Cost of living in Hua Hin

[JW]

Also happy give you advise regarding golf and how to make that affordable.

[svenlang]

120k baht per month...

You really could live on a lot less than that in Thailand. If I couldn't, I would stay in England.

[heartofmidlothian]

In a way, this is quite an interesting topic, because it lets you see just how different everyone is. Many people must ask themselves "how much would it cost me to live here" when they are considering retiring early. Certainly a great place to live and many can live here very cheaply and happily but really depends what you enjoy doing with your time. The best way to spend money here is - women, drink and golf. The only real way to answer this question is to do your own investigating. You can get a basic place to live for 5000 baht and you can eat well for as little as 300 baht per day. Probably even less if you do your own cooking.
The baht buses that run up and down the main road, are a good cheap way to get around. 10 baht per trip.
The highest I have heard is 600 000 baht per month, for a friend of mine and his wife (they even have their own house and car all paid for). Not really sure how he managed it, but it just goes to show that you can squander money anywhere!
After you live here for a while, you realise that you can get great food for very little cost. Just go where the Thais go (assuming you like Thai food). Golf can get costly, if you don't buy a membership, and it can be costly if you do buy a membership! Electric bills can be kept down by setting your air cons to 26 or 27 C and using a fan or even getting used to no air con. I have never paid more than 2000 baht per month and usually 1500 baht, but heard a lot of people complaining about 3 to 4000 baht per month

[wpcoe]

The real wild cards for retiring here are inflation and the currency markets, especially for folks on a fixed income like a pension that's not adjusted for inflation.

[pharvey]

An interesting "comparison" with the latest UK report on the amount required for the "minimum standard of living".......


long(ish) report, but interesting to see/remember what people are looking at as a cost of living in the UK compared to moving/retiring overseas.... I'm sure US/Aus/Scandinavia/Europe have very similar reports.

http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/m ... 2-full.pdf

[gandalfinthai]

I am single, live here on about 60000 baht a month. I rent a lovely 2 bedroom, 2 bath just outside of town (very comfortable for a couple.) Bedroom in airconed, and I have a washing machine. Someone takes care of my grounds and a maid comes in once a week. No pool or car - I drive a new motorbike and enjoy the beach. I eat well, go out 2-3 times a week and can afford to run to BKK every so often. I suspect any couple who would enjoy living simply could do so here for under 80000 baht a month. (US $2500, 1600 Pounds)

[Cityman]

House rent (townhouse) 8000....14000 baht per mounth.
Food 10.000 baht....20.000bath. Off course if you prefer visit restaurants 2-3 times a day and don't cook food by yourself you can waiting 30.000......300.000 baht per mounth.
It is minimum prices.
Me and my wife stay here with our dog and spend ~30.000 bath \ mounth for everything: townhouse rent (we rented townhouse behind of SportVilla condotel 2 bedrooms, normal kitchen with appliances and living room + 2 bathrooms for 12.000\mounth) + food + transport expenses (we don't drive motobikes anymore, after accident, we use public buses, which stop in 100m of our house + riding bicycles + our own legs off course)
I heard about condos started from 5000....6000 baht \ mounth for good aircon studio with permit to use a pool.
Anyway... just use own legs and own mind. Don't use first one estate agent, you can find and you can find acceptable offer for affordable price.


p.s. Sorry for my ENG. It is my second language and it is really not brilliant.

[richard]

Cityman

English is good and your report very informative

[lilianthornstrom]

Matter of interest .... if accommodation is taken out of the equation, what would a new arrival need to be looking at budgeting to live in Hua Hin. Assumption .. no accommodation, drinks moderately and lives a 'normal' live style ie plays a bit of golf, likes to dine out occassionally, any social clubs etc

[Big Boy]

lilian, not an easy question, with a miriad of possible answers. I've moved your question to the appropriate thread. have a read through, and ask futher if your question is not answered.

[bonnielass]

Lilian, golf is not a cheap hobby in HH. (or anywhere these days). During the peak months expect to pay anywhere between 2,500 to 4,000 baht per game. As BB says, difficult to measure your living costs. You can eat out very cheaply if you know where to go off the main tourist path. I never cook, to me it's much cheaper to eat out. But I guess if you live there full time you would get sick of eating out. There have been a few previous threads about what people spend on a monthly basis. I have seen the figure of Baht 60,000 per month mentioned a few times, think that may have been for a couple. It also depends if you are running a car, using A/C etc; those two items will make a big dent in your funds.

[heartofmidlothian]

The only way to find out what it costs to live in Hua Hin is to visit and do your own survey. Everyone has different ideas of living costs here. There are cheap little Thai restaurants around where you can get a plate of food for 30 baht and you can also go to the Hilton and spend lots! Very cheap to do your own cooking if you use what is cheap - rice, noodles, chicken, pork and local fruit and veg. Expensive if you like wine, cheese, butter and breakfast cereals.
If you want to play golf you can travel to Ratchaburi or Kaeng Krachan, or buy a membership around here. Paying 3000 baht per game will add lots to your annual expenses.

[wpcoe]

Yeah, it's almost like asking "how long is a piece of string," sometimes.

I think you'd probably be safe at B60,000/month, and probably for less, but your lifestyle and preferences make a considerable difference. I transfer money once per year to Thailand (coinciding with the issuance of my retirement extension) and it's roughly B30,000 (at current exchange rates) per month for me. But, I rarely go out drinking, don't own a car/motorbike, and don't golf.

[nomad127]

1,000 THB is what I budget for, not including my rent/bills/gas etc. I tend to eat out at least one meal a day and enjoy my snacks too.

[wpcoe]

1,000 THB is what I budget for, not including my rent/bills/gas etc. I tend to eat out at least one meal a day and enjoy my snacks too.

B1,000??? Per day, per week, per what? That seems a tad low for a monthly budget.

(Or, maybe US$1,000 or GBP1,000 or Euro1,000?)