2022 Cost of Living in Chiang Mai and Bangkok Compared – that will be the topic of today’s article.
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Introduction
Living in Thailand boils down to two factors: your basic expenditures (set monthly expenses) and your own lifestyle, which is added on top of those prices. Expats will have to pay a minimum of USD $600 in living expenses. That is in Chiang Mai, and it will be more expensive to live on a Thai island, in Bangkok, or in retiree destinations.
Chiang Mai
An expat on a budget can manage to live in Chiang Mai on $600 per month (adjusted to 2022 dollars). The international flights that separated my time in Thailand cost over $800 each way, so add that to my “fixed” expenditures. If you’re on a restricted budget, think about if and how often you’ll visit your native nation.
When you look at other people’s finances, keep in mind that everyone has various priorities in their lives. This article only presents the very minimum so that others could see a baseline against which they may add their own objectives, company costs, and so on. If you take into account items that you have to pay for on a yearly basis, such as the US$600 you will shell out on annual travel insurance, you will pay more than $650 a month. A monthly fee includes very basic medical examinations because they cost less than $100 for women’s checkups and simple blood testing.
Rent in Chiang Mai is around $230 per month for a lovely yet basic apartment. You can consider sharing a two-bedroom house in Chiang Mai’s central inner city, within the moat. Maid service is $15. A modest apartment and wifi may cost you a total of 10,000 baht each month. A regular apartment at this price would have tiled flooring, one and a half baths, a small kitchen (no stove, which is uncommon in Thai homes), a sturdy dining room table that could be used for working, and a comfortable living room. Take note that this is a Thai-style flat, and keep in mind that a Western-style apartment will set you back far more.
Studio flats in Chiang Mai cost between 3,500 and 8,000 baht per month. These are ideal for lone travelers searching for a quality yet low-cost option. Wifi is available in nearly all flats. The internet in Chiang Mai is better than in many other cities, however it might change dramatically during the day. That’s when you might need to consider the cost of a monthly co-working space subscription.
Chris and Angela are a 30-year-old couple who have made Chiang Mai their permanent home. They say they reside in a wonderful house rental outside the moat with superb facilities, where they’ve lived for several years and pay an average of $2,624 per month for a pair. It’s interesting to notice that their rent accounts for just $456 of that total.
Their budget demonstrates that one of the advantages of living in Chiang Mai is that your money goes a long way and you can live a very comfortable life on a somewhat more lavish budget.
If you truly want to be comfortable, you may pay USD $1,200 for a large Western-style house that is furnished and well-equipped.
Bangkok
Bangkok offers comparable lodging, but the expense of life in the large metropolis is greater. Karsten spends $2,600 a month and manages to live comfortably on that sum. He spends in the high range, he has a wife, but it looks that the majority of his spending are solely for himself. A Western-style apartment costs roughly $400 per month out of that money. It’s worth comparing a $600 monthly budget in Chiang Mai to a bigger budget in Bangkok for anyone thinking about moving there. Karsten receives a great deal for his money.
On the other hand, you can go bare-bones in Bangkok and survive for $400 per month (an expat can live on less than $300 per month in 2011), but it would be difficult. Even if you only pay $700 per month, you will have to make severe budget cuts that you would not have to make if you lived in a more cheap city like Chiang Mai. You’re not living in the expat areas (definitely not in downtown Bangkok) for $700, you’re eating a lot of street food, you’re probably not splurging on evenings out at the expat bars and such, and you’re not utilizing Uber and the like.
However, you may still enjoy Bangkok by getting coffee from a favorite vendor, taking mototaxis or walking about town, and so on. I don’t believe this basic budget is long-term sustainable—you’ll need to plan on raising your spending if you stay in Bangkok for more than a three-month visa.
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