Bangkok traffic/ Photo: Zanyasan Tanantpapat
Bangkokians make money like waiters in Nebraska but spend it like a Wall Streeters in New York.
A recent study shows Bangkok is actually relatively more expensive than New York if you’re a local earning an average income. Residents of Bangkok are struggling to pay for luxuries they cannot afford, according to the study by Ipsos Business Consulting,
Although Bangkokians are shown to have a similar lifestyle to people from other big cities such as New York, Tokyo and Sydney, they actually have to dedicate a large portion of their salaries to pay the same luxury. For example, a pair of Nike shoes would account for 27.6 percent of an average Bangkok monthly income while it costs a mere or 2.91 percent of a New Yorker’s salary.
Check out the cool infographic, which shows we have low buying power compared to other big cities, yet often line up for products like a new model of iPhone and a brand name purse that cost more than an entire average salary.
Source: Post Today
Soe Paranchai Thairungroj says
I have been living in Bangkok my whole life.
– Bangkok people do not sleep in five-star hotel everyday. I sleep at my home or my condo.
– Most of them do not eat KFC chicken everyday, or else their lifespan would have been a lot shorter because of the MSG in the chicken. I eat KFC around 3 times per month at most. I can eat clean and nutritious food for only around 40 baht per dish at the restaurant.
– a lot of them do not buy ZARA because it is so overpriced in Thailand. There are a lot of street brand better than ZARA at a cheaper price. I have just brought a lot of ZARA shirt for 19.99 euro in Europe, but never brought anything overpriced product from ZARA in Thailand.
– The coffee at my university only cost around 15 baht (around 0.27 cent). And around 45 baht at the shopping mall. Again, people do not go to starbucks everyday.
-Movie ticket – I can go on Wednesday for 100 baht for other normal day for 150 baht. $5.83 dollar is not true for average price of regular seat.
-Gym – there are so many cheap gym around, and $756 in the picture is maybe for those gym located in the shopping mall. Some people can even go to their own gym at their own condo.
-Internet – the best high speed internet is only for the enterprise usage. Most household in Thailand just use the cheapest package. (590 baht per month)
Therefore, these comparisons are not significant and couldn't be use to measure local purchasing power. People working in Bangkok and earn wage and salary purchase these items on a regular basis.
How much you have to spend is depending upon how well you choose to spend your money = ]
Soe Paranchai Thairungroj says
I have been living in Bangkok my whole life. (22 years)
– Bangkok people do not sleep in five-star hotel everyday. I sleep at my home or my condo.
– Most of them do not eat KFC chicken everyday, or else their lifespan would have been a lot shorter because of the MSG in the chicken. I eat KFC around 3 times per month at most. I can eat clean and nutritious food for only around 40 baht per dish at the restaurant.
– a lot of them do not buy ZARA because it is so overpriced in Thailand. There are a lot of street brand better than ZARA at a cheaper price. I have just brought a lot of ZARA shirt for 19.99 euro in Europe, but never brought anything overpriced product from ZARA in Thailand.
– The coffee at my university only cost around 15 baht (around 0.27 cent). And around 45 baht at the shopping mall. Again, people do not go to starbucks everyday.
-Movie ticket – I can go on Wednesday for 100 baht for other normal day for 150 baht. $5.83 dollar is not true for average price of regular seat.
-Gym – there are so many cheap gym around, and $756 in the picture is maybe for those gym located in the shopping mall. Some people can even go to their own gym at their own condo.
-Internet – the best high speed internet is only for the enterprise usage. Most household in Thailand just use the cheapest package. (590 baht per month)
Therefore, these comparisons are not significant and couldn't be use to measure local purchasing power. People working in Bangkok and earn wage and salary purchase these items on a regular basis.
How much you have to spend is depending upon how well you choose to spend your money = ]
Doy Moreau says
Possibly the most irrelevant research ever conducted. I spent years working at Nielsen and and have been in marketing for 13 years, and lived throughout the world. Firstly, the research is comparing all of these supposed consumer categories with the sensational headline "Is Bangkok too Expensive": WHERE are the 2 largest expenses that people make in their life, their HOME and their CAR? Are these points suddenly irrelevant for a cost of living analysis? Next, all of the brands that have been selected are not only import brands which are heavily taxed, but are completely niche and have a wildly different positioning in Western markets vs. the Thai market. Zara, Starbucks, Nike are mainstream commodities in Western markets, they were imported in Thailand to cater to the Upper Middle Class and Upper Class segments only, but for this comparison I bet they are using the overall average salary. As a Chief Marketing Officer, I would never consider Ipsos Business Consulting for any of my needs based on such unprofessional, purely attention grabbing work. It is a little infuriating also that the press is running with it just at face value.