Question of the week: Can a farang live on 9000 baht a month?
As introduction
You do not know me personally; you may have formed a little bit of an image from the stories I write. I am an ordinary boy. Nothing special. Certainly not a goat's wool sock, although you might think so from my stories.
Because of my work as an international driver and my great aversion to injustice and corruption, I have been imprisoned several times abroad and I was even shot once at the Spanish border. Because I couldn't keep my big mouth shut and didn't participate. You lose that. I've known that for a long time, so I'll keep my mouth shut. I don't keep my mouth shut on the blog.
I grew up in a poor family. I know what it's like when my company broke down because then we got back into poverty. People who don't know what that is should shut up. Live in luxury yourself and tell someone else what he can do with. It's people who make the world worse. Selfish.
I feel compelled to write this piece. In my response to Khun Peter's statement, I had asked him if he wanted to do that, but I don't think that will happen. Too bad, he could have said it better than I do. Read my story critically. I hope I can get some people thinking about it.
Statement by khun Peter
A while ago, Khun Peter asked the question 'Can a Thai live on 9000 baht?' in 'The statement of the week'. Many farang think so. Polls held in the past, such as this one, say the farang think that the Thai can do with much less than themselves. Isn't that strange?
If the Thai can do it, why can't I? If you ask me that question, I think about it. I think it's a serious topic. And I want to answer that honestly. I owe that to the Thai people. No excuses, such as: yes, usually someone in the family still works. Then it is soon 18000 baht. But that is not requested. That is laying a smoke screen, an excuse for themselves with much higher expenses, if asked.
That's what most commenters do. They mainly tell us what the Thai don't need. Those are the things that make life more pleasant. Things that make life fun. They do, but they don't say a word about it.
The bottom line is: push the Thai into a cave, throw a bag of rice in front of it and Kees is done. What are we whining now? He has food, he has shelter and that way he can also save a little. If he doesn't drink too much, of course.
Brushing my teeth in the ditch won't save me
If the Thai can live on 9000 baht, can I do that too? I have often thought about this in the past when visiting my in-laws. Then I come to the conclusion that I'm not going to make it. How much more I will need, I cannot give an exact answer. I don't live there yet. It won't be much more. Because I honestly assume that I live just like the Thai.
Brush my teeth in the ditch? I'm not going to make it, then I'm going to die. Put a bag of duck heads in the corner, which are completely black at the end of the day? And then prepare and eat them nicely: I can't make it. I think it makes me sick. Am I now more than the Thai? No, but I don't have his resistance.
So I can give some examples. Those are the things that make life more expensive for the farang. A refrigerator is not a superfluous luxury, an air conditioner is. A car, moped, bicycle, computer, iPad, laptop, holiday, your wine or beer every day, hanging out at the bar for a day, a swimming pool in the garden, a return ticket to Amsterdam?
I could go on and on about all the things that the farang thinks he needs. Can't do without. After all, you have to have a little fun in your life, otherwise you can stay in that rotten Netherlands. Therein lies the rub.
The farang can play the big boy here
The Netherlands is a shitty country. He can do very little here with the money he has to spend. We leave for beautiful Thailand, which is a nice country. And because the Thai has it even worse than he had it in his own country, he can play the big boy here. And as long as the Thai can get by on 9000, he's fine. He has tenfold to spend.
We are indignant when such a figure in The Hague tells us that the minima can do with a tenner less. The bastard deserves tenfold; he talks easily.
I wish everyone their nice things, whether that be a swimming pool, a nice car or a villa. If you can do that and like it, do it. Enjoy life. There's nothing wrong with that; no one will say anything about that.
But give an honest answer to the question why you think you are entitled to it and the Thai is not. Try to justify it to yourself. Then explain that here, so that I also understand why you need that car to live and the Thai do not. It is a kind of arrogance that also affects the rich of the earth.
Pon worked in housekeeping during the first few years she was in the Netherlands. With a wealthy family. They were crazy about her and committed. Nice! They themselves did not fagot and they regularly felt that they were ready for a holiday. At that time, Pon could then turn the whole house upside down and rearrange it. When they got home, hopefully it was done. Pon worked all year round. She was a real treasure, that Pon. Perhaps Pon also needed a little vacation? Never thought about it.
Express your opinion
I kindly request my fellow bloggers to express their views. Be a man if you can tell why the Thai can get by on 9000 baht. Can you also tell me why you can't.
I'm also going to Thailand soon: why? I like the country and it certainly plays a role that it is very cheap. I can do a little more with the money I have. The baht is falling sharply. I get more for it with my euro. Am I happy with that? If I can be honest: no. We will manage just as well without those few extra baht. The Thai desperately needs them.
Don't just think about yourself. We can't change the world, I know that. A little understanding for each other would be nice.
A Thai sometimes wants more than just food
Pon, my Thai, wants to add something to this: Why doesn't the falang understand that a Thai sometimes wants something more than just food? I look at my brother who has actually long since given up hope. When he feels alone, he stares straight ahead – for hours. He knows that what he has dreamed about so many times will no longer come true. He can't move.
Pon and Kees
Submitted communication
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Dear Pon and Kees, what an interesting statement and you are absolutely right, the blood of a Thai is just as red as someone else's, but everyone likes and enjoys the things that make life more pleasant.
Why do we have a crisis in Europe, nine-year-olds walk with an Iphone the most expensive designer clothes and if we don't have internet we don't exist.
Shareholders are never satisfied, and people always want more a few days ago there was a posting about the opening of KLM's first class lounge at the airport for a fee, everyone immediately jumped into the pen “Sitting next to tattoo Bob and crying children around you what doom and gloom I cannot live or travel like this”
But at the same time we blame the Thai who drink a beer or walk around with a cell phone, what a waste of money.
They are going to do something useful such as growing rice, catching fish after the rats to eat them and not forgetting to take care of our farangs when we are on vacation (of course we also have to haggle on everything because a Thai wastes his money anyway ).
In other words, here in the west a little less of everything (will not look out of place for us), and not always ready with your opinion about other people, so a farang cannot live on 9000 baht.
Regards and thanks for this statement,
Marco
Dear Pon and Kees,
Can a Thai live on 9000 baht, I can really get a little angry when I read a statement like this.
I find it so derogatory towards Thai people, so I wonder how anyone would come up with such a statement.
Or that you are talking about a different species and we the farang are superior.
I myself am also married to a Thai woman, we are both already approaching sixty, and I know what poverty she has experienced in her life, just like many Thai people.
And that, according to many farang, is the reason that a Thai should be able to manage with 9000 baht, because they are used to it, right?
Pon and Kees, that's why I think your question is good, can a farang live on 9000 baht, I'm curious about the answers to this.
My answer to the question of the week is: yes, a "farang" is possible, what is it that the Dutch like to call themselves Farang, I don't understand that and will never understand it, but well over to the question and the answer on that, if you have no housing costs, like most Thai people, especially those in the countryside, most of them have a house of their own or if you live in the city and share your rent with several people and if you have a network of family also quite normal in Thailand,
then you can live normally with 300 baht per day, even a beer a day is still possible, I did it myself for 2 months, it was no longer a holiday (bars, snorkeling, name all the tourist things), but I have survive well and not go hungry or thirsty for a day.
With kind regards,
Lex K.
To ask the question is to answer the question.
Who has, wants to keep.
Wanting must be allowed.
Inequality thus becomes Law.
Alex I've been working, just got home, take a look at the blog
See that my piece has been posted and, among other things, your response
I'm tired and need to go to bed. I have a habit of thinking about something if I don't understand something correctly until I get it. So it can sometimes be a sleepless night for me
Greetings Kees
I meant this: the differences that exist between people, countries and races do not last by themselves. Those who happen to be right will try to perpetuate that position. The differences would be 'natural', 'God-given'. Legislation should help with this, it makes injustice seem like right.
Examples: the great apartheid in South Africa (that black has not made our country), measuring it with double standards (people here are satisfied with less). And don't the yellow shirts prevent 'those stupid peasants from the Isaan' from getting their share of the Thai cake?
explanation, 2nd time
I wanted to say the following:
People like to keep what they have.
They therefore come up with reasons why they are entitled to it, but not someone else.
They adjust their stories and, if necessary, the laws to justify and perpetuate inequality.
Examples:
– the apartheid regime in South Africa, we white people made our country here;
– Thais have fundamentally different, ie fewer needs than the Dutch and can get by with less;
– according to the yellow shirts, those peasants from the Isaan do not know what democracy is.
Bye Thanks Alex
Your second explanation is sound and clear and indicates what my story is all about
Which I hope to clarify
Greetings Kees
Moderator: please don't chat!
You can talk about everything right, even apartheid in South Africa is mentioned.
Yes, a Thai can easily get by on 9000 bath, they eat cheaply and they are more easily satisfied.
And you can't compare life it's comparing apples to oranges
We think differently about many things, such as health insurance, pensions, etc
And why is there no statement of, why are foreigners so discriminated against.
Pay a lot more for sightseeing, they even have different tickets etc etc
So if we want to get by with 9000 bath, we also want the same prices as the Thai
But hella scam raise prices that's a people's sport number one (but with a smile)
But this will be well spoken again
You too can eat cheap Thai food.
You too can be less dissatisfied.
The Thai would also like to have good social facilities.
Foreigners are indeed discriminated against, but no more than the poor.
I don't speak well of what you call "cheating".
It is very possible, if the Thai can do it, I can do it too. Rent a house in Thailand 5000 bath pm = 125 euros……..Rent a house in the Netherlands 500 euros pm
Gas/light water Thailand1500 bath = 40 Euro………Gas/light/water Netherlands275 euro pm
Cleaning duties Thailand 20 bath = 1 euro…… Cleaning duties Netherlands 18 euro pm
Groceries in Thailand 4000bath = 100 euros…….groceries superm Netherlands 400 pm
Petrol in Thailand per liter 40 bath = 1 euro……….Petrol in the Netherlands per liter 2,50 euros
TV cable in Thailand pm….700bath = 15 euros….. cable TV Netherlands 25 euros pm
Internet connection Thailand 300 bath = 7,50 euros Internet connection Netherlands 50 euros
Road tax Thailand car 400 bath = 10 Euro Road tax Netherlands 400 euros
Dog tax in Thailand nil……………….. Dog tax in the Netherlands 249 euros per year
Real estate tax Thailand nil………Real estate tax home ownership NL 1500 pj
Buying clothes in Thailand 300 bath= 15 euros…. Buying clothes in NL averages 35 euros
Thailand attraction park 100 Bath = 2,5 euros……..NL attraction park average 18 euros
Eating in a good restaurant in Thailand 400 bath = 10 euros….. Food restaurant NL 50 euros
================================================== ===========================
Total costs in Thailand are approximately 500 euros…..Costs in the Netherlands are approximately 3.500 euros
All the best Jan
I may be missing something in your response. I'm tired and need to go to bed you're fit I think you just got out. but 500 euros is not 9000 Baht Jan. I also like how you explain it all
Will check it out tomorrow (today) thanks for your response
Greetings Kees
Is 3.500 euros the net minimum wage in the Netherlands?
I assume Jan that these are sample prices. There is still room for improvement in the Netherlands, such as rent, TV cable, internet connection, but I do not completely agree with your Thai prices when it comes to buying clothes, I find clothes expensive here, if you visit a real amusement park here. you can spend a bit more and in the Netherlands too!
Clothing a little depends on. If you are going to buy European brands somewhere, for example in Central Plaza, you will be expensive. 4000 baht for an item of clothing, or more. More expensive than in the Netherlands. If you buy a nice shirt in a normal Thai shop, you will also lose something of 1000-2000. You do have shirts of 300 baht on the market, but then you are very much at the bottom.
Another thing that a lot of people here underestimate are the prices of luxury items. Daily necessities may be cheaper, but have fun comparing prices on things like cars, TVs, etc. Then you are seriously 2x-3x as expensive as in the Netherlands.
in pratunam bangkok you buy shirts for 100 bath , i have 8 xl cost me 350 bath per shirt jeans 500 bath shorts 350 bath.
a thai can live on 9000 if he/she has his/her own house and is not drinking. electricity is cheap, satellite with the basic channels costs nothing per month, they are willing to go 50 km there and 50 km back with 3 on a MB to see a movie.
our house has its own water well so that costs nothing.
Of course not quite true. Gave my wife a Suzuki Swift as a Christmas present for 470.000 baht, and the same package in Holland for 17.000 euros. My 55″ 3d internet flat screen TV, more than 1000 euros cheaper than LG in the Netherlands, and there is more. By the way, 450 baht shirts XXXL from the large size store in MBK, nothing wrong with that.
These kinds of reviews are nonsensical, based on what? on Jan's personal life?
What are the living requirements?, how big is the family?, where do you live, city or countryside? what car do you drive? etc, etc. oh yes and what is your income. I assume you live according to your income.
You can't draw any sensible conclusions with these kinds of lists.
So these kinds of statements are not relevant to discuss, of course we as Dutch people are generally much better off than the poor farmer in, for example, the Isaan, but there are plenty of financially well-off Thai people where I do not deny that the basic necessities of life are cheaper here than in the Netherlands.
What should also not be forgotten is that expats from all countries Thailand also brings a lot through investments, buying goods, foodstuffs, paying taxes, etc.
Sincerely, Ad.
Hmm Jan Luck
how you get 3500 Euro is a mystery to me. The nominal income in the Netherlands is 1700 euros. ok ok with some surcharges you will arrive at 1900 approximately, a lot of families have to live with that.
A WAO or social assistance benefit is even lower at around 850 euros, with allowances you can end up with 1200 to 1300, but nevertheless 3500 euros is crazy.
By the way, you forgot the road tax, car insurance, third-party insurance, funeral insurance, health insurance deductible here. I drive diesel so I supplement for a family of 2 people: with 125, 85, 10, 16, 270, 60, is 576 euros per month.
The cost in Thailand will indeed be 2 to 450 Euro for 500 people, which is 20.000 bath. In the Netherlands you will then end up with a 2000 Euro. Then you're not bad. A lot depends on whether you live in a rented house or in a FREE house. But 3500 in the Netherlands is really crazy.
For others who stay in the Netherlands you buy necessities and clothes, but in Germany the base is 6% VAT instead of an average of 16% in the Netherlands
Rori@ If you deduct the real estate amount because you don't have your own house, you already save 1500. But the road tax is worth reading carefully. And here in Thailand, Wao people live with a UVW benefit of more than 1300 euros. I just wanted but roughly demonstrate that with 2 people I have a net amount of 1024 euros per person with an allowance for my wife and that with the same money I live 50% cheaper here in Thailand than in the Netherlands. What people here pay for rent for an entire house can be found in NL do not rent a room yet. The big mistake the people who come here make is as follows.
In the Netherlands they might have rented an old bicycle and never went out to eat. Then they want to be a hunk here, buy a house, a car and hang out in the pub a lot and go out to eat. This is reality.
Jan,
I've looked through your list, but it's wrong. And you know that too.
It also has an enormous apples and pears content.
Congratulations on your 17+ ratings from commenters who chimed in here.
I think it's ridiculous that you're getting away with this.
I was so “shocked” that I didn't take the time to state a few facts.
A few examples: Gasoline in the Netherlands is 1 euro 59. With your property tax you must have a house weighing more than seven tons. In my experience, groceries in the supermarket are also twice as cheap as you indicate. (I dare say that Lidl, for example, is cheaper than BigC). The rest is also incorrect.
Sorry??
do you think a family can do groceries for 200 euros a month?
forget it. I am single and very frugal, but I lose 75 euros a week.
the property taxes you are right about, yes.
Do you have a minister salary with this calculation?
If you live normally in Thailand, count on 700 euros and in Holland you can get by with 1800 euros,
Not exaggerate.
This question is redundant. You might as well start asking, can a beggar get by on his alms? The fact is that here you need less to survive. A house does not have to be as draught-free as in the Netherlands. You don't have such winters here as in the Netherlands. Apart from this winter, where we also went to bed early, because then we were lying under warm blankets.
Fortunately, I can get by with less than in the Netherlands, because many extra costs are eliminated. Western food, except for Gouda and black bread, and grapes without seeds, is not much more expensive than in the Netherlands. On the contrary, you can buy excellent beef for less than in the Netherlands. You can live with less, and when you live alone you can live with 9000 baht.
It gets harder with two people. And whether a Thai can get by with that. Just as good as me. But is it justified? Of course not. But the world is not fair. The world can't turn if there aren't enough people living in misery. If everyone in Thailand would earn well, not only would prices be higher, it would be almost impossible to buy products because everything would become too expensive.
There is no pro or con. It is true that the wealth of the few goes over the backs of the many.
I don't want to have to live with 9000 Baht. Luckily I don't have to. My girlfriend who had to do it for a long time doesn't have to anymore either, because we share everything together.
You should see Robert Reich's movie: Inequality For All. Although it is about America, the situation is comparable everywhere. It is about the inequality or division of incomes. The differences between rich and poor are greater in the US than in Thailand. There are many people there who live in poverty by American standards, because there the social pressure is greater to have a car, house, branded goods, computer (games) than here.
As a Dutchman you can simply be happy that you can have a good life in Thailand. If you don't care about your Farang friends who have a Dutch price idea in their heads and who think that 400 baht for an evening of dinner is not expensive. That is expensive here, when you consider that you can also eat very well for 50 baht.
Again, I also grant a Thai person more income and I would not want to live like that myself.
Addition to cost picture
I'm in the Thai health insurance package for 2800 Bath per year fully insured against everything and medication free. And I've already been in the local hospital for 2 days, it was great there you really get to know the people instead of in a room in luxury just between the Thai people in a room with visitors under the bed.. most don't have a Thai resident who has 9000 th bath and they live with less worries than we expats with a state pension etc. That's called putting the money to the business. And keep smiling in this beautiful hospitable country. And money really does not make you happy, but it is difficult if you have nothing, right?
It's not about the question, but which company insures you
for 2800 B per year? Is this a printing error?
Sincerely,
Lodewijk
here is the address for He Lagemaat it is called health insurance for foreigner in udonthani. the conditions are you must have a yellow booklet which is proof that you are a resident. and you will be examined but any illnesses do not matter. Only tuberculosis patients are refused The rest you can have anything, diabetic, etc., no objection. If you come to the hospital, you pay 350 bath extra per night, but medicines, etc. are free. If you have to undergo an operation and they cannot do it in Udonthani, they will give a free referral card, possibly up to a Bangkok hospital.
Don't expect a luxurious single room, but you will come to a room with 1 people, and there you will really get to know the Thai people. The doctors all speak good English, so the care for me was excellent. With a joint household of 8 Euro you can do well. live and it costs 1024% less than in the Netherlands. If you rent an entire house here, you don't even get a room in a bare country.
Oh dear Tino, TH will never become a welfare state. Neither economics nor politics are aimed at this. Thais have no tradition in this either, nor do they in the US, for example. In addition, a welfare state is far too expensive, see its rollback far and wide in the EU. Thais will take care of their own people in their own ways, but you know that too. In temples as well as in hospitals, it is easy to see how formal and informal care services are combined. Works extremely well! NL wants to transfer responsibility for the care, especially of the elderly and disabled, from the state to the municipalities. Well, they should come to TH to find out how to organize that at little cost. In addition, as you also know: formal care in TH has a price tag, at the individual level, not at the collective level through health insurance legislation, and is therefore not affordable for many.
That is also not possible through income distribution. This has not been achieved in any Western country. TH will see an increase in wages again and again, but ironically after the cost of living has risen drastically. Even the richest country in the EU, Germany, has only had a minimum wage since the last coalition was formed a few months ago. Please note: the lowest in Western Europe. TH also has no strong unions, nor politically oriented consumer or patient organizations.
I think that a revolution, which you mean and want, can only come about if TH has a policy based on representing the interests of all sections of the population. Unfortunately, that kind of politics has never been seen before. Sections don't attract each other that much. Especially top down. As a result, the elderly and the disabled remain out of sight, and have to rely on the most informal care facilities mentioned above.
Economically, TH is still far from ready to levy higher taxes. In 2013, the tax brackets were leveled somewhat to spare middle incomes. Higher incomes have their own access routes to the tax authorities, as elsewhere in the world. I don't see a fiscalized social system emerging in TH.
Let the revolution in TH stay away for a while - the whole region has shown in the distant and near past that it is absolutely unable to deal with these kinds of movements. I will not recall the misery Indo-China has been inflicted since World War II. Let the fighting yellow and red parties there in BKK first show that they are able to gain each other's trust by talking. That is already quite a task for TH politics, as it turned out again last day. And let's hope that it will not turn out that a third army green party is needed in the vicissitudes of TH politics.
Dear Jan, enough has already been said about your list of comparisons of TH and NL costs for household and living expenses; but your health insurance fund at Udon Thani, unfortunately, I must also refer to the realm of fables. Only if you live in Udon can you go to your hospital with the health insurance intended by you. You can thus not present such an insurance as being possible in TH, and pretend that farang can continue with such insurance for a raison of 2800 baht premium per year. It has been reported from several places in TH that hospital insurance under bep. conditions would be possible. These are all local possibilities. Which is to say again that health insurance premiums take a big bite out of a budget, and make it virtually impossible to get ahead with 9 thousand baht. Incidentally, with your list you end up with 500 euros total costs per month in TH, which is already more than 20 thousand baht, being more than 2 x the 9 thousand baht defended by you.
Hi , can you tell me where you can get such health insurance .
Gr…..
Yes, you can do that directly at the hospital in Udonthani. Send me a private email and I will explain it to you [email protected]
You will have an inspection that can take all day. You must be a resident of Udonthani and have a yellow booklet. If they accept you, you will receive a pass with a photo that gives you free access and free medicines.
2800 baht per year… Is there a way I can do that too?
Now pay 10 times, my wife (Thai) 360,-
Gr Ed
Can you get by with 9.000 Baht a month? One does, the other doesn't.
Can you get by on 90.000 baht a month? The majority yes, the minority no.
Can you get by with 900.000 Baht a month? Almost everyone does, a few still don't.
Can you get by on 0 baht? Most don't, but a Thai monk does.
I think life is not about how much money you have but how happy you are. And that depends very much on how much importance you place on money (or matter) in this life, compared to what you have.
I am not retired, work on a local contract, earn (in Dutch terms) a little more than the minimum wage, live in a cheap condo (which I painted myself; no swimming pool, no air conditioning), have no car, no moped but a bike, rarely go out (eat), eat Thai, transfer 40% of my salary to my studying children every month with all the love and joy (I'm really happy that I can do that) and am MUCH, MUCH happier than in the Netherlands. (where I had my own house and a car).
People (Dutch but also Thai) should be more satisfied with what they have. And if you are not satisfied then you have to do something about it YOURSELF: study, another job, budget differently, vote another political party, demonstrate, but don't whine!!
You say a monk. But a monk has 3 times as much as a poor Thai unemployed man or woman. My wife's ex is a monk and he raises enough money that he sometimes gives his daughter and grandchild 10.000 bath. A wedding or another ceremony, some praying and singing, yields 200 Bath per monk, which they can keep all for themselves. And they never have to buy their own food and what about those orange robes? They get them for free as much as they want at a party or at a cremation, they don't have to cook or clean themselves, etc. Some drive a Mercedes or fly around the world in a private jet.
Dear Chris, in a discussion like this you have to separate money from happiness. The statement is not about whether you can be happy with no, less or more money. I agree with you that life is indeed about happiness, being happy and good health. But much more often in life it also depends on having a certain amount of money with which you can support yourself and, for example, your family. One has 9 thousand, another 9 million baht. One knows how to deal with it, the other doesn't. But that wasn't the question. The question is: is 9 thousand baht enough for a Thai or farang to make it in TH? Well, some do, some don't.
Then you can ask yourself: is 9 thousand baht enough to not only stay alive, but also to ensure a good future for a family? Then you will get a completely different answer. But I don't think a Thai family can do that. Staying out of poverty and giving children a good education costs more than 9 baht per month.
A follow-up question could then be: if 9 baht is insufficient to avoid being stuck in relative poverty, are there possibilities in TH to increase your earning capacity? Yes, in TH it is: after a working day of 9 o'clock in the evening with an emergency window along the houses.
'Fortunately' that you come up with a better argument in your last sentence: it is about satisfaction. You should be so much more satisfied if you take the opportunities presented to you to move yourself in a different direction. For someone who indicates here and there in comments that he is married to a partner who lives in higher TH circles and who also earns above the Balkenende standard, you are an excellent example of this. A satisfied person who, because he was lucky enough to have been able to move in a different direction, does not have to worry about a TH minimum wage. On the contrary: he can afford an alimony of 40% of his TH salary.
I think the writer of the posting had to do to get out of his own luxurious armchair and imagine the situation of the less fortunate.
Chris,
Agree so much with you.
The value of money is satisfaction.
I am aware that it is difficult for many to influence your income, but for many a country can be won by looking at the expenditure in both the Netherlands and Thailand.
I think I have written before that a Thai cannot live on an average of 9000 baht, certainly not in a city. If it is with your own house in an Isaan village, then it is not possible if you have to have a car in front of the door and you also have to rent a house.
I live with my girlfriend in a normal moo ban. Rental houses, car in front of the door, occasionally going out, occasionally eating out etc etc. I do eat mostly European. But even then, I think we already spend about 80.000-100.000 baht per month, without craziness, no house with a swimming pool or other mega luxury.
With most Thais it is more a matter of living off that 9000 baht. I assume that Thai would rather earn at least 300.000 baht a month than 9000.
Furthermore, I find the comparison with the Netherlands rather nonsensical. Just purely because the way of life is different here. I'm personally in the situation where I don't have to pay attention to some satang. But if I compare my Dutch life with my Thai life, I dare to say that my life in the Netherlands was in some respects better quality. More expensive, but better. Life in Thailand is better in other ways. Just where your choice falls.
Well BA, there are those who claim to have to get by with only an AOW benefit and of them I say: well, then you haven't prepared yourself properly for your stay here in TH. That's going to be sparse, and that's not the intention. But hey, it's possible! And if you're happy with it?!
But from you with a spending pattern of up to 100 thousand baht per month, I say: well then you are not doing something right here in TH during your stay. I don't know where you do your shopping or how many air conditioners you run every day, but a good 2 thousand euros a month is quite boastful.
My wife and I bought a sturdy house with a large garden, a European design everywhere in both the kitchen and the bedroom, a large Thai outdoor kitchen, a hefty car, and several times a month to the superstore, various restaurants, and so on. but by. But 100 thousand baht? No, not by a long shot. Let me put it this way: for 50 baht a month you can live very comfortably, and then you can spend a week on the other 50 baht a month to Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai. Eg!
That's just how you arrange things. Do you rent a house or do you buy 1. I don't want to buy because of possible hassle with a breakup. Do you pay for a car in cash or do you finance it. I finance him because the interest on it was so low that you better keep your money in your pocket. 2 simple things that already save 20.000-25.000 per month. There are probably a few more things like that. If you think about that for a moment, the gap between your 50K and my 80-100K is suddenly not that big.
We also live well from 40 to 50.000 baht. Buy what we want, do what we want and the rest goes into the savings account. At the end of this year a meager state pension, but that too is more than enough to live like a king.
I don't pay rent and car was paid in cash.
I'm single so I go out regularly
something to drink or eat. Lost 4000 baht in electricity per month.
i live in phuket which is the most expensive place in thailand. I like a glass
or a bottle of wine. In Thailand, wine is way too expensive because of the tax.
I also don't want to eat Pad Thai for 50 baht every day at the Thai market.
So every now and then I go for western food with a nice lady that quickly costs me
2000 baht for dinner. I have my garden maintained twice a month
by 1000 baht at a time. I can handle that 100.000 baht a month with great ease.
I have just booked a simple three star hotel in Chiang Mai for
1400 baht per day. That is also 12 baht for 16.000 days.
If I count my trips and my health insurance, I quickly go to
140-150.000 baht per month. That's about the same thing I lost as too
live in the Netherlands. I do not live like a Thai average. I also know Thais
who find me frugal. These Thais drive a BMW or Mercedes and play golf.
Those Thais easily spend 300.000 baht a month. Do you also have a wife and
children in an expensive school then it goes even faster. If you ask these Thais if a Thai can live on 9000 baht, they say yes, because they have two maids and a garden / handyman who earn that. Often the partner also works and the salary is therefore not 9000 but 18.000 baht per month. In addition, if you always work, you also need less because you simply don't have the time to spend it.
I have no opinion on the above. I'm not saying if it's good or bad. It is an observation of the life around me and of myself. However, life with 100.000 baht per month is a lot easier and more comfortable than with 9.000 baht. This does not mean that you are happier because of it. I know people with little money who are happy and rich people who are not. Then factors such as health and relationships also play an important role.
Dear Tak,
Do you leave your windows open with air conditioners on? 4000 B per month in electricity?
Your garden at a time 1000 B, how many rai does your park have?
Sincerely,
Lodewijk
where i live a rai costs about 50 mln baht.
I have a modest garden of 250 m2.
Due to the climate and sometimes rain, everything here grows quickly.
Every two weeks, 3 Thais come to my garden for 3-4 hours
update again that costs 1000 baht each time. They take their own tools
and dispose of all trimmed material.
My house has two bedrooms where the air conditioning runs at night.
In addition, garden lighting, TV and computers.
If it is not too hot then the electricity bill is 3700-3800 baht
however, in the warm period soon 4400-4500.
I'll be happy to show the bill from the gardener and energy company as
people question my information.
regards,
YES
I think Mr. Tak does not live in Thailand but in Fabeltjeskrant. Because how do you reconcile the fact that he spends 4000 bath on electricity? Does he have an energy plant that he has to feed? or does he have 6 air conditioners that he uses day and night? I think he is a more unhappy person than many Thai nationals. He is going to eat for 2000 baht, does he eat 6 steaks with a bottle of champagne? A wine drinker is usually a grumpy drinker, we used to say when we had a cafe They are usually these types of characters who come across as flashy but in reality have nothing to complain about, they usually respond from the poor country of the Netherlands behind the PC between the geraniums or come here on holiday once a year.9000 bath per month is not a lot, but by not doing excessive things you can live with it, there are plenty of people who survive with half.
Dear Jan,
I live in Thailand for almost 5 years.
My house has three air conditioners. One in each bedroom
and one in the living room. I bought myself tonight for a change.
The bottle of wine cost 600 bath. It doesn't make me grumpy, but
thoroughly enjoy. I feel quite happy in Thailand but also have me
never really felt unhappy in the Netherlands except when the blue envelope was back on
doormat lay. Unfortunately in the Netherlands if you earn a lot you pay a lot of tax. That is
not so in Thailand. The wealthy upper class pays almost nothing in taxes here.
If I go out to dinner for 2000 baht with two people, it is not at Big C or Tesco Lotus.
I'm talking about an average restaurant including a bottle of wine of 800 baht.
An acquaintance of mine just bought a Porsche Cayenne here for 7 million baht. I know
quite a few Dutch people who play golf here and they have a green fee and caddy 4000-7000 baht
per 18 holes (approximately 4 hours). I don't golf myself. I think the prices are very high, but I do wish other people their happiness. There are also people who do not have to live for 9000 or 40.000 baht, but have significant budgets. I also respect these people and wish them happiness.
New statement of the week Jan?
If you drink wine in Thailand, are you a grump and a brat?
You are very suggestive in your comments.
Are you unhappier than a Thai if you spend 150.000 baht a month? Again so suggestive.
What I don't understand about Tak is that he goes to a hotel while he has his own house, or should I see that as a vacation?
Eating 2000 bath with a nice woman? Then I assume sleeping with that woman is included. Or is that too suggestive?
Hi Hans,
I live in Phuket but go to Chiang Mai a few times a year.
My life there is less than half of Phuket and the people are
much nicer. I just don't have a home there yet, so sleep in a reasonable
but not a luxury hotel. 35 euros per night. There is air conditioning, but no swimming pool.
Dinner 2000 baht includes bottle of wine 800 baht and starter, main course and a coffee. There are also restaurants here in Phuket where you can easily spend double that.
No, unfortunately the lady is not included. If it's a good friend and likes good food, maybe, but regularly there is a cost item the next morning of 1000-1500 baht. Ha ha ha ha.
Wine is 60-70% cheaper in the Philippines than in Thailand. That's because in Thailand if what ferang likes and doesn't come from Thailand is severely punished by tax, import duties and profit.
regards,
Jeroen
If I went out for dinner with friends in Pattaya, steak, a bit of chasing with cocktails, you also lost 1000 baht pp. If you do the same with a lady, and you pay the bill, it is not that difficult to get to 2000 baht, certainly not in places like Phuket, Pattaya, etc.
Of course, the link with sex is immediately made. When my girlfriend is in her home village for a few days, I sometimes go out for dinner with a friend. Little chat. No ulterior motives. If you're alone in a restaurant, that's also so stupid. In addition to her studies, she works at SF Cinema and has to live on 3000 to 4000 a month. When the bill comes she often sputters, but I think it's ridiculous to let her pay given the difference in income. That's another way to do it.
Apparently you're a real jerk here on this blog if you have a little more to spend than just old age pension, maybe a good presentation of the week. Perhaps the other extreme of whether a Thai can live on 9000 baht.
I respect your passion and your thoughts about Thailand, but still the following: You write the Baht drops, am I happy with that? No you say! Please read what you say again, because the Thai needs those bahts more!
For 100 Euro you got about 3800 bth in recent years!
For 100 Euro you get now what is it? 4500 bht!
So you have 100 bht more to spend per 700 Euro, so you pump more money into the Thai economy.
Go out for dinner and tip that 700 bht! Staff happy, you happy, everyone happy!
Chris writes, I am very happy that I can transfer 40% of my Thai salary to his studying children in the Netherlands. So Chris feels it in his wallet, because he gets less Euros for his Thai baht!
Be happy that the baht is dropping, better for export, the tourist/expat can spend more bahts(!) which ends up in the hands of local restaurants or clothing sellers or whatever!
In addition to your statement, sorry for forgetting, No, I can't live on 9000 bahts and I hope never to be in that situation! So have great respect for people who can!
Can someone live on 9000 baht? Yes if necessary, although factors such as location, residence (what type of home) and family composition (single, together, children, etc.) play a role. But you are quickly biting down on a piece of wood or a grain of rice. If you have two incomes of 2 baht, you already have more flexibility. To live with any "luxury" you quickly need double the income, you will spend 9000-18 thousand baht if you work and live in Bangkok. If you want your own house, scooter (or car), etc., that won't be enough for you either. Once again, family composition and location also count: if a couple both earns 20 baht and lives outside the metropolis, they can afford more "luxury" than if they live in the center of Bangkok due to fixed costs.
The big question is of course what you are used to and what you are satisfied with. If you are used to receiving 50.000 to 100.000 baht per month in income, falling back on half or less of this will be difficult. There is a good chance that you have fixed costs that are based on your income (mortgage or other type of payment obligation). Marriages also come under a lot of pressure when suddenly the main earner (often the man) receives no or a lot less income: the car has to go, no more outings, no more outings, every cent has to be turned around and your lifestyle has to be drastically reduced. Not everyone can and wants to do that, or it only works with difficulty.
The latter will probably lead to the judgment of people who believe that “the Thai” can do with less: they themselves are used to a lifestyle of house, tree, animal (house, car, family, etc.) and want the luxury where they can live. don't lose your habit. If someone has never been able to afford their own house, car, etc., it is very easy to say “yes, you can handle that, but I cannot live like this”. Every person can live on 9.000 baht, but how many people want it? With the current standard of living, you will probably want at least double the income to be able to live in “Western luxury” (house, car, etc.) in the city. And it doesn't matter whether you are Thai, Russian, Chilean, Canadian or Dutch. Finally: count your blessings and be happy if you have a decent roof over your head and can eat and drink normally. Money doesn't buy happiness, it does make many things easier. You should be able to make ends meet with just an AOW pension, whether you are Thai or Dutch. Are you willing and able to live with less income if you earned more during your working life? Yes, of course you would prefer 100% of your last earned salary when you retire because that makes everything much easier... who wouldn't want that? But can you get by with less? Yes it is possible. Only the individual can decide whether you want to persevere.
The beginning story of Kees is TOP.
I just want to add something to Rob's story and can join in.
Or you can get by on 9.000 baht per month as a thai and/or farang.
Things really depend on where you live. My wife is academically trained and taught at a school near ARI station (Phaya Thai Bangkok), she lived with her sister in Srigun (opposite Don Muang airport). Her income with only lessons during the day is 12.500 Bath per month. By giving some extra lessons in the evenings and Saturdays, she came to 18.000 a month.
PS. Her pride made her work. It was not necessary from the family. Vaders could and did sponsor additional expenses.
She spent 200 Bath per day on travel expenses, so 4.000 per month. Rent 6.000 a month. electricity 1.100 (without aircon) 1.500 with aircon) Internet and TV 1.000 bath. Rubbish and cleaning charge flat 200 Bath
Food and drink 150 Bath per day is 4.000 per month. health insurance 200 baht per month. is 16.500 a month.
Fortunately, her sister lived with her and also had an income. of an 11.000 bath per month.
This gave them the opportunity to do some extra things in addition to clothing. So 1 time every 2 to 3 months going home for a week or 2. Up to 10 hours in the train and not by plane to save costs. Oh if you traveled alone then on a wooden bench and not in a sleeping compartment.
As a Thai, can you ONLY get by on 9.000 baht per month in Bangkok. I doubt it. Ok sometimes you have to. But and that is ignored and I know that from “acquaintances”. Many students update in the evenings by performing as a dancer, hospitality girl, GRO (guest relating officer), maseuze and some more. This also applies to both women and men. It also ignores the fact that Thais almost never live alone. I can compare it to the family next to her. Wife, husband, 3 children and grandmother. This in one studio apartment of 40 m2. Man went out at 6 o'clock in the morning (did something at the municipality) came home at 5 o'clock, had something to eat and left until 10 o'clock for other work. The woman left at 9 am to work as a saleswoman (food) in a shopping center until 8 pm. Grandma was there for the kids. I don't know what they actually earned, but I estimate it together at around 20 - 24.000 bath..
As for my wife and her sister.
The fact is that when my wife came to the Netherlands, her sister gave up her job in Bangkok and went back to the province. She has a salary of 9.000 baht per month as a teacher in the province, is now married and is lucky that fathers are not doing badly with a lot of rubber trees.
So my sister-in-law lives “at home” and does not suffer from “housing costs” and if she needs anything it is to look at her father and mother and pout. When she performs this play at breakfast, there is a good chance that the necessary will be present at dinner. Oh her husband works as an IT consultant and earns just under 15.000 baht a month working from home for a company in Bangkok.
This is not a normal example but only indicates what Thais have to do with.
But is it much better in the Netherlands? If you are on social assistance as a single mother, you will also have to get by with 1 child on an 850 euro social assistance benefit, 2x care allowance and a little rent subsidy. If you are lucky you will have a net 10 – 15 euros per week for food and drinks. is a 500 bath.
I think you have to draw the comparison there. Can you live on 9.000 baht in Thailand and 850 Euro in the Netherlands.
I don't think so, but we'll make it anyway. indicates how flexible a person is.
Dear Kees and Pon,
No, I couldn't live here on that 9.000 baht a month. But I understand why you ask this: you ask for understanding and empathy for all those Thais who have to make do with so much less than we do.
My parents were not really poor, but they had to turn every penny twice, also because they wanted all their five children to study. My father and mother have never known luxury, ever.
Compared to most Thais, I have a rich life here. I also know that 40 percent of Thais earn less than that 9.000 baht a month. I see many pushing themselves for 3-4.000 baht a month. I am often ashamed when I see that, that contrast between these people and my own lifestyle.
I am convinced that most Thais do their utmost to make the most of their lives, take initiatives and work hard. And I also understand that that doesn't always work out; I can understand that and don't blame them. That's also why I sometimes find criticism and looking down on their way of life hard to bear. It is often so little empathetic. Patting ourselves on the back is completely strange.
So, as Chris points out above, let's try to live frugally ourselves and share where possible and necessary. Every foreigner here should be committed to this society in some way and not just enjoy it because everything is so cheap.
And I want to add the following. The distribution of income in Thailand must be fairer. More taxes should be levied on higher incomes and wealth in order to start a welfare state. I am thinking in the first instance of a reasonable retirement provision and care for the disabled. That also requires a change in political thinking and that is why I say: the real revolution in Thailand is yet to come.
I agree with Tino, little by little wages and other conditions (education, democracy, social security, labor rights, etc.) will improve. Unions that can make a fist would also help. 9000 baht is not much, in certain areas (Bangkok center) simply not enough, too little. You won't starve, but it's not enough to live a somewhat normal life either. It comes back to the composition: with 2 people in 1 room you will soon need at least 30.000 baht (low estimate) in the city. Let's hope for the Thai that the prevailing wage increases little by little, as well as the overall working conditions. They do not have to copy the Netherlands 1 on 1 (although we have not seen that bad in the Netherlands in relative terms), but they can certainly adopt the core principles and apply/execute them in their own way.
Would I get by on 9000 baht? I would also survive but preferably leave elsewhere because it would be absolutely no fun. Would I like it (be able to sustain it in the long term)? Absolutely not. Just like you don't want to linger in the Social Security in the Netherlands. You just won't drown and that's really no fun.
Oh dear Tino, TH will never become a welfare state. Thais have no tradition in this, nor do they in the US, for example. In addition, a welfare state is far too expensive, see its rollback far and wide in the EU. Thais will take care of their own people in their own ways, but you know that too. In temples as well as in hospitals, it is easy to see how formal and informal care services are combined. Works extremely well! But as you also know, formal care in TH comes at a price, which is unaffordable for many.
That is also not possible through income distribution. This has not been achieved in any Western country. TH will see an increase in wages again and again, but ironically after the cost of living has risen drastically. Even the richest country in the EU, Germany, has only had a minimum wage since the last coalition was formed a few months ago. Please note: the lowest in Western Europe. TH also has no strong unions, nor politically oriented consumer or patient organizations.
I think that the revolution you mean can only happen if TH has a policy based on representing the interests of all sections of the population. Unfortunately, that kind of politics has never been seen before. As a result, the elderly and the disabled remain out of sight and have to rely on the aforementioned care facilities.
Economically, TH is still far from ready to levy higher taxes. In 2013, the tax brackets were leveled somewhat to spare middle incomes. Higher incomes have their own access routes to the tax authorities, as elsewhere in the world.
Let the revolution in TH stay away for a while - the whole region has shown in the distant and near past that it is absolutely unable to deal with these kinds of movements. I will not recall the misery that Indo-China has suffered.
Let the fighting yellow and red parties there in BKK first show that they are able to gain each other's trust by talking. That is already quite a task for TH politics, as it turned out again last day. If it also turns out that a third army green party is needed
Dear Kees, I understand your indignation and commend your courage to come out with a counterpoint. I'm sure there isn't a single farang around who can get by with 9 baht. A farang is not able to live like a Thai. He has to deny himself too much for that. A Thai has safety nets, a different kind of social environment, knows how to accept. A farang who lives like a poor Thai becomes a popular subject for a program such as Showroom by Joris Linssen.
The original post talked about the bliss of poor people who even had to make do with less than 9 thousand baht. It was even calculated how a Thai poor family could not get that amount. But the most crippling was the report that a Thai needed less because he could eat everything from scrap and crawl. He got the bowl of rice with it from the neighbors.
In itself the question is not why some Thais should be able to make do with 9 thousand baht? The question is why this is considered so common! There were reactions that had a romantic image of it.
It is also not about the question of how it is that there is serious poverty in the countryside of, for example, TH. There were reactions that disputed this because people had seen smiling people.
No, both postings concern the question of whether farang wants to realize that in TH people have fewer or no opportunities to improve their minimum existence. One remains trapped in a daily rut that does not challenge to break out. The question is even: break out? But where to? The environment is similarly ignorant of how to get out of downward spirals. After which Farang happily uses the services of those who then go to places like Pattaya. This is also romanticized.
Responses like to point to running up debts, purchasing luxury items, riding new mopeds or new cars, frequent and copious consumption of alcohol, and lounging in hammocks. People do not realize that such lethargy is the result of hopelessness, also with regard to the future of the children. Poverty already means that there are fewer or few opportunities for an education, good work, good housing and good health. If it also becomes clear that you do not connect as well with what the society around you manifests, then it is not surprising that people turn away resp. turns in on itself.
TH has a major social problem here, in addition to many political problems. Hopefully, partly due to postings like yours, farang will make more connections between the dozens of topics, on Thailandblog alone, and understand TH as TH is.
Isn't it true that it is actually a good thing when the farangs spend money? However, that is where the money spent ultimately ends up!! That is generally where corruption is rampant. So where lies the biggest problem? The Thai can find weeks, but the employers are not lining up to give them a good salary, they want to grab themselves! Uh, where have I heard this expression before?
where i live there are many thai who can't get by on 75.000bht in my pension
they have car motor bike flat screen swimminpool samsom etc…
I want to say, not man, but the system makes the needs!!
Jean-Pierre,
Systems are made by people. Certain systems allow some people to benefit at the expense of other people. In other words, one determines what the other pays.
thought that we europe tourists should have a bank guarantee of minimum 50000 bath to settle there, and only discovered through thai embassy that
for a retirement visa one must have 800.000 Bt in a Thai account.
Daniel
Daniel, NO, NO and NO again: It is a pity that this subject has been written about so often and that there are some who cannot grasp this and then also claim something that is not true.
Again: you CAN have 800.000 Baht in a Thai account, provided your income is not high enough. You CAN have a combination of income and a certain sum in your account. So, for example, 400.000 and an income of, for example, 40.000 Baht. Or 200.000 and an income of 60.000 Baht. Or nothing and a minimum income of 65.000 baht per month.
So: to get back to the story: if you only have 9000 Baht to spend per month, you don't have to think about coming to Thailand at all, unless you have that 800.000 Baht in the account.
thought that we as foreigners who want to settle in Thailand should have a bank guarantee of 50000 baht otherwise you cannot enter, just discovered from the Thai embassy that someone with a Surinamese passport must be able to demonstrate bank details with a positive balance of 500 euros otherwise you do not get a visa to go on holiday there for two weeks, so I do not know if you can visit Thailand with 9000 bath, know of many friends who stay there for a very long time, starting rent: minimum 5000 ath per month, electricity and water certainly the air conditioning? 1000 bath and eat rice and noodles for the rest and water does not cost much to drink! So that it may be possible to get by there, but whether you have a good life I have my doubts about that?
Rental price is of course just what you are going to rent. Many single Thai live in a studio apartment, and then you rent between 2000 and 3000 baht, at least here in KKC.
I'm sorry, but if you have to live on 9 baht a month and therefore make ends meet, then in Dutch you don't have a nail to scratch your head. You are not insured and if you can do without luxury and often go to bed hungry as a Thai and only want to live in an apartment or condo, you can shake that. In my opinion you are doing very badly. I certainly cannot make a living and I certainly cannot live that way. That is why many Thais live together to reduce costs and sit on the floor and have a TV and a refrigerator and often sleep on the floor. And often have debts. So Kees, I agree with you, it is very, very difficult and absolutely not pleasant.
Anyone who claims to live on 9000 bht here, about € 200 per month is talking out of his neck so to speak.
I don't think this statement is meant that way if you read everything carefully.
hello everyone. I am Belgian, so it is the same as Dutch. my point of view.
9000b. what a thai does is survive. not live. we, living in thailand should be able to do that too.
but we cannot drink tap water, eat duck heads, or just rice. it makes us sick. hospital for Thai 30 baht per year. much more expensive for us. so if we didn't get sick, wouldn't have to go back to Europe, wouldn't have to do visa runs, and lived like the Thais. then it could be possible. I think a farang living in Thailand needs at least 20.000 baht to live carefully. a Thai 10.000 baht. but some of us can't resist eating farang food, beer, etc. cannot or do not want to live like some Thais. If I live carefully in Thai tomorrow, eat like a Thai with a minimum of food, but hygienic and safe, little but enough, and don't have to go to Europe and don't get sick. 20.000/10.000 we would all be a little slimmer and richer if we had to live a little more carefully. I spent 10 days in retreat in a temple and lived like the monks. then you know what you're missing, all things that we consider normal. when you get out of there, you know what survival is. why rent a house for 5 to 10,ooo baht.
if you can also rent a room for 3000 b/month. why drink beer and cola? 1 coke = 15 b, 1 water 7 baht. 10 / day x 30 = 2400 / month saved. a meal for us is also a noodle soup with chicken = 40 baht. rice with vegetables and pork chunks = 40 baht, healthy and sufficient. do it for a month, and put the difference in a pot. After 1 month, donate this difference to a poor family in your neighborhood. you feel happy, healthy and slim. who dares ? health for everyone for 2014. bye. will.
Enough people in the Netherlands also get around from 9000 Bath, why wouldn't that be possible in Thailand. Only I have to tell you that the rent is already paid and energy and insurance.
If you have to pay insurance for that, you've almost lost half the farang then. But in general a Thai or farang can get by on the same money, after all we eat and do the same I see little difference. So this is difficult to compare and most farang are retired or in early retirement who just as easily live in a shed if they've lived here all their lives.
Well, I have a Belgian pension of 433 euros. That is now about 18.000 baht per month.
I pay 5000 baht rent and about 1000 baht in other fixed costs. So I have 12.000 baht left or 400 baht per day. It's hard to make ends meet because you can't afford the perks.
But I live nice (condo with beautiful view, swimming pool and security), have a motorcycle, internet, eat well, enjoy nature (free swimming in the sea) and have friends to hang out on a terrace. I don't live like a Thai, but in my own style and it's going well. It does require a little discipline. I pay for my health insurance in Belgium with a pot of savings that stays there.
I see I'm not the only one who can live with 9000Bt. At my age I don't need much anymore. I read here how some above write “if you only have 9000 to spend then stay away from Thailand”. I can spend more but I don't have to. I have enough money in my account here. I wish to keep it that way. I want to avoid discussions at immigration about my monthly pension and my expenses. I only top up my account by the last 3 months of my annual renewal. In the meantime, it remains on my account in Belgium. If I want I can also play the big Jan here. But that's not my style and I'm not used to it. I even find some reactions very rough. I hope the high income readers read the link about the Pa Mai children's home project. They can always support there.
Thank Daniel
It doesn't matter if I can or not.
What is important is that we tend to think that someone else can or should be able to do it. The other just has to work eat sleep, work eat sleep. Relaxation, no not necessary. Not worrying for a day whether you can provide your children / parents with enough food should not play a role. Do not complain
Kees I love you, a man after my own heart. If we had a quarter of his character, how happy we would be.
We live in Thailand on an AOW with partner allowance together 1024 Euro as a god in Thailand. But I must add that we do not own a car, no iPod, no air conditioning, but double walls. No obligations in the Netherlands or contribution to family in Thailand. Only 2x eating out every month. And I cook Dutch, so I don't eat Thai. After food poisoning, noodle soup, as an ex-chef I gave up on the unhygienic stuff along the street. I did buy a scooter with cash, which saved me a 4 bath discount. A woman without debts is like living with a princess. Because of our marriage, I am insured for all costs, just like a Thai, I pay 2800 bath per year, the rest is free. And at an attraction park I do not pay more than a Thai national, I have to Sometimes we talk about that a bit, but it always works with the hospital ID card and driver's license. The man who writes that he spends 80.000 to 100.000 every month on fixed costs will either have a wife who may have to support the entire family or he is bluffing. you can live as a good citizen in Thailand as you normally do with 1000 euros pm. But then I mean live just like you used to in the Netherlands, don't visit bars, don't eat out every day. Don't buy a house if you don't do that in the Netherlands either. and didn't buy a big car. You can be very happy with what you have. And then I think if things go well for me, things will go better for the Thais in the long run. Because don't forget that we, all Westerners, are doing our bit together Thai economy makes a big contribution. We spend money and the Thai people do business with us.
If this is a real story then this is the story I always wanted to tell.
It is indeed not the case that we in Thailand can survive on 9000 Thb, but I have also suffered in a poor situation here in Belgium: father had become blind and mother had to look after the 5 children and earn money with some sewing jobs. . Hats off to her, my salary at the time was 21000 Belgian francs/month = THB and I had loans to repay 19 THB per month. I was on the mend, but a Thai bankruptcy caused by a Belgian company brought me back to the abyss and I am now really happy that my dear Thai wife (once general manager of a HYATT hotel) is now willing to accept a really inferior job to save us. to keep above water. So there are no inferior jobs.
So we are going to disappear from Belgium to Spain to build a future for my wife and our sweet son.
I just want to say it's doom and gloom everywhere if you don't have Onassis, …. are
9000 B is about € 215, =
A permanently living expat over the age of 60 loses this at least
in health insurance per month!
Sincerely,
Lodewijk
Getting by with 9000 bath or not depends on what you want.
Simple example
1800 bath rental condor
370 bath electricity
170 bathwater
Internet and mobile phone 1000 batch
Total 3340
Food and drinks 4000 bath (is on the large side)
Clothing? 500 baths.
Yes it is possible no there is nothing extra.
However, this is based on 1 person.
Many Thais already live in the house with several families.
Eating is often done together, so the costs per meal are low.
Clothing is often already bought on the local market and a lot is also done 2nd hand.
Comparing it with Dutch concepts is welfare benefit.
But you can live comfortably on amounts of 100.000 and higher.
For 30.000 baht you can have a lot of fun here.
Useless discussion.
The way of life of one is not that of the other.
I am moving to Hua Hin at the end of this year.
Have (at least my wife) own house and car.
If I calculate everything I need MINIMUM € 1000 per month.
This also includes a decent hospitalization insurance for me and my wife, a decent car insurance all in, restaurant visit, house cleaning, etc.
In all these cases you also have different prices (premiums). Everyone has to find out what suits him.
But if you want to die like a dog in the gutter, provide Bht 9000 per month.
Note: they are not going to euthanize you….
Dear Kees and Pon, With your question again you prove that your heart is in the right place! You could also have asked “can all Farangs live on an absolute minimum income”? Then you would have had the majority of all readers over you! It is nice to experience that there are people walking around on this Earth who think a little further than their own wallet, although unfortunately there are very few!!. Just like with multinationals that are used to making a profit of € 3.000000 every year and then suddenly have a year in which they "only" make a profit of € 2.000000, complaining that it is "so bad"
go! Even the less educated, who nowadays go on vacation two or three times a year, complains
if it can be done a little less for a year. No one is willing to compromise. Unfortunately, we live in a materialistic society and a lot will have to change before we grant our fellow man the same as we have ourselves. I think this kind of questions as asked by you
will always get a great response. One thing I can assure you, and that is that Khun Peter could not have put it better than you did! It is an article that adds value to the Thailand blog! WELL DONE!
Ton van den Brink.
Hello Kees,
Nice piece, understand why you occasionally clash with people, you just have the Heart in the right place and not everyone wants to hear that.
Getting by on 9000? Well there are many countries where people live on 1 dollar = 31 p / month .. so everything is possible, but
only if you have to, it will never be a voluntary choice.
All people are the same, we all want a house, enough to eat, some friends, education for the children and security.
That this is commonplace in the 'Western world' is nice, but for the masses it was no longer than 100-150 years ago.
2 billion people go to sleep hungry every night because there is not enough food, 2 billion people go to sleep every night overweight. It is clear that 'doing and living and sharing together' has not yet really succeeded.
Farang, Western foreigners in Thailand have been a bargain for years, and even with 39 baht for your Euro (last summer), Thailand is a 'cheap country' for very normal Dutch people.
Fortunately for the complainers, it is now 45 baht for the Euro again.
Mind you, if tomorrow Thailand becomes worth 25 baht or less for the Euro, people will look for a New Thailand en masse. We all love Thailand yes..but at the right price.
So getting by on 9000 Baht…is possible because many Thais have to, but like everyone else they hope for better times
You probably didn't mean it that way and that's why you neglected to put that word in quotes, but I have trouble calling the Netherlands a shitty country, without wanting to downplay the fact that many things in the Netherlands are wrong or not always fun, which is for everyone. is of course personal.
Let us realize that if the Netherlands were that, many people would not have the opportunity to go on holiday to Thailand once or several times a year or to settle there (permanently) later when they are entitled to pension.
However, to answer your question or statement that even if the Netherlands were a shit country, then with 9000 baht it should not be any trouble to make ends meet in the 'paradise' Thailand in a happy way.
.
Dear sir charles
You misinterpreted it or I didn't write it clearly enough
I don't think the Netherlands is a shitty country at all.
I try to indicate how mixed people sometimes react
If it happened to me, I would think the Netherlands is a shitty country. Then I request that you read the article again
Greetings Kees
As I said, dear Kees 1, you probably didn't mean it that way. In any case, we agree that the Netherlands is not a shit country and Thailand is not a paradise.
Regards Sir Charles
Dear Pon and Kees, it pleases me that you return to the posting dated January 6, 2014 by Khun Peter.
It was already unclear to me what our dear Peter wanted to achieve with the statement.
His posting was clear, transparent and well-arranged, but his statement silenced me, what did he mean? is the statement, ... you can not live on 9000 Bath ( 200 euros )? or can you stay alive? or can you live in respect.
Or was it addressed to the "farang" (I personally have no problem with the word farang, provided it is not intended to be derogatory ... if the clamp is wrong), because he mentioned the conversion into euros
But let's start at the beginning, 100 satang is 1 Bath,..if you are alone with 9000 Bath you have 9000 Bath, with two you only have half and with a whole circus !! no satang, and that is a given all over the world, the well-known spiral in which you have to generate more and more income, which is already difficult in the west, but almost impossible in Thailand.
When asked can a Thai live on 9000 Bath? YES that is possible,...but is that a life you wish for someone? NO, that is not the life you want, but there are many who do not even have that..., but I am always amazed to meet people in Thailand who despite this still maintain their dignity and approach you with dignity and respect and something that I often lack in the West.
To come back to the Farang,…NO he cannot do that, for the reason that he/she has 50 euros per month in any case, no matter how you look at it, has expenses for his/her visa, so then +/- 7000 remains Bath.
and that raises the question of whether that is a life in respect
So the question remains,….not to compare apples with pears, and clarity not to avoid much ambiguity
Here in the guesthouse where I am staying, two Italians, two Japanese and three Americans live outside me, all singles and no dependents. Each person pays 4000 Bt for his room. The room includes a TV, refrigerator and air conditioning. In the room there is a wardrobe with a partial cupboard and a desk with a seat. Electricity must be paid separately. water consumption is included. Every day we cook 3 times, choice of menu price from 30 to 45 Bt noodles and rice with ... Sometimes I eat bread that I get from the bakery myself with an appetizer. Normally I go shopping with the owners. In the morning the fruit and vegetable market takes place in the kitchen. Sometimes I also buy something for myself. Go to the macro twice a week also for purchases for the guesthouse. Chicken 125Bt/kg and other meat is bought here for the kitchen. I buy a kind of yogurt here which I use in the evening. Cheese is very expensive here.
I don't smoke or drink, bar visits are not for me. The rest of the time I'm usually on the road by bike and stop where I want or to have a drink.
Once a week I use a washing machine with 20Bt coins plus 10Bt washing powder.
Sometimes I need new shorts or T-shirts or other items of clothing, sandals or dress shoes. A suit here doesn't cost a lot of people. I usually spend about 9000Bt per month here. In Belgium I pay for my health insurance and health insurance.
I feel satisfied with my life here in CM. I don't need luxury. I can say no very easily.
with 9000 bath you can certainly live if you don't have to pay rent
Growing your own vegetables and going fishing also saves you money
my parents-in-law have to live on their 600 bath pension that they receive, but they live in a small village of Baanyangnamsai (satuk) in the Isan region.
I myself cannot live on 9000 bath I need 20000 bath, but I provide myself with more expensive things
and don't always want to eat thai and then go to bigC or lotus or 7eleven and also do trips to temples and places of interest
if you go to the markets you must also dare to haggle that is also saving ( lod dai mai crab )
my conclusion is: you can live as a farang with 9000 bath
most thai only have 5000 – 6000 bath
My son lives in the countryside of Buri Ram, does not work and with son and wife Waw can get by on 9000 Bath = 200 euros
His wife is a teacher, earns a little more but also gives her parents a pension.
My son also saves for a ticket to come to the Netherlands once every 1 years.
They have their own house, their own rice and garden with vegetables, but they live very frugally and that's how they want it, they just don't need much.
My son is in the monastery 2 to 3 days a week to study Buddhism and speaks, reads and writes excellent Thai.
As a backpacker, he could live on 100 euros at the time.
I'm proud of this simple boy, so it's possible but I don't think in a city.
Dear Sieds
I understand you are proud of that boy
Few do that after him. If he reads your comment, the pride will be mutual
Nice Sieds if you can think about and about your boy like that
Sincere greetings from Pon and Kees for you
And wish your son his wife and son good luck
Moderator: no capitals and no periods after a sentence.
My son has been living in Thailand for 8 years with son and wife Waw in rural Buri Ram.
They have their own house, rice and a garden with vegetables and live well on 9000 bath
Waw is a teacher and earns a little more and gives her parents a monthly pension.
My son does not work, but spends 2 or 3 days a week in a monastery studying Buddhism.
He speaks Thai fluently, can read and write it.
My son also saves for tickets to go to Ned with my grandson once every 1 years. to be able to fly.
They live very soberly as a family, but they don't want anything else, they don't need much.
As a backpacker, he lived off 4500 bath pm at the time
So it is indeed possible to live on 9000 bath but you have to want it, but in a city this will not work.
We Dutch are used to so much rubbish around us, but if you can reduce that to a backpack you can indeed live cheaply in Thailand.
Of course you can if a very primary life is dear to you...
Eating along the street, preferably drinking water, renting a stall (concrete cage like the one we house the animals in in the Netherlands) for 1.200 THB/month, no air conditioning in the hot months and of course no car and preferably not even a moped. No health insurance, washing clothes in cold water, showering with cold water. A mobile phone (not a smartphone!) and stick to text messages. A TV is not possible.
And if you ever get sick or have something to do, there is still the government hospital.
Why wouldn't that work? I would almost say living like a monk, turns out to be healthy too.
To be honest, it's not really for me.
I wonder if I would manage to get by with 9000 baht, and I actually think so, if it were only about getting wet and dry. As far as health costs etc are concerned, it would certainly not work.
In the Netherlands there are also mothers on welfare who have to do the whole month with € 200, often also with one or two children, so nothing is impossible. But something else is desirable.
But you can't do much with that kind of money in Thailand, as a “spoiled” farang, and I think that's the difference with the Thais.
After all, they MUST, and have no choice. So hats off in that respect anyway.
But there is a big difference between existence and life. From that 9000 baht I could live in Thailand, but I wouldn't call it a life.
You would have to deny yourself almost all small pleasures, and then what is the added value of living in Thailand?
Understand Kees's question very well, because the Thais are "living" in our eyes, while we often ignore the heartbreaking poverty and misery that lurks behind some smiling faces.
My answer to Khun Peter's statement was that the only Thai I considered able to survive on 9000 baht was my Thai mother-in-law in Isaan, and the simple reason is that she does not have to rent a house, and for the rest makes no demands.
Things are different for everyone, but ultimately you have to ask yourself the question: What makes me happy? And act accordingly.
I know for myself, because I don't have a big expensive house, big car, or money-consuming (nightlife) hobbies, and wouldn't miss these things in Thailand either. Which gives the citizen courage.
hello pon and kees.
nice story you wrote!! An advice; forget the Netherlands as much as possible (I still live there but luckily I have wedding plans with, now my girlfriend, from Isaan) You have to leave the word farang out of your mind, you are starting a new life and I can see from your photo that everything is okay is. The Netherlands is becoming or is a hunter or prey country. Everything is relative here, Thailand has much more value.
9000 bath?? If you feel at home, you will make it easy.
good luck in your future
Hi Pon and Kees,
I can still remember that you had strong doubts about whether or not to go to Thailand permanently.
I understand from your story that you have now decided to do so. I think a good choice. You still had doubts about bringing your dog, I remember. Just for the record Khun Peter really couldn't have told your story better than you yourself. No one can tell a story better if you put your soul into your story and you certainly did that with this piece. Hence all the responses you've had to your statement. I look at your picture again and see real love (which is very rare on this planet). You as the good guy who can be emotional every now and then and doesn't need much in life, she as the loving wife who will go through fire for you, but who is in control of the mind. If I'm wrong, just correct me. Coming back to your statement, a farang can live in Thailand on 9000 bath: I don't think so, but they don't have to because they just have more money. Can a Thai live on 9000 bath? Yes, because they have no choice. Thailand is a country with development potential. The day is not far away when a pension system is created for the working Thai, so that the daughters no longer have to work in prostitution to provide for the parents in old age. I myself also have plans to go to Thailand this year, I am now 58 years old and will take early retirement. Costs me about half of my pension accrual, but I'm willing to pay for it. I get a sloppy 35000 bath, not too much, but enough for a farang to maintain Western standards. And could I live on 9000 bath? Yes, but it's not necessary because I have a lot more and I'm happy about that. I think I have more to spend in Thailand than now in the Netherlands with all those fixed costs. And do I allow the Thai to have a better life? Yes, everyone is trying to get a better life in their own way, emotionally, financially and let's not forget about health.
Chokdee crab and enjoy the beautiful country called Thailand.
Ps I would love to meet you sometime when you are in Thailand, I like honest, straightforward people. Hans
I find the question and the whole discussion bizarre.
If you only have 9.000 baht then you have to live on it just like
you end up on social assistance in the Netherlands. Is it fun ? I think
not. Most people would like more money and more free time.
Assuming you have good health and a reasonable relationship with
your partner.
I could live on 0,00 baht in Thailand!!!
How is that possible ? Just commit a serious crime and worry
that you are locked up in a prison. Is it fun and am I happy?
No I don't think so, but I can say and write that I am in Thailand
live without it costing me anything.
What is this about ???
The Thai in the victim role…
What a selfish and arrogant people we "Farang" are.
Wanting to make that poor Thai live on 9000 baht a month. Scandalous!
The facts:
The Gross National Product per inhabitant in the Netherlands is 9 times as large as in Thailand. In the Netherlands you have much less net left, because the State provides the safety net for living and is much more involved in society than the Thai state. In Thailand, the family provides the safety net.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita
In the past I have worked in countries in Africa and Bangladesh, and you really don't want to go on holiday in those kinds of countries. I saw a three-year-old toddler doing child labor in Bangladesh. Thailand is a holiday destination precisely because it is relatively rich. Yes, half of the third world has an income that is 5 to 10 times lower than Thailand.
My conclusion is that a Thai can live on 9000 baht. The average income is 14000 Baht. We know that the elite claim a large part of this. So that half of the population (35 million people) here has long been living on much less than 9000 baht. This is just a fact. Stop the discussion!
Oh yeah, let's not call each other sissies. A “Farang” cannot live on 9000 baht per month, over a slightly longer period of time. Don't fool yourself. This is completely impossible.
So don't be so pathetic about the Thai.
I have a Thai girl who takes care of my house and cats
because I am often away. She works as a waitress
a 4 star hotel earns 15.000 in the low season
and 20.000 baht in high season.
I had a Thai girlfriend who is HR manager in the same hotel
and earned 55.000 baht. She has now been promoted to HR director
and sits at 80.000 baht per month.
I know a number of Dutch people in Thailand who work and earn in the offshore industry
about 1000 euros or 45.000 baht net per day. Work an average of 6 to 7 months
per year.
To make a long story short with 9.000 baht or 40.000 baht you are at an existence minimum
in Thailand. In my opinion, it is better to stay in the Netherlands where there are better social facilities
and things like food banks.
Thai people often think that ferang are all rich. Here on the Thai blog we know better. Because of the openness of many people who post here. Personally, I don't care whether people have a lot or little money. I have met rich and very nasty people and also poor and very friendly people. I wonder if Thai people feel the same way. I have heard the expression Ferang Kie Nok (foreign bird droppings) more than once. This concerned foreigners with a small budget who have little to spend or, for example, want to haggle too much.
Dear Branch
My statement does not say that you have to respond. Although you find the question bizarre, you already have that
done for the fourth time. I don't really like you saying that either
You let it be known that you need tenfold, that is your right. I'm not saying you should live on 9000 Bht
I ask could you live on it. Because there are still a few farang that the Thai can live on
And best Tak to be able to do that from 0,00 bath. To live
How long do you think you can last in the Bangkok Hilton. Wand to survive as a farang you also need money there
With kind regards, Kees
This is a very interesting topic, as evidenced by the many responses. Want to share mine too.
It's quite confrontational. After all, if you ask the question whether you would save a month with that budget, you have to compare anyway. What is your current budget, in Europe, in Thailand, and how does a Thai do that.
But here it is about an expat (so as not to have to write farang *grin*) and whether you would manage with that budget.
Well, know a bunch that can do it. Whether they do so with full meaning, let alone be happy, is another matter.
Some examples.
Love to come in the backpacker environment. For example Khao San Road in BKK, but then at the Phra Kaew temple. Have a 'pied à terre' for the time spent in BKK. Across the Chao Praya River, in Ban Yeekhun/Ban Plat, to the right of the Pinklao Bridge. It takes less than 20 minutes to reach Khao San by ferry and on foot. With the taximeter easily double, up to 50 minutes. And yes, there are people walking around at Khao San who manage to get by with 9.000 THB. Usually out of necessity and for very different reasons. Trouble in the home country, wannabes, ex-con or on the run from justice, adventurers, Robin Hoods, or just guys who are in love with Thailand and are chasing their dreams without having a nail to scratch their…. With all due respect to all those lads. Have a chat with them, then treat them to beer every time, but the stories you hear are usually worth it. Bed in dormitory, at 100 THB per day. Food is their heaviest food (!). After all, you don't have a kitchen, so you rely on snacks from the supermarket or street food somewhere in the back of an unknown soi. And bottled water; after all, you don't want to get sick because you can't afford it. Count 150 THB per day for food and drinks. Just enough left to drink 1 glass somewhere, preferably in the evening to pass the time in the classic backpacker cafe of some guesthouse. Where you can watch football or movies with the rest of the clientele on the large flat screen. In the hope that you can have a chat and be treated to beer or something strong… the impressive stories are eagerly added.
Different guy, different place. Known a young Frenchman in Chiang Mai who had only 2 pieces of clothing of each item. One alternated every other day while the other was in the suds. Worked and lived in a guesthouse cum travel agency. In principle received 300 THB per day, but the agreement was room and board and 150 THB per day pocket money. Well, he did that every day on beer or whiskey, albeit at purchase price. And that guy wasn't shy about inviting himself over to eat and drink at your expense, in exchange for good advice to the tourist. That was his life and he liked to do it, he really felt good that way. Suspected him to have a mental illness at one point told me he is actually a purebred Thai but in the wrong body; that of a farang.
A third guy, a Swede, met a few years ago in the village where my late friend's family lives. Between Chaiyaphum and Khorat. Rented a wooden house on stilts for 3.000 THB per month. Bought food from local farmers, ate neither meat nor fish out of conviction, had no air conditioning only fans, no BVN on TV, only standard channels. Water and gas delivered to your home by bottle. He did have a moped, beautiful Honda from the seventies, mobile phone too. A very spiritual person. Lived on his otherwise generous pension, but prided himself on living under THB 10.000 per month. What he did with the rest of his pension, maybe going to the temple, saving, alimony, Joost can't know.
So you could say that it is possible, living on 9000 THB. But whether you want and can do that, and are you happy with it? Hopefully you will still earn them yourself. Because the time you work costs you nothing, what else would you do, spend the whole day without spending money?
Well, it wouldn't work for me anyway. Until recently had 3 own spots, which were navigated between. In the north, in BKK, and by the sea. Due to illness and not to leave it unattended, got rid of everything. However, no one cares about this. But consider the assumption that you have to rent, and you would live the same way as in Europe. So would continue the same lifestyle that you are used to. Then quickly arrive at € 1.250 per month, which is an average European pension, so an average amount. You rent a small 2 room condo in BKK near Lumpini Park. Including utilities, TV, internet, elevator, service, insurance… 500 €. Food from your home country costs at least the same or more here in Carrefour. Or you go out for dinner, local cuisine, snacks. Count 15 € per day for food. Rounded off per month 500 €. Add 10 € per day; one day 5 pints in the local pub, the next to the sauna and hairdresser, the next day buy a shirt or trousers, ... and your 1.250 € will therefore be used up before the end of the month.
Everyone has their perception on budget and where that is going toie, but everyone lives what they have. My opinion is that life in BKK is just as expensive as in Europe. Maybe the taxis are cheaper, but you use them more so that it stays the same in your budget. Same with eating out, it's cheaper but you do it more. Some acquaintances and ex-colleagues at the UN in BKK say the same thing, are even tired of answering it every time because the question comes regularly.
The weather is different if you live in the countryside, cottage garden and 2 times a month to the Makro. Yes, you can still save from your € 1.250 and even support a family with it.
Small quibble, respect costs nothing. Show that to the people who do everything for you, at 9.000 THB a month. Sometimes you get something priceless in return, standing there with your pockets full of money. Tip 100 THB and you sometimes offend someone. Have a chat and if you want to, see how you can do something to help.
The amount of THB 9.000 per month is also stated elsewhere on this blog as the minimum wage. However, I learned that this (only recently) has been set at 300 THB per day. It applies to those who are officially employed.
Those who are officially employed usually have an unpaid Sunday off in Thailand. The number of public holidays in Thailand is astonishingly high (but there are no days off to be taken), but let's assume outside Sundays on average only 1 day per month. They are also unpaid to me. This leads to an average (gross = net) minimum monthly wage of:
(365,24 days/year /12 month/year x 6 working days/7 weeks – 1 holiday) x 300 THB = 7.527 THB/month
Taking into account the fact that on low incomes a large part of the spending is barely compressible, living on 7.527 baht per month is really much more difficult than on 9.000.
PS: It is also difficult elsewhere to live on a minimum wage ALONE. Living together is an economic necessity almost everywhere. Two-earners, both on a minimum wage of 7.527 baht, do have a (net) family income of more than 15.000 baht. I shouldn't have to put up with it, but that's 5.000 baht more than what used to be a very ordinary Thai household income recently. It will then be sufficient for those people to absorb the (sensitive) price increases of recent years.
Dear Kees and Pon, I wondered what prompted you to answer the question of the 9000 bht?
In itself, that statement is of course very snobbish, you only wonder if you have (much) more to spend yourself. In my opinion, and your own described background shows it, there is a lot of frustration behind your reaction: frustration and pent-up anger about large income differences and injustice in the world. I feel that too, I see the huge income differences in Muang thai, the often disgustingly corrupt way in which they arose, with sorrow. But…isn't this the case all over the world??? And is the question, whether you ask it here, in the Netherlands or elsewhere relevant? You have to get by with what you have, it is different everywhere and with everyone and sometimes that is harrowing and sometimes disgustingly decadent. All the well-meaning numbers in the comments including you and me must be wondering what you can do with it. The answer to that is a frustrated one: almost nothing...be thankful with what you have and lend a helping hand left and right. Also realize that there are now a lot of farang pariahs in Thailand who can only dream of 9000 bht. Also among them, just like among Thai residents, there are many “big bump, own fault” cases. Hope your response at least makes some farang think.
Dear Leppak
I'll try to answer your question. If you mean I'm snobbish for launching that question statement. Google Snobbish. Affected - Vain - Imagined - Conceited. I can assure you that I do not possess any of these qualities.
When anger is the same as anger and Frustration is disappointment. Then I do believe that I experience that when reading comments that are sometimes explained why they are
as a Human need more than another human being. When I'm sitting at the computer shaking my head
And try to figure out how to make the person clear in God's name.
That the other person also wants something more than just food.
The often impudent way of blessing what they themselves need
There will be BV. Said in a response that they have to work hard and long, then they have no time to spend money. I feel embarrassed when I read something like that
And what that other person doesn't need. It doesn't make me angry I'm sad about it
That is the reason, but also the only reason for posting my question
I know very well that I will not be driving it in Thailand together with Pon with 9000 bht
I realize very well that despite everything that happened to me in the Netherlands, I can count myself lucky
I was born in the Netherlands and not in Thailand. I know very well how it feels
To have nothing. I also know what it's like to have a lot.
Maybe that's why it's a bit easier for me to empathize with another person
I'm just asking for a little more understanding for another human being
I'm not mad at another human being who has more to spend than I do
I hope I explained it somewhat well
Greetings Kees
Just a quick thank you to everyone for their responses
I have no problem with that Moderator
Hundreds of comments and after reading them all I have come to the conclusion that it is nothing to do with Kan! has to do with Must! Because if you don't have any more money you have to get by with it, it's that simple.
In the Netherlands there are also mothers on welfare who have to do the whole month with € 200, often also with one or two children, so nothing is impossible. But something else is desirable.
In a number of responses, comparisons were made between a family with 9000 baht in TH and that of a mother on welfare in NL. They apparently assume the amount to be spent in both NL and TH: 9000 baht versus 225 euros.
However, the comparison is incorrect. Of course, the situation of mothers on social assistance who support their families on 225 euros a month is distressing. Especially in a prosperous country like NL, which prides itself on a high level of social security, living in poverty is undesirable.
But is that situation comparable to TH families who have to make do with 9000 baht?
No: a lot of attention is paid to the welfare mother in NL. Education, employment, training programs, debt assistance, legal assistance with alimony arrears, social assistance. work, and from the municipal social services.
In TH, the 9000 baht family is just a normal phenomenon, without extra attention and support from any government and/or social institution. In TH, a family with 9000 baht a month is just one of the families that have to make do on the basis of the fact that society as such is structured. In TH, a family with an average of 9 thousand baht per month is one of the cornerstones of TH society.
In NL that is a family with a disposable average income, in 2013 that was Euro 23500 per year, say Euro 2000 p.mnd, do the math yourself how many baht.
Back to the mother on social assistance: how precarious her situation is - in the month of May she will receive holiday pay, child benefit 4 times a year, and no matter how you look at it: the benefit includes health insurance for the entire family, and premiums for old-age provision are the same paid.
Now back to the 9 baht families in TH: I can't think of anything from the government or from a social angle that means extra help or income.
Hence, 9 thousand baht families seek help and support from each other, forming close-knit families, clans and communities.
KhunPeter was right at the time: TH are having a hard time with 9 thousand baht p. months to go around.
Kees and Pon are now equally right: it is comparatively impossible for farang to live on 225 euros. Unless biting a stick and eating everything that creeps and crawls becomes the norm. And wondering why the 99% of the farang hang it so wide and pot-bellied.
But other responses testify to that.
“biting on a stick, and eating everything that creeps and crawls”
In Thailand, the types of food most maligned by Westerners are not just 'delicacy', most of them are also very expensive compared to ingredients to Western tastes. Also, the huge increase in (grotesque) obesity during the last two decades in Thailand is not, as in some parts of the world, due to being able to afford only unhealthy food: In Thailand, a healthy balanced and varied diet is certainly not more expensive than what otherwise.
dear @Soi,
Hope this doesn't sound like chatting, but wanted to share it anyway.
” In the Netherlands there are also mothers who have to do the whole month with € 200, often also with one or two children, so nothing is impossible. But something else is desirable. ”
You literally copied those first sentences from my reaction of January 28, 17.05. (checked)
For what purpose?
And then you say that some make a comparison between the situation of a Dutch mother on welfare and a Thai family.
That is not the case, because if you read carefully it also says that nothing is impossible, but NOT that their situation is the same.
It is meant as an example of how hard it can be for people, both here and in Thailand.
That's why I think your response is rather premature, and a bit superfluous.
Everyone knows that the mothers on welfare receive holiday pay, and the Thais do not, but that does not mean that the situation is so much better than that of the Thais, certainly not.
Because clothing, sports, bicycle, textbooks, etc. are also many times more expensive here than in Thailand.
Also the remark about everything that creeps or creeps, I noticed something similar in my response to Khun Peter's statement about Thais who should get by with 9000 baht.
In it I commented that my Thai mother-in-law and others of her generation would certainly survive, because they ate everything that crawled and jumped around
NOT that they wanted to make it the norm, nor to romanticize it, because that kind of life is not that great, but just as an example of how these people would know how to survive, while the average farang would probably be half crazy be without his beer or hamburger.
I just wanted to rectify this.
Yours faithfully,
SevenEleven.