Reader Submission: Thailand has become very expensive for us

I have also been in PH for 2 weeks half a year ago and the average price level - about the same things as in TH - is almost as high there (low), but the crime rate is much higher. However, there is much, much more difference between parts of the country. As has often been said: you save the most by buying Western things as little as possible and eating / doing locally.
IF you want cheap, Indonesia can offer a solution (outside Bali, that is), but it is much more primitive and much more hassle with long-stay visas. Vietnam ditto.

thailand has definitely become a lot more expensive in relative terms than about 15 years ago.
I will not forget that 2 years ago I had to pay 2-3 euros for a piece of fruit, but that is a good daily wage for someone in the Thai countryside (15 years ago heh)…
In other words, the baht has seen inflation at that time, just as we have had here with the transition from the guilder to the euro. And the more recent expensive dollar against the euro doesn't really help either.

Just realize that in the Netherlands you can currently put together a VW Golf for more than 100.000 guilders! A nice smartphone costs 1000-2000 guilders, a pair of nice shoes 300 guilders. And McDonalds probably went bankrupt within a week if we have to pay in guilders again because of an acute psychological wallet indigestion.

And well, Thailand has that as well, no idea what the wages of a day laborer are now, but that will rightly be a bit higher than 15 years ago to reflect today's prices. Just like our wages now.

So yes Thailand has become more expensive for us just like the rest of life.

But is this a reason to avoid Thailand? Uhhhhh no, compared to the rest of Asia, Thailand is cheap with a good infrastructure, pleasant people, good food, etc etc….do you find that somewhere else even better balanced than super.

I'm curious about Cambodia in Sept/Oct regarding this, we Will see.

Philippines is not going to beat Thailand, it is unsafe, expensive, bad food, nasty, only advantage is the language

Best of all. Around Nakhon Ratchasima the food is very affordable. Some examples.
Coffee 30 bath. Tom Jam 35 bath. Many choice rice with vegetables 35bath. Water with ice for free. And so forth. So it's not too bad.
You can also build houses there for little money. A holiday home in the Netherlands is many times more expensive.

Dear Hans,
Livelihoods are getting more expensive all over the world.
Thais have reason to complain with a wage of 300 baht/day.
Have you ever thought about the situation in the surrounding Asian countries with regard to medical care?
Very bad, dilapidated hospitals, reuse of hypodermic needles, medicines expired, etc. (I know all this from a good source).
Thailand is very good in this area.
So we don't have it so bad here.
But good luck in your new future country.
Greetings.
Gino.

Dear Hans.
An attempt to put a belt under your heart!
This state of affairs has been dragging on for quite some time, but until now I am not aware of any Dutchman who has left the country because of a lack of money.
Just adjust your activities and your entertainment to your budget.
Pleasant vacation.

I don't understand why that response is still coming. A year and a half ago I got about 43-44 Baht for 1 euro. In January this year it was only 35-35,5 Baht/euro. Now we get 37-38 again, depending on where you shop. So I think the worst is actually already over. The euro has taken a serious hit as the ECB has started printing money en masse to get the economy going again. The aim is also to bring the USD to roughly the same level as the EUR. Thailand has not followed suit and the Baht has therefore become more expensive. But they are correcting, bit by bit. For those who are interested here: despite the minimum wage of 300 Baht per day, most day laborers in Isaan have to make do with 200 Baht. There is no control whatsoever because it is too little to levy tax and so no tax return is filed. In addition, it is much more interesting for the corrupt civil service to keep this pot covered. They earn more and can trade more easily under the table because it can be done cheaper. So also consider if you book a hotel for roughly 400 euros per week, that about 3 monthly wages of the day laborer working in the Isaan go through your hand there. Going to a terrace and drinking a coffee for 30 Baht corresponds approximately to the cost price of 10 euros for a coffee on an expensive terrace in Belgium or the Netherlands. We therefore find it outrageously expensive here and cause us indignation. For such a person, an average hot meal is equivalent to a daily restaurant visit of roughly EUR 15 per person. You can't go crazy for that. After all, we don't have it so bad here after all, do we? And then say that Thailand has become too expensive? Come on…

Ls,

Thailand has become more expensive, but if you are a little careful, you can still enjoy a holiday here. Rob

It is a fact that Thailand has become more expensive, despite the lower euro.
It is a fact that Thailand is no longer the land of smiles.
It is a fact that Thailand has more eyes for the masses (Chinese, Russians) than for the poor European.
It's a fact that the dirt cheap hotels in Thailand, coupled with cheaper flights to Bangkok, keep the farang coming back year after year.
All in all, one can conclude that many tourists sometimes have reservations about Thailand.
Philippines sounds good, but is more expensive because of the ticket. Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, probably not.
Why do many begin to doubt? It's the arrogance, bad service, discrimination etc towards the farang.
That is a sense of reality dear Teun. Take off your rose colored glasses. Thailand is not what it used to be. It is a beautiful country with nice people. But criticism is allowed, right? Or is the whole Thailand blog turned upside down?