Western living expenses

[JaiDee]

For you guys who try and live part of the year in Asia and part in the west as I do, maybe even half/half if you can get away with it, what do you think about living expenses while you are back in your home country?  I have been back in the northeast USA now for about 6 days after spending 60 on the road and frankly I can't believe how much it costs to buy shit here!

I mean, I kinda had an idea already and the Christmas holidays I spent around here certainly didn't dispel any notions I may have had that America was cheap, but these past few days have really hit me in the face; 18 bucks at the corner store for just a few snacks, milk @ 4.29 a galllon now, filling up the car costs another 45 bucks and a dinner out at a decent {read; chain} restaurant is easily 75 bucks for 3 or 4 people.  It's outrageous; hell, I can eat all week for 75 bucks where I stay in Asia; and very well at that.

Must be even worse for you UK guys, especially if you are in London ..... just one more reason for all of us to pack it in asap and get our arses over to where the living is good, the weather is warm, the cute girls all want to get to know us better....and, best part, it's CHEAP!!

[katoeylover]

I am sorry, but i find Thailand is just as expensive now, with the ££ in the toilet. I wont eat street food as a main meal so food and lodgings is quite expensive.

I am not complaining, as it is what i want to spend my money on, but being on holiday means spending $$$

All my costs at home are pretty fixed and i dont go out too much, therefore save all my money for LOS.

[pacman]

If you consider prices in the US high now, wait till the inflation bunny starts to bite.

Continual Quantitative Easing (i.e. the creation of money out of thin air) of the US dollar by the Fed in order they may pay their commitments, must lead to less spending power. Classic inflation in other words.

All governments that have gone down this path eventually cause their currency to collapse. The Weimar Republic of Germany in the 1920's is the copybook example of what can be expected. Zimbabwe is the latest example.

So the prices in Asia are relatively cheap providing you get the benefit of a good exchange rate. As that drops against the baht, up go the prices.

[f0xxee]

LOS is still cheap compared to Australia.

Rent in Sydney (and probably in the other, less sophisticated and livable cities in Aus) is crazily expensive: What I pay per month for a house with a pool in HH would not get me a studio in any of the beach suburbs in the East of Sydney, or probably on the Northern beaches either.
Motorbike insurance is double in Aus.
Beer is 4 x as much in Oz.
Cigarettes: christ on a bike! 10 times more expensive.
Movies: 3 times as expensive
Taxis: Massively expensive (40-60USD for a trip to Bondi from the Airport, or 1300+ baht.. and that is with light traffic) with a similar level of rudeness, incompetence and inability to speak english as LOS...

No comparrison really.

[f0xxee]

(pacman @ Mar. 16 2010,08:32) If you consider prices in the US high now, wait till the inflation bunny starts to bite.

Continual Quantitative Easing (i.e. the creation of money out of thin air) of the US dollar by the Fed in order they may pay their commitments, must lead to less spending power. Classic inflation in other words.

All governments that have gone down this path eventually cause their currency to collapse. The Weimar Republic of Germany in the 1920's is the copybook example of what can be expected. Zimbabwe is the latest example.

So the prices in Asia are relatively cheap providing you get the benefit of a good exchange rate. As that drops against the baht, up go the prices.

Good on you Paccie! keep talking up the gloom!

[kevin4252]

I have the same response as KL, with the exception of the pound of course, I do indulge myself a bit too vis a vis a biz flight r/t and the MG hotel in BKK. My prices, fortunately, are fixed at home, due to a rather sedentary and stay at home policy. No complaints.

[JaiDee]

(pacman @ Mar. 16 2010,08:32) So the prices in Asia are relatively cheap providing you get the benefit of a good exchange rate. As that drops against the baht, up go the prices.

when I started travelling in Thailand the baht was 43.5 to the dollar; now it's 31 or 32; pathetic.

I lead a sedentary life here as well, but it's amazing how fast my money goes while doing nothing; I took out 200 bucks from the ATM on saturday and it's almost gone and as far as I can see I don't have much to show for it. Hell, that's 6300 baht or so; I could easily live for 2 weeks or more in Thailand on that! Not just 3 days....

[Snick]

Its cheaper here, no doubt about it. Transportation, food, rent, hotels, etc..
Anything involving manual labor, maids, haircuts, etc.. is MUCH cheaper
Electronics and Photo gear is more expensive than USA, but not by that much.....and cheaper than Australia.

KL Mentioned food being expensive, gotta disagree. If you eat at restaurants outside the tourist zone its cheaper, Street food even cheaper.

I'm finding lots of hotel deals at the moment, you have to look for them, but they are there. I stayed at a top end Samui hotel for $60/night, and that also got me a very nice bungalow on the beach in Ko Lanta earlier in the year.

There are only three things here that are expensive. Bangkok Air flights to Samui, Taxis in Phuket, and Wine.

[JaiDee]

(Snick @ Mar. 16 2010,09:19) If you eat at restaurants outside the tourist zone its cheaper, Street food even cheaper.

.

3 or 4 times a week I eat at that same restaurant I took you to not that long ago.....I get fried rice w/chicken or pork and it's 50 baht; Pad Thai moo or gai is the same and the watermelon shake I always get with that is 20 baht, so 70 baht total or basically 2.25US dollars for dinner.  I literally don't know one place in america where I can get dinner and be filled up for 2.25, and my donuts are 15 baht each; I eat 2 per day so my breakfast costs a buck.

         Rent is about 625US ...... for a very nice home. Don't drink much beer, I put some gas in my cycle every 3rd day @ 100 baht or 3 bucks; I put 45 in my Caddy yesterday and that will be gone in a week.  Don't spend money on hookers and/or bar fines in Asia, and I have no partner to spend my cash on.  I could go on and on but the bottom line is I can live comfortably well in Thailand for between 1600 and 2000 per month and I have spoken to guys who do it for even less than that.  No way you can do that in America and have the same lifestyle; you'd have to have a roommate or live with your Mom or in a crappy apartment with no mod cons, etc..... definately Asia or some similar 3rd world country is the way to go and the sooner the better, the cash flow around the JD household is dwindling quickly every year.

[f0xxee]

Also comparing Aus/LOS prices:

A Honda Civic in LOS can be yours for between 23K - 30K baht compared 26- 35K Aussie. (Depending on the whether you buy the poverty pack or the top model) This plus cheaper insurance and petrol helps.
A Toyota Hilux VIGO (the Subaru WRX of Thaiand with the multifunctionality of being able to fit 1 x Buffalo or 35 x Cambodian contractors in the back) can be yours for much the same, compared to 26-45K Aussie.
Petrol tends to be about 10-20% cheaper.
Insurance is a lot cheaper.
Servicing: Mrs Foxxee's Honda Civic costs 1100 baht for a service( Oil change and filter.)

[pacman]

(f0xxee @ Mar. 16 2010,08:37) Good on you Paccie! keep talking up the gloom!

You're welcome mate, the burden of being the bearer of bad tidings is only alleviated by knowing some find it uncomfortable...      

I guess this is just another "inconvenient truth"...        

   The latest bumper sticker seen around town -

Be nice to America or we'll bring democracy to your country

[Bumpa STIKKA]

(katoeylover @ Mar. 16 2010,08:02) I am sorry, but i find Thailand is just as expensive now...

Depends what you spend your money on... It certainly can't be things that normal residents buy! Or are you talking about holiday expenditure which isn't what this thread is about.

My bills...

Rent 17,000 a month for a great house in a gated community, pool, gym, manicured gardens, etc.

Gas for cooking - 200 baht ($6 US) a YEAR!

Trash - 70 baht ($2 US) a month. (Twice weekly pick up.)

Food in supermarkets is massively cheaper than in the west especially meats from the butchers counter. It's even cheaper if you buy at the markets.

Fruit and vegetables are a lot cheaper too.

Restaurants - NO CONTEST... You can eat great food in great restaurants for about a quid a head! Try doing that in your country.

You can get really good fish and seafood (unavailable where I come from) for about 3 or 4 quid a head.

Even the expensive fast food and 'managed' chains are a lot cheaper than in the west. MK costs me and Olay about 400 baht a visit... and believe me we are stuffed after every visit!

The movie theaters are waaaaaay cheaper... and better, too. Cleaner, quieter, etc.

So what is MORE expensive for us living in Thailand?

Stuff in tourist areas that I don't need. 150 baht bottled water! Are you mental?

Also - our occasional treats and imported foods are expensive. More so than in the west... but these are optional extras that I'm happy to shell out extra for.

Everything is cheaper out here...

I can't believe that people pay over a pound for a bottle of tap water in the UK. Petrol is what... a quid for a liter? FFS! Restaurants cost at least 20 quid a head unless you scrimp and just buy one thing each.

Don't get me started on the fees for watching your own TV, taxes, council Nazi extortion fees, income taxes, cigarettes are about 300 baht for 20! What the fuck!!!

Taxis are FUCKING expensive in the UK. You'd have to get a bus if you left the house as taxis are an occasional treat in the UK. Here we hop in and out of them like they are buses... and if there are two or three of you then it works out cheaper... plus it's door to door!

If you are seriously suggesting that Thailand is just as bad as the UK to live in then you have either never lived here or you are buying at some amazingly expensive places where they roll out special price lists just for you!

[Bumpa STIKKA]

Snick reminded me about the cost of manual labour etc... It's a fraction of the cost.

We recently got satellite installed in the house. (For Olay - NOT me!)

The cost was less than 3,000 baht.

That includes the dish, installation and testing. About 3 hours from start to finish...

Now we have 70 channels of (SHIT!) TV, loads of radio stations and how much a month? NOTHING! NO monthly bills!

Sixty quid and we have satellite TV FOR LIFE! Where in the world can you get a deal like that?

We send out a lot of our laundry because it's so cheap. They pick it up, wash it then return it. I don't even know how much it is because it's so cheap.

A brand new automatic Honda motorbike here? About 40,000 baht. (800 quid.) We are getting one soon. Because they are so cheap we'll get a nice one with all the options... still less than a thousand quid!

Handyman to do the plumbing/shelving, etc... dunno but about 200 baht (4 quid) a job. A cleaner? Try getting a decent cleaner in the west to spring clean your house from top to bottom for less than a tenner!

[manarak]

dinner out at a decent {read; chain} restaurant is easily 75 bucks for 3 or 4 people

haha - that's still dirt cheap compared to Switzerland !!

I took my family out for dinner at a lower priced thai restaurant on Sunday, and it set me back 165 USD, even I am a member enjoying discounts!

What we ordered:
- appetizers with 2x satay skewers (10cm), 2x gyozas, 2x coated shrimps, 4 dimsums
- 8 dim sums
- snapper sweet sour
- 3x cola zero
- 2x beer Singha
- spicy duck
- duck curry

and that's it !!!
plus the portions are for swiss customers, meaning the portions are rather small!

so... who wants to come live in Sawitzerland?

[guydesavoy]

(manarak @ Mar. 16 2010,21:26) so... who wants to come live in Switzerland?

Roman Polanski ?

17k is a great deal on the hacienda BS.  I'll be relocating soon  

Snick is right, wine is a real killer in LOS. But smokes are cheap (and duty free from BKK ? Ridiculously so...) . 1 litre of Ballantynes Scotch at 7/11 for 600 THB ? I'm there...