Thailand started bus service in Bangkok nearly 100 years ago, it was run by private bus operators at a reasonable price but still making a decent profit. However, about 45 years ago, a certain political party campaigned to make bus in Bangkok free and when this party came to power as a coalition govt, it nationalized bus services, buying the private operators and created Bangkok Mass Transport Authority (BMTA) to run a free bus service for a few years. When the govt could no longer afford the huge annual subsidy, it allowed the BMTA to charge a cheap ticket price for non-aircon buses and then introduced air-con buses at 2-3 times the price of non-aircon buses. The non-aircon buses have been running at a loss since then up to today while the air-con buses run at break-even. The BMTA then granted private bus operators to run non-aircon and air-con buses again about 30 years ago to reduce the BMTA's mounting debts as private operators seem to know how to run buses at a decent profit even though they charge the same ticket fares as BMTA's own buses. To this day, BMTA non-aircon red/orange buses are still relatively cheap at 8 baht, one of the cheapest fare in the world. Every year, the national govt allocates a supplementary budget to shore up BMTA's inefficient operation. It is apparent that the first populist policy of Thai govt does not work as is the case worldwide such as the bankrupted Venezuela and the father of populist policy Argentina which seeks IMF help at least 6 times since WWII. Note: Since early this year, there is an aircon electric bus service (Thai Smile Bus) running dozens of routes in Bangkok under BMTA's concession. Bus fare depends on distance. You can pay by fill-in Hopper card bought from bus conductor or cash. Right now there is a 40-baht all day promotion if you pay by Hopper card. Even if the fare exceeds 40 baht, you pay only 40 baht. It's great if you plan to tour Bangkok using this promotion. You can also download TSB app to know when a particular bus is coming at your bus stop. The Hopper card can also be used at Thai Smile Boat service at a flat rate of 20 baht for all distance. The promotion also includes 50-baht for bus/boat combined service right now.
Thankyou for this video. Definitely very helpful. I'll be moving to Bangkok next year because of my job. I however chose to live next to ARL around Makassan area cuz it goes straight to my workplace. Wish me luck. Living in another country, starting a new life with no friends and relatives around is quite scary for me 😬
Hey thanks for leaving a comment😃 Makassan area looks like a better place to be. More parks close by, and more expats to make friends with. We both moved to Bangkok alone in 2021 (before we met) and you will make friends fast and the people in Thailand are sooo welcoming and friendly. Good luck on the new journey, and enjoy every moment of it😁
Great video. Wondering if we can pay for BTS tickets or bus tickets with North American credit cards? And for all expenses listed at the end of the video, including rent, can we pay with NA credit cards? Thank you.
You can use the website 12go to pay for long haul busses, vans, trains, and ferries with your cards. BTS we just do cash, not sure about using cards. Rent probably not, except if you can do long term rentals on Airbnb or hotels. There is a place called Qbox hotel that has short and long term rentals and I think you'll be able to pay with credit cards. Thanks for watching😃
Gustav takes a School van. So he isn’t really affected by it. Kate gets drenched when it’s rainy season so she uses a Poncho. And drives slowly when the roads are flooded.
Yeah the cost of living is nice and low. You could get a big apartment for more, or a house and cost of living goes up. Also, all our traveling expenses aren’t included. But yeah you can live comfortably on a $1000 per month 😃
Yes any Bachelors degree. If you have a teaching degree/license or PGCE some schools pay you more and you can apply for postions at International Schools and make an even higher salary.
Gustav works 7:45-16:20 Monday to Friday. Kate works 7:00-4:00. But there are also english teaching centers where the hours are different. Go look on the websites Ajarn and Kruteacher for job listings 😃 April is a great time to come because the next Academic year starts in May/June.
Most countries get a free 30 day visa exemption at the airport. It's 1900baht to extend it another 30 days. The work visa is also 1900 or 2000 baht for a year. My school covers that and health insurance. But you can find good health insurance for around 20k per year. We have never done border runs because we got jobs before coming. But buses and flights to Cambodia and Loas are cheap.
Avoid motorbike, you can live outskirt of Bangkok but must be close to mass transit. You earn less but spend less here. It would be best to have European salary and live in South East Asia.
Yeah driving a motorcycle in Bangkok is stressful 😅 public transport is nice and affordable. To be honest we sometimes wish we could be closer to downtown Bangkok so we could do more activities and sports.
We moved to an apartment where a lot of my colleagues stay because our School Van pick is up here. So I don't have to drive myself😄 but we miss the old apartment, it was amazing. And the pool and gym was great there.
I know you want to be close to your school, but there are many options and price ranges. For example we lived on Sukhumvit 31 in a 238sqm place for 28k baht. Also Yen Akat (Sathorn area) for 14k baht. So you can live in downtown fairly cheaply.
Yeah that’s true, we have met people that live in downtown Bangkok and got affordable accommodation, but for us it would be really far to commute to our Schools. Sometimes we wish we were closer to Sukhumvit for all the fun activities you can do😃
@guymandudely324 kids and all their toys, sister-in-law coming to stay with us, we wanted a full kitchen, and we simply like being able to spread out a bit.
You can teach Science and Math at some schools, or even Social Studies/History. Depending on where you are from the salaries start at the lowest around 35k and go up from there.
Salaries are awful for EFL. Even English Program teachers who normally earn more have been displaced by Filipino teachers who will gladly work for HALF the salary of a Western teacher. Many schools won't even process your nonB visa anymore, so teaching options are very limited and not expected to be 'full-time' for Westerners.
That is true is some schools, but if you have a bachelor's degree and can get some experience teaching you can get higher paying jobs if you are patient. Also my colleagues teach ESL and make a good salary. You just need to find a good school.
@@K8andGustav I'm sorry but 35K baht isn't a good salary or good enough for farang to live well in Bangkok. Since most schools aren't interested in providing nonB assistance anymore, it's irrelevant ... Thai schools want backpackers for a month or so who can be replaced, or Filipino teachers who will work for 15-20K baht/month.
