How do you expats afford it

[Olddaddy]

I wondered if I lived here in Thailand, particularly Pattaya how I would afford it 

Say I had 4-5 boys a week that would still be in the vicinity of 5-6000 a week,not to mention off fees and drinks that would be around 25k a month 

Unless I was on something like 100k a month retirement income it would be impossible to live 

Go go bars ,boy off fees ,drinks , how do you do it .I couldn't even do it ?

These gay expats living around Jomtien must have high disposal income ?

Drinks are around 95 B in the Jomtien complex,boy off fees ,boys although expats probably get a fuck cheaper than tourist 

I don't think I could even do it on 65k a month

[BangkokDreamer]

Having 4-5 boys a week seems fun but is it reality? Living someplace is very different then vacationing. When I am on vacation I feel like I need to do so much because time is limited, however when I lived abroad I hardly found myself going out. Sometimes on a weekend or when asked to go out but I routinely found myself as a homebody 

[bkkmfj2648]

7 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

I wondered if I lived here in Thailand, particularly Pattaya how I would afford it 

September will be my third anniversary as a "new" retiree here in Jomtien.

--> at what point are we not new retirees anymore?

My biggest monthly budget line item are the guys, and after that, the condo rent.

The budget that I made for myself before I left Europe to move here is not respected and my actual budget is 2 times what I anticipated.

So, make a budget and double it and that is probably the to be real cost to retire here.

 

[Keithambrose]

1 hour ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

September will be my third anniversary as a "new" retiree here in Jomtien.

--> at what point are we not new retirees anymore?

My biggest monthly budget line item are the guys, and after that, the condo rent.

The budget that I made for myself before I left Europe to move here is not respected and my actual budget is 2 times what I anticipated.

So, make a budget and double it and that is probably the to be real cost to retire here.

 

That seems realistic. Add in inflation,  which is likely  to be higher that the amount  your pension will rise!

[gerefan]

3 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

 

So, make a budget and double it and that is probably the to be real cost to retire here.

 

 Haha, same for regular tourists!

Never heard the expression “I should have taken half as many clothes and twice as much money”?!!

[bkkmfj2648]

6 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

That seems realistic. Add in inflation,  which is likely  to be higher that the amount  your pension will rise!

Yes, I agree.

You also need to consider the ups and downs of the curreny(ies) that your pensions/investments are paid in versus your host retirement currency (i.e. devaluation of your home currency).

And another big unknown = will your host country tax the money that you bring into your host country?

Or worse yet, will your host retirement country decide to tax your global income and assets?

[Keithambrose]

45 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

Yes, I agree.

You also need to consider the ups and downs of the curreny(ies) that your pensions/investments are paid in versus your host retirement currency (i.e. devaluation of your home currency).

And another big unknown = will your host country tax the money that you bring into your host country?

Or worse yet, will your host retirement country decide to tax your global income and assets?

All good points. 

[vinapu]

10 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

 

--> at what point are we not new retirees anymore?

 

 

I'd say immediately, as retiree and old goes hand in hand

[bkkmfj2648]

1 hour ago, vinapu said:

I'd say immediately, as retiree and old goes hand in hand

And this is why I LOVE you Mr. @vinapu !!!

 

Please NEVER change your sense of humour.  You bring us so much joy here in our forum 🤩

[vinapu]

23 minutes ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

And this is why I LOVE you Mr. @vinapu !!!

 

Please NEVER change your sense of humour.  You bring us so much joy here in our forum 🤩

I'm nobody

[floridarob]

55 minutes ago, vinapu said:

I'm nobody

I think I found your baby pictures somewhere online...

[vinapu]

6 hours ago, floridarob said:

I think I found your baby pictures somewhere online...

I was skinny boy

[zombie]

OP writes:

"These gay expats living around Jomtien must have high disposal income ?"

 

-Well maybe some of them in Jomtien do have high disposable income, but many of the expats who frequent Jomtien Complex look like extreme low life. Some are so short of funds they need to walk around the Complex talking to the boys but avoiding taking a seat at a bar else they need to pay for a drink.

And several of the boys are so desperate for cash that they will go with a foreigner for a tip of 500 baht.

And I have it on insider knowledge that a lot of those in Jomtien Complex are HIV positive. So for anyone wanting to off a boy from there, taking Prep and/or using a condom is essential.

[Olddaddy]

Thankyou Zombie for being direct 

[Olddaddy]

11 hours ago, zombie said:

And I have it on insider knowledge that a lot of those in Jomtien Complex are HIV positive

Should the younger generation be HIV positive nowadays with the Prep around ?

Shame if they are of course 😭 

[vinapu]

17 hours ago, zombie said:

 

And several of the boys are so desperate for cash that they will go with a foreigner for a tip of 500 baht.

 

500 is still quite a bit of money. Surely foreigners are charged much higher prices but in case of shortage of customers it may not be desperation but rational calculation.

After all street trade at Saranrom is charging the same.

[Marc308]

20 hours ago, vinapu said:

500 is still quite a bit of money. Surely foreigners are charged much higher prices but in case of shortage of customers it may not be desperation but rational calculation.

After all street trade at Saranrom is charging the same.

Gosh guys 500B is indeed quite a bit of money. I can't get my head (?) around 5,000B for ST. It's unimaginable to me, sorry. 500B is already more than the minimum daily rate that a large percentage of Thai workers earn for a full day of labor. (As of January 1, 2025, the minimum daily wage in Thailand varies by province, ranging from 337 to 400 Thai Baht.)  The mamasan at Midnight Cowboy (Saphan Kwai) who I asked for her recommendation once told that "200B was quite a generous tip". Yes it was some years ago of course, but gosh how things change!

 

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, Marc308 said:

 500B is already more than the minimum daily rate that a large percentage of Thai workers earn for a full day of labor. (As of January 1, 2025, the minimum daily wage in Thailand varies by province, ranging from 337 to 400 Thai Baht.) 

While you are factually correct I don't think there are many places in the world where prostitution is offered at minimum wage rates.

It would take a lot of hard labour and hunting to find bar boy in Bangkok who would go  short time for less than 1000 if that's even possible . Street trade may go for less  but finding it may be problematic. Boys ( and girls for that matter ) charge not for what they do , they charge for making their bodies available so comparison to people toiling for minimum is missing the mark in my not so humble opinion

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, Marc308 said:

I can't get my head (?) around 5,000B for ST. It's unimaginable to me, sorry. 

 

no need to be sorry , just don't pay it. I noticed that setting internal maximum payout is very good idea although sometimes we may be better served by not adhering to doctrine too strict.

[PeterRS]

On 3/14/2025 at 2:24 PM, Olddaddy said:

I wondered if I lived here in Thailand, particularly Pattaya how I would afford it . . . Go go bars ,boy off fees ,drinks , how do you do it .I couldn't even do it ?

Two suggestions, assuming you really plan to retire in Pattaya or elsewhere in Thailand. Buy a small apartment rather than rent. I know, this assumes you have the capital to purchase. If so, once the initial cost is out of the way, you will mostly only have management fees and maintenance to pay. Generally these will be a good deal less expensive annually than rent. I know some suggest, with good reason, that renting is preferable to buying. To each his own. 

Secondly, do what some retirees have done: find a regular boyfriend - and not necessarily from one of the bars. There are members who contribute to this and other forums who have regular non-scene boys. That then saves another load of cash. I have no idea how easy or otherwise this is in Pattaya. In Bangkok, as I have discovered after many years as a butterly, it is not especially difficult.

On the other hand, if you are a butterfly who wants to flit around,  you definitely need to factor into your budget quite a few thousand baht each week - an amount which, given the trend in recent years. is almost certain to go up over time. 

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, PeterRS said:

 

Secondly, do what some retirees have done: find a regular boyfriend - and not necessarily from one of the bar That then saves another load of cash.

that questions two old wisdoms :

1/ if you want love in Thailand , rent it

2/ free sex is most expensive

[PeterRS]

11 hours ago, vinapu said:

that questions two old wisdoms :

1/ if you want love in Thailand , rent it

2/ free sex is most expensive

For some I know this to be true. Certainly not for me - and neither for two of my good friends who have Thai partners, both married. All three of our partners have their own jobs and none comes from the sex trade. Not one wishes to be a 'kept' boy! 

[reader]

18 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

For some I know this to be true. Certainly not for me - and neither for two of my good friends who have Thai partners, both married. All three of our partners have their own jobs and none comes from the sex trade. Not one wishes to be a 'kept' boy! 

The “sex trade” is among the topics that keep readers returning to this forum. Please tread lightly on the meat and potatoes of this site. 

[Olddaddy]

20 hours ago, PeterRS said:

Two suggestions, assuming you really plan to retire in Pattaya or elsewhere in Thailand. Buy a small apartment rather than rent. I know, this assumes you have the capital to purchase. If so, once the initial cost is out of the way, you will mostly only have management fees and maintenance to pay. Generally these will be a good deal less expensive annually than rent. I know some suggest, with good reason, that renting is preferable to buying. To each his own. 

Secondly, do what some retirees have done: find a regular boyfriend - and not necessarily from one of the bars. There are members who contribute to this and other forums who have regular non-scene boys. That then saves another load of cash. I have no idea how easy or otherwise this is in Pattaya. In Bangkok, as I have discovered after many years as a butterly, it is not especially difficult.

On the other hand, if you are a butterfly who wants to flit around,  you definitely need to factor into your budget quite a few thousand baht each week - an amount which, given the trend in recent years. is almost certain to go up over time. 

Good advice but I don't know about the find a boyfriend 😊

[PeterRS]

1 hour ago, reader said:

The “sex trade” is among the topics that keep readers returning to this forum. Please tread lightly on the meat and potatoes of this site. 

I agree. But as a response to the OP I believe my reply was perfectly legitimate. In no way did it viollate what you term the reason why members continue to read the site. It merely offered an alternative possibility. Surely many of the news articles you post, often very interesting, are in many cases not related to that specific reason, woudn't you agree?