Cost of Living in Thailand in 2024 - Is it Still Cheap?!

The cost of living inThailand in 2024 is not what we expected. After hearing the hype of the cheap cost of living around Thailand, we tally up our costs for the month and in 2024, the cost of living is not as affordable as we expected! We were on the island of Koh Samui, which may account for some of the higher costs of living, but we were surprised at how much things really cost in Thailand.
We do believe that Thailand can be done on a super tight budget if backpacking, staying in hostels and eating simple, local food, however on a slightly higher (yet still modest) budget and seeking out accommodations that are nice, but far from luxury, eating at the occasional beach side restaurant, Thailand is NOT the super low cost paradise that we had imagined. It is still a wonderful country and a place we will visit again, but not because of its super low cost of living.
We hope you enjoy today's episode where we give you our monthly Airbnb tour as well as our full breakdown of what it cost us to live in Thailand for a month on the island of Koh Samui!! Cheers! 🥂
#kohsamui #thailandbudget #travelcouple
Our Airbnb: www.airbnb.ca/...
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[@GetLOUDStayLOUD]

Welcome back Mitch & Jan! Can't wait to hear about your van-life adventures xo

[@mitchandjan]

Thanks!! Van life will definitely be different, but we are excited!!

[@roadtriprob8442]

I think there is a caveat to your cost of living, in that you were staying in one off the top tourist destination in SE Asia. I think your cost would be less in Hua Min or Chiang Mai etc.

[@mettayogahk1789]

Samui is the more expensive places in Thailand to stay at.

[@mitchandjan]

We definitely understand that! We will definitely be back and Chiang Mai is high on our list, so it will be interesting to see the difference. We recognize that Samui is a very touristy destination as well and just wanted to point that out to people. Thailand is still very affordable, but to be a pure bargain, you have to do things much differently than we did!

[@SnapCrackleRetirement]

Welcome back to Canada! Thanks for the cost breakdown of your trip in Koi Samui. Slightly shocked about the costs. There is this perception that Thailand is super affordable. You helped demystify this perception. Looking forward to your vanlife videos.

[@mitchandjan]

Thank you!! We are happy (but also a little cold) to be back! We were a bit shocked as well by prices. As we said, surely you can live very affordably in Thailand - other people do, but what are your accommodations like? How much "street food" are you eating? (because its mostly not healthy, even though its delicious!). We just wanted to point out the other side of things, although for the experience, it is still an extremely affordable place to visit, but there is no way we are living on $1000 a month or less as other people do! LOL. Cheers! (Writing to you from the van!!) 🥂

[@loriday9625]

Welcome back to Canada! Looks like much nicer weather in ON than here in NS! We just got back from Lagos and are missing the sun. Your expenses for Thailand surprised me as well….seems similar to here. I don’t know if I could eat out for an entire month though. We’re looking forward to vanlife videos as it seems that may be on the horizon for us. Cheers!🍷

[@mitchandjan]

Thanks Lori and welcome back to you as well!! Isn't the sun in Lagos amazing?!! We are heading down east in July - so we also hope it warms up there! LOL. We are definitely looking at returning back to Europe next winter. Prices are just as affordable as Thailand for the way we live. We do NOT recommend eating out for an entire month....especially with so much rice and noodles!! LOL We are excited to get going with Vanlife too (as I type this from the van LOL). Thanks for always following along! Cheers! 🥂

[@loriday9625]

If you need any info on things to do and see in NS just let me know….I think we’ve been down every road in this beautiful place! 😂

[@fulltimeabroad]

A lot of people don't know about the sim card "hack". Airport sim prices are always so inflated and the ones that are offered in 7-11 are only 199 thb for 1 month and 30 GB. Glad you mentioned it.

[@mitchandjan]

We will definitely be waiting until we leave the airport in the future. We still found SIM cards so much more affordable than Canadian cell phones, so this time around we felt more comfortable having SIMS as soon as we landed, but we feel more seasoned now (LOL) and confident that we can live without a SIM card until we get out of the airport! 😂

[@fulltimeabroad]

@@mitchandjan Being from Toronto myself, Canadian cell phone plans still strike fear in me lol. We also made the mistake of buying a sim card at the airport the first time we came. Its almost like there is a fear of leaving without getting one, but we saw someone else mention it and it was such a money saver!

[@traceymckelvie6202]

I was a bit surprised by the cost in Thailand too but overall it is no more than staying in Canada and way better experiences. I hope you make your way down to this area in your travels. Please please please let me know if you do! I would love to have you for dinner and chat all about travel! ❤

[@mitchandjan]

Its definitely still cheaper than Canada and likely other areas (like Chiang Mai) in Thailand are more affordable. Samui is pretty touristy/full of expats for sure. We will be down in Southern Ontario a few times for sure! We will definitely let you know and plan a dinner night ❤️

[@allanelliot1566]

Looking good!!!...Back to Home in Ontario...Looking good.... not that inexpensive for Thailand ...Thanks for taking us with you!!!

[@mitchandjan]

Thank you! Thanks for always coming along and watching! Ontario here we come! Cheers 🥂

[@smileoften-ft3hq]

Regarding rural Thailand prices on some have gone up x10 on brand name decadent items like an ice cream bar and local grown produce not much increase. Exchange about the same depending what month you pick 😅 Interesting times indeed

[@mitchandjan]

Yes, we didn't buy, eat or drink any imported decadent items (except for some bottles of wine) or our budget would have been much higher for sure! Accommodations seem to be the only major fluctuation depending on time of year. Flights and accommodations were much higher in February for example. Definitely interesting times!!

[@JaKi052]

Hi from Mississauga, subscribed! Dream is to leave here and spend time in SEA. How do you manage being outside of Canada for months on end? Any paperwork to do ? Thanks

[@mitchandjan]

Hello! Thanks for subscribing!! Managing being gone for months is a lot of planning for administrative stuff mostly - who gets your mail (and opens it), setting up any bill payments and cancelling anything that you don't require while gone. Our family has been the most help if we need things back home. No paperwork necessarily - just check any visa requirements in the places that you want to visit, so you know how long you can stay in each country. Cheers!! 🥂

[@GrumpyTweety]

Koh Samui is definitely not a cheap city. It‘s all tourism. Oh, and that unused space in the condo is usually for a Buddhist altar, or if there‘s an older person in your family, say, grandma or grandpa, they could sleep there as they might not be able to go upstairs anymore (that‘s what my family would do, anyway).

[@mitchandjan]

Samui is definitely touristy... Very interesting info about the space in the condo!! Ours was the only one in the complex with that space. Our neighbours did not have it. It was a very nice yoga spot, but having an alter there would be perfect. Thank you for the insight!

[@smileoften-ft3hq]

For thai newbies on one month i think you did fine 👍 I am from edmonton moving to Thailand and numbers are comfortable around $2,500 after you figure it all out for finding good thai prices. That said Canada medical and safety nets are good and not in thailand so you need your rainy day account if your giving up canadian residency. For myself, It really comes down to what country you pick and roll the dice and be happy 😊

[@mitchandjan]

Haha! Thanks! You definitely have a great attitude about living and where you live! Also, yes, we could surely live for less, especially once not paying Airbnb prices etc. We were quite happy with this budget for the month based on where we were and what we did. We just wanted to point out that Thailand isn't always the bargain that people rave about. We cannot imagine surviving on $800 USD a month like some people do! You must be so excited to move to Thailand!! Good luck!! Cheers! 🥂

[@ladydenise55]

PLEASE. Don't Film yourselves in the tour Videos so much. Intro ok. But please Show more of the area.

[@x-cskilover225]

Living in style there. Welcome home.

[@mitchandjan]

Thank you! We seem to have forgotten to bring some of the warm weather back with us!! LOL

[@keangwooichoo6138]

Cost in south east asia cannot be kept low artificially for long. Even vietnam cannot hold on for long. We need to import, after the start of the ukraine war, everything started to increase. Then the USA raised the interest rate above 5%. This caused our currencies to depreciate in asia.

[@dantheman11121]

You mean democrats raised the interest rates 🤔

[@mitchandjan]

Definitely! Also, it is very much tourists like us that also cause prices to be driven up we're sure.

[@WeixDraqz]

You could definitely make it cheaper, as you say..

[@mitchandjan]

We know it can be done - there are many other KZbinrs who prove that! LOL. Most of the savings would be in choosing a different location and accommodations we would think!