Reasons to retire in Thailand: Accommodation

I know people who live happily in Thailand on $800 a month. They don’t live in Bangkok, a big city with the highest cost of living in Thailand. $800 is a bit tight even for Chiang Mai, the ancient cultural city of 1.6 million people where I live. But for $800 you can live comfortably in a rural town.

For $1200/month, you can live comfortably in Chiang Mai and be fine in Bangkok if you’re looking for bargains.

How much of that will you spend on accommodation? Your options are wide.

For the last 6 months I have been living in a studio in a working class area of ​​Chiang Mai. It is cooled by a fan, the furniture is below IKEA standards, and the mattress is awful, but I slept soundly. Rent, water and electricity cost me $70 (2,100 baht) a month.

I rented it because I was writing a book about the people Westerners rarely meet: working-class Thais. I wanted to know how they live. (Answer: much happier than most rich people).

Next month I will move back to my condo, the Thais call them moo baan-in the hills at the edge of a 1,000 km deep forest that flows into Burma. It is a new, fully furnished, air-conditioned bedroom, study, living room and large modern bathroom, with good views, a large balcony and good cross ventilation. Ten minutes from town, it’s on a quiet street a mile from any serious traffic, with 24 hour gated security. It has an impressively high level of construction and finish. I rented it specifically because it is very attractive. The price? $230/mo including unlimited high speed internet.

That’s the kind of place most Western retirees can expect to buy (starting at $50,000) or rent when they come here. If you want to be closer to the old town of Chiang Mai (really it is age: 700 years) expect to pay more because you are competing with tourists.

A friend who lives a few blocks from me is renting a traditional Thai wooden house (they look like gingerbread houses). Two stories, with polished rosewood floors, three bedrooms and maid’s quarters. He pays $300/month. He is near a busy highway and has no security, but he has a nice backyard.

Before you get on the next plane to Thailand, be warned: Thai kitchen facilities are often extremely limited, because Thais like to eat out or pick up takeaways on the way home. The kitchen is usually a fairly small countertop, the kind still found in old Los Angeles homes from the 1950s. Not even a stove. Cooking indoors with gas is almost unheard of. It uses a countertop electric stove, which is a bit difficult for serious cooks.

So if you love to cook, be sure to tell your real estate agent that you want a full Western kitchen. They do exist, although they are usually built in more exclusive stand-alone houses that are designed specifically for farangs (foreigners) and upwardly mobile Thais who want to surprise and impress their friends.

Regardless of what you choose, you’ll be delighted with the quality of your new Thai home…and amazed at the price.