Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chiang Mai and Lehliu Gara

For one person, living is cheaper in Chiang Mai: $936 a month against $1,000 in Lehliu Gara, rent and utilities included – about $770 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Chiang Mai
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Chiang Mai Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Lehliu Gara
Learn more

Lehliu Gara Living Index

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Chiang Mai

🇹🇭 Thailand

$936

/mo nomad

Lehliu Gara

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,000

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chiang Mai and in Lehliu Gara

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

A single person spends $936 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,000 in Lehliu Gara, rent included.

Chiang Mai $936
Lehliu Gara $1,000

A couple spends around $1,457 per month in Chiang Mai vs $1,525 in Lehliu Gara, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,457
Lehliu Gara $1,525

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Chiang Mai vs $2,051 in Lehliu Gara, rent included.

Chiang Mai $1,979
Lehliu Gara $2,051

Chiang Mai is about 6% cheaper than Lehliu Gara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Chiang Mai and Lehliu Gara are more affordable than the global median – Chiang Mai 31% lower, Lehliu Gara 27% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.24 ฿75.7

$10.36 RON 49.78

-78.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.00 ฿642

$41.94 RON 202

-54.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ฿188

$7.26 RON 34.89

-23.55%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ฿56.6

$2.52 RON 12.12

-33.73%

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

$0.64 ฿21.56

$2.12 RON 10.17

-69.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ฿10.32

$1.83 RON 8.79

-83.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ฿79.6

$2.14 RON 10.26

10.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 ฿124

$3.21 RON 15.41

14.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 ฿65.8

$1.18 RON 5.65

65.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 ฿48.51

$0.69 RON 3.34

108.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 ฿45.07

$1.78 RON 8.56

-25.28%

Eggs

$2.28 ฿77.1

$3.50 RON 16.84

-34.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.45 ฿556

$7.64 RON 36.74

115.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$5.99 RON 28.78

-53.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.31 ฿314

$8.65 RON 41.59

7.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ฿79.5

$1.30 RON 6.23

80.77%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 ฿32.82

$1.62 RON 7.78

-40.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ฿53.9

$1.56 RON 7.48

2.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 ฿50.7

$1.81 RON 8.71

-17.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 ฿43.15

$0.97 RON 4.67

31.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ฿37.22

$1.06 RON 5.10

3.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿23.84

$0.86 RON 4.11

-17.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 ฿16.38

$0.67 RON 3.24

-26.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ฿140

$5.67 RON 27.24

-26.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.52 ฿592

$5.37 RON 25.79

226.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 ฿54.5

$1.03 RON 4.93

56.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿94.0

$1.18 RON 5.67

135.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.87 ฿29.33

$0.72 RON 3.47

20.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.1 ฿1,827

$21.42 RON 103

152.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ฿39.08

$0.65 RON 3.14

78.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 ฿17.82

$0.64 RON 3.10

-17.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 ฿81.8

$6.91 RON 33.23

-64.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ฿48.93

$1.76 RON 8.47

-17.61%

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

$21.1K ฿711.2K

$28.7K RON 137.8K

-26.57%

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

$26.9K ฿909.8K

$24.8K RON 119.1K

8.76%

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

$62.2 ฿2,100

$148 RON 709

-57.86%

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

$12.17 ฿411

$7.54 RON 36.26

61.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.12 ฿680

$7.96 RON 38.24

152.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.31 ฿1,260

$38.55 RON 185

-3.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.77 ฿127

$20.74 RON 99.7

-81.82%

Cinema Ticket

$6.49 ฿219

$6.23 RON 29.95

4.17%

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

$736 ฿24.9K

$599 RON 2,881

22.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.8K ฿498.6K

$5,046 RON 24.3K

192.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.4 ฿1,802

$97.0 RON 466

-44.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.64 ฿832

$32.48 RON 156

-24.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ฿3,089

$60.5 RON 291

51.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.9 ฿2,429

$83.8 RON 403

-14.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$482 ฿16.3K

$378 RON 1,819

27.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$309 ฿10.4K

$281 RON 1,353

9.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ฿34.0K

$585 RON 2,814

71.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 ฿21.4K

$444 RON 2,134

42.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,363 ฿79.8K

$1,876 RON 9,018

25.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,589 ฿53.7K

$1,349 RON 6,484

17.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 ฿19.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

7.2

-22.64%

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

Last update for Chiang Mai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Lehliu Gara: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Chiang Mai

$309 33%

Lehliu Gara

$281 28.2% 8.9% $27

Groceries & Markets

Chiang Mai

$234 25.1%

Lehliu Gara

$185 18.5% 21.1% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Chiang Mai

$109 11.6%

Lehliu Gara

$123 12.3% 13.4% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chiang Mai

$94 10.1%

Lehliu Gara

$163 16.3% 72.6% $69

Eating Out

Chiang Mai

$78 8.3%

Lehliu Gara

$168 16.8% 116% $90

Getting Around

Chiang Mai

$61 6.6%

Lehliu Gara

$28 2.8% 54.1% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Chiang Mai

$50 5.4%

Lehliu Gara

$51 5.1% 1.5% $0.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $482 in Chiang Mai versus $378 in Lehliu Gara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Chiang Mai versus $42 in Lehliu Gara. Groceries tell a different story – $234 in Chiang Mai vs $185 in Lehliu Gara – so Lehliu Gara wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Chiang Mai

🇷🇴 Lehliu Gara

🕒 Local time

06:09 6:09 AM

01:09 1:09 AM

5 h behind Chiang Mai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

127,240

6,000

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 RON = 0.208 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.59 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.81 RON (1 RON = 0.208 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to THB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Chiang Mai Lehliu Gara 7,160 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Chiang Mai
Lehliu Gara

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

Chiang Mai vs Lehliu Gara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lehliu Gara costs about 7% more than Chiang Mai, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,403 per month in Chiang Mai and $1,499 in Lehliu Gara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lehliu Gara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $378 there versus $482 in Chiang Mai.

Kindergarten costs $736 per month in Chiang Mai and $599 in Lehliu Gara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 21% cheaper in Lehliu Gara – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $936 in Chiang Mai and $1,000 in Lehliu Gara. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Chiang Mai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $936 in Chiang Mai to $1,000 in Lehliu Gara. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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