Geoarbitrage Experiment 2: Phuket, Thailand
Mexico was a great learning experience on the benefits of living abroad. It was a 2 month test case in the power of living in a cheaper country, in learning a new culture, of making mistakes to correct in the future. The year was 2021, and after 9-10 months of healthcare work during the tail end of the COVID pandemic, I felt the itch to get my passport stamped yet again. The healthcare burnout symptoms, the stress, the 9-5 grind, and my racing mind led me to Geoarbitrage test 2. As COVID restrictions kept most borders shut, my shortlist brought me back to Thailand (specifically, to Phuket island).
At the time, Thailand, dependent on tourist dollars, slowly reopened its borders with what they called the “Phuket Sandbox” project. Entry requirements included: applying for permission to enter with evidence of the 2 shot COVID vaccine series, negative test results before departure, travel health insurance policy, installation of contact tracing app, and a 2 week island “quarantine” with 2 covid tests over the period. Unlike other countries, where they’d throw you a room for 2 weeks, we were able to roam the entire 50km x 22km island at will (assuming the tests are negative). At the 2 week point, the “graduate” gets a certificate from the government allowing them to venture to other parts of the country.
My expectation was that as Phuket was mostly open, the other parts of the country would be as open. I was wrong. Even 4 months after I arrivedThere were checkpoints on the bridge between Phuket and the mainland region of Phang-Na. Most businesses on the island of Koh Samui were shuttered. Periodic lockdowns were in different parts of Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
My other assumption was that the other countries in the area would be reopening their borders soon after. When they did, I’d be there ready to take advantage of the deals that would inevitably ensue to attract foreigners. Once again, I was wrong. Hong Kong, VIetnam, Philippines, Taiwan; nearly all of them kept their borders closed and only started reopening when it was time for me to go back home. Over the time, I’d met a few Thai local friends, a few other long term foreigners in my age range; so I decided to shift my strategy to full Geoarbitrage in place mode. As you will see in the next post, my wallet thanked me.
As mentioned before, I stayed in Phuket island for half a year. This post is my attempt to reconstruct the cost of living a year after the fact. Just note that prices are undoubtedly lower than they would be in normal times as low tourist numbers kept prices down. Here’s a snippet:
Housing-
2 weeks at a “Quarantine certified hotel”- $420. Easily the most expensive housing of the trip, but reasonable by US standards. Still, it included a rooftop bar, 10 min walk to the beach, cleaning, sky views, gym, and a popular rooftop pool and bar where it was easy to meet a few locals and interesting tourists and expats from all over the world.
1 month at a high rise apartment- $435. For the next month, I moved to an apartment which cost the same for the month as 2 weeks in the hotel. Rent included a studio with balcony, gym access, rooftop pool with beach view, and 8 min walk to the beach.
3 months- averaging $250 (8000 THB) One of my Thai local friends knew the owner of a local mom and pop hotel that was looking for longer term guests.. Standard hotel room with room cleanings, balcony, ultra internet and 2 blocks for north Patong Beach.
2 months- $350/ month. By month 4, Patong gradually recovered its party atmosphere. Bars started reopening, tourists came back, the hustlers and “massage girls” started grating me; so I found an airbnb in a residential area of Bangtoa. Here was a full studio with 55” 4ktv, utilities, bed and futon, basic cook set; all a 4 min motorbike ride from the beach.
Food- Thai food is known to be healthy, delicious, and (for my purposes) cheap. A local coffee can easily be 30 THB ($1), street food meal 40-50 THB ($1.50-$2). Sit down restaurant in the 100-150 THB range ($3.50-5). Western style foods did cost a premium tho, around twice the price, so still around $8/ person
Transport- This is the key cost saver, especially for Americans. It’s well known that we love our cars, and we pay dearly for it. Generally most thing in Patong were in walking distance, but cheap motorbike taxis, Grab (Uber) can be a couple of bucks. I rented a motorbike for around 3,500 THB ($100) with insurance.
Health Costs- Expat insurance with low deductibles from SafetyWing is available for $45. In the future, I’ll write about a couple of ER visits in the region, and you may be surprised by the out pocket costs (hint: Don’t get sick in the US)
Laundry- Drop it off, pick it up the next day washed, ironed and folded for ~30THB/KG ($0.40/lb).
Flights- Using credit card sign up bonus points, my ticket to Thailand was free, plus the cost of taxes and fuel fees (around $40). The flight back to my family hometown of Cleveland Ohio was $700….which was far less than even the savings of one month of living in Thailand.
Geoarbitrage experiment 2 was a success! Living in another country for half a year was both possible and cost effective. I returned back to work in California soon after, and officially started my “6 month policy”. Next is experiment 3: Philippines (with quick detours in Japan and Vietnam.
