How much money do I need to retire comfortably in Thailand?

It all depends on what kind of lifestyle you want and where you live. I'm from the US and my Thai wife lived in the US for 40 years. We moved to Chiang Mai where she has relatives primarily for better medical.care for my wife. Secondarily for the tax advantage though that alone would not have compelled us to leave the Florida beachfront. We built a house out of town so we rarely eat out. We don't travel.(I was on the road half my life so no interest). We have no "toys" and no debt. We spend about $100k a year trying to live as we used to though in Chiang Mai you just can't get "stuff" like you can in Bangkok. But saving about $60k a year in US tax from the 1996 Thai/US treaty is almost like the US pays us to live here (I have the LTR-P visa which exempts all retirement income brought into Thailand from Thai tax). On the other hand if you live like the average Thai outside Bangkok or Phuket you can get by really cheap. Same everywhere. My 4500 sq ft house in TN was worth a third of my 1000 sq ft beach condo in FL.

In Bangkok, Bang Na, two of us can live on about 20,000 THB a month. No rent, we own our home.

It is like 350 THB a day, each, includes 2 beers from 7-11 a day.

The food (for my wife) is from from a street market. No cooking at home. The kitchen is good for not more than frying eggs.

For 20+ years, I have been eating what my Thai wife cooks for us, Thai food in Japan.

In Thai, I can not even watch them eating pork blood soup or chicken butts.

200k USD in Thailand after retirement is only for locals. not foreigners. foreigners need much more than this 200K USD.

Look at the 4 percent rule.

With 200k you’d have $665 to live per month. Which is liveable maybe, but a very minimal lifestyle.

I spend 60k THB a month in BKK. So I can live approximately 1400 months or 116 years without worrying 😉😉

No one can put a figure on it for an individual, it depends on what sort of lifestyle they want to live and the type of accommodation they want to live in. It’s been covered many times on YouTube.

Why do those those lists only ever show lump sums? Fixed monthly income amounts are just as accurate.

Check all cities here at numbeo.com where you can compare between Thailand and the rest of the world

you have 2 millions USD in cash?? And you are ready to spend it all in Thailand? if yes, you are welcomed much in Thailand! If you do not have that, please stay at where you are. Thailand does not welcome Cheap chariles regardless of your nationality.

At best 10 percent interest on 0 is us dollars but income required is roughly 2000 if done on monthly requirement. Going to fall short

R/fire

R/ExpatFire

฿200,000*32.64=฿6,528,000.00

You”ll need at least ฿600,000 a year or ฿50,000 a month

6,528,,000=130.56 months

=10.917 or 11 years

This of course will vary on expenses, lifestyle, exchange rate and many other factors

Good luck

Articles come from someone else's perspective and location chosen. Just like in the US where it costs more to live in California than it does in Kansas - there are many variables that people cannot answer without knowing a lot more.

It really depends on location you pick and the lifestyle you choose on how much you spend. I know some single guys who could easily spend triple what hubby and I spend to live. We live comfortably on around 15 K USD a year and honestly have more than what we spend (we didn't set that as our budget and could afford more - it just is what it takes to make us happy) but how we live isn't for everyone. If we lived in Bangkok we'd probably live the same lifestyle but spend around 45 K a year because they hit up the bars and choose western restaurant meals more often than not It would cost more in most of the larger cities. But cost wasn't our factor in choosing the place we wanted to live. We actually had to reduce the amount our money management firm was sending us from our pension accounts because of the tax implications in our home countries with money sitting unused and not earning the dividends it could.

We chose a small fishing village about 5 hours south of there because it is what suited us after looking at locations around Thailand we saw this place as our paradise and moved here over 3 years ago - renting a little Thai cottage on the beach - we spend very little time at the bar and when we want western food (which is maybe once a week or two) we cook at home and entertain friends maybe once every couple of weeks. We both love Thai food so eat mainly Thai which lowers the cost a lot. Our initial year we spent more - this was set up costs as we moved over with nothing but carry on luggage. Every couple of months we travel and when we do it's usually 5 star luxury hotels and a bit of shopping. Having hobbies helps - mine are getting weekly massages, exercising, photography, gardening and baking and hubby likes computer things and researching things - since our rent of 8000 baht a month include internet we are laughing. Both of us have acclimatized to the warmer temperatures so only use the air con at night We don't have a car - we rent one if we need to go further than our electric golf cart will take us and that suits the town we live in (most of the bigger towns it would not be safe because of traffic - here it is) but if we are going somewhere like Bangkok where the traffic is crazy - we hire a driver that stays while we do and takes us where we want to go and then brings us home (telling you this so you can see we don't scrimp) For us - having lived in both the US and Australia previously and at times in Tourist areas that were costly and too built up and crowded - we wanted rural away from the crowded areas and tourist havens, so the peaceful village really suited us. Neither of us are big drinkers but we occasionally go to the beach bar that's only about 50 meters down the beach path from our home - when we lived for 3 months in Hua Hin though - going to the bars cost a heck of a lot more than here so that was a bonus we found living a bit more out of the way.

You can spend as much or little as you want depending on your needs and lifestyle and what mod cons you must have - kind of like asking how long a piece of string is - it depends. How much time you spend in the bar and eating Western meals (average here for a western meal is 350 baht - where average Thai meal is around 45 baht to give you an idea of why that is a cost point. ) will impact your budget the most. If you move to a high rise in a big city with a pool - it's going to cost more than our little beach cottage. If you need more than one bedroom - the costs go up. So really - anyone telling you how much it will cost you specifically will be wrong unless they know intimately what sort of life it is you desire to live and exactly what location is going to suit you best.

My advice to people considering moving here - choose a mid-range place to initially set up and rent a long stay place (monthly rental) and travel around Thailand until you find the place that fits what your ideal lifestyle is and then find a rental (rents here are cheaper than owning and if you find a really good landlord - they will allow you to renovate to suit you like ours did) as property here does not increase in value. The only time it is wise to buy here is if you marry one of the lovely Thai women here and want to set her up for the future once you are gone. Hope that helps!

Depends on your definition of comfortable and your lifestyle. You can get a cheap apartment for $200 a month or a nice 3br pool villa for $800 a month. Buy a second hand car. Insurance is cheap. Food is reasonable. For $2000 to $3000 per month you can live quite comfortably. Location matters. Bangkok quite a bit more expensive. Some areas are very cheap but they will be a touch remote and almost 100% Thai so no expatriates

To put it simply 200k is not enough. 200k plus 60k a month pension might be enough. The big issue with Thailand is healthcare. If you are over 60yo the price of everything will be going up for Farang mug. If you sold your property back home and plan on dying in Thailand you should have at least 1 million in savings. I find Thailand a lot more expensive than where I'm from where I get dozens of benefits as a taxpayer, while in Thailand i get fuk all

Those articles are just useless clickbait.

You have to experience for yourself how much you need.

And what you need now or in 10 years can be very different again (besides inflation)

Okay. Stop. Breathe. And Ponder.

I am a widow. Moved to Chiang Mai in 2019 on a retirement visa and lived quite comfortably steps away from Nimman (not in that area but within a ten minute walk) and my income was just $1150 a month. I was just 55 years old then so no Social Security at all and not even now, believe it or not. I stayed for a year until Covid hit and I realized I wanted to maximize my 401K and pull the trigger on Social Security before returning.

Here's what I learned:

Smoking and drinking cost money. Maybe not as much in Thailand as elsewhere but it's an expense. I didn't have to worry about that. Vices cut into your fun money. Vices might include "the ladies" -- don't underestimate that. Listen to the tales of woe and keep this in mind.

As for housing, your choice. Chiang Mai is cheaper than Bangkok. But you can choose where and how you live. House versus Condo and size/location matters.

Food. Same thing. I love Asian food, Thai food, but after a while ....one day you suddenly crave something more. Reality.

Moving in costs money. Setting up your place, obviously. Aside from that, being from the west and a pricey location, you see something costs just 500 baht and you are IMPRESSED. Until a few months later you realize that "hey, that shoulda run just 250 baht! what the hell!" It takes a few months to learn a bargain from a scam. Plan ahead and budget for "tourist pricing" and expectations in months one through four.

Other than that, you learn as you go! Enjoy the journey!

How long is a piece of string? I’m retiring to Thailand later this year. Already have a house there so no rental, and will make 40-45k a month from renting a second Thai property. On top of that I’ve got 4m baht in Thailand and pensions / investments in Uk worth £1m. And I’ll get a state pension in 2031 likely worth close to 50,000 baht a month.

I plan to live on c150,000 -180,000 baht a month.

The article was B/S didn't consider pension and social security payment and it was coming from $80,000 a year lifestyle, you can live comfortably in th U.S. on $50 K a year as couple, everage SS payment is $30K a year so you would need just $20K more approximately $400K in investments not $2 million, for Thailand $2,000 USD single and $3,000 for couple a month would be happy medium !!!

Those numbers seems to not include a gambling budget!

That is a excellent contribution. Thankyou for the share.

42… the answer to the ultimate question…or….how long is a piece of string? Where in Thailand, what do you do? Drink , drugs and girls or walking, dogs, flowers and fishing? I can give you my monthy costs in the north…the rest is up to you. A beer from the shop is 45 baht or 1,20€. More than Germany. About 2,50€ in the Udon bars. Down on the beach…way more. In the north I take. 30 family restaurant for food, beer and Whiskey for 200€. On the beach its over 600€

Costs to live in Udonthani

( single man)

Rent: 8.000 - 25.000 THB can get a room for 5.000!

Utilities: 2.000 - 3.500 THB

Food: 9.000 - 15.000 THB ( can live for 200 THB a day)

Health Insurance: 5.000 - 15.000 THB

Transportation: 1.000 - 2.000THB

Alcohol: 3.000 - 9.000 THB

Miscellaneous: 3.000 - 9.000 THB

So, in total, you might be looking at around 31.000 - 78.500 THB per month for a comfortable lifestyle. Less than 28.000 if you are frugal

Me, we own a house and car and mo bikes

Rent: none THB

House Insurance: 1.500 THB

Land Tax: 1.500 THB

Utilities: 2.000 - 3.500 THB ( Solar panels)

Food: 25.000 THB ( family of )

Health Insurance: 7.000 THB

Transportation: 5.000 THB ( truck and 3 x Mobikes)

Alcohol: included in food THB

Miscellaneous: 5.000 THB

Save: 8.000 THB ( for internal flights etc)

Total 55.000-57.000 THB which is my pension after tax.

Holidays and/or flights home, come partly from my savings.

On Samui, a motor cycle license cost about 60€ to get legally. Mine cost 2,05€… read that again, in Nong Han.

Check out the cities that interest you at numbeo com for cost of living details. Some cities are out of date but still pretty useful