thanks a lot lads,,some good points were made there and i will take heed...

What a load of bullshit....

I know many foreigners who opened bars in Thailand and did, or still do pretty well.

Everybody was saying the same to me when I first came to Thailand and wanted to open my business (not a bar BTW)...

"It will fail, won't work, you'll lose everything" Giving me thousands of very good and convincing reasons why I shouldn't do it.

Good I didn't listened, 3 years later, I'm still in business, doing very well and will open another one next year, I make more money here than what I could expect in my home country and have a much better lifestyle.

The problem in Thailand is that there's so many farangs who have failed, been betrayed, are embittered and disappointed, that they feel the need to discourage anyone who want's to try anything.

What I would say to the OP is:

-Spend a few month in every place you consider opening a business before doing anything.

-Always keep some money on the side in case you fail and you have to go back to your home country (at least 50% of these 70'000 would be reasonable IMO)

-Read ThaiVisa, because even if there are loads of clueless peoples who spend 12h a day writing about things they don't know, there is also some very good infos.

-Don't trust anybody in terms of business here, get everything written down clearly, be as legal as you can.

If you do things properly, you can build a successful business in Thailand, you only have one life, don't listen to peoples telling you it's way better to keep a shitty job you don't like in your home country and go on with your 4 weeks of holiday/year 'til you retire.

Maybe good for them and not for you. In my case, I'm glad I didn't listened...

Good luck.

I agree 100%. Maybe if you're a drunken whore monger you'd best leave it alone but barring that, it's very possible to run a successful bar. One place not mentioned is Chiang Mai. For 10k pound you can easily open a decent place here. Cheers.

"I know many foreigners who opened bars in Thailand and did, or still do pretty well."

Names and adresses please.

True some people do good business running a bar, but this is just a minority.

When I tried to sell my bar, all my friends (old Thailand hands) said: Oh but Keestha, everybody I know has had a bar already.

Still I don't regret the 6 years I spent running a bar/guesthouse. It was a very funny alcohol fuelled period.

First came to Thailand in the early eighties and was blown away by the place. I thought about buying a business back then but put my sensible head on and decided against it. I've since worked in the UK building up a decent pension with the intention of retiring there when I'm 55(ish). I'M NOT saying I was right or wrong.

One thing I have learned from others over the years is to keep some capital outside Thailand and NEVER burn your bridges.

If I were to open a business (and again ignore me if you want 'cause I haven't) I'd aim for a business in Nakhon Sawan where there is an ever expanding expat presence but no "Farang" owned establishment. You only live once and you are a long time dead so if you want to pursue your dream, Good Luck.

If, however you decide to go down the boring old fart pension route (as I have chosen) that big 55(ish) seems to approach with Ferrari like acceleration!!

GOOD LUCK MATE.

This will help

Remember Probability Zero = Never happen

Remember Probability One = Sure thing