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$100 in Chiang Mai is possible for nothing fancy, but only if you speak thai. A fresh of the boat foreigner will pay $250 rock bottom without thai skills for a

$100 in Chiang Mai is possible for nothing fancy, but only if you speak thai. A fresh of the boat foreigner will pay $250 rock bottom without thai skills for a very basic apartment. Visa costs are at least $50 a month and you'll also need a scooter or deal with pickup taxis, which will add about $80-120 to the expenses unless you enjoy walking or cycling through the heat on roads not made for either of that. Tokyo is much better value imo, as central parts are easily walkable and the yen is really cheap, so the costs work out roughly the same as in Thailand with the added benefit of living in a first world country. A room in a shared apartment in central Tokyo can easily be had for 50k yen which is about $400 right now. $600 will get you an unfurnished apartment in Ikeburo or so.

seanmcdirmid 12y ago
Japan is much more strict than Thailand on immigration laws, be careful about that. They also have no problem with throwing foreigners into jail, whereas Thailand will usually just deport you for visa violations. Japanese companies also send young Japanese kids to work in Bangkok call centers, since they can pay them less there (the cost of living is lower? They would never dream of having non-Japanese staff the call center, BTW).
- unimportant 12y ago
  If you're from western Europe you can easily get a 1 year working holiday visa and go from there. Staying in Thailand beyond 1 year these days legally is also difficult, so it works out the same. I have never heard about the call center thing and doubt it, but there are plenty of japanese expats in Bangkok that arguably get a lot more work done than 2-3 thais would do at an overall equal cost. Thailand is really not much cheaper than Japan these days for a foreigner who doesn't speak the language, but it remains a developing country.
  - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
    > I have never heard about the call center thing and doubt it Well: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/business/global/22outsource.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/business/global/22outsourc... Bangkok is quite a bit cheaper than Tokyo. And there is a huge Japanese expat population as a result. > Thailand is really not much cheaper than Japan these days for a foreigner who doesn't speak the language, but it remains a developing country. I would agree that Thailand is not as cheap as people think it is, but looking at what my friends in Japan pay (not even in Tokyo!), I doubt cost of living in Japan is comparable to cost of living in Thailand.
    - unimportant 12y ago
      Everything in that article is dated 2008, but even then the minimum salary requirements for japanese people were 35k baht to get a work permit. All the japanese expats I've gotten to know in Bangkok last year were well paid and no japanese person would normally work for that kind of money. 30k baht is what a company would get away with for a thai person fluent in japanese doing customer support. Normal office worker salaries in Bangkok are about 20-25k baht without any language skills and they live hand to mouth on that money.
      - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
        Perhaps, but I find Bangkok incredibly cheap compared to say Beijing; especially the rents, but even cars are cheaper there. Wouldn't mind living there someday if I could get a good job.

seanmcdirmid 12y ago

Japan is much more strict than Thailand on immigration laws, be careful about that. They also have no problem with throwing foreigners into jail, whereas Thailand will usually just deport you for visa violations. Japanese companies also send young Japanese kids to work in Bangkok call centers, since they can pay them less there (the cost of living is lower? They would never dream of having non-Japanese staff the call center, BTW).

unimportant 12y ago
If you're from western Europe you can easily get a 1 year working holiday visa and go from there. Staying in Thailand beyond 1 year these days legally is also difficult, so it works out the same. I have never heard about the call center thing and doubt it, but there are plenty of japanese expats in Bangkok that arguably get a lot more work done than 2-3 thais would do at an overall equal cost. Thailand is really not much cheaper than Japan these days for a foreigner who doesn't speak the language, but it remains a developing country.
- seanmcdirmid 12y ago
  > I have never heard about the call center thing and doubt it Well: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/business/global/22outsource.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/business/global/22outsourc... Bangkok is quite a bit cheaper than Tokyo. And there is a huge Japanese expat population as a result. > Thailand is really not much cheaper than Japan these days for a foreigner who doesn't speak the language, but it remains a developing country. I would agree that Thailand is not as cheap as people think it is, but looking at what my friends in Japan pay (not even in Tokyo!), I doubt cost of living in Japan is comparable to cost of living in Thailand.
  - unimportant 12y ago
    Everything in that article is dated 2008, but even then the minimum salary requirements for japanese people were 35k baht to get a work permit. All the japanese expats I've gotten to know in Bangkok last year were well paid and no japanese person would normally work for that kind of money. 30k baht is what a company would get away with for a thai person fluent in japanese doing customer support. Normal office worker salaries in Bangkok are about 20-25k baht without any language skills and they live hand to mouth on that money.
    - seanmcdirmid 12y ago
      Perhaps, but I find Bangkok incredibly cheap compared to say Beijing; especially the rents, but even cars are cheaper there. Wouldn't mind living there someday if I could get a good job.