Moving To Thailand

[gazza13]

I, 55 years old and my wife and I are planning to move to Thailand early next year from Australia. Income should not be too much of a problem as we have some reasonable investments set up over here. I wouldn't mind getting involved in a small business, perhaps a bar/restauarant or small hotel mainly for the interest. We do not speak any Thai and have no contacts there. I would appreciate any advice at all, especially regarding visas, business purchases and suggested area to re-locate to. Also, how would we contact other expats living in Thailand. Are there any organisations or suchlike that can put us in touch, perhaps by email initialy. Any advice very much appreciated!!

[No beleeeeve!]

You said any advice, so here goes. Do NOT invest in anything until after you live in Thailand for about a year. Learn the culture, study the language, and THEN decide if you want to jump into the business pool filled with sharks. Don't assume that you can lose a certain amount of money and it would be okay, unless you are worth millions and wasting money is your thing.

Business (or anything else in Thailand) is not the same as in Westernized countries so you really need to learn what life is about there before even considering opening/running a business.

BTW, I did some decent business in BKK so I am not bitter about things.

Good luck!!!

[toastwars]

Read as many of the thrads as you can here. You will see joy, tears, triumph and disaster. Please don't think that because you have set up businesses abroud that it is going to be the same here...it ain't. Learn the language and then think about. enjoy a long holiday and don't just stick around he usual haunts, get to know the real Thailand and Thai people..getting off the beaten track to live for a while will also allow you to stay here pretty cheaply for a long time. Thailand can be full of wonder but also a potential death trap for the uninitiated. Thai visa in a gold mine of good info and advice use it well

[Shola]

I, 55 years old and my wife and I are planning to move to Thailand early next year from Australia. Income should not be too much of a problem as we have some reasonable investments set up over here. I wouldn't mind getting involved in a small business, perhaps a bar/restauarant or small hotel mainly for the interest. We do not speak any Thai and have no contacts there. I would appreciate any advice at all, especially regarding visas, business purchases and suggested area to re-locate to. Also, how would we contact other expats living in Thailand. Are there any organisations or suchlike that can put us in touch, perhaps by email initialy. Any advice very much appreciated!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Heeelllloooooooo! Most of us are here, unless you want to visit bargirls.com

But don't think your wife would be too impressed with that!

Don't know where your planning to locate but heres a LINK for expat club in Pattaya and another expatWebsite.

[utapaortnab]

Might suggest you bookmark my homepage:

http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat/ and time permitting search through all the URLs within topic headings of interest to you, i.e.

Bangkok,

Books,

Forums (join all those of interest to you and read the postings within)

Hotels,

Pattaya Beach,

Photos,

Photos by U-Tapao members (you see my photo there with HRH Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn at a dedication myself and 3 other ex-military personnel participated in) (I'm on the far left)

Thailand,

Travel,

Weather

and any other topic heading of interest to you. Within my homepage, should be enough info to at least get you to the point of being able to ask any/all questions you need answered concerning areas to live in, and what is available within each area.

Ken Bower

Moving to Chiayaphum Thailand myself in Oct

I, 55 years old and my wife and I are planning to move to Thailand early next year from Australia. Income should not be too much of a problem as we have some reasonable investments set up over here. I wouldn't mind getting involved in a small business, perhaps a bar/restauarant or small hotel mainly for the interest. We do not speak any Thai and have no contacts there. I would appreciate any advice at all, especially regarding visas, business purchases and suggested area to re-locate to. Also, how would we contact other expats living in Thailand. Are there any organisations or suchlike that can put us in touch, perhaps by email initialy. Any advice very much appreciated!!

[udon]

You said any advice, so here goes.  Do NOT invest in anything until after you live in Thailand for about a year.  Learn the culture, study the language, and THEN decide if you want to jump into the business pool filled with sharks.  Don't assume that you can lose a certain amount of money and it would be okay, unless you are worth millions and wasting money is your thing.

Business (or anything else in Thailand) is not the same as in Westernized countries so you really need to learn what life is about there before even considering opening/running a business. 

BTW, I did some decent business in BKK so I am not bitter about things.

Good luck!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Bloody good advice !

[Backpack_thailand]

don't just stick around he usual haunts, get to know the real Thailand and Thai people..

The soundest piece of advice I've seen on TV for a good while! If you head for the usual haunts, Samui, Phuket, Pattaya, with little or no knowledge of "the rules", then you'll find yourself very poor, very quickly!

Spend some time with expats for sure, but those who are genuinely living and working here, can "speako da lingo" and have Thai friends and associates. Avoid those just bumming around on pensions and fraudulent disability money!

Once you discover the "real" Thailand you will be able to create a wonderful life for yourselves......

[utapaortnab]

Backpack,

Firstly, thanks for your reply,

I have made 35 trips to Thailand to date since 1971 when I first set foot on Thai soil, so guess I'm "not" a rookie. That includes living a full year in Thailand (1971-1972) and retiring briefly in Pattaya Beach (Jan 1995-Apr 1996).

What you and other suggest is EXACTLY what we plan to do. We plan to set up permanent residence in Chiayaphum, which is about 1 1/2 hours NNW of Korat and 1 1/2 hours WSW of Khon Kaen.

We plan to spend at least 2 weeks of every month in Chiayaphum living amongst my wife Rattana's family, and the friends and neighbors she grew up with in Village #2, Chiayaphum.

This are is so rural that they didn't have electricity until my wife was 8 years old, and just got running water in 2004. There is ONLY one telephone line in the whole village (although I will be doing everything I can to get one installed at Lat's home prior to our arrival so I will have a hookup for my 'puter. We already have been "upgrading" her family home adding a sit down toilet (a total requirement for me), a hot water heater/shower, upgrading the kitchen, air conditioning our downstairs bedroom, and will be adding ceiling fans in the living area downstairs to replace the small recip fans now in use. We've replaced the open air downstairs living area from being just a cement floor w/primitive furniture, to a concrete, walled lower floor, and added new tile for the floor. Now, what was a stilt house still has the beautiful large teak upstairs living area but double the total living space.

Now, over these past 34 years, I have made a multitude of friends, mostly in Pattaya Beach because that is where I lived for a year back in 71-72, back when Pattaya Beach was just a berautiful fishing village w/3 hotels and less than 2 dozen bars and restaurants and shops, and where I have spent most of my vacation and retirement time. But we've also made a couple of handfuls of friends in the Bangkok area. It's just that neither Lat nor I really feel comfortable in Bangkok for more than 2-3 days at a time.

Lat has a brother living in Udon Thani, and one in Ubon Ratchathani, and a sister in Sakonnakon so we will have plenty of mini trips to those areas for visiting as well. She also has one sister who just married the Brit she'd been seeing for almost 10 years while we were on vacation in Thailand in Nov 2003. They just had a baby girl last August. Piroon, and the new baby Lattana, will be joining her husband in London either late this winter or next spring. That will give us yet another vacation from retirement militrip to suppliment the one trip a year to Anaheim CA to visit my (our) kids, grandkids and new great grandson.

Besides dividing the other two weeks that we are NOT in Chiayaphum up between all the places mentioned above, we will have ample time to visit other areas that we haven't spent any time in like Chiang Mai, Krabi/Ao Nong, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Samet, Koh Chang, Cha Am/Hua Hin etc.

We are looking very much forward to our "new life" in Thailand. We can live quite comfortably on my Army Retirement and Social Security entitlements (guaranteed income as long as I may live), so we don't have to depend on what the stock market is doing.

Hope to meet all the members of this Forum once we get settled.

Ken and Rattana Bower

Soon to be from Chiayaphum Village II

http://homepage.mac.com/mgnewman/KenLat Homepage

http://kenandlat.diaryland.com daily THIS AND THAT column

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~don't just stick around he usual haunts, get to know the real Thailand and Thai people.

The soundest piece of advice I've seen on TV for a good while! If you head for the usual haunts, Samui, Phuket, Pattaya, with little or no knowledge of "the rules", then you'll find yourself very poor, very quickly!

Spend some time with expats for sure, but those who are genuinely living and working here, can "speako da lingo" and have Thai friends and associates. Avoid those just bumming around on pensions and fraudulent disability money!

Once you discover the "real" Thailand you will be able to create a wonderful life for yourselves......

[aaaaaa]

Once you discover the "real" Thailand you will be able to create a wonderful life for yourselves......

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree ! also with kenandlat. but then Gazza seems to be a person who already does this, even before coming - he takes a good time to learn as much as possible about this country. seems like shouldn't be much problem for him ! good luck man !

[gazza13]

Once you discover the "real" Thailand you will be able to create a wonderful life for yourselves......

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree ! also with kenandlat. but then Gazza seems to be a person who already does this, even before coming - he takes a good time to learn as much as possible about this country. seems like shouldn't be much problem for him ! good luck man !

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks everyone for your advice. We will certainly be taking it all on board before making the plunge. Will keep you posted on how plans are working out.

[Jai Dee]

Will keep you posted on how plans are working out.

Make sure you do Gazza...

There are quite a few of us Aussis here on TV if you ever need some help or advice.

Cheers mate.