Another reason to live in Thailand: Utilities
There are plenty of things about living in this country that get on my nerves but many of these things would be just as bad if not worse living in another country. One of the major appeals about Thailand to me and many others is the affordability of almost everything and this honestly extends to every aspect of life. Other than luxury goods I really can't think of anything that is more expensive here than in the west. I am sure there is something.
Anyway, i'm rambling again.
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Despite the fact that the electrical systems such as how the power lines are assembled and maintained, for the most part the electricity is pretty reliable here. It is a lot more likely the fluctuate and brownout than in the west, sure, but look at the organizational paradigm, I'm surprised it works at all when I see setups like this.
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The electric in this country is extremely cheap and I have no idea why that is the case. I think it likely has a lot to do with the fact that we never have to spend any money on heating because with extremely rare instances, it is literally never cold in this country. I live in nearly the northernmost portion of the country which is also at one of the highest elevations and while it can be necessary to wear a jacket from time to time, it is certainly never cold.
I pay very little attention to attempting to cut down on my electric use. If I am hot, i turn on the air conditioning... period. If it a really hot day I leave it on for my dog when I leave - I am not concerned about how much this might end up costing me and here is the reason why.
May is one of the hottest months of the year in Thailand. Some people would successfully argue it is the hottest. I have had my air conditioning on pretty much every day, all day from 10am onward because the house starts to become a sauna at that point. At the end of the month my total electric bill for my 2-story, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house is what you see above and that is almost exactly $50 US.
My water bill is so incredibly low that I tend to not pay it much mind when it arrives. Last month's water bill was just a bit over $2, for the entire month. I can't even imagine how the water company manages to make any money. This is amazing.
Now granted I have not lived in many countries, only 4 of them. I do however, remember that one house that I lived in while still in the United States our electric bill in our 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom house was routinely $500 to $700 a month. In a really hot month we once racked up an electric bill that was over $1000 and to me, that just seems like extortion.
Thailand wins again on one of the major aspects of life that consumes our psyche back in the west: Utilities are affordable.
I look at your bill and just see how much we are being ripped off. The same here would be around 500 percent more and I am not exaggerating. The average for our home is around $400 per month and that is not using the air conditioners that often. It is amazing the electricity even works seeing all those lines. We have the same sort of set up in some of the areas, but it is all illegal connections.
I'm curious as to how it is possible. I've never really looked into the "per unit cost" I have to presume it is Kwh as a standard. The thing that gets me is that gasoline, for the most part, is MORE expensive here than in the west so how can other energy be so cheap? I will admit i know very little about the process.
Oh! Don’t let those electricity and water companies know what you think! I am afraid there might be extra charges for expats!!
Cheers.
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lol, as racist as that sounds it honestly wouldn't surprise me if that happened.
Don’t worry! I don’t think that will ever happen! It isn’t good business strategy! They’ll find other ways to get more money out of all consumers! More profitable that way!
Have a peaceful and cool Sunday!
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$52 for water and electricity, thats crazy low. In Oregon, my water, electric and natural gas runs typically $250 per month, no matter the time of year. I know California is getting crazy with electric rates because of the PGE bankruptcy. Yeah, i would keep it quiet on how low your bills are. I'm sure when money tightens up, they'll be looking at the expats first.
Looks like Thailand is indeed a winner when it comes to electricity. If I would use air conditioning I would be paying a fortune here.
Those wires on the other hand look awful, looks like there's no system, no plan, wires are just everywhere.
I was speaking to an electrician one day when I owned a bar years ago an he told me that as many as half the wires on the uprights don't even do anything... nobody is sure though so they just stay there and in the meantime telecom companies just put new wires on top of the old ones, even if they are their own.
That is the most dangerous thing to do. Imagine if something very bad happens,the whole neighborhood goes dark and they have to fix it. It's very dangerous and stupid as well. There will come a day when the whole mess has to be cleaned up.
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Man that is basically free. Amazing.
Once you live in Thailand, you will never move to another country. When the Steem price is sky high, I might buy a small house over there. ;)
I hate when this bills fly in. In Thailand you dont care about. You are a lucky man.
Oh wow, those are some pretty impressive prices. Those are also some crazy prices for the places in the US. I think a lot of it much just have to do with where you live over here. I know that our water bill is typically about $120 every three months. That pays for sewer too because we live in an area with sewer service. Our electric and gas bill is typically about $150 a month. That is an average, it goes up and down depending on the seasons. Typically it is more in the Summer/ Winter and less in the Fall/Spring. Those power lines are truly frightening!