I wrote this for a friend that asked for some advice but it got so long that I decided to make it into a proper article. I’ve been in Bangkok for about a year and a half, initially for school but now for work. I have had the unique experience of living like a local with a normal 9–5 schedule and also needing to live very frugally at first.
During school, my weekday budget was $10/day for food and housing but I recommend budgeting a lot more than that. $10 is totally possible if you eat only cheap food, drink no alcohol, walk a lot, and get the cheapest airbnb possible with no A/C. People reading this are likely on vacation so budgeting more should be no big deal.