Flaxx

I wouldn't say it is impossible. If you have a company that are ready to hire you, and that company has a few people employed. Then you "might" be able to get it to work. Yes, at least you need to pay taxes on a 50k or 60k salary (depending on where you are from) and registered capital for the gym might be an issue. But also remember that in Thailand things are not that black and white. I can tell you as much that you need professional help with this (there are plenty of companies with the right expertise, some more legit than others). If you can't get a work permit I am very sure there are tons of other options for getting a visa. A general advice would be that whatever you do, this will not cost you much, if someone claims that it does, it is a scam.

I will be applying for Thai Citizenship in a few months from now and I have a question regarding donation to charity. I have a few donations to temples, with receipts but I imagine these doesn't work for this purpose. In addition I have a donation to a hospital here in Chiang Mai perhaps 5-6 years ago (5000 THB), I also have a receipt for this. I don't know if this lack of donation to a registered charity NGO will be a problem for me. If this ends up being a problem any suggestion for solution? Any relevant experience to share? I can mention that my donation to the hospital was for the specific purpose to one day apply for Thai Citizenship, but now my concern is that I misunderstood the requirements. Maybe it is just me seeing ghosts and everything is fine :).

Regarding dialects. I wouldn't be concerned about the difference between the central dialect and the northern. I haven't had any problems being understood speaking Thai, in basically any context and situation for the last 20 years. I live in Chiang Mai and I speak central Thai. I don't use specific words in the northern dialect, but when I go to other places in Thailand some people there, sometimes points out that I sound "northern" even though I can't hear it myself. Thai people up here easily switch between northern specific vocabulary and central Thai vocabulary. In Chiang Mai, if you live among Thai people you will inevitable be exposed to both. As you know, there are a lot of foreigners who never learn Thai because everyone speaks English with them. The same rule applies if you speak central Thai up here in the north. After 20 years of speaking Thai everyday, I still can't understand more than very parts of the northern dialect. If someone tries to speak real hardcore northern dialect with me... I am totally lost. I would definitely prefer to learn Thai in Chiang Mai compared to Bangkok. I think the culture in Chiang Mai being easier to integrate with. But, I am just guessing since I have never lived anywhere else. A definite recommendation from me is to stay away from places where you are likely to be considered a tourist among Thai people. Here in Chiang Mai, if I go into a 7/11 or go to a restaurant it is much more likely that they initiate a talk using Thai than English. I don't think that is the case in many other places, instead they simply either avoid you or try to address you speaking English.