Curious about the cost of living as a retired nomad or slow traveler?
In this video, we’re sharing a detailed breakdown of our monthly travel budget while living in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as a retired nomadic couple. With a $5,000 a month budget, we explore how to live comfortably in one of Southeast Asia’s most affordable and vibrant cities, traveling full-time and managing our expenses.
Join us as we dive into the specifics of our nomadic budget for Chiang Mai, covering:
Accommodation: A tour of our Airbnb and insights into finding comfortable short-term rentals in Chiang Mai
Food & Dining: Our experience eating out for all meals—what’s cheap, delicious, and easy to find in Chiang Mai?
Transportation: How we navigate the city on foot, with occasional use of Grab, songthaews (red trucks), and tuk-tuks
Healthcare: Our out-of-pocket expenses for dental and dermatological visits in Chiang Mai
Insurance & Subscriptions: An overview of our recurring costs, including health insurance, life insurance, and various subscriptions
Miscellaneous: Unexpected costs and the realities of living abroad as a retiree
While we strive to stay within budget, there are always surprises. In this video, we share both the wins and the challenges of embracing the slow travel lifestyle in Chiang Mai.
Whether you’re considering a digital nomad lifestyle, retiring abroad, or simply curious about the cost of living in Thailand, this video offers practical insights for managing finances while exploring a new city each month.
Don’t forget to subscribe and hit the notification bell so you never miss a budget breakdown! If you enjoyed this video, give it a thumbs up and share your thoughts in the comments—have you visited Chiang Mai, or do you have suggestions for future locations?
Elephant Sanctuary Tour through Viator: https://www.viator.com/tours/Chiang-Mai/Care-elephant-ethical-reliable-place-at-elephant-pride-sanctuary/d5267-141046P2?medium=link&pid=P00221003&mcid=42383
Viator Cooking Class: https://www.viator.com/tours/Chiang-Mai/Morning-Course/d5267-211561P1?medium=link&pid=P00221003&mcid=42383
Want to add fuel 🍻☕️😊 to our day, consider:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/RetiredRickandDaphne
What we packed for 5 months of International Travel in South East Asia Carry On Only Video: https://youtu.be/Xa68ZLvFy04?si=v735NDMnJJ-eiJpm
Who Are We? Our Journey to Retired Nomad Travel: https://youtu.be/Rv2YnVbfCYg?si=chHD9lyRFpbvJ1oB
Credit Cards We Use:
Chase IHG Card: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/210f/EUBVWO1OYV
American Express Platinum: https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/platinum-card?ref=DAPHNdbKuH&xl=cp01
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Hi. Another great vid! I like your budget vids. Spoiler alert…
Their total cost was $3513 for 22 days; $160/ day for 2 pax, $80/ day for 1 pax.
Multiply $80/ day by 30 = $2400 per person for 1 month. It's a bit on the high end but that's OK! I was a bit surprised that your cost in BKK was lower at $60/ day. I think what made it higher was the excursions & the health care costs, which you didn't do in BKK.
Cheers & safe travels! 👍
I have a house just outside of Chiang Mai that I plan on retiring to in 12-16 months. I’ll need a dermatologist there. Would you happen to have the name and phone number of the dermatologist that you used? Looking forward to your report on Phuket.
Is that a budgeting app and if so, what app is it?
Wow knew you would come under budget 😂 and everything you did 😂xxxx
Thank you for making these budget videos. It is hard work to keep track of it all. I recently spent 30 days in the Algarve and used the TravelSpend app you use. It is a very helpful tool as you can configure a shortcut to automatically add the expenses you pay with ApplePay to the app. But I confess my wife had to stay on me to add the little items like the coffees, waters, juices, snacks, etc that I get all the time and pay with cash. Thank you for your discipline and sharing the information with us. Enjoy Phuket and I look forward to the next video.
Another great video! Thanks for sharing. We really enjoy watching your videos and look forward to them every week! Have fun in Phuket. From Tony and Tracy 🇦🇺
Another great video! You’ve become my favorite YouTubers — love your positivity and adventurous spirit! Thank you!
Great video! I'll definitely be checking out the rest as you put them out. I really liked the cool little scrolling app items you had toward the end. What app was that?
Its all good!! We are fine!!! lol
Another wonderfully detailed review of your stay. As a budget conscious traveler it has to make you feel quite relieved finishing under budget…again. If you want add a little more cushion to your Thailand stays, since your usual monthly stay in places has been 28 days, divide the $5k by 28…you’ll end up even more ahead for your 22 day CM stay. 😊
Phuket is the most expensive province in Thailand.
Love your cost of living videos! We’re saving them for future planning and budgeting.
Hello Daphne and Rick! Loving your videos and thanks for the great detail you have provided on the budget. I’m scheduled to visit the same dentist that Rick visited tomorrow – thank you for the sharing contact details. Quick question on the dermatologist – you noted that Rick was a walk in at Dr. Vachiraporm-Phitsanu Clinic. Is that correct? No appointment necessary? If yes, did you arrive once they opened? Hope you are enjoying Phuket, sorry to break it to you, but it’s much more expensive than Chiang Mai. Our wallet is getting a breather here in Chiang Mai! 🙂
That’s awesome under budget !That’s actually not bad considering all the experiences and the life style ( massages :)) you had while there . I like the way you keep track of all expenses. Very detailed . Can’t wait to see your next video .
My mom stayed at the same Astra in Chaing Mai for 3 months but a beautiful 1 bedroom- her rental was $700 per month. I'm planning slow travel and making it my home base! Great breakdown
Very helpful, thank you!! I love hearing these budget breakdowns!
You'll have to really be on budget in Italy, lol. I feel like you're going to miss this Thai luxury!
Daphne and Rick! You are really awesome to share such detailed budget info. Thank you so very much.
I really look forward to your videos each week. I learn so much from you.🩷🩷🩷
Very cool. Living seems incredibly inexpensive
Another fabulous video!
Your fiscal thoroughness and accuracy are impressive!😂 Chiang Mai is an incredible value and you guys lived it up and stayed under budget.. Congrats! 😊
I love Rick. He was so assertive and positive that it will be fine. Question: 🙋🏽♀️ Who’s idea was it to do this nomad thing and the YT channel?
In our marriage, Iramis, is the one that is “we have to save, we have to plan, and we are doing YT!”. That was a a year ago, now Gerry is 💯 in! 💗🙏🏽🇵🇷
I am really enjoying your Thailand adventures and am looking forward to seeing what you think about Phuket. TBH I have always avoided it for various reasons but I wonder what your take on it will be! Also you got a lot for $3,500!! That included the "high" transportation costs as well as offshoots like medical etc. so its nice to know that even when things come up you are still under!!
We are just planning our Thailand adventure for next winter so this was very useful for us: thanks! Sending wishes from Mexico for happy travels!🙏
That was an incredibly detailed breakdown of your expensive. Excellent job! I loved the area you’re in now. Glad you’re enjoying yourself.😊
Compared at first glance to other monthly expenses or spend videos of the same location, 🤔 $3,500 seems double the normal amounts for couples. 😮
But, but, but you do so much.😮💪
Have you tried to filter by max amount on the Airbnb app, to see what comes up with your normal criteria? 😉
I've noticed airbnb leans more towards the higher priced places in the first pages of the search results. But when you add the max price say $1,000 it brings listings as good or nicer than the $1,500 or $2,000 ones.🤓
Just me sharing my thoughts.
I still believe you $5k budget allows you both to enjoy so much more at each place while still covering those fixed costs each month. 😊 💪
Great works of art by the way.😉😁
Enjoy the videos! Good content!!
Hi thanks for the info. Can you tell us about the AQI during your stay in Thailand
.we are cancelling our Thailand trip in April/May after knowing about the AQI in Bangkok and Chang Mai. Depending on the wind the beach areas south could also be dangerously high AQI.
Currently we are in the
u s We watch Al Jazeera and NHK world news to know about the air quality and ect . We may stay in Japan those months . TY
I'm glad you mention transportation costs to the location for accuracy and completion. I expect that's going to be so different depending on where you are coming from, but we can work out that part.
You might want to look into Genki travel insurance. I am 62 and pay $177 a month. It does cover me in the US for six weeks out of the year, which is OK because I wouldn’t be back for more than that anyways. During that six weeks, it is only accident or emergency coverage so no routine check ups or office visits. Again that works because all that stuff I would do in eastern Europe or south east Asia, anyways out-of-pocket, which is super cheap. Keep in mind that you had $350 that was your cost just to get over there for your airline. The rest of SEA you won’t have a big expense like that until you fly west again. Turkey is my FAVORITE country. You will love it!
You might want to look into Genki travel insurance. I am 62 and pay $177 a month. It does cover in the US for six weeks out of the year, which is OK because I wouldn’t be back for more than that anyways. During that six weeks, it is only accident or emergency coverage so no routine check ups or office visits. Again that works because all that stuff I would do in eastern Europe or south east Asia, anyways out-of-pocket, which is super cheap.
Your food total sounds spot on. I spend a total of $300 for just me, so $600 for a couple is perfect.
68!😂😂😂❤
Can wait to find out the total, but I am going to be patient.😂