City To Live In For A Family For 3 Months

[jonathanv]

Hi,

We are a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 kids of 10, 8 and 7 years old) and are looking for a place to spend 3 months in Thailand. I work on internet projects from our home in Montreal, Canada right now, but this work can be done from anywhere, so why not Thailand? :-)

So our plan right now is to spend the first 2 weeks as vacations (with other family members also taking their vacations). First week in Bangkok, then a week of vacations in Krabi. Not that leaves us around 3 month. My wife will homeschool the kids while I will be working.

Krabi Town seems a good place to go spend our 3 months. It seems well located, near the beaches and other activities. Once there, we would be looking for a house to rent, with a reliable internet access. Here is the big question. Is Krabi Town a good place for us? Or would you recommend another Thailand city?

Thanks!

[CharlieH]

First and foremeost be aware that you will be breaking the law !

You need a work permit and appropriate Visa to carry out what you have stated.

My suggestion is keep quiet about your online "hobby" and dont under any circumstances let anyone be aware of exactly what you are doing.

Drop any and all use of the word "work" in any and all you do !

Be careful, enjoy your vacation and good luck !

[pomchop]

Krabi is a pleasant little town. Other choices to potentially consider might be chiang mai or even chiang rai.

I would not be overly concerned re "working" if you are doing it all from your home online. Seems to me that most people who have problems with authorities over work permits are those who somehow rub some local competitor/acquaintance the wrong way who then blows the whistle via some of their police connections. Don't brag about your work or how much money you might be making and you'll be fine.

[beano2274]

like others have previously stated, if asked you say:

I am taking a break from work, so am here on holiday with my family.

Hua Hin and Prachuap Khiri Khan are both quite nice. But that is my point of view.

[AyG]

Just a few random thoughts:

A week in Bangkok is possibly too long. There really isn't that much for a family to do.

You may have trouble finding a house to rent just for 3 months; most landlords require a minimum contract of 12 months.

Do you speak fluent Thai? If not you may have trouble finding somewhere to rent. Not many landlords speak English. There isn't a broker system for finding rented properties outside Bangkok or Chiang Mai. You have to do the leg work, going around town looking for places with a "to rent" sign outside - and often that will only be in Thai.

Krabi is a pleasant town with enough western food restaurants to keep the kids happy.

Reliable Internet access? In Thailand? Forget it.

If you rent a place it's unlikely to have Internet access, so you'll have to pay for that to be installed. I believe with TOT there's a penalty if you cancel the contract in the first twelve months. Not sure about other providers.

[craigt3365]

Right on about the 3 month rental. We looked for a place here in Pattaya while our house was being built. Pattaya being a holiday destination had some, but most of the places wanted at least 6 months. We only wanted 3.

We eventually found one, and it had smokin fast internet. As you say though, outside the larger cities, it might be tough. And for sure we did a lot of driving around as most places are not listed with agents...even in a hot spot like Pattaya. It took us several weeks to find something suitable...that was the middle of December and listings were drying up due to the high season.

OP: You've got quite a few choices for places to stay. I recommend we move this over to one of the local forums once you've narrowed your list down.

[jonathanv]

Hi!

Thanks all for your help. Oh? Did I mention” working” ? I meant “looking for funny videos the internet”! :-) . But thanks, from now on I’ll just mention “long vacations”.

As for Hua Hin and Prachuap Khiri Khan, I will definitively look for more information on those, since it looks well located.

Chiang mai or Chiang rai ? Well, we’d rather be near the beaches. We loooove snorkeling.

As for speaking Thai, I should have mentioned it previously, but I don’t speak Thai. :-( I just began using an audiobook to learn the basics, but I don't expect miracles as to what I can learn in only a few months. I guess finding the right house will not be that easy then. My first plan a few months ago was to rent one from home before the trip, but I read in a book (Suzanne Nam “Living Abroad in Thailand” if I recall well) that I was better to go there, live in a hotel until finding the right house. Any thoughts on that?

If you have other suggestions of cities that might be good choices to spend these 3 months, don’t hesitate to tell me please. I will do my best to narrow the list down to 2-3 cities before the end of the month so th at I can plan the rest of our vacations. We leave Montreal to Thailand in mid-November.

And by the way, we are very excited about this trip. We’ve never done anything like this before, and I’m sure it will be an amazing experience for us and the kids.

Thanks again for your help.

[carsgil]

If you are considering Hua Hin look also at Cha Am 30 KM from Hua Hin, closer to Bangkok, vastly superior access to the beaches and only gets busy at the weekends. You would probably have more chance of finding a decent rental too. It has its one seedy Soi but you wouldn't know it and there are plenty of restaurants etc..

[fasteddie]

I think you've made an excellent choice for your 3 month ''holiday''. Krabi is a great little town surrounded by some of the most awesome scenery in Thailand. Stay in a hotel then rent a car and take a drive out towards Ao Nang where you will see loads of house to rent signs. Good luck.

[mikecwm]

If you are considering Hua Hin look also at Cha Am 30 KM from Hua Hin, closer to Bangkok, vastly superior access to the beaches and only gets busy at the weekends. You would probably have more chance of finding a decent rental too. It has its one seedy Soi but you wouldn't know it and there are plenty of restaurants etc..

Snorklng at Hua Hin or Cha Am will be exceedingly boring. Your first choice of Krabi will be a lot more interesting under the water.

[thepanom]

If you are considering Hua Hin look also at Cha Am 30 KM from Hua Hin, closer to Bangkok, vastly superior access to the beaches and only gets busy at the weekends. You would probably have more chance of finding a decent rental too. It has its one seedy Soi but you wouldn't know it and there are plenty of restaurants etc..

I do live in Cha-am as wel. love this place, I lived in many places in Thailand before, but do like Cha-am very much, if you like more information of Cha-am, just contact me

[moe666]

You may get tired of snorkling at some point in time the north is nice around Chiang mai You need to sort out visas for you bunch before you leave Canada.