You more than double your purchasing power simply by moving to Thailand. In fact, most retirees experience a 250% increase. Take a look at my personal budget figures and make your own decision:
Six months ago I moved out of my new furnished, air conditioned, gated, 24 hour security hillside condo near the university ($230/mo) to the room in the budget below. I wanted to write about working-class Thais, whom we don’t normally meet because they don’t speak English, can’t afford tourist restaurants, and are trying to make ends meet on the Thai minimum wage, which will soon increase to $9.80/day. He wanted to share their lives and lifestyles.
Here is my monthly spending on the basics:
STUDIO APARTMENT RENT: $70. Includes utilities.
FOOD: $360. All restaurant meals.
SHIPPING: $132. Rented scooter + Fuel
EXERCISE: $80. Yoga 3x week.
TOTAL BASIC EXPENSES: $642/mo. = $22/day
I don’t list things like clothing because a) I haven’t bought enough (although I did buy 4 nice baseball caps with a brim for $2) and b) it’s ridiculously cheap.
A typical day of $22:
Breakfast at Jok Sompet, the oldest restaurant in the city: rice porridge (congee, jok) with pork dumplings, fresh spring onions and ginger, fish sauce and white pepper; huge portion. More than 500ml. water bottle. $1.10
Morning writing at Mamia Cafe on the River. Giant iced coffee, ice water. $1.25
Lunch at Mamia: steamed rice with spicy chicken and steamed vegetables, ice water. $2.30.
Yoga from 18:00 to 19:30. $6.25
Dinner at Blue Diamond Café. Avocado sandwich with bacon, cheese and tomato, bottle of Kombucha. $4.80
This program involves two trips to the city (breakfast and dinner) = 55 km (34 miles)/day, or about 1000 miles each month.
Obviously you can live in Thailand with much less than you can at home. I live in Chiang Mai, voted the #1 expat destination in the world. It hosts 15 million tourists every year and therefore has more touristy prices.
The same standard of living is even cheaper if you live in one of Thailand’s hundreds of picturesque villages. Or spend the same and for $642 a month in Chiang Rai a few hours away (one of the most beautiful cities in the world) you can afford a solid middle-class life and have your friends over for dinner and drinks every week. .
A cultural caveat: seniors in Thailand are highly respected and the oldest member of any group is the most respected, given the seat of honor and truly listened to. Does it lower? oldest country. But when you get the check, you’ll be pleasantly surprised: a three-course dinner and premium beers for four will set you back about $38.00. (No tipping: not a Thai custom).
Check out the other articles on retirement in Thailand in this series. Maybe it’s time to try something completely new.