Seriously I think some of you are living on a ****ing cloud. I would say the cheapest beer you can get is Chang and it's about 60 baht on average which is roughly $1.50. Cheap for beer but no where close to free. Cocktails are about 100-150 baht depending on where you go which is about $3+. Maybe you guys are two beer drunks for for a regular person eating out three times a day and buying 10+ drinks in a night is about $50 a day minimum not including phone, gas, utilities, rent, clothes, etc. People saying you can live like a king on $10 a day are just idiots. You might be able to just scrape by for $10 a day but don't fill people's heads full of **** thinking they will be living the life and be able to go out an party every night on $10 a day.

it is not mandatory to drink 10+ drinks every day even in thailand

lol touche

Still... $10 a day won't get you anything too comfortable by my standards and I don't think I'm just being a pompous prick. $2,000 a month is much more reasonable to be able to eat, drink, pay for housing, and use your spare time to do what you want without feeling financial pressure.

yeah no kidding. even in chiang mai where u can get 3 large chang for 120baht or a bottle of imported liquor for 700 - 1k baht, and tuk tuk rides for under 100baht, it's still very rare to go out and spend under 1500 baht in an evening.

oh and i thought the 3 big beers for 150 baht at that riverside restaurant was a bargain

Obviously living like a king for $10/day is impossible, thats just normal Thai wages. Its not really possible as a westerner to do it. $1k/month however, is perfectly possible. It will get you everything you need.

A nice room, internet, power, AC, hot water, toilet, maid etc.
On top of this you can eat out at nice places. There are thousands of places that serve great (thai) food but look pretty ghetto. You can get a good meal for 50-100 baht, they are all over the place and you just have to look for them and not be scared of getting the ****s or there not being an English language menu.

You wont be able to get ****-faced everynight but you can go out once or twice a week and have a few beers everyday with your dinner.

A lot of clubs/restaurants/cafes (in Phuket, probably not in BKK) will let you bring your own spirits, So you can buy a bottle of Sangsom and pay a couple hundred for some mixers/ice and youre away. If you wanted a cheapest option rather than buying 150 baht cocktails.

Moving here to get **** faced everynight is probably a worse lifestyle choice than someone moving over to grind $50nl on $1k/month. Take a look at some of the expat bar owners around and youll see why.

no need to look at bar owners , 90% of retired expat are alcoolic or ex ones

The same size beer (with a lower alcohol content than Chang) at a bar in Perth costs $8.

The bottom line is that at 60 baht per beer you can go out all night, drink 15 beers and it will cost you $30. That is extremely cheap by the standards of most western countries.

Sure if you go out every single night you will still spend a lot of money, but did you go out every single night in your home country? I suggest you didn't, mostly because it was too expensive. In Thailand, it's doable.

If you are happy with 2-3 nights out a week, then you could easily live on less than $1000 per month in Thailand.

Otherwise known as "living like a king". Try "doing what you want without feeling financial pressure" somewhere else
and see how it goes. Especially if what you want is to drink in hostess clubs and have sex with prosititutes 6 nights per week..lol.

If you did that in a western country you would spend $20,000 per month. In thailand you might spend $3,000. If you are going to compare cost of living you have to compare like with like.

To live the same kind of life you used to live back home, (living somewhere where you have to commute to the CBD, eating out for 50% of meals or less, drinking 2-3 nights a week, having sex with girls who dont charge you for it) it can easily be done for less than $1000 per month in Thailand.

Best payment method for depositing on sites registered as a Thai address? I can't get mon eybookers to work since I registered n Thailand, even with a VPN.

give some reg some baht and he will transfert you some money

i dont drink so that makes it cheaper for me i geuss...i do have a habbit to make the girls drunk on tequila but thats +EV if you know the limit.

555 alec. the trick is to not always end the night with karaoke until sunrise

Who is saying this?

FWIW I agree that a lot of people underestimate the cost of living here, but the expenses you are listing are not that of someone living here, they're the expenses of someone on holiday here which is completely different.

You've been here a month and you've spent a ton of money - we all did the same in our first month. It doesn't mean every month will be the same. Eventually you'll reduce your binge drinking, you might (or might not) start seeing a girl instead of hiring hookers, you'll find restaurants that have exceptional food for a fraction of what you're paying now. You'll slowly gain some street-smarts and get ripped off less, saving money everywhere.

My first month in Thailand I spent prolly 3k. Only a few months later my monthly expenses had dropped to about half that, where they've remained for 18 months.

Partying every night and staying in an expensive pad isn't going to give you an accurate idea of living costs.

Cost of living is different everywhere around Thailand, as are individual standards but certainly you could live pretty comfortably off 2k/month just about everywhere I've been.


Edit: PokerSpivs post a little earlier is very true.

i've filtered out karaoke expenses

Sang Som is my standard drink, not because it's cheap but because I like it. In bars I frequent I often but a full big bottle for 600 baht and leave it there and drink each time I go in, I often have 4 or 5 bottles scattered around different bars I drink in all the time. That's just another less obvious way to save a few baht.....

i didnt know you could leave the bottles in places? u must be a good reg

yah, teach us deadly how to be a bar reg IMO (no kidding)

I tend to frequent a lot of the same bars when I'm over there and am well known in those bars. I tend to go to those bars early on in the evening and warm myself up with a few. I wouldn't do it in random places only where I'm known, a lot of bars will do it for you, just ask the boss

Also whilst I don't mind buying a few lady drinks, it can help cut the cost of that a bit by giving out a shot or two of my sang som. You can obv leave a small tip for the girl too as they are missing their cut of the LD.

It's also pretty nice having the drink the strength I want it, and whilst I have no evidence I'm pretty sure some of the bars water the booze down as I gets big differences in taste in different bars.

When we are done talking about how busto you can live here, can we start the good girl/hooker debate again please?

All girls in Thailand are hookers on some level or another, please discuss.

That should ensure a lively debate for you

i can't tell if you're serious or not, but most bars (every one i've tried to leave a bottle) and pretty much every club lets you do this

edit: in cm

Seriously considering the move and have a few more ?'s if someone could plz answer them.

#1: how do taxes work? Do I still pay U.S taxes, or just keep it hush hush.

#2: how are hospitals and such if i was to get sick?

#3: what's the tv situation over there? Like how much, availability etc

#4: do most the locals speak english? Are they american friendly or just try to screw you over?

That's it for now, thx!

edit: what do i tell the locals i do for a living if they ask? cause i hear you're not really supposed to mention you "gamble"

2: depends where you are, Phuket, BKK and CM are fine and have really top quality hospitals available. If youre in a more rural place it can be much longer distance to a western standard hospital.

4: Varying amounts of english spoken. Language will never be much of a barrier in any of the main parts of Thailand. Most touts etc will try and screw you over with a smile on their face - doesnt matter where youre from.

If the local asks what you do for a living, you can tell them anything. Things like "computer" will suffice or just "travel" - they dont really care its only small talk and they dont know enough english to go any deeper with that question.

working on my computer seems to be enought of an answer

1 i dont pay taxes and never got any problems.

2 some hospitals are better standard then Europe but thats in big city's
get a good healthcare ascurance any healthproblem can cost a ton of money

3as for t.v you can basicly get any channel you wish just jump in a satelite shop and ask what you need.

4thailand is foreigener friendly but they smell your new and will try to get some more out of you then if you regular(speak thai helps to avoid this)

and yes my answer is also computer if they ask what i do and i make small money(dont brag about your income IMO)