Possiby Moving To Thailand

[GungaDin]

Its no problem to live on 30k a month , you need a place to stay and if you can find an apartment for under 10k, you will survive.

I had an apartment in a Thai building at the bottom of Sukhumvit soi 22 the rent was B3,900 , with utilities and cable , the most i paid was B4500 per month . Clean , security cameras in the hallways , elevator , washing machines and pure water dispenser down stairs , 7/11 around the corner , all kinds of street vendors etc . I bought a fridge and microwave to cook for myself , walked through the back streets to Klong-Toey for my food shopping , could live comfortable off B20,000 and a life to boot .

Was it in the sub soi that leads into soi 20 opposite Admiral Apartments, or down the very end of 22.

There are some good deals down there, ask the bar girls in the area, they know.

[MetroGirl]

Many thais want to move to lala faranglands, and to make more money there

Farangs want to move to Thailand and are willing to make less money than the thais w/ the same qualifications

Go figure!!!…..Mai kao jai jing jing

Edited October 22, 2008 by MetroGirl

[phaethon]

Go figure!!!…..Mai kao jai jing jing

The grass is always greener...

[MetroGirl]

Go figure!!!…..Mai kao jai jing jing

The grass is always greener...

The grass is always greener over/around the septic tank, here in thailand - mostly.

Well at least at my house, my neighbours' house, okok most of those houses in my complex anyway!!!

Ok joke aside.......

Seriously,

The grass can be greener on the other side, but there are also/always reasons why yours is getting brown and overgrown..….jing jing mai JA

Edited October 22, 2008 by MetroGirl

[HorseDoctor]

Leave the GF home, after you get here and have about 2000 lovely, young and willing Thai women going after you, you'll be dumping her anyway..Why put her through the move?

After you get taken to the cleaners a few times with the Thai women you'll be ready ( maybe, maybe not) to go back home.

[bendix]

Anyone who is advising someone smart enough to be a post-doctoral researcher to come to Bangkok and work for a subsistence salary (irrespective of whether he is bringing his GF or not) is doing the poor guy a gross disservice and, I suspect, enticing others into the web of 'hand to mouth' misery that they might themselves experience.

Foolhardy, mean-spirited and not nice at all.

By no means do it, OP. What on earth are you thinking of? Why on earth would you shift to the other side of the world, a place - i suspect you have never been too, judging by your questions - to live in relative poverty? You obviously have a brain. Put it in gear and use it.

Multiply the salary be ten and you might (just) be making a good decision.

Edited October 24, 2008 by bendix

[PaddyThai]

The monthly salary on offer is less than a weekly industrial wage in many European countries.

I'm frankly amazed that so many posters say they can live on it. Does 'live' on it mean renting a small room, eating fried rice everyday, taking the open buses only. If you are happy to live like that fine.

I suspect the University is conning the OP, and are likely pocketing the balance of the real salary.

[MinnieCauldwell]

Dear all

I woulkd like to ask you for help here. I am from Spain (educated in Scotalnd), scientist, possibly moving to Bangkok by february next year. I will be working as a postdoctoral researcher at Mahidol Uni for one year and extensible for one more. My salary would be around 30000 bahts... Here my questions:

1.- Is that the culture so different from western countries?

2.- Is the heat bearable?

3.- Is it possible to live off 30000 bahts per month? If I brought my girlfriend (something unlikely), would we be able to live with such as income?

4.- The uni and the group I would be working with sounded excellent and really nice. Is Mahidol a, so to speak, prestigious university?

Well, sorry for the battery questions in my first message, but I'm a wee scared as I have only lived abrad in Scotland for 4 years and moving to such a different culture kind of gets me scared...

Thanks a lot for the wonderful forum here.

Yours

Shit, go for it! 30K baht/month you will survive, think of the opportunity! You can get by on a lot less, most of the Thais where I live get by on 5K a month. Don't waste the chance to see this CRAZY place, you are from Spain, you are half crazy already, perfect, you'll love it...Maybe? You can always walk away!

[Pib]

Dear all

I woulkd like to ask you for help here. I am from Spain (educated in Scotalnd), scientist, possibly moving to Bangkok by february next year. I will be working as a postdoctoral researcher at Mahidol Uni for one year and extensible for one more. My salary would be around 30000 bahts... Here my questions:

1.- Is that the culture so different from western countries?

Answer: Cultures vary greatly from country to country, and even vary within each country. Will Thailand be a change from Spain or Scotland?--you bet it will be!!!

2.- Is the heat bearable?

Answer: It's bearable, but Thailand is in the tropics and being in the tropics means hot-to-hotter and humid. And running an air conditioner costs money.

3.- Is it possible to live off 30,000 bahts per month? If I brought my girlfriend (something unlikely), would we be able to live with such as income?

Answer: For a westerner/farang, you would struggle unless you ate at street stands all the time (this food change will be a shock to your system) and avoided most night life and buying many things you may consider a basic necessity in the west. The girl friend is going to make the frugal spending even harder to do.

4.- The uni and the group I would be working with sounded excellent and really nice. Is Mahidol a, so to speak, prestigious university?

Answer: I can't speak to the status of the university, but "sounding" prestigious is easy to do many times; living up to the promise is a different story.

Summary and Recommendation: Thailand is definitely different than Europe/U.S./western countries...don't take such a big step of moving to Thailand until you have visited the country several times for several weeks each time; "and looked at the country from the standpoint of living here versus partying here." It's a great country, but it takes some BIG adjustments when settling down for the long term in the country.

[mgreek]

Thailand is definitely different than Europe/U.S./western countries...don't take such a big step of moving to Thailand until you have visited the country several times for several weeks each time; "and looked at the country from the standpoint of living here versus partying here." It's a great country, but it takes some BIG adjustments when settling down for the long term in the country.

Very good advice.

I totally agree, but on the other hand if you are not married and have not started your carriere in Europe, you can always give yourself a chance to have a lifetime experience...

[jdinasia]

Thailand is definitely different than Europe/U.S./western countries...don't take such a big step of moving to Thailand until you have visited the country several times for several weeks each time; "and looked at the country from the standpoint of living here versus partying here." It's a great country, but it takes some BIG adjustments when settling down for the long term in the country.

Very good advice.

I totally agree, but on the other hand if you are not married and have not started your carriere in Europe, you can always give yourself a chance to have a lifetime experience...

It is a one year gig ... and I know what living stipends can be for post-doc researchers ... it isn't an awful offer

[Tod]

Anyone who is advising someone smart enough to be a post-doctoral researcher to come to Bangkok and work for a subsistence salary (irrespective of whether he is bringing his GF or not) is doing the poor guy a gross disservice and, I suspect, enticing others into the web of 'hand to mouth' misery that they might themselves experience.

Foolhardy, mean-spirited and not nice at all.

By no means do it, OP. What on earth are you thinking of? Why on earth would you shift to the other side of the world, a place - i suspect you have never been too, judging by your questions - to live in relative poverty? You obviously have a brain. Put it in gear and use it.

Multiply the salary be ten and you might (just) be making a good decision.

Well that's very exaggerated... You don't live in relative poverty with 30'000 baht a month in Thailand.

The OP said he doesn't drink and that he doesn't have expensive tastes. 30'000/month seems more than enough if you avoid Sukhumvitt bars and you don't eat western food in restaurants 3 times a day.

You can get a very decent appartment with aircon for around 5000/7000 baht a month in Bangkok which will leave you more than enough for your other expenses.

People like bendix don't understand that money is not the only motivation for everybody when they come work in another country.

"Multiply the salary be ten and you might (just) be making a good decision."

What a pretentious and stupid statement, you should keep advices like that for yourself.

[Tod]

About life int Bangkok or Thailand in particular, well, I am not somebody fussy, I like to eat healthy and gym, do not drink, smoke a little and don't need to dinner out everyday, although on weekends I like to go out, although here in Madrid I can manage with £600, I don't need to live in style so much, but I hate not having enough to live with a minimum westener standard comfort, so to speak.

One thing is sure, you will live A LOT better with 30'000baht in Bkk than with 600 pounds in Madrid

[jdinasia]

Tod .. Bender is stuck on his way of thinking .. thankfully Thailand sees the back of him more than the front!

[ChiefMonkey]

Que pasa muchacho?

If you want it;

If you like it;

Why not?

Que pasa bien hombre!

[RAZZELL]

actually ..

1)the OP is doing post-doc research and it wouldn't be uncommon to be that poorly paid most anywhere whilst still a student

2)The info given regarding WP's and extension of stay etc are incorrect. The OP can get both with that salary.

3)The climate in Spain and Thailand are not similar

4) Mahidol is a very respected Uni (at least in Medicine)

Whilst I agree with the majority of what you've written...As a post-doctoral research assistant maybe the "stipend" is a bit on the low side.

A few points:

Is the OP considered a "student" or one of the "faculty"?

Is the OP required/allowed to undertake any teaching/marking for which he'll get extra money?

Does the area of research really interest you?

My advice would be to come for a year with a few extra quid to tide you over and see what you think...P.S. Leave the gf at home

RAZZ

P.P.S. Considered a good school. The youngest daughter of one of the beach massage women outside P&P resort in Chaweng, Koh Samui is doing a postgraduate Radiology course there

See, you can't always judge a book by it's cover

Edited October 24, 2008 by RAZZELL

[balo]

About life int Bangkok or Thailand in particular, well, I am not somebody fussy, I like to eat healthy and gym, do not drink, smoke a little and don't need to dinner out everyday, although on weekends I like to go out, although here in Madrid I can manage with £600, I don't need to live in style so much, but I hate not having enough to live with a minimum westener standard comfort, so to speak.

One thin is sure, you will live A LOT better with 30'000baht in Bkk than with 600 pounds in Madrid

Excactly , 30000 in Bkk will last much longer than 1000 Euros in Spain , if you're not a heavy drinker and dont smoke , its more than enough to live on . You can eat out in good cheap restaurants every day , eat fresh fruits and vegetables, go see a movie, go bowling , just enjoy your life and stay away from the very expensive places. I did this myself for 3 months for less than 30k and it was no problem.

And you can find a serviced apartment near a BTS station for under 10k.

So I don't understand why there's so many negative comments in here.

[bendix]

Tod .. Bender is stuck on his way of thinking .. thankfully Thailand sees the back of him more than the front!

Oh come on. This guy has never been here. He has no idea of the areas, doesnt know the relative costs of things and more importantly doesnt know the relative difference in life styles between living and surviving.

Of course you can survive on 30,000.

But who wants to just survive?

If you want to come and experience Thai life, come for a year's career break. But for a professional to work for 30,000 a month - and to travel half way round the world to an unknown environment - is, frankly, ridiculous.

You can snipe all you want. I'm trying to provide a balance to those who would have him make a foolhardy decision. If he comes and checks it out, and then decides, then so be it. It's his choice. But to listen to you guys, you are portraying him having a wonderful wonderful time.

Let's just hope he doesnt get ill or wants to travel too much while he's here . .

[tatenen]

Thanks guys for your answers.

I see quite controversial opinions about living on the salary I will get... I suspect that people here have very different standards of life...

Anyway, my boss would be offer me a condo fairly close to Chong Nonsi skytrain station, I should get to Skytrain's, Victory Monument station, 15 mins from faculty. Uni covers up to 8000 bahts per month in rent, this flat is 6800 so that would be fine. I think having a landord you can communicate with, and beiong your boss (he is from USA) would be better than a Thai who doesnt speak English. Moreover, uni seems to get me medical insurance covering as well.

These 30000 bahts a month would be before tax, by the way.

I would like to know your opinions and understand that I have never been there so obviously I cannot guess what is suitable or what is not as long as I am not a future teller and I dont have pals who have lived there, that is why I am asking for help here.

Finally, about the GF, I still don't know, as I don't think she would like to do such a move, now she has an stable job in Spain and that is some kind of luck, as here we are about 4 million unemployed people. I might have plenty of thai women, but I won't be rich (may be I will for them), but I have never been up to women who like me for my money rather than for myself, although I am ugly as hel_l, gotta say... lol...

Thanks again folks.

[bendix]

You must be really keen to get away from your gf in Spain if you are seriously considering this offer.

[jdinasia]

You must be really keen to get away from your gf in Spain if you are seriously considering this offer.

Bender .... did you ever do post-doc research? Did you read his posts?

geeze

[tatenen]

You must be really keen to get away from your gf in Spain if you are seriously considering this offer.

No man, nothing to do with gf issues but hust with a few months unemployed and off spanish university as my PhD is from UK and here in Spain they say that that is <deleted>. They are convinced that Spanish universities are much better than any other in the world, including Harvard, Cambridge, Princeton, etc. They wanna cover what is underneath: an endogamic system that doesnt want to risk inner candidates' positions with others coming from abroad and much better educated.

The reason why I am asking in this forum is because I dont know standards in Thai and I dont knwo if 30000 bahts are enough or you need 1000000, not because I want to get rid of anybody, just because I dont know and you guys do.

Thanks

[Tod]

Thanks guys for your answers.

I see quite controversial opinions about living on the salary I will get... I suspect that people here have very different standards of life...

Anyway, my boss would be offer me a condo fairly close to Chong Nonsi skytrain station, I should get to Skytrain's, Victory Monument station, 15 mins from faculty. Uni covers up to 8000 bahts per month in rent, this flat is 6800 so that would be fine. I think having a landord you can communicate with, and beiong your boss (he is from USA) would be better than a Thai who doesnt speak English. Moreover, uni seems to get me medical insurance covering as well.

These 30000 bahts a month would be before tax, by the way.

I would like to know your opinions and understand that I have never been there so obviously I cannot guess what is suitable or what is not as long as I am not a future teller and I dont have pals who have lived there, that is why I am asking for help here.

Finally, about the GF, I still don't know, as I don't think she would like to do such a move, now she has an stable job in Spain and that is some kind of luck, as here we are about 4 million unemployed people. I might have plenty of thai women, but I won't be rich (may be I will for them), but I have never been up to women who like me for my money rather than for myself, although I am ugly as hel_l, gotta say... lol...

Thanks again folks.

30'000baht and rent paid is not bad at all.

I don't know exactly how much taxes you will pay in your case, I might be wrong but I think it's 6.5%.

So not more than 2000baht/month.

That leaves you almost a thousand baht per day for food and leisure.

As I said in a previous post, if you lived in Madrid with 1000euros a month you will live A LOT better in Bkk with 30'000 baht.

[citizen33]

Perhaps more than anything else, the wisdom or otherwise of this move depends on how you see it fitting into your longer-term career plans. With the housing allowance thrown in, you could live on the salary offered but at a fairly basic level. If you are going to be a relatively lowly research assistant who is not included in publications, or are in a team that is not capable of publishing in international journals, I would say that you should pass. If, on the other hand, you are in a research fellow role and a full member of a team that is likely to be productive, then you can come out of this and move on to better things. My opinion though is that it is not attractive to plan a long-term academic career in Thailand starting at the post-doc level. With professorial salaries as low as they are, there is simply not enough progression available to support an international life style. Far better to pursue a career in the West (perhaps after a short sojourn at Mahidol) and then return as a visiting professor (with a Western salary plus whatever you can get in Thailand as additional payment) in the fullness of time. I know a few who have tried the Thai route, perhaps with a partner also on an academic salary, but it seems to me to be a recipe for relative poverty. Would be interested though to hear from people who disagree.

[barcelonatio]

Wow.... I am from Spain and educated in the U.S. and also am moving to Thailand. It looks like the place to go these days as the world is falling apart economically. I am one of those economic refugees that is escaping Europe to go live someplace cheap, sunny and fun for a while. I don´t plan to work, just live relatively cheap ... it is good to have a forum and website like this to get the scoop. How is the expat life in Thailand? Is the economy sucking royally like it is in the US and Europe? Thanks for your input by people on the ground there.

[GungaDin]

educated in the U.S.

So was George Dubbya Bush.

to the forum

[RAZZELL]

as my PhD is from UK and here in Spain they say that that is <deleted>. They are convinced that Spanish universities are much better than any other in the world, including Harvard, Cambridge, Princeton, etc.

114 Nobel prize winners from Britain.

Spain...7...And five of them were in Literature!

RAZZ

(Link for winners up until 2007 http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/N...-country

Edited October 29, 2008 by RAZZELL

[Edonista]

1.- Is that the culture so different from western countries? Yes. Much more materialistic than in the West. Money number one, lieing scamming and cheating to get farang money a national sport.

2.- Is the heat bearable? No. You will have spend most of the day indoor. Staying outside more than 5 minutes results in heavy sweating and a compelling need to rush back home for showering.

3.- Is it possible to live off 30000 bahts per month? Yes

If I brought my girlfriend (something unlikely), would we be able to live with such as income? Absolutely no.

4.- The uni and the group I would be working with sounded excellent and really nice. Is Mahidol a, so to speak, prestigious university? I have no idea. I think however the whole educational Thai system is aimed to brainwash students into worshipping the King without actually teaching anything else.