Thailand is certainly less stressful than Mainland China, but pay is lower there - even in decent jobs.

I agree that pay in Thailand is lower although the way I look at it is more like "how far does the pay go per month" and "am I able to save a bit per month". Answer to the former was that 45,000THB led to a pretty decent life style and to the latter I saved just over one months pay.

If I had been on the "recruiters pay scale" of 30-35,000THB in Bangkok, I think working would have been doable in 2005-06 but perhaps with price increases maybe a bit tight nowadays. Of course 30-35,000THB in the Outback equates to 45,000THB in spending power.