A British expat has detailed the cost of living in Thailand for retirement, prompting many of his followers to consider moving there.
Simon Thatcher shared the video on his account, @skyhighthaisi , detailing his monthly expenses to show whether life in Thailand remains affordable in 2025.
A controlled budget between housing, food and leisure activities
British expat Simon Thatcher at a hair salon in Thailand. Photo: Instagram/ @thai_si_888
Thatcher explained that he was living on a retirement visa, which costs 1,900 baht (51 euros) to renew annually, plus a 15,000 baht (403 euros) fee for a visa agent to simplify the process.
When asked about his profession, he replied that he only invests.
The Briton then presented his monthly expenses.
Thatcher paid 8,000 baht (≈ 215 euros) for a one-bedroom apartment in Nonthaburi, just outside Bangkok .
The building includes a gym, swimming pool and sauna, all with no additional membership fees.
He describes his accommodation as quiet, clean and comfortable.
Other costs include:
- WiFi: 1,000 baht (≈ 27 euros) per month
- Electricity: 1,200 baht (≈ 32 euros) per month
- Drinking water: 60 baht (≈ 1.61 euros) per month
- Mobile phone top-up and transport: 3,000 baht (≈ 81 euros) per month
- Health insurance: 4,000 baht (≈ 108 euros) per month
Thatcher said he was particularly impressed by the price of food, which averages 50 baht (≈ 1.34 euros) per meal, or about 150 baht (≈ 4 euros) per day.
His morning coffee only costs him 25 baht (≈ 0.67 euros).
He admitted that he sometimes opted for more expensive Western dishes, but made up for this with less expensive local meals, which allowed him to keep his expenses reasonable.
For daily services, Thatcher spends:
- between 100 and 150 baht (≈ 2.69 to 4 euros) for a haircut
- between 200 and 300 baht (≈ 5.38 to 8 euros) for a one-hour massage
- 210 baht (≈ 5.65 euros) for cigarettes
- 260 baht (≈ 7 euros) for three bottles of beer, which he drinks almost every day
He concluded that he spent around 35,000 to 45,000 baht (≈ 941 to 1,210 euros) per month and lived very comfortably in Thailand.
Retirement in Thailand: A contrast to life in London and the experience of locals
Simon Thatcher with a Thai friend. Photo: Instagram/ @thai_si_888
He added that the cost of living was much lower than in London, although it ultimately depended on individual lifestyle and choices.
Many of his followers said they were tempted to move to Thailand after watching the video.
However, while expats and foreign internet users may find Thailand affordable, a Marketbuzzz survey of 865 Thai citizens found that 42% of them are deeply concerned about rising prices and the rising cost of living.
The survey also found that many families are struggling to meet rising daily expenses while wages remain stagnant.
This testimony illustrates the appeal that Thailand retains for foreign retirees, while highlighting the growing gap with the economic reality of Thai families.
See also:
The Guide to Retiring in Thailand: Everything You Need to Know
Cost of living for retirees by region in Thailand
Rejected by Thailand, low-income retirees flee to other Asian countries
He wanted a dream retirement in Thailand, he ended up ruined and imprisoned
Retirees in Thailand: When Paradise Turns into a Nightmare
Source: The Thaiger
Prepare your trip to Thailand
Book bus, train, boat in Thailand
Manage your money while traveling with Wise
Tailor-made travel with Evaneos
If our news, tourist or cultural information has been useful to you and you would like to thank us:
You can follow us on:
Twitter , LinkedIn , Facebook , Google News
Or install our application:
Install the All Thailand app on your smartphone
⚠️ Cryptocurrencies carry risks: Only invest amounts you are prepared to lose.
16 comments
15,000 baht for an agent, there's no point saving for the rest, it's all true, it's what two people spend without depriving themselves.
Absolutely, the €400 agent fee is completely useless.
For the retirement visa there is only one form to fill out and the rest is photocopies (passport, bank statement or income certificate), photo...
It is certain that for us, the prices of Thai products are very low.
For the prices of Western products, it's something else and it can quickly get out of hand.
So it's easy to present things in a biased way: 1,500 baht for a shared room, no hot water, no air conditioning, a menu at 40 baht per day...
This will cause a stir on the internet, but it's completely false in real life.
The English also have a VERY big disadvantage when coming to live here: their pension is frozen (without indexation to inflation), which over time becomes a big problem.
Now, if you have a lot of money, you don't care... but that's not the case for everyone.
A few years ago, many people dreamed of opening a restaurant or bar, most of the time without experience, but thinking they would make a fortune.
How many came out unscathed?
In any case, I don't know any who have made a fortune!
In Thailand, taxation remains very unclear, especially for foreign retirees.
No one really knows what we're going to get.
In my case, I send money from Switzerland to Thailand every month.
This money comes from my retirement capital, which I received in 2021 and on which I have already paid my taxes in Switzerland.
Since 2025, I have also been receiving a state pension, but I leave it in Switzerland without sending it to Thailand.
But how can I distinguish between these, since they are inflows and outflows? How can I prove that the money sent is from my reserve and not money recently received?
The principle seems simple: if money is not transferred to Thailand during the year, there is no tax.
But as soon as you send money, things become uncertain.
Some say it's taxed, others don't, and the treatment varies depending on the country of origin and the officials.
German friends tell me to ask the embassy, but even they don't get accurate figures.
In short, we really have the impression that it is a kind of fiscal anarchy.
Some pay, others don't.
Those who generate income in Thailand seem to have an advantage, while foreign retirees must navigate uncertainty. Everything is done somewhat "on the client's own terms," without a clear or predictable framework.
I consume less than him per month. I never drink beer.
I have free Wi-Fi in the residence as well as the swimming pool and the weight room.
Haircut: 140 baht every 45 days.
Housing: 10,000, electricity: 16 euros per month, water 10 euros every 3 months, etc. I cook.
With 1000 € per month, I can do it.
1,200 baht… about 250 kW government price… just air conditioning at night…
And 60 baths of water… about 1.5 m³… a shower every three days… ????????
1000 baths Wifi too expensive... at 500 you're already good...
For the rest, it plays...
Condo 8000 baths… it must be maximum 32 m² in a large tower.
But indeed, if he likes his life, he lives well... the important thing is to feel good where you are...
I would conclude by saying that to live well in Thailand with a friend to whom you pay a salary of 20,000 per month to take care of you and that she can pay her family expenses (children and parents) and make her personal reserve, an apartment at 20,000 and a car and a scooter, and you live normally like in Europe, you need to count between 90,000 to 150,000 baht per month.
Owner of the house, the wife's salary, the car that uses 10 liters per 100 of GO; insurance: car, house, maintenance of house, land, car, electricity subscriptions, internet, Makro and Big C purchases (without alcohol and cigarettes), it's 100,000 or more that is needed.
I understand that many don't have that much.
Do you know how much a nursing home costs in France?
To find myself with old women who play Scrabble, eat their canteen and the room in the evening... well for the moment, I'm better off with my Siamese partner, even if she spends a lot of time on the phone screen...
@Gaspard 90,000 to 150,000, that's huge!!!
Between €2,400 and €4,000 per month is enough to earn a good pension.
With such sums you can live well anywhere.
The topic here was can we live well with few resources, like 1000 to 1500€ per month…
On the water, you're wrong.
My biggest water bill was 70 baht for 1 month.
I take 2 showers a day, my wife 3. And we often have a family member visiting, you add 2 showers for that person.
We do laundry almost every day.
I quote: "He concluded that he spent about 35,000 to 45,000 baht (≈ 941 to 1,210 euros) per month and lived very comfortably in Thailand." End of quote...
I can only agree with this British citizen in his assessment, his situation being comparable to mine, or rather to ours, my partner and I.
We are in our house, which she (obviously) owns, built 13 years ago with all the comforts of a European villa, adding a breathtaking view of the mountains of Northern Thailand, surrounded by rice paddies and wooded groves.
We have a car (sedan bought new for 650,000 baht, 12 years ago) and we travel regularly, covering between 5 and 6,000 km annually...
We spend on average between 45,000 and 50,000 baht per month on our couple, without depriving ourselves of anything, which puts us in line with the standards of our British pensioner...
However, I obviously understand the remark when we talk about the difficulties that most Thai people have who constitute the working and middle class of Thai workers whose purchasing power is eroding a little more every day and for good reason:
Many of them do not have a guaranteed income of 50,000 baht or more each month...
A majority of Thais still have to make do with a salary averaging between 15,000 and 25,000 baht per month, and very often, this amount must support a couple with one or two children and possibly also provide for the basic needs of elderly parents without a guaranteed minimum pension system sufficient to cover their own basic needs, while our European social benefits and pensions reach amounts corresponding to 2, 3 or 4 times the salary of a Thai employee, which are also subject to indexation and salary increases due to inflation in our Western countries, which is not the case in Thailand, a country where consumer and worker protection (associations and unions) do not act as a social counter-power to political power...
Here too, there is fundamental work to be undertaken with the active population of Thailand, the popular mass which economically supports the country's GDP, makes it prosper, but only reaps the crumbs!!!
It's a matter of social justice... and this is sorely lacking in the minds of Thai legislators.
It's very good, there are even some who live alone in Pattaya with a pension of 1,000€ without depriving themselves, we could even live in Thailand with 75.00€ per month according to some people, they make me laugh.
You can also live in Thailand with much less according to some expats in Thailand.
I heard a Frenchman who lives in Pattaya, he spends 750.00 euros per month, he doesn't deprive himself of anything, he has an income of 800.00€ every month.
All this is very good if this person lives on 750 euros per month "without depriving himself of anything"...
We still need to agree on the notion of "not depriving oneself of anything"... but in any case, if it is a resident benefiting from a long-term retirement visa with annual renewal (visa "O"), he must present (and this is valid for all others in similar cases cited in the comments and in general) each year, to the immigration police, an income of approximately 23,000 euros per year (850,000 baht) to renew his retirement visa...
There is no escape from this barrier, no matter how much you can spend monthly.
@Gaspard,
It's certain that if you start paying a salary of 20,000 Baht to a girl, you will have difficulty making ends meet with 35,000 or 45,000 Baht like this Englishman.
As Hansson said, the notion of "not depriving yourself of anything" is very subjective, everyone has their own desires/needs/wants.
Gaspard is already putting 20,000 for his mistress (let's put it like that...), others are going to spend a lot on alcohol in bars, some are going to want to eat like in Europe, etc...
These people, we understand, cannot fit into the "we live on little" framework, but, because they have comfortable pensions, they can afford it.
Conversely, it seems that with a modest pension, one can live much better than in Europe.
There remains the problem of access to care and its costs, and undoubtedly other pitfalls.