How Much Does It Really Cost? A Middle Aged Expat's Budget in Thailand Revealed!

Great video. Where in Thailand do you live? Sorry if this is answered elsewhere

Can u do a video on different Thai foods u like with pics and price

Thanks for the video, if I have to retire in Thailand in my early 50's now, I need to have at least $3K or B100K of monthly pension plus $100K of extra savings for emergency. That won't happen until late 2025 or early 2026 to be living in Thailand for good.

great video, as you and everyone else says, a bit more realistic than 'Thailand on $1,000 a month". A few things I would have to add such as for (a) health insurances, (b) furnishing and appliances replacements, (c) memberships and equipment such as for gym, (d) gifts and donations, (e) vehicle maintenance, (f) misc. admin costs such as for agents, tax, visas, etc.

Why 6 bedrooms though? I wouldn`t know what to do with the space.

We spend about $5000-6000 a month in Hua Hin which is only about half my monthly income. Can’t really spend more than that if I try. We actually own 2 pool villas here. My wife of 16 years is Thai-American so I own the actual house and we have a Thai corp which owns the land 51/49%. We live in one and rent the other out for 65k bt per month. We own a few more back in the States we also rent out and keep a second residence on the beach in Florida. So we have no rent and no debt. We live a pretty great lifestyle on that here and travel often. We don’t really want for anything. I don’t own a car as I hate to drive but I hire a full time personal driver which is far safer here. She also serves as our part time nanny for our infant child. It’s nice to see a channel where living on the cheap isn’t the focus. There are actually people retired here with money. I’m a retired attorney who retired at 50 15 years ago. Many retired professionals in our neighborhood which is a very high end area even by US standards. We came here so my wife could be closer to her family after living in the States for many years. Going on 4 years and I like it here. We want to bring our daughter up here who is both a Thai and American citizen because the values seem more in line with ours here than in the U.S. these days.

Another great video. Love your delivery - no nonsense approach since it's just your opinion, right? I dived into every comment so far to see what if anyone would say about health insurance costs which you skipped over. I would suggest next time you mention why you don't include it due to the wildly different rates based on age and health. But on a serious note, would you share the real cost for you and your wife. You guys are both so young! Anyway, love the channel. Keep it going.

I loved this video- it was extremely informative and to the point. I will be exploring Thailand in Feb for a few weeks and depending on the experience- will absolutely consider it as a part time retirement living destination. Secondly, Any chance that your wife could do a video with you based on where she likes to shop and have her woman treatments done- like spa- hair- nails???

It is good to see someone living with a higher budget. I am tired of seeing the people saying I live on $2 a month while eating a tree leaf and drinking water… 😂

Brilliant, everything there , another Gem 💎 ☘️👌

It is equally the 'land of sulks' sales hype parroted lol

Good job! Good information!

I have spent 7000 in Tokyo without matching your lifestyle. Your life is great Love the new house.

Whoaaa... From your other videos I just didn't imagine you to be one to shovel money out the door so quickly...haha.
I spend a little bit more than that monthly in the US but I'm looking forward to cutting that expense at least in half in South Asia.
Thanks for all the details!

Hey Ramze. Super well-done.
My wife and I met in Vegas, I'm 3rd gen from Silicon Valley. We travel fulltime (6 years) for 35-40 percent of the cost of living at home and 4-5 months each year is in Phuket. I thought your budget was very well laid out.
We spend very similar money for rent, but get a lot less than you. Amazing deal you got for yourself. We are in a 1 bedroom condo in the tourist area near Bangla. Food costs are a little higher in Patong, as you might expect. We spend a lot more on alcohol, as you will quicky see if you decide to check out our channel. Lol,
You have expenses that many won't have, but the costs of a lot of the things that are important to you don't really add up to that much. I think you articulated the cost of a higher-end cost of living in Pattaya really well.
Kudos.

$5k to 6k for the way you are living is very good. 💪 Thanks for sharing 👍

Tesla is pricey here 1.8 million THB with high insurance price as well.

Happy 1st birthday Coco!!! Cutie pie!

I like the video thanks…
I live in Pattaya with my girl between $3500 and $4000… with not a lot of extras like Lazada or Amazon delivery… lol.. if I go crazy online add $500-$1000

For me, I prefer value for money and to work to a senable budget and to integrate and embrace true realistic thai culture and live like a normal thai on average income this way you truly appreciate the realites of life here, so a Western budget here in Thailand ,is a,privilege life style nothing, wrong with that if that is what you want,
Personally, I chose not to waste money on an extravagant way of life here
We are all different

Great breakdown and that budget is very comfortable living in Thailand for sure. It bugs me too all these people "live like a king for $x. Hey bro you aint living here like a king with $10k let alone $2k. You will spend 200k on a property to be in the realm of living like a king here, at least in Phuket anyway. Put a nice BM or Merc on the drive and you can add another 100k a month to your budget. There's you $10k gone before you do anything.

After doing some searching online recently I can say That house really is a good deal. You don't get much in Phuket for 55k these days. Whats your plan for when that lease expires no doubt you have been seeing how the market is currently?

I wish I had about 2/3 of your budget, unfortunately I got to wait about 2 years for that with my pensions coming up! When I do I will be right there! See you then!

You live like a millionaire in Thailand. As a German engineer, I only earn $3,500 a month and could never afford such a luxurious life in expensive Thailand.

Hi, I really enjoy your videos. You are real, transparent, and interesting. I resonate with and respect your pragmatic logic. Was going to mention the health insurance/ medical dental line then saw your response in another comment. Thank you, sending blessings your way.

Great video like always. Being 64 and single with a 3500 U.S. budget I feel like I could live a very nice life when I move there next year (hopefully)

I thought you met your wife in Cuba. How did she pick up such an extravagant lifestyle!

Hey brother, great video. May I ask, how much did you pay for your Tesla there? Thanks !

That is around $100k/year Australian which seems a lot for Thailand. A comfortable life for a couple in Australia is deemed to be around $65k/year, albeit without all the trimmings that you have incorporated into your lifestyle.

Comment of the day
“He’s just a little Chubster” 😂😂

I thought u were leaving thailand....its ok..everyone says they are leaving but they never do haha..lovely video..thanks

Great break down mate.. Finally someone with a budget for people who have a bit behind them.. Not rich by any means, but not looking to scrounge, scrimp and save everywhere.

Loved it, of course would swap some cost areas, and reduce/increase others due to being single.. But Ive always thought about 100000 baht plus accom (either own or rent) is about the monthly goal to work to (plus any vacations or trips)

I'm moving over in March just me no pets. I have a 3.5k+ a month budget. I want a nice place pool the works. Not quite middle aged anymore but close. Moving to Koh Samui to start and see where I go from there. Can't wait. Not looking for a wife or gf looking to travel. Making Thailand my home base.

Thanks for summary. I could easily afford that, but if I did half that, I would still be living twice as well as I am now in the states. I don't need much.

Thailand vs Columbia?? Pros and cons??

But wait -- i thought i could live like a king for $1000/mo in Thailand????😢

You should learn to cook your own food man. You would be shocked at the inflammatory oils and shit they use in Asian food. The fact yur on meds for blood pressure and cholesterol is a 🚩 if you wanna stick around.

I ran a pool business, and the pool can get out of control if they come by once a week. Out of control, like chlorine is gone and algae starts to grow. If you a have "floaty" tab dispenser in your pool, take it out now! The tabs are 1/2 chlorine and 1/2 conditioner, and the conditioner lasts a long time, while the chlorine may only last a day to a week. If it's over-conditioned, the chlorine will stop working.

Thank you. What brand of Cigar from U.S ?would be good to see a video of outside of your house, neieghbourhood,what is a fancymassage to you?nice restaurant?, Without a visual its not possible to get a frame of reference.

For me as a single person, probably around $2,000 USD a month is plenty to live comfortably. I don't need a house (condo is okay), no maid service, no cigar, no dogs, no pool.

Taking a foreign country trip and trying to fill it with going everywhere honestly is a big mistake. For trips under 30 days Just pick one place and enjoy that city. If you pick Bangkok you won’t even see it all. If you pick Pattaya you will see a great deal of it. Both might cost you the same. Trying to see it all just isn’t realistic and in my opinion your trip is going to be extremely tiring

Useful details again Ramze. Tesla insurance is interesting. How does that compare with USA?

What would you recommend as the minimum budget to launch a move from the US to either Thailand or Cambodia? ( Not so much the living budget monthly budget, but more start-up and getting settled in costs)

I recall an interview with Shaquille O'Neal, he was talking about living in his very big (tho smaller than you might think) home in Florida, he commented how even tho he had a huge house he pretty much stayed in either the kitchen or his bedroom and otherwise didn't even go into the rest of the house.

Sounds like you have a great lifestyle and are happy.
That seems to me to be the most important thing.
Budgets are obviously going to vary for everyone but yours seems perfect for you guys👍👍

You said you and your wife don’t cook, so how many times a day do you go out to eat or bring food back home? Also how often do you have food deliver? Curious because we also don’t want to cook, and more options with homes away from town. Do you feel it’s a chore to leave your house, and drive to eat often?

Why tolerate Philippines brownouts, poverty, litter (trash) everywhere, Malaria mosquitoes & large bugs, stray dogs (with rabies) persistent rooster crowing, loud scooters, traffic jams, no driving rules or traffic lights, poor restaurant service, don't have change, "out of stock", difficulty parking, fake cheese, fake honey, sweltering humidity, typhoons, beggars, corrupt & complicated visa process, no speedy ambulance service, bribing cops, extortion to get out of jail, disadvantage in legal disputes, conman expats, Filipina scammers, poor water quality, lazy landlords who keep your deposit, cant own land, skin tax, lack of gratitude if you are generous cuz Caucasians are viewed as wealthy, hard to find a good steak, unhealthy (deep fried) food, banking issues, slow post office, bad sidewalks, no street lights, long rainy season, nosy prying neighbors, 2:00 AM full-blast karaoke, bad air quality pollution & black soot dust from burning trash, outdoor cooking & smog, suspicious jealousy, tampo, chismus & Pinay constantly staring at their phones, bad healthcare, no building code regulations, neverending construction, no regular trash pickup & people stealing your trash can, difficult to have a deep communication cuz English is their 2nd language, can't understand the Tagalog spoken at gatherings & finally, you need an approved govt clearance with a background check to even leave the country!

First things first, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ video!!!! Love this real numbers for like you’ve said a very unrepresented segment of the expat population - the non backpacker cheap charlie’s 😁

We’re going to be almost identical to you with 4 cats and a serious golf habit.

Thanks for sharing I really appreciate your content🙏🍻🍻

You are living a very suburban lifestyle which is exactly what I am trying to get away from. You are also young and married which strongly influences your choices. One thing I want to find that you didn't mention is a gym and trainer, I'm looking for one that meets my preferences. It's a good video that helps me define my priorities.

We smile when people call Thailand a "third world country". Their home is "first world", yet they pay more and get less and spend months waiting for health care. The saying "no brain, no headache" or "ignorance is bliss" fits here.