Cost of Living 2008 : Chiangmai, Thailand

Despite, the increase of gasoline price, here is a few suggestions regarding to the cost  of living in Chiangmai.

Just imagine going to a 7-11 convenience store and buying a can of Coke, a package of Clorets, a bottle of water, a Nestles ice-cream and many more items for a quarter of the price you are accustomed to paying in North America or less.

Just imagine going to one of the finer restaurants and selecting two large bowls of soup with shrimp, chicken or beef, then ordering 2 delicious dishes, topping it off with a decadent dessert for each of you, and during the meal enjoying a chilled Singha beer and perhaps a mixed drink for your spouse/date and listening to music that you enjoy.

Imagine yourself in this outdoor restaurant in the evening with your spouse/date. As the time nears to head back to your hotel you ask for the check and to your amazement the total with taxes and tip is less than $20 US dollars.

Better yet go to a Thai restaurant that is popular with the locals. A large, clean restaurant and select dishes that are already cooked and which you see through a glass partition. Start things off with a delicious large bowl of soup which may be identical to that served to you in a more expensive restaurant, select a cooked dish to your liking with bottled water and ice-cream for dessert and get a check for $8 US for the two of you. You may find that the large bowl of soup alone is enough to fill you up.

The hundreds of hours of research on the internet that I did prior to moving to Chiang Mai did reveal some of the costs of living here but it did not reveal that  there are at times two prices. One for foreigners (farangs) and one for Thai’s. In some cases you have to pay the farang price and in some cases you do not. We will show you how best to deal with the two price system.

Accommodations can be had $450 or more US dollars a night  or for $50 US dollars a month. Do you want to stay at a 4 or 5 star hotel and pay a premium for room, food, taxi and laundry costs or would you be content in a furnished apartment with TV, minifridge,private balcony, internet in room, laundry on site, and delicious freshly made meals and snacks at your doorstep for $200 U.S. on a monthly basis.