It depends on the lifestyle that you want. For me, I live a decent life but hardly HiSo, nice condo, eat whatever I feel like and shop when I feel like it at markets and mid range places- not Louis Vuitton etc lol. I spend on average around 35,000 a month. Work pays a big chunk of my housing and all visa costs. The rest of the salary is for pension and travel. I don't own a house or car and don't want to be tied down to stuff like that either.
Thailand still has a pretty welcoming visa system once you work out the paperwork etc. I guess that the harsh reality of the matter is just because you want to live in a country doesn't automatically mean you can. I'd love to live in the USA and chill up in Alaksa but I don't meet the visa requirements. It is what it is.