This thread is inspired by me discovering the price of cable in Thailand as it seems you can get cable, phone line and broadband cheaper in the UK. Considering I can earn four times as much in the UK as I could in Thailand, that seems disproportionate and suggests the cost of living isn't so different.
It's an honest thread this hoping to prompt some discussion about cost of living and salaries between east and west and not just an opportunity for Phil to spit his dummy out and mumble something about the price of taxis.
Why is it that you haul your arses out of bed each day to earn what amounts to little under 400 quid a month and just how "cheap" is the cost of living in LoS?...
damn, so ur earning 400quid per week in the uk? wages for school teachers have gone up...
its cheap here, thais can live on 6,000baht per month, god knows how, the only expensive stuff here is the stuff farangs need, ie a body massage 3 times per week =4500baht, 2 bjs per week 1,200baht, that still leaves nearly 2,000baht per week to waste away on silly things like rent and food, wot more could a guy want in life?
i think you have picked on one of two things that seem to be far and above their relative cost when compared to the u.k. cable tv and nice aftershave.
the likes of hugo boss and calvin clein know that the extra 3000 miles their product is shipped adds to the bragging rights of its owners and therefore price it up.
i wont have cable here for the same reason i wont have sky in the uk. i just dont watch enough football or imported american coma tv.
as for phone and internet, i doubt b.t can offer me the works for less than a tenner a month.
as far as food, transport, clothes and errr!!! software go the u.k may as well be a ship of fools
That's about the average pick up per week dd yes. Bearing in mind you receive that amount for the 13 weeks a year paid holiday you get too.
Ok let's move on to food then. I can get a good curry for 3 quid here. I can get a Macdonalds for 99p. I can get a takeaway kebab for a couple of quid. Whats that? 75 baht for a big mac. 150 baht for a kebab. 210 baht for a curry. Bear in mind I was in Thailand a few months ago and know the prices of these things. Still looking good value? Baked beans 22p. Whats that, about 20 baht? I'm still not seeing it...
What, living? Habit, I guess.The cost of living thread
why do you put up with it?
What about wine?i think you have picked on one of two things that seem to be far and above their relative cost when compared to the u.k. cable tv and nice aftershave.
jees where the fok do u live?Originally Posted by laoshi
when i left the uk 14 years ago it was 2 quid for a kebab, cheapest curry was like a fiver, baked beans here are 23 baht so that aint no differant.
jees next ur gonna tell me fags are a pound a packet now and beer a quid a pint, who are u trying to kid?
No you got the cigs spot on - about £4.50 a pack. That's a big one in the cost of living stakes if you're a smoker.
Beer can be had for about £1.40 a pint in wetherspoons. Not so bad. The average pint cost is about two quid. A big bottle of singha or something will set you back 100 to 150 baht in Thailand - closer to 150 and above I would have thought...
LOS. No real income taxes. No comparison.
Freeze your arse off walking to the off-license for some overpriced booze, or slip downstairs for a dozen large bottles of Archer, at give away prices!
When you focus on what's really important, i.e beer and shags, it's great value for money.
T.V?
I haven't owned a t.v for 3 years, and I don't miss it.
Curries?
Can get plenty of good Thai curries for 20-30 baht.
.
.
Hey if you earned £400 a month in UK there would be "No real income taxes" as you don't start paying until you earn 5 grand. I should point out that the 400 quid a week mentioned earlier is after tax...LOS. No real income taxes. No comparison.
how much is the cable ?
The Gold Package is just over 1,500 Baht a month.
As others have mentioned cable is over priced here!
Riddle me this brother can you handle it
Your style to my style you can't hold a candle to it
Equinox symmetry and the balance is right
Smokin' and drinkin' on a Tuesday night
It's not how you play the game it's how you win it
I cheat and steal and sin and I'm a cynic
Best of both worlds = pay off your property in Thailand and set yourself up a bit by working back home for a few years. Come back and enjoy life in Thailand after that.
Life in Thailand, IMO, is more enjoyable than the west. That's the basic reason most guys stay.
The cost of living is much cheaper overall. Getting 'ahead', however, on an Ajarns salary is basically impossible. That means you end up 'trapped' in your job and living wage to wage. Just like back home.
Simple solution is to go home for 3 or 4 years and pay off everything. Then come back. Those 3 or 4 years in England or Australia, you'll earn what you can in 15 years as an Ajarn. Most guys in their 20's and early 30's could do this pretty easily. :chug: I can appreciate it may be harder for those older who have family in Thailand and have been out of the western workforce longer.
Once your back, with the main life expenses 'over' (ie, house and transport), the costs in Thailand are much, much cheaper than back home. Nights out, food, movies, shopping, maybe starting a small business, holidays. All things that cost less than back home. Much less.
Stay home though and all that extra salary will just be paying off your much bigger mortgage in farangland and higher costs of living forever. So, what's the point?
You thunk wrong then. I think a big Singha is only 40 Baht or so. A big Chang is stil only 35-37 Baht! Ciggies 38 Baht. A good meal 20-40 Baht (can you get the same in the UK?), a four bedroom four storey house in Bangkok less than 150 Pound a month! Taxi ride to Pattaya less then 15 Quid (sometimes cheaper), a live in maid around 4K a month, motorcycle taxi bloke going to Tesco's and back to pick up my PS2 games (that cost 30-40 QUID in the UK....and yet are ONLY a 100 Baht here!) only 40 Baht! Fresh fruit and sea food cheaper than in the UK, curry's if you go looking can be had for a song (or so I've heard, but I never go out), a nice pair of shoes for a few hundred Baht, same as shirts and troosers! Etc. etc. etc. etc. And the one thing you can't put a price on.....nice weather!!!! And good views!
I think you've picked some of the few things that are expensive here (cheese, sausages, avacados etc. are also similarly priced here as they are in the UK).
Bear in mind the Pound going a bit mental over the last year or so has made the Baht to Pound exchange rate crapper than it seems when you're actually in country (I've dropped 10%+ of my Pound earnings if you convert Baht to Pound but live the same here, although it would be a bummer if I had to send money back to the UK...luckily I don't!).
I was on around 300 plus Pound a week in the UK before I came here. I didn't have to pay any rent or for food etc. and even though I've taken a fair cut in my wages (I earn around 700-800 Pound a month here) my standard of living (and even just my happiness levels) is far, far, far higher here than it was in the UK!
My mate just came back from the UK with his Thai bird and she was shocked when she found out their bill at the Thai resaurant (in the UK) was over a 100 QUID! She was like "but in Thailand it would only cost a few hundred Baht (or maybe a 1,000 TOPS!).
Swings and roundabouts, but the swings go higher and the roundabout unfortunately needs oiling! If you get what I mean (I'm hoping no one does!).
[quote="kenkannif"]
That's a nice salary in Bangkok mate. About 45 000 baht a month?
The costs of living for basic things are much cheaper in Bangkok. In Australia, a simple night out at the movies for two + two Thai meals = around 1500 to 2000 baht.
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