2011 is the year that I will finally be moving to Thailand for good. Many plans have been laid and the timing is finally right. While we haven’t (yet) saved as much as I would like to facilitate the move I believe we have enough to set up a comfortable life and will be able to get by fairly well. Contingency plans have also been laid, because as has been mentioned by a famous poet, “The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry”.

I have had plenty of time to research and try to work out just how much we will need to live in Thailand and I think I have a pretty good budget, at least for starters. And even though the answer to the question “How much do I need to live in Thailand” is often “How long is a piece of string”, I think I have my string measured out quite well. I’ve had several posts in the past on Thailand Musings already discussing potential budgets and costs and have gotten some really good feedback. Now that we are much closer to making the move I am hoping to get some updated ideas of potential costs and things I may not be taking into consideration.

So, without any further posturing from me, here is my projected budget for a family of 3 living in Bangkok.

As you can see there is a fairly large (22,600Bt) gap between the low and high figures and my guess is we will fall somewhere between the mid-range and high figures so a rounded 60-65,000/mo feels comfortable to me. The gym fees are definitely negotiable and able to be dropped and I’m pretty certain we won’t be spending 20,000/mo for accommodation. Those 2 changes by themselves would easily drop the top figure to around 60,000Bt and dropping the gym membership brings the lower figure to around 45,000Bt.

I’m pretty sure the food number will be close to the upper limits as both Golf and I like to eat and we will certainly be buying at least a few Western items. I feel pretty comfortable with the numbers for all the utilities so there shouldn’t be any surprises there. Cell phone costs could vary, but I think 2000 a month should cover it; I don’t use my phone much even here in the U.S. and don’t imagine that will change. Miscellaneous expenses covers unessentials that either Golf or I wish to purchase, call it pocket money I suppose.

You’ll note that insurance costs are not included in the current budget as they will be paid for with savings from back in the U.S. Sorry if this is all old hat to many of you, but I am just trying to get as accurate a picture  as possible prior to arriving in Bangkok.

Please feel free to chime in below and let me know if I missed anything or am in error in any of my projections. Also, please join in the poll below so we can get a better picture of what people who live in Bangkok actually spend on a monthly basis.