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Re: apartments, that's simply not true. A 1-br apartments in Bangkok is not $1300 - 2000 per month. You might be paying foreigner/expat prices and getting heavi

Re: apartments, that's simply not true. A 1-br apartments in Bangkok is not $1300 - 2000 per month. You might be paying foreigner/expat prices and getting heavily scammed. I found a 1-br apartment 5 mins away from the BTS (public transport) for $300-$500. That's with a pool. And not uncommon. Same with the food, you might have been paying foreigner prices there too. I'd pay $7 for a table full of sushi for one person. And that would be a very very luxurious place. I' always check the prices before entering a restaurant, like any place in the world really. Many foreigners simply go to the non-local places in tourist traps and end up paying too much. Bangkok doesn't help as it's already expensive relative to the rest of the country. Just like any big metropolitan city really. That's why I wrote, stay out of Bangkok. Yet even then if you want, you can live cheaply in Bangkok too if you're smart about it. Thai do it on $500/m in Bangkok. Re: western food, I think it's obvious that if you're looking for Western products, you're going to pay more than in the West. You're not in the West after all! It's a bit spoiled to expect Western food to be the same price as in your home country. However, if you can assimilate, live, eat and drink like a local, you can live very cheap. That's why I stayed in Chiang Mai. It has low rent, low cost of living, abundant nature and countless of coffee places to work from. Re: sex workers, I don't know if you're in my age group (I am 27) so YMMV, but if you go clubbing in Bangkok or Chiang Mai, you will run into prostitutes. Everywhere.

seanmcdirmid 13y ago
Thai grocery stores are more expensive than (or at least comparable) the states even for raw fruits and vegetables, or rice! And this is at bangkok supermarkets aimed at locals, not even the fancy ones. Americans just don't realize how food they have it. The problem is that Thai taxes are high and there are price supports for farmers so their living standards can improve; they also aren't as mechanized than in the states.
- gotrecruit 13y ago
  i believe the reason why thai supermarkets are so expensive is because the erm.. "real" thais buy their stuff from the street wet markets, rather than air-conditioned supermarkets. places like Tops are meant for expats, tourists, rich locals, etc.
  - pieterhg 13y ago
    Exactly. I'd pay 20 baht (USD 0.60 or EUR 0.40) for 4 bananas from a street vendor or market. I'd pay 10x that in the super market. Super markets here are for the high society, tourists and expats. It's not going to be cheap if you don't assimilate and start living like a local.
    - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
      I don't think the wet markets pay taxes or are subject to much gov interference. A lot of Thais buy groceries at Tescos, its not just a "foreigner" thing. You also can't buy everything in a farmer's market, and at any rate, you aren't quite sure what you are getting. Living in china, we are more worried about safe food than cheap food, not sure if Thailand has similar problems. 便宜没好货，好货不便宜 as they say.

seanmcdirmid 13y ago

Thai grocery stores are more expensive than (or at least comparable) the states even for raw fruits and vegetables, or rice! And this is at bangkok supermarkets aimed at locals, not even the fancy ones. Americans just don't realize how food they have it. The problem is that Thai taxes are high and there are price supports for farmers so their living standards can improve; they also aren't as mechanized than in the states.

gotrecruit 13y ago
i believe the reason why thai supermarkets are so expensive is because the erm.. "real" thais buy their stuff from the street wet markets, rather than air-conditioned supermarkets. places like Tops are meant for expats, tourists, rich locals, etc.
- pieterhg 13y ago
  Exactly. I'd pay 20 baht (USD 0.60 or EUR 0.40) for 4 bananas from a street vendor or market. I'd pay 10x that in the super market. Super markets here are for the high society, tourists and expats. It's not going to be cheap if you don't assimilate and start living like a local.
  - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
    I don't think the wet markets pay taxes or are subject to much gov interference. A lot of Thais buy groceries at Tescos, its not just a "foreigner" thing. You also can't buy everything in a farmer's market, and at any rate, you aren't quite sure what you are getting. Living in china, we are more worried about safe food than cheap food, not sure if Thailand has similar problems. 便宜没好货，好货不便宜 as they say.