PATTAYA, Thailand – “The baht is strengthening.” It sounds like an ordinary line from an economic report. For expats living in Thailand, it is never just that. It appears quietly in the number of baht that disappear each month, in pensions that remain unchanged but buy less, in rent that rises without explanation. Exchange rates do not make noise. They work silently, and they work precisely.
When the Baht strengthens: some gain, others simply adapt
A strong baht is not bad news for everyone. Expats who bring large sums of foreign capital into Thailand tend not to complain. Dollars, euros, or pounds can be converted into Thai assets at more favourable terms. Expats with diversified wealth, multiple income streams, or no dependence on monthly transfers experience currency movements as a variable not a threat. But most expats do not live there.
Those who complain the least often lose the most
Retired expats do not feel a strong baht on a chart. They feel it in the supermarket, on electricity bills, in restaurants they once visited without hesitation. The pension has not changed. Life has.
Remote workers paid in foreign currency watch their income shrink with every transfer, while local expenses remain stubbornly fixed. Expats in hospitality or long-term rentals discover that Thailand itself has not changed, but to foreign clients, it now looks more expensive. No announcement is made. You simply adjust again, and again.
Money is flowing in, just not expat money
This is what many expats notice, but rarely says aloud. The baht strengthens, and at the same time, property prices and living costs rise. Large amounts of money are entering the country, but not from people working here, and not from people building long term lives. It flows through crypto, through cash markets, through gold, before settling into condominiums, houses, luxury cars, and high-value assets. Expats are not competing with other expats. They are competing with money that has no face, no residence, and no monthly expenses.
The quiet questions expats begin to ask
A strong baht is not a shock. It is pressure applied slowly. Expats begin asking familiar questions, but with greater seriousness, “How exposed is my income to exchange rates?” Can I still control my cost of living? Is Thailand still truly liveable for me? There are no universal answers. But the questions are real.
A strong baht is never wrong but it is never fair
Currencies have no morality. They do not know who is retired, who is working, or who is simply trying to live honestly. They reflect only one thing, who the system currently favours and who must quietly adjust. Thailand may succeed in attracting capital. But if a country learns to keep money while losing the people who actually live there, the charts may look strong, but the streets grow quieter. And for expats, a strong baht is not an economic issue. It is a personal one a decision about whether to stay, or to leave quietly.
Victor Wong (Peerasan Wongsri)
Victor Law Pattaya/Finance & Tax Expert
Email: <[email protected]> Tel. 062-8795414
