mnc@admin.u.nu (Miguel Cruz) wrote in message news:...
> Ribbit! wrote:
> > I can live VERY comfortably on US$500/month (20,000 baht) in Bangkok,
> > but I speak Thai, eat Thai, and have Thai friends. I don't sit on a
> > barstool all day, nor go out chasing bargirls every night.
>
> I spoke with someone yesterday who said a 1-bedroom apartment in Bangkok ran
> for about $500. Was that an exaggeration, or might he have been speaking of
> a standard beyond what's really necessary?
Living in many places in Thailand on $500 a month can be done (if
you're willing to "go native"). The poster sounds like he can. But
living in Bangkok "VERY comfortably" on that amount is a pipe dream.
Bangkok is as expensive and in some cases more expensive to live in
that most US cities.
A bare-bones single room concrete floor flat with a fan and no hot
water is over $100 a month. A reasonable flat with wood or carpet
flooring, A/C, hot and cold running water, full kitchen, etc. (the
kind of things you'd expect if you're living "VERY comfortably") is
easily $500 a month.
Also, living in Thailand anywhere on 20,000 baht a month is illegal
for a foreigner. The minimum income to get a temporary residence visa
is 40,000 baht per month (if you're married to a Thai or something
like that) or about 65,000 baht a month if you're a retiree.
Otherwise you get a tourist visa and leave the country every 90 days.
And there have been stories about Thailand cracking down on that. |