Hey guys,
Harvie asked me for a quick breakdown of my living costs in Chiang Mai so here goes. In December 2014 I spent exactly 34,898 baht. I track all my expenses with a smartphone app so that number is pretty accurate. Here is the breakdown for my costs:
During that month I went out quite a bit thats why my number on booze is so high. I will also give a breakdown on each of the sections here.
Food costs in Chiang Mai
I eat out 2-3 times a week at local Thai joints and sometimes at western places. When I'm really lazy I order in food, usually on Sundays. The food must be good here because I gained almost 3 kilos and I'm getting fat!
Need to watch what I'm eating lol.
Anyway lots of people claim Thailand is so cheap and you can eat a meal for 35 baht or whatever. Ya sure but I'm a big guy 6ft 4 200lbs I'm not gonna get filled up on some tiny Thai meals. On an average meal I budget for about 100 to 150 baht. That's 2 portions and maybe a coconut or some fruit juice.
I think 9,000 baht per month for food is a healthy number.
Rent costs in Chiang Mai
Rent is where Chiang Mai really shines you can get some awesome value. My place was 7,200 baht and it's a nice little condo with sink on the balcony, flat screen TV, 10mbit internet, a SOFT mattress and good location right next to Nimman (the "trendy" Chiang Mai area where the students like to go out).
Great place and comes with maid service once a week. If you bring your own sheets and clean yourself you can shave off another 1,000 baht per month.
Drinking costs in Chiang Mai
Booze is pretty cheap in Chiang Mai too, if you're a lightweight like me you can get plastered on 400 baht on a night out.
Even in some of the nicer discos you can get a beer for less than 100 baht. Places like Warmup and Monkey are a bit more expensive. Keep in mind though the nightlife here is pretty boring. It's either western oriented places full with Thai hookers and average girls... or you go to the Thai joints with bottle service, shitty music and snobby girls who will barely talk to you. If you're used to bangkok nightlife you might be a bit bored.
Books
Bought a bunch of books which brought my spending up. Dunno what to say here... maybe just pirate them if you're really cheap.
1,880 baht on books. (uw0tm8?)
Sports
My gym is about 1,300 baht per month and the rest is for protein shakes after training. Chiang Mai has some pretty decent gyms with squat rack, pull up bar and the works. Also it's easy to get around just get on a scooter.
People are pretty nice and helpful too but of course they keep blasting you with shitty pop music at obnoxious levels. Oh well...
Visa
Included a trip to Mae Sai for a Thai viisa run. Never again will I take a 10 hour bus trip! Next time I'm gonna fly.
Visa costs were 1,130 baht.
Phone
Pretty high phone costs as I had to call some clients half way around the world and also went full retard on my internet plan. You should be able to get it a bit cheaper.
850 baht.
Hygiene
Just random stuff to stay sexy for all the Thai girls. Most expensive was some moisturizing face cream.
Total spent 662 baht.
Transport
Ok I dun goofed here and didn't get a bike for almost two months. Don't be a retard like me... get a bike! It's so easy to get around and only about 2.500 baht for an automatic. You can probably get it cheaper too if you look around. Traffic in CM is ok and nothing compared to BKK.
That's it. Any questions feel free to drop a comment.
