I'm implying that these kinds of posts seem to be nothing more than someone playing around.
Everything this guys asks for is already out there in multiple formats and locations......in fact, we have done it for several people in the past two years......why keep doing it over and over.
As far as thinking this board is populated by people who can't afford to live in their own countries.......I plead guilty. If we took a poll and got honest answers I bet more than 50% of us would agree it's a lot easier to stretch the budget here than at "home", and that's why we live here.
I would like to express my thanks to all of you who have graciously given up your time to help me with your replies; even you T.I.G.R. though you must have been very busy since you only afforded me 1 line of comment and then you weren't telling me anything but asking me a question.
I suppose I wasn't all together truthful when I posted my ad since I did not provide you with the type of income I have on a monthly basis but then I didn't want to do that because I did not want it to influence your responses.
What I got were some very good reponses and some support by many of you which I do appreciate. I am sure I was not the first to ask a question such as the one proposed to you but I think I was looking for my answer and not that of someone else; if that is what you meant by "TROLL". I can assure you I was not here to waste anyones time.
What I did learn from all of you:
1. Eat out more often it will probably be less than a full time cook
2. A housekeeper can be replaced by a wife
3. Golf; wel I think I can do without the country club
4. I won't find a nice beach along the banks of the river in Bkk
5. The New York Philharmonic will probably not be playing in Hua Hin
6. That the shortest route of having what I would like is to have a place in Phuket and a hideaway in Bkk and enjoy the best of both worlds.
7. Finally, from T.I.G.R. that only people on a very tight budget come to Thailand to live. Well that leaves me out.
I thank you ALL very, very much for what you provided me with and I have been able to conclude that I need to take some concerted effort in arriving at a decision and part of that effort is to spend some time in Thailand finding out for myself and speaking with people who are there.
Thank you again for your time and friendship. Oh BTW T.I.G.R. I hope I don't cause a problem in the neighborhood with a monthly income of 660,000 bhat
I have been able to conclude that I need to take some concerted effort in arriving at a decision and part of that effort is to spend some time in Thailand finding out for myself and speaking with people who are there.
Hawk,
That is a very smart idea. Spend time in different places to get the feel of them and decide which one(s) you like best, or you may decide you don't like Thailand at all.
T.I.G.R. and Shunpike,
Hawk seems very different from LaNative to me. Hawk can string together sentences to make a paragraph with good grammar and spelling without offending anyone.
I think you guys are just jealous.
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
I agree with Wanderlust. Save for the need for occasional female company (I am married and do not want to go through another divorce), hawk3164’s question makes sense as most of what he wants also fits with the lifestyle we would like to lead when we retire in Thailand. My decision on when to retire is going to be influenced by how much it costs to live. As such I find the question and the answers of interest and relevance to me. The sorts of figures that have been mentioned are within the range of what I would have expected.
Why Thailand? Well after my first visit to Hua Hin in 2001 I fell in love with the place and we have been back on average twice a year every year since 2001.
You are close, very close but I will leave that up to Hawk to elaborate on.
Jealous? Yes I think you are right. Many people will feel jealous but so what? Doesn't that apply all over the globe?
We are so good at admiring a man/woman who has sucess in making money. Then we procede to knock him/her off their pedestal.
Seems to me Hawk is trying to carefully mold out a suitable lifestyle here based on his budget and priorities. What I think he is sensible in doing is tapping into the extensive knowledge base here on the site and with that spend some time here to decide what he wants.
What is wrong with that?
RICHARD OF LOXLEY
It’s none of my business what people say and think of me. I am what I am and do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. It makes life so much easier.
What I forgot to add in my earlier post is that a lot of the info already on the Board is more directed at the budget conscious. There is in fact limited information on living costs if you want / can afford to live a lifestyle at the higher end.
By way of example I found a post by HHfarang re his electricity expenses to be very interesting given our present consumption of energy and our likely consumption if/when we move to Thailand.
When considering the move you also have to consider what type of car you want. Mercs, BM’s etc are very pricy in Thailand, as they are in most Asian countries. One does not see much information about these costs. Personally I am not into pickup trucks except for F250’s. I am not into Corollas or Camrys. So any information posted on motoring costs for Mercs or BM’s would be appreciated as my present thinking is that if/when we make the move I would be looking for something like an “E” class Merc. I am not wanting to sound a prick, but some of us do have an interest in such topics.
Another topic of interest is exchange rate fluctuations. Over the last year or so there have been fluctuations up to 25% in our exchange rate against the THB. No small issue when you are looking at the overall cost of what you need to enjoy the lifestyle you want.
From what I have been able to work out, to buy a decent condo in Hua Hin on the beach and in Bangkok will set you back at least THB20m. I am trying to do all these calculations so that if/when we do decide to make the move, we have some idea of what is needed to successfully make the transition.
Mercedes and BMW are hugely expensive because of the excise and import taxes. A rule of thumb is probably about double or a bit more than the cost in the USA or EU. Maintenance is also a headache in terms of cost and convenient locations to have it done. I don't have Mercedes prices but here is recent info for BMW's in Baht. Pete
320d 1995 cc 2849000
318i se 1995 2399000
3201 1995 2800000
320d coupe 1995 4299000
320i coupe 3999000
325i coupe se 2497 4900000
325i coupe sport 2497 5100000
335i coupe 2979 7500000
3201 conv 1995 4499000
325i conv 2497 5290000
520d 1995 3699000
523i 2497 3900000
525i 2497 4400000
525i sport 2497 4549000
630i coupe 2996 9499000
650i coupe 4799 12229000
650i conv 2497 12899000
730li 2996 6700000
730li se 2996 7200000
740li 4000 8900000
X3 20d 1995 3299000
X3 25i 2497 3800000
X5 48i 4799 9399000
X6 35i 2979 8899000
M3 coupe 3999 10299000
M3 conv 3999 11299000
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
I'm here, he's not. I have a nice big condo on the beach, he doesn't. I drive an SUV with a big honkin' engine, maybe he doesn't. I have a beautiful wife who is young and smart. Him??
I have money in the bank and golf clubs at the ready. I'm retired, he's not
What's to be jealous of? Well, maybe he has more hair than me.....
All kidding aside, I have no problem with those who wish to live a lifestyle more expensive than ours. I've found however, that those with real money tend not to want the whole world to know about it right off the bat.
Those who wish to know the cost of Mercs, BMW's and luxury condos have simply to consult the English version of the Bangkok Post where there are ads galore.
Hua Hin and Cha Am have a limited supply of luxury condos as well, and yes, they are generally priced at 18 million baht and above. If one were looking, now would be a good time to pick something up. We have 250 sq meters in Cha Am on the beach, recently fully remodeled. I doubt I could get the Boss to sell it for less than 20 million. All of the costs associated with living here are quite simple to calculate based on your anticipated usage, and as I mentioned, we've provided them in many threads. I, myself, gave Migrant a detailed analysis just a month or so ago which should be readily available with a little research.
Good luck to those fat cats who've chimed in here. I'm sure we are all willing to help those of you who are genuinely interested in something other than trying to impress us with themselves.
