Argentina isn't the cheapest

[Stephano]

I have used Numbeo to compare Buenos Aires and Bangkok:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livi...entina&city2=Buenos+Aires&displayCurrency=USD

Assuming the site's correctness it looks like Buenos Aires is overall cheaper than Bangkok.

 

[sergio]

I have used Numbeo to compare Buenos Aires and Bangkok:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livi...entina&city2=Buenos+Aires&displayCurrency=USD

Assuming the site's correctness it looks like Buenos Aires is overall cheaper than Bangkok.

That may be so but I'll be that Bangkok was cheap a decade ago, twenty years ago, thirty years ago but I remember when BA was relatively expensive. Dining out was close to or equal to US prices during Menem. As I said, it's unpredictable,.

 

[Rich One]

Watch out what you say..If Menem days may come back, we better pack and go sooner.

 

[Johnny]

I have used Numbeo to compare Buenos Aires and Bangkok:

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livi...entina&city2=Buenos+Aires&displayCurrency=USD

Assuming the site's correctness it looks like Buenos Aires is overall cheaper than Bangkok.

I lived off and on in Bangkok for a number of years. I left a little over four years ago. I would say that in general Argentina is much less expensive, but for those looking for a super cheap existence Bangkok does provide those as well. That existence arrives with a very spartan studio where you rent a fridge, a TV, and other "luxuries". Also eating street food on a regular basis. I know a number of expats who have that lifestyle. If you get out of Bangkok living can be even less expensive.

 

[Reversegate]

I think it's a balancing act. Some things are cheaper, some are more expensive, some are the same.

The example I always give is how often are you buying an iPhone vs taking the subway. On ML it's $1,072 for an iPhone 14 vs. $699 in the US, yet the subway is 11¢ here vs. $2.90 in NYC. For almost everything, it will be cheaper here, and for the things that are more expensive, you're likely not buying them everyday.

Are there countries to live that are cheaper than Argentina? Sure, perhaps Laos or Rwanda, but your quality of life will be different too.

All these cases assume you have your earnings in dollars, and should Argentina dollarize (again, something I doubt) we can expect the cost of everything here to go up, but it will still be cheaper, it just won't be a steal like it is now.

This precisely.

 

[Kenitobkk]

I believe I am the only one qualified to compare Bangkok and Buenos Aires with real prices since I'm from Bangkok and I'm living in Buenos Aires now.
Given that we use dollar blue rate, there are a lot of things that are cheaper in Bangkok but there are things that are more expensive there as well. Bear in mind that BKK caters to all kinds of people, be it cheap or chic/fancy.
You can find a fully furnished modern condo with gym and swimming pool etc etc say 30 sq.m studio for less than $300/month (this is based on where I was living alone near Rama IV Road). My electricity bill was normally around $25-30/month and the water bill was very cheap like $2/month.
A decent meal at a street-side shophouse-like restaurant costs around $1.5-2. If you eat at a restaurant in a shopping mall normally it would cost you around $10++ depending on what and where but if you go to the food court, you can get something from $3-5.
@earlyretirement Terminal 21's food court is much cheaper than others because they intended to make it cheap to attract tourists but if you go to other food courts lat Siam Paragon or MBK, it will probably be double or more.
Starbucks is cheaper in Buenos Aires. I had an iced grande Americano for $2 here. I believe Starbucks in BKK is the same price as in the US.
I bought a kilo of beef here for $2. Beef is hard to compare because beef in Thailand is expensive and the quality varies depending on where and which cuts you buy. Normal beef you buy at a wet market costs $9/kg but we're talking super tough and tooth-pooling sticky beef. Farm-raised high quality beef might range from $20-35/kg. Wine in Thailand is expensive due to high import tax. The cheapest drinkable bottle costs $14 while here it's $1-2 and it might even taste better. Produce isn't that different but we do have a lot of wet markets throughout the countries where things are a lot cheaper than air-conditioned supermarkets. Taxi, subway and skytrain are more expensive than taxi and subte here. Here subte costs nothing while in BKK you're charged by the distance. A single ride ranges from $0.5-2 depending on how far you go.

 

[earlyretirement]

The problem is that Argentina is unpredictable. Other less developed countries have more consistent prices and less volatility.

Yes, for sure it's unpredictable. However, I found if you have purchased a home/apartment that's your main cost. Property is relatively cheap right now. It's fallen for many years in a row. It's bottomed out or a few quarters from bottoming out. You can buy a really nice brand new construction property for around $150,000 and expenses are dirt cheap. Utility bills are next to nothing. I believe this is the bottom. I called it correctly in 2002 buying up as much real estate as I could in Buenos Aires for a few years after that. At my peak I owned 15 properties in Bueno Aires. I sold most of my properties at the peak in 2018 and 2019 for pretty insane prices and I've been waiting a few years for an opportunity like this again.

You get that taken care of and it doesn't matter if Argentina is "unpredictable". You can live a good life for not too much money. I don't really see that changing. The key is to OWN a place of your own and not get stuck renting. I kept 2 properties and never sold and even during the tremendous turmoil in Argentina they have consistently stayed rented and made over $1,200 US each per month.

The key in Argentina is to take advantage of the boom and bust cycles. There is LOTS of money to be made there. The problem is people think things are going to be great forever and then they think they will fall forever. Things don't move in straight lines forever. You can't get emotional in Argentina. You just have to use logic and common sense.

Argentina is a dream to live in if you're retired and you have foreign currency and hard assets abroad so you have US dollars/Euros/Sterling/etc. and spending pesos. People in that situation will always do well in Argentina living.

 

[earlyretirement]

I lived off and on in Bangkok for a number of years. I left a little over four years ago. I would say that in general Argentina is much less expensive, but for those looking for a super cheap existence Bangkok does provide those as well. That existence arrives with a very spartan studio where you rent a fridge, a TV, and other "luxuries". Also eating street food on a regular basis. I know a number of expats who have that lifestyle. If you get out of Bangkok living can be even less expensive.

The "street food" in Bangkok is pretty darn good. Did you ever go eat at Terminal 21 Johnny? How do they make money there? Some of the dishes are only like $1.50 US including full protein. I was blown away how delicious and how fresh and cheap it was.

I was incredibly impressed with how efficient and organized of a system they have with those refillable plastic cards so vendors/restaurants didn't have to deal with cash. I'm going to go back to Thailand next summer. I LOVED the people and culture there. So reverent and respectful culture and society.

 

[earlyretirement]

I believe I am the only one qualified to compare Bangkok and Buenos Aires with real prices since I'm from Bangkok and I'm living in Buenos Aires now.
Given that we use dollar blue rate, there are a lot of things that are cheaper in Bangkok but there are things that are more expensive there as well. Bear in mind that BKK caters to all kinds of people, be it cheap or chic/fancy.
You can find a fully furnished modern condo with gym and swimming pool etc etc say 30 sq.m studio for less than $300/month (this is based on where I was living alone near Rama IV Road). My electricity bill was normally around $25-30/month and the water bill was very cheap like $2/month.
A decent meal at a street-side shophouse-like restaurant costs around $1.5-2. If you eat at a restaurant in a shopping mall normally it would cost you around $10++ depending on what and where but if you go to the food court, you can get something from $3-5.
@earlyretirement Terminal 21's food court is much cheaper than others because they intended to make it cheap to attract tourists but if you go to other food courts lat Siam Paragon or MBK, it will probably be double or more.
Starbucks is cheaper in Buenos Aires. I had an iced grande Americano for $2 here. I believe Starbucks in BKK is the same price as in the US.
I bought a kilo of beef here for $2. Beef is hard to compare because beef in Thailand is expensive and the quality varies depending on where and which cuts you buy. Normal beef you buy at a wet market costs $9/kg but we're talking super tough and tooth-pooling sticky beef. Farm-raised high quality beef might range from $20-35/kg. Wine in Thailand is expensive due to high import tax. The cheapest drinkable bottle costs $14 while here it's $1-2 and it might even taste better. Produce isn't that different but we do have a lot of wet markets throughout the countries where things are a lot cheaper than air-conditioned supermarkets. Taxi, subway and skytrain are more expensive than taxi and subte here. Here subte costs nothing while in BKK you're charged by the distance. A single ride ranges from $0.5-2 depending on how far you go.

Thank for that really detailed explanation on Bangkok. This is why I love these forums. The sharing of valuable information. Yes, when I looked at apartment rental prices on long term rentals in Bangkok, I saw some nice ones for about $500 US per month which more or less matches what you're saying. I looked at 1 bedroom units.

Yes, I ate in Siam Paragon and MBK too and you're exactly correct. Those places were about double or 2.5 X the price of Terminal 21. You mentioned they are trying to attract tourists but we went there for 4 days in a row and I mostly saw locals not tourists eating there. A local explained to me they make it cheap so locals don't cook and just eat out. I don't understand why anyone would cook if they can get delicious food like that for so cheap. We had many dishes at Terminal 21 and the proteins and vegetables were super fresh and delicious. We tried many stalls and most were less than $2 US per person. It was unbelievable. And I'm not talking super small portion. Enough food to fill you up.

I really appreciate your detailed prices on Bangkok and I find it's spot on target. I stayed at the Hyatt Regency and I'm a Globalist. They upgraded us to a HUGE suite. They had free dinner at night in the Club Lounge but we only went up there for the wine, as you noted it's not cheap there. But I refused to eat there Free as food was so delicious and cheap in Terminal 21 a few blocks away. However, the breakfast was AMAZING at the Hyatt Regency. One of the best in all my travels around the world. The French Toast was incredible.

My kids were in heaven deciding all the stalls to eat at. We never had a bad meal in Bangkok and really all of Thailand. I love your country. We visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Phuket. I fell in love with your culture and people there.

Just out of curiosity, what brought you to Buenos Aires? Which do you like better? The only thing I didn't like about Bangkok was the horrible heat and humidity. I couldn't stand that all the time. Also, the traffic is pretty horrendous. I didn't use the public transport as I had a driver.

 

[Redpossum]

The problem is that Argentina is unpredictable. Other less developed countries have more consistent prices and less volatility.

The lack of stability is the one thing about Argentina that really bothers me.
You just don't have any way to know what tomorrow may bring.