Four months in Thailand with little financial resources?
Dear readers,
My partner and I are considering taking 4 months of parental leave and going to Thailand with our 2,5-year-old daughter during that period. Unfortunately, we do not have many financial resources because we will have to continue to pay off our loan in Belgium and we will receive little or no benefits.
We would like to have an idea of how much the rent in Thailand would be for a decent 2 bedroom house/apartment that is not remote. When I consult websites such as Booking/Airbnb the prices are extremely high, but I imagine one could find much cheaper? Does that also apply for a short period of a few months? Can a home be reserved in advance or does this have to be arranged on site? How do we best approach this?
It would be ideal to stay in a different location every month. But that will probably limit the choice of good cheaper rental properties?
Which places are recommended for a family? Koh Samui & Krabi are on our to do. Are there any other places that would be suitable for us as a family for a longer stay?
Are there other important costs that we should not forget besides rent & charges? Or other important things we should take into account? What about medical costs, for example consultation with a pediatrician? How much does a consultation cost approximately? Travel insurance for long-term trips abroad is extremely expensive. What do you recommend us?
Thank you very much in advance!
Greetings
Jasmay
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Jasmay, if your budget is so low that you think travel insurance costs 'a huge amount' then stay in your own country. Then you are well insured for medical costs. Or find something close by in the EU where your national health insurance policy also applies, I suspect.
Your question above is full of 'what does it cost' and I don't think that is a basis for going to a faraway country for months with a child for whom you already think you need a pediatrician. Taking the piss is not a bad thing at all! If you have no reservations, I would advise against such a trip.
Completely agree with Erik Kuijpers. In addition: If your child is a little older, for example six or seven years old, she will later have an active memory (modern terminology) of the trip. Much more fun for her.
right Erik. Thailand is cheap for people with a lot of money, but for people with little money, Thailand is expensive.
Right Peter,
You need a big bag of money on hand to create a little buffer.
For that 4-month Thailand holiday, I have calculated that you need to put aside at least € 10.000. I'm not even talking about travel insurance, and don't expect priority treatment when the toddler has to go to the doctor/hospital.
Jasmay,
You shouldn't forget the travel and flight costs either. 2 adults + 2,5-year-old child Brussels to Bkk you quickly spend € 3000, flight to Koh Samui, € 350, e.g.: flight to Chiang Mai, € 250, the same to Krabi. Because you stay for so long you will have only a few suitcases, so I assume you will have to buy a more expensive ticket each time. So this is also a major cost in your budget.
You asked for advice, so I'm not going to comment on whether it is a good decision to go with a small budget.
Chiang Mai is also nice to stay for a while, and the North East is also nice to explore, but then I would travel around with a rental car.
As mentioned above, after a number of years you automatically realize how expensive/or expensive Thailand is. If you can live there like a Thai, it is for us Belgians/Dutch, etc... very cheap
Dear Jasmay,
You ask: what do you recommend us? Well, I advise you not to go to Thailand if you have little financial means. You will have to deal with double costs, namely those in Belgium continue, and in Thailand you want to rent, you need transport, you are required to have a visa, you need to be insured. Plus you always want extra things on a holiday and they are not free. You say it yourself: no money comes in, the costs continue. You apparently have no reserves. If something happens to you, your partner and/or your daughter, there is no one to help you, especially since you have already talked about how expensive travel insurance can be. Thailand is too far away to get home quickly in case of emergency.
You want to go to Thailand for 4 months. And preferably at a different location every month. Some points of interest regarding the content of your question
:
Housing: you first need to know what your budget is. Then you can search more specifically without using Booking/Airbnb. In Thailand you have an apartment/house for baht 5K, but baht 50K is also possible. You can pay in advance, but afterwards is also possible. You can rent from a Thai, but also from a Belgian or a Dutch or other nationality. You can reserve by email but also on the spot. Everything is possible, as long as you know what you want and how to prepare your trip.
Transport: Do you already know how you arrange your transport? Via public transport, or do you rent a car or a motor scooter? Please note that in that case you will need an international driver's license, in addition to your BE driver's license. Please note - mopeds do not exist in Thailand!
Medical costs: Have you checked with your Belgian health insurer whether they have worldwide coverage in your policy? Perhaps a simple travel insurance supplement will suffice? What I'm wondering is why you think you need a pediatrician for your child for a period of 4 months? If your daughter needs care and you may need consultation, I do not think it would be wise to choose Thailand given the language barrier. Have you already informed yourself about how Thai healthcare works? And especially those for children/toddlers.
Visa: Wanting to stay in Thailand for 4 months means a residence visa for 3 people. Visa-free, you can stay in Thailand for 30 consecutive days. The costs of the visa application will be reasonable, but have you included them in your planning?
My advice is to first ensure sufficient financial resources to properly bridge both your Belgian absence and your Thai presence. You have double costs in those 4 months. Take more than enough time to achieve good preparation and good planning. Only then can you and your family enjoy everything Thailand has to offer in terms of hospitality.
Your calculation is correct, Thailand is cheap if you have money, but with nothing then any country to stay in for 4 months is expensive.
I don't understand how people manage to stay here for 4 months with little or nothing, did this plan come about after smoking a joint, because then everything is doable.
Nonsense questions, I recommend saving first and then considering going on vacation for 4 months anywhere, it's a costly affair.
They think everything is too expensive, strange story.
I don't think people want such tourists, regardless of which country, a tourist who has little or nothing to spend.
Best regards,
MeeYak
Nice dreams, but if one of you ends up in hospital without insurance, you can rest assured that you can sell your house in Belgium for the hospital costs incurred. I know people who have experienced it. You will be surprised at what life costs in Thailand. Don't think that everything is free or dirt cheap. Don't believe all those fables that people trumpet around. Good luck and think about it carefully. Greetings Dirk
Think 5 times before you start, do as Maggie de Block said... Stay in your room.!!
Work until you EARN enough to stay in Thailand, beyond that I don't know if this is a serious question.
It is not that cheap here and think carefully before you start
Dear Jasmay,
From your story I gather that you have never been to Thailand. So you have absolutely no idea what awaits you in those four months. You have a whole laundry list of what you want. This shows that you have no idea about the costs. Thailand is really not as cheap as many retirees would have you believe. And certainly not as a tourist. As a tourist you always and everywhere pay the top price. In my opinion, going to Thailand for four months with a minimal budget with a (sick) child is unfeasible.
The return flight AMS-BKK alone costs more than €2.000 with wife and child. Rental of houses, 2 bedrooms and not remote, costs at least THB 20.000 per month for the short term. That is THB 80.000 for four months, which amounts to more than € 2.000. (basic rent, so additional costs will be added). Then the costs of renting a car. That also means quite a lot: THB 1.000 per day is very normal. If you rent a car half the time, that will be THB 60.000. (€ 1.575). Then the food and drinks. As a tourist you do not want to cook yourself, so you have to eat twice or three times a day in restaurants and/or street stalls. That is at least THB 600 per day with your wife and child and then you cannot afford a single culinary splurge. But for four months this amounts to a cool THB 72.000, which is more than € 1.800. All together this is about €7.500. And I haven't even mentioned insurance, entrance fees and other additional costs. Domestic flights with wife and child easily cost THB 3.000 each time. This is all really minimal and you may wonder whether a holiday on such a minimal basis makes sense, because there is no room for any fun, for example visiting a real restaurant.
Stay in the Netherlands and take day trips or possibly multi-day trips. It is much cheaper and if your child suddenly needs medical care, it is financially covered in the Netherlands. In Thailand this will be a financial disaster.
Generally speaking, one should not go on holiday with a minimum budget. Whether that is to Thailand or to any other country. That almost always ends in disappointment or (much) worse.
Fr., Gr.,
SiamTon
Dear Jasmay,
We can say all kinds of things, but what matters is what your budget is. I think if we know this, a real answer can be given. Of course, it depends on your financial situation what a limited budget is for you.
Greetings Wim
Also realize that if you rent a house/apartment for 1 month, you also have to pay a month's deposit.
Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that the renting Thai does NOT refund your deposit. Get a lawyer? Don't do that for ~400 euros, money gone…. = additional postal costs.
Some people reported here that you would not be insured for medical costs in Thailand... but isn't your Belgian health insurance valid for a stay of up to 6 months abroad?
Do you not continue to receive your salary during parental leave?
Kees2, if the Belgian health insurance policy is valid for six months, why would the questioner ask about the costs for the pediatrician?
Stay home if you have limited resources. Also consider hospitalization insurance! Otherwise you'll be sitting in the casino waiting for the 0 to fall.
Stay at home . Thailand is cheaper than Europe, but here I also spend 2500€ per month. In Belgium that would be X 4
Everything written here is true.
But I always try to think in terms of solutions.
For example, go for 2 or 3 months and work extra somewhere else, your budget will be higher instead of 4 months, a good continuous travel insurance does not have to be that expensive.
And yes, don't fly too much in Thailand, take the bus, you will have to live very low budget, buy food and drinks at supercheap, go to the beach, don't take beach chairs, etc.
You can make it cheap, it's not my choice.
Dear Jamay,
I think it would be best for you to just take a nice trip of 3 weeks in Thailand.
Then the costs are also much more manageable. This way you get a taste of the fantastic culture and can better assess your options for a longer stay.
Inflation is something that also exists in Thailand. I see more and more “European” prices in popular places.
A nice trip seems like a more realistic goal for you in the first instance.
Save up a lot first and then think about such a holiday again. You can rent an apartment for 250€, and a continuous travel insurance is not that expensive either. But if you find everything expensive, well. As mentioned before. Stay home
Keep in mind that you already have to pay more everywhere as a 'farrang' (read tourist). That the tourist places are more expensive precisely because they live (profit) from those tourists.
That if things don't run smoothly, the farrang has always been it. That if something happens it can quickly become very difficult.
Thailand is beautiful but you have to know something about the way they treat foreigners and you have to guard against that. If they can rip you off, they will do so without batting an eyelid.
It would be best to first make short trips to learn and experience what is there and how it works before staying for a longer period so that you know the tricks of the trade.
A few friends who can assist with advice and assistance would certainly help.
For 15 years I have been on holiday in Thailand for 5 weeks at a time with our son and wife.
We rented a room for 5 weeks with cooking on the balcony and swimming pool in South Pattaya.
My son wanted to see all kinds of toys and attractions. We also made several 3-day trips from Pattaya by bus. For an attraction, a foreigner has to pay much more than a Thai.
Every year, including flight tickets for 3 people, I spent between 6 and 7000 euros.
You have received enough advice from fellow bloggers, remember that if your child is having fun, parents should also have a good and happy holiday.
Thank you very much to those who tried to understand the situation and provided useful information.
Those who have nothing useful to say, please keep your comments that are of no use to anyone.
OF COURSE we have SAVINGS because we will have little or no income during those months and we also have to continue paying a loan in Belgium.
If parental leave with benefits were possible, we would only have 1500 euros together. We might also not receive any benefits (that's something we have yet to find out). Another option would be to work remotely part-time (I also have to discuss this with my employer). But so assuming there is no income, I would like to have an idea of approximately how much it would all cost us.
So first of all we try to find out how much of the savings would be needed to live there.
Obviously we wouldn't go WITHOUT financial resources. But RELATIVELY little. We were thinking of, for example, 1500 keur per month to live there. In the meantime, I found rental properties for 500 euros that seemed OK at first glance. Would 1000 euros for expenses, groceries, transport be sufficient or is that a bit too little?
The reason why we are considering staying in Thailand for a few months is because we have sold our home and we will have to move out in May and our new-build home will only be completed a few months later. So instead of renting something in Belgium for a few months, we thought Thailand might be a good idea.
We have already gone on holiday to Thailand (Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Koh Chang, Koh Kut) and we loved it there. That was about 5 years ago now and it was a trip with all the trimmings. So the budget is not comparable for a holiday with all the trimmings from 5 years ago (staying in hotels). Now it would not be the intention, for example, to go to a restaurant every afternoon and evening or to stay in luxury hotels.
Since our holiday, it is something that we would have liked to have been able to do, to go there for a slightly longer period of time. And so now might be the right time.
When our daughter will soon be required to attend school, a long stay will no longer be possible.
Travel insurance is on my to-do list to find out exactly how much it would cost. I was told that we had to charge 700 euros per month for this. Which I personally think is a lot. But of course we wouldn't just go without some certainty as far as medical matters are concerned.
My daughter is 2,5 years old. Toddlers and preschoolers often get sick, so it wouldn't be unusual to need to see a pediatrician. I'm just wondering how much a consultation costs there. I have heard it said that regular consultations in Bangkok can easily cost several thousand euros. Is that right?
Dear Jasmay,
Send me your email address so I can share some experiences with you.
We regularly stay in Changmai for 3 winter months and then rent a house here for that period.
Best regards
Wim
Thank you ♡[email protected]
This information will make your question a lot clearer, and you would probably have received a slightly different type of response.
As far as your travel insurance is concerned: a premium of 700 euros per month indicates that it is much more than just travel insurance; not a supplement to existing (health) insurance, but full health insurance. I cannot assess whether this is necessary given the coverage of your insurance in Belgium. Dutch health insurance also covers costs abroad, in principle.
A house for 500 euros – whether that is a good deal depends greatly on the location. In much of Thailand you can rent for considerably less.
Thanks!
We would rather stay in koh samui/hua hin/krabi.. Which places do you recommend me where it is cheaper?
You would indeed have asked your question better, which also included all kinds of information that you now provide.
I think you would have gotten different responses.
I have not yet responded to this, but with the information you are giving me now I think it is actually a good idea to bridge the time in Thailand while waiting for your new construction instead of renting in Belgium. At least if you have the possibility (money and time) to do so.
But what will happen to your address in the meantime? Put it with family?
Perhaps you should also take the following into account, if this is not yet the case.
What if your new construction is not ready on time and you return from Thailand?
Travel insurance is sufficient if you remain registered for that period.
Maybe take a look at taking VAB.
Please note that this is a contract that is automatically renewed every year, so if you want to get rid of it, cancel it in time
I had a quick look and for 3 months and worldwide coverage of 1000 000 Euro it currently costs only 153 Euro. Normally double I think.
https://www.vab.be/nl/pechverhelping-en-reisverzekering/reizen/reisverzekering-jaar
You can expand by a month and it will cost an extra 40 Euro for the 3 of you
https://www.vab.be/nl/pechverhelping-en-reisverzekering/reizen/reisverzekering-tijdelijk
“Where can I count on personal assistance?
With this extension you can count on your travel insurance during your travels worldwide (excl. Belgium).
What is included in the personal insurance?
Medical costs abroad up to €1.000.000 per insured person following unexpected illness or accident.
Medical follow-up costs prescribed in Belgium up to €6.200.
Repatriation after illness, accident or death; in case of serious damage to your home; in the event of death or hospitalization of a family member up to the 2nd degree.
Forced longer stay (max. €75 per insured person per day, for max. 7 days)
Unlimited intervention for rescue and search costs
Reimbursement after accident: unused days of ski pass/lesson package (up to €250).
When are you insured?
Your annual contract will start the next day after payment or on a start date of your choice, provided the premium has been paid. Trips with a continuous stay of up to 120 days are guaranteed. Are you going on a continuous trip for more than 120 days? Then you can extend the validity of your insurance by the additional number of days you stay abroad by taking out additional temporary travel insurance.”
Succes
Ronny, what you say is correct. Jasmay's question sounded like 'cheap charley' as we sometimes use for low budget travelers to Thailand. Expensive travel insurance? At the ANWB in NL they would have lost 120 euros including additional coverage for medical costs if the rates were higher than insured in the Netherlands.
Unfortunately, it is more common that people do not think carefully about how the question comes across in this blog. And it appears that people do not know how many travelers to Thailand get into trouble every year due to insufficient insurance, which means that crowdfunding has to be opened... Yet this is also regularly discussed here.
Unfortunately, this does not allow you to get good advice from those asking questions, while that know-how is really present here and there is a willingness to help people.
Yes, I didn't think people would read that I would go without financial resources when I write “little”
Anyway, Jasmay, we know what's going on now and I hope you have a great trip!
Many thanks for the information!
Thank you very much !!!