Laos Conection

[chiangrai]

hi,

just heard about the latest crackdown on back to back visas in thailand,

i'm thinking of moving to laosm

anybody know of a forum for laos or good websites,

i'm trying to find out about the cost of living there,

food ,rent,buying a motorbike,,,ect,

all help and info wellcome,

looks like thailand doesn't want cheap charlies like me anymore,

have 25000 baht a month,manage to suport the misses and her mother and me on that(no beer),

but thats not good eneogh for thailand,

so be it,

so can i live off 25000 baht in laos

[maxjay]

so can i live off 25000 baht in laos

No. http://www.tourismlaos.gov.la/laos-in-brief.htm

The only place...perhaps that you might be able to live semi-comfortably on 25,000 THB per month is Cambodia.

$250 USD will get you a "no questions asked" one year visa with multiple re-entry's.

Perhaps, you should ask your question on the S.E.A. section of Thaivisa.

[Prajak]

Income 300,000 baht; can't you apply for a retirement visa with 500,000 in the bank ? That makes the neccessary 8.. in-the- bank-plus-income. Than you can stay here.

Life in Laos Vientiane is not as cheap as in rural Thailand. So try rural Laos and accept that there is less medical care than in Thailand. Living together with your wife can not be a problem if the marriage is accepted there. Living together unmarried might cause problems there. Jail or tea money......

If you are a Dutchman do not forget that the Dutch Government Pension (AOW) will be reduced when you live in Laos. But may be you are not Dutch.

I know people here in NK who are in Laos many times for their jobs. If you want more information I'll be glad to help you but than send a personal message to me please.

[TBWG]

so can i live off 25000 baht in laos

No. http://www.tourismlaos.gov.la/laos-in-brief.htm

The only place...perhaps that you might be able to live semi-comfortably on 25,000 THB per month is Cambodia.

$250 USD will get you a "no questions asked" one year visa with multiple re-entry's.

Perhaps, you should ask your question on the S.E.A. section of Thaivisa.

Do Not open the Laos Link it has a virus!

TBWG

[terrier123]

I have lived facing central Laos for more than 7 years and visited/stayed there dozens of times. Do not presume it is cheaper across the river than here in Thailand. Food, accomodation, medicare, roads in fact everything is 20 years behind here. They have massive investment from the west which makes them even lazier and sometimes greedier. In your situation, if you have not already done so, I would try 2 weeks holiday in the major places then make your decision.

[kimamey]

Income 300,000 baht; can't you apply for a retirement visa with 500,000 in the bank ? That makes the neccessary 8.. in-the- bank-plus-income. Than you can stay here.

Life in Laos Vientiane is not as cheap as in rural Thailand. So try rural Laos and accept that there is less medical care than in Thailand. Living together with your wife can not be a problem if the marriage is accepted there. Living together unmarried might cause problems there. Jail or tea money......

If you are a Dutchman do not forget that the Dutch Government Pension (AOW) will be reduced when you live in Laos. But may be you are not Dutch.

I know people here in NK who are in Laos many times for their jobs. If you want more information I'll be glad to help you but than send a personal message to me please.

I thought it was 800,000 baht for retirement but only 400,000 for marriage. Assuming you are legally married of course.

Just read it again and you do say 800,000 but still less if married as far as I know.

Edited September 12, 2009 by kimamey

[chiangrai]

thanks for all the feedback,

i wrote to the issan forum because i can't find any information about living in laos anywhere esle,

i'm not married by law,not yet fifty and aint got any savings,

i've been to laos a couple of times and could see that it's certainly not cheaper to live as a tourist.

thought it might be when you rent long term and buy food at the market but can't find out,

i live near the border so i might just have to live there for a few months a year,depends on what the new "screening of applicants for tourist visa means,

cambodia sounds good too

thanks again

[Milo]

I have lived facing central Laos for more than 7 years and visited/stayed there dozens of times. Do not presume it is cheaper across the river than here in Thailand. Food, accomodation, medicare, roads in fact everything is 20 years behind here. They have massive investment from the west which makes them even lazier and sometimes greedier. In your situation, if you have not already done so, I would try 2 weeks holiday in the major places then make your decision.

Agreed, I recently completed a survey tour around Laos and decided not to include it in our schedule, most items appear to be more expensive from an outside perspective? I'd say around 30% on average over the fortnight, the missus reckons it's because they're hotter on taxation than Thailand, I stand to be corrected of course.

We were hardly pushing the boat out, on these survey tours we research the best hotels & restaurants for our guests while staying in crappy guest houses and only eating off the street stalls through the day, so hopefully I'm reasonably well qualified to comment. However, it was only one fortnight.

The only advantage I discovered was REALLY good, REALLY cheap beef steak almost everywhere we went for an evening meal, that in itself almost made a move worth considering!!

[maxjay]

so can i live off 25000 baht in laos

No. http://www.tourismlaos.gov.la/laos-in-brief.htm

The only place...perhaps that you might be able to live semi-comfortably on 25,000 THB per month is Cambodia.

$250 USD will get you a "no questions asked" one year visa with multiple re-entry's.

Perhaps, you should ask your question on the S.E.A. section of Thaivisa.

Do Not open the Laos Link it has a virus!

I haven't been to this thread since I posted the Laos website info and visited the Laos website.

So after reading your message TBWG, I ran a AVG Anti-Virus scan...results showed no threats.

What virus is on the Laos website?

[Lagoud]

There's a website called "Tales of Asia" which seems to have a lot of info and write ups of various countries in SE Asia.

[abdulrahman]

so can i live off 25000 baht in laos

No. http://www.tourismlaos.gov.la/laos-in-brief.htm

The only place...perhaps that you might be able to live semi-comfortably on 25,000 THB per month is Cambodia.

$250 USD will get you a "no questions asked" one year visa with multiple re-entry's.

Perhaps, you should ask your question on the S.E.A. section of Thaivisa.

If you have money problems in Thailand (I would have them with your income): Lao will be worse!

I think maxjay is right,try Cambodia.Good luck!

[chiangrai]

thanks for all the help guys,

i'll take it thet not many farangs live in laos and those that do don't have a decent forum,

this internet shop computer is showing the laos link has a virus,

i actualy don't have a problem with money on my buyget but if they stop giving back to back visas in vientiane

i need somewhere to go for a few months.

thanks again