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Cost of Living/Retirement

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boogie
  7/26/2003 23:03 EST

I will be retiring in 6 years time and am trying to sort out my options. My wife is Thai and we are thinking about a move to Pattaya. I am trying to find out what sort of monthly income we will need to live a comfortable lifestyle, i.e. eat out a couple of times a week, a few beers , nothing flash, but have money over for trips back to the UK etc. I intend to buy property ( I am aware of the regulations). We have a daughter so I would need to fund an international school education, but could probably fund this by renting my house in the UK. I will have a regular pension of around 70,000 baht a month. I am hoping somebody already living in Pattaya may be able to assist. I realise asking how much you need is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string ,but would welcome any ideas,suggestions.

Thanks

caughtintheact
  7/27/2003 22:01 EST

Howdy boogie,
Although I don't live in Pattaya B70000 should be enough to live in the style you are talking about. Of course much depends on remaining disposable income after basic expenses. If you buy a place you will still have maintenance costs, phone bills, computer costs, internet costs, etc.
You might want to take a look at the forums on www.thaivisa.com for more information. Perhaps Dave, a regular contributor to this forum, will have some more relevant comments, as he lives in Pattaya. At any rate there are a lot of people who live OK there on less than you will have.

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boogie
  8/2/2003 06:56 EST

Thanks for that. Yes I would really like to know the basic costs so I can see how much disposable income I would have. Obviously it varies a lot from family to family, but I would hope overall that 70,000 is enough with change to spend.

Thanks again
Boogie

caughtintheact
  8/3/2003 19:04 EST

I'll give it a try:
1. Electricity: if you run an aircon 24/7 in a 16 sqm room your elex bill will run about 4000-6000 per month. Most people I know only run their aircons during sleeping hours and when the night weather is a bit cooler, only a fan. So you can keep the cost below this.
2. Water is relatively inexpensive. Figure about B100-150/month/person
3. Food: Too many factors to even come up with a WAG
4. Internet access: Estimate 6-12 baht per hour including the phone calls (usually 3 baht per call).
5. Depending on the type of accommodations you select, there may be a monthly parking fee B500-B1000
6. Gas cooking runs about B200/month I think (at least it used to)
7. Mobile phone: Baht 4-5 per minute for local calls and up to 12 baht/min for upcountry calls. You are better off with pre-paid service as far as I'm concerned, because if you lose the phone, there's very little hassle. 1-2-Call is a good service.
8. Gasoline (petrol, if you wish) is running about 14-17 baht per liter. Most cars here have about 40 liter tanks, so topping off from a near empty tank will cost about 600-700 baht.
9. Annual visa renewal: Fees increase to B1900 per year as of 26 Aug 2003.
10. Annual car registration: Varies depending on age and weight of car.
11. Annual drivers license renewal: B105
12. Computer supplies:
a. paper costs about B90 per ream
b. Inkjet cartridges cost between 1200-1600 baht depending on whether the new cartridge is black or color. There are cheaper refills, but to be used with caution before your warranty expires.
c. Internet time: I subscribe and pay B900 for 100 hours per month, plus 9 baht per hour for excess time, but only 3.67 baht per hour between midnight and 0600 with CS Loxinfo.

That's about all I can think of for now. If you can think of any other items, let me know, and I'll tey and give you an estimate, but if you are goijng to retire here in 6 years, expect the costs will increase somewhat significantly.

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