Yearning For Thailand

[howtoescape]

I love Thailand, everything about it too.

I have the same thing that just makes me addicted to it, I go to other places for a holiday and think dam_n maybe we should of went to Thailand instead.

I had a week in Cambodia on my travels and thought ive got to get back dont want to waste my holiday in somewhere other than Thailand, even though i found Cambodians in the tourist parts to be far more honest, welcoming and humane.

People love Thailand for different reasons, I still havent discovered why im so drawn to it yet

Here lies the problem if i discovered why people are drawn to LOS i would invent the cure.

[Naam]

Tax consultancy seems to be a challenge and big bucks can be reached in just a few years and tax havens are generally nice sunny places to live.

why do i have the funny feeling that tax havens do not require tax consultants?

[Naam]

Naka....not all of us are here for sex.

I'm in my early 30's and have lived here since 2002. My wife is Thai and we have a son.

after consulting my gray cells they came up with the result that you do have or had sex in Thailand. am i right?

[Captain Chaos]

Try teaching high school kids...if you can survive that, you can survive anything!

No - unless you are already a professional teacher in your home country (or wish to be one), don't do that - why take a job which pays very moderately (certainly by western standards and arguably even by some Thai ones these days) just to "survive" in Thailand? Why not go somewhere else, and make enough to allow you to retire early(ish) in Thailand on your own terms, without worrying about whether you can meet the financial requirements for your next annual visa renewal?

Sorry, but I strongly believe that 9 times out of 10, this is not the appropriate strategy...

CC

[howtoescape]

why do i have the funny feeling that tax havens do not require tax consultants?

The UK is a tax haven for the super rich, you dont think all these Russian and Arab billionaires come to London for the jellied eals do you.

[koheesti]

What i would love to know is how you people have cured this problem or is it a virus that can only cured by being in the magical yet frustrating Kingdom of Thailand.

Take a cheap Easyjet flight to Estonia for a few days by yourself (maybe with one friend, but not a group of friends) and tell the girls you're Canadian - anything but English (sorry, the flood of stags have made it tougher to be English in Tallinn). That'll ease the pain of missing Thailand even if the weather in Estonia sucks.

As for Hong Kong, I just got back from 8 days there and close by in Guangzhou (Canton). I'm seriously considering moving to China now. Hong Kong was great but too expensive after Thailand. Guangzhoul was a little rough but interesting as hel_l.

[Momo8]

HK for me is like living back in Sydney.Expensive,yes,but expat salaries far exceed anything.I do escape to Guangzhou where we still have a place,for me it's more real than HK.

To the OP you need to take a reality pill about Thailand.The pull is there but the financial rewards are not that great unless you are mega rich to begin with or you make investments,open a business whatever.You always need a plan B,C,D....Z just in case in Thailand.Personally I love the Chinese business style where with a few contacts and a bit of cash you can source just about anything and do just about anything business wise.

Frustrations aside you have more chance of making it big in China or HK then Singapore (like living in a hospital what's their motto 'A Fine city! $2000 for spitting,$5000 for smoking etc have the T-shirt).Make your life and then go to Thailand on holidays,or have one hel_l of a back up plan.Don't know what the demand for your type of work is in LOS but you will end up peniless if not careful.

Girls,bars the hedonistic lifestyle is a big attraction sure and the UK is so well UK.Hang in there and follow your plan before the big move.

[Thaiboxer]

Yes, Naam, I've had sex in Thailand; hence the reason for our little devil

[MaiChai]

To the original poster: I have done what you are proposing to do and have come full circle! I lived and worked in Asia (firstly Spore then Bangkok, but worked and travelled around the whole region); you will be disappointed workwise and miss the drop in pay. The lesson I have learned is the grass is not greener on the other side. What I am mean is you appreciate and enjoy Thailand on the basis that you can afford to. When your income comes down to a Thai you will have all the same worries that you have at home and will not have that 'financial cushion' of being a wealthy foreigner.

The lesson I learned is to appreciate the benefits of being British; think of all the things you get for being British and how the state will take care of you when you can't; then compare this to whether this would be available to you (or even a Thai) in Thailand. I think not; if you dont have money in Thailand you are nothing and no one will take care of you? Look beyond the beautiful hotels and spas and see the poverty and the day to day struggle that alot of Thais have to make ends meet... Learn to be bi-cultural and enjoy the benefits of each culture

Another way of looking at it: In Thailand you will never understand everything that is happening around you (Thai is not an easy language); but in the UK you will. Think of all the books and magazines you will miss in Thailand?

The smart money maintains a presence (house?) in their home country and has a holiday home in Thailand?

[koheesti]

HK for me is like living back in Sydney.Expensive,yes,but expat salaries far exceed anything.I do escape to Guangzhou where we still have a place,for me it's more real than HK.

I was in both last week and thoroughly enjoyed it (even thinking of moving to GZ now). Made Thailand losea bit of that luster that Thailand had for me. Maybe the OP should travel the region a bit more as a cure.

[Jingjok]

What i would love to know is how you people have cured this problem or is it a virus that can only cured by being in the magical yet frustrating Kingdom of Thailand.

The cure for that well-known condition? Well, short of trepanning yourself or remaining lost in an alcoholic reverie, is to move here, stay for about three years, build a house or two, then the glamour will evaporate!

One hears the same story, over and over again.

There is a lot of good advice on this thread. Especially never burn bridges. I keep a house in UK as an escape route, and never invest more here that I can afford to walk away from. The secret for me anyway is to run a UK business by remote control, therefore earning tax-free money from UK, and spending some of it here. I gave up any thoughts of running a business in Thailand: I literally binned my work permit in a spectacular fit of frustration.

BTW, Thailand is most certainly not a tax haven. Singapore and Malaysia are, the latter less well known.

Someone else said open an estate agency. Although you hate the job, it might just work here. Did you know that all agents here appear to stick together and charge around five percent commission? Why? Last time I sold a house in London I was charged 1.75 per cent.

A professional agency here, with proper marketing, proper brochures and good service, charging say three percent flat would be hated and successful in equal measure. Most 'agents' I’ve come across here seem to be one girl with a mobile phone and no idea.

Good luck with whatever you do.