Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barrow-in-Furness and Chiang Mai

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $2,256 in Barrow-in-Furness, rent and utilities included – about $15,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Barrow-in-Furness
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Barrow-in-Furness Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index

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Barrow-in-Furness

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,256

/mo nomad

Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barrow-in-Furness and in Chiang Mai

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Barrow-in-Furness and in Chiang Mai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,256 per month in Barrow-in-Furness vs $936 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Barrow-in-Furness $2,256
Chiang Mai $936

A couple spends around $3,318 per month in Barrow-in-Furness vs $1,457 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Barrow-in-Furness $3,318
Chiang Mai $1,457

A family of three spends $4,381 per month in Barrow-in-Furness vs $1,979 in Chiang Mai, rent included.

Barrow-in-Furness $4,381
Chiang Mai $1,979

Barrow-in-Furness costs about 141% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Barrow-in-Furness sits 66% above the global median, while Chiang Mai is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.29 £19.64

$2.24 ฿75.6

1073.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.5 £55.7

$19.00 ฿641

292.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.74 £8.03

$5.55 ฿187

93.51%

Cappuccino

$4.62 £3.45

$1.67 ฿56.5

176.65%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 £2.03

$0.64 ฿21.55

325.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.31 ฿10.31

480.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.35 £4.00

$2.36 ฿79.6

126.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.56 £4.90

$3.66 ฿124

79.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 £1.22

$1.95 ฿65.8

-16.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.44 ฿48.48

4.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.33 ฿45.04

57.14%

Eggs

$3.70 £2.76

$2.28 ฿77.1

62.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.14 £6.83

$16.45 ฿555

-44.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.03 £6.00

$2.78 ฿93.9

188.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.99 £7.46

$9.31 ฿314

7.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 £2.52

$2.35 ฿79.4

43.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 £1.44

$0.97 ฿32.80

97.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.39 £1.79

$1.60 ฿53.9

49.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.53 £3.38

$1.50 ฿50.6

202.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.06 £2.29

$1.28 ฿43.12

139.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 £1.21

$1.10 ฿37.19

47.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 £1.15

$0.71 ฿23.82

116.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 £1.06

$0.49 ฿16.37

189.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.88 £17.84

$4.14 ฿140

476.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.94 £8.92

$17.52 ฿591

-31.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.20 £3.14

$1.61 ฿54.5

160.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.71 £3.52

$2.78 ฿94.0

69.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.58 £2.67

$0.87 ฿29.31

311.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.3 £72.0

$54.1 ฿1,826

78.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.48 £3.35

$1.16 ฿39.06

286.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.60 £1.94

$0.53 ฿17.80

390.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.55 £14.60

$2.42 ฿81.8

707.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.47

$1.45 ฿48.90

35.86%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$38.2K £28.5K

$21.1K ฿710.7K

81.36%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$40.9K £30.6K

$26.9K ฿909.3K

51.96%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$203 £151

$62.2 ฿2,098

225.91%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$17.13 £12.79

$12.17 ฿411

40.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.65 £30.37

$20.12 ฿679

102.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.28 £30.84

$37.31 ฿1,259

10.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

Cinema Ticket

$7.99 £5.97

$6.49 ฿219

23.11%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,339 £1,000

$736 ฿24.8K

81.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K £12.2K

$14.8K ฿498.3K

10.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.3 £45.04

$53.4 ฿1,801

12.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.92 £27.58

$24.64 ฿831

49.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.6 £59.5

$91.5 ฿3,087

-12.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 £59.5

$71.9 ฿2,428

10.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,220 £911

$482 ฿16.3K

152.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 £774

$309 ฿10.4K

235.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,101 £1,569

$1,006 ฿33.9K

108.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,682 £1,257

$633 ฿21.4K

165.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,966 £3,710

$2,363 ฿79.8K

110.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,836 £2,866

$1,589 ฿53.6K

141.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,017 £1,507

$590 ฿19.9K

242.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.61

5.57

0.72%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Barrow-in-Furness: October 26, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Barrow-in-Furness

$1K 45.9%

Chiang Mai

$309 33% 70.2% $727

Eating Out

Barrow-in-Furness

$356 15.8%

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3% 78.2% $278

Groceries & Markets

Barrow-in-Furness

$303 13.4%

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1% 22.6% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barrow-in-Furness

$260 11.5%

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1% 63.7% $166

Getting Around

Barrow-in-Furness

$128 5.7%

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6% 52.1% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Barrow-in-Furness

$115 5.1%

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6% 5.9% $6.8

Sport & Entertainment

Barrow-in-Furness

$57 2.5%

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4% 12.2% $7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,220 in Barrow-in-Furness versus $482 in Chiang Mai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Barrow-in-Furness are about 3.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $74 in Barrow-in-Furness versus $19 in Chiang Mai. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $303 vs $234 – making Chiang Mai the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Barrow-in-Furness

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🕒 Local time

06:31 6:31 AM

13:31 1:31 PM

7 h ahead of Barrow-in-Furness

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

55,489

127,240

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 33.75 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.68 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Barrow-in-Furness Chiang Mai 9,090 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Barrow-in-Furness
Chiang Mai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Barrow-in-Furness vs Chiang Mai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,256 in Barrow-in-Furness, $936 in Chiang Mai – Chiang Mai comes out roughly 59% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,384 per month in Barrow-in-Furness and $1,403 in Chiang Mai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Chiang Mai, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $482 there versus $1,220 in Barrow-in-Furness.

Kindergarten costs $1,339 per month in Barrow-in-Furness and $736 in Chiang Mai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 29% more in Barrow-in-Furness, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,256 in Barrow-in-Furness and $936 in Chiang Mai. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Chiang Mai – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Chiang Mai. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Barrow-in-Furness makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.