qpgwmh

Wow- so much great advice here...thank you!

Thanks all, this info is really helpful

This is all so helpful - thank you from us both.

What's the best way to find properties in these areas? The property finder on this site only has a handful across all of Bangkok?

75-100k per month, however we don't need to spend that much if we can meet our criteria more cheaply, so all suggestions are welcomed. Thank you.

Hello,

My Thai wife (we are in the UK) will be needing to rent a place in Bangkok for about six months early in 2016. She is travelling there in November to find a place, but we're both unsure as to which parts of Bangkok would be suitable.

We're looking for:

- Safety (young woman on her own after dark)

- Not too far from public transport into town (ideally a manageable walk to the nearest BTS/MRT)

- Nothing too downtrodden; both the property and the area need to feel like home and be suitable for children to visit

- Food shops (minimarket/supermarket) and decent street food not too far away

Budget 75k-100k.

Once we have a couple of areas in mind we can begin looking online for available properties (there is even a property finder on here, I see), but any recommendations anybody has from personal experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Update: unfortunately leukemia now confirmed. Given medication by the state hospital with a view to getting stronger prior to any treatment.

Hi there Sheryl. Thanks for taking the time out to reply.

My ML lives in Nang Rong. She has type 1 diabetes for which we have been paying for her to go private as the state service was incredibly poor by all accounts. She has kidney problems which I do not know a great deal about. She has recently had a blood test for suspected leukaemia which is what would ramp up cost of treatment considerably. A figure of 400k THB per month was mentioned yesterday. May be inaccurate, but even a fraction of that is too much to cover.

Thanks

Hello,

I live in the UK with my Thai wife and our son. My mother in law has recently become quite ill. We have been paying for her monthly treatment at a private hospital at quite some cost. From what information I can gather, she may soon require new treatment that is well beyond our means to pay for. Life or death treatment....

What would you advise? Are there means of getting cheaper/free health in Thailand (or other countries)?

Many thanks

Thank you all - and yes, I was meaning video chat.

If you can Skype to mobile phones then I presume in Thailand they would have to have some sort of smart phone?

Sawat di Khrap!

My Thai inlaws live in rural Thailand and we have always kept in touch via telephone and posted photos. I was wondering recently how many people use Skype or similar to stay in touch. It must make you 'feel' closer.

I think it very unlikely that they can access broadband and I'm not even sure there are telephone lines around there as everyone I know of uses mobile phones. So I wonder if there are any options for getting a computer set up to the internet in order to Skype?

Grateful for any advice you may be able to offer.

Thanks!

I was doing 144kph in a 130 zone. I intend to pay the fine but have nobody there to pay it for me so will ask them to send me their bank details and then proof that they have paid the police. What do you think?

Hello,

When on holiday in Thailand in May I was camera'd doing in excess of the speed limit. I've only just learnt this as the car rental company have emailed me to ask for bank card details in order to debit 1000THB. I have the police report, a copy of my rental documents and official image as an attachment so I'm not worried about it being a scam.

Should I pay it?

Morally, yes - of course. But might it come back to haunt me if I do not? I travel to Thailand each year with my Thai wife.

Many Thanks

I'd like to know if with my in-laws' bank details I can set up a PayPal account for them that I can manage from the UK to transfer funds between my Paypal account and 'their' account. I could then withdraw it to their bank for them and they could pick it up at the counter.

I'm sure there are other good options; I've been having a read on here and it seems that in the US it is possible to transfer via BKK bank, but not in the UK? Initially I will be sending approximately £1,200, but then on a monthly basis will be sending c.£50.

In the past they had my flex account card and just withdrew from the ATM when they needed to. I still have the flex account but realise now that it charges. It could still be the most cost effective though?

My wife, son (aged 4) and I are thinking of spending up to a week in Pattaya in May. We've been once before he was born so we are aware of the seedy side.

Please could somebody recommend a nice area to stay suitable for families but close enough to the bulk of the amenities that we're not isolated? We're looking for a 4 (or 5 if budget stretches) star hotel with swimming pool, no more than 3,000Baht per night - but ideally cheaper as a bargain would be a real help.

Many Thanks

qpgwmh

bump

Thanks very much 7by7, that is very helpful.

I wonder if anyone here has been through a similar appication process?

Slight aside here and perhaps jumping ahead too far, but if they do make it here, could we holiday for a week in France on that visa (I presume not) and if not, is this a realistically achievable goal?

My Thai wife and I are both resident in the UK (my wife has been here for five years and is now a British Citizen).

We would like to ask her parents over for the first time later this year and I've already spent a bit of time researching what is required.

My concern is that as they are rice farmers from a rural area, they have no bank details and no 'official' employment record. Whilst I am able to demonstrate funds here in the UK, I cannot act as a guarantor for them.

As I am sure that our situation is fairly commonplace I'm really hoping that there will be people here that have gone through this process or know the system well enough to offer us some advice or reassurance?

Many Thanks

Befriend a local Christian Priest in Thailand and send the money to his bank account. He will pass it on to your girlfriend for a donation of 30 baht to his church.

Don't laugh, this works for friends of mine.

There are Christian priests...never seen them!

we are in the US and we use moneygram the fees on sending $300 are about $ 10

Wow, that's great value. To send 10,000 Baht from the UK incures a fee of £25 with moneygram and £27 with Western Union. It really is an expensive way to send cash.

Is there any reason that her parents refuse to get a bank account? You could use the excuse "I can't get money to you if you don't have a bank account" excuse and, in this case, it would be accurate.

'Refuse' suggests they have been asked; if their opening of a bank account proves to be the best way then we could indeed ask them. I wonder if there are any other options?

Hello,

My wife and I send money periodically to her parents in rural Thailand. They do not have bank accounts or computer access thus bank transfers and PayPal are, I believe, not an option.

Previously I had left them with a Nationwide ATM only card which I could top up with money here and notify my father in law who would then withdraw from an ATM. As Nationwide have now started to charge for transactions abroad (or even stopped it altogether - I forget) we're trying to learn what the cheapest way to get cash across now would be. Western Union is so expensive!

Is anybody able to offer some helpful advice, please?

Many Thanks from us both.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to write such a comprehensive and helpful reply. I fell so much more informed now. THANK YOU.

Hi there,

My Thai wife (now a UK citizen) and I would like to bring her mother to the UK for a period of time to help with childcare. As her mother is from a rural community she has little financial clout and no official employment and therefore I wonder how we may go about the application process or indeed whether it is worth entertaining the idea at all? I may be mistaken but proof of significant funds and reason to return were key factors when I looked into a tourist visa some years back. Perhaps there are other visas for our situation though, perhaps things have changed...

Many Thanks for your advice.

Thanks 7by7. The reason I asked about proposed to changes to the rules is from another post that I found in this forum when I was searching for info (and typically can't locate now).

The way this post was written intimated that a change in the rules was mooted and that it would be quite severe - I hope this is not the case.