From: tai@starbird.WPI.EDU (L. Taikitsadaporn)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
Subject: Re: Hello? Anyone? What is real MEAN value of $US in Thailand?
Date: 13 Jan 1993 03:10:04 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NNTP-Posting-Host: starbird.wpi.edu

In article <C0rK9D.7vp@news.cso.uiuc.edu> ssg9328@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Samart Srijumnong) writes:
>Adam Lawrence Salter <adam@zooid.guild.org> writes:
>
>
>> 
>> Hello! I would like to get some idea of the real or "mean" or whatever value 
>>of US dollars in Thailand. For example, how much land, food etc. costs. How 
>>much an average yearly salary is, how much money one needs to survive, per 
>>year or any other related information. 
>> 
>> 
>>                                                Any Help Greatly Appreciated, 
>>                                                         Adam Salter 
>> 
>>adam@zooid.guild.org 
>
>I left Thailand in 1988 and have never returned so the following information
>could be obsolete. If anyone has better accurate information, please advise.
>
>First of all, we have to be specific where in Thailand we talk about. I assume
>Khu Adam is interested in the cost of living in Bangkok in term of US dollars.
>
>As far as annual salary, there are three sectors in Thailand: private, state
>enterprise, and government. Those who work with private sector normally 
>get 2 to 20 times higher than those who are government employees depending
>on positons in the organization. The state enterprise, e.g. Telephone Auority
>of Thailand, Railway Authority, Electricity Generation Authority, Port 
>Authority, and the likes, give their workers higher salary and fringe benefits
>than those employed by the government agencies. The ration is probably from
>2 to 10 times. 
>
>Thailand GNP per capita is about US$1,650. Probably 60-70% of the population
>have income below this level. 

	The last time I saw figures for the per capita income, as I recall, 
it was the 1990 figures...US$1,200 (Asiaweek, June 1, 1990).  Maybe Khun 
Samart's figures are more recent than mine.

>A town house (2 bedroom) with 25 square waa (unit of land measuring which
>is equal to 4 square meters) may costs from 200,000 to 500,000 baht in the
>neighborhood which is about 5-10 kilometers far from main streets. Keep
>in mind that 26 baht is 1 US$. 

	Renting a luxury apartment, say a 2 bdrm, in an area like Sukhumvit
would cost anywhere between Baht 80,000 to 140,000 per month.  This may not
even include the monthly maintenance fee you have to pay.

>A simple lunch costs 15-25 baht. It one chooses to eat in a restaurant, it
>will be at least 5 times higher. In most schools and universities, food prices
>are controlled, 7-10 baht per meals.

	Cost of eating in a resturant also depends on location, prestige of 
the resturant, and type of food (ie. western, Chinese, etc.).  For example,
at my mother's resturant, serving Chinese food on Soi Pipat off Silom Rd., 
a dinner table for 10-12 person would cost at least Baht 3,500 and up.
Obviously the cost depends on what you order.

>A new Japanese car costs from 500,000 to 1,000,000 baht. A 6 cubic feet 
>refrigerator costs approximately 5,000-7,000 baht. A stamp costs 2.50 baht.
>To get on a Bangkok bus, one has to pay 2.50 baht on the regular buses, and
>5-20 baht on airconditioned buses depending on the distance. 
>
>A Ph.D holder, if works with the government, will get about 7,000 baht a month,
>MA 5,000 and BA 3,000. 

	From a source at Chareon Pogapun (sp?) - the CP Group - an entry
level engineer with a BS degree and no experience gets about Baht 12,000.
A candidate with a MS and no experience would start with Baht 15,000 to 17,000.
(these figures were obtained in 1991).

>Khun Adam, if you really want to know the real relative prices of living in
>Thailand, please consult current issues of Asiaweek which reports how much
>a unit of particular goods cost in most Asian and some Western cities. They
>also report GNP per capita from which you can calculate such relative costs
>of living. 
>
>I hope it helps and for those who have better valid information, please 
>make any necessary corrections. 


Lisa Taikitsadaporn
Worcester Polytechnic Institute