Post: #51

(12-10-2014 02:21 PM)w00t Wrote:  I stay right off nimman which is probably one of the most expensive areas

nice condo with couch, flatscreen tv, a soft(!!!) matress and outdoor sink on balcony with view to doi suthep

with cleaning service 4x a month its 7200 baht per month

you can get a lot cheaper too. there are nice places for 4500 baht with pool.

if you want it real cheap I met a girl from mae rim nursing school who pays 6k for her dorm room... per year!

Is this month to month or are you on a lease?

Nimman is probably the best area if you are going to be staying long term and working online. There is a co-working space called Guru's Box or something on Nimman that looked like a pretty cool place to hang out and get some work done.

Post: #52

thats the month to month price.

you probably mean punspace its pretty much around the corner. I prefer to work from home though, less distractions and so far I havent been impressed with the "digital nomad" crowd here... its also pretty pricey at 4k baht per month or sth like that.

Post: #53

(12-10-2014 02:49 PM)w00t Wrote:  thats the month to month price.

you probably mean punspace its pretty much around the corner. I prefer to work from home though, less distractions and so far I havent been impressed with the "digital nomad" crowd here... its also pretty pricey at 4k baht per month or sth like that.

Does your place have wifi included?

Post: #54

(12-10-2014 01:29 PM)w00t Wrote:  I tracked all my expense in chiang mai last month and spent 34k baht

that included everything... rent, gym, phone, food, buying some clothes, spending some money on biz crap and blowing way too much on booze and dates

for 30-40k you can live pretty well here. bike is gonna be about 3k and you need about 1k a month for visa bullshit.

you could probably live on 20k but youd be bored to tears

Sounds great.

How do you handle the visa situation though?

WIA

Post: #55

(12-10-2014 02:21 PM)w00t Wrote:  I stay right off nimman which is probably one of the most expensive areas

nice condo with couch, flatscreen tv, a soft(!!!) matress and outdoor sink on balcony with view to doi suthep

with cleaning service 4x a month its 7200 baht per month

you can get a lot cheaper too. there are nice places for 4500 baht with pool.

if you want it real cheap I met a girl from mae rim nursing school who pays 6k for her dorm room... per year!

Cleaning service, get a girl from TF to do that for free

I recently made a post on how to live in Bangkok for under $770 a month if anyone cares here, and what it really gets and what you cannot do.

Post: #56

(10-08-2014 05:17 AM)Afarang Wrote:  Buy it myself from Tesco/Tops. Both have pre packed sources such as red/yellow/green curries, masamans etc. I usually buy that, about 500g of chicken for 50 baht and then veggies, and coconut milk. Follow the instructions and there you have it. Or you could buy the stuff and get a girl to cook it.

A few of the pre made sources have an ingredient list in english, and mentions they do not contain any MSG, additives etc. I always pick them.

Off the top of my head this would be the pricing for a home made meal.

500g of chicken fillet = 50 baht (65-70 baht for breast)
packet of source = 17 baht
veggies = 10-30 baht
coconut milk = 23 baht
Rice = 3 baht per meal

The list above would get me 4-5 meals, which works out around 25baht per meal. I do add salt and stuff so you could add that into the costs, but still would not go over 30baht meal.

hey man can you talk a little bit about your setup and how much time you spend on cooking, maybe some recipes? also where are those pre packed sauces? I couldnt find them at tops

I feel like shit lately, completely lethargic, have a hard time getting anything done and tired all the time. guess Ill have to start cooking myself but I HATE cooking and just want to do it as easy and quickly as possible. any tips would be highly appreciated.

also why are there almost no vegetables in any of the meals you can eat here wtf?? seriously I would rather pay a little bit more and eat some high quality food at a decent restaurant each day but the only place that does organic, MSG-free food here is some vegetarian joint and I need my meat! back home I would just get frozen foods with a bunch of veggies, some meat and free of any chemicals but havent really seen anything like that here.

a buddy of mine in the philippines just hires a cook but I guess thats not really an option here in thailand...

WIA Wrote:Sounds great.

How do you handle the visa situation though?

WIA

Im on TR Visa right now and its a pain in the ass. But I heard the ED visa is only good for 6 months now so its not really an option anymore. Anyone can confirm this?ß

ManAbout Wrote:Does your place have wifi included?

Yeah wifi and everything included except utility bill, which should only be a couple of hundred baht.

Post: #57

double post

Post: #58

(12-11-2014 02:35 AM)w00t Wrote:  hey man can you talk a little bit about your setup and how much time you spend on cooking, maybe some recipes? also where are those pre packed sauces? I couldnt find them at tops

I feel like shit lately, completely lethargic, have a hard time getting anything done and tired all the time. guess Ill have to start cooking myself but I HATE cooking and just want to do it as easy and quickly as possible. any tips would be highly appreciated.

also why are there almost no vegetables in any of the meals you can eat here wtf?? seriously I would rather pay a little bit more and eat some high quality food at a decent restaurant each day but the only place that does organic, MSG-free food here is some vegetarian joint and I need my meat! back home I would just get frozen foods with a bunch of veggies, some meat and free of any chemicals but havent really seen anything like that here.

a buddy of mine in the philippines just hires a cook but I guess thats not really an option here in thailand...

I eat around 2-3 pieces of fruit a day and I should of mentioned all my meals have veg, didn't post that in my list. For example, if I eat a green curry, I'll have egg plant and the other stuff that comes with it. Tom Yam, mushrooms, tomatoes etc.

Go on a date with a girl,then after take her to Tops and let her show you what you need and then buy it. Make her cook and watch her. Good tips it to buy 1kg of chicken and get her to cook it for a week for you.

The pre packed sauces will be near the coconut milk, look for the ones that have "NO MSG" written on the front.

Post: #59

cheers mate I meant the food at restaurants theres almost no veggies you mentioned you cook a lot of vegs too so I wasnt talking about you.

you really put those girls to work, dont you?

Post: #60

(12-10-2014 10:38 PM)Afarang Wrote:  

(12-10-2014 02:21 PM)w00t Wrote:  I stay right off nimman which is probably one of the most expensive areas

nice condo with couch, flatscreen tv, a soft(!!!) matress and outdoor sink on balcony with view to doi suthep

with cleaning service 4x a month its 7200 baht per month

you can get a lot cheaper too. there are nice places for 4500 baht with pool.

if you want it real cheap I met a girl from mae rim nursing school who pays 6k for her dorm room... per year!

Cleaning service, get a girl from TF to do that for free

I recently made a post on how to live in Bangkok for under $770 a month if anyone cares here, and what it really gets and what you cannot do.

Hey afarang, just checked out your post. Good shit man, thanks. What are some good websites to look for housing in either Bangkok or Chiang Mai? I think it was Rio Nomad who posted up another link but it seemed to only work for Chiang Mai, not Bangkok.

Thanks

Post: #61

May as well add my breakdown for Bangkok

Salary: 57,000 Baht (there's a severance so this is what it works out as per month)

Condo: 11,000 Baht (Near BTS On Nut) (17th floor, 30sqm, pool, restaurants, laundry etc.)
Transport: ~3,000 Baht (Would be half if I didn't take a taxi to work in the morning but I need the damn aircon if I'm in a shirt & tie)
Food: ~9000 Baht
Internet+Phone: 1300 Baht a month
Electricity: 1200 Baht a month (Have aircon on for sleeping)
Water: About 100 Baht lol

Leftover: ~30,000 Baht. Conservative leftover ~25,000 Baht

So that's what's left for going out/saving/getting massages/etc. 15,000 is probably the minimum you would want for that as you wanna live here to enjoy yourself.

You can get a decent room with a pool for like 9,000 Baht not out in the sticks. You can also get decent rooms for 7,000 Baht a month but they won't have a pool.

So, with that said, I think you need 40,000 a month in Bangkok. 50,000 and you're living comfortably.

30,000 is fine if you're young though and are used to 'student spending'. (I'm talking like 19/20). If I were in Bangkok at 19 on that amount it would be cool compared to the UK.

And fucksong, check out http://www.prakard.com/.

Has the Thai prices (I think it was libertad who supplied this link originally)

Post: #62

(12-11-2014 02:35 AM)w00t Wrote:  also why are there almost no vegetables in any of the meals you can eat here wtf?? seriously I would rather pay a little bit more and eat some high quality food at a decent restaurant each day but the only place that does organic, MSG-free food here is some vegetarian joint and I need my meat!

There's a place right on Nimman that does build your own salad entrees. You can add meat, nuts, cheese etc. what ever you want to it.

Near the canal, Dada Kafe. They have all kinds of juices, beets, carrots, ginger, celery etc. I think it's 60 Baht for a big glass. They also do a pretty decent breakfast, omelette with spinach and avocado etc.

Also in Thai restaurants, the vegetables are ordered separately. If you are getting a green curry for example, get a plate of Morning Glory with it. It's very nutritious and high in various vitamins etc.

Post: #63

FWIW, I'm in Hanoi right now and there's wifi all over the place (most hotels and cafes) and my US mobile has decent 3G when needed (T-Mobile). This place is less fast paced than Saigon and not as developed but probably a lot more hectic than Da Nang.

Prices are still reasonable on food and beer, but if you're a careless tourist you can get gyped. One frustrating thing is the prevalence of credit card scammers (skimming is common) so beware - it's still mostly a cash economy.

Lots of cuties here too. Better than Thailand, IMOHO.

BTW I ate something just like what's in the picture above last night - veggies are plentiful and fresh, no problem.

Post: #64

Interesting site.

The EE data seems all over the place. Prague ($1133 per month?) is cheaper than many Thai cities and also Belgrade & Sofia ???

Kiev is a ton cheaper now and you could probably live there for under the quoted $1597 a month if you got a good monthly rental deal (although it's cold as hell now).

Post: #65

(12-11-2014 09:04 AM)LeightonBlackstock Wrote:  May as well add my breakdown for Bangkok

Salary: 57,000 Baht (there's a severance so this is what it works out as per month)

Condo: 11,000 Baht (Near BTS On Nut) (17th floor, 30sqm, pool, restaurants, laundry etc.)
Transport: ~3,000 Baht (Would be half if I didn't take a taxi to work in the morning but I need the damn aircon if I'm in a shirt & tie)
Food: ~9000 Baht
Internet+Phone: 1300 Baht a month
Electricity: 1200 Baht a month (Have aircon on for sleeping)
Water: About 100 Baht lol

Leftover: ~30,000 Baht. Conservative leftover ~25,000 Baht

So that's what's left for going out/saving/getting massages/etc. 15,000 is probably the minimum you would want for that as you wanna live here to enjoy yourself.

You can get a decent room with a pool for like 9,000 Baht not out in the sticks. You can also get decent rooms for 7,000 Baht a month but they won't have a pool.

So, with that said, I think you need 40,000 a month in Bangkok. 50,000 and you're living comfortably.

30,000 is fine if you're young though and are used to 'student spending'. (I'm talking like 19/20). If I were in Bangkok at 19 on that amount it would be cool compared to the UK.

And fucksong, check out http://www.prakard.com/.

Has the Thai prices (I think it was libertad who supplied this link originally)

For rent, food etc, this is spot on and similar for my setup near Victory Monument in Bangkok.

I spend aprox 25-35k baht a month for play, the occasional massage, and going out on average 3 times a week. This could be tons more $ depending on how upscale you go. Outside of the occasional baller night , I usually hit happy hours and favorite local joints with friends, very much like back home.


Other costs would include :

1) Visa Runs out of country and back.
2) Trips back home (Canada 2-3 times a yr) and any local or Asia fun trips.

This adds another 12-16,000 baht a month averaged over the year.

Re Chiang Mai: I stayed in CM two years back and for 40,000 baht a month you could enjoy a similar lifestyle.

Post: #66

I spent 34.898 baht last month

heres the breakdown



my apartment:





and a random picture of a thai lizard

Post: #67

best thing IMO about chiang mai is the great value in real estate, especially if you stay longterm

for 6000 you can stay in a CMU dorm room (need student ID) with pool, flat screen TV and couch





9500 gets you a fully furnished 1BR bachelor pad close to nightclubs (6 months lease)

Post: #68

Thanks for the useful info woot. I'm sure it will come in handy for guys looking to stay in CM. How would one acquire a student ID? Would that involve enrolling in a local university or is it more lax than that?

Post: #69

Chiang Mai is wonderful! I've lived here 2 months now.

I spend about $1500/month. I live inside the moat. I rent a little studio in a normal apt. building in a residential area. $320/month.

I eat every meal out, and spend about $15/day, which is 3-4 Thai meals, smoothies, RedBull, and shared taxis.

I joined a gym & a pool for $38/month.

I have a co-working space for $70/month.

I spent $160 out partying.

I spent $248 on Thai massage (2x/week), acupuncture (1x/week), and misc health & wellness stuff.

The rest is recurring monthly fees, business expenses, and misc stuff.

You could do it for $1000/month easy. $690/month is dirty hippy style, but doable.

Post: #70

(12-11-2014 02:35 AM)w00t Wrote:  But I heard the ED visa is only good for 6 months now so its not really an option anymore. Anyone can confirm this?ß

Confirmed.

You're now also required to take a test at the ministry of education after 6 months to show them that you know basic Thai.

And if you're on your second or third ED visa (like me), you'd better know some reading and writing (I don't know jack shit).

If you run an online business, you probably don't have time for this bullcrap.

I know I don't. So it's back to tourist visas for me.

So far it seems like Savannakhet in Laos is the most lenient when it comes to giving out visas of all kinds.

Rio was just there, I was just there too.

It's a great, sleepy little town on the Mekong river. Perfect to get some respite and nepenthe, sipping beer lao, scarfing paté baguettes and watching the hazy sunset over the water.

****

My Take on Phuket



Like a lot of the posters have been saying, the nomadlist figures should be more conservative. And of course they don't factor in your bankroll, your lifestyle, your hobbies, etc.

$995/month in Phuket is fine...

...if you want to live like a bum and eat noodles till they're coming out of your eyeballs.

My personal napkin math came out to:

Serviced Apartment = 13,500 baht/month (high season; 10k in low season)
Food = 30k baht/month (I eat a shit ton of food)
BJJ Training/Gym = 10k/month
Incidentals = 10k/month+ (supplements, hospital visits, traffic tickets, other bullshit)

So that's in the $2000/month range, which is double nomadlist's entry.

And I live a fairly spartan lifestyle. Just wake up, train, eat, work, go to the beach, work some more, eat again, go to sleep and do it all over again.

I really don't go out to party, I don't like to drink much, and I get my pussy via daygame on the beach and online game.

I have to say that the quality in Phuket is shit and the ratios of men to women are in the women's favor.

The logistics are also a nightmare. Phuket's a big ass island. So unless a chick lives in your part of the island, or the next one over, you'll be zipping all over the fucking place on your motorbike to meet these girls.

But all things considered, Phuket really doesn't really get enough recognition as an amazing place for digital nomads.

The air is way cleaner than either Chiang Mai or Bangkok. (unless you're in town or in rush hour motorbike clusterfuck traffic).

WiFi is decent.

Warm all year round.

Beaches and islands.

Some of the best BJJ/MMA and muay thai gyms in Southeast Asia if you like to train.

There are 3 modern, international hospitals and a ton of clinics to do blood tests, piss tests, shit tests and any other kind of diagnostic or outpatient procedure you want done, at quite reasonable prices.

No need for hour-long commutes in sardine-packed skytrains. Just zip over to where you want to go on a motorbike.

Soi Taied

This part of Phuket deserves special mention.

Soi Taied is a street (soi = thai word for street) located in Chalong, Phuket.

It's basically a short street that contains Phuket Top Team MMA gym, Tiger Muay Thai, dragon muay thai, Unit 27 crossfit/S&C, Titan Fitness, and a bunch of other healthy shmealthy stores and restaurants that cater to fighters.

If you like fighting or working out, even on a casual level, there's never any real need to leave this street. Everything is taken care of for you including laundry, food on delivery, etc.

The only real thing missing here is a good concentration of girls. Specifically Thai girls. There are a few Western girls dropping in to train but I don't really even bother with them anymore.

For local poontang you either have to go to Laguna (a club) or Patong, but then there are a million working girls there. Or you need to keep your eyes peeled and take opportunities as they come with cashiers, waitresses, store clerks, girls on the beach, etc.

Online game here is kind of stacked against you so it forces your horny ass to get out there and hunt. Which I like.

I'd love to see more of a digital nomad community in Phuket but so far there's only a few dozen of us.

Post: #71

BTW @w00t

You said you feel shitty and lethargic. Two easy fixes for you if you haven't sorted them already:

1. Get your Vitamin D levels sorted.

If you're not taking Vitamin D or getting 2 hours of sunshine every day, you're definitely insufficient (not to be confused with deficient).

This is the brand I take:

http://www.iherb.com/Michael-s-Naturopat...=null&ic=9

Takes 2-3 weeks to arrive but lasts for months.

D3 levels have a surprising effect on mood, focus, energy, everything really.

2. Work standing.

Sucks at first, then you wonder how you ever spent all that time sitting.

Makes all the difference in the world.

Here's my setup:




The stand is called a Roost Stand.

The keyboard is a Logitech K811.

The mouse is a Logitech Anywhere (or something like that) wireless mouse.

3 of the 4 best purchases I made last year (#4 being a yoga mat for my room).

Be well.

Post: #72

Vince that sucks with the ED Visa I was gonna go for one after my TR one runs out... the border runs are a fucking pain in the ass I just spent 9 hours on a bus-ride to nowhere last week and I never wanna do it again. You could fly in and out but its still a hassle, takes out alot of time and is way more expensive! I was actually thinking about getting an ED Visa and taking thai classes but for 6 months its really not worth it anymore (Im guessing the price stays the same in pure thai fashion).

honestly I love this country but the visa bullshit could be a dealbreaker for me longterm. I dont mind paying them to stay in the glorious kingdom but putting up with all this nonsense and having to waste so much of my precious time really makes zero sense to me.

cheers for the tips mate Im on 5k IU Vitamin D right now as I feel a cold creeping up and have tried standing desks before but found standing all day was really hard on my legs.

I think its really the food its gotten a bit better since I always ask for no MSG/sugar/ice but eventually Ill just have to cave in and start cooking myself. which sucks as Im lazy and hate to cook. Ive gained some weight too which is weird since I dont eat much only 3 meals a day. my buddy in the philiippines just hires a chef fulltime to take care of all his food for a couple of hundred bucks a month... healthy food 24/7 and zero effort, its a great idea but not really an option in thailand on my budget.

Are you in phuket right now Vince? Im thinking doing the island life for a month or two but had my eyes on koh samui so far... how does it stack up against phuket in your opinion?

@dreambig youre welcome mate you can just sign up for language classes at CMU. apparently they have other fancy dorms that take on non-students too but they were closed for NYE so I couldnt check them out yet.

Post: #73

@w00t

Right on man, you're way ahead of me on the health issues then.

MSG absolutely kills me too. Sometimes I get a elevated heartbeat, mood swings and extreme thirst. I can always tell when they've thrown MSG in my food because I spend the whole night chugging water and pissing like a racehorse.

With regards to The Glorious Kingdom...

I agree, Thailand wasn't particularly hassle-free to stay in before. Now it's just becoming punitive.

Even if you were to get married to a Thai chick, then you'd only be able to get a one year visa and you have to have (I think) 200k in the bank to get approved.

Another option is the Thai elite visa which is basically just paying a shit ton of cash for a 5 year visa. I forget how much exactly but it was in the tens of thousands of US dollars if I'm not mistaken.

visa runs

The bus rides to the border absolutely kill your body. Those things are impossible to sleep on and they blast the AC right into your fucking forehead. Hence why I fly now. But back when I was broke as a joke I did the vans and buses and hated every minute of it.

And yeah, it's expensive too, especially if you factor in that you could be spending those 9 hours working.

bali?
I've been looking at Bali as a possibility. Apparently getting a long term visa there is a bit easier but who the hell really knows.

I've heard there's a good vibe there if you can manage to avoid the drunken Bogan piss parties in Kuta beach. And if you don't have to drive too much.

But I also hear the WiFi is absolute shit in Bali pretty much no matter where you are, which would be endless frustration for a digital nomad.

I have a visa run coming up so I might just fly down there to scope it out.

phuket vs samui

Samui's a pretty big island so it would really depend on where you stay. The typical backpacker area is Chaweng beach which is a shit hole. Yeah it's good to go party there but I really didn't like it overall.

I didn't go anywhere else so that's all I can say about Samui.

I really like Phuket but you have to understand that I really value training BJJ, lifting weights, running on the beach and just generally living a clean life. So for me that's the big draw of Phuket.

If that's not your bag, then Phuket might not hold the same charm for you.

It's pretty cheap though if you stay in Chalong or Rawai. Cheaper than Bangkok, actually. And a lot of good fresh seafood here, nice beaches.

I guess the only way to know would be to come check it out.

Post: #74

I am just gong to overstay next time, works out cheaper and less hassle, doubt ill get blacklisted either. Nice report W00t. If you ever want to upload that on my site, more than welcome . My readers would enjoy it.

Post: #75

Anyone know if the new ed visa rules apply to university courses? That'd be downright silly if that's the case.

I don't know how guys live in Thailand for years doing visa runs. Haven't even done my first one yet but the thought of it is stressing me out.

If I cant get a 1 year ed visa, I'm just gonna overstay. I can't be bothered to comply with a stupid system.
It's Thailand anyways...no one actually follows the rules.