'm honest. On Fridays, I only have to teach two hours. I like Fridays!
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
I try to aim for 10-15K but the problem I have with earning teacher salaries at the lower end of the scale (and I suppose 40K is low end) there are always unexpected expenses just around the corner that can put a serious dent in your savings and budgeting. This month I had to pay over 30,000 for some much-needed dental work that I had been putting off for far too long.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I share a house with two other foreign teachers so we split the 9,000 baht a month rent (plus bills) three ways. We all have a large bedroom each, a communal living room and kitchen, two bathrooms (but the shower only works in one of them) and there is a nice leafy garden and terrace where we can sit out and enjoy a beer. The landlord's wife is a teacher at the school so that's probably why we get such a decent deal on the rent. I'm sure he could get considerably more than 9K a month if he tried.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
We all have our own motorcycle so if you factor in gas and repairs, etc it probably comes to around 1,500 a month. I keep saying I'll buy a cheap second-hand car one day, but it hasn't happened yet.
Utility bills
The electricity bill is around 4,000 a month because we sometimes have three air-conditioners burning juice in the evenings and on weekends, while water is around 200 baht. And of course there is the usual phone plan and streaming subscriptions that add another thousand baht a month.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I'm not much of a breakfast person, so I'll just grab a snack on the way to work (maybe some meat and sticky rice) The school has an excellent canteen with a great choice of Thai dishes and even stuff that foreigners like such as deep fried chicken fillets, french fries, etc. The school gives us an allowance to spend each week. It's a good system. For my main meal after school (I rarely eat after 5pm) I'll go to a local restaurant and have something with maybe a beer or soft drink for around hundred baht. If you add in shopping at the market for fresh fruit, my food bill is probably around 6,000 baht a month.
Nightlife and drinking
Songkhla is quite a vibrant city after dark if you know where to go. I tend to divide my nights out between student groups or a few teaching colleagues, but I do like a night out a couple of times a week. I don't drink an awful lot though and two or three small bottles of beer is enough (especially if I have work the following day) Shall we say another 6,000 baht a month.
Books, computers
Not much. My smartphone and laptop are both four years old and still doing the job. I've never been much of a gadget person.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
Oh, I absolutely love it down here in South Thailand and I'm going into my fourth year here now. The people are the warmest and friendliest you could wish to meet and everybody just gets along. Yes, it would be nice to have a bigger salary and be putting more away for the future but for now, I'm just enjoying life and going with the flow. Hopefully the future will take care of itself.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Eating out at local hole-in-the-wall restaurants is terrific value and I would also say bus travel if you fancy having a day out in one of the neighboring provinces.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
In Songkhla, 30-35K a month means you don't go without.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thanks Dave. I've recently returned from a road trip down south and I couldn't agree more about the southern folk being amongst the friendliest in Thailand. I wasn't in Songkhla but I've been down there a couple of times before and it's a lovely province. I also agree with what you say about 'unexpected expenses' and that's why you always need to keep some savings under the mattress. You never know what's around the corner. I've just had a bedroom air-conditioner pack up and it cost me around 20K to replace.
Eddie
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 110,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work at an international school and my take-home pay is around 110K a month, which includes a housing allowance and end-of-year bonus. I also get a return air-fare once a year, which comes in handy for the annual family visit.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
The answer is as much as I can, because I'm 35 now and have no intention of working past 55. If things go well, I might retire even sooner. I try and send back at least 50K a month to the UK because banks over there are offering pretty attractive interest rates these days if you're willing to tie up your money for several years.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I pay 10,000 a month for a one-bed condo in the Bangkok suburbs. It's nothing special and it's a fairly old building with only the basic facilities but I get on well with the staff and I've never felt any reason to move. I don't want to spend any more than 20% of my remaining salary anyway. As long as I've got my comforts like a decent TV, a nice fridge, etc and the neighbours aren't too noisy, that's really all I'm looking for.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I use motorbike taxis and the skytrain/metro and this comes to around 1,500 a month I guess.
Utility bills
Usually around 2,000 baht depending on how hot the weather is and how much I need to turn the air-condition on. It's always nice to get April and May out of the way isn't it? I thought it was particularly hot this year.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I'm very much a single guy so there's only me to take care of. I do have a lady friend who I see at the weekends and we'll go out and eat together but generally, she's very good about paying when it's her turn (she earns nearly as much as I do so why not?) I get school lunches provided, I usually skip breakfast, so most days of the week there's only an evening meal to find and I rarely pay above 100 baht a time for that, including a soft drink. Even with supermarket and 7-11 shopping, I bet the total spend doesn't break 8,000 baht a month.
Nightlife and drinking
I got bored of the nightlife scene ages ago. I'll have a Friday or Saturday night out maybe twice a month but it's never anything too heavy. Let's say 4,000 a month tops and I'm always in bed by midnight.
Books, computers
I do enjoy reading and I download stuff from Amazon and pick up second-hand reads from various bookshops. It probably averages out around 2,000 a month.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
I'm perfectly happy with it. I'm simply not a great drinker or socializer and if you're neither of those, that monthly pay packet will stretch much further. One section I think you should include in these surveys is travel because most of my spare cash goes on travelling in Thailand. It's a huge country and over the past ten years, I've got to see well over half of its 77 provinces. Which probably leads me nicely to....
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Everything associated with domestic travel. Long distance bus and train fares are an absolute steal if you've got the time on your hands, and in most cities outside of the obvious tourist destinations, you can get cracking hotel rooms for less than a thousand baht a night. One thing we do get at my school is a generous amount of time off and as soon as I see the chance to take off for a few days, I grab it with both hands. I've already got four trips planned in the the rest of this year.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
In Bangkok? If I wasn't desperately trying to save as much money as possible for my hopefully early retirement, I would say 50K at a pinch. But I think you could put 50% on top of that if you were a serious night owl. Nearly every fellow teacher, every foreigner I know, who struggles with money and barely has a pot to piss in in the week leading up to pay day, drinks too much.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thanks Eddie. Yes, I've been investigating those UK bank account interest rates myself and couldn't resist a slice of the action. Smart move indeed. And although 110K is a very decent salary, why fritter it away when you're simply not a party animal and prefer quiet nights in with a good book? Keep stashing it away son, because take it from me, you'll be well into your fifties before you know it. And that's when you'll start reaping the rewards and be able to spend your golden years travelling even more!
Barry
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 75,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I work at a private secondary school in central Bangkok and my full-time salary (about 18 contact hours a week) is 75,000 baht. I've worked at the school for four years. I do get the option to earn extra income doing Summer camps or special programs outside of the normal English program but I tend to leave that to the more 'money-hungry' members of the teaching staff. I value my free time more.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
Never as much as I would like to. In a good month, I might manage around 15,000 baht.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I live in one of those one-bedroom condos where the designers somehow manage to squeeze a kitchen, bedroom and living room into thirty square meters. I actually rent it from a friend who bought it as an investment last year and I pay him 10,000 baht a month plus bills. I've checked the property portals and the same size apartments in the same building rent out for at least 15,000 baht a month. It's a win-win situation; I get a great deal on the rent because the owner is a good friend and he gets someone he can trust to live in the place.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I can almost reach out and touch the skytrain station from my balcony and with the ever-expanding skytrain network, you can go anywhere in Bangkok these days. I can't remember the last time I had to take a taxi. My school is about three minutes walk from a station so I probably spend about 1,500 on fares every month. I've long thought about buying a car in Bangkok but honestly, it just never feels worth the hassle.
Utility bills
Gas, electric and water come to about 4,000 baht a month. I'm at home a lot and the air-conditioning is always on if I'm in. Visitors often come into my apartment and comment on how cold it is. I just like it that way. It's probably another thousand a month for Netflix, a decent phone plan and all that stuff.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I try to eat healthy and cook at home as much as I can. I'm really not that keen on eating out because it just seems to get more and more expensive. I've got a fantastic little fresh market, which I go to a couple of times a week to pick up my meat, fruit and veg and juices. All the sellers know me and know what I like to buy. I would say my food bill rarely breaks 8,000 a month. I resist impulse buys at 7-11 and I've pretty much cut out chocolate and fizzy drinks, etc.
Nightlife and drinking
Quality craft beers and ciders are my weakness and I probably spend 4,000 a month on just alcohol to drink at home. I'll also hit the bars a couple of nights a week and I bet that's another 15,000 a month right there. Most night I'll stay home and entertain myself with Netflix or something, but it's no good being cooped up all the time. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.
Books, computers
Not really an expense. I used to play computer games but just grew bored of them. And I've never really been an avid reader.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
When you weigh up foreigner lifestyles and standards of living in Bangkok, I consider myself at the 'bottom end of the middle-class' if that makes sense. 75K is enough to do what I want, but only up to an extent. I still have to check menu prices in restaurants and I can't afford to pay for 5,000 baht a night accommodation if I go away for the weekend. Bangkok is not an expensive city to live in but I wouldn't call it cheap either, certainly if you stray into the high-end supermarkets and the better shopping malls.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Shopping at the local markets. You can save a packet by going there instead of the supermarkets... and you're supporting local traders.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
In Bangkok, 60K would be my absolute rock-bottom minimum salary. Anything less than that is impossible in my book. To those teachers surviving on 30-50K, I salute you. I genuinely don't know how you do it.
Phil's analysis and comment
Thanks Barry. That's an excellent deal you've got on the rent and it sounds like a good arrangement. I've banged on for years about always renting the best apartment you can afford because it means you'll enjoy being at home, and you're less likely to want to go out in the evening. That's when the spending can really mount up.
Hektor
Working in Bangkok
Monthly Earnings 65,000
Q1. How is that income broken down? (full-time salary, private students, on-line teaching, extra work, etc)
I make 50,000 baht a month from my full-time job at a college in Bangkok, where I teach maths and science. I also do a corporate job at a company near my apartment a couple of nights a week and a little bit of online teaching but that's only for a few hours at the weekend. 65,000 would be the top end of what I can make at the moment. During quieter months of the year, it might drop to around 60K.
Q2. How much money can you save each month?
I try to save 10-15K whenever I can. Sometimes it might be a bit more.
Q3. How much do you pay for your accommodation and what do you live in exactly (house, apartment, condo)?
I live in a studio apartment that's more or less covered by my housing allowance of 8,000 baht a month. I only have to pay for utility bills. It's a relatively small room but I've turned it into my bachelor pad and it has great views over the city from the 20th floor.
Q4. What do you spend a month on the following things?
Transportation
I have a large motorcycle but I ride it less and less these days after I had a bad accident last year and ended up in hospital for several days with a few minor injuries (although they didn't feel minor at the time) If I take public transport, then motorcycle taxis and a short skytrain ride will cost me 120 baht a day so let's say 2,500 a month for transportation.
Utility bills
About 2,000 baht a month if the weather is particularly hot and I have to run the air-conditioning more often.
Food - both restaurants and supermarket shopping
I had a minor health scare at the beginning of this year and discovered I had high blood pressure and a few other ailments that need to be regulated and kept in check. For that reason, I'm trying to eat as healthy as possible. I've cut out fast food (which I used to eat far to often) and trying to stick to a diet of brown rice, fruit and vegetables and Thai soups. I can tell you this - it does wonders for your spending when you can keep away from McDonalds and KFC. I've lost a lot of weight and my monthly food budget is down to around 7,000 a month.
Nightlife and drinking
I've cut out alcohol completely. In truth I wasn't much of a
drinker anyway and I got bored of the Bangkok nightlife a long time ago. I have a sort of on/off girlfriend that I meet once a week for a meal and I'll sometimes go out with colleagues on a Friday night to a jazz pub or something similar. Drinks are often expensive in these places so I'd put a figure of around 8,000 a month on this.
Books, computers
I do like my gadgets and gaming. I've always got to have the latest smartphone and gaming console, but it's difficult to say what this costs because a phone can last me 2-3 years and the latest game machine even longer.
Q5. How would you summarize your standard of living in one sentence?
It's pretty good. I'm in my early 40s now and I've cut down on my nights out and excessive eating and speeding around on my motorbike. I live a much more sedate lifestyle now that I'm more responsible and want to take better care of myself. These days I would rather stay at home and watch Netflix or maybe prepare the following day's lessons.
Q6. What do you consider to be a real 'bargain' here?
Food at the local market can be crazy cheap and I genuinely think it's often better quality than what you find in the high-end supermarkets.
Q7. In your opinion, how much money does anyone need to earn here in order to survive?
It totally depends on the individual. I could survive in Bangkok on 40K but it wouldn't be that much fun. Come to think of it, I survive on not much more than that now. You will always find ways to spend money, regardless of how much you earn. The secret for me is to do everything in moderation and not be fooled into thinking you are going short just because you are not out partying every night.
Phil's analysis and comment
Hektor sounds like a sensible chap and a moderate 65K income (can we call that moderate now for Bangkok?) seems like more than enough. Take care of your health, sir.
Please send us your cost of living surveys. We would love to hear from you! This is one of the most popular parts of the Ajarn website and these surveys help and inspire a lot of other teachers. Just click the link at the top of the page where it says 'Submit your own Cost of Living survey' or click here.
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