im sure this has been covered many times before and despite my searching using the word 'budget' cant seem to find anything with definitive answers so what do you 'old hands' so to speak think is a realistic budget for bringing to Thailand with a course starting in January which lasts 6 weeks, 4 weeks before the course starts of chilling and sorting out accomodation etc and probably factor in a good month after the course finishes.
ill be taking the course in Pattaya and whilst i know this is party central im not planning on spending my life in party mode after the initial first couple of weeks. im only going to Pattaya as i have friends there from previous trips, plus i cant be doing with Bkk.
so what do you think is a suitable amount to be bringing bearing the above in mind?( a bit how long is a piece of string question i know, but some examples of what others have brought is the idea)
look forward to your comments
So you want to budget for 10 weeks? Try budgeting for 30k Baht a month, it seems to be the average wage for English Teacher (non degree) over there. It will get you used to living on that wage and plus you can find out if you can actually survive on it and still enjoy your work/life in Thailand :-) Good luck mate
Living as a transient/tourist in Pattaya (even without acting like it is party central) is not the same as living as a resident.Originally Posted by Eddie Smith
As a tourist and not in party mode I can easily go through b3000/day whereas living as a resident our real (family) household budget (expenses not earnings) is on the order of 25k thb/month.
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^^
TTompatz, that 25k a month includes a FAMILY? you, sirrah, are nowhere near as self-indulgent as i. and i'm not even in Pattaya.
Imodium can't stop me.
Ya, kind of a homebody... but I have the toys that I need to be happy .. 42" TV, broadband internet, home cooked food and as a teetotaler I don't drown buckets of cash in the bottom of a pint or 40 every month.
rent 3000 (3 bedroom townhouse with mod-cons)
internet 1000
satellite 2000
food 10,000
transportation 2000
electric /water/cooking gas 3000
misc 4000
Medical and accident insurance is through the employer (bupa and aig).
I also do not live in Pattaya but we were there over the long weekend playing tourist and easily, even without the cost of drinking, went through more than 3000/day (meals alone ran us close to b1000/day and breakfast was included with the room).
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ttompatz, I'd love to hear more about you and your life--I know you were working in Korea for yonks, so what're you doing in Thailand? I seem to remember reading on ESL Cafe that you were going to retire to the Philippines. You might not want to talk about personal stuff, but you do intrigue me a lot.
OP: the difference between living as a tourist and living as a resident should not be underestimated, and it's important to consider how much down time you have. At least if you are working or going to school for 6-8 hours a day, that means you can't spend money for those 6-8 hours. It's hard to stay at home and not spend anything when you have a lot of time on your hands.
More than likely he'll need to budget for 22 weeks as he's not likely to receive a paycheck until the first of June.
"While Jim is milking the Russian Boar, I'm in the shade of a Baobab tree being served a cool drink by a beautiful young indigenous girl. "
Marlin Perkins
Aloha - Aloha HARD
Might be a thread of its own rather than a hijack.
I sort of retired from teaching in Korea (I still do consulting for a couple of POEs) and moved to our place in the Phils. I built a new house on the hill overlooking the sea and enjoyed doing the planning and being the general contractor of that project.
After that project was done and I was left to spend my time watching coconuts grow it didn't take too long before boredom set in (even for a homebody). I was offered an admin position at a school in a town west of BKK so I took it and have enjoyed my stay in the LOS during my sojourn.
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:O jealous? yep i am. we're about to move from a (15k a month) condo to a 10k a month 2 bedroom/2 bath townhouse... that's the Big Mango for you though.
any tips on finding a place to live in the LOS? should i assume two months deposit or argue for one month deposit? is rent generally negotiable? any places in chiang mai that have good fair rep?
I've seen 1 month deposits, so that's definitely doable.
Take a walk around the neighborhood and ASK around (or get a Thai speaker from your school to help you).
Do it on your own and you will pay the falang price.
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Not including all the costs to actually get you to Thailand. I would say that you should aim to land with a good 200k.
This is it... The apocalypse.
yeah get one near work. commuting's a bitch.
lots of places will ask for one.
Sorry if this sounds unhelpful, but unless you're a good looking girl, I've never heard of anywhere in the world where rent was negotiable. Expect to pay one to two months deposit, collectable when you leave, unless you stay less than six months, in which case it is/may be forfeit.
I sleep in the daytime, I
Work in the night time, I
Might not ever get home
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