Quote:
Originally Posted by PeoplesElbow
If I stay in all day and just grind, eat 4 meals a day and do a bit of swimming, I only spend like 600baht a day (included accommodation) , which no way I could do in England unless i stayed at home with family. Never been to USA though,guess it would be tough to live there on $15 a day?
No, you can't. That's why I said rent is one of the big savings in Thailand. To save on rent in the US, you really feel it. You have to move to some really craptastic areas to pay low rent. (rural or ghetto, your pick.) Of course in the US you can also just buy your own house in some low property tax area and pay almost nothing for your housing... And condo prices have really gone up in BKK since the first time I've been in BKK, plus they have that stupid 'foreign ownership papers' scheme that costs you 10-15% more than Thai person ownership. I'm not sure they are good values anymore... I thought about picking something up, but at the current prices in BKK, it's too much money for too little considering uncertain future. (increasingly bad visa rules, eminent government changes coming pretty soon.)
Food savings are primarily because you have a ton of low-end options that don't feel like low end options in Thailand. If people in the US were allowed to serve from food carts with no hygiene standards/inspections and wash their dishes in dirty water as rats ran by near the plates, USA could probably have comparable take out costs as well. (Not to mention that Thai portions are like 1/3 size of US portions.) I love the food culture in Thailand in part because I'm lazy and a nightowl, but I do recognize the fact that I'm paying less because I'm actually getting less.
I'm actually amazed how cheap food is in the USA overall. When you consider the variety, portions, food safety standards, and venue decor/atmosphere, USA is much cheaper than Thailand. There are some good expat restaurant offering good value to be sure, but they are exceptions, not the rule.