shane

Hi all,

I have a double entry tourist visa issued in Australia that is expiring on 18 December and I'm not sure which border crossing i should go to, I'm currently in Lampang.

Thanks in advance.

Shane

Hi, Im arriving in Thailand on 20 October this year and would like to work in Lampang or somewhere relatively close.

I taught English in BKK for three years early 2000's and also one year in S.Korea mid 2000's

I have been speaking with a few teacher placement agencies on line, but i can't find one that has schools in Lampang. I have considered just turning up at schools there and applying in person, however, if its possible to find a job or potential job before i arrive that would makes things a lot easier.

If I'm unable to find a suitable job, I will just spend 4 to 11 months traveling and taking an extended vacation.

In anticipation of some possible questions, here are some answers.

1. Why Lampang? I have a 7 year old daughter that is coming with me, but she will be going to stay with her mum in a small town in Lampang and i would like to be near her. My daughter will be staying in Thailand for one school year starting on November 2. (start of school term)

2. Do you have a degree? I do not have a degree, only a T.E.S.O.L and four years teaching experience.

3. What visa do you have? I will be arriving on a 2x 60 day tourist visa with option to renew for one extra month. In the PAST i have had a one year parent visa and i also had a work permit for one year that i obtained by being hired as a language adviser by a company in Bangkok. The other years i lived there i did the border runs.

4. Where are you from? Im a 33 year old Australian.

I appreciate any help or ideas on what i could do.

Shane ขอบคุฌมากนะครับ

'' Hi, Im planning to purchase some property in LOS '' you should know by now that statement does not exist in Thailand, it should read,, my wife / partner will buy property and i will pay for it with my money and that i will own none of it or have title to it, this is just to remind many of us and not to forget BUT as a landowner and property owner myself i would advise not to be a property owner anywhere in the world, you know land and property is looked upon by governments as ASSETS that a value is put upon, to me these are not assets but liabilities in as much as taxes and maintenance must be paid SO if you buy property in (example Korat) then secure a job in (example not Korat) then you will have an extra liability to maintain,,, the moral is - do the math, don't let your big fortune dwindle to a small fortune like many others have.

I've bought land here before , I use my 7 y.o daughters name. Only problem is that I can't sell until she turns 20 y.o, as foreigners aren't allowed to profit from sale of land and I am the one who is legally in control of her assets. (My daughters mother is not involved anymore) I see buying land as an investment, and with the high speed rail coming eventually to both Korat and kk and a growing economy (even when chaos is happening) I'd say it's a sound one.

My other land is increasing in value nicely, though only small pieces they have been steadily growing in value.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Deep muslim south: I would not even consider to visit let alone live there.

Obviously never been in Satun: bliss, at least, when I stayed there. Very little farang. Close to Malaysia (practical). Close to (once) great islands. Quite & chilled-out. People not really interested in you either. Live and let live. Bliss...

One thing i have noticed in the South is that people are not interested in you much, as opposed to Isaan. Which can be a good thing if you get annoyed with Thai people approaching you to talk or just staring. Or it can be construed as people not being as friendly.

I personally enjoy engaging with locals, after many years of learning Thai i feel this is one of the most enjoyable things about living here.

I would say that you might find living in Kolat especially in the city, to be too much like Bkk - as in lots of cement… and so if it is a cleaner more natural surround that you are looking for, probably Khon Kaen would be better - - though I have no idea how many job availabilities are in each area, you really just need one good one and might try lots of places if you are tired of Bkk - you might try CM or CR in the north or look for a beach town like HH -

good luck.

Ive been to CM,CR, HH and researched these places and what i heard from locals was that teaching work is rather hard to get because of all the expats and teachers living there.

Thats part of the reason why i have decided to move to either KK or NR, they have the largest populations, and with (smaller) Farang/expat populations.

You've been here 7 years and need to ask those questions?

As I said, I've been teaching only in Bkk and surrounding areas, so not to sure about other provinces in regards to teaching work

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

For what purpose do you want to know, shane?

Because sometime in the future I may want to start teaching again.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

Hi, Im planning to purchase some property in LOS, but can't decide where yet? Ive been teaching for 5 years in Bkk and living a total of 7 years here since 1999 but, plan on leaving soon to either Khon Kaen or Nakhon Ratchasima.

My question is: Which province would you say has the highest demand for teachers outside of BKK? Most schools? Etc,..

Thanks in advance Shane

I lived in Udorn Thani in 1990 and it sucks.

Second wife from Udorn in 2010 and it still sucks. The language is next to impossible for me. Conversely when I worked in Laos I could handle the language. My mother in law can only speak Esan and for sure I can't understand her. I did study at AUA for 1 year and I get by OK.

In Chiang Rai in the villages the language is a mixture of Lana and Esan and next to impossible for me.

Can you be more specific, What was it about Udon Thani that you didn't like?

i have found Khon Kaen the most friendly and Hua Hin the least but i haven't been everywhere. but personally i wouldn't consider friendliness the main factor in deciding where to live. i love living in Phuket but no one would call it friendly.

Khon Kaen was a lot friendlier 10-20 years ago, but still the best for me.

Mahasarakham or Roi Et are now what KK used to be.

Nowhere down South.

Lopburi/Singburi/Saraburi very friendly and most beautiful girls,

Chiang Mai/Rai, too many old farang but friendly Thais.

Nong kai is nice.

Chaiapoom

Sukhothai.

This is your opinion and thats just what i was looking to hear(peoples opinions). Thanks for this post it has been one of the best so far !

Thanks for all the feedback,

For anyone interested i was going to buy a plot of land in my daughters name(7 year old dual AUS/THAI citizen) and slowly build a large house on there over the next few years. I am single(my daughter lives here with me) and work in the mining industry in Australia. At one point i lived in Thailand for 5 years teaching English. In 15 years I've lived there about 6-7 years in total.

Early 2015 i will spend 30 days in Thailand and visit Chiang Rai, Kon Kaen, Korat and maybe another place to get a feel for those places.

I usually spend 3 months a year in LOS but would like to have a house to go to.

One of the only large towns I haven't visited is kon kaen, does anyone have an opinion on there?

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

I was about to say 'not Songkhla'. Been there off and on and it has definitely gone downhill, though was always a bit crusty regards the locals. Prefer the northern Thais and countryside. Chiang Mai is great but gone very busy. In the future, I may consider Chiang Rai.

I agree. The friendliest people I met were in the North, although many were not Thais but from from the hill tribes. I am sure that you would enjoy Chiang Rai, if you think that Chiang Mai is too busy..

Thanks

I have only spent 2 days in Chiang Rai about 4 years ago, I enjoyed the place a lot and will consider it, I may take another trip there soon to check it out again.

WOW ....lived here six years....traveled all over the country....AND still not sure where to settle? You say you want to BUY! Whoa! ...My advice, since you're so unsure is to rent first....so many good places to live ....pick the wheather you like best ...beach community or country village and then find a place to rent and try it for awhile ....don't like it ...move on.

I was just interested in other peoples opinions thats's all

I have been traveling/living in Thailand since 2000 in total I've lived here 6 years, and am finally ready to buy property and settle down. I am having trouble however choosing a jungwat/province in which to live. I have traveled all over the country and recently I was in Hatyai city and Songkla city, and i found the people quite a bit less accepting and friendly towards me down there. This has made me recall my travels in the past quite a bit recently.

My question is: What has other members experiences with locals been like around this beautiful country? And what in your opinion is the most friendly/accepting place in the country?

Thanks in advance

Just spoke with a Thai friend and their answer was; Surin, ayutthaya,ang thong,Surat Thani and further south.

C'mon people's,

Who lives in south Thailand, and has travelled to Surin? What's your opinion?

Wow great topic. Here comes a million opinions; none of which can be quantified, and to what end? To stir up a little bigotry and discrimination.

Ok here is the truth, I didn't recently travel from lampang to Bkk. I actually have a strong physical attraction to very dark skin Thai women and wanted to get some info for my next trip. Anyways, where should I go? Hatyai, Surin, Krabi?

surin, absolutly

I assume you've travelled/lived in both Surin and the deep south.

About ten years ago I did a visa run to sugnai kolok and remember thinking to myself that people there weren't that dark in tone. Maybe just living in north Thailand for such an extended period if time has changed my perception.

I recently travelled from lampang to Bkk by train and was fascinated by the difference in skin tone from town to town. I was curious to know which provinces have the darkest skinned thai's.

Does anyone have any experience traveling in the deep south? I guess that's where darker skin tone is more abundant.

Can anybody recommend a school where the thai teachers don't speak english? I've studied at UTL and and another school(forgot name) and found that my thai was much better when speaking to Thai's that dont speak english. The teachers at UTL were always speaking thai, but the other school i went to was a nightmare. The Thai teachers loved speaking english and my thai actually got worse while i studied there. I don't even like to hear the Thai teachers speak english to other people. For some reason it makes me feel silly when i speak thai with them.

UTL teachers always spoke Thai and that was great.

How about piammitr do the thai teachers always speak thai?

done it five times, tv and the 30 day extension, so the rumors are from people who like to tell you but have no clue (plenty on this site btw) are wrong

i guess Lopburi is right.... You did your trips a while ago, didn't you ? New laws/rules came in a couple of months ago that it makes almost impossible to do the 30 day extentions after your TV now...

To Lopburi : Are you sure there may be border crossings where you can buy a busticket to provide before re-entering the country ? If YES, any idea where ?

Thanks !

Why is it not possible to do a border run after having a .t.v.? Have'nt heard anything about this from my friends who run a certain visa bus service from Ekkamai.

Dont take the risk, apply for a new passport. Years ago I was asked by the Penang consulate to get a new passport even though I still have 4 pages left. Didnt have choice than to go to my embassy in KL and get a new one. Wasted a lot of time and money.

Now you've got me thinking. I have 5 full pages and two -half empty pages. I'm not worried about whether they give me a t.v. based on my passport record, but the question would seem to be how many pages should you have left if not coming from a country that issues extra pages (the U.K. is not one -greedy bugg$$rs). Obviously, its the usual up to the immigration officer as to whether you get a visa or whether your passport is "dirty" due to the number of stamps. What would you do if you were staying on t.v.'s (yes, I am a perpetuaL tourist) and what would be the minimum no. of pages you would guess to be "safe".

I hear ya man! I'm an American, but not one of the noisy ones..

I really think I am more Thai than American sometimes.. I love when I get on the skytrain or bus in Thailand, the Thais are very

respectfull with their noise levels, usually sitting quietly.. AAAAHHHHH the peace, just like what I do..

However, at my apartment there are numerous Italians/ French models.. They come into the internet cafes late at night & pratically yell on the internet phone calls.. It's beyond rude! Everyone sighs when they come in..If feel they are not well liked in these places.. I have also witnessed Americans just the same which sucks..

Have some curtousy for others.. It actually takes less effort to use a lower volume