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Cheap Charlie Chronicles


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The guy does make some good points.  However, I would not want to live in 5,000 baht apartments and would not want to stay in $15 hotel rooms.  Thats just me.  Also, I dont cook so thats an issue BUT food is pretty cheap all over Thailand ESPECIALLY if you eat local stuff.  

I dont think I am breaking new ground here.  Prices have crept up though. Is a beer still only 125 in nightclubs/discos??  I think its more than that really. These are places I dont and wouldnt frequent though but thats just me.

If I had to scrimp and save to be able to live there, I wouldnt do it.  I have been syaing this for years-if you can its best to keep on foot in each places i.e. one in Thailand and one in Farangland. I know its much easier said than done.  Its taken me years but I am on the verge of doing it......

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The real expense in Thailand now is propelled by the exchange rate, more than anything else. I have been going there for 13 years now and I really don't think prices have risen too much in that time, whether it be for beer, accommodation, p4p or food. The problem is, when I first went it was 72.50 baht to the £sterling, last week this was down to 40.15

Putting that into perspective, if you go into a bar, buy 2 beers, and say 1 ladydrink, outside of happy hours, your bill would likely be around 360 baht, Add in a standard tip, and suddenly it is £10 for a few beers, which is really more than we pay at home. I reckon the ladydrinks are being avoided now in many bars as a result of this, because it is generally 160THB (£4) at most bars for a lady drink

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There are some decent apartments on the east side of Third Road for around 5k. A little out of the way. But with P4P sois now extending to 3rd Road not that far.

I think the Europeans are getting hammered by the exchange rate. However the dollar has dropped 4% since I got here two months ago. Still not as bad as EU but one is never happy to see this. Since I almost never watch/read any news while here I have no idea what is going on with the US dollar.

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20 hours ago, ciobha said:

The real expense in Thailand now is propelled by the exchange rate

 

5 hours ago, xyzzy said:

I think the Europeans are getting hammered by the exchange rate

Its really really bad. Worst in 12 years.  Maybe you won't get hurt so bad on a 2-week holiday, but on a long stay, its ridiculous right now.

Brexit is the main problem, thank you very much. Also , the thai baht is way too strong.

Re: drink prices. You can have a 1/2 litre draft beer,5.2% alcohol for around 120 THB in bars or restaurants here. A bottle of Heineken or Carlsberg about the same.

I never thought drink prices in Thailand would be same as one of the most expensive countries in the west that is Scandinavia.

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On 1/6/2019 at 1:35 PM, ArchieBunker said:

 

I dont think I am breaking new ground here.  Prices have crept up though. Is a beer still only 125 in nightclubs/discos??  I think its more than that really. 

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The guy in the video is underestimating prices to prove a point, Insomnia, Marine, Candyshop etc are all 175 baht for a bottle of beer and have been for a few years.

With a current exchange rate of 40 baht to a pound sterling that's more expensive than at home, plus I don't get pestered for a tip here  

The exchange rate seemed to fluctuate between 50-60 baht to the pound for years then evened out in the low 50's which most people could live with , however after the Brexit vote it dropped overnight by 20% to the low 40's , add that to a recession , constant austerity and insecurity for many in Europe and thats why we don't see many European tourists in Thailand anymore  

 

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I have been watching his vids for a little while now and noticed that all the cheap places to rent that he vlogs about are all quite out of the way and geared  for people with a motorbike like himself as he says that he his only true cost extravagance, so transportation costs from moto taxis will soon add up for those without, unless you  choose to travel all the way to Thailand and  live a hermit existence 

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/7/2019 at 3:49 AM, ciobha said:

The real expense in Thailand now is propelled by the exchange rate, more than anything else. I have been going there for 13 years now and I really don't think prices have risen too much in that time, whether it be for beer, accommodation, p4p or food. The problem is, when I first went it was 72.50 baht to the £sterling, last week this was down to 40.15

Putting that into perspective, if you go into a bar, buy 2 beers, and say 1 ladydrink, outside of happy hours, your bill would likely be around 360 baht, Add in a standard tip, and suddenly it is £10 for a few beers, which is really more than we pay at home. I reckon the ladydrinks are being avoided now in many bars as a result of this, because it is generally 160THB (£4) at most bars for a lady drink

I agree with that.  The Pound was absurdly overvalued late 90s and up to the 2008 financial crash.   If you go back to older board posts or to sites like StickmanBangkok from the early 00s and actually  read people then  writing about costs many prices have not moved as much as you would have thought.  People also forget that the late 90s and early 00s were unusually cheap because of a very favourable exchange rate after the 1997 economic crisis.  I first visited Thailand in the early 90s and the exchange rate was 50B or so and I remember that beer was expensive then too if you were on a modest budget although accommodation at the beach was much cheaper than now.   The early 00s were also fantastically cheap in places like South Africa and Argentina for the same reason.  Even Australia was -  I remember when I got AUD$3 to the Pound.  I could live like a king.  There were stories in the Australian media about British backpackers renting out luxury houses in posh parts of Sydney and living it up.  Unimaginable now.  The strong Pound was disguising the real underlying weaknesses of the UK economy and giving people a false sense of wealth especially when they travelled abroad.   Having said all that the Baht seems to be overvalued to me so hopefully it will weaken somewhat. 

 

 

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When you look at the cost of a single drink, lady-drink, or barfine the change is negligible. But when added-up over time it is very significant. Exchange rates make a tremendous difference. When I first got my retirement visa 5 years ago the requirements for the subsequent extension were B65k per month, or B800k deposited into a Thai bank account (or combination).

Back in 2014 @ B55 to £1 .. B800k would have cost just over £14,500 and B65k would have cost 1,200.

Now, 5 years later, in 2019 @ B40 to £1 .. the same B800k will cost £20,000 and B65k  will cost £1,600. Those are significant increases.

With recent announcements that proof of funds for retirement extensions will be mandatory from 1st March 2019 will certainly put the wind up many expats who previously used other methods to get around the requirement. For many, with Thai families and homes, children etc., they will simply not have either the pension or foreign income to meet the demands, or an available lump sum to put into a Thai bank which, incidentally, must not drop below B400k at any time, plus the B800k seasoning period has been increased to 5 months.

Times are getting tougher in the land of smiles.

 

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