maccado Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Ok in brief I am 42 currently living in the UK with wife and daughter. Wife is Thai, daughter is 3 years old. I am considering selling up and moving to Thailand If I sold up I could raise about 500,000 pounds The finances do not worry me My concern is my daughter, would I be limiting her future opportunities by bringing her to Thailand at such an early age Thoughts please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Croc Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Move this to the family forum and you might get some reasonable answers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumball Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 When you are considering shanghying a young child to a strange land with a completely different language and culture , your childs future life should be given considerable thought as to the advantages and disadvantages of such an upheaval , she is only 3 at this time and will adapt quite quickly , but considering the state of the education system in Thailand and the prospects for her future employment etc , it will need lengthy fore thought that should be given precedence over that of your own . I had very good prospects for the future in regards to my wife and 4 young children , but the prospects looked somewhat bleak for the children in the future , after much discussion and investigative work on Canada , we decided I could still provide a decent standard of living for us but the future for the children would be to thier advantage . The transition for them was not easy at first even though Canada was similar in structure to England at that time and the language was similar , but in the long run the move proved worth the effort . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccado Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Thanks for the reply Your thoughts are pretty much the same as mine I was curios to hear of any one has made the move and what there experience is I guess deep down I know that it is better for my daughter if we stay in the UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farang000999 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Asia is the future imo. Western society is on the knees. These things are cyclical. Look at America and the UK in Egypt and how their governments can barely form a coherent sentence that does not contradict something else said in less than 24 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirineou Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 First let me say, that it is commendable that you are thinking about your daughters future. It is a difficult decision. If you are going to make a move, you will need to make it in the next couple of years, Once your Daughter starts to go to school, make friends and is socialized in to the UK culture, it would be very difficult for her to acclimate to a new environment. I talk from experience, my parents emigrated when I was 12, it was a very traumatic experience for me. As far as the opportunities available for your daughter in Thailand is concerned, I think with two loving, and supportive parents your daughter will do well anywhere in the world. In fact she might do better in Thailand. After a good primary education in Thailand she can always come to the west for her secondary and or advanced studies, and with such a background, she will be highly competitive in Thailand and in the world. IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennkate Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 I would think long and hard about this. You are ony 42 what will you do ? sure you have money now but you will need to have a house If you buy some of that money will be used for that. Then you will have to pay for your child's education and medical insurance for at least yourself plus visa fees just to enable you to stay in Thailand. You will lose family allowance OK I know it's only £20 but that's £1000 per year that you won't have. What about your UK pension you may find that it will be reduced when you get to claim it. I don't know what you do for a living now but whatever it is I doubt you can earn anything close to UK salary in Thailand if you are planing to work.getting ito buisness could be costly If you burn your bridges in the UK you are stuck there, Maybe a big chunk of your money gone and no escape route. You never know what is going to happen in the future The visa regulations seem to change on the turning of the moon. Maybe it;s not what you wanted to hear. Think long and hard if you are going to give it a try cost it out and then double it . Then think again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richb2004v2 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 How ever bad you feel things are in the Uk you will eventually find almost every aspect is worse in Thailand, especially with regard to life for children. Think again. I'll get my coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DP25 Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 If you have the money to send her to a good international school in Thailand, and then to a university back home, she'll be fine and likely have more opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattayaParent Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 If you have the money to send her to a good international school in Thailand, and then to a university back home, she'll be fine and likely have more opportunity. Exactly what I was going to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khun Jean Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 (edited) If you are not fixed on Thailand, New Zealand seems to be a nice option. I considered it but was just a few years to old to get a skilled visa. You might still qualify. We choose to live 6 months here in Thailand and 6 months in The Netherlands. My kids go to a montessori school in both countries which allows them to switch more easily then in a conventional schooling system. The kids have friends in both countries and the 6 months go slow enough to not upset school but quick enough to maintain both 'sets' of friends. Also the two parts of the family get equal attention. With old grand and great grand parents it would be selfish to keep the joy of children only to ourselves. Besides the children love the attention they get from older family members. The mixed schooling gives the children a much broader perspective and being immersed in both cultures seem to have a positive effect. They pickup things like respect, sharing, friendliness, go with the flow attitude here in Thailand and things like precision, quality, arts/music, other kind of friendliness, greetings and considering others from the Netherlands. So far so good. (kids are 7 and 8) Edited February 7, 2011 by Khun Jean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumball Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 'farang000999' timestamp='1297096394' post='4203742'] Asia is the future imo. Western society is on the knees. These things are cyclical. Look at America and the UK in Egypt and how their governments can barely form a coherent sentence that does not contradict something else said in less than 24 hours. There could be some sense of a good future in some parts of Asia but it would need to be a country that has moved into the twenty first century not one constantly dwelling in the distant past . When was the last time you lived in North America ? Where does Egypt fit into this equation ? Which country are you currently living in that can perform better than your last line ? Judging by your screen name you seem to be too deeply embedded in a lost cause . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccado Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Just to pick up on this, things are not that bad in th uk i have a good job and a good life However i would at some stage like to move to thailand and with my daughter being 3 years old now it is either now or leave it another 18 years until she has finished school I am just interested to find out how life would be in thailand for my daughter How ever bad you feel things are in the Uk you will eventually find almost every aspect is worse in Thailand, especially with regard to life for children. Think again. I'll get my coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 500k gbp is a lot of money but is it enough to support you, your wife & child (including education & medical expense plus any & all further education she will require) for the rest of your life. do you intend to work, invest in a business, can you afford to lose that business investment & start again. What happens if it all goes tits up, what is your back up plan? Unlike many I do not believe that raising or educating a child in thailand will have any major effect on their future, kids will grow up & make it if they have the right motivation, with duel nationality & at least a bilingual education, they will have more opportunities than the worlds majority. The main issue is how you manage your money & if it is enough to cover all basis in the long term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccado Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 With regards to money I have no intention of working or starting a business in Thailand My plan would be to buy 2 houses in the UK for a total of 300000 and rent them out to give me an income The other 200000 I would have some in safe investments and some I would use to trade stocks and shares which is something I have been doing for a few years My wife would be happy to work in Thailand which would also help I would plan to rent a property at first in Thailand so as not to commit ourselves and obviously ha bony property in the UK we could always go back if it didnt work out Those are my thoughts maybe it is realistic maybe not I would be interested in peoples opinions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 sounds like a good plan to me, you are keeping the majority if your nest egg in UK property (i.e. away from Thailand & possible rip off opportunities) it also gives you an instant safety net in case you need to return to UK. 200k invested properly would produce a modest income, the main issue are the education, medical & your visa costs. International school is of course generally very expensive, it isn't my view that intl school is essential, I would rather a bi-lingual school based on UK curriculum, that gives the child a foot in both doors at least until secondary school age then decide from their. Family medial insurance with Bupa Thailand can be bought for a few k baht a month, if you contact some of the providers they can give you quotes & get an idea of monthly budgeting. Of course where you plan to live plays a large part in budgeting too, we plan to move to Khon Kaen where my husband is from, our son will go to a bilingual school there which costs approx 130k baht a year all in, somewhere like samui or phuket will generally be more expensive, for everything. Do you have the option for come over for a month before hand to do some on the ground research on schools, locations, property to rent etc before making your final decision? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccado Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 We would be looking to live somewhere near rayong and we will be visiting Thailand in a few months probably for a month or 2. We will obviously take the opportunity to look at schooling and housing and try to work out a budget we could live on comfortably We will then head home to the UK and have time to really think it through Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 as to whether it is a good idea for your daughter or not........ It's my view that kids are happiest when parents are happy. If living in Thailand gives you more time together as a family & less stress then I personally see it as a positive move. Only you & your wife can really know what is best for your family but it is the smart man (or woman) who weighs up all the pros & cons before committing to something so major.Good luck whatever you decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 (edited) not having a job is a slight concern, as I think you'll find Thailand not as cheap as you want it to be - add in the costs of (good) medical insurance, (good) schooling etc and other things that come cheap back home. Reasonable (expat) insurance for a family of 3 would set you back 6000-9000 baht per month (I personally wouldn't rely on the local insurance policies) and a good international school - one which would give your daughter the same opportunities back home - will set you back 300,000 to 400,000 per year. You could go with the Four Yorkshiremen 'when I was a lad' approach to living in Thailand, living on fumes. It is possible, but it doesn't sound like that is an option given what you want for your daughter. What I'd do is take a year off and move out. Don't sell up, just rent out your place for a year. Find you feet in Thailand, see if it suits and then in 12 months make the commitment. Edited February 8, 2011 by samran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ableguy Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Asia is the future imo. Western society is on the knees. These things are cyclical. Look at America and the UK in Egypt and how their governments can barely form a coherent sentence that does not contradict something else said in less than 24 hours. S o how do they differ from the government ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExpatJ Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Maccado I was in a similar situation- i moved here with my family a couple of years ago- kids were 3 yrs and 1yrs old at the time. We have found the international pre-schools and high schools in Bangkok to be excellent, actually the quality of the schools here seem to be higher than any public school we could find in North America, UK. So in terms of your kids future, putting her in an international school here you would be giving her the best possible start. The drawback is the cost- a good international pre-school kindergarden can put you back 6,000 UK pounds a year (for a 3 yr old!), the cost of putting a kids age 3-6 in international schools per year will be btw 4,000-15,000 UK pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bermondburi Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Just to pick up on this, things are not that bad in th uk i have a good job and a good life However i would at some stage like to move to thailand and with my daughter being 3 years old now it is either now or leave it another 18 years until she has finished school I am just interested to find out how life would be in thailand for my daughter How ever bad you feel things are in the Uk you will eventually find almost every aspect is worse in Thailand, especially with regard to life for children. Think again. I'll get my coat. At the end of the day it all depends on you and how you want to live. There are a lot of pros and cons. Personally I think that Thailand is an absolutely great place to bring up children. I have two boys here aged three and four and I find that Thailand and the Thai people are so children friendly that it is amazing. I compare this to the UK which in my opinion is not children friendly and where if you go out sometimes and you can see the staff inwardly groaning. Go out anywhere in Thailand and there are twenty babysitters on hand to help you whilst you eat your dinner or do your shopping. This is great. However there are some downsides to having kids here. You will have to accept a lower standard of health and safety. Be careful walking down the street for all that BBQ food and big hot pans of oil. Driving standards obviously are a lot lower. There is a lot less for children to do here and if they are doing something it always seems to be in a sterile shopping mall. Playparks are fewer and of a lower standard and you have to remember that a lot of the daytime it is too hot for your kids to play outside like they would in the UK. As long as you can afford decent schools then your daughter will be fine. She should pick up Thai very quick because of her age and her English ability will stand her in good stead. I would also think about is the UK that great. A lot of it depends on where you live and I don't know your circumstances but there is no way that I would have my kids growing up as teenagers in the UK the way I did. All the drugs and violence , while still in Thailand, are a lot less prevalent. Don't burn your bridges, try it for a year, if you don't like it you can always go back. Personally though I think that Thailand is a great place to raise a family and it could be an eye opener for your daughter too and good for her development. Good luck whatever you decide ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maccado Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share Posted February 8, 2011 I would like to thank everyone for their replies. It has given me a lot to think about. The main concern is going to be the cost of schooling. I would like to make sure o had enough money for a good international school which may mean o have to stay in the UK for another year or 2 so that o can save some more money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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