Living Like a King in Bangkok
Have you ever seen the expatriate sites that claim you can move overseas and live like a king on $3000 or $5000 a month? I have, even about Bangkok and I thought that before I give you some insight into my own Bangkok budget I would put to rest the rumors of living like a king on $5000 a month in Bangkok. Hopefully it will help you see that anywhere in the world can be as expensive as you like and will also provide some contrast to my own modest lifestyle in The Big Mango.
Housing: Setting up your Palace
It’s true that you can find small studio apartments (30sqm) in Bangkok for less than 10,000THB ($300) per month, but that sure isn’t how royalty live. No way! If you are planning on living like a king in Bangkok you will need a penthouse apartment at the very least. So, what is the going rate for royal digs in Bangkok?
Several condominiums in the heart of Bangkok can offer you a top floor penthouse with commanding views of the city, complete western amenities, a balcony pool, 600sqm (6500 sqf) of space and even 2 floors. The typical price for this luxury is around 300,000THB ($10,000) and right there goes any illusions of living like a king on $5000 a month. You’ll spend twice that just on your apartment and we are only getting started. Of course you could always buy. Penthouses in the 600sqm range go for 200-250 million baht ($6.67 to 8.33 million). Bangkok is definitely one city where renting is almost always cheaper then buying.
Food: Eating Like a King
Staples like rice and chicken are pretty darn cheap in Bangkok and you can get many varieties of dinner for 30-40THB ($1 – $1.33). Of course that is for the peasants, a king requires meals and foods meant for a more refined palate. If you want to have dinner cooked at home every night you can probably get by with a budget of 70,000THB per month of so. This will get you prime aged US Angus beef for 2000THB/kilo ($30/lb), the finest grass fed Wagyu beef for 4000THB/kilo ($60/lb) and sushi grade tuna for ????/kilo ($??/lb). While Thais don’t eat cheese you can still find a wide selection of cheeses from both Europe and the US.
Of course it’s relaxing to eat at home, but sometimes you’ll crave the company of others and the decadence of world class restaurant cooking and service. Bangkok is home to thousands of restaurants so if eating out is your thing you can try a different place every night if you like. Many of the restaurants are moderately priced, if they were located in another country. You can get a good to great meal at any number of Bangkok restaurants for 500-1500THB ($17-30) per person (not including drinks…I’ll talk about that later). If you are looking for the height of culinary expertise in Bangkok though you will find that such delights don’t come cheaply.
Only the best for the king
Take a look at this menu from Reflexions at the Plaza Athenee. As you can see, it would be easy to spend 3000-4000THB ($100-135) person. Other great restaurants with similar price tags and up include both Le Normandie and Lord Jim’s at the Mandarin Oriental, Tables at the Grand Hyatt, The Dome at Lebua and quite a few others. Set menus at some top restaurants begin at 5000THB ($167). Assuming you won’t be dining alone and you can double all of those prices 
I think it is safe to say that dining like a king in Bangkok could easily cost you upwards of 150,000THB ($5000) per month.
Dining like a king at the top of the world
Drinks and Nightlife
If you are the type of royalty who enjoys going out, being seen and partying the night away be ready to pawn the royal jewels. Having a great time in Bangkok is not much cheaper than in other cities around the world. Sure you can find cheap beer bars and nurse a warm Singha for 60THB ($2), but that isn’t royal treatment. It is far more likely that you will want to hit up the nightspots like Q Bar, Bed Supperclub and RCA Plaza. Admission to these hotspots is typically free (no cover), but that’s where your freebies end. It’s typical to buy a bottle of whiskey or other spirits in the Thai clubs and the club provides the ice and mixers. Johnny Walker Black Label is a very popular choice and you can expect each bottle to set you back somewhere in the neighborhood of 2000THB ($65). Or if vodka is your thing Grey Goose will set you back just 3000THB ($100) per bottle. Many of the clubs also carry more premium selections, but since they are WAY out of my league I can’t quote prices. I wouldn’t be surprised though if it was possible to spend 10,000THB ($335) or more on a bottle of whiskey or vodka.
What I can tell you though is if you are a wine drinker you could easily rack up tens of thousands in one night. Wine is heavily taxed here and because it is a relatively new trend amongst the Thais there is a limited selection, but here’s a quick glimpse:
- Your basic Australian and South American whites and reds are priced between 600-1000THB ($20-35)
- White and red French ‘Villages’ type wines for 750-1500THB ($25-50)
- Kendall Jackson Chardonnay – 1250THB ($42). I’m pretty sure I didn’t pay more than $12-14 for this in the US.
- Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc and Grgich Hills Chardonnay – 3300THB ($110)
- Caymus Vineyards 08 Cabernet – 3300THB ($110). You can also get the Caymus Select 08 for 6300THB ($210)
- My favorite Stag’s Leap 01 for 6000THB ($200)
- Opus One – 12,000THB ($400)
- Chatuea Mouton Rothschilds 01 – 38,700THB ($1290) or if you are cheap you can have the 02 for just 17,600THB ($585)
- If you want to enjoy a bottle of wine with your dinner at a restaurant expect to pay 2-3x the retail price
As you can see, it could run you literally hundreds of thousands of Thai baht per month if you enjoy wine or drinks on a daily basis. Even if you are only a weekend drinker I wouldn’t be surprised to see you blow through over 100,000THB ($3300) in a month (assuming you had unlimited funds).
Servants and More
Having servants is certainly a luxury reserved for royalty and the very wealthy in the West. Here in Thailand that isn’t as true. Labor is quite cheap and even in Bangkok you shouldn’t expect to pay more than 15,000THB ($500) for a housekeeper, driver, nanny, gardener or cook. So, with your penthouse apartment you might have a housekeeper, cook and driver for a grand total of 45,000THB ($1500) per month.
Speaking of the driver, you’ll naturally want a car and since you are living like a king nothing will do but to get a Benz (the most common display of auto status here). Cars, like wine, are extremely expensive in Thailand and a Benz is going to set you back 2.2 million baht for a basic C class ($73,500) or up to 7x more for a CL500. So, expect to pay anywhere from 45,000THB ($1500) and up for your vehicle.
You will also have all the basic expenses such as electric, cable TV and internet. Most of this is reasonable and budgeting an additional 20,000THB ($665) per month should cover it.
Finally, you should also consider travel expenses. Thailand has some of the best beaches and oceans in all the world. In addition, Bangkok is quite central to the rest of Asia so trips to Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Beijing, Bali and Macau will probably appeal to you. I know these aren’t technically Bangkok expenses, but living here puts the rest of Asia in your backyard and its inevitable you will want to do some exploring.
As I’m sure you know, it is easy to spend $500 a night and up in any of those cities and your dining options will also be quite pricey. Add in shopping and gambling in some of those locations and you will quickly find that you can spend as much as you like traveling throughout Asia. $5000 a month…simple. $15,000 a month…easy. $40,000 a month…possible in Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau for sure. Probably doable in Seoul and Beijing as well.
It’s Good to be the King
If you have the kind of bankroll that let’s you live without a care in the world for money you can live like a king in Bangkok. $5000 or even $20,000 a month won’t cut it though. To live a life of true luxury including accommodations, dining, nightlife and travel (I haven’t even touched on shopping) you could easily spend $50,000 a month. Anyone who doesn’t believe me can feel free to transfer $50,000 to my bank account and I’ll spend it for you in a month and do a complete case study!
Way to ruin my dreams of retiring overseas and living like a King. Hell, I can live like a King in American for 50k a freaking month!
LOL…sorry about the dream crushing. If it helps at all I can shoot down your idea of living like a king on $50k a month in the US? In Manhattan you would pay $20k just for the posh penthouse. I know $30k/mo for expenses sounds like a lot, but I’ll bet you could burn through that pretty quick in The Big Apple. Much quicker than in The Big Mango.
Now, there are Kings of rich nations, and their are kings of say, Tobaggo. Just what kind of king are you talking about? lol.
Yeah, Bangkok is super expensive, on par with living in the states. I’d say living in Bangkok how I’d LIKE to live in Bangkok, would run me $5,000 per month (spent – not including savings). Decent apartment – $1,000. Decent SUV – $700/mth over 5 years. Travel back to USA 2x per year $13,000/yr. Food – $1,000/mth (4 of us). Plus extras and we’re at about $5,000.
Currently we live on $2,000. Not sure I told you that, or not. I’m not sure it would cost much more to live in the states like we live here. Maybe $3,000.
The kind of king who doesn’t have to worry about money because he could never spend it all
Depends where in the States. I think there are places you could live for $2000 a month.
Wow. That gets expensive. It looks like there’s a “happy medium” to be found if you skip the Benz and keep the rent/house relatively cheap (just “relatively”). Give me a Honda with a pretty good house and then sprinkle in a servant, cook and nanny and I’m a happy guy.
You should post a calculator here, where we check boxes about how pimp we want our life and it builds a house, car, clothes, etc. and adds up the tab, haha!
Woah there Nelly…I’m busy working on the rap video, no time for building calculators haha!
Yeah it can be very expensive, just like anywhere else. Next week you’ll get to see how the peasants live when I post my actual expenses (they don’t include a Benz, fancy dinners, a penthouse).
Living the Western lifestyle in any large Asian city will set one back a pretty penny. But I suspect off the beaten track like a local is quite reasonable. Not that I’d want to do it.
The minimum wage here is $10/day and the median income is $4800/yr. Yes, that is more than reasonable at $400 per month. No you don’t want to live like that. It’s important to find the balance between what you need to stay happy and what you can economize on.
I guess with any big city they will have expensive options to serve the wealthy. I had always thought cities like Bangkok would be a lot cheaper, but that must just be the backpack traveler type options. I’m looking forward to seeing what your actual expenses are.
You can definitely live cheap here, but if you are staying (not passing through like a backpacker) you need to strike a balance between cost and comfort. Comfort comes at a price
How much would it cost to live a moderate lifestyle? I would be most interested in seeing those numbers. I don’t think anyone really thinks they can move to Bangkok and live like royalty, but it’s kind of neat to see how quickly those costs add up regardless of where you’re living.
My friend lives in Krabi (family of 4) on $2000 a month. You’ll see our expenses next week when I post our budget, but I think that a single person living a very moderate lifestyle could get by on $1000/mo in Bangkok and significantly less in the provinces. For a more comfortable lifestyle $1500/mo should do it.
And naive me always thought that you can live like a king in Thailand with about $2000 a month. Silly me! But give me 20K a month here in the US, I will manage to live like a princess, believe me.
Loved those photos! Made me want to drop everything and go to Thailand.
$2000 a month really doesn’t go too far in Bangkok. And of course their are kings and then there are KINGS lol.
It’s good to be king, but it’s going to be expensive to be king in any city.
Although I imagine for that same quality of royal treatment Thailand is still much cheaper than, say, Paris or Hong Kong.
Bangkok is probably one of the cheapest major cities, certainly in Asia and yeah likely in the world too.
Well you’ve told us how to live like a king in Thailand, but that’s a bit out of my range. Aren’t there some Buddhist monestaries that I could commit to and live a nice tranquil life for $100 a month? I’m pretty sure that you can spend all the money you have and then some nearly anywhere in the world. The high-end is called that for a reason.
I’m looking forward to something more along my lines, “Living like the 3rd cousin to the accountant to the 7th prince of Thailand”
Well that was for fun
Patience and next week all will be revealed…
Wow!! I didn’t know Bangkok was that expensive. Time to cross that off the list of low cost of living destinations. I hear that Costa Rica is fairly inexpensive. Ay thoughts/knowledge of that?
It doesn’t have to be that expensive, but it can be. I’m not totally sure about Costa Rica, but have thought about moving there too. I have a friend who lives there and they spend about $400/mo. They do own their house and car though.
Seriously, I was hoping for you to tell me that I could retire in 10 years and move to Bangkok.
In reality it doesn’t sound like Bangkok is much cheaper than the midwest (US). Dangit! Time to get back to work and make some more money!
I’m not sure about the costs in the Midwest, but if you are living in a smallish town then I would guess you are right. So get back to work! Haha
That rooftop restaurant is gorgeous! Sounds like you can live like a king as long as you earn like one, too. (Do kings earn money? Or just have it?)
I think kings just have money…or does it come from their subjects in the form of taxes?
If you have money you can get all the comforts
I would love to move to Bangkok after retirement 
Bangkok can be a very nice place to retire. I’ll be looking forward to your arrival
Kinda nuts! Just goes to show you that you can spend as much money as you want anywhere!
I still think that $5,000 US/month is a great income for one or a couple no problem!
$5,0000 US/month would have you pretty comfortable as a couple and very comfortable as a single person in Bangkok and even more so in other parts of Thailand for sure. Anything above that just adds to your conveniences and comforts.
Bangkok is expensive! When I visit, I live like a local middle class so we never spent much money. I’ve been to Lebuo for drinks, but not for food.
That’s probably the most I spent on drinks in Thailand.
Living like a local is a lot cheaper that’s for sure.
I’m pretty sure that the majority of those dining at Lebua and similar places are here on fat expat packages and have a huge food allowance (if they aren’t just writing the meal off as a business expense). I’ve talked to some of the expat moms when I take my daughter to the park and I’ve heard “We’re looking for a new place and our budget is $10,000/mo”! So, if you can’t get rich before coming over the alternative is to get a job that sends you here to work.
Personally, just give me a nice, quiet beach, without too many fareng, a relaxing drink, and some sun, and I’m happy.
Yep I’m the same way. Getting tough to find a beach without too many farang though
Western stuff is expensive in Asia. I am sat in a German sandwich shop in Phuket right now – beautiful sandwiches – they are aroun 3 pounds/4 dollars each. Still a reasonable price and probably the same as at home. BUT I could get a nice local dish for 1 dollar so it is, in the context of things, a lot.
I think you can have a nice lifestyle with 1000GBP/1500USD in Chiang Mai, Koh Tao, Koh Phangnana etc.
I think you could have an ok lifestyle as a single person on $1500 even in Bangkok. Definitely could anywhere else in Thailand. As a family though you need to at least double that. Once my daughter is school age add another 20-30k baht per month for a decent school as well. And if you have school age kids you are pretty much stuck with Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Phuket if you want a good education for them.
Steve, I see one major advantage to live in Bangkok. If you can live modestly in terms of housing and kind of car your drive, having servants for such a paltry amount is unthinkable in the States. Now, you can feel like a king on a budget. Agree?
Agreed 100%. However if you have school age children you’ll make up the difference in tuition costs at $600-1000/mo for a good international school. Younger children is still good though as we pay our nanny just 7000THB/mo for 30 hours a week. In addition to caring for the baby she also does light cleaning and laundry. You’re not going to get that in the US.
Hi Steve,
I have included this post at my site’s weekly roundup
Thanks Karunesh!
Thanks for the offer but I am not sending you 50 grands. Too damn expensive it is man!
Darn, I thought it might be a great way to bootstrap a great case study including loads of video.
Anybody know what it might cost to Live in Seoul? Compared to the economy in Europe?
My wife and I are expats in northeastern China and just got back from a week and a half in Thailand (2 days in Bangkok and the rest down south in/near Phuket). We definitely loved the trip and I think wouldn’t mind living there either.
I would remind a lot of the commenters that, as M.I. says, Bangkok isn’t Thailand. So while these numbers definitely seem realistic (from what we saw) in Bangkok, you probably can live like a king on a much smaller amount as soon as you leave the capital. It would be interesting to see a budget from someone else in one of the other cities.
In fact, you may have motivated me sufficiently to do a post on our blog on our expenses in China here. We normally stay away from too many financial topics but this might be interesting to some of our readers.
Definitely thanks for sharing this though!
Left Brain
I’m subscribed over there at CFER and anxiously awaiting the expenses post. I have no idea what it might cost to live in NE China and am very interested to see how it compares with Thailand!
Another city worth mentioning in SE Asia that is perhaps even cheaper than Bangkok is Phenom Penh in Cambodia. It actually has a lot of good international restaurants – I had mexican food there! lol (That was a pretty big deal having just come from ‘Nam!)
I agree with you, if you pay $30,000-$50,000 a month. I live in Bangkok for car rental business. Many of our customers from Japan hired luxury cars from us especially Toyota Alphard. They want to show, since they are the investor or own factory business in Thailand.
If you pay 90,000-150,000 THB a month, you will live like a king.