Basic costs of living in Chiang Mai, Thailand

One reason why Thailand is such a popular place with foreigners is that it's really cheap. Basic costs of living here are significantly less than those of Europe or the US. Not surprisingly, an increasing number of foreigners are making Thailand, and particularly Chiang Mai, their home. Chiang Mai is cheaper than Bangkok, Samui or Phuket and therefore has attracted a burgeoning ex-pat community. Whether you are a retiree with a nice stipend or an adventurer interested in teaching English here for a while, the city is affordable and allows you to live in relative style.

Basic costs of living in Chiang Mai depend largely on your preferred lifestyle. At the bottom of the scale you can get by without much discomfort for only 10,000 baht a month (US$250/£130), while others can easily spend 50,000 baht a month. An average Thai graduate earns about 8,000 baht a month and happily lives off that, for Chiang Mai is a simple, unpretentious place, full of budget eateries and cheap markets. Thriftyness is foremost in many Thai minds. But bear in mind that quality is lacking in Thailand and you get what you pay for.

Here is a basic guideline:

Rent: this is one of the real bargains here, for the city is overstocked with apartments and houses. For 2,000 baht a month you can get a basic studio apartment within a 10 minute ride of the city, but you'll probably want to pay double that for the comfort of hot water, a/c and some decent furniture. Up to 10,000 baht you can have a very stylish place in Hillside (ex-pat towers!) Condotel with added facilities, cable TV and plush furniture. For this you can expect two bedrooms, and a balcony.

Houses are equally good value, and 5,000 baht a month can get you a three bedroom house in a regular Thai suburb near the city (15 - 20 minutes), with modest garden. For something closer to the city or with more privacy, and furniture, the price goes up to 10,000 baht. If it's been designed to suit a farang it may be as much as 15,000 baht. A plush suburban house in a housing community can cost 20,000 baht and up and comes fully furnished. Furnishing something yourself isn't expensive if you go shopping for wicker furniture. If you insist on being in the centre of the city, expect to pay at least 3,000 baht a month for a simple guesthouse room. Property section.

Food: another steal in Chiang Mai, but be careful what you eat, hygiene is lacking at some of the 20 baht noodle shops. If you eat where the locals do there's no reason to pay more than 50 baht a meal. Step into the tourist spots and the prices go up. Eat farang food and you can expect to pay at least 100 baht a dish. All the same, you can spoil yourself with a big meal for two for under 500 baht at a decent restaurant. Staple groceries also come cheap (dozen eggs: 25b, litre of milk: 30 baht, quart of beer: 30 baht, loaf of bread: 15 baht) and the big supermarkets carry everything you need. Those catering to foreigners' tastes, such as Rim Ping or Tops are more expensive and some 'exotic' items, like capsicums can be a rip off.

Tipple: drinking local brew is cheap, but everything is taxed and imported liquor gets quite expensive. A pint of Guinness might cost you 275 baht! But a local beer, such as Chang can be only 30 baht in the right places. Generally, a tourist bar will charge about 60 baht or more for a small bottle of beer, and 100 baht a cocktail. Several foreign beers are brewed locally. The typical drinking habit among Thais is to bring your own bottle of whiskey (100 Pipers: 250 baht, Johnny Walker Red: 500 baht, Johnny Walker Black: 900 baht); there usually isn't a corkage fee. Wine is expensive, but everything is widely available. The local Mekhong Whiskey and Sangsom go for 100 baht a bottle,but the hangover is deadly.

Phone and internet: landline phones cost 3 baht for an unlimited call, though your apartment block might charge you 5 baht. Everyone uses mobiles and a 1000 baht pre-paid card will get you a free SIM card. Rates are about 15 baht a minute, though it varies from one network to another. It's cheaper to get a permanent account, but you'll need to put it in a Thai's name. Prepaid internet cards are widely available and easy to use, costing about 10 baht an hour. More on getting connected.

Getting around: for this we recommend you rent your own Honda Dream 125cc (or similar), they only cost 2,500 baht a month and make life so much easier. They are pretty reliable; expect to pay about 100 baht a week on gas. A second hand one costs about 15 - 20,000 and a new one 30,000+ baht. A bigger bike costs between 30,000 - 50,000 baht second hand. No new bikes over 150cc are made in Thailand. A second hand car costs anywhere from 50,000 baht (10 year old Mazda 323) to 300,000 baht (five year old Honda Civic). Tuk tuks cost about 60 - 100 baht per ride, and songtaew minibuses 10 baht per ride. A decent new mountain bike costs about 12 - 15,000 baht (about 30 per cent cheaper than back home).

Entertainment: is also relatively cheap here, with movies costing 100 baht, disco entry 100 baht (with a free drink voucher), and drinks are 100 baht each. A game of bowling (popular here) is 70 baht, a Khantoke cultural evening will cost a mere 250 baht including the food, you can even rent your own private DVD room for 100 baht. Should you wish to take a lady out of the go go bars, we are told the "bar fine" is 200 - 300 baht, and apparently the lady herself might expect three times that if she doesn't return that same night.

Buying property: large studio apartments (popular in Thailand) typically go for 500,000 - 1 million baht (such as in Hillside Condotel), something larger goes for 1.5 million (two rooms, nicely decorated, near the city centre, good view). A modest suburban house with tiny garden in a dense neighbourhood goes for 1.5 million, while a brand new three-bedroom house with small garden in a well maintained housing complex costs about 3 million baht. Houses outside of these popular 'moo baans' are considerably cheaper, though there are few guarantees.

Courses: six weeks of Thai lessons, two hours daily at the AUA in town will cost 4,000 baht. Private lessons go for about 150 baht an hour. A day cooking class costs 900 baht, and a week long full-time massage course costs about 3,000 baht.

Clothes: are also great value here, T-shirts and tops at the Huay Kaew night market, cost 100 baht each. Brand name jeans or pants in Robinsons department store cost 1,000 baht. Accessories, shoes, some cosmetics, locally produced pharmaceuticals and others are all roughly 30 per cent cheaper than abroad.

Computers: are made locally and desktops are very cheap, but don't go for the cheapest (models that wouldn't even make it onto the shelves in Europe). A Pentium 4, 2.1 Ghz, 40 gig HDD with 256 RAM and CDW, plus monitor will cost less than 30,000 baht.

Health: a visit to the hospital here won't break the bank, and although you may prefer the private and more pricey Chiang Mai RAM I, a doctor's consultation at Lanna or Suan Dok hospital (for anyone) is less than 200 baht. For as little as 10,000 baht per year you can take out a premium health insurance policy with Bupa Blue Cross, but remember, this cover does not pay for absolutely everything should you need to be hospitalised or have an operation. A dental or private clinic visit costs less than 500 baht, provided you stay clear of the places catering to foreigners.