Cost of Living in Bangkok 2017

How much does it cost to live in Bangkok in 2017?

For the entire month of January I have jotted down every baht I spent and I’ve documented it all below.

In the month of January I spent 42,252? (excluding visa and health insurance costs).

Here is the breakdown below of my living costs in Thong Lo, Bangkok.

Please note that my lifestyle in Bangkok is very chilled. I focus on exercise, work, socializing and eating well. The following breakdown is not of a partygoer or someone who is going out 2-3 per week drinking.

You can also read an older article where I lived in Bangkok on $770 month in 2016.

Rent – 24,200?

My biggest cost is rent.

I pay 24,200? per month after bills for a 1-bed room apartment in Thong Lo.

• Rent – 22,00?
• Electric and water – 1,400?
• True Wifi – 800?

The condo has a pool, amazing view and a small gym. I am walking distance to my gym, massages, several western supermarkets, clubs, bars and public transport.

The same condo in On Nut or further out would cost you 15,000?.

The reason I choose to stay here is because of convenience.

The BTS has become a sardine can with people pushing up against each other, and as I love to cook (see food costs below) I want to be next to Tops and Villa.

All my friends live in the area too, so it makes playing football or meeting up very easy.

I also have around 10-20 people visit me per year (I have friends brag) and living in Thong Lo makes it easier for hosting them.

Food – 10,804?

My next biggest expense is food.

If I decided to do all my shopping at the Big C or Tesco Lotus my food budget would be half of what it is now.

However, I think the quality of food there isn’t great and I prefer to use western alternatives like Paleo Robbie.

Once a month I’ll place an order at their online grocery for fish, beef, nut butter and chicken. The order usually comes to around 4,000? and that will last me 3-4 weeks.

Everyday stuff like eggs, milk, fruit and veg I pop to Villa, Tops or Foodland.

I choose not to eat street food for the reasons I’ve mentioned before, and am happy to pay more for quality produce.

Avocados I buy from Bangkok Fruits, very cheap and very good value (440?/KG).

Entertainment – 3,781?

Entertainment involves any of the following:

• Drinking with friends
• Clubbing in Bangkok
• Bar hopping
• Dinner with friends

I had two people visit me in January and it’s why my entertainment costs are ‘so high‘.

I use quote marks because while for me that number is high, most people between the age of 25-30 are spending 10,000?+ on entertainment each month, many spending more on drinking than their rent as I did when I first moved here.

I think I went out around 5 times in January and didn’t get bottle service anywhere as we went to bars mostly.

Getting bottle service as a group is going to start off at around 1,500? each.

No hookers or blow in January sadly for me, although my friends who came got lucky:

Gym and football – 2,350?

This includes my monthly gym membership and football which I play once per week.

If you’re living in lower Sukhumvit you’ll be spending around 2,000? per month or more on a gym membership.

Head to On-nut or Tony’s Gym on soi 19 if you want something cheap.

Eating out 540?

I don’t eat street food and when I eat it’s usually with my boys while we drink so most of the eating out has been merged with entrainment.

This 540? came from eating directly after playing football or when I couldn’t be bothered to cook.

I’m on a bit of a diet too as part of the New Year New Me thing and it’s why eating out is so low. I’m spending 4,000? or more a month on eating out usually.

Travel – 310?

I live in Thong Lo so there’s very little need for me to spend too much on travel.

Most places I visit on a daily basis are walking distance, and it’s only 10? motorcycle to the end of the soi.

I remember when I lived in On-nut and I’d used to spend 2,000-3,000b in travel per month, sometimes it’s worth paying a little more for location to save on travel.

• Bro-tip: Download Uber, it works like a charm in Bangkok.

Misc – 367?

I spent 367? on random stuff like toilet paper, soap and stuff.

100? of the spend was for phone credit. I don’t buy a monthly package because when I’m outside I don’t want to be checking my Facebook newsfeed or emails every 10 minutes.

Is this how much it costs to live in Bangkok in 2017?

Yes and no.

It costs 42,000? per month to live in Thailand if your lifestyle is similar to mine.

A typical week for me is going to the gym 5 times per week to play badminton or squash, football once a week, a massage here or there and spending time reading or working.

I don’t really go to clubs that often (been there done that) and instead save it for my visa runs. The last two visa runs I did were to Singapore and Taiwan, both weren’t cheap and are not included in the living costs.

This week I’m going to Manila too which will cost me around 15,000-25,000?.

I like to keep my lifestyle simple and healthy nowadays when living in Bangkok, and use the visa runs as a means to ‘let my hair down’.

If you love to party, bang Thai hookers or meet girls on Thai Cupid, then you could easily be spending 75,000?+ per month.

On the other hand if you lived in a non-central area and cooked your own food, I think it is possible to live in Bangkok on 20,000? per month – not that I’d want to.

Visit the islands for a weekend and you’ll be spending 7,000?+ for that mini holiday. When I add up all the costs I think my

When I add up all the costs I think my digital nomad life in Bangkok is closer to 60,000?/month on average when factoring in holidays, visa costs and insurance.

How much are you spending per month living in Bangkok in 2017?