Is Thailand a expensive country

Answer 1

This largely depends on what you are looking for. If you can speak the local language, or know people, you can stay for $20-50 USD with a large room and a toilet (in separate room), concrete walls, plus electric ($0.11/kWatt hr) and water ($1-8/mo). Most westerners opt for a more western style-toilet and housing, which will run more like $75-350/month for anywhere between 1-5 bedrooms, electric, etc.

You're biggest expense will be your air condition unit. They use appx 1 unit/hr. So if you're the type to leave on the air condition 24/7, your bill will be $110-150/month, even more if you use multiple air units. most people either use only fan or turn on air only when needed during the hot parts of the day. So your bill will be more like $15-65, depending on how much you like air condition. Using the air 5-8 hours a day along with other appliances will be about $50.

If you drive a motorbike, it will be another $10-20/month for petrol, depending on how far you live from the major town to do shopping. You can get a reliable Honda bike for $500-700. Or new for $1000-3500 USD depending on how powerful of a bike you want. 125 cc honda click brand new is about $1800. Maintenance is very cheap. For example, an oil change is $4. The drive belt is about $18-30. This is at the branded dealerships, not mom/pop shops. The new cars are a bit more expensive from what i remember, but routine maintenance and parts are cheap. Toyota corollas are very popular here. You can also convert your vehicle into a natural gas vehicle NGV using compressed natural gas CNG or liquid natural gas LNG to save on gas. Or use Liquid Propane LPG; a lot of taxis do this for long term gas savings.

Food is anywhere between $2-6 a day, depending on your eating habits. If you eat meat/animal products, this will up the cost $1-5. If you come to live a western lifestyle, your imports will cost you. Things like maple syrup have to be brought from outside. But basic living is very cheap. The locals live on $200-300/month. I have seen $600-800 work for a mixed thai/foreigner family of 4. A single person can get away with a lot less. You would want $1-2000 in savings for a rainy day.

The thai women are extremely friendly towards foreign men. And you don't have to be rich by any means in order to enjoy their company.