Thinking About Moving To Bangkok From Usa

[vye]

My son, his wife and my new baby grand daughter live in Bangkok. i am thinking of moving to Bangkok from the USA on a retirement visa. i am a 58 year old woman. Any ideas on this subject?

[sbk]

Well, obviously check out retirment visa requirements, but tbh, first, if you can, come and spend a few months before upping sticks and moving permanently. I don't know much about Bangkok beyond my visits there but its crowded and busy busy busy with alot of people so be sure you can manage that. Additionally, it will give you time to see if you can find friends there as you won't want to spend all of your time with the granddaughter!

[PattayaParent]

^what sbk said, come and visit for a while and if you like it and want to stay you can go to a neighbouring country and get a non immigrant O visa to convert to an extension of stay in country.

Check the Visa Forum for details.

[IMA_FARANG]

I would highly recommend you oome to Thailand on a tourist visa first...so you can get a feel for Thailand and the life...to see whether you like it or not.

Also, will you be living with your son and his wife? If so, you need to find out exactly how they feel about you living with them.

So for those two reasons alone, plan a "visit" with your son, his wife, and the grand daughter. I would make it at least a single entry tourist visa...which is good for 60 days and can be extended for abother 30 days at a fee of 1900 Baht (the exchange rate is about 30 Thai Baht to a dollar at the current exchange rate). So that single entry visa will get you (60 plus 30) or 90 days for your stay. By that time you should know whether living in Thailand is right for you or not.

But BEFORE YOU DO THAT speak candidly with your son and his wife about whether they actually would be happy to have you here in Bangkok and living with them for a minimum of 2 monhs.

And remember the old saying...fish and house guests often begin to stink after a week. I'm not being rude by that remark, I'm just trying to point out the possible problems.

And additionally, living in Bangkokis NOT like living in the U.S. You will see what I mean when and if you come here. You may not like life in Thailand...some people simply can't adjust to the life here.

That's why it is so important to arrange for an extended vist before you commit yourself to moving here.

Don't get me wrong, I'm retired and living in Bangkok now...but Bangkok does require you to adjust what you feel is a "normal" lifestyle.

Depending on what your son is doing here you MAY be able to qualify to get a non O retirement visa for a year "piggy-backing" on his visa because you are his mother...but I'm not sure of that possibility.

If you are a U.S. citizen (I assume you are) you can get a 30 day stamp on entry when you enter Thailand with no visa. That's another possibility...come for that 30 day visit and see how that goes.

Otherwise get that 60 day single entry tourist visa for you first visit...and extend it for another 30 days as I said before if you think you want to. By the end of that 90 day period, if you still feel as if you can live in Thailand then you can get your retirement visa.

You can get good advice about visas and retirement visa requirements in the Thai visas and retirement section of this forum.

The "expert" on retirement and such visa matters is a man known as "Lopburi3" on that retirement and visa sub-forum section. He really has a lot of experience on such matters, and he knows the proceedures. Ask about the possibility of that piggy-backing on your son's visa.

Edited June 10, 2011 by IMA_FARANG

[GrahamF]

A lot of excellent advice given here. I agree with coming out on a tourist visa and checking out BKK first. I don't know what your living arrangements are going to be but if you plan on getting your own place eventually a visit first would give you an idea of the areas you might like to live in and what rents/prices might be in those areas. Take your time and you will be much happier in the long run. Best of luck!

[dominique355]

If Bangkok is actually your thing, I would believe it is easy for you to get a retirement visa, which has to be renewed every year. All you need is THB 800,000 in a Thai bank account (about US$ 27,000) and being (permanently) over 50.

Although Bangkok is a very busy city, this is true for the centers only. If your sons happens to live a bit on the outskirts, in a gated community (moo baan), it can be very quiet, even idyllic. But then transportation might be a problem.

[alantheembalmer]

If you do decide to come over, you could always go along to the regular Monday morning coffee get-togethers of the American Women's Club, ( they have a web site, so you can find more info there).

My wife has joined, and she finds the companionship and information sharing extremely enjoyable.

Good luck

Alan

[desi]

Ditto what the others suggested on the tourist visa.

Moving to a new country is a big investment, so might as well invest a bit of time before you come.

If you've never been here before, start reading up on the city. My favourite books for those coming into BKK are:

Bangkok Found

Very Thai

Bangkok Guide

If you are gregarious, before you arrive make connections with the women's groups in Bangkok. If you are into history and culture, then consider joining the Bangkok Museum bunch as they learn about the city and surroundings. The Siam Society will also keep you busy. BNOW has a few activities listed that might catch your interest. There's also an ebook written for expat women in Thailand. I'm not sure if Amy is still updating it but the information is very good.

I couldn't imagine living with my son and his wife but I don't know what your arrangements will be. If it were me, I'd find a full service condo for the trip.

Once here, start jotting down phone numbers of the taxi drivers who speak reasonable English. You won't have enough time to learn Thai so might as well avail yourself of the best tour guides in the city. A good taxi driver can also help you find that illusive something or somewhere that could take months to locate in this huge city. Don't pay by metre, pay by lots of time. I have a four hour agreement and an all day out of Bangkok one too. We even go for overnighters (again, a different pay scale).

If you are into getting around the city on your own, then start studying the maps for busses, Sky trains, and underground. This can be done before arrival.

There is bound to be a bit of culture shock coming into a new country but keeping busy has always been the answer for me. Not too busy, but enough so I feel like I'm a part of my new home and not so much of an outsider.

Some love it here, some hate it. I have a love / hate relationship with Bangkok. The city has a special excitement to it and I know if I leave I'll miss it terribly. I do not work here and found that retirement is hard work! I'm enjoying myself though. I bought a camera and I spend some of my time researching parts of the city. It's going to take me years to make a dent in what's here.

Good luck on whatever you chose to do in the city! And I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

[CWMcMurray]

My mom will be retiring in around 7-8 years and hoping that she may come out to stay with my wife and I. It would be really great to have her here and her grand kids would love it as well.

I just have to fight with my sister... as she is trying to convince my mom to come liver with her in Texas

I am sure your son and his wife feel the same way and would love to have you hear with them.

[kandahar]

Big step. BKK big city.

Maybe, leave yourself some options. Perhaps you're a big city person anyway but consider living closer to your loved ones instead of too close. There are some nice places to live in Thailand that allow you to have your own life and go for visits with the loved ones as often as is comfortable. Consider some smaller places where you will still have plenty of Expats to rub elbows with, less expensive living, cleaner air, less traffic and noise and some really nice areas to spend your down time. Chiang Rai is nice, a bit cooler year round than BKK, MUCH quieter and easy to get around. From Chiang Rai, BKK is an overnight bus trip or a one hour flight, for which the tickets seem to stay pretty cheap these days. Chiang Mai is in the north as well, larger than Chiang Rai and more Expats, more restaurants, more shopping choices and USA style groceries and more everything that comes with Expats. Both towns seem to have friendly folks who can show you the ropes or help you to find a place and get settled. Check out the Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai forums.

If you really want to be very close to your loved ones, then that is what you want. But there are options which will allow you to be much closer to them than the USA and still give you some space, if and when you need it.

Chiang Rai is about 50 minutes from a border crossing and immigration office where you can routinely take care of your visa issues. Chiang Mai has a US consulate that is helpful with any of those types of needs.

Good luck.