Comparing Apples to Mangoes: The Real Cost of Living in Thailand

Cost of living is the top priority for most prospective expats when considering a move overseas. There is plenty of advice on where to go and how much it costs published on the internet every day. I’m here to tell you that none of it matters. Nobody can accurately predict how much it will cost you to live in another country.

A lot of people who move overseas are excited to embrace a new lifestyle. Many move intending to continue their old lifestyle in a better place. The reality is that both types of expats will experience major changes to the way they live, whether they plan to or not. Chances are the life you are living right now will bear little resemblance to your life in a place like Mexico, Portugal, Croatia, or my chosen home, Thailand.

As the borderless lifestyle gains popularity, so do the YouTube gurus, e-book authors, and podcasters who can’t wait to tell you how cheap it is to live in X-Y-Z country. My issue with those sources is they offer advice from a limited experience, much of which is more like a tourist than a resident. Even those who espouse the “slow travel” experience still focus on living as cheaply as possible to make the most sensational headline. Additionally, the information I’ve seen from most of these experts on Thailand is nowhere close to the lifestyle I enjoy.

What’s more, there is no accounting for changes over time. Imagine Midwesterners who have braved decades of bitter winters and spent most of their time living in the suburban sprawl on the fringe of some big city. Suddenly, they're living on a tropical island, and the biggest concern is what to do with all the papayas growing in their garden. Do you think their lifestyle might change? How much cheaper could you live if you didn’t have to purchase heating oil, snow tires, or pants that go past your knees?

Estimating the Real Costs

Aerial view of Pattaya, where writer Bart Walters resides.|©iStock/Gri-spb

Trying to compare what it costs to live in North America to where I live in Thailand seems like comparing apples to mangoes. The difference between my hometown in the US and where I live now is quite extreme. I enjoy a better lifestyle for less than half the expense, but not everything is cheaper, and it helps to break down the cost of living into major categories and compare them head-to-head with those of your target country.

One good example is in the food and beverage column of your cost-of-living spreadsheet. Food costs in North America have become so outrageous that any place you move to will seem like heaven. But be careful to consider how you eat and drink, not just look at someone else’s food bill. Imported food costs more no matter where you go. Where I live, cheese and dairy products are expensive. Edible beef imported from Australia and New Zealand can be quite pricey. Ice cream is outrageous for reasons I have yet to figure out.

Countries with well-developed cuisines and a wide variety of food sources can be very wallet-friendly. In my part of the world, the local food can be fresh, delicious, healthy, and cost-effective. Thai food is legendary. Vietnamese cuisine is also a favorite and has the lowest food cost in the region. When I lived in Da Nang, I could eat out cheaper than I could cook at home. In Thailand, it is the opposite, and it is more expensive to dine out, but mostly because of a wider variety of import choices.

For example, the average price for a quick and easy meal like chicken and rice is 50 THB ($1.40), while a sit-down meal at a mid-range restaurant for two people would be around 400 to 500 THB ($11.00 to $13.00). If you’re looking for a treat, an imported ribeye steak at a nice restaurant can cost around 650 THB ($18).

Something that shocks many newcomers is how expensive it can be to consume alcohol in other countries. Any imported alcohol product entering Thailand is slapped with a heavy import duty, which means you are paying $15 per glass for wine that comes out of a box. Neighboring Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos have no such policy and have been wine appreciators and purveyors since French colonial times. Prices for your favorite grape may be cheaper than in the US. Liquor store prices I’ve seen in The Philippines aren’t inflated by “sin taxes” and can be much cheaper than in the US as well. Predominantly Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia tend to downplay alcohol consumption and tax it heavily. If you like to drink wine, spirits, or anything other than local beer, Cambodia and The Philippines would be a much cheaper choice than Thailand or Malaysia with their stiff import tariffs.

I don’t know anyone who has moved to this part of the world and hasn’t changed their diet in some way. Usually for the better. All fruits and vegetables are drastically cheaper. If I compare my hometown in the US to where I live now, tomatoes are 70% cheaper, oranges are 60% cheaper, and apples to apples? 55% cheaper in Thailand. If you knew you were going to a place where fresh mangoes and papayas were less than $1 per kilo and shrimp was $3 per pound, wouldn’t you guess that your diet would change at least a little? (Don’t even get me started about the seafood).

Food and drink are a major chunk of everyone’s budget. In my opinion, it is impossible to accurately calculate what you might spend until you have lived in a place long enough to adjust. I cook for myself with top-quality meat, poultry, fish, fruits, and vegetables. Once a week I’ll eat out. My average monthly cost for food and beverages is about $350. When I first arrived in Thailand, I spent that much per week.

Threshold of Space

Bart found a beachside apartment in Da Nang for just $285/month.|©iStock/saiko3p

Another major living expense that can be challenging to estimate is housing. Rents for most countries are well-documented on the internet, and you should be able to get an idea of what kind of living space you can afford. However, it is also important to consider cultural differences and know where your “threshold of space” is.

Most Americans don’t realize how huge their average living space is compared to the rest of the planet. When I moved to Thailand, I came from a three-bedroom/three-bathroom 300 square meter house with a pool. I literally thought I needed that much space to live. After the first year, I shed my old American notions of having a lot of stuff in a big-ass place. That’s just not how people live here. The average size of a single-family home in the USA is 213 square meters. The average US apartment is 84 square meters. Where I live in Thailand, the average house is 150 square meters, and the apartment is 50 square meters. That’s 30% and 40% smaller, respectively.

Before moving overseas, I could not envision living in a 50-square-meter apartment, but I have, and in three countries: Thailand, Vietnam, and The Philippines. I find that everyone has a different “threshold of space.” That’s the point where a living space is big enough to stop feeling like a hotel room and becomes a place where you could hang out all day. My threshold of space is 50 square meters. Anything less and I feel like a tourist. On the flip side, anything with more than two bedrooms makes me feel like I’m wasting money on unused space.

You don’t have to scale down when you move overseas, but most people do. Until you make that adjustment, you can’t accurately estimate the cost of housing, which will surely be in the top three on your list of monthly expenses. It could also affect which country you choose to live in because housing costs can differ significantly even between countries in the same region. I found the Philippines to be more expensive with fewer choices than Thailand, and Vietnam turned out to be a big surprise when I rented a 60 square meter apartment a five-minute walk from the beach in Da Nang for $285 per month. Until you’ve landed on foreign soil and gotten into the groove of a place, you simply don’t know how much you’ll spend on housing.

Affordable Transportation Options

Skytrain gliding through Bangkok, showcasing the city's modern transit system.|©iStock/Wirestock

If housing and food are the top two expenses on your list, transportation will most surely come in around number three. When I lived in the US, I drove every ridiculous gas-guzzling status symbol that was available. When I moved to Bangkok, I rode the Skytrain and the subway like a kid at Disney World. Other than riding the school bus, I’d literally never used public transportation before. The freedom of having no car was exhilarating.

When I lived in Phuket, my place was in a mountainous, remote area, so I bought a 4-wheel drive pickup truck; that was also a first for me. It’s what I needed to get around there. Now, I live in Jomtien Beach, which is like living on the Gulf Coast in Florida. I use ride-hailing services, taxis, motorbike taxis, and these open-air contraptions that run up and down the beach called “songtaews” (known to expats as “baht buses”) to get around. My average transportation cost per month is less than $100. For instance, a typical Grab or Bolt ride-sharing trip of 15 minutes costs around 130 THB ($3.50), while a motorbike taxi for a 10-minute trip is about 50 THB ($1.40).

Like every other species on this planet, we adapt to our environment. Which environment to choose is not a decision you should make by looking at photos on the internet. You might think you could ride a motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City until you get there and realize there is more chaos than you were prepared for. You might think you want to have a car in Bangkok until you sit for three hours in one of its legendary traffic jams and then have nowhere to park when you get to where you are going. My personal transportation solution has morphed over the years, and the “pay as you go” approach works great for me. Your mileage may vary.

Bargain a Little

Haggling over prices is a common practice in Thailand's markets. |©iStock/chris-mueller

Something most expats don’t see coming that can affect their cost of living is a change of attitude about money. Going a little bit native can bring on small changes and habits that help you live more efficiently and get the most for your money. The first move is mentally switching to the local currency. Changing to another currency is like switching to the metric system; you just have to give in to it; you can’t constantly convert to dollars.

If you continue to think in dollars, you pay too much for everything. When you get in a taxi in Bangkok, ride for 20 minutes, and get exactly where you want to go in air-conditioned comfort and safety, three dollars seems like a very low price to pay. But that’s 100 baht and more than double what the fare should be if the driver ran the meter. If you compare the price of mangoes in Thailand to the US, it seems so ridiculous that someone here could charge you double the market price, and you’d still think you were getting a good deal. Expats should think about the Thai Baht or any local currency in terms of what it can buy, not how much it is in dollars.

Newcomers to Thailand soon learn that not everyone thinks about money the same way. For the most part, Americans are just about the least frugal people in the world. We pay too much. We tip too much. We don’t haggle very well.

The first words I learned in Thai were “ow lot di.” Translation: “I want a discount.” My Thai girlfriend was from a wealthy family but was a ruthless negotiator. I watched her work her magic from street markets to real estate deals. I picked up some skills and discovered that almost everyone you encounter expects you to bargain a little.

Made in Thailand

Huge savings can be had on big-ticket items in Thailand. |©iStock/kitzcorner

You’ll also discover ways to save money just by paying attention to your environment. A few years ago, I spent several hours online researching DSLR cameras. I found three different brands with basically the same features priced within 5% of each other. When I went to the camera shop in Bangkok, I was amazed to find that the Nikon was significantly cheaper than the Sony and the Canon. When I asked the clerk why, he said, “Made in Thailand.” Apparently, this model of Nikon camera is assembled in Thailand and incurred no import duty. It was 25% cheaper.

I had the same experience with a high-end mountain bike made by GIANT. I discovered GIANT bikes are assembled in Thailand and bought one for less than half of what I’d pay in the US. When I renovated all three bathrooms in my condo, I chose high-end fixtures like sinks, toilets, faucets, and showers from the “American Standard” brand. The factory they came from is in Rayong, 20 minutes from where I live. I paid half of what you’d pay in the US.

Huge savings can be had on big-ticket items like household appliances, cars, motorbikes, electronics, etc. The massive industrial parks in Thailand house some of Asia’s largest factories. Buying “domestic” could save you a bundle.

Don’t worry; if you move to Thailand, you won’t have to remember these adjustments or money-saving hacks; we seem to acquire them organically just from being immersed in this culture. You’ll live differently, think differently, and spend your money differently.

If you live here for a year, you’ll see that comparing apples to apples becomes irrelevant. You’re a mango now!